booking the Allure after final payment?

[alaska_planner]

we're considering booking the Allure of the Seas, but have decided we'll gamble and wait until after final payment to book.

 

my obvious concerns are not being able to see all the shows on the ship because i won't be able to book them way in advance as well as being closed out of excursions.

 

has anyone done this on the Allure? that is, waited until after final payment to book your room?

 

if so, what was your experience in terms of savings on the room, getting in to see shows, booking excursions, etc.

 

by the way, we have one alternative - the Freedom of the Seas sails on the same day (on the western, while the allure does the eastern).

If we can't get the allure, we'll go for the Freedom. (obviously, both after final payment).

 

also, when is final payment? How many days before the cruise?

[setsail]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=After+You+Purchase&faqId=2688&faqSubjectId=323&faqType=faq

[f7prez]

We sail on Allure in 68 days. Final payment was due last week and entertainment reservations are not allowed as of today. This is our first cruise where we need to make reservations for entertainment, so I'm not sure how far out RCCL usually opens up the reservations.

 

I noticed the prices have come down to about where they were when we first book about a year ago, which is the lowest they have been. So there is a chance you will get a good deal. Not sure if they will go any lower, but I check it periodically.

 

Our biggest concern, and the reason we tend to book early rather than late, is because we want the best selection of rooms to choose from. Waiting until after final payment is due, you are essentially picking from those rooms no one else wanted.

[alaska_planner]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=After+You+Purchase&faqId=2688&faqSubjectId=323&faqType=faq

 

thanks - so 75 days.

i have to go mark my calendar to start checking the rates then :)

[alaska_planner]

We sail on Allure in 68 days. Final payment was due last week and entertainment reservations are not allowed as of today. This is our first cruise where we need to make reservations for entertainment, so I'm not sure how far out RCCL usually opens up the reservations.

 

I noticed the prices have come down to about where they were when we first book about a year ago, which is the lowest they have been. So there is a chance you will get a good deal. Not sure if they will go any lower, but I check it periodically.

 

Our biggest concern, and the reason we tend to book early rather than late, is because we want the best selection of rooms to choose from. Waiting until after final payment is due, you are essentially picking from those rooms no one else wanted.

 

so you were able to book the entertainment before, but now it's closed for booking? or it hasn't opened up for booking yet?

 

we've always booked our cruises WAY in advance - i've only been on DCL and we go for concierge suites, so those book up fast...

 

but in my old age, i've been stricken with sticker shock and have decided i'll only book cruises if they're a bargain....i'm just not willing to shell out the big bucks anymore...

 

we'll see...this is the first time i'll be on rccl (assuming i get a good deal) and the first time i'm doing the post final payment gamble...

 

this year the rates after final payment on lots of cruises were ridiculously low, so i'm willing to try my luck this time (i was really really really really really really bothered by the knowledge that the vast majority of the people on my cruise this year paid only $398 per person to be in the best balcony room on disney - when i was paying...well.....a whole lot more than that... a lot lot lot lot lot more than that.....fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, etc etc)..

 

anyway.....i'll see what happens this year....i'll either get a good deal on the allure...or on the freedom, or maybe i'll just do disney world and call it a day (i'll be in the states for a wedding, which is why all of this is in consideration)...

[Esmerelda]

We booked the Oasis two years ago in December after final payment (saved a boatload of money on it, my son basically sailed for free). I made our show reservations as soon as I booked and paid with no issues. We had a cabin toward the aft and could walk right to the end of the hall and out the door to those wonderful hidden decks that everyone loves. We also booked a specialty restaurant once we boarded with no problem.

 

I would definitely say booking AFTER final payment is a great idea. I've done this twice now and come out very well.

 

Happy sailing...:p

[Esmerelda]

Forgot to add: if you are a C/A member Platinum or higher, you will still get your discount off of the amount. :p

[seagoer55]

Friends of mine booked Allure last summer on a Tues. special...it was about 3 weeks before sailing...they were able to book shows with no problems...

[f7prez]

so you were able to book the entertainment before, but now it's closed for booking? or it hasn't opened up for booking yet?

 

 

It hasn't opened up yet. And from the other responses, it sounds like reservations can be made relatively close to daparture.

