Tug of War ... any advice?

[Virtopia]

If all goes well, 2013 will be the year I see the southern Caribbean. I currently have a tentative booking with Celebrity for an April sailing that stops in St Thomas, St Maarten, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados. I was able to get an oceanview room for under $1,000 which is my cruise only budget for solo travel.

 

Now, during my Explorer cruise, I bought a NextCruise certificate and have recently been eyeing the 7 night southern Caribbean cruise on the Brilliance. Now, it would cost me about $60 more to do this cruise in February, but $200 more if I wanted to do it during my desired month of April and it would be just for an inside room. It would stop in St Maarten, St Kitts, Guadaloupe, Tortola and Barbados.

 

Now, I'm currently planning this trip as a solo adventure and I'm wondering if I would feel comfortable on Celebrity by myself. I'm going back and forth about what to do.

 

A few things I'm considering ...

 

1) I would have a $100 OBC with my NCC, but I've heard that if you cancel the booking, you lose the OBC. Is this true?

2) During my Allure cruise, I would become platinum and possibly upgrade to a balcony. Plus, it would allow me to match my status within the Captain's Club with Celebrity but I'm not sure if this would offer room discount perks.

3) I'm also studying the Savings Certificate and seeing if one comes up for this particular sailing.

4) When I'm on Allure, I was thinking I could book it as well, but the prices may change by then and I'm not quite sure how the Future Cruise differs from the NCC.

 

My decision right now is based on if I would lose the OBC if I cancelled. My plan is to book the Brilliance and watch the prices carefully and hope for a drop and then when it gets closer to final payment date, I'd cancel the one that offers less benefits.

 

But for anyone who has been on RCCL and Celebrity, do you think Celebrity is something that can be done as a solo trip? I'd be 30 during that sailing and I love the production shows, poolside music, great spots for reading and an upbeat night life.

 

If you were in my shoes, which one would you pick? Thanks in advance :D

[msw1023]

I've been solo on both the solstice and the allure. The cabin on x was bigger, and I never felt uncomfortable. Of course there's a lot more to do on allure and the shows are more wow. I've never been on brilliance.

I would say take the best deal. Both itineraries sound really good.

 

 

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[bob278]

You need to verify this with a knowledgeable agent, but I am pretty sure that you can change the cruise after you assign your NC certificate to one.

 

I have done it at least once (about 4 years ago). I bought the NCC and about 6 months later assigned it to a cruise. Well before final payment, I changed it to a cruise that was over a year after the first one. Nobody said a word (and the new cruise was longer and I got the higher OBC). The key thing to remember is to keep the booking number the same. If you actually cancel, then there is no OBC and you lose the deposit.

[Virtopia]

You need to verify this with a knowledgeable agent, but I am pretty sure that you can change the cruise after you assign your NC certificate to one.

 

I have done it at least once (about 4 years ago). I bought the NCC and about 6 months later assigned it to a cruise. Well before final payment, I changed it to a cruise that was over a year after the first one. Nobody said a word (and the new cruise was longer and I got the higher OBC). The key thing to remember is to keep the booking number the same. If you actually cancel, then there is no OBC and you lose the deposit.

 

Thanks very much for the information! I will give them a call directly to find out.

[KJL53]

If all goes well, 2013 will be the year I see the southern Caribbean. I currently have a tentative booking with Celebrity for an April sailing that stops in St Thomas, St Maarten, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados. I was able to get an oceanview room for under $1,000 which is my cruise only budget for solo travel.

 

Now, during my Explorer cruise, I bought a NextCruise certificate and have recently been eyeing the 7 night southern Caribbean cruise on the Brilliance. Now, it would cost me about $60 more to do this cruise in February, but $200 more if I wanted to do it during my desired month of April and it would be just for an inside room. It would stop in St Maarten, St Kitts, Guadaloupe, Tortola and Barbados.

 

Now, I'm currently planning this trip as a solo adventure and I'm wondering if I would feel comfortable on Celebrity by myself. I'm going back and forth about what to do.

 

A few things I'm considering ...

 

1) I would have a $100 OBC with my NCC, but I've heard that if you cancel the booking, you lose the OBC. Is this true?

2) During my Allure cruise, I would become platinum and possibly upgrade to a balcony. Plus, it would allow me to match my status within the Captain's Club with Celebrity but I'm not sure if this would offer room discount perks.

3) I'm also studying the Savings Certificate and seeing if one comes up for this particular sailing.

4) When I'm on Allure, I was thinking I could book it as well, but the prices may change by then and I'm not quite sure how the Future Cruise differs from the NCC.

 

My decision right now is based on if I would lose the OBC if I cancelled. My plan is to book the Brilliance and watch the prices carefully and hope for a drop and then when it gets closer to final payment date, I'd cancel the one that offers less benefits.

 

But for anyone who has been on RCCL and Celebrity, do you think Celebrity is something that can be done as a solo trip? I'd be 30 during that sailing and I love the production shows, poolside music, great spots for reading and an upbeat night life.

 

If you were in my shoes, which one would you pick? Thanks in advance :D

 

I also travel solo. I enjoyed Celebrity but it just is not the same as Royal. I would do it again but not if I was 30. Royal has a much younger feel. I did 2 weeks on Serenade in February and it was fantastic. The weather was good but we did have a little rain. I would go again in February in a heart beat.

[Virtopia]

I also travel solo. I enjoyed Celebrity but it just is not the same as Royal. I would do it again but not if I was 30. Royal has a much younger feel. I did 2 weeks on Serenade in February and it was fantastic. The weather was good but we did have a little rain. I would go again in February in a heart beat.

 

Thanks; to be honest, I feel the same way. Although I love the price that Celebrity is offering, I'd rather pay the extra to be around what I already know I'll enjoy. If I had someone going with me, I'd definitely do Celebrity, but if someone gets added on, it will be later in the year and I want to make the decision in the next couple weeks.

 

Adventure has a southern Caribbean sailing mid April and the inside room is slightly higher than what I paid for Celebrity, so I may just do that.

[Beth C]

You will lose your NC deposit if you utter the words "cancel". If you decide to switch to Celebrity just move the NC certificate cruise to a random cruise a year or two away then move it back to a Royal cruise when you decide on one. If final payment is getting near on the 'random' cruise just move it to another far far away then you won't lose the deposit you've made :)

 

Odd's are you won't have to move it too far out... you'll find a Royal cruise you want before then :D