Buyer Beware: Don't fall for Future Cruises

[Mikew0805]

Yeah, same question. What restrictions were you able to avoid by booking elsehwere? If you book via TA or RCI you don't get the onboard credit, which could run as high as $300 or more, depending on cabin. Therefore, I don't know why you think it's a better value. Besides, even when you book through a Next Cruise agent, you have 60 days to transfer the booking to your own TA. Not to mention that if the price drops before final payment, you will get the discount.

 

When I was on the Independence in March 2017, I wanted to book the Oasis in September. Then again I went to next cruise on the Oasis to book the Adventure the following Feb. BOTH times we were told the fare was non refundable. We asked if there was a higher fare that was refundable, and the answer was no. We got off the Independence, and booked the Oasis the same day we got off the Independence for $180 p.p lower than being quoted at next cruise AND it was a refundable rate.

 

When we got off the Oasis.. made our way home, booked the Adventure which was a solo cruise, for $40 less and it was a refundable rate as well. Even though... and this is only if I remember correctly the OBC was $50 for each sailing if we did it on board.. the Oasis was way better than that, and it really ended up being only $10 more for the Adventure, but I got to have a refundable rate.

 

Where I work, I need the refundable rate up until the final payment date. My boss and I have an agreement, that if I make it to that point, she will not ask me to cancel my days off.

[Mikew0805]

Unless you are booking a Grand Suite or better, you can still book non-refundable (albeit at a lower OBC) at the Next Cruise desk. This is no different than booking elsewhere, plus you get zero Next Cruise OBC booking elsewhere.

 

I will likely never sail in a suite. ;p However, when we tried to book an inside.. as I described above the Next cruise agent only offered non refundable rates.

[Mikew0805]

oops

 

 

What happened? LOL

[Clarea]

I will likely never sail in a suite. ;p However, when we tried to book an inside.. as I described above the Next cruise agent only offered non refundable rates.

The agents must be getting some sort of incentive to be less than open about the options. Sad.

[Mikew0805]

The agents must be getting some sort of incentive to be less than open about the options. Sad.

 

If that is the case, then that is sad. I just assumed (which is my fault) that it was correct, and was not for me.

[BillHana]

Yeah, same question. What restrictions were you able to avoid by booking elsehwere? If you book via TA or RCI you don't get the onboard credit, which could run as high as $300 or more, depending on cabin. Therefore, I don't know why you think it's a better value. Besides, even when you book through a Next Cruise agent, you have 60 days to transfer the booking to your own TA. Not to mention that if the price drops before final payment, you will get the discount.

If the price drops you you can change to the lower price but it may result is loss of the OBC. Just happened to me where OBC was reduced from $275 to $50

[Merion_Mom]

What happened? LOL

Phone misfire. ;p

[davekathy]

Phone misfire. ;p

Is that the same as a brain fart. ;p

[Biker19]

The agents must be getting some sort of incentive to be less than open about the options. Sad.

I wonder if asked directly about availability of refundable if they would straight up lie to you.

[nelblu]

I will likely never sail in a suite. ;p However, when we tried to book an inside.. as I described above the Next cruise agent only offered non refundable rates.

 

That is why I do my homework ahead of time. Many times I have better knowledge than those folks in next cruise dept. which is sad in itself.

[steveru621]

This penalty happens today no matter where you book.

[Clarea]

I wonder if asked directly about availability of refundable if they would straight up lie to you.

I would think it would depend on how the question was phrased. They obviously want to push non-refundable.

 

I think if a guest said something like "I know this fare has a refundable option, and if you cannot find it, I'd like to talk to your supervisor", then they would be able to suddenly find the refundable fare. But if the guest was not quite so direct and the agent had some wiggle room in the phrasing, I think they would fudge it. This is Royal Caribbean, and if there's one thing they are good at, it's being deceptive.

[nelblu]

I would think it would depend on how the question was phrased. They obviously want to push non-refundable.

 

I think if a guest said something like "I know this fare has a refundable option, and if you cannot find it, I'd like to talk to your supervisor", then they would be able to suddenly find the refundable fare. But if the guest was not quite so direct and the agent had some wiggle room in the phrasing, I think they would fudge it. This is Royal Caribbean, and if there's one thing they are good at, it's being deceptive.

 

Bob, that is not a guarantee that the supervisor will be knowledgeable.

