Free MBNA Cruise question

[Lorie]

I'm ready to book my free cruise with points from my MBNA card. Can anyone tell me if I am supposed to book it first and then apply for the certificate or apply for certificate first and then call to book? Any help is greatly appreciated. I am guaranteed an outside cabin but does anyone know if I can upgrade on my own when I book? Thanks so much. Lorie

[JENANDGENE]

You can basically book anything you want, however if the price is more than $2500 you will have to pay the difference and if the price is less you will just lose the value you didn't use. I don't think it matters which order the booking is done in, you can always call RCI and check.

 

~Jen

[CruisinDawn]

You can basically book anything you want, however if the price is more than $2500 you will have to pay the difference and if the price is less you will just lose the value you didn't use. I don't think it matters which order the booking is done in, you can always call RCI and check.

 

~Jen

 

Not exactly.. I suggest you do a search of MBNA and read a few of the old threads. For a free cruise you call Royal at 888-305-4626 to book then you must redeem the coupon prior to the final payment date. You will have to pay your deposit when you book but it will be refunded if credit after paying for the cruise with the certificate is still available. Each certificate has a max value as well as other factors determining the max value. You don't indicate which Free cruise your talking about so it might be in your best interest to read prior threads to get all the ins & outs of the certificates. Goodluck! We used 50,000 points on our Monarch cruise and went in a JS for just over $100 :D

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[prc]

Wife & I did a 3+4 b2b on the Majesty earlier this month. I paid for the 3 night as normal, but for the 4 night, I told the Crown & Anchor desk that I wanted to use 50,000 points for a free 4 night, what do I do. The told me that it was worth a max of $1000, so I could choose any room on the ship, and they would just deduct $1000 from the final bill (if the room was actually over 1000), otherwise it would be no charge.

 

I chose a SO, and it put the total at just over $1000. Since we had to book on short notice, I had to go ahead and pay the full ammount on the cc, call MBNA and request the certificate, ask over the phone for the cert. number, and call C&A back and tell them the number. When I received the cert., I faxed a copy directly to the MBNA desk, and I saw the $1000 returned to my cc the next morning...a few hours before I actually placed the original in the mail to them.

 

I was told on the phone by the C&A desk that the normal reservation system often makes the process more difficult than it need be. They said when cashing in points for free cruises or upgrades or onboard credits, it is always best to go through the C&A desk, as they work directly with the MBNA desk.

[ranchingal]

Thanks a million!!:)

[Bruin Steve]

I spoke with the folks at Royal Caribbean...and also with my Travel Agent...

Here's the basic route I took:

 

While onboard the Monarch in March, I spoke with Chris Hou, the Future Cruise Consultant...and told him exactly what I wanted to do: Even though the schedules weren't out yet, I figured I'd have the 125,000 points by July of 2007 and wanted to book a cruise for then (I currently have 102,800 points with lots of time to go)...

 

I didn't want to wait until I actually had the points to book for fear cabins would be limited and prices might be higher...Plus, I wanted to snag the additional onboard credit for booking while on the ship...

 

He recommended I book a longer cruise (because they often left the larger onboard credit attached to the reservation even when backing down to a 7-night cruise...and judging from later confirmations, this is what actually happened)...So, I booked a 10 nighter on another ship for April as a "dummy" and laid down a $900 deposit...(Getting a $200 onboard credit in the process)...

 

When the Liberty itineraries came up on the board ion May 1, I called a contact Chris had given me at RCCL corporate...and asked if I could transfer the booking using my TA and still use the points...He told me, yes, but the TA would only earn commission on the portion beyond the $2500 credit...That I could book, transfer the onboard booking to the new booking...and wait...When I redeemed my Visa card credit, I could then have it applied to my existing reservation...

 

I spoke with my TA...and let her know the commission scoop as well...She had no problem with handling the booking for me, knowing her commission would be incredibly minor...largely because I've booked with her for the past several years and have referred other family members and friends to her...and I was also booking a consecutive cruise on another ship with her (A good TA knows where she makes out in the long run and knows that every now and then you do some things that don't earn you an immediate commission)...But, it was important that I was up front with everyone on using the credit since I didn't want to run into any complications or bad will later...

 

But BOTH the cruise line and my TA indicated they were okay with this arrangement beforehand...

 

I booked a prime hump balcony cabin (#8338) on the Liberty of the Seas for $1650 per person for the June 30, 2007 7-night Western Caribbean sailing...a total of $3300...when I get the Visa card credit, that takes $2500 off the price...apply the $900 deposit I put down back in March and RCCL will owe ME back $100...My TA will make a commission only on the $800 of cruise fare that exceeded the "free cruise" portion...and I will get my $200 onboard credit...

 

So, for a net cost of $600, I'm sailing in a prime hump balcony cabin...

 

And, so far, everything has gone according to plan...I just need to spend another $22,200 (an average of around $2,000 per month) on the Visa card between now and "final payment" date next April...Knowing my family's spending habits, that will not be a problem...

