Is it worth booking on board

[bogofman]

We will be on the Navigator TA soon and are wondering what offers if any are likely to be offered for booking a next cruise onboard,

 

We are from the UK, would the terms be different for our booking , or would it be classed as a US booking

[Ken at the beach]

The only offer is the offer of OBC that can be taken on the cruise you are on or the cruise that you are booking. Your deposit is equal to your OBC as set out in the table below.

 

You would still be booking under UK terms and it would not be a US booking however I believe that they have allowed you the ability to make certain changes to your booking that you normally wouldn't be allowed to make. Also this is in US$ your would be in £ at whatever exchange rate they are using.

 

While the book on board is not as generous as it once was it is still nice to have a bit of OBC and the reduced deposit.

 

[George C]

I think its a great deal, we booked are last 3 cruises this way, on our April cruise we booked a 7 day and a 9 day cruise for 2017 in a GS, so we got 500 total on board credit, research your prices and cruises before sailing than book while on board, the amount you get depends on the type of cabin and the number of days for the cruise

[rtazz17]

Yeah its worth it..You have nothing to lose... Book anything(then move it to whatever you want once off the ship).. You get obc and only have to put like 100 down for each passenger and can cancel with full refund if done a couple months prior to leaving... We end up moving our cruise prolly 3 times due to schedule becoming clearer as date comes closer.Quick email to travel agent and done

[Pipo]

In our case, it has never been worthwhile. My TA has always offered us better perks than NextCruise. The only thing is the reduced deposit, but we really don't care about it, because you always have to pay full by payment date.

Note: our TA is in the USA.

Edited October 20, 2016 by Pipo

[bogofman]

Are there any UK cruises who have booked on board with any pro's or cons? for Uk bookings?

 

EG do we get the current US offers available or the UK offers ( what is available online)

 

As they can be quite different

Edited October 20, 2016 by bogofman

[lucymorgan]

we are from Australia. On a navigator cruise from Southampton in August there was an offer to book onboard and receive the amount of the deposit as on board credit for the current cruise or the booked cruise with any changes allowed. As we took the option to take the onboard credit against our current cruise on board charges, this meant that the booking was essentially free. If we didn't proceed with the next cruise it wouldn't cost us anything and if we did the amount we paid for the deposit would be discounted off the price. It was mentioned that UK bookings are more restrictive but I am not sure that Oz bookings are much better.

 

On returning to Australia, we asked our favourite TA what they could add to the benefits and they offered to take over the booking with a reduced price and additional onboard credit. We added on price protection (for about $100) because the booking is almost a year away but we lost the ability to make unlimited changes.

Edited October 20, 2016 by lucymorgan

[sky0000547]

I'm from UK and booked a Next Cruise on my last cruise on Indy last month. Just to note my Indy cruise was booked via a US TA.

 

When I booked my Next Cruise I had the option of transferring my booking straight to my US TA or if I keep it within RCI then it would be with RCI UK. I was told if it is US TA then I would be charged in USD but if RCI UK then it would be in GBP.

 

The offer at the time was 30% off and to be honest the overall costs is about the same without any offer as they normally jack the base price up then applied the offer. And I got the OBC for booking onboard.

 

I elected to transfer the booking to my US TA there and then and this was done by RCI during the booking as they already had all the TA details. My TA received my booking info immediately and gave me more OBC of their own.

 

Had I booked with RCI UK then I'm not sure how flexible it is as we all know RCI UK terms and conditions are very different to the US as there is no refund with cancelling etc. But the onboard advertisements do harper on about the flexibility on a Next Cruise booking.

 

With the current fall of GBP, I'm not sure now if having my booking with US TA is a good idea as I will be paying in USD. Had I booked with RCI UK then at least the cruise fare would be locked in GBP.

[Ken at the beach]

In our case, it has never been worthwhile. My TA has always offered us better perks than NextCruise. The only thing is the reduced deposit, but we really don't care about it, because you always have to pay full by payment date.

Note: our TA is in the USA.

 

You can still book on board, gain the few benefits and then transfer the cruise to your TA and get the benefits that they are offering.

[bogofman]

As we took the option to take the onboard credit against our current cruise on board charges, this meant that the booking was essentially free. If we didn't proceed with the next cruise it wouldn't cost us anything and if we did the amount we paid for the deposit would be discounted off the price. It was mentioned that UK bookings are more restrictive but I am not sure that Oz bookings are much better.

 

.

 

This sound interesting , as uk bookings we lose our deposits if we cancel or change to another deal.

 

what you are saying is.

 

Book onboard pay the $200 deposit then get the $200 onboard credit for existing cruise

 

Then if we cancel or change the booking we lose our $200 deposit but that does not matter since they gave us $200 and we would have spent that.

 

i will need to clarify this onboard as if there was a price drop later or better deal we could take advantage as we would not be losing our deposit, as would normally be the case in the UK, although if we did change we would still be $200 out of pocket as they still honour that as a deposit from the next cruise.

 

might be worth booking two we have planned and get $400 off our next cruise spend onboard:)

[maxsales]

In our case, it has never been worthwhile. My TA has always offered us better perks than NextCruise. The only thing is the reduced deposit, but we really don't care about it, because you always have to pay full by payment date.

Note: our TA is in the USA.

 

It is worth it. You have 60 days from the date of the booking to transfer an on board booking to your travel agent for those additional perks.

