Booking your next cruise while on current cruise

[Deenie33]

Just curious what ppl think about booking your next cruise while you are on your current cruise. We were recently on a RCI cruise to Alaska and before we knew it we were booking our next cruise to the Panama Canal. RCI didn't have what we were looking for so they booked us on a Celebrity cruise using our last cruising agent (cruise.com). When we got home I went on line and did my research to see if we got a good deal . . . WE DID! No matter how I have tired, I can not duplicate all the promos that we received while booking on board. We were able to get pre-paid gratuities for 2, $300 OBC plus another $200 OBC per cabin, and the classic drink package for 2. Have other ppl encountered a better deal this way? I may just have to have a destination and range of dates in mind before I go on my next cruise - just to be ready!

[TeaBag]

We think it's the only way to go.

[jelayne]

Booking on board gets additional perks. We book on board but do not have the booking transferred to the TA of record for the cruise we are on. When we get home we check a couple of the large TA's to find the one offering best additional perks-primarily OBC or a group price then we transfer the cruise to that agent. You have 60 days to transfer the booking to the TA.

[Deenie33]

Wow. . . I will keep that in mind! Thanks!

[dazey]

We booked while on a Celebrity cruise and got the 123 offer which was good and transferred to our TA which we always use. Ihave never found a TA to add anything over and above what the Celebrityt offer is. I use AAA. Is that the problem? Just so I know on future cruise planning.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

I've booked onboard. I talked to the FCC and got the all details and then used my laptop to go online to verify the deal they were offering for booking onboard was the best possible. It was. We went back and booked it.

 

I didn't do any research beforehand but best friend was already retired and I wasn't yet but had four weeks vacation every year with no blackout periods. Since we were so open for dates we had multiple options from the cruises on offer and picked the one we most wanted to do.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[Tiggertastic]

We've booked our last 5 or should I say last 2 and next 3 whilst onboard, we too have not been able to beat the deal

[patty1955]

We booked while on a Celebrity cruise and got the 123 offer which was good and transferred to our TA which we always use. Ihave never found a TA to add anything over and above what the Celebrityt offer is. I use AAA. Is that the problem? Just so I know on future cruise planning.

The only reason I use a TA is for the OBC. I've transferred 3 cruises to a big box TA and received very nice OBC in addition to what Celebrity gave me. We usually book on board.

Edited July 15, 2015 by patty1955
After 50 years, still learning to type

[rotoal]

We booked our upcoming cruise onboard last October. I actually hadn't done any research, but the small non-refundable deposit was credited as an OBC, so that made our bill very low, and seemed an easy decision. We received the classic drink package and prepaid gratuities as perks. Sometime in December I saw that prices had dropped. I tried to upgrade from a veranda cabin to a concierge cabin on Summit for a very small upcharge, but would have lost our perks, so instead we kept the same cabin, for a savings of more than $200 per person, and actually received a small OBC from our motor club/travel agency. I did have to put down a larger refundable deposit. It will be interesting to see what onboard offers they will be making with the new BBB. My hope is that they will offer the best for the price of better - a girl can hope, can't she?

[cruiser1247]

That is the only way to book a cruise, the perks that you will get can't be matched by any other method bar none. If you watch the cruise pricing it goes up every month to a point were I have seen as much as a 60% increase in price.

 

The cruise that I booked on board for February 2016 is $1500 higher more than I booked on board.

 

On board booking is the only way to go.

[Pat&Paul]

I thought I read somewhere that you can get some perks for your current cruise when you book a future cruise onboard. Anyone seen this? :confused:

 

Pat

[Deenie33]

All this information is wonderful . . . I am convinced that this is the way to go as long as they keep the promos coming with OB booking. Not sure how to do the "transferring thing" once I book OB . . .but I'm sure I can figure it out. Sounds like I have time once I get home to work on the details . . . . This next cruise will be the first time we have ever done Concierge. I actually didn't realize that's what we were booking when we did it OB (still a novice at this) - However, the deal we got was still better by a lot than a regular veranda or the sunset veranda (which we LOVE). Thanks again for all your valuable input!

[crusingnut]

We booked onboard in Jan. We received $300 OBC, pd gratuities, & classic bev pkg for 2. In order to get all 3 perks had to book conceirge cabin. In addition we got $300 taken off our onboard acct on the cruise we were on at the time. We use the same TA so had it transferred to her. When we got home she sent us a revised invoice with reduced total by $1000/couple. In addition to another $150/cabin OBC bonus from X for previous sailing. Before our next cruise we will research which cruise we would like to take next so we are prepared. This was the first time we booked while onboard. Wondering whether the offers will be as appealing with the new promo

[kenevenpar]

That is the only way to book a cruise, the perks that you will get can't be matched by any other method bar none. If you watch the cruise pricing it goes up every month to a point were I have seen as much as a 60% increase in price.

 

The cruise that I booked on board for February 2016 is $1500 higher more than I booked on board.

 

On board booking is the only way to go.

 

Definitely not true. Some go up, and some come down, all based on supply and demand. The trend has been that for many cruises, booking early is better, but not always. Read the threads from people who after final payment see the prices drop, and they cannot get the lower pricing. Fun reading:D

[Deenie33]

Holy smokes! That is really good!

[phillygirl2400]

We booked onboard in May and received the 123Go and an additional $200 OBC (total $500 OBC) for booking onboard. When we returned home I contacted several online TAs that I had used previously. I wound up with a lower price for the cabin (a group rate) and an additional $500 OBC. I am very happy.