 

For example, on our January Anthem cruise, I attended a presentation by a few officers & the Sales Manager (?) on the Anthem. The Sales person goes on to discuss new itineraries and others. One of them was Celebrity small ship and visiting the Galapagos. Then she touched on Oasis class ships and the neighborhood cabin perks. What caught my ears was the statement to the fact that CP balconies entitled all in the cabin to complementary lunch at Giovanni's or Jamie's.

 

I had a couple of CP bookings and only got lunch for 2. So I approached the sales person and stuck by the statement made. I tried correcting, but gave up.

[Clarea]

Bob, that is not a guarantee that the supervisor will be knowledgeable.

 

For example, on our January Anthem cruise, I attended a presentation by a few officers & the Sales Manager (?) on the Anthem. The Sales person goes on to discuss new itineraries and others. One of them was Celebrity small ship and visiting the Galapagos. Then she touched on Oasis class ships and the neighborhood cabin perks. What caught my ears was the statement to the fact that CP balconies entitled all in the cabin to complementary lunch at Giovanni's or Jamie's.

 

I had a couple of CP bookings and only got lunch for 2. So I approached the sales person and stuck by the statement made. I tried correcting, but gave up.

 

Sad, but true.

[Iamcruzin]

There seems to be a lot of red tape associated with both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean future cruise bookings. After reading many threads on this subject on both boards there seems to be more to lose than to gain especially when it is combined with OBC and promotions. I guess if you are retired or are a teacher and know your vacation weeks in advanced you can research prior to boarding. I would never waste my valuable cruise time at the future cruise desk reading all of the small print. I prefer how Princess offers future cruise credits. You fill out a form and drop it in the box. They are refundable and only cost $100 which goes towards your deposit for the next cruise which you can plan at home.

[karena1]

I'm a huge fan of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. I'd even say I'm loyal to the Royal family as you can see from my signature below, all my cruises have been exclusively on these 2 lines.

 

I'm very happy with the cruise experience, and I will continue to cruise these 2 lines. However, sharing my experience on booking future cruises while on board.

 

Experienced cruisers will know that nearly everyday, there will be flyers in your stateroom explaining amazing offers and benefits of booking your next cruise on board. They will also tell you that you can make changes to your cruise. However what they wont disclose is that this change is allowed free of cost, only for 30 days after booking.

 

After 30 days, you can make changes, but you incur a $100 change fee, per person.

 

I booked multiple future cruises in 2016 and had no issues changing them in the past. Now my remaining 6 future cruises have to either incur a $200 change fee, or I forfeit the booking amount if I can't take those cruises.

 

Hence, please keep in mind that this rule has changed and only book a future cruise if you are 100% sure that you're taking it.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

 

 

I am sorry about what happened to you, but the non refundable has been in effect for a LONG time already. You can book refundable, you just have to make sure you state that when you make the booking. I normally do the non refundable, as we don't change things, but on the last cruise I booked 2 refundable so I could make changes if need be and then will change them to non refundable to get the lower price. You just have to tell them what you want and then there are no issues (unless you are booking suites and then it is always non refundable).

[karena1]

The only advantage for booking on board is the OBC that comes along and I believe a lower deposit amount. Otherwise everything is the same whether booking thru a TA of RCL.

 

exactly! Doesn't matter if you book suites, inside, etc. Price is the same! I book on the ship to get the OBC. Don't care that much about the reduced deposit, doesn't really matter to me that much. I get home and watch the prices daily. If the price goes down I call and get the lower price. But you will not get a lower price at home (unless maybe through a TA group or something) than you get on the ship. Price is the same regardless. I have booked 95% of my cruises while on a cruise and not once has the price on the ship been higher than what I checked at home before I cruised.

[karena1]

I will likely never sail in a suite. ;p However, when we tried to book an inside.. as I described above the Next cruise agent only offered non refundable rates.

 

Then you should have talked to a different agent. I totally guarantee you can get refundable deposits when booking a Next Cruise! If they say different, call them on it and ask for a supervisor! Unless you are booking a suite, you can get a refundable deposit cruise on any ship. When on Oasis in April I booked a refundable on both Symphony and Navigator just because I am not sure what we are doing -waiting for the 2019 President's cruise to be announced. Once I know, then will change them both to refundable.

[denamo]

For the latest cruise we booked through Next Cruise, which was January 2018, on the Oasis. The gentleman helping me was very explicit in his explanation of what it would cost to make a change and when. I was required to sign a form stating I understood this.