[CamaCama]

It is worth it. You have 60 days from the date of the booking to transfer an on board booking to your travel agent for those additional perks.

 

Good to know!

[Rala]

You can still book on board, gain the few benefits and then transfer the cruise to your TA and get the benefits that they are offering.

.

 

...and two sets of perks is better than one, right?:D

 

To answer the op's question... If you know or have an idea of want you want and you do want to book another cruise, then, yes, booking onboard is definitely worth it.

Edited October 20, 2016 by Rala
typo

[jc3443]

what you are saying is.

 

Book onboard pay the $200 deposit then get the $200 onboard credit for existing cruise

 

Then if we cancel or change the booking we lose our $200 deposit but that does not matter since they gave us $200 and we would have spent that.

 

This doesn't look accurate from the RC website. https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cas/onboardBookingBonus.do

 

From that page:

"A $50 to $500 non-refundable deposit per person is required to partake in the Next Cruise program when booking 5+ night voyages."

 

"Amount of Instant Onboard Credit ranges from $50 - $500 per stateroom and is determined based on category of stateroom and length of voyage (minimum 5 night sailing)."

 

So it looks to me like if I book an 8-10 night balcony cruise for my wife and I, I will pay $150 per person, so $300 total. But the OBC is $150 per stateroom, not per person.

 

You experts out there, does this sound correct? We are heading out for a 10 night Southern Caribbean cruise over the holidays and we may book another while we are aboard but I want to understand the deal!

 

Thanks!

 

Jim

[kruzerci]

I used to always book onboard, but now the benefit is so watered down and they've basically taken away the benefits of open bookings aside from reduced deposits.

 

I have two "old rules" open bookings that I will use, but I haven't booked onboard in quite a long time now. I've found it is easier and more beneficial to just use one of the big box travel agencies that offer far more onboard credit and occasionally perks like reduced deposit, prepaid tips, and free specialty dining.

 

Of course, you can always book onboard and transfer to the agent for the perks, but like I said, depending on the category and length of the cruise, its not worth the time you take out of your vacation anymore.

[reedl]

When booking onboard, the amount of credit received (whether on that cruise or on the next one), is EXACTLY the same as the amount of the total deposit.

 

I recently booked an Alaska cruise for next year on my recent cruise. I booked a GS and got $200 OBC on that cruise. My total deposit was $200.

 

So there is no negative to booking on the ship. You can make an appointment for the booking, and it takes less than 10 to 15 minutes to complete the booking. I always transfer it to my TA and get what they give me also.

 

My upcoming cruise I got $400 (GS, 12 nights) OBC from booking it on the last cruise, and got a lot of perks from my TA also.

 

Open bookings (where you do not specify a date) are useless now. I will not do them anymore.

[jc3443]

When booking onboard, the amount of credit received (whether on that cruise or on the next one), is EXACTLY the same as the amount of the total deposit.

 

Ok, that is what I was looking for. Thanks! It didn't look that way from the website. May have to just book another cruise then! ;)

[39august]

When you board or the second day, go to the Next cruise desk and sign up for a reservation in their book. RCI has been adding personnel to the Next Cruise area. With a reservation you will spend maybe 15-20 minutes to book your next cruise when you know what you want. Certainly doesn't take much time from your vacation!

[ubish00]

This thread has clarified a lot for me so...thank you for that.

 

I have one to add though....If I do a booking on board through Next Cruise, then transfer to my TA for additional benefits and then realize I have to change the date...how long is it good for. Within what time period from the booking do I have to take the cruise?

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Ken at the beach]

This thread has clarified a lot for me so...thank you for that.

 

I have one to add though....If I do a booking on board through Next Cruise, then transfer to my TA for additional benefits and then realize I have to change the date...how long is it good for. Within what time period from the booking do I have to take the cruise?

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

As long as you are before Royal's final payment date you can transfer the cruise. Theoretically you could keep transferring as soon as new itineraries are released in perpetuity as currently Royal does not have any restrictions stating the cruise must be used within a certain time period.

[lucymorgan]

This thread has clarified a lot for me so...thank you for that.

 

I have one to add though....If I do a booking on board through Next Cruise, then transfer to my TA for additional benefits and then realize I have to change the date...how long is it good for. Within what time period from the booking do I have to take the cruise?

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

If it has been transferred to your TA it depends on their terms and conditions. It was still worthwhile for me (even though I decided to pay an extra $100 for the TA 'change' insurance) Terms and Conditions are different in different countries and with different suppliers.

[lucymorgan]

This sound interesting , as uk bookings we lose our deposits if we cancel or change to another deal.

 

what you are saying is.

 

Book onboard pay the $200 deposit then get the $200 onboard credit for existing cruise

 

Then if we cancel or change the booking we lose our $200 deposit but that does not matter since they gave us $200 and we would have spent that.

 

i will need to clarify this onboard as if there was a price drop later or better deal we could take advantage as we would not be losing our deposit, as would normally be the case in the UK, although if we did change we would still be $200 out of pocket as they still honour that as a deposit from the next cruise.

 

might be worth booking two we have planned and get $400 off our next cruise spend onboard:)

 

Yes! Nothing to lose. :)

 

The only circumstance I can think of is if you were dedicated to a particular cruise on a particular date. In Oz there seems to be conditions about rebooking on the same cruise for a better deal - but if you are flexible this should not be a problem.

Edited October 21, 2016 by lucymorgan