[CruisinDawn]

Thanks a million!!:)

Hehe, that was easy.

 

Additional comments; Steve know what he is talking about. Make sure if your going to use a TA that your TA agrees to the transaction, they do not have to. Sure mine made nothing off of me on that cruise but I have booked several with her as well as recommended friends & family.

 

Steve: Interesting tatic you got from Chris :)

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Interesting thread. I've got the MBNA Mastercard for Norwegian Cruise Lines. You can use any travel agent or NCL directly to make a booking and then apply the cruise certificates towards the best price you can find. And the travel agent's commission is based on the fare you paid, not the net amount after the certificate values are deducted. As it was explained to me, the cruise line is getting the full money; it's just that part of the fare is being paid by MBNA in the form of certificates and the balance from the passenger. The cruise line accepts the certificates as payment but then they redeem them back to the bank (MBNA) that issued them. Now whether MBNA pays the cruise line the full $500 for a $500 certifcate or whether there is some kind of discount, only an insider would know!

 

BTW, when I compared the 3 major cruise line credit cards I found that the arrangement with NCL had the best deal. Don't know if these figures are still true or not, but when I compared a few years ago the following was true:

 

*to get a $500 off certificate with the NCL card, you have to spend $16,666.

*to get a $500 off certificate with the Carnival card, you have to spend $23,000.

*to get a $500-off certificate with the RCI card, you have to spend $50,000.

 

For those of you with the Royal Caribbean card, can you verify if this is true?

 

BobK/Orlando

[chumley]

I spoke to RCI about using our free trip coupon and they told me that it was worth up to $2500 but if the cost of an outside cabin didn't cost as much as that, then the coupon would only be good for that amount. Since I wanted to upgrade to a better cabin, I wanted the maximum value but the woman I spoke to said that wasn't the case. I like Steve's scenario better! I'll have to call back and talk to another person and see if I get a different response.

Leslie

[elleluv]

 

BTW, when I compared the 3 major cruise line credit cards I found that the arrangement with NCL had the best deal. Don't know if these figures are still true or not, but when I compared a few years ago the following was true:

 

*to get a $500 off certificate with the NCL card, you have to spend $16,666.

*to get a $500 off certificate with the Carnival card, you have to spend $23,000.

*to get a $500-off certificate with the RCI card, you have to spend $50,000.

 

For those of you with the Royal Caribbean card, can you verify if this is true?

 

You actually don't need to spend $50,000 to get 50,000 points with the RCL card.... We got 2,500 points when we signed up for the card and we get double points for our RCL purchases.... I don't know if the other cards offer those opportunities to earn additional points, but you need to take that in to consideration when comparing programs....

 

I don't know what the options are with the NCL or Carnival card; but yes, you can use 50,000 points for a $500 discount on a RCL cruise... I would never use that option though... You can get a $500 reduction on a cruise using 25,000 points if you do it right... You can either get a free companion fare on a 3-4 night cruise or an upgrade from an outside to a balcony on a 5-7 night cruise. Both those options have a $500 max value, which isn't difficult to use...

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

You actually don't need to spend $50,000 to get 50,000 points with the RCL card.... We got 2,500 points when we signed up for the card and we get double points for our RCL purchases.... I don't know if the other cards offer those opportunities to earn additional points, but you need to take that in to consideration when comparing programs....

 

 

elleluv, the NCL card earns points differently and kind of confusingly. Where you get 1 point per dollar spent on the RCI card, we get 3 points for $100 spent on the NCL card. However, the points necessary to get the prizes are far lower. We received 25 free points for signing up and purchases from NCL (cruises themselves, merchandise, shipboard account including gratuities) gets 1 extra point per $100 spent. To compare the programs I converted everything into the amount of dollars one has to spend to get the prize.

 

NCL's program only has $500-off coupons which can be used as a discount towards any cruise at whatever price you can find it for from any source. I had over 1500 points and received 3 coupons for $500 each and knocked $1500 off our Alaska 7-night cruise two weeks ago. I only had to contribute the $200 balance due on the cruise. To get 1500 points I had to spend that $16,666 x 3 = $50,000 in credit card purchases (or perhaps a bit less because of the initial bonus and prior NCL bonus purchases). That same $50,000 in purchases on the RCI card would only net a free 3/4 night cruise (not a bad deal) or a $500 off discount (horrible deal).

 

What's ironic about these two cards is that both come from MBNA.

 

BobK/Orlando

[Lorie]

Thank you all so much for the information. I can always count on you to find information quickly and accurately. I'll be sailing again in no time!

