What did you book for the Annual Prime Cruise?

[Ampurp85]

I thought it would be fun to see what cruise people chose for their annual prime reward.

 

 

[Ampurp85]

I booked a S2S using mine and my brothers.

Me: Symphony of the Seas Jan 12-19, 2025

Him: Oasis of the Seas Jan 19-25, 2025

Also, thanks to the blog I found out you can do GTY for Freeplay. It was $25 for Interiors, $50 for balcony, $100 for JS and $200 for GS or higher. 

[AshleyDillo]

Thanks for the reminder that I have to pay for mine by tomorrow

Doing Wonder Oct 6-13, 2024

[Snotarni]

Booked Rhapsody Nov 3 - 10, 2024 from San Juan.

[SplashOfWater]

We combined ours for a cabin upgrade on Wonder Jan 26 - Feb 2, 2025.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Dan - Symphony 2-2-25

Raye - Symphony 2-9-25

Both are OV balcony guarantees so undoubtedly we will have to change staterooms….but the upgrade fee was right.  $-0-

[WAYNO]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:04 AM, Ampurp85 said:

I thought it would be fun to see what cruise people chose for their annual prime reward.

 

 

I have never booked an Annual Prime/Signature cruise.  I never knew how to access them, until recently, when  @Ampurp85 showed me where to find them.  Plus with all the instant certificates I get while onboard, and all the free cruises I receive in the mail, I just never found much need in looking into the  Prime/Signature cruises.  That could change, as we have a bunch of cruises being offered via Prime/Signature, which are better offerings than the most recent cruises I've received in the mail. 

But in the spirit of this discussion, we have two identical cruises upcoming, Seattle/Alaska aboard Quantum.  My wife and a friend will do this cruise in July, and my wife and I will do this cruise together in September. 

We have a couple more cruises we must get booked via NextCruise.  I suspect they will end up being West Coast Mexico, from Los Angeles.  Logistically, they are by far the easiest cruises for us. 

[LCWind]

Wife and I are doing a B2B on Wonder in late January. Casino rep was kind enough to move my Icon Next Cruise reservation ($200) deposit to this cruise without any change fees.

[Ampurp85]

37 minutes ago, LCWind said:

Wife and I are doing a B2B on Wonder in late January. Casino rep was kind enough to move my Icon Next Cruise reservation ($200) deposit to this cruise without any change fees.

I was able to do the same with my previously booked Icon sailing. I am hoping to do Icon in 2026 with my annual prime cruise. Hopefully 2yrs will be enough

[LandstromCruise]

I booked Wonder on Aug 11. Wanted to do the 4th but it was on the naughty list. I did upgrade to GTY neighborhood balcony for $146. Taking my youngest son as a special dad and son trip since I’ve previously booked up all my wife’s PTO 

[billdauterive]

Symphony seems like a popular choice.  I also chose Symphony for Dec 1-8, upgraded to a gty balcony.

I actually tried to sneak in an 8 day on Oasis for the same week but 3 different reps weren't having it.  I'll usually try something 3 times with different reps (like upgrade prices) before I go to plan B.

[Hoppy2BHere]

Good day,

Curios. Any benefit to using next cruise cert on prime booking? Would you get the onboard credit at the balcony level if you upgrade to such? We have so much already booked this year still trying to decide what to book early next year… Thanks for any thoughts on the subject..

J&S

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

Good day,

Curios. Any benefit to using next cruise cert on prime booking? Would you get the onboard credit at the balcony level if you upgrade to such? We have so much already booked this year still trying to decide what to book early next year… Thanks for any thoughts on the subject..

J&S

That's a great question.  I doubt seriously that they would allow any combinable booking incentives on the casino comp but I truly don't know the answer.

