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Changes to Future Cruise Booking OBC


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Received this in a group on Cruise Critic.  Some significant changes starting 3/15/15 regarding shipboard credit for future cruises.  If link doesn't work on the blog you may need to cut and paste or type into your browser.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/NextCruise/14037219_Onboard_NextCruise_Flyer_2015.pdf

 

New On Board Savings.pdf

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Interesting thar Sister line Celebrity has not yet followed with this significant reduction -- it's still basically the old plan. Their (Celebrity) fares however appear to have significant increases for Euorpe 2015 -- Bristish Isles itinerary ie is $200 per person per night for inside cabin. 2014 fares are in the $100 night range. Have asked them why--will be interesting to see answer, if they do!

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Those of us who can only afford the interior cabins are really S.O.O. L.  with the new Next Cruise regulation changes......very disappointed, to say the least!!

I agree very disappointing! They probably won't be seeing many future reservations - no incintive to do so! I wouldn't waste my time with it -- just wait and book when they offer better incentive to fill unsold cabins.
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Recommend we light up social medial with our view point go viral! We can change their mind on this one! If you don 't like the change let them know & invite others to weigh in!

I would suggest emailing Royal Caribbean rather than Facebook or Twitter.  Wouldn't hurt to use those but email goes straight to the company, whereas social media is outsourced.

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I would suggest emailing Royal Caribbean rather than Facebook or Twitter.  Wouldn't hurt to use those but email goes straight to the company, whereas social media is outsourced.

Thanks Matt - sent this morning. Will be interesting to see if they honor furture cruise open booking certificate commitments.
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Will be interesting to see if they honor furture cruise open booking certificate commitments.

Oh yes, any pre-existing certificates will be honored at original rate.  

 

I was planning on picking up an open booking NextCruise certificate on my April 5th cruise.  I'm not able to book a certain date this far out.  For a $100 OBC it would have been worthwhile…for $25?  I'm not going to bother.

Don't forget you can always book some random cruise in the future and keep re-booking a different cruise until you have an actual cruise you want to go on.  

 

That will get you better benefits than an open booking although you will need to remember to re-book the cruise before final payment date to another random future cruise or an actual cruise you want to take.

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Oh yes, any pre-existing certificates will be honored at original rate.  

 

 

Don't forget you can always book some random cruise in the future and keep re-booking a different cruise until you have an actual cruise you want to go on.  

 

That will get you better benefits than an open booking although you will need to remember to re-book the cruise before final payment date to another random future cruise or an actual cruise you want to take.

Help me out with the cruise booking math 101. Is the future cruise on-board booking incentive larger than an open-booking cert incentive? And if re-booked what / how would the incentive increase?

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Thought I saw language in the fine print to the effect of "when changing the future date on a confirmed cruise we reserve the right to revert the OBC to that of an open booking", basically to say that if you deliberately book a date just to qualify for the higher OBC and then change it to the cruise you really wanted you would lose the higher benefit.

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Help me out with the cruise booking math 101. Is the future cruise on-board booking incentive larger than an open-booking cert incentive? And if re-booked what / how would the incentive increase?

 

Yes, future cruise booking is much higher over all than open booking.  The way the old system worked was if you re-booked your OBC credits would follow.  Not sure if that aspect got neutered or not also.

 

Thought I saw language in the fine print to the effect of "when changing the future date on a confirmed cruise we reserve the right to revert the OBC to that of an open booking", basically to say that if you deliberately book a date just to qualify for the higher OBC and then change it to the cruise you really wanted you would lose the higher benefit.

If that's the case then that goes in the face of what the Loyalty Ambassadors always preached onboard that if you booked something and changed your mind later, the credit follows you.

 

If you ask me, they should just remove the open bookings if they are going to water it down this much.  Clearly they prefer guests book something specifically.

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Yes, future cruise booking is much higher over all than open booking.  The way the old system worked was if you re-booked your OBC credits would follow.  Not sure if that aspect got neutered or not also.

 

 

If that's the case then that goes in the face of what the Loyalty Ambassadors always preached onboard that if you booked something and changed your mind later, the credit follows you.

 

If you ask me, they should just remove the open bookings if they are going to water it down this much.  Clearly they prefer guests book something specifically.

I must have missed something. I've seen the new table of credits for future; ie Inside cabin for 15+ day cruise is now $100 -- what is the current incentive for an open booking? I understood in past, open booking credit would be determined at time it was converted to actual booking, based on cruise length & cabin category? Is there now a table of open booking credits?

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If you open the attachment at the top of this thread there is a second page to the attachment that is easy to miss if you don't scroll all the way to the end (it looks like it is just a 1 pager) .... on the second page it reveals the Open booking credit is now :

 

$25 for a 5-7 day cruise, $50 for an 8-10 day cruise, $75 for an 11-14 day and $100 for a 15+ day cruise.

 

No distinction for type of cabin, purely driven by length of cruise.