 

 

I did ask for a copy of this form. No problem. A copy was readily provided.

 

 

For those 30 days, I looked regularly to see if we could get a better rate. It wasn't to be had. Since then I've yet to see a better rate either. And none with the amount of OBC credit we received.

[Merion_Mom]

[nekzaadvakil]

My family of 4 (wife and 2 kids) have always sailed in a Grand Suite for less than $5k for 7 night Caribbean cruises. Try getting that rate with a Next Cruise purchase - you won't get it. I haunt the website and IF I find a deal I pounce. If I don't find a deal we do land based vacations. Will be on HOTS this September again for less than $5k in a GS. When I pass by the Next Cruise desk on my upcoming cruise I will waive my middle finger in the air like Mr. Bean and chuckle at the people who waste their time and treasure in there.

 

Haha that was hilarious!

[nekzaadvakil]

Here's the exact discussion and experience I had:

 

- The Future cruise expert mentioned that the main benefit of booking on board was that the deposit per person was only $100 - Perfect.

- They also explained that this deposit was non refundable, since they were offering on board credit - Also no issues.

- They then specifically stated that you can change your cruise (without mentioning that its free to change this in 30 days, and after that you incur an additional penalty of $100 per person)

- I even asked if we could change between Royal and Celebrity to which they stated that one could, but then you lose your perks.

- The TV in the stateroom also specifically stated that you could change your sailing and that the booking would be transferred to your travel agent.

 

- The Future cruise expert then requested us for some time to send us the booking confirmations to our cabin directly. So we didn't even receive the 1 pager with Terms and Conditions that many of you have mentioned. All we got back in our cabin was the booking confirmation (names of passengers on the first page, itinerary on the second page)

[sparks1093]

Here's the exact discussion and experience I had:

 

- The Future cruise expert mentioned that the main benefit of booking on board was that the deposit per person was only $100 - Perfect.

- They also explained that this deposit was non refundable, since they were offering on board credit - Also no issues.

- They then specifically stated that you can change your cruise (without mentioning that its free to change this in 30 days, and after that you incur an additional penalty of $100 per person)

- I even asked if we could change between Royal and Celebrity to which they stated that one could, but then you lose your perks.

- The TV in the stateroom also specifically stated that you could change your sailing and that the booking would be transferred to your travel agent.

 

- The Future cruise expert then requested us for some time to send us the booking confirmations to our cabin directly. So we didn't even receive the 1 pager with Terms and Conditions that many of you have mentioned. All we got back in our cabin was the booking confirmation (names of passengers on the first page, itinerary on the second page)

 

Good reminder to not rely on what a salesman says and to always check the terms and conditions for the details.

[mugtech]

Here's the exact discussion and experience I had:

 

- The Future cruise expert mentioned that the main benefit of booking on board was that the deposit per person was only $100 - Perfect.

- They also explained that this deposit was non refundable, since they were offering on board credit - Also no issues.

- They then specifically stated that you can change your cruise (without mentioning that its free to change this in 30 days, and after that you incur an additional penalty of $100 per person)

- I even asked if we could change between Royal and Celebrity to which they stated that one could, but then you lose your perks.

- The TV in the stateroom also specifically stated that you could change your sailing and that the booking would be transferred to your travel agent.

 

- The Future cruise expert then requested us for some time to send us the booking confirmations to our cabin directly. So we didn't even receive the 1 pager with Terms and Conditions that many of you have mentioned. All we got back in our cabin was the booking confirmation (names of passengers on the first page, itinerary on the second page)

 

exactly! Doesn't matter if you book suites, inside, etc. Price is the same! I book on the ship to get the OBC. Don't care that much about the reduced deposit, doesn't really matter to me that much. I get home and watch the prices daily. If the price goes down I call and get the lower price. But you will not get a lower price at home (unless maybe through a TA group or something) than you get on the ship. Price is the same regardless. I have booked 95% of my cruises while on a cruise and not once has the price on the ship been higher than what I checked at home before I cruised.

Even better, on the Anthem I went to the computers in the library and checked the website for free right before I went to Next Cruise. Do not need an online package to access the website for free.

[Clarea]

... The Future cruise expert then requested us for some time to send us the booking confirmations to our cabin directly. ...

After getting the details wrong a few times, we don't leave the Next Cruise desk until we have the written confirmations in hand.