[Hoppy2BHere]

Just got off the phone with RC. Answer is no on using Next Cruise with “tier” promotion. We were able to book ocean view, balcony guarantee for an extra $180. Not free like some lucky people but oh well much better than close to 4000 they showing on the website for an OVB…

J&S

 

[Ampurp85]

I was going to say the tier certificates are exempt from any promotional offerings. There was OBC with interior and OV bookings when I booked mine. The rep made sure to say you can't stack promotional offerings. NextCruise is a promotional offer.

[billdauterive]

5 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

Good day,

Curios. Any benefit to using next cruise cert on prime booking? Would you get the onboard credit at the balcony level if you upgrade to such? We have so much already booked this year still trying to decide what to book early next year… Thanks for any thoughts on the subject..

J&S

No next cruise OBC for the prime cruise as already stated.  But for other comp cruises your OBC amount is tied to the original award category, not the upgrade category.  So if an instant cert is for a 7 night oceanview, you'll just get $50 OBC from the nextcruise booking even if you upgrade to a balcony.

[AshleyDillo]

12 minutes ago, billdauterive said:

instant cert is for a 7 night oceanview, you'll just get $50 OBC from the nextcruise booking even if you upgrade to a balcony

That explains where the mystery OBC came from on my last cruise! I had used a NextCruise open booking for an instant certificate on this one..and the $25 OBC for an interior was there. 

[Hoppy2BHere]

36 minutes ago, billdauterive said:

No next cruise OBC for the prime cruise as already stated.  But for other comp cruises your OBC amount is tied to the original award category, not the upgrade category.  So if an instant cert is for a 7 night oceanview, you'll just get $50 OBC from the nextcruise booking even if you upgrade to a balcony.

Ahhh. Good to know…Thanks!

[LCWind]

Not been my experience

[SplashOfWater]

18 hours ago, billdauterive said:

No next cruise OBC for the prime cruise as already stated.  But for other comp cruises your OBC amount is tied to the original award category, not the upgrade category.  So if an instant cert is for a 7 night oceanview, you'll just get $50 OBC from the nextcruise booking even if you upgrade to a balcony.

I've received the Next Cruise OBC associated with the upgraded category. I had an instant reward for an Oceanview and paid to upgrade to a Balcony, and received the OBC tied to the Balcony category. No change to OBC if you RoyalUp though.

[Matt]

I booked Serenade December 1, 2024

[Hoppy2BHere]

Oh and to accurately reply to this post… Wonder Feb 2, 2025…Balcony GTY… 

One more to use. Hope we don’t have to burn it on a weekend 3 night.. 

J&S

[Ampurp85]

5 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

Oh and to accurately reply to this post… Wonder Feb 2, 2025…Balcony GTY… 

One more to use. Hope we don’t have to burn it on a weekend 3 night.. 

J&S

If you had two prime certs, you could combine them for a higher category, if you don't want to waste on a shorty. 

[Obdave]

Rhapsody out of Puerto Rico, southern Caribbean port intensive cruise on November 10-17

 

[TDH]

Wondering if anyone got the email regarding the "Annual 2024 Signature Event at Sea" and the "European Extravaganza"? I can deduce the possible sailings for the European sailing (Odyssey in September) but all it says is for the Signature event is the Symphony in the "fall". I'd like to be able to plan/get airfare assuming I get the invite. Not to mention not having to cancel an earlier booked "free cruise" if it conflicts, which will have no value if cancelled.     

[ZBrady]

21 hours ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

Oh and to accurately reply to this post… Wonder Feb 2, 2025…Balcony GTY… 

One more to use. Hope we don’t have to burn it on a weekend 3 night.. 

J&S

I chose this as our annual casino cruise as well - will be celebrating my wife's birthday on board, so its a win-win!

[Hoppy2BHere]

20 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

If you had two prime certs, you could combine them for a higher category, if you don't want to waste on a shorty. 

We thought about it but balcony Gty upgrade was only $180 and weren’t sure how much the combined would have gotten us. Thinking more bang for the buck even on a weekender…or if our work will allow something else…

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, Hoppy2BHere said:

We thought about it but balcony Gty upgrade was only $180 and weren’t sure how much the combined would have gotten us. Thinking more bang for the buck even on a weekender…or if our work will allow something else…

I think Utopia is available, so that would be a nice bang for your buck scenario.