[alaska_planner]

We booked the Oasis two years ago in December after final payment (saved a boatload of money on it, my son basically sailed for free). I made our show reservations as soon as I booked and paid with no issues. We had a cabin toward the aft and could walk right to the end of the hall and out the door to those wonderful hidden decks that everyone loves. We also booked a specialty restaurant once we boarded with no problem.

 

I would definitely say booking AFTER final payment is a great idea. I've done this twice now and come out very well.

 

Happy sailing...:p

 

that's very encouraging!!! thanks!!! :)

 

Forgot to add: if you are a C/A member Platinum or higher, you will still get your discount off of the amount. :p

 

what does that mean? if you're platinum or higher, and you've already booked, you get any post final payment discounts off the amount you've already paid?

[alaska_planner]

Friends of mine booked Allure last summer on a Tues. special...it was about 3 weeks before sailing...they were able to book shows with no problems...

 

great!!! i'm very encouraged by the responses!!

and i was just playing with the current tuesday sale and saw that two interior rooms on the allure going in january would cost me $2000 less than the price i'm seeing now for the cruise we'd like to go on. Of course that's january, but here's hoping!!

 

It hasn't opened up yet. And from the other responses, it sounds like reservations can be made relatively close to daparture.

so i guess the entertainment is opened up much closer to the cruise than the excursions! that's great!!! thanks!:)

[cruisinfanatic]

You're living on the edge if you hope to get a deal on those ships. Certain times a year, it may work out, but other times, you'll be paying more with less availability.

Don't worry at all about the shows. If you can't book online to get the ones you want, you just go straight to Studio B as soon as possible when you board. Have the shows you want in your hand with everyone's seapass numbers and they are yours as long as you are there asap upon boarding. That means as much before noon as possible

 

When do you want to go?

[alaska_planner]

You're living on the edge if you hope to get a deal on those ships. Certain times a year, it may work out, but other times, you'll be paying more with less availability.

Don't worry at all about the shows. If you can't book online to get the ones you want, you just go straight to Studio B as soon as possible when you board. Have the shows you want in your hand with everyone's seapass numbers and they are yours as long as you are there asap upon boarding. That means as much before noon as possible

 

When do you want to go?

 

yes, i know we're living on the edge!! :eek:

but as i said, i'm just not willing to pay a lot to cruise anymore....

and as i mentioned, i was truly annoyed on my most recent cruise this fall when the vast majority of the passengers paid only $398/person to be in the BEST balcony rooms....that was about an 80% discount off the pre-final payment rate...

and then some of the discount people upgraded to concierge for a few hundred dollars more (the majority of the people in concierge were the florida resident discount people)....

so i paid $8,000 for my suite, while they paid less than $1,500 (total, not per person) for the very same suite!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

so perhaps you can feel my pain from that cruise..

i vowed i would never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever pay full fare again...ever....ever...(and i've pretty much sworn off DCL as a result, since they only deep discount to florida residents)...

 

anyway, living on the edge can be fun...

the dates we would have to sail are in the second half of august....still the summer, but after all florida schools are back in session....so maybe there's hope....

i've done some dummy bookings and there's a lot of availability, but of course we're still very far away from the sail date...

 

in any case, this is the only way i'm willing to sail.....

the times they are a changing.... :)

[suizas]

We sail on Allure in 68 days. Final payment was due last week and entertainment reservations are not allowed as of today. This is our first cruise where we need to make reservations for entertainment, so I'm not sure how far out RCCL usually opens up the reservations.

 

I noticed the prices have come down to about where they were when we first book about a year ago, which is the lowest they have been. So there is a chance you will get a good deal. Not sure if they will go any lower, but I check it periodically.

 

Our biggest concern, and the reason we tend to book early rather than late, is because we want the best selection of rooms to choose from. Waiting until after final payment is due, you are essentially picking from those rooms no one else wanted.

 

Sailing with you in 68 days!!!

 

did you sign up for Meet & Mingle? I'm checking everyday for the entertainment options.. Have been on both Oasis & Allure and I know the last time we were able to book about 3 months in advance; strange, as it seems there is no real set time frame for this.

