Transfer 'book later' Next Cruise reservation to TA

[icsys]

We have purchased a Next Cruise Book Later reservation on board.

We know that ship and sail date must be selected within two months of booking to receive the onboard booking bonus and within one year or it will expire.

 

I'm sure we were told there is a time limit from booking to transfer to an agent but can't remember what it was. Does anyone know?

I can't find anything in the Ts & Cs about this?

 

Thank you.

Edited October 18, 2022 by icsys

[Engineroom Snipe]

This is the official link from RCI concerning 'The Next Cruise Book Later" reservation.

 

19067112_NextCruise_BookNowBookLater_FAQs.indd (royalonboardsales.com)

 

There are two pages of FAQs sandwiched by sections of fine print. I have not found anything that defines a time limit from booking to transfer to an agent. The two main time limits agree with your understanding. The customer has two months from time of purchase onboard to declare a cruise in order to receive the onboard booking bonus. The customer has one year to use the onboard booking as a deposit on a cruise without receiving an onboard booking bonus. The customer does NOT have to complete the actual cruise within one year of onboard booking.

 

I hope this helps. There is much to read. I use the Next Cruise offer on almost every cruise I go on. If for no other reason, I can lock in a specific cruise and room up to one year in advance for only $200. This would be the same as spending $100 per person for a booking change. Worst case, I can just lose the $200 up to ninety days before the cruise.

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 hour ago, icsys said:

We have purchased a Next Cruise Book Later reservation on board.

We know that ship and sail date must be selected within two months of booking to receive the onboard booking bonus and within one year or it will expire.

 

I'm sure we were told there is a time limit from booking to transfer to an agent but can't remember what it was. Does anyone know?

I can't find anything in the Ts & Cs about this?

 

Thank you.

I forgot to quote you so you get a notification.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, icsys said:

We have purchased a Next Cruise Book Later reservation on board.

We know that ship and sail date must be selected within two months of booking to receive the onboard booking bonus and within one year or it will expire.

 

I'm sure we were told there is a time limit from booking to transfer to an agent but can't remember what it was. Does anyone know?

I can't find anything in the Ts & Cs about this?

 

Thank you.

The time limit is probably 30 days, the same as if you make a named booking; It used to be 60 but was changed to 30 in the fairly recent past.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, icsys said:

We have purchased a Next Cruise Book Later reservation on board.

We know that ship and sail date must be selected within two months of booking to receive the onboard booking bonus and within one year or it will expire.

 

I'm sure we were told there is a time limit from booking to transfer to an agent but can't remember what it was. Does anyone know?

I can't find anything in the Ts & Cs about this?

 

Thank you.

You have 30 days to transfer the booking

[Engineroom Snipe]

2 hours ago, icsys said:

We have purchased a Next Cruise Book Later reservation on board.

We know that ship and sail date must be selected within two months of booking to receive the onboard booking bonus and within one year or it will expire.

 

I'm sure we were told there is a time limit from booking to transfer to an agent but can't remember what it was. Does anyone know?

I can't find anything in the Ts & Cs about this?

 

Thank you.

This was really a great question. I have used Next Cruise, but they always used my existing TA as a default with the new purchase (as they were listed under my current cruise document onboard).

 

With a bit more research, I found another official document which does not contradict anything the first document stated. I do not doubt the more experienced cruisers time limit of thirty-days but I cannot find anything in writing or official policy.

 

Next Cruise Booking Website Terms and Conditions | Royal Caribbean Cruises

 

This document does state (under SECTION III, third paragraph) your existing TA would be automatically included as the TA unless you sign some paper authorizing otherwise. I cannot find anything to say how much time you have in this document to change your designation. The document does say it would be provided for you at the time of deposit onboard when the Next Cruise was created.

 

I try to find RCI's webpages and documents whenever possible. I know they can be wrong and changed so I do not treat them as infallible 🤣. Rather, I like to be able to reference them to RCI call centers or employees at the dock on embarkation day. This does not always mean I get what I want but it does show them that I tried as hard as possible to comply with whatever policy they published at the time.

 

If they say "No, we cannot transfer the Next Cruise to your TA after xxxx days", I ask to see where this policy is provided. I would appreciate you getting back to me if it is published somewhere.

 

Again, nothing lost by asking to transfer it. All they can say is "No", but they should also have something somewhere in writing. Arbitrarily changing customer contracts could be considered fraud. If the contract is vague, they should err on the side of good customer relations and correct the verbiage to make it clear. 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

This was really a great question. I have used Next Cruise, but they always used my existing TA as a default with the new purchase (as they were listed under my current cruise document onboard).

 

With a bit more research, I found another official document which does not contradict anything the first document stated. I do not doubt the more experienced cruisers time limit of thirty-days but I cannot find anything in writing or official policy.

 

Next Cruise Booking Website Terms and Conditions | Royal Caribbean Cruises

 

This document does state (under SECTION III, third paragraph) your existing TA would be automatically included as the TA unless you sign some paper authorizing otherwise. I cannot find anything to say how much time you have in this document to change your designation. The document does say it would be provided for you at the time of deposit onboard when the Next Cruise was created.

 

I try to find RCI's webpages and documents whenever possible. I know they can be wrong and changed so I do not treat them as infallible 🤣. Rather, I like to be able to reference them to RCI call centers or employees at the dock on embarkation day. This does not always mean I get what I want but it does show them that I tried as hard as possible to comply with whatever policy they published at the time.

 

If they say "No, we cannot transfer the Next Cruise to your TA after xxxx days", I ask to see where this policy is provided. I would appreciate you getting back to me if it is published somewhere.

 

Again, nothing lost by asking to transfer it. All they can say is "No", but they should also have something somewhere in writing. Arbitrarily changing customer contracts could be considered fraud. If the contract is vague, they should err on the side of good customer relations and correct the verbiage to make it clear. 

Booking a next cruise on board is no different than booking directly through Royal and follows the same published guidelines.  They did not feel the need to specifically include the terms with the next cruise certificate.

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Booking a next cruise on board is no different than booking directly through Royal and follows the same published guidelines.  They did not feel the need to specifically include the terms with the next cruise certificate.

 

Thank you.