Booking on Board Not Always the Best Deal

[Tenderpaw]

All the cruise lines say that booking your next cruise on board is the best deal because you get the best price available plus an incentive, usually an OBC.  And until recently, that in fact seemed to be the case for us.

 

We were on a Royal cruise recently and we priced another cruise through our favorite travel agent and the same cruise with on board "next cruise" service.  The price on board with "next cruise" included a $200 pp OBC, but the price our agent quoted was $300 pp cheaper for the same ship, date, and cabin.  So, the cruise booked with our agent was $200 total cheaper for the cruise.  We left and went back on line to re-verify the price because we thought we made an error in the price request to the agent.  Nope.  The cruise priced through our agent was in fact cheaper. 

 

So, we went back to the "next cruise" person and priced it again.  It was indeed more expensive, even with the OBC.  We asked the person if they had Royal's best price and if the OBC was an extra incentive and were told "oh yes, this is by far the best deal available".    So i asked why our travel agent had the same cruise cheaper and was told whatever we priced, it wasn't the same and was told that wasn't possible.  Then we showed the Royal salesperson and it was obvious she wanted us to leave.

 

Just something to be aware of.  Honestly, we have never seen this before and we have booked a ton of cruises on board.  Maybe this was just an unusual circumstance but it certainly happened this time.  With the availability of internet, its smart to verify the on board prices are in fact "the best".  

[smokeybandit]

So...book with NextCruise, get the OBC, then have your travel agent reprice.

 

Easy peasy.

 

Unless you TA was quoting a group rate

Edited August 16, 2022 by smokeybandit

[villager70]

We always check our agent/site  price  & extras on lap top on ship before we go and get on board price. Even if we booked on board and get obc and transfer to agent the agencies benefits change as their price margin  may drop. Example our agency gives free tips and often group OBC and even onboard the obc etc may turn out to be  total priced more than our agency. Do your homework before  going into appt on ship

[mets123]

I once priced a cruise at home before I boarded a Royal ship. That afternoon I went to next cruise to book it and it was higher. I told the agent I got $75 difference that morning. She rechecked, and said she made a mistake, that she forget a discount. She fixed it and all was well. You probably had a bad agent who didn't want to admit a problem.

[OCSC Mike]

You will get the exact same price at NextCruise as you will if you go straight through the RC website.

 

Unless taking advantage of a TA-related rate (Friends & Family sale, group, etc.) or perk, the only differences are the OBC and reduced deposit (if they still have that).

Edited August 16, 2022 by OCSC Mike

[Tudy]

I have been in the situation where the TA's price was cheaper than booking onboard because the TA had a group rate. I was able to book onboard and then roll the booking into the group rate. Talk to your TA. If you visit Next Cruise early in your cruise, you can have an email conversation with your TA and know exactly what you can and cannot do.

[beardedladies]

I have a slightly different problem as I'm from the UK - the next cruise will quote American prices converted to UK pounds. This is not always cheaper! It is often worth checking the price on the UK site and seeing if it's cheaper before a visit to next cruise.

 

I'm on the ship now, but often next cruise just doesn't align with my booking habits.... I find it much easier to book when things come out or I see a good deal. Waiting for a cruise to book often means wither the price is higher or your choice of cabin is reduced.

[Big_G]

We were quoted a price more than Royals' website once. I kept asking how that was possible. I was so frustrated with the rep I got up to leave telling him forget about it. He finally said, "I can take out the insurance and gratuities if you'd like." After a ten minute argument turns out that was the difference. He added them in without asking. My head almost exploded. We really wanted that sailing and the OBC so we sat back down and booked it.

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, mets123 said:

I once priced a cruise at home before I boarded a Royal ship. That afternoon I went to next cruise to book it and it was higher. I told the agent I got $75 difference that morning. She rechecked, and said she made a mistake, that she forget a discount. She fixed it and all was well. You probably had a bad agent who didn't want to admit a problem.

Yup. Last time I Booked onboard I checked prices online myself first

[brillohead]

My travel agent can almost always beat a direct Royal price, because his affiliation has group rates on most sailings. 

When they say that booking on board gives you the "best rate" that's the best "rack rate" that you can get direct from Royal.  Group rates from a travel agent are different from "rack rates".  

[Ourusualbeach]

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

So...book with NextCruise, get the OBC, then have your travel agent reprice.

 

Easy peasy.

 

Unless you TA was quoting a group rate

You can still hbook on board and  have the booking repriced to the group rate, get the group obc, keep the next cruise obc.  The only downside is the booking remains non refundable. 

