WOW Sale Ridiculous For Loyalty Members

[setter73]

I find that RCI sending me offers that don't apply to me frustrating. I know that the Diamond discount is better, so I understand the point BUT it still feels like I am losing out. Yes, I have a better deal, but I thought that was a loyalty thing. It feels like, if you are "loyal" than you get this, but nothing else. No sales for you! EVER!

 

Personally, I find having to book onbaord a nuisance and it is often difficult to get an appointment to see the LA. I am onboard to enjoy myself, not spend time booking cruises - something that I would enjoy doing at home but not while onboard. If they had a week time limit after a cruise to book a future cruise credit, then that would be great. This way I never will get an extra discount over Diamond.

 

It isn't that it is wrong or even unreasonable. It is simply the fact that it makes you feel, rightly or wrongly, like you are losing out because you are Diamond. It certainly detracts from the feeling of privilege given by loyalty perk benefits. Some people don't feel this way, I know, but others of us do, obviously.

 

Perhaps, it is greedy, but it is sometimes human nature. It really doesn't do much good to say you shouldn't feel this way - you just do! I tell myself that it is reasonable for some sales to be targeted to some people and not others, but I still feel left out or like my deal has lost some value. Sorry y'all.

 

Wish that I didn't feel this way. But, I confess, that I do.

Somehow, it doesn't seem like a smart way to make loyal customers feel. It does sometimes (not always) result in me booking elsewhere.

 

I totally understand and agree with you, which is why I did not book the additional cruise when I was informed that I could not receive the OBC if I used the Balcony Discount.

[Meriflower]

I find that RCI sending me offers that don't apply to me frustrating. I know that the Diamond discount is better, so I understand the point BUT it still feels like I am losing out. Yes, I have a better deal, but I thought that was a loyalty thing. It feels like, if you are "loyal" than you get this, but nothing else. No sales for you! EVER!

 

I have had only one sailing with RCI and that was back in 2005 so I was able to take advantage of the WOW sale and booked a cruise for next year. :D However I agree with Dorie, I thought the Diamond discount was for prominently choosing to sail RCI. Shouldn't mean that can't participate/receive any other perks.

 

As for making the reservation, I called RCI directly vs doing it online. I first tried online but it was not giving me the reduced deposit. The RCI agent said it is something they manually have to do. So probably best to call in the reservation or work with a TA. Also even though I booked via phone I can still access my reservation online.

[kc320]

:confused: I'm confused as to how you are supposed to put $100 pp when the system won't allow you to do that.. (or at least wouldn't allow me to!) When I tried to change the amount to $200 ($100 pp for each room), I kept getting an error saying it had to be $500 for the room.

 

The deposit is not $100 per cabin...the reduced rate is 50% off...$100 deposit is when booking onboard or using a next cruise cert. maybe that is the problem?

[emen822]

You may want to call C&A 1-800-526-9723 and ask, but I think that even if you enter the normal deposit amount, it will only credit your cc with the reduced amount. The reduced amount has to be manually applied. Remember this is RCI IT department you are dealing with.:(

 

;):)

 

The deposit is not $100 per cabin...the reduced rate is 50% off...$100 deposit is when booking onboard or using a next cruise cert. maybe that is the problem?

I'm sorry. I meant to write $250 per room. :o I guess I was thinking of the obc when I wrote that. ;) The error message stated I need to put $500 to reserve each room.

 

Oh well, less that I owe when final payment is due. :D

[koko1]

This is a change from last year when I booked a TA cruise during the WOW. I booked through the C & A desk & was told you ALWAYS get your C&A balcony discount as it is a ongoing membership benefit & has nothing to do with the sale. The only discounts not combinable with the WOW OBC were the certificates & shareholders discount. So before you give up call the C&A desk & you may find out the balcony discount is combinable. Unfortunately you can get 3 different answers if you call 3 different agents on their regular res line. Also some travel agents are not as informed as they should be as there are so many promos they have to keep up with. In any case it is worth a shot.

 

You never save any money during the WOW. They always raise the rates during the sale so they are really not giving anything away. I booked during the WOW mainly for the reduced deposit as I was not able to book onboard & did not have a next cruise cert. I will be sailing solo & did not want to shell out $450 for a cruise over a yr off.

