As my next cruise approaches one of the questions that a cruiser must ask herself is whether or not to book the next cruise while on board. You see, there are definite advantages to booking a future cruise while on board ship. Let me explain.
First of all, even if this is your first cruise, by midway through the week or so, you will know whether or not you are a born cruiser. If you are indeed a born cruiser, you will learn quickly that the monster must be fed. You can't just wait a couple of years to book another cruise. In the meantime, you would surely shrivel up and die. No, it must happen and it must happen quickly to give you something to look forward to. Even if the cruise you book is 18 months away, it serves as that little carrot dangling out there in your future encouraging to you get up and go to work everyday so that you can pay for the next cruise. So, the next time you are on a cruise and midway through the week you think to yourself, I can't wait to do this again, do yourself a favor and make an appointment with the loyalty ambassador, future cruise consultant or re-booking specialist or whatever your line calls that person on their ships and book another cruise. If you do here are some of the advantages you might enjoy.
Upfront Savings
Reduced or even eliminated deposits can be had by booking during a cruise. Let's just say that you are on board a Royal Caribbean ship. The normal deposit due when you book is $250 per person. For a couple you would be out at least $500 on the day you book. But if you book on board a ship, this deposit is reduced to $100 per person. You might be thinking, what if I could shop around and find a better price than this Royal Caribbean employee is giving me on this cruise???? If you feel that there is a better price to be had, then shop around when you get home. If you find a better price before the final payment is due, call RCI and give them the information. They will reduce your rate to the lower price. You should keep in mind that they will not do the price comparisons for you. You must perform your own due diligence to ensure that you get the best price possible (or ask your industrious and hard working travel agent to do it for you).
Did Somebody Say On Board Credits?
Most cruise lines will also give you an on board credit on the future cruise or a discount on that future cruise if you book during your current one. On Royal Caribbean, you get a $50 on board credit for booking a 3 or 4 night cruise, $100 on board credit for booking a 7 night cruise and $200 on board credit for booking 8 nights or longer. I LOVE on board credits. It is so nice to be on a cruise and get a two page bill slid under the door that last night and look down at the bottom page to discover that half of your drinks and that crazy hat you bought on the promenade deck have already been paid for.
Cabin Choices
Have you ever wanted the coveted aft corner cabin on a ship? This is the best way to get one. You see the aft corner cabins on most older ships (built before 2000) are roomier and have the most incredible balcony you will ever see on a cruise ship. The most amazing thing about these cabins is that they are the same price as a regular D2 balcony cabin. But your balcony is big enough to throw a party on. And you can see everything you go past on either side of the ship! If you get with a future cruise consultant, they can help you find one of those cabins if any are available. This is especially important for an Alaskan or Panama Canal cruise in which the highlight of the cruise is what you see from the ships railing. Again, these cabins sell out quickly so you generally have to book a cruise pretty far out in the future to get one.
Wanna Take Care Of Your Travel Agent / Great Friend?
If you book while on board, the travel agent who booked your current cruise will get the credit and commission. If you want that credit and commission to go to your friend who just started her own struggling travel agency out of her home and sends you a lot of great information via daily blogs you can give the future cruise consultant her information and she will get credit. You may ask, what's in it for me? Well let me tell you.... Once you get home and give your friend.... let's just call her Susan, all of your cruise information, she can start looking for better prices on your cruise and handle trying to get a better deal for you!!!! Your cruise costs the same whether a travel agent gets commission on it or not. If no travel agent gets a commission then RCI just nets a little more money. But if a reputable travel agent is given credit for the booking, she will be very appreciative and do everything in her power to make sure you are getting the best deal possible. Also, she can help you research the ports of call you will be making and give you suggestions for excursions and even book them for you. She can be a one stop shop for you once you get home.... just sayin'.
Want to Upgrade Cruise Lines On Your Next Vacation?
Let's just say that you are sailing on Royal Caribbean this week, but you want to upgrade to a better cruise line for your next cruise. You still might be able to book during your current cruise and get all of those benefits. You see a lot of cruise lines are owned by a single parent company and the future cruise consultants on any of their ships can book for each of those lines. For instance, the same company owns Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara. During my last Royal Caribbean cruise, I wanted to book a future cruise and as I sat with the consultant, we couldn't get the price I wanted on board a Royal Caribbean ship so he found us a cruise to the ports I wanted within my price range on Celebrity. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. The Celebrity cruise I booked turned out to be the best one I have been on and I got exactly what I wanted. Plus it was an upgrade from Royal Caribbean.
Don't Know Where You Want To Go?
Not to worry! Most cruise lines will now allow you to book an open ended cruise during a current cruise. In other words, you pay your deposit and then decide at a later date where and when you want to go. You have as much as 10 years to take the cruise, so there is no hurry to make a decision. But when you do take the cruise, your deposit has already been paid and you have ship board credits waiting for you.
So, as you can see, with very little commitment from you, there are a number of benefits to be had by booking during your current cruise. But when booking that future cruise on your next one, just remember these very valuable words.... Susan Meyers, that's M-E-Y-E-R-S, Places You'll Go Travel so that you'll get the best possible service and don't forget to let me know when you get home so that I can start working on things for you immediately.
Make it a great Thursday!
No comments:
Post a Comment