The changes take place on Oct. 28th. So, I still have to use the old system for the next 24 days. Now that I understand how it works, I'm okay with it. As the guy was whizzing through the new processes, he would say things like, "this is what you do right now...." and I was thinking, Hmmmm.... this is really cool. I didn't know I could do this now.... Until yesterday I thought I had to call and speak to a human to create a group reservation. So, yesterday, I did a group reservation of my own using their current website! It was amazing! Going forward it will get even better, because the new system is designed to always find the best available price based on the qualifiers that I enter for my passengers without me having to do so much work. But until then the current system is much better than I ever thought it was.
When I did my initial Royal Caribbean training last year, it was mostly about the ships, amenities and itineraries. There were a couple of different group reservation things. But there were no training pieces I remember that walked you through actually creating a group. A little bit of good old fashion, click this button and see what happens training would have been beneficial. In the last year I have managed to figure out most of what I needed to know about creating individual reservations on my own. But it took some time. And again, I apparently missed a LOT!
So anyway, now I have a group reservation. I think it is a terrific group reservation. The cruise is scheduled for June 8th out of Galveston on Navigator of the Seas. Texas schools get out on June 6th. (You see where I'm going with this?) In case you have missed my near constant announcements for the last several months, Navigator will be in Galveston year round this year!!!! That is huge. Since Rhapsody left in 2007, Texas hasn't had a year round ship that wasn't Carnival. And as you may have gathered, based on past posts, Carnival isn't really my cup of tea at this time. But that's not to say that my opinion won't change if I get on that free cruise in February and everything turns out to be good.
Anyway, back to the group reservation.... A group reservation is where I can reserve 8 rooms and lock a base price in. This June 8th cruise to Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand Cayman is the cheapest one of the summer out of Galveston on RCCL. I have reserved 4 balconies and 4 inside cabins. The least expensive insides start at $689 per person double occupancy. I got 2 of those. They are just basic inside cabins, nothing special. Then I also got 2 of the inside virtual balconies. These are pretty amazing. They go for $749 per person double occupancy. The virtual balcony is a screen on the wall of the room that is about the same size as the balcony door on an actual balcony room. If you turn the screen on, you can see real time via a couple of fixed cameras mounted on the ship what is going on outside. If you are docked, you'll see a view of where you are docked. If you turn the volume on, you can even hear the sounds from outside. It will be as though you are actually looking out through a balcony door. If you are at sea, you will see the water as you sail through it and the occasional ship in the distance. You can turn the screen off as you please or leave it on throughout your journey.
The virtual balconies are part of the revitalization that Navigator is going through in January. Navigator will be Royal Caribbean's first ship at sea with virtual balconies. When Quantum of the Seas sets sail on it's inaugural voyage in November of 2014, it will be the second of the fleet to have virtual balconies. During that revitalization, Navigator will also get a FloRider and some of the things that makes Central Park on the Oasis class ships so wonderful. I personally have never been on a FloRider but I have spent hours watching other braver people than me attempt to stand up on a surfboard on one. It is some of the best entertainment at sea.
The other four rooms I have reserved are actual balcony cabins. (The kind you can fall off of if you climb up on the railing, please keep all body parts inside the railing....) They start at $1119 per person double occupancy for the two deluxe balconies that I reserved and $1139 per person double occupancy for the two superior balconies that I have reserved. So as you can see, the prices for this summer cruise are not extremely high. As the summer goes on the prices become higher and higher and the chances of running into a storm that could make a mess of your vacation increase as well. So if you want to get the best possible price of the summer on a really fun ship let me know and I can hook you up with one of these rooms. But don't wait too long to react. I expect to be sold out of these rooms in a few weeks. By the way, if you are over 55, active or retired military, a cop or firefighter, I might be able to get you an even better price.
Have a terrific weekend! I'm hopping to go downtown tonight to watch fireworks to celebrate the re-opening of the Reunion Tower observation deck.
No comments:
Post a Comment