Offers received from Club Royale (Royal Caribbean)

[Robinhill]

hello to all....

 

have been sailing RC for a few years and are nearing "D+" status and often receive Military discounts when available just last year was introduced to the CR program.

 

currently am using a TA specializing in various cruise line casino programs.

 

last 2 cruises both 5 nighters (October 2015 and January 2016 on Brilliance of the Seas) dropped about $5k per cruise mostly playing BJ ($50+/hand) and Roulette ($50/spin) normally in casino 2-3 hours per visit was given free drinks/a spa treatment for my lady/a comped specialty restaurant dinner.

a couple of question and any feedback is appreciated....

 

when one receives a future cruise certificate is that for only me the gambler or does that include my lady who gambles about $100 per night ?

 

so if comped a free room/suite with the exception of any excursions we may book what other charges/fees (taxes/port charges etc.) would i be responsible for ?

 

lastly should i deal directly with CR or continue to use my TA ?

reason for this question ~ thru TA booked a 9 day July 2016 cruise aboard Grandeur and was told by TA that from my previous cruise i was getting a substantial discount ($3100) for an OS which sounded like a great deal although no OBC.

i then did a dumby booking on my own and found that with our current "D" status and a military discount available that the TA CR discount was basically the same price.

 

after reading this entire thread i am thinking that i will obtain our "D+" status and start looking at other cruise lines that SEEM to have a more generous well established casino programs in place.

Agree ~ Disagree am i right in my thoughts ?

 

thanks in advance for your thoughts and replies,

 

Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scott- Your cruise certificate should state that it is a cruise for two. It is free except for gratuities and the portfees/taxes. I am going on one with my grandson - a 4 day cruise "free" that is costing me $160 total for the two of us. Now keep in mind that this is for a limited period of time. On the back of the certificate it lists about 15 cruises within a 3-4 month period that you can use the "free" certificate for or you can book any cruise you want within the three month period and it will give you a reduced cruise. In my case it would have been $750 off the total of the cruise (i did not gamble as heavy as you did so yours might have been more). If the cruise you want is not on the certificate and you select one that is say $2000 for the two of you then you would take the $750 off or whatever discount they give you (may be $1000) or something.

Robin

[2004corvette]

Scott- Your cruise certificate should state that it is a cruise for two. It is free except for gratuities and the portfees/taxes. I am going on one with my grandson - a 4 day cruise "free" that is costing me $160 total for the two of us. Now keep in mind that this is for a limited period of time. On the back of the certificate it lists about 15 cruises within a 3-4 month period that you can use the "free" certificate for or you can book any cruise you want within the three month period and it will give you a reduced cruise. In my case it would have been $750 off the total of the cruise (i did not gamble as heavy as you did so yours might have been more). If the cruise you want is not on the certificate and you select one that is say $2000 for the two of you then you would take the $750 off or whatever discount they give you (may be $1000) or something.

Robin

on last cruise (January 2016) actually never received a cruise certificate was told by host that my play was greatly appreciated but that others far exceeded my loss therefore nothing else was offered to me.

 

i asked about the future cruise certificate so i can i can better understand the process in the event i receive one.

 

of course i really do not expect much as it appears many are not being compensated as they were in the past.

 

Robinhill i appreciate your response and yes i do realize that all tips/gratuities are out of my pocket.

[RFerrington]

Scott, if I understand your description of the booking you tried to make....if the price that you could have booked on your own and the price that the TA gave you are basically the same, then I think you should consider going directly to CR.

 

I ALWAYS book my cruises through CR and then transfer them to my TA..

 

As a general rule, I usually receive between 44 - 50% off the full retail price of the cruise...in other words, BEFORE any BOGOHO or whatever they are promo-ing at the time. So if they are showing BOGOHO (which is essentially a 25% discount) then you can expect to get another 18 - 20% ADDITIONAL discount from CR. Whether these discounts will continue after the new program is full implemented (if that EVER happens...) I do not know, but right now, that is typical.