 

 

Lorie

[masterbaker]

I am very close to 50,000 points and am considering booking the 4 night cruise as a reward. (not enough time to reach 125,000 before points expire with our spending history). A Superior OV cabin seems to be less on most sailings than the allowed $1000 credit and a JS slightly more. The above responses lead me to believe that I can book the JS and pay the difference. Is that right? Also how would either the OV or the JS affect our C&A credits? Would we get a credit for sailing a cruise that was free (OV) or a double credit for the JS that was just a small upcharge depending on which we choose?

[debbie83]

Thanks to everyone who has posted here. What great info! Sounds like I'll be able to make out better than I had thought with my points.

[prc]

I am very close to 50,000 points and am considering booking the 4 night cruise as a reward. (not enough time to reach 125,000 before points expire with our spending history). A Superior OV cabin seems to be less on most sailings than the allowed $1000 credit and a JS slightly more. The above responses lead me to believe that I can book the JS and pay the difference. Is that right? Also how would either the OV or the JS affect our C&A credits? Would we get a credit for sailing a cruise that was free (OV) or a double credit for the JS that was just a small upcharge depending on which we choose?

 

At the time we used 50,000 points, (early May of this year), C&A told us we would book any room on the ship, and they would just deduct 1000 off the cruise fare (500 per person). We chose a superior OV, which for the sailing we wanted was 539 per person. We therefore paid 39 each in cruise fare, and about 30 each in taxes, fees, etc.

 

C&A said that if we had paid zero for the cruise fare, then the cruise would not have been elegible for a C&A point. However, since we did pay something (only 39) each, and the invoice showed this, it could not be consideded "complementary", and would be credited for a point.

 

It was credited to our C&A status.

[logan1_2000]

Always interesting to see how different people get different answers depending upon with whom they speak. I spoke w/ TA, offered to book directly w/ RCI/C&A if it was something she couldn't do (much like when using Frequent Flier miles for the air travel), but she was very familiar with the coupons for the "free" cruises. We're going to do the "free" 7 night caribbean, and TA has told me from her experience using the coupons that indeed, we can expect to get a $2500 credit toward the OS we booked for spring break '08, and I now see that I was right when I suspected TA would be paid on the commission over and above the $2500. We liked the 125,000 point award as the value of the award is 2% of 125,000.

 

I really like the tip of booking the longer cruise for a "dummy" booking, then changing to a shorter cruise to see if the larger on-board credit would stick! Will have to try that some time. We've got tow spring break bookings for '08 because we are not sure yet which school DS will be attending then--one ressie has on on-board credit (changed from a dummy booking but, sniff, not a dummy of longer than 7 days) and the other possible week is booked under the $99 new booking promotion for the just-released dates. When we find out which week, we'll merge the deposits and reservations to the appropriate week. We'll see if I can keep both the $99 credit and the $100 credit--but I am prepared if that chicanery does not work out.

 

Am also thinking of paying for the eventual cruise sooner, rather than later, to get the double points all counted, and then let the refund from the coupon reimburse me.

 

This is all a sign of way too much spare time.

[mdmourges]

I have read the fine print and the threads but it still seems to me RC sometimes does things that aren't according to the "script". Has anyone been able to talk them into accepting the $2,500 trip credit (125,000 points) against a cruise longer than 7 days and/or not in the Caribbean/Mexico? Thanks.

 

Mark

[Bruin Steve]

I have read the fine print and the threads but it still seems to me RC sometimes does things that aren't according to the "script". Has anyone been able to talk them into accepting the $2,500 trip credit (125,000 points) against a cruise longer than 7 days and/or not in the Caribbean/Mexico? Thanks.

Mark, I tried to do PRECISELY that...

Before finally booking the Liberty of the Seas, I spoke with two different people fairly high up the RCCL Food Chain...

My question was whether I might be able to use the points toward a $2,500 credit agaainst a Navigator of the Seas 14 night European sailing...

It only made sense...$2500 is $2500...

If I booked what I eventually booked...a balcony on the Liberty OTS for a 7-nighter, RCCL would only get the few dollars over the $2500...and I'd only maybe buy 3 or 4 low-priced shore excursions, 7 nights of drinks, etc.

BUT, if they let me take a credit against the Navigator Europe 14 nighter, RCCL would benefit by my paying the much larger difference--about $3500...plus I'd buy a lot more expensive shore excursions and 14 nights worth of drinks...and maybe a pre- or post-cruise package as well...

 

It's called leverage...They're "out" the same $2500 (not really, they're getting it rebated to them by MNBA on my credit card purchase fees)...But, they make so much more...

Instead, I took that extra money and am going on a second cruise, immediately following the "free" one--but on ANOTHER cruise line...

 

Makes sense to everyone but RCCL...

 

The best they could offer was that IF I wanted to take that Navigator cruise instead, I could cash the 125,000 points in as lesser credit awards...

Problem is that those lesser award amounts are based on a 1% return...So, the same 125,000 points would only get me $1,250 off a European cruise or a longer cruise...Why would I do that?

[powelweb]

So RCCL may be hesitant to apply the $2,500 on those longer cruises, even though I completely agree with your logic...