[koko1]

This is a change from last year when I booked a TA cruise during the WOW. I booked through the C & A desk & was told you ALWAYS get your C&A balcony discount as it is a ongoing membership benefit & has nothing to do with the sale. The only discounts not combinable with the WOW OBC were the certificates & shareholders discount. So before you give up call the C&A desk & you may find out the balcony discount is combinable. Unfortunately you can get 3 different answers if you call 3 different agents on their regular res line. Also some travel agents are not as informed as they should be as there are so many promos they have to keep up with. In any case it is worth a shot.

 

You never save any money during the WOW. They always raise the rates during the sale so they are really not giving anything away. I booked during the WOW mainly for the reduced deposit as I was not able to book onboard & did not have a next cruise cert. I will be sailing solo & did not want to shell out $450 for a cruise over a yr off.

 

Out of curiosity I just called C&A & spoke with an agent who has worked for them for 11 yrs. She verified the balcony discount is NOT combinable. It is a an either/or. So, I stand corrected.

[cruisenfever]

Out of curiosity I just called C&A & spoke with an agent who has worked for them for 11 yrs. She verified the balcony discount is NOT combinable. It is a an either/or. So, I stand corrected.

That is why for C&A Members, the WOW Sale is basically WOWLESS for us.:D

[sailnsee]

very odd....booked a TA with a ta for april '13....got the $150 obc and $100 deposit and the $350 bal. discount, so if I had waited for the wow sale I would have been lucky to pay the same and not received the bal. discount-what a great deal....what loyalty members would even consider that? aother example that the wow is for newbies!

[orville99]

That is why for C&A Members, the WOW Sale is basically WOWLESS for us.:D

 

 

Which is why we always make sure we have at least two NCC's in hand (or at home) when we get off the ship at the end of a cruise. That way we can WOW ourselves when a good deal pops up:)without ever dealing with an RCL "sale";)

[BillOh]

That has been the policy for WOW sales since the beginning of the WOW sales. They are designed / created for NEW passengers!

 

###

 

Yet, they fill up our mailbox with email messages about them all the time once you join.

[cruisercrazy69]

Maybe they want to attract the disgruntled CCL Passengers with the VIFP program which according to John Heald was brilliant

[Shooraq]

Call back and try with a different agent. You should be able to use the WOW sale booking by phone - I've done it many times and prefer it because the invoice properly reflects the OBC and reduced deposit. (When you book it online, it takes them a week or so to manually apply the discount and update your invoice). (Unless they've changed the rule this time around)

 

 

The WOW sale is also useful for those loyalists who don't always book balcony cabins. I've used it several times to book a bonus cruise in an inside cabin.

 

Not all sales apply to everyone. We have the freedom to pick and choose the discounts that give us the best deal.

 

Exactly. I am Diamond, but almost never get balconies. So if I don't have a certificate ready to go, I use WOW sale to get an inside room because it offers the OBC.

[The Big Booper]

Maybe they want to attract the disgruntled CCL Passengers with the VIFP program which according to John Heald was brilliant

 

John is a gasbag.:D

 

We always spend an hour on board booking our next cruise(es). On our upcoming Brilliance b2b, booked last year, we got D+ balcony discounts totaling $600 since we booked far out plus OBC for both legs. We always make the appointment for an early seaday, since the LA's calendar gets full by the ending portion of the trip.

 

The wow is wowless for us.

[cruisenfever]

Which is why we always make sure we have at least two NCC's in hand (or at home) when we get off the ship at the end of a cruise. That way we can WOW ourselves when a good deal pops up:)without ever dealing with an RCL "sale";)

You betcha and we do the same. :p

 

Now, if we had only created more NC bookings back in 2008 we could really WOW ourselves now!:D

[janetz]

This is a change from last year when I booked a TA cruise during the WOW. I booked through the C & A desk & was told you ALWAYS get your C&A balcony discount as it is a ongoing membership benefit & has nothing to do with the sale. The only discounts not combinable with the WOW OBC were the certificates & shareholders discount. So before you give up call the C&A desk & you may find out the balcony discount is combinable. Unfortunately you can get 3 different answers if you call 3 different agents on their regular res line. Also some travel agents are not as informed as they should be as there are so many promos they have to keep up with. In any case it is worth a shot.