 

Most TAs don't really know how to interface with CR. I happen to have one that does, but I still do all of my negotiations directly with CR and then transfer. It just seems to work out better that way.

 

As for cash rebates vs future cruise certificates, I have used both. I will admit that the FCC are extremely limited in their offerings. We were fortunate enough to have them allow us to convert one ($1000) to OBC for an upcoming cruise but they made it very clear that this NOT normally permitted and that it would not be repeated.

[2004corvette]

Scott, if I understand your description of the booking you tried to make....if the price that you could have booked on your own and the price that the TA gave you are basically the same, then I think you should consider going directly to CR.

 

I ALWAYS book my cruises through CR and then transfer them to my TA..

 

As a general rule, I usually receive between 44 - 50% off the full retail price of the cruise...in other words, BEFORE any BOGOHO or whatever they are promo-ing at the time. So if they are showing BOGOHO (which is essentially a 25% discount) then you can expect to get another 18 - 20% ADDITIONAL discount from CR. Whether these discounts will continue after the new program is full implemented (if that EVER happens...) I do not know, but right now, that is typical.

Most TAs don't really know how to interface with CR. I happen to have one that does, but I still do all of my negotiations directly with CR and then transfer. It just seems to work out better that way.

 

As for cash rebates vs future cruise certificates, I have used both. I will admit that the FCC are extremely limited in their offerings. We were fortunate enough to have them allow us to convert one ($1000) to OBC for an upcoming cruise but they made it very clear that this NOT normally permitted and that it would not be repeated.

yes basically same price from CR versus Crown & Anchor after all the discounts & promos applied.

 

thinking i will deal directly with CR to see what i am entitled to and then contact my TA to make sure we are on the same page and then transfer the booking to TA for any others perks if offered.

 

my future sailings will determine how much time i spend in the casino on RCL ships.

 

thanks for sharing your experiences RFerrington

[2004corvette]

thanks RETNAV for your reply......have to agree i think the TA is being rewarded so like yourself i will begin dealing directly with CR.....if that is not to my liking then time for another cruise line or just play in casinos ashore and enjoy my days at sea without the casino :eek:

[somerandomidiot]

thanks RETNAV for your reply......have to agree i think the TA is being rewarded so like yourself i will begin dealing directly with CR.....if that is not to my liking then time for another cruise line or just play in casinos ashore and enjoy my days at sea without the casino :eek:

 

I've had the opposite experience. Utiltizing a TA doesn't decrease what I get from CR. The TA takes the CR rate and then adds in additional OBC.

[Life is Good Cruising]

I book strictly through CR, IMO, using a TA, they are making commission, which I feel may be coming from my discounted cruise fare. Therefore, even though I am getting a CR rate, I believe that discounted cruise rate would be a little bit higher when using a TA. I could be totally wrong on my thinking but I enjoy having complete control on our bookings. Also when CR has special event sailings, CR members are put into their group bookings and some of my cruises are free :D We still have to pay for taxes and grats and we all know these cruises are not free :) , no more gambling, no more free cruises.

[somerandomidiot]

I book strictly through CR, IMO, using a TA, they are making commission, which I feel may be coming from my discounted cruise fare. Therefore, even though I am getting a CR rate, I believe that discounted cruise rate would be a little bit higher when using a TA. I could be totally wrong on my thinking but I enjoy having complete control on our bookings. Also when CR has special event sailings, CR members are put into their group bookings and some of my cruises are free :D We still have to pay for taxes and grats and we all know these cruises are not free :) , no more gambling, no more free cruises.

 

I guess you guys have a much higher % off than I do. I call the TA after I've booked with CR so the rate doesn't change. i send the TA the invoice, he looks at the pricing and just throws me additional OBC and/or things like dinner for 2 /spa treatment based on what i've paid. as far as control of the booking, if i need CR to make adjustments, all I do is hash it out with them first and then conference in the TA to have them say yes. it doesn't take more than a few extra minutes.

