CLUB ROYALE PRICING

[APM]

Curious if anyone knows if the rules have changed again.

I just booked by my first 2020 cruise on Mariner for the Super Bowl.  I upgraded a COMP Junior Suite to a Grand Suite.  The pricing breakdown shows that I basically paid the full non-discount rate between the Junior Suite and the Grand Suite.  Correct me if I am wrong (and I am aware the rules change frequently) didn't we use to receive a casino % discount on that $$ amount between the Comp Room and the Booked Room?  And last year weren't we eligible for C&A discounts on our bookings?

Really, just curious if anyone knows what the current rules are from talking to a Club Royale attendant.  I have been getting the overseas call center folks every time I call and I try to get off the phone as quick as possible because they are normally provide very little assistance.

 

Thanks

[AshleyDillo]

@WAAAYTOOO has mentioned several times that the discount for upgrading has decreased from the past, but I think there is still supposed to be one.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

43 minutes ago, APM said:

Curious if anyone knows if the rules have changed again.

I just booked by my first 2020 cruise on Mariner for the Super Bowl.  I upgraded a COMP Junior Suite to a Grand Suite.  The pricing breakdown shows that I basically paid the full non-discount rate between the Junior Suite and the Grand Suite.  Correct me if I am wrong (and I am aware the rules change frequently) didn't we use to receive a casino % discount on that $$ amount between the Comp Room and the Booked Room?  And last year weren't we eligible for C&A discounts on our bookings?

Really, just curious if anyone knows what the current rules are from talking to a Club Royale attendant.  I have been getting the overseas call center folks every time I call and I try to get off the phone as quick as possible because they are normally provide very little assistance.

 

Thanks

Things have definitely changed.  There are so many factors that affect what kind of rate you but the biggest discriminator is STILL the agent that you get on the phone.  If I get one from Guatemala I just hang up.  The rule of thumb that I use is to call later in the evening...after 7:00 and I seem to get the CONUS agents.

How far in the future you book matters also. In the old day we would get about a 5-10% break on the fare if it was greater than 6 months in the future, knowing that we could reprice later and still get a good deal.  Now ?  Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t.  Honesty for distant cruises I just take whatever they give me with the intention of repricing it once it’s eligible for the free Prime deal.

However, the days of 60-70% off rates are gone forever.  Now the going rate seems to be 30% off, max.  I just looked at the last cruise I booked prior to April 1 (the beginning of this cruise year, which is when all the new pricing rules seem to have gone into affect) and I calculated that my casino rate is a 91% reduction off the current price for the Grand Suites still showing available on that cruise (25 Nov on Brilliance).  The current per person rate AFTER applying the BOGO is $4239.50.  I paid $367 PP.  Grand Suite 5 night Thanksgiving Cruise. I’ll never see another deal like that !  But even if you compare the casino price we paid to the “full” price at the time we booked, it’s still a 75% discount (PP rate after BOGO was $1440.50).