Pointers - How do you get good deals/discounts?

[Sailor Gal]

I've read where some folks have received OBC, charge card points, own stock in cruise lines, etc. which gives them discounts or upgrades. I'm looking for a way to take advantage of existing means for obtaining discounts on future cruises or earning credits of some sort. Do you use special kinds of credit cards (ex. RCCL VISA)? Does repeat cruising on certain lines increase your chances of getting upgrades? Do you have any ideas or recommendations for achieving discounts or deals?

[CruisnGram]

I've read where some folks have received OBC, charge card points, own stock in cruise lines, etc. which gives them discounts or upgrades. I'm looking for a way to take advantage of existing means for obtaining discounts on future cruises or earning credits of some sort. Do you use special kinds of credit cards (ex. RCCL VISA)? Does repeat cruising on certain lines increase your chances of getting upgrades? Do you have any ideas or recommendations for achieving discounts or deals?

 

It's pretty much agreed that NCL has the best credit card out there, even from those who don't like NCL! :D

 

They give you 3% in points for every purchase made, and 4% if you use the card for NCL related expenses....to pay for your cruise, excursions, on board account, etc. 500 points gets you $500 off the price of a cruise. Yes, you do have to charge a lot, about $16,000 to get a $500 certificate, but that's much less then most cruise cards. And, if you do as many do, charge absolutely everything you can to the card (utiility bills, car payments, etc) and then just pay it off at the end of every month, the points add up very quickly.

 

They also do offer upgrades for lesser points but most agree that is a waste of your points as the upgrades are within a cabin category. You can't upgrade from an inside to an ocean view, or ocean view to a balcony, etc. So your best deal is to save those points for a certificate for $$$$ off a cruise.

[cb at sea]

No one is really sure how the rare "upgrades" are given. Frequency of cruising doesn't seem to have much bearing on upgrades! I've seen some 1st timers get nice upgrades, and guarantee bookings tend to get moved around a bit (not a certainty, tho!)

It's really best to book the cabin you will be happy in--because with a guarantee, they can put you in a rotten location, if thats all they have.

[arlodog]

I've read where some folks have received OBC, charge card points, own stock in cruise lines, etc. which gives them discounts or upgrades. I'm looking for a way to take advantage of existing means for obtaining discounts on future cruises or earning credits of some sort. Do you use special kinds of credit cards (ex. RCCL VISA)? Does repeat cruising on certain lines increase your chances of getting upgrades? Do you have any ideas or recommendations for achieving discounts or deals?

)

 

all of these things you mention are good, but expensive ways (i.e. stock)to earn credits. If you are certain that you will stick with one line then getting a credit card (i.e. RCCL, NCL ect) is a good way especially if you charge everything and just pay it off each month. The best way that we have found to get deals is to watch the prices and ask for credits/upgrades or OBC in case of pricedrops.

[Sailor Gal]

I'm not very savvy when it comes to earning airline miles, credit card rebates, etc. Thought maybe I was missing something obvious. Doubt I want to charge enough to get credit enough to bother with. We've cruised about 10 times and never got an upgrade........just wondering how some get so lucky! :) Keep those comments coming and thanks to all who've responded thus far.

[suezyq50]

I have two credit cards. I am using my Disney one now to offset the cruise in May. I currently have 87K pounts on my RCCL card. To me it is worth having the cards. I use it for every day things, including insurance, doctor, etc. I am able to use it for work related purchases, which add up quickly.

[Sailor Gal]

Thanks everyone. Looks to be more difficult than I had thought.........

[bobbyleduck]

You might want to take a look at the Celebrity 2-Day sale that ends today. It offers discounts on cruises, reduced deposit and OBCs. Another way to get OBCs is to buy 100 shares of stock in Royal Caribbean or Carnival. That can get you up to $250 in OBC, depending on the length of you cruise.

 

Now, for ways you can save money for your cruise, take a look at the following:

 

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS0107/806180317

 

Happy cruising to all who can still afford to cruise (and fly)!

 

Bob

[firefly333]

It's pretty much agreed that NCL has the best credit card out there, even from those who don't like NCL! :D

 

They also do offer upgrades for lesser points but most agree that is a waste of your points as the upgrades are within a cabin category. You can't upgrade from an inside to an ocean view, or ocean view to a balcony, etc. So your best deal is to save those points for a certificate for $$$$ off a cruise.

 

:rolleyes: Since I dont want to cruise NCL, its not the best to me. I have a RCL VISA card. They gave me enough points to open the card, that its enough to upgrade .... and unlike NCL, you go from inside to outside. 150,000 points (which I got to open the account) on a 7 day.

 

Or you can have $150 off the cruise or $150 OBC. Some took the points, applied them and closed the account. If you get enough points you can take a free cruise.

[WheresTheBuffet]

This has been talked about in other topics - getting refunds if the price of your accomodations goes down. My question is - how do you find out ?

 

Mine is probably a bad example since it appears a lot of you book your cruises many months in advance. But on Monday (6/23/2008) we booked our 7/26/2008 Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda cruise. We did it directly with Royal Caribbean over the phone. So I am now assigned to a specific oceanview stateroom for a set price.

 

And that's my question ... how do I find out if the cost of that room has decreased ? It's mostly for next time as I can't imagine a price change over a 1 month period.

