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On 4/10/2019 at 8:34 AM, Jolly Ogre said:

Ok here is my take on this.

I served and I have received discounts here and there, however I have never ever "asked" for them.

I did not serve to get discounts later on in life. If others get discounts and I don't, so be it. I will not ask my "share".

My freedom and that of my family and fellow countrymen is good enough for me.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for serving our country and protecting all of us. You are appreciated more than you can fathom. Many many thanks! 

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On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 8:34 AM, Jolly Ogre said:

Ok here is my take on this.

I served and I have received discounts here and there, however I have never ever "asked" for them.

I did not serve to get discounts later on in life. If others get discounts and I don't, so be it. I will not ask my "share".

My freedom and that of my family and fellow countrymen is good enough for me.

Thank you sir for your service. Many, many veterans have a wonderful life after their service. Some don't.

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

And look at that, Canadian and Australian qualify:

78695513_MilitaryEpic.jpeg.0a6c4fc002e576b4c57e3f34e4f01318.jpeg

I'm an Epic pass holder, non-military.  This is a great deal.

Such a good deal that I was convinced there had to be a catch.....Nope!  Have skied 10 times so far this year at Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail, and Crested Butte, and with Breck open until Memorial day hope to get 4 more in.......$99 well spent!

 

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1 hour ago, Flossygirl said:

@jce2 @twangster Do you know whether the buddy tickets also apply when buying the Military Epic Pass or is only available for the Epic Pass?  It's only being offered for another couple of days.  Those buddy tickets could be used for my daughter as I think I noticed spouses don't qualify for the cheaper Military Epic Pass.

Spouses most definitely DO qualify!! So do dependent children

 

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On 4/9/2019 at 6:21 PM, Flossygirl said:

I understand that Canadian and US military (current and past served) receive a discount on cruises.  Why is it that Australians don't?  Isn't it time that RCCL treats all servicemen equally?  Australians stand side by side with the US and Canadian servicemen in an attempt to keep peace in the world.  My husband served 20 years in the Royal Australian Navy but that seems to be worth nothing to RCCLRCCL have said that "retired" Canadian and US military will receive the discount.  They quantify "retired" as enlisted personnel or officers with a minimum of 20 years of service.  If RCCL are going to offer the discounts to our friends, the Canadians and Americans, then they should be doing the same for the Aussies, the British and all the allied forces that are serving or have served.  ALL these men and women put their lives on the line when they go into combat.  Australians cruise A LOT and Royal Caribbean have enjoyed bringing their ships Down Under for many, many years to reap the financial rewards of those cruises otherwise, I'm sure, they wouldn't bring their ships here.  Double standards and favouring one over another doesn't sit well with Aussies and that's certainly the message RCCL are sending to the Aussie cruisers.  Come on, RCCL, step up and do the right thing!

If it makes you feel any better, my husband served 30 years in the US military and we have never gotten a discount of a cruise for that service. To be clear, it is only active duty and retirees that receive a discount the few times it has been offered (rather than anyone who ever served). The few times I have even seen one come up it wasn’t ever as good as the current “sale” or even the 55+ rate. Once in a while living in GA helps in terms of a tiny discount since we are so close to many of the RCL ports. I do sincerely understand how you would feel, but I promise you that in real usefulness with most cruise lines there is none. That said, I love the people of Australia and of New Zealand - some of my favorite humans come from one or the other (and it doesn’t hurt that I have a husband with a big chunk of Maori running around in his DNA). ??‍♀️?

@GlowTheWeird and @WAAAYTOOO yup! They are not ever useful. 

@twangster  “Since the discount often doesn't actually apply, it seems odd to proudly offer something that isn't really a thing.“ EXACTLY. Most of the time, the so-called Veteran’s discounts are not “discounts” at all set up only as a way to show the company is  “doing something” for Veterans when the truth is that most of the time it is all show and no action (although there are exceptions, including the MGM and Harrah’s groups and Disney properties). Honestly, we would much rather someone do nothing for us than to produce a fake discount so they can look good (only the latter tick me off ?).

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5 hours ago, Flossygirl said:

@jce2 @twangster Do you know whether the buddy tickets also apply when buying the Military Epic Pass or is only available for the Epic Pass?  It's only being offered for another couple of days.  Those buddy tickets could be used for my daughter as I think I noticed spouses don't qualify for the cheaper Military Epic Pass.

Getting off topic, but...

Spouses and dependents do qualify for a full Military Epic Pass.

https://www.epicpass.com/pass-results/military.aspx

Buddy tickets allow a pass holder to bring a friend and the buddy get's a day lift ticket at a reduced rate compared to the daily rate for that resort.  It's not a free day of skiing for the buddy and it's only valid for that day.

The Military Epic Pass comes with six "Ski with a friend" passes that are not free and not the same as buddy passes.  

Ski with a friend vs. buddy passes are confusing.  One is a fixed price while the other is a discount off the daily rate for a resort based on the rate the day your visit.    It has always been a little hard to figure out which is which but typically when bringing a friend or family member I would just ask at the ticket window "What's better today?  Ski with a friend or buddy?"  Assuming I hadn't consumed all of them already.  This was as a regular epic pass holder, not a military pass holder.  Regular pass holders used to get both, SWAF and Buddy passes if purchased before a cut off date.

