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Booking next cruise onboard VS online at home


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The cruise we are looking to take next (itinerary, not date, is what we are looking at) is decently priced right now. If I were to wait and book the same itinerary on our cruise in June, will we get a better deal? Is the deposit less? Is it worth it to book on the ship or does it not really matter?

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27 minutes ago, RBRSKI said:

I predict that the Next Cruise desk being removed from the ships in the very near future. Sad  for the crew staffing these location, Sad for Customers.  

How stupid would that be after they just spent all that money renovating those spaces.  Sometimes I think they have idiots running the place.

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Cruise fares are becoming like stock.  They go up and down every few weeks.  If your June cruise aligns with a downward trend you luck out at NextCruise.  If your June cruise aligns with an uptick in fare prices, you lose at NextCruise.  

I'd suggest not to forget about using a travel agent.  They can often find fares not present on the website.  The website seems to have eliminated refundable fares.  So far my agent can still find refundable fares in the system. One solution may be to book refundable now, then once on board in June check with NextCruise.  If you get lucky and stars align you can cancel your refundable booking and go with the NextCruise booking.  

Having said that I didn't bother to visit NextCruise on my last cruise.  I saw rates drop while on Serenade and called my agent to convert a refundable ocean view December booking into an non-refundable balcony for $30 more.  After the cruise I saw rates drop on a different fall cruise and did the same thing - converted from refundable to non-refundable and upgraded my cabin from OV to a balcony. 

A travel agent for me is becoming like a stock broker to help me manage the up and downs of the cruise fare market but it is work on both of our parts.

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In the past, the sign up book for the next cruise desk was always full.  The last three cruises which have been over the last year, I have walked by to see one maybe two people in the next cruise area with the sign up book nearly empty.  Has anyone else had this observation?  They will never admit it was a mistake nor go back to some of the perks they had when booking on board.  All they see is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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The only way I have seen fares go down is when I randomly check them during the week.  You can be sure that they do not go down during one of the many sales they promote.  

I agree with the TA.  Group bookings have produced some good fares.

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4 hours ago, Matt said:

I suggest booking now.  The onboard bonus is nice, but you risk the price going up between now and your sail date, thus negating any onboard savings.

Deposit amount is the same regardless of where you book.

We are just looking for the lowest price on our chosen itinerary. I heard that deposits are lower if booking with Next Cruise.

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

Cruise fares are becoming like stock.  They go up and down every few weeks.  If your June cruise aligns with a downward trend you luck out at NextCruise.  If your June cruise aligns with an uptick in fare prices, you lose at NextCruise.  

I'd suggest not to forget about using a travel agent.  They can often find fares not present on the website.  The website seems to have eliminated refundable fares.  So far my agent can still find refundable fares in the system. One solution may be to book refundable now, then once on board in June check with NextCruise.  If you get lucky and stars align you can cancel your refundable booking and go with the NextCruise booking.  

Having said that I didn't bother to visit NextCruise on my last cruise.  I saw rates drop while on Serenade and called my agent to convert a refundable ocean view December booking into an non-refundable balcony for $30 more.  After the cruise I saw rates drop on a different fall cruise and did the same thing - converted from refundable to non-refundable and upgraded my cabin from OV to a balcony. 

A travel agent for me is becoming like a stock broker to help me manage the up and downs of the cruise fare market but it is work on both of our parts.

I've heard from a number of people that a TA can't get more discounts than the cruiseline itself offers. Is this true? I've also heard more horror stories than good about booking with a TA. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

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38 minutes ago, kandamonk said:

I've heard from a number of people that a TA can't get more discounts than the cruiseline itself offers. Is this true? I've also heard more horror stories than good about booking with a TA. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

I would start with MEI, who is a sponsor of this site. You can fill out the form on the home page. There are quite a few of us who use them and have been happy with their service.

There are TAs who offer additional OBC, paid gratuities, etc.  I've recently tried one like this but I feel like the service I've received has been lacking...one thing I asked hasn't been done and my email ignored. So I'm back with MEI and my TA is very responsive and checks my price vs the current sale automatically.    

