RCI perks for booking on board.

[Ought To Be Cruising]

Does anyone know what the perks are  for booking a future cruise while on board?  Do you think there maybe a better deal on Labor Day or would the on board booking be better? Thank you for your answers...

[rtazz17]

I do my own booking through on line travel agents. I have never found better deals on board vs booking through other ways on line. We always end up getting 2 balconies for at least $1000.00 less and 3-500 on board spending. 2 yrs ago we also got gratuities paid for as well. Easily 2k all together better then I ever could have done booking on the ship. I find no reason anymore to book on board. The perks have gone way down in the last 5 yrs or so.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, New Mexico 8 said:

Does anyone know what the perks are  for booking a future cruise while on board?  Do you think there maybe a better deal on Labor Day or would the on board booking be better? Thank you for your answers...

By waiting to book on board to pick up $100 in OBC for a 7 night cruise the price could have easily gone up more than that from the price it is today. Book now and watch for price drops. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[Cigar King]

My experience is that if you are already on board, especially when there is a sale (think Black Friday), you can book and get some additional OBC.  You then transfer this to your TA and get their perks as well.  In fact, Royal will do this for you if you tell them your TA.  

 

This is what works well for me, YMMV.

[jalves]

I'd go ahead a book now.  Then I'd re-shop it on board to see if the additional OBC is worth it.

[nelblu]

Also, another advantage is only requires a $100 deposit and if you cancel it's a smaller amount to worry about than the mandatory $250 per.

 

I do it as CigarKing mentioned, transfer to your TA and reap those rewards offered, if any.

[Hogbay]

When you are already cruising you can get a open booking for $100 per person and a $100 obc then When you return you can go through any body you like .😇

[Cigar King]

7 hours ago, jalves said:

Then I'd re-shop it on board to see if the additional OBC is worth it.

I'm not sure how this will work.  You can transfer the booking from Royal to a TA, but, you can not transfer a booking already made to the on board agents for Royal.  You may be able to cancel, and rebook though.  Especially since CWC is still around.

[orville99]

You can book it now and then re-shop it while you are on board if the price hasn't gone up. The OBC changes based on whether you book with a  non refundable or refundable deposit.

[jcc1025]

26 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I'm not sure how this will work.  You can transfer the booking from Royal to a TA, but, you can not transfer a booking already made to the on board agents for Royal.  You may be able to cancel, and rebook though.  Especially since CWC is still around.

We have a friend who is a very knowledgeable cruise travel agent. He advise you book a future cruise credit, not a specific cruise while on board which provides the credits. Then later when you decide on a cruise transfer it to your TA who can add the agency perks to the ones you get from the cruise line. He explained how all this works know and how the TA can provide credits while RCCL still does not discount the basic cruise fare between there site and the TA. 

[Hogbay]

When you are already cruising you can get a open booking for $100 per person and a $100 obc then When you return you can go through any body you like .😇

Found there Q,&A

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/faq/questions/next-cruise-onboard-future-booking?country=AUS

[JessyCruises]

Is the lower deposit still only for Non Refundable reservations?

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Canadian Disney Mom said:

Is the lower deposit still only for Non Refundable reservations?

Yes 

[Ashland]

I miss those (very) old NCC's we could buy onboard that had no expiration date. We would buy the max of 3 pp. So sad years ago when I used the last one.

[Coralc]

I still have one! And it has friends & family certificates.  We just have to find someone who wants to sail with us. 

[reney313]

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

I miss those (very) old NCC's we could buy onboard that had no expiration date. We would buy the max of 3 pp. So sad years ago when I used the last one.

Me too!  I wish I had bought more on our last cruise before it changed.  I just used my last one for a cruise in Sept 2022.  I've been holding on to it for awhile.

[tottenhamfc]

I am trying to understand this. If you book on board you get an OBC. If you book direct you sometimes get an OBC. In my case I lost my OBC when a cruise was cancelled by RCCL and I rebooked but the ONC was not transferred to the new booking. Is it the same with booking online? You lose your OBC if RCCL cancels your cruise?

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, tottenhamfc said:

You lose your OBC if RCCL cancels your cruise?

It depends on the kind of OBC. The on board booking OBC should carry forward if you L&S or somehow take a rebooking option, any online special OBC should not.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Biker19

[BecciBoo]

The last time we did that was on our last cruise...Allure Sept 2019, then Covid.  There are a lot more restrictions now than there were several years ago.  I always booked one then proceeded as JCC noted...but the OBC is not what it once was and there are time restrictions...now you have to name a cruise very soon after booking.  It WAS NOT an open booking at all.  When Covid started we had picked our cruise but then it was cXd.  My SIL never used hers at all, lost her $200 deposit...it was a big hassle.  Promised myself I'd never do it again, no advantage at all over just keeping a close watch on offers.  Even transferring to TA isn't the same anymore.  More often than not I only get $50 or so OBC, used to get paid Grats and tickets to eat...not anymore.

[nelblu]

16 hours ago, jcc1025 said:

We have a friend who is a very knowledgeable cruise travel agent. He advise you book a future cruise credit, not a specific cruise while on board which provides the credits. Then later when you decide on a cruise transfer it to your TA who can add the agency perks to the ones you get from the cruise line. He explained how all this works know and how the TA can provide credits while RCCL still does not discount the basic cruise fare between there site and the TA. 

Unlike the original "Open Bookings" don't the present ones have an expiry date.  I have one of the originals that's 8+ years old.

[jcc1025]

12 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Unlike the original "Open Bookings" don't the present ones have an expiry date.  I have one of the originals that's 8+ years old.

The current program is for a booking within the next twelve months. At that point you can book out as far as they are open so in the past we would wait about 10 months then book a cruise that was a year out. Since we go about every 2 to 2 1/5 years it works for us. We will book one this month then sometime in mid 2022 book a cruise for fall 2023, then transfer the booking to the TA and they give us the add on perks from their company. 

 

[SRF]

On 8/2/2021 at 10:04 AM, Cigar King said:

My experience is that if you are already on board, especially when there is a sale (think Black Friday), you can book and get some additional OBC.  You then transfer this to your TA and get their perks as well.  In fact, Royal will do this for you if you tell them your TA.  

 

This is what works well for me, YMMV.

 

If you are on a cruise booked through a TA, they will automatically transfer to that TA.  You have to ask to have that NOT done.

 

I emailed my TA right after finishing the on board booking, and she already had it.

[nelblu]

On 8/2/2021 at 10:01 PM, Ashland said:

I miss those (very) old NCC's we could buy onboard that had no expiration date. We would buy the max of 3 pp. So sad years ago when I used the last one.

I've got one final one and waiting to use it on a 11 or 12 niter to get the max OBCs😀  At one time I had 6 of them.

Edited August 5, 2021 by nelblu