[Moltar]

Book onboard for the crazy low deposit and like someone else said reprice when you get home. Rather lose $100 bucks than $750 should I have to cancel.

[Tlbecker1]

2 minutes ago, Moltar said:

Book onboard for the crazy low deposit and like someone else said reprice when you get home. Rather lose $100 bucks than $750 should I have to cancel.

I agree!  Smaller deposit in case we need to cancel. And the OBC is nice too!

[karena1]

On 8/16/2022 at 7:27 AM, Tenderpaw said:

All the cruise lines say that booking your next cruise on board is the best deal because you get the best price available plus an incentive, usually an OBC.  And until recently, that in fact seemed to be the case for us.

 

We were on a Royal cruise recently and we priced another cruise through our favorite travel agent and the same cruise with on board "next cruise" service.  The price on board with "next cruise" included a $200 pp OBC, but the price our agent quoted was $300 pp cheaper for the same ship, date, and cabin.  So, the cruise booked with our agent was $200 total cheaper for the cruise.  We left and went back on line to re-verify the price because we thought we made an error in the price request to the agent.  Nope.  The cruise priced through our agent was in fact cheaper. 

 

So, we went back to the "next cruise" person and priced it again.  It was indeed more expensive, even with the OBC.  We asked the person if they had Royal's best price and if the OBC was an extra incentive and were told "oh yes, this is by far the best deal available".    So i asked why our travel agent had the same cruise cheaper and was told whatever we priced, it wasn't the same and was told that wasn't possible.  Then we showed the Royal salesperson and it was obvious she wanted us to leave.

 

Just something to be aware of.  Honestly, we have never seen this before and we have booked a ton of cruises on board.  Maybe this was just an unusual circumstance but it certainly happened this time.  With the availability of internet, its smart to verify the on board prices are in fact "the best".  

I know exactly what the price is before I go, then book with Next Cruise.  If it goes down when I get home, I reprice, but don't lose my OBC for booking on the ship.  Win/Win

[Arzeena]

On 8/16/2022 at 7:27 AM, Tenderpaw said:

All the cruise lines say that booking your next cruise on board is the best deal because you get the best price available plus an incentive, usually an OBC.  And until recently, that in fact seemed to be the case for us.

 

We were on a Royal cruise recently and we priced another cruise through our favorite travel agent and the same cruise with on board "next cruise" service.  The price on board with "next cruise" included a $200 pp OBC, but the price our agent quoted was $300 pp cheaper for the same ship, date, and cabin.  So, the cruise booked with our agent was $200 total cheaper for the cruise.  We left and went back on line to re-verify the price because we thought we made an error in the price request to the agent.  Nope.  The cruise priced through our agent was in fact cheaper. 

 

So, we went back to the "next cruise" person and priced it again.  It was indeed more expensive, even with the OBC.  We asked the person if they had Royal's best price and if the OBC was an extra incentive and were told "oh yes, this is by far the best deal available".    So i asked why our travel agent had the same cruise cheaper and was told whatever we priced, it wasn't the same and was told that wasn't possible.  Then we showed the Royal salesperson and it was obvious she wanted us to leave.

 

Just something to be aware of.  Honestly, we have never seen this before and we have booked a ton of cruises on board.  Maybe this was just an unusual circumstance but it certainly happened this time.  With the availability of internet, its smart to verify the on board prices are in fact "the best".  

We have seen it many times. Due to the fact that some TAs have a group rate on some cruises. Group rates come out to be cheaper and may or may not have amenities, for example one of TA gave some OBC and a specialty dinner, another had a smaller OBC and a cocktail party, another had no amenitites but just the lowest price, another had a higher deposit (refundable) etc .
The TA group rates may or may not be combinable with certain onboard offers such as OBC for booking onboard. This happened to us once, when we did an onboard booking and came back and wanted to go with the TA's group rate. We had to put some more $$ to the deposit, to make it a refundable and then be put in the group. Kept the OBC, just a higher deposit.

You do your math and book whatever offer seems best for you.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Arzeena

[notmyrealnameoremail]

On 8/16/2022 at 8:15 AM, Tudy said:

I have been in the situation where the TA's price was cheaper than booking onboard because the TA had a group rate. I was able to book onboard and then roll the booking into the group rate. Talk to your TA. If you visit Next Cruise early in your cruise, you can have an email conversation with your TA and know exactly what you can and cannot do.

 

On 8/16/2022 at 12:06 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

You can still hbook on board and  have the booking repriced to the group rate, get the group obc, keep the next cruise obc.  The only downside is the booking remains non refundable. 

 

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.