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I think I would buy a next cruise certificate now if I wanted to hold onto a relic! Not sure it's even worth the paper it's printed on. Lol. I guess this new structure gives them more flexibility at controlling incentives to if they need to give them.

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I emailed the corporate offices expressing my displeasure and so far I have received an email response from a "Customer and Decision Support Senior Executive Representative" i.e. one of their admin people, saying "my correspondence is currently under review" and they will reach out to me soon to go over my concerns.

Yes, the fine print does say if you book a future cruise and later change the cruise they reserve (insert Will) change your OBC to the open booking amounts.

I am sailing Explorer next week and had already filled out two open booking forms - now they are just shredder material.

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I emailed the corporate offices expressing my displeasure and so far I have received an email response from a "Customer and Decision Support Senior Executive Representative" i.e. one of their admin people, saying "my correspondence is currently under review" and they will reach out to me soon to go over my concerns.

Yes, the fine print does say if you book a future cruise and later change the cruise they reserve (insert Will) change your OBC to the open booking amounts.

I am sailing Explorer next week and had already filled out two open booking forms - now they are just shredder material.

Good that you emailed Royal Caribbean to let them know you don't like it.  It's our job as consumers to let them know what we do and do not like.

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I'm pretty upset about this change. I read about it on the CC message boards. I was planning on buying a few more on the Allure in May, but now its just not even worth the time and effort.

 

We generally take one long and one short cruise per year, so no OBC for the short cruises is a bummer, but a measly $25 for a 6-9 night cruise is laughable.

 

I'll gladly join in on the emailing. I saw a few posts about it on their Facebook page today, I don't know whether or not that was anybody here.

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The bigger issue with them trying to get people to book specific cruises is those loyalty desks are notoriously understaffed.  We had an appointment on Navigator of the Seas and gave up after waiting for 45 minutes because the backlog was incredible.

 

Adding on to this, when booking a sailing a year out or longer onboard, it's inevitable that we occasionally have to move the date up or back a week, depending on our schedules. Under the new policy, it appears the OBC would be diminished to the open booking amount if the ship or sail date is changed.
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I received a call late last week.  Bottom line of their reasoning, as given to me, was that they have a lot of people that get open bookings and forget they even have them.  So they are creating an incentive to decide on a booking.   For what that phone call was worth????

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I received a call late last week.  Bottom line of their reasoning, as given to me, was that they have a lot of people that get open bookings and forget they even have them.  So they are creating an incentive to decide on a booking.   For what that phone call was worth????

Interesting.  I can see people forgetting they have it but I wonder if it's like store gift cards where if you buy a gift card, even though the store has your money, the store cannot report it as income until you use the gift card.  Perhaps similar situation?

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Hmm, this is an interesting topic. I too am very unhappy that Royal has decided to make these changes but, I also remember just a few years ago when open booking was not even offered. You could only book specific cruises at the Next Cruise desk onboard the ship, so I am looking at it like it was a limited time benefit, kind of like Diamonds in December lasted for only a few years. I think the reason Royal keeps reducing, or even eliminating, special offers and benefits is simply because they can. The company is doing extremely well with record profits and increased reservations every year, so they do not need to keep offering special incentives to fill up their ships. Even with the reduction and elimination of special offers and benefits, the demand is still very strong and the company's stock is close to or at an all time high right now.

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I received a call late last week.  Bottom line of their reasoning, as given to me, was that they have a lot of people that get open bookings and forget they even have them.  So they are creating an incentive to decide on a booking.   For what that phone call was worth????

Interesting. 

 

Interesting.  I can see people forgetting they have it but I wonder if it's like store gift cards where if you buy a gift card, even though the store has your money, the store cannot report it as income until you use the gift card.  Perhaps similar situation?

 

 

I received a call late last week.  Bottom line of their reasoning, as given to me, was that they have a lot of people that get open bookings and forget they even have them.  So they are creating an incentive to decide on a booking.   For what that phone call was worth????

 

Hm. I would think they'd be happy to get peoples' $100--even if they forget they bought the voucher! But I didn't know about the gift card v. income issue.

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I think the reason Royal keeps reducing, or even eliminating, special offers and benefits is simply because they can. The company is doing extremely well with record profits and increased reservations every year, so they do not need to keep offering special incentives to fill up their ships. Even with the reduction and elimination of special offers and benefits, the demand is still very strong and the company's stock is close to or at an all time high right now.

You're 100% right.  Discounts and incentives are tools companies use to spur sales, especially during bad times.  But when times are good (and financially it's never been better for Royal Caribbean), the tendency is to reel the discounts back to increase profits.

 

I'm fairly certain Richard Fain has gone on record by saying he wants to reduce discounts.  Often he mentions things something to the effect of "cruising has never been a better value....and we hope to level that out somewhat".  

 

This is very much out of Disney World's playbook.  They were struggling after 2008 recession (and even back to 9/11) and offered lots of discounts but these days those discounts are very much rolled back because they are making record profit.

 

I foresee a real value coming out of booking incredibly early and/or last minute deals, short of a significant downturn in RC's business.

