ariesgirl384

I will say on the Allure of the Seas, we only incurred a $10 upcharge per person and both got premier combos. So I think the upcharge is dependent on the ship? I was fully expecting a $15 charge but when I made the reservation, I was told nope - just $10 a person for either of the combos. 

2 hours ago, Brandon1979 said:

hmm.. I booked through Costco for a trip on Mariner in May 2022. This is our first cruise, for all intents and purposes, but we didn't have any "real" issues with Costco, except for their long hold time and the inability to re-price direct through RC. For instance, I found today that the cruise we are sailing on is around $100 cheaper on the RC site. When I called them, they said that I would have to take that up with Costco. However, the Costco Travel site shows the room as being the same price (from what I can tell.) I agree with @ariesgirl384, there website did say that they do not participate, though I just remember reading that. I'm not sue how prominently it says that. Additionally, we also like the idea of the Costco Shop card and the 2% earning on our Executive Membership, as well as the the additional 3% on our Costco Visa. 

The only other item I would add is, once we booked the cruise through Costco, I didn't see any other reason to use them for booking add-on's, i.e. massages, excursions etc. All of those items are booked through the RC website, from what I could tell. We are pretty far out from our trip in May, but we also don't have the option to book massages or even a beach bed on Labadie, at the moment. I guess those things will "come online" over time. Hope that helps!  

I was able to get a price reduction through Costco on my cruise thankfully. Maybe still worth a call in? I remember the agent I got said well I may or may not be able to log in and do it myself, I may have to call (meaning the agent). But I think we were within whatever time period, because she was able to log in and she saw the price I saw. At the time, I couldn't even price it out on Costco's website, because my room category wasn't showing any longer for my cruise - I was going by what Royal's site was pricing out and just seeing if it would work.

The only part I wish is that I could take advantage of the additional crown and anchor on board credit offers Royal keeps sending me. 

*The royal up language was probably in small print and I think I read it in the terms and conditions section just before hitting purchase. So it's definitely easy to overlook!

This is our first cruise using Costco (my first 2 I did direct with Royal) but so far, no real issues. 

When booking with Costco, it specifically states they do not participate in the various cruise lines upgrade programs. We booked with Costco and haven't had any problems. Admittedly, I haven't tried to book massages but I was able to do other purchases in my cruise planner. Royal UP is out of reach for Costco bookings. But I also found the gift card deal and the 2% on my executive membership were worth more to me. Hope this helps!