[Lastdance]

We booked onboard in Jan. We received $300 OBC, pd gratuities, & classic bev pkg for 2. In order to get all 3 perks had to book conceirge cabin. In addition we got $300 taken off our onboard acct on the cruise we were on at the time. We use the same TA so had it transferred to her. When we got home she sent us a revised invoice with reduced total by $1000/couple. In addition to another $150/cabin OBC bonus from X for previous sailing. Before our next cruise we will research which cruise we would like to take next so we are prepared. This was the first time we booked while onboard. Wondering whether the offers will be as appealing with the new promo

 

 

Wow! That is the most lucrative deal I have ever heard of...2,000 of the price of the cruise. Can you supply any other pertinent figures? Also which cruise and for how long?.....and I thought my DH and I were doing good! Congratulations! We weren't allowed to use the one by Celebrity for the past cruise because we booked onboard, but since it worked for you, I will try again. I guess you also received a cabin upgrade tioo, since you booked concierge class.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Lastdance

[ClaudiaB]

We booked while on a Celebrity cruise and got the 123 offer which was good and transferred to our TA which we always use. Ihave never found a TA to add anything over and above what the Celebrityt offer is. I use AAA. Is that the problem? Just so I know on future cruise planning.

 

You're not using the right TA! We use the one that has the same initials as this site. We can't mention it here but it's a major online TA.

 

We got the same kind of deal on our cruise booking with Celebrity and then we got additional OBC ($700 more!!) and upgrade from Classic to Premium beverage. Sometimes we book with the TA and get the same things Celebrity offers, and sometimes we just transfer over. We just kick ourselves all the times we didn't use a TA to get extra perks. We don't need a TA really, but we just use them for the perks.

[ClaudiaB]

All this information is wonderful . . . I am convinced that this is the way to go as long as they keep the promos coming with OB booking. Not sure how to do the "transferring thing" once I book OB . . .but I'm sure I can figure it out. Sounds like I have time once I get home to work on the details . . . . This next cruise will be the first time we have ever done Concierge. I actually didn't realize that's what we were booking when we did it OB (still a novice at this) - However, the deal we got was still better by a lot than a regular veranda or the sunset veranda (which we LOVE). Thanks again for all your valuable input!

 

Transferring is easy. Pick your TA and they will have you sign a transfer form. I always do it via email but you can scan them too. Depends on the TA you use. But it's an easy deal. Often you have to pay your final payment a few weeks ahead of the cruise, but it's no big deal to do that.

[hcat]

Interestingly...the thread titled "now that BBB is in place " has some related discussions about booking on board...not all positive and some seeking clarifications..,,.

 

our last two visits to future cruise reps not very productive...no deals or savings

Edited July 16, 2015 by hcat

[kiwi_sparkles]

Does anyone know if it's possible for UK residents to book onboard, and have their booking transferred to a US TA, or would they insist it had to go to a UK TA?

[HokiePoq]

I thought I read somewhere that you can get some perks for your current cruise when you book a future cruise onboard. Anyone seen this? :confused:

 

Pat

 

We saw this on the Infinity Jan. of this year. DH wouldn't let me go ahead and book and when we were on the Millie in April, the $500 OBC for a Galapagos booking was gone. I was not happy with him, needless to say. There were offers on some of the new combination cruise/tours/hotel packages in the spring. I went and talked to the reps but the cost of those made the credit not look so big.

I appreciate the comments all the posters have made and will look closer on our upcoming cruises.

X has a brilliant marketing strategy IMHO. Deals are offered on the higher rated cabins early on and the ship fills up with prices going up, not down. This make us feel like we've gotten the best available deal....which we have. I've been made painfully aware that this is not the case on other lines as a balcony cabin on HAL for my upcoming cruise has been sold for the same price as my inside cabin. It was double when I booked it over a year ago. Lesson learned: Book early with X; wait for HAL.

[crusingnut]

Wow! That is the most lucrative deal I have ever heard of...2,000 of the price of the cruise. Can you supply any other pertinent figures? Also which cruise and for how long?.....and I thought my DH and I were doing good! Congratulations! We weren't allowed to use the one by Celebrity for the past cruise because we booked onboard, but since it worked for you, I will try again. I guess you also received a cabin upgrade tioo, since you booked concierge class.

 

I must clarify it was $1000 less a couple from the TA, not per person. We did get an upgrade, I believe for "past cruiser". The extra $150 OBC came via email after we returned home, as a thank you for sailing our SA cruise. Which brought our total OBC to $450. We booked a 12 day British Isles cruise for July 2016.

[chemmo]

Last year we knew of two cruises we were looking at doing prior to our Summit cruise. So we got on board with our prices and arranged to meet with future cruises. Not one penny difference on either cruise!

 

Were we unlucky that we picked two cruises with no offers or is it because we are from the UK?

 

Needless to say we did not book on board!

[bertrande]

You're not using the right TA! We use the one that has the same initials as this site. We can't mention it here but it's a major online TA.

 

We got the same kind of deal on our cruise booking with Celebrity and then we got additional OBC ($700 more!!) and upgrade from Classic to Premium beverage. Sometimes we book with the TA and get the same things Celebrity offers, and sometimes we just transfer over. We just kick ourselves all the times we didn't use a TA to get extra perks. We don't need a TA really, but we just use them for the perks.

 

Out of curiosity, is this the same TA as the one on this link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/shipshop/ ?

 

We have always used the same one but am wondering whether we should be shopping around before transferring our next online ship booking as the one we have isn't exactly on the ball (albeit helpful enough when we alert her to possible promotions).