Crown and Anchor discounts

[Jerry in CDA]

We have booked B2B2B for Sept-Nov 2023.  Currently are platinum members and have booked balcony staterooms for all three cruises.  The fare we are being charged is the exact quoted price online.  Asked RCCL why we are not getting any discounts for the C&A and was told that if they applied the discount, our actual fare would be more.  Having a hard time understanding the rationale for this.

[SpeedNoodles]

We often don't get a C&A discount on our fares.  I figure my TA knows why, but I've never questioned it personally.

[FionaMG]

C&A balcony discounts are not always combinable with promotional discounts. Sometimes the current promotional discount works out to be more than the C&A balcony discount, in which case the system will apply that and ignore your balcony discount. This might be what is happening in your case.

[jticarruthers]

Once upon a time the C&A discount was a good deal because discounts were rarely offered to the general population.

Then the never ending sale began and essentially the sale offered to everyone is better than the discount offered to C&A, since you can only have one or the other, you should usually take the rate offered to everyone since its a better deal.

On rare occasions there is no sale running so C&A is a better deal.

[Qeyton Dude]

I always thought the discount was for "close in sailing"; seeing you booked in '23; I doubt there were any C&A discounts to be applied at that time.  Also taking a B2B makes no difference, in the eyes of the cruise line they are three independent bookings each with their own market driven rates.  So use your agent, or keep an eye on the prices yourself between now and final payment; one of those legs will likely have a price drop during one of the many RCCL sales.

[twangster]

The CAS balcony discount is not a flat discount off the lowest price you might ever see.  Sometimes other discounts yield the CAS discount less than the promotional discount of the day.  Sometimes a resident state discount renders the CAS discount less potent, sometimes it's another discount that is a better deal than the CAS balcony discount.

As I climbed the CAS ladder the balcony discount became more and more meaningful at each step.  That still doesn't mean it is a fixed discount from the lowest rate available, it never has been that.  As you move higher in the CAS program the CAS balcony discount will more frequently be a better deal but it's not until you are at the higher levels of the CAS that it consistently becomes a factor.  A lot depends on the cruise you book, the region, the date and the ship. 

Looking back over my progression from Gold to Pinnacle I now sail in balcony cabins more often compared to early on when I booked more interior and oceanview cabins.  The CAS balcony discount is largely the reason why I sail more frequently in balcony cabins now compared to years ago.