Hagar

The webinar this week really emphasized how bad phone waits will be. Hoping this all settles down soon

One of my favorite stories as a t/a was when I caught a fare for a customer just like this. They had an aft balcony at a decent price and "JS" was more than I knew they would pay. But I did look at all of the categories and the "GS" was less than they paid. They were cruising in Europe but I know them so I switched it, saved them around $700 and sent them an e-mail explaining what I had done. The reduced price only lasted about a day and a half but it wasn't a glitch, just higher availability in that category. Thankfully they were happy and still tell the story too. I stopped taking new customers on as I prepare my exit strategy but will miss these gems!

Dunno about the "pending" aspect but since they still have a bunch of availability. a lot of folks will probably have their bids accepted (except "JS" and above which is slim pickins ;>)

Many promotions, like booking onboard, do not allow to cancel and rebook. Not saying you might not be able to, just throwing the yellow card "out there."

I don't know what happens when you are bidding for the upgrade but to upgrade normally (which is what I believe you were referencing) the OBC should increase accordingly. This would be for category or even length of cruise changes.  I have done this several times over the years for both my own travel and customers reservations. OBC from an onboard booking does "drop off" an occasional booking while being repriced. I just have the rep watch for this and put it back on the booking.

I enjoy the positive feedback on here regarding MEI reps and don't forget that the initial reservation doesn't have to include a deposit (except when booking onboard ship which I also highly recommend). Sometimes having a few days to ponder your navel can be reassuring ;>)

Ramada Plaza suited my needs but I scored a good price on it a couple of years ago

RCI still keeping up their with their Really Consistent Inconsistencies

Assume the worst but hope for the best seems to fit when discussing this. There are terrible locations "out there" and it isn't always the long walk from stem or stern. NOISE is a key word when researching a cabin's location. But on the positive side I've almost always had good luck moving my cabin after I've booked a guarantee (either for myself or one of my customers). It has to be the same category to move it but after final payment I also recommend looking at price drops on a slight upgrade. 

Hopefully you are using an agent which can also be helpful to you in a situation like this ( I'm retiring so not referring to myself here ;>)

As an agent I never tried to convert Princess people and always told them it was a "Chevy/Ford" type of comparison. If asked, I did say I recognized the increased benefits of Royal's loyalty program early on. I know that's not the issue here so I will say I think they are pretty equal on the actual experience. And having said that, those of us that are "loyal to Royal" know how inconsistent Royal can be among it's own fleet. Since you are going with friends, you are locked into the ship and sail date so my suggestion would be to continue your homework on that particular ship ( this site was a great start so make sure to hit the blog). I have even found video tours of a specific cabin I had booked, not just the specific ship tour so have fun prepping!

It used to be broken down so we knew the amounts and exactly where things went (or were supposed to go at least) but now there is a "back of house" bucket that some of the coin goes into.

Celebrity increasing daily rate this year so stay tuned>>>>>>>>>>>

I'll throw in a vote for the Costco Visa when it comes to travel

As an old phart, any mention of Scranton (PA) takes me back to 30,00 pounds of Bananas song by Harry Chapin (based on actual truck crash in 1965)

Changing a responding posters words into a direct quotation of "get over it" is a nice trick.

The other boards that thrive on that kink of misrepresentation are still open for business 

1 hour ago, Marlena said:

I find the height restriction so weird on RC. 

The kids need to be 42 inches to go down the tiny splashaway bay slide that are like 6 feet high. But grow an extra 2 inches and you can go down a closed 150 foot slide.

Interjecting logic Marlena??? We are talking about Royal here 

Seriously, I wouldn't be a Pinnacle with them if they didn't do many things correctly but they do love to keep all of us on our toes with their "glitches"

If all else is even you could pick between Mamma Mia or Hairspray ;>)

Royal Princess perhaps???

Really

Consistent

Inconsistancies

I am a double P who only wears my P badge when they invite me to an event but I loved wearing my other level pins attached to a souvenir ball cap.

I think the "attitude" that came from some of the original  cadre of pinnacle soured me. 

I have customers that are also friends so I trust their judgement. The wife "vurped" when I even suggested sailing on  her again for a repo cruise. Yet I am booked on her for an 8 night run based on the value, itinerary and a wonderful aft JS. I know I won't be as spoiled as I usually am as a double pineapple but when we dock, I'll go get my big ship fix on the "Allure" for the next 7 nights 

Must agree wholeheartedly with Savannah Jack! As a Pinnacle member, I admit to being spoiled rotten but have seen them multiple times on Royal ships and would gladly pay to see them on land.

Seems funny to type "see them" as I am missing my canal cruise today and a AN cruise next month due to a retinal tear ;>( 

Modern medicine is wonderful though as well as faith of course so maybe can keep the HM in April ;>)

I know not everyone has a Costco Visa but 3% for all travel related expenses caused my only Pinnacle customer to put his Royal card away for the last few years ;>)

RCI= Really Consistent Inconsistencies

I

586 does show a connecting room which can be an issue for some.

The obstruction up on 11 is just the jigsaw pattern of the ships design which means you don't have a complete 180 degree panorama. Still a nice location though so hope you enjoy this nice ship. 

Since I'm winding down my franchise, I find it easier to talk about these specific issues. OBC can be delicate from our perspective too, like informing a guest as to how much OBC to expect and why. I do have customers who get multiple amounts and I think it's important to let them know where everything came from, especially since some are reflected prior to sailing and others are provided once onboard (usually by end of Day 2).

So having said that, I don't see any harm in asking if there are any "perks" to booking with  X, Y or Z up front.