[SebagoSue]

We chose Utopia in October and booked a balcony upgrade for about $200.

[twangster]

Wonder in December.  

On a side note for a 1,500 certificate this past weekend I was able to book a Utopia balcony in September.  I was surprised a new ship in the first few months of service would be offered.  I figured it would be unavailable when I called but to their credit I was able to book it.  

[Gilley]

Is there  away to play on my husband's account to help him reach prime faster.  Can we both play on his account at the same time?  He plays way more than me.

[SplashOfWater]

38 minutes ago, twangster said:

Wonder in December.  

On a side note for a 1,500 certificate this past weekend I was able to book a Utopia balcony in September.  I was surprised a new ship in the first few months of service would be offered.  I figured it would be unavailable when I called but to their credit I was able to book it.  

Did you earn the certificate on a 3-5 nt cruise or a 6+ nt cruise? The offerings for 1,500 pts are typically better if earned on a short cruise.

[SplashOfWater]

6 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Is there  away to play on my husband's account to help him reach prime faster.  Can we both play on his account at the same time?  He plays way more than me.

Yes! Have your husband go to the host desk (or cashier if no host desk) on the first night of the cruise and ask for a second card. They'll create a special "casino-only" card for his account that you can use to play on his account. 

However...when I was on Wonder you tap your card (instead of insert) at the machine. The host didn't create a second card. He said I could just tap my card on my husband's machine and he could play under my account. This was not very convenient as we had to always be sitting near each other.

[twangster]

43 minutes ago, SplashOfWater said:

Did you earn the certificate on a 3-5 nt cruise or a 6+ nt cruise? The offerings for 1,500 pts are typically better if earned on a short cruise.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/casino/offers/2405A06.pdf

3nt

[Gilley]

1 hour ago, SplashOfWater said:

Yes! Have your husband go to the host desk (or cashier if no host desk) on the first night of the cruise and ask for a second card. They'll create a special "casino-only" card for his account that you can use to play on his account. 

However...when I was on Wonder you tap your card (instead of insert) at the machine. The host didn't create a second card. He said I could just tap my card on my husband's machine and he could play under my account. This was not very convenient as we had to always be sitting near each other.

Thank you for this info.  I will seek out the host.  It gives me a reason to go say hi to Chris Wong.  

[SplashOfWater]

1 hour ago, Gilley said:

It gives me a reason to go say hi to Chris Wong.  

We'll be in Icon next month and hope to see him too!

[billdauterive]

On 4/25/2024 at 12:09 PM, billdauterive said:

Symphony seems like a popular choice.  I also chose Symphony for Dec 1-8, upgraded to a gty balcony.

I actually tried to sneak in an 8 day on Oasis for the same week but 3 different reps weren't having it.  I'll usually try something 3 times with different reps (like upgrade prices) before I go to plan B.

The 8 night Oasis I was looking at before is now on a recent instant cert so I moved my prime cruise to Wonder Feb 2-9.  No oceanview balconies were available so I could only upgrade to a neighborhood balcony, but I got some upgrade cash back and additional freeplay so overall still happy.

[billdauterive]

On 5/7/2024 at 10:03 AM, twangster said:

On a side note for a 1,500 certificate this past weekend I was able to book a Utopia balcony in September.  I was surprised a new ship in the first few months of service would be offered.  I figured it would be unavailable when I called but to their credit I was able to book it.  

I noticed that too.  I assume the 4 day weekday post-summer is a little harder to fully fill even on a new ship, hence the availability on the "lower" level certs.  I was tempted to book one of those on the assumption I could get another cert soon to match to one of the few available 3 days to create a 7 day.

[Rose City Cruiser]

July 28 Freedom

[Andy & Sheryl Unwin]

We snagged a 6 night Western Caribbean on Freedom on December 1st