One Category upgrade issue and RCI shareholder benefits ruse?

[cookiersmom]

One of the benefits of Captains Club is the one category upgrade. But on our Alaska cruise for this coming summer, X has made the C3 $150 MORE than the C2, thereby eliminating the "benefit" of booking a C3 and then upgrading to a C2. Is this widespread? Seems like slight of hand since there are actually very few C3 on Millenium. I called X and the phone "supervisor" said this is "unusual" and to keep an eye on the fares and we can change if C3 gets to be less than the C2 we booked. But, seriously, this just seems like another "here's a perk, oh, wait, nevermind"

 

(another is that RCI shareholders are supposed to get on OBC, but these can't be combined with other OBC, and RCI tells us that ANY of the "get two of 4 perks" on ALL current bookings disqualify the shareholder OBC!!)

 

Input? Thoughts?

[ghstudio]

Actually, if you get any perk, even one on 'Good', you are not eligible for the stockholder credit....I asked this specifically when good/better/best was announced. Net is that you can only get that credit on a repositioning or transocean cruise where g/b/b isn't required.

 

Sometimes prices do seem strange....generally when they have an excess of something like C2's, they lower the price to move them...and they don't bother to change the C3 or other prices. This happens reasonably often when A2's are less expensive or equal price to C2's.

[az_tchr]

Have actually seen pricing less for Aqua cabins than Concierge on a couple of cruises. Agree the the shareholder credit is only good on a TA, TP or REPO cruise and even then there are minor deals on those that disqualify the $250 shareholder bonus. One should own stock in RCCL because you think it is a good value, not because of that perk.

 

And years ago there was not the totally confusing plethora of deals out there. Booked a Mexico cruise some 15 years ago and the shareholder deal was the only thing offered. Times change.

[bar_20]

My advice is to find out when and where the next shareholders meeting is and go and ask the question. Carnival does not do this. With the price of the RCL stock these days, they are making a ton of money. Another reason why my next cruise won't be on a RCL ship. :mad:

[81Zoomie]

The "perks" are not free. They are included in your fare. That is why you pay more to get more.

[MisterBill99]

So I don't think this question was answered. If I take the free upgrade from C3 to C2 for Captains Clubs members, does that disqualify me from getting the Shareholder Benefit OBC?

 

I haven't been able to use the benefit previously because I had special deals, or took the balcony discount on Royal. I only have the single perk on my upcoming cruise, or does that disqualify me as well? That real would be a sham, since it's part of the fare, it seems like you can't book without taking it.

 

If it doesn'tdisqualify me from using it, I want to make sure that taking the one cabin upgrade isn't going to break it. I'd much rather have the $200 OBC instead.

Edited July 31, 2016 by MisterBill99

[richh333]

RCL determines the price it or its authorized agents will charge us & the perks or OBCs offered. This process has absolutely nothing to do with our status as stockholders.

 

 

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[MisterBill99]

RCL determines the price it or its authorized agents will charge us & the perks or OBCs offered. This process has absolutely nothing to do with our status as stockholders.

Sorry, was that supposed to be in response to my question or some other comment made back in January?

[neverbeenhere]

It's not sleight of hand, a scam, a rip off, or a back door deal. It's just necessary to know the rules of the game to win the OBC sweepstakes. Remember you can frequently turn down a perk and receive the OBC instead.

 

The rules are easy.

 

1) know the rules

2) play by the rules

3) Pray for the best

 

:)

[cruisestitch]

The pricing anomaly comes from supply and demand, not any attempt to weasel out of a Captains Club benefit.

[BBsails]

In my experience (TA in 2016 and TP in 2017), it's possible to combine the shareholder credit with the Captain Club one-category upgrade. If you submit the request and it's not combinable, RCCL will give you the greater of the two benefits, so there's nothing to lose by requesting the shareholder credit.

 

Bon voyage

[neverbeenhere]

Ah... Yes, Basic Econ...

[MisterBill99]

It's not sleight of hand, a scam, a rip off, or a back door deal. It's just necessary to know the rules of the game to win the OBC sweepstakes. Remember you can frequently turn down a perk and receive the OBC instead.

 

The rules are easy.