 

i've only gotten a completely free cruise once, and yes when it's free then the TA doesn't want it :P

[micruiser2002]

I just sailed on IOS and I got a certificate for an inside cabin but the latest sailing date is 9/16/2016. Or I can use $500 toward and sailing by 1/1/17. I really hope this is not how they plan to continue because we used to at least get 1 year to use our rebates previously. I work full time and cannot always plan so quickly to take time off. I also wonder how these transfer to the Celebrity program. Previously I could transfer my rebate to a Celebrity sailing from Casino Royale and from Celebrity to RCL.

[Artemus]

I'll soon be on Oasis and my wife and I will be spending a lot of time in the casino. When do they pass out the cruise certificates? Is it the last night?

I've gotten quite a few free (inside cabin) cruise offers from Carnival over the last few years and the letter (not a certificate) for the free cruise is always handed out the last night.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Artemus

[Bronx12]

I just sailed on IOS and I got a certificate for an inside cabin but the latest sailing date is 9/16/2016. Or I can use $500 toward and sailing by 1/1/17. I really hope this is not how they plan to continue because we used to at least get 1 year to use our rebates previously. I work full time and cannot always plan so quickly to take time off. I also wonder how these transfer to the Celebrity program. Previously I could transfer my rebate to a Celebrity sailing from Casino Royale and from Celebrity to RCL.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how many points did you have at the end of the cruise in order to get the "free" cruise certificate? Thanks

[micruiser2002]

I only play slots and it was a 5 night cruise and I had around 3400 points. Which is probably double what I normally play and I think in the old program I would have gotten a much better rebate. So far I am not impressed.

[Life is Good Cruising]

I'll soon be on Oasis and my wife and I will be spending a lot of time in the casino. When do they pass out the cruise certificates? Is it the last night?

I've gotten quite a few free (inside cabin) cruise offers from Carnival over the last few years and the letter (not a certificate) for the free cruise is always handed out the last night.

 

Majority of the time, certificates are handed out on the last night of sailing. I have seen people receive certificates halfway through a cruise because of the high number of slot points they have already acquired.

[Artemus]

Thank you, Linda.

[Life is Good Cruising]

Thank you, Linda.

 

My pleasure :)

 

Good luck in the casino!!!!!

[maryjaden]

I just spoke with CR about our Adventure cruise in November. I call about once a month to see about any new offers or discounts. Due to a reduction, I was able to get a $200.00 reduction on our Owner's Suite.

 

When asked about the new program, she said they did not have any more information officially other than they were going to have more offers for free cruises and higher discounted staterooms.

[Daghis]

I called Club Royale earlier as well to find out whether there was an attractive casino rate for my cruise next March. Although they did have a rate that would save me $53, it would require giving up the $100 NextCruise onboard credit.

 

When asked about the new program, she said they did not have any more information officially other than they were going to have more offers for free cruises and higher discounted staterooms.

 

Uh huh.

 

I hope that their new program, whenever it may appear, has something significant for the onboard experience because I'm totally unimpressed by the way they're handling free cruise offers. If they stick with their "New bookings only" requirement as listed on the free cruise certificate, since I book my cruises up to two years in advance, I'm very unlikely to be able to use them.

[Daghis]

Related to this thread, I have been receiving a few offers from Club Royale lately.

 

My latest one was a card in the mail offering a free stateroom (ranging from a Junior Suite on a few, select 3/4-night cruises, to an Interior stateroom on a single Allure of the Seas or a single Anthem of the Seas sailing, with a few other options in between those two extremes). There are only 17 particular sailings listed for the free stateroom.

 

Fortunately, they also say:

CAN'T MAKE IT?

WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED.

 

If these dates don't work for you, just trade in your offer for the amount of $1,750 and apply it to any future sailing date before 10/1/2016. It's that easy.

 

It does also include the fine print that says "Offer applies only to NEW individual bookings" and "Offer must be booked by 6/3/2016 and the booked cruise must sail by no later than 10/1/2016."