 

While your contemplating that I do have an upgrade story. Last cruise was on Carnival Victory from NYC to Canada booked through Carnival over the phone. I can't remember the exact rooms but we had two cabins across from each other, one interior and one oceanview. About a week before departure we got a call from Carnival (and boy I'm glad someone was home) asking if we were interested in upgrading from two rooms to a Jr. Suite AND they would refund the cost of the second room. Needless to say after some discussion about 4 people and one bathroom we took it. Only hassle was on the phone we were promised a credit but after borading we were given an on board credit. By the the end of the cruise we were given a check.

 

Why they picked us ... who knows.

[BarbaraM]

Buffet -- if you book directly with the cruise line, just give them a call -- otherwise its really the job of the travel agent. If you book directly with RCL as I have before, (website) there is no other way to do it -- they aren't going to call you :)

[cruiserbryce]

just smart shopping...we really wanted to go on a short mex cruise this year and waited for a while to book...we got to see the rates flucuate a little so we knew at what point they were the lowest...we actually ended up booking our cruise this past April while on board another cruise last October...the fare was $169pp with a $50 obc for booking while on Vision...

[tomko2]

Best way to optimize points/rewards program is to stick to one credit card; we use our Visa for Aeroplan miles (Air Canada); everything we buy over $10.00 goes on our credit card. We always ask to use our Visa, e.g. at the dentist, etc. and generally it is no problem. With cruising, sticking to one cruiseline also increases your benefits; I only know RCI but it has an excellent reward program; after 1 cruise you receive a coupon booklet on your next cruise, a welcome back gift and an invitation to a special welcome back party. With RCI cruise credits vary according to the type of cabin you book, e.g. JSs and above get you 2 credits per cruise; check out their Crown and Anchor Society benefits on their website. The higher up you go the more benefit including discounts on your cruises for balcony level or higher cabins.

With hotels, you should always join the hotel rewards programs (free) and start getting benefits such as daily newspapers, etc. right off the bat. Check out Travel Advisor websites to get some guidance on hotels.

Drugstores usually have rewards programs which can lead to great savings.

If it is free to join --- join. If it costs to join, e.g. Visa Gold, then take the time to calculate your probabilty of earning rewards and the cost of doing so, e.g. annual fee.

Owning 100 or more RCI shares gives you access to OBC which again varies according to the length of your cruise. Info on their RCI Investor Website.

Booking a cruise while on a cruise also leads to OBCs.

Long response but actually I have only touched some of the benefits you can earn by joining rewards programs.

Kathy:)

[AllieInMD]

Look for the Tuesday sales for price drops - comes out/changes every tuesday - this is for existing reservations - way easier than doing a 'ghost booking'. If your sailing/cabin category is on the paper, you can call them (or your TA) and have the discount applied.

 

If you've sailed with RCCL before make sure you are signed up with C&A - you will get snailmail from them - and you can go online to your account and savings certificates are issued every quarter (next one is July 1 - tho I got them in mail already).

 

Also, for NEW BOOKINGS ONLY they fairly frequently have a 1-day sale - up to 11pm - you can usually find notice of these here on CC - someone posts.

 

weekly Tuesday sales - includes Resident & Seniors

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/promowave/RCL.pdf

 

 

This has been talked about in other topics - getting refunds if the price of your accomodations goes down. My question is - how do you find out ?

 

Mine is probably a bad example since it appears a lot of you book your cruises many months in advance. But on Monday (6/23/2008) we booked our 7/26/2008 Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda cruise. We did it directly with Royal Caribbean over the phone. So I am now assigned to a specific oceanview stateroom for a set price.

 

And that's my question ... how do I find out if the cost of that room has decreased ? It's mostly for next time as I can't imagine a price change over a 1 month period.

 

While your contemplating that I do have an upgrade story. Last cruise was on Carnival Victory from NYC to Canada booked through Carnival over the phone. I can't remember the exact rooms but we had two cabins across from each other, one interior and one oceanview. About a week before departure we got a call from Carnival (and boy I'm glad someone was home) asking if we were interested in upgrading from two rooms to a Jr. Suite AND they would refund the cost of the second room. Needless to say after some discussion about 4 people and one bathroom we took it. Only hassle was on the phone we were promised a credit but after borading we were given an on board credit. By the the end of the cruise we were given a check.

 

Why they picked us ... who knows.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Good deals can be found on the CC Group cruises. Ours for example has an OBC, a bottle of wine, discounts on CC logowear, and excellent prices!!:D See below for more details. Thanks!

[eandj]

I've read where some folks have received OBC, charge card points, own stock in cruise lines, etc. which gives them discounts or upgrades. I'm looking for a way to take advantage of existing means for obtaining discounts on future cruises or earning credits of some sort. Do you use special kinds of credit cards (ex. RCCL VISA)? Does repeat cruising on certain lines increase your chances of getting upgrades? Do you have any ideas or recommendations for achieving discounts or deals?

 

 

We found a TA who sells tons of cruises and thus is privy to some OBC's from the cruiselines, that a smaller agent might not. Also once you are satisfied with a TA, stick with them. Loyalty always is an incentive for the agent to work for you. If you are constantly jumping around looking for the "deal of the century", you won't delvelop the relationship that helps if there is trouble on the cruise. Our agent will match and beat any price I might spot elsewhere.

[Teetype]

Another benefit of putting down $100.00 toward future cruises while still onboard a Princess cruise is that you can then book any cruise with Princess for $100/pp -- total down payment.

 

Tee