 

You never save any money during the WOW. They always raise the rates during the sale so they are really not giving anything away. I booked during the WOW mainly for the reduced deposit as I was not able to book onboard & did not have a next cruise cert. I will be sailing solo & did not want to shell out $450 for a cruise over a yr off.

 

 

They do not always raise the rates. Our cabin on the Allure did not got up in price at all and we have 275.00

OBC. :)

[hcat]

WOW Sale for us was all fizzle--no sizzle!

 

 

Price was exactly the same as it was the day before the sale--all we were being given was a small shipboard credit & reduced deposit option.... we would not get the one category Diamond discount ,and we were told that if there was a senior fare or coupon offer in the future it would not apply..

 

so of course we did not book ....this was for a 2014 cruise so we'll take our time & probably stick with Celebrity which has had great pricing recently!!!

[grand isle joe]

........wipe the fog off your porthole, the economy is in the crapper.....:eek:.....RCCL stock has gone from buy to hold on Wall Street....they have to make a few bucks to pay their mortgage so I would suspect alot of the perks are being "re-assessed" and "re-aligned".....Have fun on Carnival.....I heard they have...ugh....introduced a new rewards program.....;)

[storm1of4]

I for one like the WOW sales.

We are D+ and cruise at least 3x a year,

We book on board usually.

However I like the WOW sales for last minute booking where I can settle on a date and ship and only pay half the deposit to hold it. I dont always want to spend the $$ for a Balcony so the D+ discount isnt always used

It's just another option.

Folk are always complaining!:rolleyes:

[kruzerci]

They do not always raise the rates. Our cabin on the Allure did not got up in price at all and we have 275.00

OBC. :)

 

We got a $100 price drop even after upgrading from an E2 to D1 on the first day of the wow sale.

[Debde]

We always spend an hour on board booking our next cruise(es). On our upcoming Brilliance b2b, booked last year, we got D+ balcony discounts totaling $600 since we booked far out plus OBC for both legs. We always make the appointment for an early seaday, since the LA's calendar gets full by the ending portion of the trip.

 

I have a question on this. I've never met with the LA on board because I have a TA I adore. I'd hate to not work with her and have her loose her commission. How does this work with the LA's??? Almost always I already know what I would like my next cruise to be. If I can get some OBC, keep my balcony discounts and my TA's perks-might be something I should look into.

[negc]

I have a question on this. I've never met with the LA on board because I have a TA I adore. I'd hate to not work with her and have her loose her commission. How does this work with the LA's??? Almost always I already know what I would like my next cruise to be. If I can get some OBC, keep my balcony discounts and my TA's perks-might be something I should look into.

 

You can book your future cruise while onboard and simply direct the LA to see that the booking is credited to your favorite TA. In fact, if you booked the sailing you are on, the next booking is supposed to be assigned to the TA who booked that cruise for you unless you specify otherwise. After you return you chould check with your TA to insure that he or she has received notice of your booking. By booking onboard you will received whatever OBC and lower deposit is involved and any benefits your TA may offer as well.:)

[Debde]

Thank you Negc.

Looks like I'll be making an apointment next cruise !!!

[QuickGold]

It stinks I cannot combine Wow sale with nextcruise bonus or balcony discount, but the reduced deposit is a big factor. I booked a cruise with Wow sale instead of nextcruise & balcony discount just because I didn't want to lay out $750 for my deposit for a cruise more than a year away.

[setsail]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Crown+%26+Anchor+Society&faqId=4235&faqSubjectId=340&faqType=faq

[Arzeena]

I woild have to agree that the WOW sales are to attract new customers.

 

I was in contact with our TA yesterday to price a cruise for next year. The discounts I receive as a loyalty member as well as that of which my TA can assign to me, far exceeded the WOW sale cost even with OBC. As far as reduced deposit, well that does not concern me, pay now or pay later, you still pay.

 

BTW, this is even without a next cruise voucher, as I forgot to get one on our last sailing.

 

I agree. As for the reduced deposits on the WOW sale, they came out be more than the "deposit" using FCC.