flagger Posted January 3, 2007 #1 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Has anyone booked a cruise onboard since the NextCruise option went into affect? How long is the open booking for? How much was your non-refundable deposit? If you had a date in mind, could you use the nextcruise option or did you have to pay the applicable deposit then or when you returned. (eg. I was able to push my deposit due date last time I booked until the next credit card cycle began). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critterchick Posted January 3, 2007 #2 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I don't think the NextCruise program is available yet. It was announced by the LA on our December 2 sailing, and she thought it would be implemented in the first quarter of 2007, which has only just begun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitra Posted January 3, 2007 #3 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Found the following on the RCCL website Enhancements to Future Booking Onboard ProgramFor the cruise line's loyal cruisers, Royal Caribbean has devised the NextCruise option to ease the planning of a guest's next cruise. The new program allows vacationers enjoying a Royal Caribbean cruise to book their next cruise vacation without having to commit to a specific date or itinerary. By paying a nominal, non-refundable deposit, guests are eligible to receive an onboard credit to use on their next cruise. Royal Caribbean will notify the guest's travel agent when a NextCruise booking has been made and once the guest has decided on a sail date and ship, they can work with their preferred travel partner to process the booking. Deposits have no expiration and travel agents will receive full commission and revenue credit for the reservation. An additional enhancement to the future booking onboard program enables guests booking a future cruise while onboard a ship to retain their onboard credit for their next cruise vacation even if their travel agent applies their FIT reservation toward a group booking. Travel agents will be able to apply relevant group amenities to these guests. As for deposits for onboard bookings, I had to pay on board, they would not let me wait until I got home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flagger Posted January 4, 2007 Author #4 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I don't think the NextCruise program is available yet. It was announced by the LA on our December 2 sailing, and she thought it would be implemented in the first quarter of 2007, which has only just begun. Hmmm it was announced back in early December. I wonder if anyone has tried to book on board since the announcement who has a report? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramaqueen4lyfe Posted January 4, 2007 #5 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Would like to hear from someone who has current information for NextCruise bookings as deposits quoted above were pre NextCruise. Hi there, How's the hand doing. I'll be on Jewel next week and I intend to book so I'll let you know how much it costs me and how it's explained to me. Sheila. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyluvs2cruise Posted January 4, 2007 #6 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Hi there, How's the hand doing. I'll be on Jewel next week and I intend to book so I'll let you know how much it costs me and how it's explained to me. Sheila. My hand is doing better............thanks for asking. Not back to normal but, hopefully, will be soon. Enjoy your Jewel cruise. I'm anxious to hear the "real deal" about the new onboard booking process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFT_LOVER Posted January 4, 2007 #7 Share Posted January 4, 2007 (love the redial button) to get a knowledgeable person. Nextcruise in NOT in effect. The press release was an announcement of an idea. They have heard the thumbs down on $250 PP deposit, so that is one point being discussed. A new press release will come out when it will announce the start date, deposit amount, and what the OBC will be also. Since you do not have to book a specific cruise onboard they may just take the deposit of $250 PP for a one week cruise giving $100 OBC. If you book longer with your TA then they will charge the additional deposit for $450PP and you get $200 OBC. So we patiently wait................. Also, very interesting, as I asked if she read CC. She stated they are NOT ALLOWED TO. She asked if I post to Grocery store critics, gas station critics, and then went off the wall on Nirovirus that it is not cruiseship only! I told her to calm down that I never mentioned any of this & I agree with alot of her ideas, but give me a break. 