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We have started booking as far in advance as possible and then watching the sales and repricing if needed.

 

Just booked on board Allure last week for Freedom next Thanksgiving, picking up the OBC along with the minimal deposit for example.

 

We had wanted to book Anthem for one of its first US itineraries but after a month of waiting it still wasn't available and with the new NextCruise policies locking in Freedom and getting the discount makes more sense. Plus I have a feeling Anthem is going to be very pricey and after being disappointed by the premium for Allure not interested in paying premium pricing again.

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Someone earlier had mentioned that maybe you could book a specific sailing (to get the OBC), and then reschedule it over and over further and further out. Then, someone chimed in and said that you would sacrifice your OBC by doing that.

 

I spoke with Cynthia from the RC executive office yesterday and very directly clarified this. AS LONG AS the ship that you "reschedule" or rebook on is the same duration of sailing and the same category of stateroom, you will get the same OBC as you originally got. Just something to be aware of.

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Someone earlier had mentioned that maybe you could book a specific sailing (to get the OBC), and then reschedule it over and over further and further out. Then, someone chimed in and said that you would sacrifice your OBC by doing that.

 

I spoke with Cynthia from the RC executive office yesterday and very directly clarified this. AS LONG AS the ship that you "reschedule" or rebook on is the same duration of sailing and the same category of stateroom, you will get the same OBC as you originally got. Just something to be aware of.

Thanks for the info Bryce!

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Someone earlier had mentioned that maybe you could book a specific sailing (to get the OBC), and then reschedule it over and over further and further out. Then, someone chimed in and said that you would sacrifice your OBC by doing that.

 

I spoke with Cynthia from the RC executive office yesterday and very directly clarified this. AS LONG AS the ship that you "reschedule" or rebook on is the same duration of sailing and the same category of stateroom, you will get the same OBC as you originally got. Just something to be aware of.

 

I just read on another board that a representative expressed that they will allow the passenger to change the reservation twice and receive the respective on board booking OBC. Changes after that point will knock the onboard credit value down to the open booking values. 

 

I think this may be a case of nobody at Royal Caribbean knowing what the policy is (if there is one yet!), so we all get a different answer. 

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I just read on another board that a representative expressed that they will allow the passenger to change the reservation twice and receive the respective on board booking OBC. Changes after that point will knock the onboard credit value down to the open booking values. 

 

I think this may be a case of nobody at Royal Caribbean knowing what the policy is (if there is one yet!), so we all get a different answer. 

I'd say you're probably EXACTLY right.

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Though, I mistakenly emailed reservations regarding this issue, they were kind enough to forward my communication to guest relations. As expected the answer was generic, reiterating the changes made, and that they were "driven by their quest for continuous improvement".

 

Seems like double speak to me when they say that listening to their guests is the most effective way to create the best possible rewards program. So, if they are TRULY listening to their guests, we should see the program revert back to the previous terms shortly (don't hold your breath).

 

Following is a copy of the "Dear John" email I received with the appropriate contact info for Royal Caribbean at the bottom:

 


Dear John:
 
Thank you for your e-mail regarding recent changes to our Next Cruise program. We cannot apologize enough for the extended delay in our response. More customers than ever before are contacting us by phone and e-mail. As a result, the turnaround time for responses has increased. Acknowledging that this level of service is unacceptable regardless of cause, we hope you will accept our apologies, and believe that this is not indicative of our normal operations.
 
Our Crown & Anchor Society members are very important to us as a company, and changes to the program were driven by our quest for continuous improvement. Going forward, members will now have more onboard credit options when creating a Decide Now reservation through our Next Cruise program. We are pleased to offer the increased value of up to $400.00 USD in onboard spending credits for guests who create their future cruise plans while onboard.
 
Members who prefer the convenience of an Open Booking are encouraged to continue purchasing them in the future. The reduced deposit of $100.00 USD per person has not been changed. Additionally, our Open Bookings do not expire; therefore, your reduced deposit continues to secure your future cruise plans ahead of time. 
 
We believe listening to our guests is the most effective way to create the best possible rewards program, and your additional comments and suggestions are genuinely appreciated. Please rest assured that your feedback will be brought to the attention of the proper operational teams for continued internal review.
 
John, thank you for your continued loyalty to Royal Caribbean International. We look forward to welcoming you onboard the Independence of the Seas, sailing on April 20, 2014.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Megan Hamari
Crown & Anchor Society
 
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
 
Call: 1-800-526-9723, 8 am to 11 pm EST, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 8 pm EST Saturday-Sunday (Outside the United States or Canada: +1-541-285-9723) Visit our Web site: www.royalcaribbean.com E-mail us: crownandanchor@rccl.com Write us: Crown & Anchor Society P.O. Box 026053 Miami, FL 33102-6053
 
*** Be sure to provide your Crown & Anchor Society membership number every time you book a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation in order to receive the onboard benefits to which you are entitled. ***
 

 

 

 

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