[Beth C]

Even if the shows are all booked up by the time you book - just head to Studio B when you get on board and get your shows then. They keep a certain amount of seats for those that don't pre-book.

 

There are some great rates for O & A in January - ex: Jan 13th sailing has a suite GTY for under $1400 if you're willing to play the game of guarantee bookings... some really nice rooms still showing available!

 

I'm pretty sure you wont see rates like that in August but one never knows! I have saved over $5k on our 5 inside/ocean view rooms for our next cruise just by playing the guarantee game :)

[alaska_planner]

Even if the shows are all booked up by the time you book - just head to Studio B when you get on board and get your shows then. They keep a certain amount of seats for those that don't pre-book.

 

There are some great rates for O & A in January - ex: Jan 13th sailing has a suite GTY for under $1400 if you're willing to play the game of guarantee bookings... some really nice rooms still showing available!

 

I'm pretty sure you wont see rates like that in August but one never knows! I have saved over $5k on our 5 inside/ocean view rooms for our next cruise just by playing the guarantee game :)

 

i'm assuming we'll have to go for guaranty and take whatever room they assign us! that sort of adds to the excitement of living on the edge...

but the truth is, i haven't a clue what's good and what's not on the allure, so i may as well let them pick the room for me, so that i won't kick myself for picking the wrong one..

 

before my most recent cruise i was always very careful to take a midship room, but on the new disney ships, concierge is all the way forward (a completely separate section of the ship).......i was terribly worried about cruising in a forward stateroom, but it was fine (sea-bands are truly a miraculous invention!!)...and that was despite hurricane sandy and some incredible rocking and rolling that had me wondering just how stable these tall ships are...

 

bottom line, i don't think it matters where on the ship i am, so may as well go for it! :)

[EGG]

Because my Cunard cruise was cancelled due to ship repairs we booked Oasis 2.5 weeks out for an Oct cruise. We had to book My Time Dinig but we cleared early dining immediately We were able to book 4 shows on-line except the comedy show although not all were are preferred time. We got to the ship early and got on the ship early because we are Platinum. Went right to Studio B where they give you a chart of when all the shows are. We kept one show and changed the other 3 to our preferred time. By 12 we were exploring the ship.

 

Can't comment on the price because 3 days later the ship was sold out.

We ended up with a forward OV cabin which was a long walk to everything but we loved it because it was much bigger than other cabins and you could hear a pin drop. We chose this ship because of airfare. We were also contemplating Freedom but the airfare was hundreds of dollars more.

[alaska_planner]

Because my Cunard cruise was cancelled due to ship repairs we booked Oasis 2.5 weeks out for an Oct cruise. We had to book My Time Dinig but we cleared early dining immediately We were able to book 4 shows on-line except the comedy show although not all were are preferred time. We got to the ship early and got on the ship early because we are Platinum. Went right to Studio B where they give you a chart of when all the shows are. We kept one show and changed the other 3 to our preferred time. By 12 we were exploring the ship.

 

Can't comment on the price because 3 days later the ship was sold out.

We ended up with a forward OV cabin which was a long walk to everything but we loved it because it was much bigger than other cabins and you could hear a pin drop. We chose this ship because of airfare. We were also contemplating Freedom but the airfare was hundreds of dollars more.

 

thanks - that would be my biggest concern, not being able to see the shows......i don't usually do port excursions, but i would be upset about missing the shows....so i'm happy to hear shows won't be an issue..

 

as for dining, my time dining would be fine...it will provide more flexibility for the shows....and there are so many places on the ship to eat, it shouldn't be a problem...i'm a vegetarian anyway, so any place i can get a salad and i'll be good to go! :)

[HaraldOslo]

There are some great rates for O & A in January - ex: Jan 13th sailing has a suite GTY for under $1400 if you're willing to play the game of guarantee bookings... some really nice rooms still showing available!

 

Huh? Am I getting screwed not being american? (Yes I know, we usually are) :-)

 

I'm looking at Allure of the seas, 13th january, Deluxe Guarantee (deckplan code: W), and it says (converted to $): $1711 per person, $3421 for 2 persons. $131 in taxes per person. So total, without gratuity, is $3684

 

:-o

[Esmerelda]

HaroldOsla - yes, I'm afraid that you are. The price on the Tuesday sale for a suite (category W so it could be anything) is at $1,379 per person.

