Benefits of Booking OnBoard

[PSU]

We are taking our first Regent cruise in January. What are the benefits of booking another cruise onboard? Smaller deposit?

Thanks.

[flossie009]

This page on the Regent website outlines the benefits: Onboard Savings Programme

 

Note that you do not have to wait until you are on the ship but can book with the same benefits up to 30 days prior to your cruise.

[UUNetBill]

What Flossie said.   😁

[ronrick1943]

Also when on the ship you can buy a certificate for a future cruise with savings-handy to have so when a cruise comes up and you're at home you can book with savings. (if you don't use, fully refunded within 2 years if not exchanged less $100 which was a OBC you get when buying certificate.

[rcandkc]

Ok...we have booked future cruises onboard many times and I understand the benefits.  I don’t really understand how future cruise certificates save you money.  I always felt they were just using our money.  I’m clearly missing something. 

[SusieQft]

21 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

 I don’t really understand how future cruise certificates save you money.

 

I would really like to know this also.  Perhaps they preserve the on board booking discount without a choosing a specific voyage while on board?  

[Travelcat2]

55 minutes ago, SusieQft said:

 

I would really like to know this also.  Perhaps they preserve the on board booking discount without a choosing a specific voyage while on board?  

 

Yes - it is pretty much this way.  Many times a person does not to select a specific cruise while onboard but would like the onboard booking discount so they purchase the future cruise certificates and get the benefits (except for the $100 obc.  Once they select a cruise, they use the money towards the cruise.  We have done this a few times and feel that it is worth it.

[RJ2002]

On our first Regent cruise, we purchased a future cruise deposit.  One of the things we valued was the ability to get the "onboard savings" benefit at a later date when a cruise was booked. 

 

However, we discovered that the onboard savings benefit is not available on all sailings. 

 

Case in point:  on the cruise to which we applied our deposit, the recently-completed Navigator Amsterdam-New York segment of the Grand Arctic Voyage, we were not able to take advantage of the onboard savings.  Instead, we were given a $200 OBC.  It is clearly spelled out on the letter you are provided when the FCD is purchased; however, we were surprised that the onboard savings window for this cruise was already closed over a year prior to sailing.

[rcandkc]

My confusion continues.  I’m not sure what the passenger benefit is except loss of use of funds.  I need more concrete answers/examples  to what I’m sure I’m missing. 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, RJ2002 said:

On our first Regent cruise, we purchased a future cruise deposit.  One of the things we valued was the ability to get the "onboard savings" benefit at a later date when a cruise was booked. 

 

However, we discovered that the onboard savings benefit is not available on all sailings. 

 

Case in point:  on the cruise to which we applied our deposit, the recently-completed Navigator Amsterdam-New York segment of the Grand Arctic Voyage, we were not able to take advantage of the onboard savings.  Instead, we were given a $200 OBC.  It is clearly spelled out on the letter you are provided when the FCD is purchased; however, we were surprised that the onboard savings window for this cruise was already closed over a year prior to sailing.

 

Some cruises are fully booked up two years in advance so they cannot offer them to people that have the future cruise deposit.  Some some reason, these are the cruises that we select.  Having said that, if you have a future cruise deposit, it behooves you to book the cruise of your choice as soon as it is available.

[DaveFr]

 My understanding is that after the onboard booking savings program was modified to be based upon suite category and length of cruise, it was made available to all cruises. Before the modification there were cruises with no one board booking savings.  See:  Onboard Booking Savings.

 

Dave

[jeb_bud]

13 hours ago, rcandkc said:

My confusion continues.  I’m not sure what the passenger benefit is except loss of use of funds.  I need more concrete answers/examples  to what I’m sure I’m missing. 

My memory on this is getting vague but as I recall we got the $200 OBC, future cruise discount and a reduced deposit(more than with an onboard booking but less than a regular booking). Also I think a watered down price drop protection. 

[flossie009]

17 hours ago, rcandkc said:

Ok...we have booked future cruises onboard many times and I understand the benefits.  I don’t really understand how future cruise certificates save you money.  I always felt they were just using our money.  I’m clearly missing something. 

 

Here is a copy of the flier distributed on board during our cruise in late 2018:

 

.......... and a copy of the "small print":

 

Sorry about the quality of these images - best I could do, I'm afraid.

Edited September 29, 2019 by flossie009

[rcandkc]

Thank you everyone...I now have better understanding.  

[SusieQft]

Thank you for the documents, flossie009.  That helps immensely. 

 

The fine print says, "In the event of cancellation, $200 per suite will be withheld from deposit refund plus standard administrative fee...."  I assume that would be the $100 cancellation penalty applicable to bookings in most suite categories.  If so, it is clearly not "100% Refundable for up to 2 years" as stated in the "large print," only 85% refundable.  Even if I concede that $200 of shipboard credit is equal in value to cash (which I don't), it is only 100% refundable for 30 days.  Sounds like you would need to be 100% certain you want to book another Regent cruise within 2 years to make this worthwhile.

[flossie009]

As usual with "small print" it is somewhat confusing and difficult to follow.

My reading is that the Future Cruise Certificate is fully refundable, without deduction, if not used within 2 years.

However, when the certificate has been "cashed in" to book a cruise and the guest subsequently cancels that cruise then $200 (+ admin fee) will be deducted from the deposit to be refunded. 

 

We try to book on-board rather than opting for the Future Cruise Certificate.

With the lower deposit we pay less up-front and also lock the price of the cruise early, avoiding future price rises. 

However I can see that the certificate might be attractive to those who are unsure of their future plans; albeit the potential savings are low compared to the initial investment, especially if you intend to book a short cruise in a basic suite.

Edited September 29, 2019 by flossie009

[SusieQft]

15 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

As usual with "small print" it is somewhat confusing and difficult to follow.

My reading is that the Future Cruise Certificate is fully refundable, without deduction, if not used within 2 years.

However, when the certificate has been "cashed in" to book a cruise and the guest subsequently cancels that cruise then $200 (+ admin fee) will be deducted from the deposit to be refunded. 

 

I read it exactly the opposite.  You get the full $2000 applied as the deposit on your future cruise booked within 2 years, and the cruise is also discounted by the amount of the onboard booking discount.  If you decide not to use the certificate, you get $1700 back.  Not fully refundable.  If anyone else knows which of these interpretations is correct, that would be helpful.

 

My issue is that Regent's future offerings are not listed out as far as Crystal's.  I have several Crystal bookings that pretty much fill up my time past Regent's current schedule.  I am doing a trial cruise on Regent to see if I like it as well.  If I like Regent, I will do more in the future on Regent in addition to Crystal, but probably will have to wait and see what they offer past 2022 before I know exactly what.  So for me, the Future  Cruise Certificate will probably not be worth the gamble.  The deceptive language in the "large print" is also a little too far over the line, IMHO.

[ronrick1943]

I think it's a great idea to purchase while on the ship, we plan to purchase the certificate because we never seen to find what we want as we book 1 to 2 years out.  This way we'll get some discount with the certificate in hand at home.

[flossie009]

12 hours ago, SusieQft said:

If anyone else knows which of these interpretations is correct, that would be helpful.

Best would be to seek clarification from Regent regarding the Ts&Cs for the Future Cruise Certificate before purchasing. The on-board Cruise Consultants are always very helpful.

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by flossie009

[Jonoro7]

A major reason, for me, to book onboard are the T&Cs.

I get US T&Cs on board but booking at home  I get UK ones with their savage cancellation terms.

Onboard discount when avaiable is circa 3% so not a major saving.