 

I appreciate the gesture, but it's very rare that I can plan something that soon in the future. As I noted above, I tend to book when the itineraries are first released or soon thereafter to get the best rates possible.

[maryjaden]

Hi Marc!

When I called today, I really wasn't expecting anything as the base price had only gone down about $10.00. So I was surprised at the $200 reduction. I am not sure if this had anything to do with the new program.

 

As I am not cruising until November, I hope we have new information by then or my play will be reduced in the casino. I just can't justify spending the extra $ if we don't know what the benefits will be.

[jshyoda]

I was recently on the Majesty sailing on April 29th utilizing a free cruise certificate I received from the February 2016 sailing. On the February sailing I also received a rebate of $1,700 not to count the upside that I had from the tables. Now roll forward to the Majesty sailing and of course I altered my level of play but it was still north of average hourly bet of $75 the first two days. The Casino Host on the second night of the sailing said that he would have a certificate for me the next night and I was like ok. Well on the next night he said that since I was playing a lower amount that day by betting $25 hands it altered it that I would need to increase the my bet to over $100 per hand. I then asked him if I did that what my reward would be and he could not tell me. Here is the problem with the new program. Other than the table winnings, comped drinks, and casino rates on bookings there really is no known upside to the player like there used to be. One can very easily wager for less per hour and hopefully still win more playing in the casino vs the offer of a free cruise certificate that has limited availability to most and ultimately is not free once you factor in the travel costs, port fees, etc. I will be on the Allure on the 15th of May, but already realize that the Casino Hosts know jack about the new program and that their focus is to get me to wager more per hour to help them on obtaining their known weekly revenue goal. My goal is to take more money off Allure than what I board with.

[TheTruthCanHurt]

You would have been better off, if you were going to cut your average bet by 60% to ask them not to track you ( I bet 150 or more per hand on roullette) sometimes I just sit there and bang black chips on one number but I ask them to take me out and not track me as it would drastically lower my average ( even if I only did it for one hour)

 

To be clear... No one knows anything about the new program. Not even club royale ( and they would know first) so it would be impossible for the hosts to do anything other than speculate...

[OTownNick]

Last week I called to inquire about possibly a new booking to see what offers I had. They said they could give me $375 towards a new booking. I booked a 3 night cause that made it $124 for the cruise fare. Not a bad deal. Yesterday I called about pricing a new booking on Harmony. First Josh told me I can get $375 off....then a few minutes later he said he found another offer for $950! Much better!! I told him I was wanting a GS in that case but I need to call wife and confirm her work sched. told him I would call back. I didn't hold cabin. 3 hours later my TA called to book and they re negged on the offer. Saying they calculated it wrong and it should be $375. I was pissed. We spent 30 min on phone and Eric said they can make it $400. I said no and I wanted to talk to the guy Josh I originally spoke with. No luck. Wanted a call back. Didn't happen. I'm gonNA call them again and keep trying...maybe I can split the difference and get $600 lol? I mean, I'm wanting a GRAND SUITE for gods sake.. not an inside! The GS rate is already really good so the $950 was the deal maker...that's all I want was what they told me originally

[OTownNick]

You would have been better off, if you were going to cut your average bet by 60% to ask them not to track you ( I bet 150 or more per hand on roullette) sometimes I just sit there and bang black chips on one number but I ask them to take me out and not track me as it would drastically lower my average ( even if I only did it for one hour)

 

To be clear... No one knows anything about the new program. Not even club royale ( and they would know first) so it would be impossible for the hosts to do anything other than speculate...

 

That's a great idea

[OTownNick]

CR wouldn't budge. $400 is all they would give me so I just went with a D-6 on Harmony 9/16/17...

[maryjaden]

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago. Our extended family is looking at going to Bermuda in June of 2017. I called to get pricing on the Anthem. After getting a price, she said I was able to get an additional $300 off. I needed to check with the rest of family, when I called back, I was unable to get that additional $300.