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On 4/20/2018 at 3:56 PM, RBRSKI said:

In the past, the sign up book for the next cruise desk was always full.  The last three cruises which have been over the last year, I have walked by to see one maybe two people in the next cruise area with the sign up book nearly empty.  Has anyone else had this observation?

On my recent cruise on Freedom, the sign up book on our last sea day was pretty light when I swung by around mid-morning; maybe a half-dozen names on the list tops and a couple crossed out. I didn't really pay attention other days when I went by there, but I want to say there was at least one day when I walked past and saw maybe a dozen people in / around the Next Cruise desk either talking with reps or waiting their turn.

On 4/20/2018 at 6:42 PM, kandamonk said:

We are just looking for the lowest price on our chosen itinerary. I heard that deposits are lower if booking with Next Cruise.

When I went to check on that, deposit was reduced only if you made a non-refundable deposit booking; in that case, it was only $100 per person instead of $250. If you wanted a refundable deposit (which we did) it was the normal $250 per person, full stop.

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Guest toodle68

On Adventurer, the next cruise location is on deck 8. It is so out of mind that we kept forgetting to visit. We actually intended to upgrade a cruise we had already booked since the grand suite was nicely priced. When we finally remembered to go on the last sea day, the price had jumped over $200.. 

Cruise pricing is frustrating. On our Dec cruise, the price of a JS dropped nearly $700 per person after final payment... for our recent March cruise, we were in a panoramic room and I was going to upgrade to a JS if we saw a price drop, only for the JS prices to go up and never become available. In hindsight, I wish I had paid the extra $200 per person that the JS fell too at one point.

I have not used a TA since the early 90's.. but I just recently move two of our cruises in 2019 to MEI. There are going to be 52 sales between now our our next cruise in May 19 and I want to be able to easily take advantage of any that saves us money.

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The short and long of it...it is no longer the deal it was..nor does it provide the perks or incentive to use it any longer.

 

Royal does not want to give away anything or lose any $$ that they don't have to. Cruise bookings aren't suffering so why give a break to anyone?!

 

That being said.I only used the next cruise desk once in 10 cruises...usually it was way too busy to visit or it was already booked up...now, they look so lonely sitting there.....and I am smart enough to know its not worth it any longer to even waste that 20 mins on the cruise talking to them.

 

Best advice for the best price/deal is to do the leg work  yourself...visit 3-4 different cruise travel sites....you can even track cruises on some sites. Book the best deal you can and then continue to watch it up to the final payment date for a better deal that may work in your favor once you consider all the penalties and incentives.

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2 hours ago, monctonguy said:

The short and long of it...it is no longer the deal it was..nor does it provide the perks or incentive to use it any longer.

 

Royal does not want to give away anything or lose any $$ that they don't have to. Cruise bookings aren't suffering so why give a break to anyone?!

 

That being said.I only used the next cruise desk once in 10 cruises...usually it was way too busy to visit or it was already booked up...now, they look so lonely sitting there.....and I am smart enough to know its not worth it any longer to even waste that 20 mins on the cruise talking to them.

 

Best advice for the best price/deal is to do the leg work  yourself...visit 3-4 different cruise travel sites....you can even track cruises on some sites. Book the best deal you can and then continue to watch it up to the final payment date for a better deal that may work in your favor once you consider all the penalties and incentives.

Amen to That!

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On 4/23/2018 at 6:41 AM, toodle68 said:

On Adventurer, the next cruise location is on deck 8. It is so out of mind that we kept forgetting to visit. We actually intended to upgrade a cruise we had already booked since the grand suite was nicely priced. When we finally remembered to go on the last sea day, the price had jumped over $200.. 

Cruise pricing is frustrating. On our Dec cruise, the price of a JS dropped nearly $700 per person after final payment... for our recent March cruise, we were in a panoramic room and I was going to upgrade to a JS if we saw a price drop, only for the JS prices to go up and never become available. In hindsight, I wish I had paid the extra $200 per person that the JS fell too at one point.

I have not used a TA since the early 90's.. but I just recently move two of our cruises in 2019 to MEI. There are going to be 52 sales between now our our next cruise in May 19 and I want to be able to easily take advantage of any that saves us money.

How did you like the panoramic cabins? We booked four cruises in these cabins.

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