Cruisin' On a Staff Discount

[PirateGal]

Hi there,

 

I'm currently researching cruises for our honeymoon in July. I have a friend who works on RCL and said she might be able to get us on using her staff discount.

 

Just wondering if anyone has done this before and how does it work? We'd obviously have to find our own way down to the port (no package deal) but in terms of payment and getting all the proper paperwork in order, how does it work? My friend doesn't know because she is still quite new and we would be her first "guests".

 

I'm just wondering if I should wait around to find out or just go ahead and try to book something on my own.

 

Thanks.

[Happy ks]

You're planning to cruise at a very busy time of year. Perhaps you should start looking into reservations now, make sure the TA you use doesn't charge a cancellation fee.

 

I know absolutely nothing about friends and family discount except that some crew have told me they were able to get their familiy on after 1 year of working for the line. So, contact your friend sooner than later to find out.

[jcanino]

I'm currently researching cruises for our honeymoon in July. I have a friend who works on RCL and said she might be able to get us on using her staff discount.

 

I would not be doing this for a honeymoon cruise. I have talked to people who have family members working for cruise lines. On one hand, it can be cheap, as low as $50 per person per day. You do not know what cabin or category you will get possibly until you arrive at the pier. I did talk to someone who went this route several times and on one occasion received an Owner's Suite on RCI.

 

On the other hand, you can be bumped off the cruise right up until the time you reach the port. I really would not want my honeymoon to start this way.

[SoCalCruiseguy]

I agree wholeheartedly that you SHOULD NOT under any circumstances plan a honeymoon cruise, especially during a peak travel time of the year via this method! Yes, you can probably get get deals IF you can pull it off. But in virtually all cases, you will be in a type of "non-rev" category (airline speak). Non-revs go standby and although they can get great deals such as 1st class, you are the lowest of the low on a standby listing. During moderate travel times, traveling this way can be difficult and takes LOTS of planning, (often with insider access). Traveling when passenger loads are high can be extremely difficult and if there is more than one person OR you are a guest and not an employee, your priority is even lower so its that much more difficult!

 

Although I am conveying my personal airline experiances, I assure you that there will be some mighty hoops to jump through to try and due this on a cruise as well. If you decide to go this route, just keep in mind that traveling on someones employee discount is not just getting another "great deal" . Traveling in any type of non revenue or employee discount status makes you a lower class of passenger. This does not mean much IF everything goes right, but, if ANYTHING goes wrong you will probably be very very sad you went in this direction i.e. no refunds, credits, transportation to port of origin if there is a deviation etc. Buying a cheap confirmed ticket is always an option for airline employees at certain times. This being the case, you may want to just find the best possible fare you can via normal distribution channels. I can almost guarantee you'll be happier.

[Jane110]

I agree with the others. Don't risk having your honeymoon cancelled at the last minute or being stuck in a crappy cabin.

 

Plan the honeymoon you can afford and know what you're getting. If at some point in the future your friend can get you a great deal on a cruise, then go for it with the knowledge that it might not work out.

 

Jane

[Minniemouse27]

My sis works on a cruise ship and we've cruised with her once (well twice really since it was a back to back !) and will do so again next month.

 

W/ her cruise line there are two ways I can cruise w/ her. The first way is to pay a VERY nominal fee and be happy w/ a crew cabin. If there are any guest cabins free they will put you in one. The second way is more like what previous posters said, you get a pretty good discount and are guaranteed a guest cabin. In her case sis told us just a few weeks ago that there are only THREE of these cabin's set aside for family of crew per cruise so they go fast... especially during the busier seasons.

 

That said we opted for choice 1 last year and over the two cruises (one 5 day and one 4 day) we moved ALL of our stuff SIX times. We waited for a cabin on Day 1, got a guest cabin, pulled into first port and turned out the ship HAD been full but someone missed it and met us there.. moved to crew cabin. Stayed until end of first cruise but then they needed OUR crew cabin for incoming crew, moved to another crew cabin. Started second cruise, given cabin of another no show. Had to move at last minute morning of first port "in case" guest showed up...they didn't so we got to move BACK in... stayed until end of cruise.

 

This is NOT how you want to spend your honeymoon!

 

We are opting for choice 2 this time around. We are paying more for the room but it will be ours for the entire cruise :-). It was hard to get the room... we just found out yesterday that we were definitely on the ship.

 

I would get a really good travel agent and find an affordable cruise for you and your fiance that you can count on... and have a great honeymoon.

 

.... I have to add sis is always quick to point out to us that she's had lots of family and friends cruise w/ her and we were the ONLY ones that not only had to stay in a crew cabin but also got moved around like that... she was mortified. Oh and I should add, we had our daughter w/ us who was then 2.5yo ...but she was a trooper :-).

 

Christine

[time11130]

Just my 2 cents here, we have booked our last cruise (July, 2004) through our niece, who is a sales rep directly with Royal at their headquarters.

12 of us, all family, went on her employee discount last year. It was called the "friends and family" discount and was 15% off the total.

This year we found it was cheaper to book through a discounted travel agency. I did not even check the prices last year to see if we really saved but can tell you the prices she could get us this year were $171.00 per person more than the discounted broker!

Using the friends and family discount was no different than any one else.

We got to pick our rooms, dining times, etc. but all of our paper work was faxed to us and we did not get the little books like everyone else did.

She has traveled before at a really cheap rate like half off she said- but she was not told where the room would be. She said they usually upgrade the regular passengers and the friends and family discounted people get the left overs. She said last time they went it was late the first evening before they knew where there room was and after midnight before they even seen their luggage! I don't think this would be worth it for your honeymoon.

Any other questions feel free to ask- I'll try and help! Lisa