 

1) know the rules

2) play by the rules

3) Pray for the best

 

:)

So I emailed them about my current booking and they told me that as a result of taking the "Good" offer I was not eligible for the shareholder benefit. I wrote back and told them what I thought of their offer :). I wasn't going to be able to get it anyway, since I have $200 OBC as a result of having made the reservation while on board (I've changed the cruise a couple of times but it still stuck to the booking).

 

That said, I disagree with what you're saying. Figure that the worst of the perks you can choose is $300 OBC or the free tips (depending on the cruise length). That is still going to be better than the shareholder OBC being offered for any length cruise. The only way to come out ahead is to book an inside cabin or a TA/TP that don't give the "free" perk as part of the base price.

 

I'd already resigned myself to not being able to use the perk on Royal since you get a balcony discount from C&A so I never even tried to get it on my past few cruises, which have been on Royal. But I had no idea that they'd changed everyday pricing on Celebrity in a way such that almost every booking no longer qualified for it.

 

I guess as a shareholder I should be happy that they're not giving away perks since it increases the bottom line. Maybe even makes up for the 6% drop in the share price today.

Edited August 2, 2016 by MisterBill99

[Cruise Raider]

The pricing anomaly comes from supply and demand, not any attempt to weasel out of a Captains Club benefit.

 

Precisely!! I have used the one category benefit on each and every cruise except the one time I loved the location of my A2 cabin and not the ones of the A1 cabins. Not sure it would even apply here ... just didn't want to be under the pool deck.

 

I once used my one category upgrade from a cat 7 to move up to a cat 6 -- it saved me a lot ... close to $200. It is more likely it is a savings of $20 - $40, though. But, every little bit counts.

 

For the OP -- just book the C2 and be happy about the deal. Why not?

The OBC for shareholders should not be affected by a one cat upgrade. Just make sure you don't book in a group or with any free perks. You are usually better off with the perks than you will be with the shareholder's credit.

Princess allows you to stack and combine your perks if that is more to your liking.

[Mparis184]

One of the benefits of Captains Club is the one category upgrade. But on our Alaska cruise for this coming summer, X has made the C3 $150 MORE than the C2, thereby eliminating the "benefit" of booking a C3 and then upgrading to a C2. Is this widespread? Seems like slight of hand since there are actually very few C3 on Millenium. I called X and the phone "supervisor" said this is "unusual" and to keep an eye on the fares and we can change if C3 gets to be less than the C2 we booked. But, seriously, this just seems like another "here's a perk, oh, wait, nevermind"

 

(another is that RCI shareholders are supposed to get on OBC, but these can't be combined with other OBC, and RCI tells us that ANY of the "get two of 4 perks" on ALL current bookings disqualify the shareholder OBC!!)

 

Input? Thoughts?

 

It is becoming impossible to get any stockholders credit when Booking cruises on RCCL. Regardless of your booking discounts Carnival extends the shipboard credit to their guests. They know how to treat their stockholders - Celebrity should follow their example but I won't hold my breath.

[ggroup]

If I have booked a S2 under the go best promotion, would I be eligible for a S1 upgrade at no cost since we are considered elite on Celebrity??

[Bo1953]

It's not sleight of hand, a scam, a rip off, or a back door deal. It's just necessary to know the rules of the game to win the OBC sweepstakes. Remember you can frequently turn down a perk and receive the OBC instead.

 

The rules are easy.

 

1) know the rules

2) play by the rules

3) Pray for the best

 

:)

 

 

I believe that sometimes 'we' never think about checking out pricing for sailings without the added 'perks' in order to determine if it is better pricing in order to gain access to the shareholder and other perks which are dependent on the 'purchased' perks at time of booking...

 

bon voyage

[MisterBill99]

I believe that sometimes 'we' never think about checking out pricing for sailings without the added 'perks' in order to determine if it is better pricing in order to gain access to the shareholder and other perks which are dependent on the 'purchased' perks at time of booking...

 

bon voyage

I booked a Celebrity cruise this week and when I was doing test bookings on their website I did not see any way to book without one of the perks. It defaulted to the $300 OBC if I didn't select anything. In any event, there is no scenario where the shareholder perks are better.

 

I suppose for Royal, passing up the balcony discount could be worth it; I haven't crunched the numbers.

[jelayne]

If I have booked a S2 under the go best promotion, would I be eligible for a S1 upgrade at no cost since we are considered elite on Celebrity??

 

No. Suites, Family Veranda's, Sunset Veranda's, C1's and category 12 cabins are not included in the 1 category upgrade.