Newbe cheaper than Diamond

[EmmasNana]

I am pretty annoyed. In looking for a cruise for my hubby and his sister & hubby out of Miami I found an 8 night on Empress in JS's. With our discount the price was $2292 and zero OBC. Price for the newbe couple it is $2518 plus $300 OBC.

 

[luvcruising423]

basically they are paying for their onboard credit.

[HicksRA]

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten the full D/balcony discount on any booking. 
All Royal discounts/sales are smoke and mirrors. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by HicksRA

[Starry Eyes]

Is hubby sailing solo?  Sometimes solos are offered different options than doubles, especially can miss gty rates.  Might that be the issue? 

[Ocean Boy]

You could always choose to give up the C&A discount and take the OBC.

[cb at sea]

Annoying that they give more to a newbie than to a "regular"....happens with everything....cable tv...phones, etc.....fact of life.

 

[chrismch]

What do you mean by a Newbie price? Is it the best booking price regardless of whether you've cruised before? Or is it really stated "first time" cruiser price?

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, chrismch said:

What do you mean by a Newbie price? Is it the best booking price regardless of whether you've cruised before? Or is it really stated "first time" cruiser price?

 

She is complaining that by putting in NO crown & anchor number, one cabin looks like it is paying less than when she puts in her C&A number.

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

8 hours ago, EmmasNana said:

I am pretty annoyed. In looking for a cruise for my hubby and his sister & hubby out of Miami I found an 8 night on Empress in JS's. With our discount the price was $2292 and zero OBC. Price for the newbe couple it is $2518 plus $300 OBC.

 

 

By the way, there are two categories of JS.  J3 and J4.  They sometimes are priced differently.

 

Are the two cabins either both J3 or both J4?

 

[Merion_Mom]

She is right, though.  The $300 obc is a larger number than her Diamond balcony discount.

 

She has the option of declining the balcony discount and taking the OBC, of course.

 

And if she owns at least 100 shares of RC stock, she can get $100 OBC from that.

[NavyCruiser]

Can't they give you the exact same deal as the Newbe price, then subtract the $225 Diamond balcony discount off the $2518 price & you still keep the $300 OBC...?

[Merion_Mom]

10 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

Can't they give you the exact same deal as the Newbe price, then subtract the $225 Diamond balcony discount off the $2518 price & you still keep the $300 OBC...?

No, that is exactly what is annoying her.  She has to pick one or the other.  Or, in RC-speak, they are not combinable.

[NavyCruiser]

11 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

No, that is exactly what is annoying her.  She has to pick one or the other.  Or, in RC-speak, they are not combinable.

 

I thought that the $225 Balcony discount (for 7 nights cruise) was on top off the best avail rate....

Guess I'm wrong!

[iWillSailAway]

I experienced exactly the same thing today.  
 

Decided to book a quick getaway and the RCI rep was kind enough to let me know I had 2 options, either $100 balcony discount but no OBC or $100 OBC but no balcony discount, my choice.  
 

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.  

[Ocean Boy]

4 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

She is right, though.  The $300 obc is a larger number than her Diamond balcony discount.

 

She has the option of declining the balcony discount and taking the OBC, of course.

 

And if she owns at least 100 shares of RC stock, she can get $100 OBC from that.

Are you sure you can get the share holder OBC if they are offering a promotional OBC?

[suesnake2002]

But if you do the math the newbe is actually $74 cheaper. Yes they are paying for on board credit. But between gratuities, and an excursion or some drinks they use it. It is not a loss. 

So actually diamond room is$2292, and newbe after minus $300 is $2218. 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Are you sure you can get the share holder OBC if they are offering a promotional OBC?

Yes, the shareholder credit is now combinable with promo OBC or instant savings which are the two that the C&A Balcony discount are not. 

[truckswain]

This is why I don't understand all the negative comments about booking with Nextcruise while on a cruise.  You get the balcony discount, OBC and lower deposit.  Plus I always add $100 to $200 OBC from My Vegas without any issue.  

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, truckswain said:

This is why I don't understand all the negative comments about booking with Nextcruise while on a cruise

Mostly because they are non refundable deposits now.

[Ocean Boy]

38 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes, the shareholder credit is now combinable with promo OBC or instant savings which are the two that the C&A Balcony discount are not. 

I didn't know that, thanks.

[truckswain]

31 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Mostly because they are non refundable deposits now.

Tha is very true.  I guess knowing what you want is important.  We booked two new cruises on our cruise in January.  Made changes to both when we got home without penalty.  One is for 2021 and lots can happen between now and then.  Worst case scenario we are out $200 if we need to cancel.  

[CTCruiser76]

We priced our cruise and it was $4221 with C&A discount without any OBC or $4321 with $300 OBC without using our C&A discount, so a net -200 by not using it......it was a no brainer for us. 

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, truckswain said:

Tha is very true.  I guess knowing what you want is important.  We booked two new cruises on our cruise in January.  Made changes to both when we got home without penalty.  One is for 2021 and lots can happen between now and then.  Worst case scenario we are out $200 if we need to cancel.  

Yes, they do allow you to make changes up to 2 months after you purchase them without penalty. One positive feature. 

[Ocean Boy]

6 minutes ago, CTCruiser76 said:

We priced our cruise and it was $4221 with C&A discount without any OBC or $4321 with $300 OBC without using our C&A discount, so a net -200 by not using it......it was a no brainer for us. 

The only issue would be if there are any future price drops that you take advantage of you will lose the OBC if it is not a current offer at the time of the change. I am not sure if you could then ask for the C&A discount to be applied.

[Ourusualbeach]

43 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The only issue would be if there are any future price drops that you take advantage of you will lose the OBC if it is not a current offer at the time of the change. I am not sure if you could then ask for the C&A discount to be applied.

You can add the C&A discount at any time.  When they add it the cruise will be repriced to the current rates.