jaullram

We just go back from our cruise and still get conflicting information on whether our $$ off casino certificates can be combined with casino VIP rates. On the ship, the Casino Host said yes along with another guest I spoke with. On my last call with RCL casino line they said no. What I have found out is on your last cruise if you get to 1,000 or 1,500 points (depends on ship our Casino Host said), you get the Casino VIP sticker for free drinks in the casino and the 5% convenience fee is waived for cash from Day 1 of the cruise. IN addition, we received our certificates in our room the next to last night and they based what we had in points so far to "guess" what we would get to after the second night. If we were higher they would change in the certificate. Now comes the real test - whether certificates and discounts can be combined! If not, I will just book with the casino rate from now on since that is more $$ off than the certificates get us. I will keep everyone posted!

So, I confirmed today what we have all feared. You cannot combine your casino certificates with any Casino Rates (except maybe for 5% off when booking more than 12 months out). The representative stated that whatever the best price is online minus your certificate value is what you will pay. He said it was an improvement because now you were eligible for OBC or any other promotions Royal was running. I stated that I would give up the $100 OBC to get a cheaper cruise!. Anyhow, I asked if they still offered casino rates and he said that they do but only if you don't use a certificate. I had a few different cruises priced out using casino rates and not $800 in certificates and the casino rates were approximately $200 less than using the certificates. Saying that, I guess what is the point of getting the certificates if it is still cheaper to call casino line?!?!?!

I called casino line again hoping to get someone different to see if I had better luck. I did confirm that anything further out than 12 months they will only give a 5% discount off of current online sales rate. I also confirmed that there are no hard and fast rules for these "new" casino rate rules. The person I spoke thought that as soon as you got to a certain level the discount the same percentage for all of those above that level and the ship and sail date would dictate the percent. Basically, what that means for us is all of our balcony deals (40-50% off online sale price) and 35% off suites are now 30% balcony and 20-25% off suites. Don't get me wrong, still paying less than someone who doesn't gamble but trust me, Royal still gets my money at the casino! Out of Royal, NCL and Carnival, Carnival has the best perks and it is fairly easy to get a free cruise. They also offer premier cruises (if your points are high enough) where you get OBC, free drinks and are eligible for a ton of prizes. On NCL, we didn't make the point amount we needed to (I found points added up MUCH slower on NCL) but I called casino line anyhow because we were so close and I was told they would give me 25% of the lowest sale rate. Up until now I was very happy with the rates I was getting but we will have to see if they stop allowing cruise certificate with casino rates.... I would be interested if anyone else had called the casino department recently and received different information.

I just got off the phone with Casino sales department and was very disappointed. I called last month and was quoted on 10 or so different sail dates and on average for the casino rate, was being given 40% to 50% off what the current RC online price was for a balcony and about 35% off for suites. When I spoke to the rep today they said they had a huge change a few weeks ago (coinciding with the non-refundable deposit change) that only allows them to give 5% off of RC online rates for cruises between 12 and 18 months. For those cruises within 12 months all of the pricing I received 3 or 4 weeks ago was $500 to $600 higher. I really wish their program was more transparent! Has anyone heard about these changes and know if they are true or did I just get a rep that wasn't as generous?

September 23, Anthem of the Seas to Bermuda

You are probably correct. We didn't know anything about the previous program on the 3 cruises we took and got nothing so I am hoping to find out as much about the new one so we don't miss out!

Hi! Is there anyway to find out what Tribute Band will be playing on Anthem in the Music Hall in September (23rd - 28th)? When we were on in March it was Led Zepplin cover (which I understand was on for at least 3 months) and I know Bon Jovi cover is on there now but curious if there is a schedule for those things.

Thank you so much for this information. The main reason I wanted to find out about the drinks is it will impact whether or not I buy the drink package. The CR representative thought that my husband had a very good chance of free drinks and I may just get a voucher for a few but to make sure to introduce ourselves to the host (which we didn't last cruise and didn't get any acknowledgement from them until we went to pick up our vouchers). I did call the CR line and apply my certificates to a March 2018 cruise in a JS and got about 45% discount on top of the $800 certificates. Then a day later (because I couldn't wait a year to go on a cruise) I booked a short (5 night) cruise to Bermuda on Anthem and they gave us a 57% discount which was amazing considering we didn't have any certificates. Unfortunately, it is going to be hard getting a lot of points on the 5 night cruise seeing as how one of the nights (in Bermuda) the casino doesn't open until 9PM. I am considering trying to see if they will give me a discount on a 3rd cruise within the 18 month window so I can at least lock in a price and see if I can get a better one after our next cruise. I never knew about the previous program so I am trying to find out as much about the new one! Again - thank you!

We booked our next cruise through the Club Royale number and got a good deal and put our vouchers towards it as well. Is it worth it to call to see if the price I got is still the best price - do they ever change like regular RCI sales do? I was also curious about how to keep getting discounts (is there a certain level of play we need to have on our next cruise)?. When I called they said that they can give discounts on cruises based on our play from the previous cruise for up to 18 months after so I am guessing we need to re-qualify on our next cruise to qualify for discounts further than 18 months. Last question. People mention free drinks in the casino for VIP members but since the program has changed, is that still offered and if so, how do I find out if we qualify? (My husband got a free interior stateroom offer on our last cruise and I received $300 off so not sure if that is enough).