5 phonecalls to get a correct answer? The other 4 had no idea what NextCruise was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted January 4, 2007 #8 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I inquired about this with the C&A rep on my cruise last week. She told me that it was not in effect, but that she had just been in a conference call about it. She told me that the deposit is $100/pp, non-refundable, and must be used in three years. She was not sure about what the benefits would be for that type of booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sueb Posted January 4, 2007 #9 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Just off the NOS . This option was not ineffect. We were required to pay 250.00/pp (750.00 for triple occ.) for our upcoming cruise in April. The only bonus for us was the 100.00/cabin (based on double occupancy of course) OBC. We did recieve our plat. discount on the pricing of our Balc cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyluvs2cruise Posted January 10, 2007 #10 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Any updates on NextCruise? Wondering when it is scheduled to take effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flagger Posted January 14, 2007 Author #11 Share Posted January 14, 2007 According to Cindy, the LA on FOS, NEXTCruise is to start in two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyluvs2cruise Posted January 14, 2007 #12 Share Posted January 14, 2007 According to Cindy, the LA on FOS, NEXTCruise is to start in two weeks. Thanks for the update.....................we'll check it out on Monarch Feb 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennztx Posted January 23, 2007 #13 Share Posted January 23, 2007 I booked an upcoming 7 night cruise onboard a previous cruise, made the $250 pp deposit, and should be receiving a $100/cabin OBC. They told me if I transfer the booking to another cruise my OBC should move along with it. If I switch to a 5 night cruise is the OBC less? Any advice for making sure my travel agent who now holds the booking gets my reservations transferred correctly so that I keep the OBC. Do the travel agents see something in the booking denoting the OBC? Also, I had 3 cabins booked previously. If I book 5 cabins on the cruise I'm transferring to any chance they can get the OBC also? (all this was done pre-NextCruise) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidoBoy Posted January 23, 2007 #14 Share Posted January 23, 2007 This is the first I have heard of this program. They have always had a "book on board" program that gave you OBC on your next cruise. What is the benefit of this program. The one aspect that I noticed is that your deposit is non-refundable. If this is true then that is the difference. The current program allows you to book any cruise (shorter in length the better to minimize the deposit amount) then you can change it to whatever cruise you want on a later date and you get the earned OBC (as long as you keep the same booking number, as I have heard that is the key to the OBC). But if you decided to not cruise, you could get the deposit refunded back. This was my impression. I have been wrong before, but not yet this year. ;) What is so great about this new program. We are hoping to book a back 2 back for 2008 on our next cruise in two weeks. If I get news, I will share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nddomer04 Posted January 23, 2007 #15 Share Posted January 23, 2007 This is the first I have heard of this program. They have always had a "book on board" program that gave you OBC on your next cruise. What is the benefit of this program. The one aspect that I noticed is that your deposit is non-refundable. If this is true then that is the difference. The current program allows you to book any cruise (shorter in length the better to minimize the deposit amount) then you can change it to whatever cruise you want on a later date and you get the earned OBC (as long as you keep the same booking number, as I have heard that is the key to the OBC). But if you decided to not cruise, you could get the deposit refunded back. This was my impression. I have been wrong before, but not yet this year. ;) What is so great about this new program. We are hoping to book a back 2 back for 2008 on our next cruise in two weeks. If I get news, I will share. Ok, here's the advantage of this program.....You may put a deposit down on an itinerary that has NOT been released yet and still receive the on-board credit. So, this way, you are basically saying "I am going to be gonig on another RCI cruise in the next three years, I just don't know when." That is the purpose of the program.... For example....My wife and I are planning an Alaskan Cruisetour for 2008, but those dates probably won't be released until late April. Well, we are going on the Navigator in March. Obviously, we wouldn't be able to book the '08 Alaska cruise at that point and receive the onboard credit. Soooo, RCI is allowing you to put a deposit down and still receive the on-board credit, even though you didn't actually book the cruise. Without the NextCruise program, my wife and I would not be able to book the '08 cruise on the March cruise, and thus, we would not receive an on-board credit for booking on-board. I hope that all makes sense! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peagreenid Posted January 23, 2007 #16 Share Posted January 23, 2007 This sounds very much like the current FCC Future Cruise Credit Princess currently has in place and I LOVE IT! It really is a no-brainer. If you plan on sailing again, you pay $100 deposit and it is good for ANY future cruise, combinable with any other discounts etc. within a 4 year period. The SBC's Princess offers fluctuates based on Cabin, Inside or outside and length of sailing up to $150 per person. They also offer these with a SHARE THE WEALTH so that you can offer friends/family that didn't sail with you, the ability to book and also earn ship board credits. Smiles Patty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nddomer04 Posted January 23, 2007 #17 Share Posted January 23, 2007 This sounds very much like the current FCC Future Cruise Credit Princess currently has in place and I LOVE IT! It really is a no-brainer. If you plan on sailing again, you pay $100 deposit and it is good for ANY future cruise, combinable with any other discounts etc. within a 4 year period. The SBC's Princess offers fluctuates based on Cabin, Inside or outside and length of sailing up to $150 per person. They also offer these with a SHARE THE WEALTH so that you can offer friends/family that didn't sail with you, the ability to book and also earn ship board credits. Smiles Patty Yep, from what I hear, this seems to be the consensus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nddomer04 Posted January 23, 2007 #18 Share Posted January 23, 2007 According to Cindy, the LA on FOS, NEXTCruise is to start in two weeks. Hopefully, we should start hearing some info soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcviana Posted January 24, 2007 #19 Share Posted January 24, 2007 What is the OBC per stateroom for 5 day cruises??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seahags Posted January 24, 2007 #20 Share Posted January 24, 2007 ...forgive me if I've missed this is scanning the thread, but how will this address the different amounts of OBC? Some of the larger amounts (and they can be substantial) are awarded for booking longer, or often European cruises...seems to me that there'd be no control if it's just an "open" credit??? Even though the deposit amount seems to be smaller, JMHO that it would be outweighed by the advantage of a "real" moveable:confused: rez carrying the larger credit forward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnees Posted January 24, 2007 #21 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Just off the Serenade. I wanted to do this but this is what happened: I asked the LA, she said oh yes, we can do that. She proceeded to book me on a cruise (any cruise) as far out as she could get (April 2008) and then charged my cc the full deposit amount. Since it was a 10 day cruise, I was charged $1396.00. I would guess she had no clue what I was talking about. I will probably cancel this as it is not what I wanted. Too bad they really don't know what they are doing. They should not have announced the program until they were going to implement it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aprille Posted January 24, 2007 #22 Share Posted January 24, 2007 ...forgive me if I've missed this is scanning the thread, but how will this address the different amounts of OBC? Some of the larger amounts (and they can be substantial) are awarded for booking longer, or often European cruises...seems to me that there'd be no control if it's just an "open" credit??? Even though the deposit amount seems to be smaller, JMHO that it would be outweighed by the advantage of a "real" moveable:confused: rez carrying the larger credit forward?Hi, Eileen! How ya doing? :) What I have gleaned from this thread so far is that you will pay a $100 p/p NON-refundable deposit that is good for 3 years. Once you actually pick the cruise you want to take the deposit and OBC will be adjusted accordingly. If that's the way it works it sounds great to me! I'm on the Splendour tomorrow. Hopefully we will have a knowledgeable LA (yeah, right! :rolleyes: ) and I'll see what I can find out. More then likely we'll get an LA like Lynnees just described above. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flagger Posted January 24, 2007 Author #23 Share Posted January 24, 2007 That $1396 is such a weird number for a deposit when it should be $450 per person on a cruise of that length. I can only tell you what I asked and the LA on Freedom sent an emal and got an answer back that it would start in two weeks. We sailed on 7 Jan 07. I can only speculate that the OBC would be forfeited if you choose the NEXTCruise option. You pay a smaller deposit which is good for three years, but because they have no idea what length of cruise you will take the OBC will be nullified because the management of such would be impossible. Again that is only speculation. How does Princess do their open bookings with regards to OBC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynnees Posted January 24, 2007 #24 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Princess assigns your $50 for OBC however once you've actually booked the OBC changes accordingly. I know that amount is weird, but that seems to be what they charge for bookings above 7 days. I don't know where they arrive at that amount. I do know it's not what I wanted or was willing to do, however it's easy enough to deal with - I just have to cancel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aprille Posted January 24, 2007 #25 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I can only speculate that the OBC would be forfeited if you choose the NEXTCruise option.Then what would be the point? Why would anyone put down a non-refundable deposit with no incentive? My speculation is as stated in my last reply to this thread. You put down a small non-refundable deposit that is good for 3 years (or whatever specified time they determine). Once you select your cruise the deposit and OBC is adjusted accordingly. If you get no OBC why bother? Just book whenever you want with a fully refundable deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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