For qualifying spouses and dependents a full Military Epic Pass is just as good as the pass for the active or retired service member.  Once in your possession a dependent or spouse could visit the resort by themselves vs Ski With A Friend or Buddy Passes that require the pass holder to visit the ticket window on that day and then the buddy or friend buys a day pass at the discounted rate for that day only.

Make sense?

 

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We can't ever find qualifying cruises either. I agree a welcome drink would be nice. When we were on Rhapsody at Christmas we went to the Veterans meet up one afternoon and there was literally no one there. Where we have saved a ton due to discount was at Walt Disney World. Between the discounted tickets via the ITT office on post (just need an MIL ID), the Salute to Service discount on room rates, and the discount on memory maker, we can go to WDW for a week or more for less than a 7 day cruise. 

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On 4/10/2019 at 10:24 AM, jce2 said:

As retired U.S. Air Force I feel a bit compelled to weigh in here....with a response that may surprise!  I think they should get rid of the military discount altogether!  Here is why...First, it only exists on paper.  It rarely if ever actually gets applied.  Meanwhile you ruffle the feathers of those non-U.S. non-Canadian military personnel.  There is seemingly no problem with state-side companies offering discounts to U.S. service personnel only, as they are stores/restaraunts etc. that are based in thr u.S. and physically located in the U.S. (I would not expect to get a military discount at McDonalds in Japan.....   BUT despite the fact that TC is suposedly a U.S. company, their market is very international including international ports, routes, and indeed crew!  So to only offer the military discount to certain countries defenders slights others and in today's world of reading-to-much-onto-everything could even be viewed as a political statement.  Offering the military discount to ALL military likewise doesn't work..do yo offer the discount to military from opposing countries?  If not, s soon as you elimnate one you make a statement.  Too many pitfalls here.  Get rid of it I say!   (Now, free drinks for veterans i could support!  ?  

 

Exactly I didn't serve in the US Army to "qualify" for discounts.. If theyre given and advertised then ill take them.. When I enlisted in 1989 that was the last though on my mind lol ?

 

FREE drinks for Veterans is a policy I could get behind!  could you imagine the carnage at the bar? lmao

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Thanks everyone for your constructive comments.  It's great to see that we can have a discussion and voice our own opinions without it all going sour which appears to happen so very often when people talk about an issue online where they are actually anonymous.  Pat on the back to all! ?

On 4/12/2019 at 10:31 AM, 2Beeze said:

I love the people of Australia and of New Zealand - some of my favorite humans come from one or the other (and it doesn’t hurt that I have a husband with a big chunk of Maori running around in his DNA).

@2Beeze Agree with all you said although we have never been able to secure a 55+ fare either.  We also love the Americans and the Canadians.  My husband and I have visited your lovely country many times and have made many friends that we enjoy seeing each time we return - friendships that I feel confident will last a lifetime.  The New Zealand people are lovely people and some of my close friends are Maori.  "Kia ora". 

 @twangster your last post did make sense.  I told my SIL about it and it appears it is the talk of the army barracks among those that live to ski and snowboard.  He'll be on that one for sure!  I guess there's not much we can do about RCCL's obvious attempt at gaining good PR and then not following through with the offers.  Like so many have said (and I agree with), it is better that RCCL doesn't make offers they are not prepared to follow through on.

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I nearly forgot to say, here in Australia RCCL offered a "free deluxe beverage package" a couple of months ago provided you booked a balcony cabin and above.  Although the package wasn't really "free" as the cost of the tickets were higher (so you're indirectly paying for it depending on how much you drink), I can't recall ever seeing a drinks package on offer before from RCCL - on Norwegian, Carnival, P&O etc. they do it all the time but I've not seen it before on RCCL.  It's on the Ovation of the Seas and it also included OBC (US$100) and gratuities in the fare.  It's from Sydney, Australia to NZ return and we have booked ourselves on this cruise.  Yay!  It leaves on 2 April 2020 so still a bit off yet but something to look forward to ?

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On 4/13/2019 at 8:02 PM, Flossygirl said:

 

@2Beeze Agree with all you said although we have never been able to secure a 55+ fare either.  We also love the Americans and the Canadians.  My husband and I have visited your lovely country many times and have made many friends that we enjoy seeing each time we return - friendships that I feel confident will last a lifetime.  The New Zealand people are lovely people and some of my close friends are Maori.  "Kia ora". 

I am glad that we both have such *excellent* taste ? Let me know if you get to Atlanta, Georgia and we will show you around!

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  • 1 month later...

I was able to get the discount after final payment.  JS were not selling well at the time.  It only lasted 2-3 days then it was gone.

I had to call RC to get the discount.  They applied the savings as OBC because I had already paid the room in full.

I have seen the discount offered over the years several times, but usually for interior or ocean view cabins and for only about $50-$100.

Got lucky with this.  It pays to book early and check often for price changes.

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Our TA is retired military just like us.  The problem I have found with the military is you cannot bundle it.  IE...Low price + OBC + military discount.  

We have never used it with or without a TA because the prices never worked for us.  Caveat we always do balcony, so maybe that is a reason why.

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