 

alaska_planner - what I was trying to explain is that when you book a cabin after you are past final payment, they will give you your Crown and Anchor discount on a balcony cabin or a suite. You can only get this discount if you are Platinum or higher. I hope that helped explain it better.

:p

[denamo]

we're considering booking the Allure of the Seas, but have decided we'll gamble and wait until after final payment to book.

 

my obvious concerns are not being able to see all the shows on the ship because i won't be able to book them way in advance as well as being closed out of excursions.

 

has anyone done this on the Allure? that is, waited until after final payment to book your room?

 

if so, what was your experience in terms of savings on the room, getting in to see shows, booking excursions, etc.

 

by the way, we have one alternative - the Freedom of the Seas sails on the same day (on the western, while the allure does the eastern).

If we can't get the allure, we'll go for the Freedom. (obviously, both after final payment).

 

also, when is final payment? How many days before the cruise?

 

Just did this for the Allure in July. Most shows were showing unavailable online at times we wanted. Made a list of the days and times we wanted to see shows and booked once on board. Did this first thing when we got to our cabin on the interactive feature on the television. Got every show time we wanted. Can also go the show location about 20 - 30 minutes prior to show time and stand in a line for those without reservations. Most all do get in.

[Beth C]

If it makes you feel better... the Jan 13th W (suite) GTY price for Canadians is only $1369 ($2988 total) so the Americans are screwed out of $10 too ;)

 

It would be an amazing deal if you somehow got one of these assigned:

Sky Loft ($15448)

Crown Loft ($6128)

Grand Suite ($5348)

 

even picking your actual Junior Suite room would be $4088!

 

Definitely would be worth playing the game to save at least $1100 since you'd minimally be placed in a Junior Suite!

 

To the OP: remember that not all sailings have the GTY option - if it's a well selling cruise they most likely wont offer it. Since you're planning on a cruise regardless I would seriously consider booking a room and waiting it out - when final payment rolls around scope it out to see what's still available... if there's lots of availability, cancel the booking and hedge your bets.

[alaska_planner]

Huh? Am I getting screwed not being american? (Yes I know, we usually are) :-)

 

I'm looking at Allure of the seas, 13th january, Deluxe Guarantee (deckplan code: W), and it says (converted to $): $1711 per person, $3421 for 2 persons. $131 in taxes per person. So total, without gratuity, is $3684

 

:-o

 

i'm not in the US either, but you can force the RCCL website to reveal the discounts to you - at the top of the main RCCL page, at the top right you'll see your country.

Change that to the US and the discounts will magically appear.

Also, you can go onto other websites (like this one and cruises and expedia) to get the discounts.

 

HaroldOsla - yes, I'm afraid that you are. The price on the Tuesday sale for a suite (category W so it could be anything) is at $1,379 per person.

 

alaska_planner - what I was trying to explain is that when you book a cabin after you are past final payment, they will give you your Crown and Anchor discount on a balcony cabin or a suite. You can only get this discount if you are Platinum or higher. I hope that helped explain it better.

:p

 

thanks for the clarification!

[alaska_planner]

If it makes you feel better... the Jan 13th W (suite) GTY price for Canadians is only $1369 ($2988 total) so the Americans are screwed out of $10 too ;)

 

It would be an amazing deal if you somehow got one of these assigned:

Sky Loft ($15448)

Crown Loft ($6128)

Grand Suite ($5348)

 

even picking your actual Junior Suite room would be $4088!

 

Definitely would be worth playing the game to save at least $1100 since you'd minimally be placed in a Junior Suite!

 

To the OP: remember that not all sailings have the GTY option - if it's a well selling cruise they most likely wont offer it. Since you're planning on a cruise regardless I would seriously consider booking a room and waiting it out - when final payment rolls around scope it out to see what's still available... if there's lots of availability, cancel the booking and hedge your bets.

 

 

even if the allure isn't available, we can go on the freedom of the seas...

i'm going for the gamble this time..we'll see how it works out...

hey, i can always throw in the towel and go on DCL at the last minute maybe i can find a floridian to adopt! :rolleyes: