How to get the cheapest cruise ship suite
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- Suites on a Royal Caribbean cruise aren't inexpensive, but you can sometimes get a really good deal on these luxurious accommodations, and I'm sharing tips on how to do it!
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It wasn't Royal, but I was scheduled to go on a cruise hosted by my travel agent a few years ago. About 2 weeks before the cruise the agent calls and says that the cruise line hasn't yet sold the Presidential Suite and was offering it to me for $100 apiece (wife and I). I took the offer, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The only down side was that my poor wife kept getting confused as to where the cabin door was because the suite was so big. She kept trying to exit the room through the closet.
I will take that downside and luxuriate in a Presidential Suite. It's on my bucket list. Glad you enjoyed the cruise. 😀
Who is your travel agent?
@@simmiao2138 Doesn't matter at this point. He died of a very rare heart condition about 2 years after that cruise.
I got my suite by sailing on Grandeur (which I LOVE, gonna miss ya in Baltimore pretty lady) which isnt one of the megas, but its a cruise, and its a suite. Combine that with a late season Bermuda cruise and the black friday sale (When I booked it was companion sails free), I got an Owners suite for 3k (final cost, not per person, including gratuities, taxes, etc). That worked great for me because then I had more money to splurge on the drink package (which I got the infamous mismarked drink package deal) which then allowed me to splurge on the specialty dining package. It was still a lot of money, but I got to take my husband on an unforgettable cruise. And he had NEVER wanted to go on a cruise before, but now, he cant wait to get back onboard a ship!
Rather than book a suite with my family of 4 (which would still have one bathroom), we just book 2 balcony connected cabins. Plenty of room for the 4 of us and 2 bathrooms!
There are me and 3 kids going on a cruise. But I can't do that uf i want my kid to travel for free. He must be in a room with 2 paying adults. So all of us must be in the same room to enjoy the cheapest deal. So i got a jr suite because these cabins are big yet cheap.
@@sariel8406 Yeah, with only 1 adult that makes it harder. Some lines don't do the free kids and charge about the same amount- I'm paying the same as an adult for my 13 year old on NCL. If one of your kids is 18, then they count as an adult and you can do the above. It all depends on the line and the deal they are running. Enjoy your Jr. Suite!
Very smart ideA
The 2 recommended strategies that I can say have worked for me are the "book early" strategy and the "sail during shoulder season" strategy. It's pretty exciting when you can book a suite on a particular sailiing for less than a balcony stateroom, or perhaps even an ocean view or interior stateroom, on another sailing. I rarely see fares reduce as sailing dates approach. Lately fares seem to skyrocket instead...
I've only got a couple things that have worked for me. First was Royal Up! to a junior suite. I bid about $5 above the minimum and hope for the best. It has worked twice for me. :)
The second one wasn't for a suite, but my daughter was going to put in a Royal Up! bid when her travel agent noticed that she could just do a straight upgrade to a balcony for less money than the minimum Royal Up! bid.
I have to say the whole 'book on release day' sounded nice and all but I never really put any stock into it.
But then, by a stroke of luck, Royal released new bookings for Allure on our last cruise the day we went to Next Cruise looking to get a new booking. A grand suite for 8 nights on this Oasis-class ship came in almost 2 grand lower than the same room on a Voyager class! There were other factors that played into this (primarily being amped vs not) but it was too good of a deal to pass up.
Add on top of that price drops in the first couple months since booking and we're (so far) getting this cruise for just over 2k per adult (2 adults).
I booked a Jr suite I thought well if I win my royal up bid to a 1 BR suite great! If not I still got what I wanted. I did a bid the lowest possible 100.00 PP. and won the 1 BR grand suite. It was the best with all the perks. Now I’m spoiled.
They gave away 2 suites at Royal Bingo on Harmony of the Seas Christmas Cruise lol
Thanks for the info I’m literally about to book a crown loft for an engagement :) Found a great deal for September. We both work in the hotel industry so that time works great for us since it’s so slow. I work at BahaMar the new spot to visit in Nassau! See you soon?
I really should think more about booking a suite straight away as soon as bookings open. The problem is, I look at those balcony fares, often 25% of the suite prices, and I just can't justify it. That plus the policy of non-refundable deposits always gives me pause.
I'm about to go on a cruise in a couple of weeks and I did royal up and it worked I'm so excited to go
2-night Jan 22 cruise to Coco Cay - put in the min bid of $50pp and got the upgrade to a JS - wasn't expecting much but was honestly surprised when it came through
Nice vid. Thanks.
We booked a suite for a sailing out of Barbados for Dec. 26, 2022. The price of a guaranteed suite over a balcony was only $100 extra per person. It was a no brainer. There are no bad suites.
Is it 100$ extra per day per person or per package per person?
@@bi_zha It was per person for the cruise. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the cruise because RCI could not find us a suitable flight. The airline cancelled our original flight.
Over Thansgiving We Cruise Virgin and now after 45 +
We have been looking at a Suite ....so this comes at a
good time....Just to give it a Try and then back at Balconys..
I followed your advice Matt. The new bookings for Odyssey out of Cape liberty came out this morning and my daughter and I booked a grand loft suite for 4 figures instead of 5. The cruise is 2 years from today. We are so excited!
That is awesome!
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog thank you for all of your great advice!
We booked a Suite Guarantee for our May cruise to Alaska. It wasn't much more than a balcony room at the time.
How do you reprice something when the room you booked isn't available to look and see what the price is anymore on royal Caribbean's website?
Booked early works for me always , plus I got deal on redeployments o yeah
Hey, thanks for the video. I' m looking for my fitst cruise, 01to06 october 22, from Barcelona. It is the Vision of the seas.Do you think, booking a sea view or balcony, and asking for an upgrade in the boat desck can be an option?¡ I mean, ones checking in, could it be a reasonable price?!
Thanks!
Finding a good travel agent is something I totally agree with. Do not use Echeveria travel. She will not answer questions, and she’s really only wants to book people on princess. Being a travel agent myself, that is not how you do things.
We got a grand suite on Freedom in October 2023 for $2500 for our family of four!
Wowww....great deal!! Did you book it far in advance and is this for 7 nights?
@@deemu7606 I booked in January or February for an October cruise, but unfortunately no... Only 4 nights. But still killer for 3 "adults" and 1 child
My experience with getting the best price is exactly the opposite of what you're saying. Wait until the last minute to book a cruise. You'll get the best price.
I'm all about the Jr Suite. Walk-in closet gives my wife room to put all of her stuff. I got ONE hanger. 🙄
Are the Royal Up only for the US market, I've not seen it on the UK/EU market?
Luck, booking early, and going for the shoulder seasons.
When you state that booking through a travel agent means they will do all the work for you, ie talking about tracking price of cruise and reprice it. What is the TA incentive to reprice your cruise you already booked with them? Why would any TA spend their time trying to lower your price? I assumed that a TA is based on commission. The better the room the higher the price and the TA commission.
If I'm mistaken in that assumption, please correct me.
The incentive for the TA is to retain you for more bookings. TAs don't make a lot of money on one booking. The real money is when they get you to book lots of trips with them over the long haul. The more they do to keep you coming back, the better for them financially in the long run.
Can you recommend some good travel agent specialized in cruise booking?
How to find the cheapest single sailings?
An you acclimated the higher points on your reward program
Thanks for promoting use of a travel agent. At the beginning of the pandemic many folks without an agent advocating for them were left high and dry with nowhere to turn, All because online agencies were unable to handle the workload.
Do you have a video on how to get $$ back when the price is lowered? We just booked one for June a couple of weeks ago and now the price is 200 lower today. We didn't get a travel agent (didn't see your videos until after we booked) and the process of going through manually all over again just to get an end price is rough! Thanks for any help!
Just call in and they’ll refund you the difference I did it today myself and for the third time on this cruise alone
@@mikeskordynski done! took 45 minutes due to the person not knowing what they were doing, but did eventually get done!
@@moneygrowsgreen great I’m glad you were able to if you do again hopefully it’s quicker lol
I paid less then 48hr, call RC they denied it... They said I "booked" it a day before paid day that why I did not get refund or paying the different... We always loser
When do they release new itineraries?
November/early December and then again in March/April
Does anyone know if there is a limit to how many time you can re-price your cruise?
No limit
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog they won't re-price, refund or on cruise credit to me at all!!! We paid full amount less then 48hrs before we saw a price drop... We r very disappointed
Zero... When we called and paid full balance they did not called it "booked it" the day before we call to shop for rooms and prices. They called it the day you "booked " there for it was more then 48hrs... You lost for sure
Where do you go to book last minute with Royal Caribbean?
I always book with a travel agent
Booked early on Princess in October and in January saw the price go down. Called my travel agent about it and got a $877 refund.
How long they allowed you for cancel and get refund? Thanks
When is the cheapest time to book a cruise?
January, February, September
@@michellejade3272 I missed the cutoff date then.
@@saeligutierrez8635 Those are the cheapest months to sail. You can still get good rates for September and October of 2022. You haven’t missed out on those.
I did a royal up bid, canceled the bid and still won the bid.
Thank matt that is good information this is Larry from CINCINNATI
I stopped your video after a few minutes a went to check on prices. I cannot justify paying nearly double for the same cruise (balcony compared to a grand suite-I’ve been upgraded to a junior suite before and it’s not worth paying extra for either). I’d rather book two cruises.
How do you know if a travel agent is good or not?
Recommendations from friends/family, or people online you can trust
Dont you have to pay a travel agent?
Nope. The cruise line pays them a commission, but it costs you nothing extra.
I know one thing I am seriously thinking Alaska for 2023 you after discovering what the sweet price is I.
This guy talks crazy fast. Great stuff though. Thanks for the tips!
I'm just a 47yr Autistic husband and father of 2 my wife has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer our 11yr Autistic son really wants to go on the Wonder of the seas
As of Jan 2023, Royal only lets you reprice up to 48 hours from your original booking date.
Incorrect
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog It literally says it on it's FAQs. I'm looking at it right now.
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog RC FAQ Quote "Spot a better price on your booked cruise?
Our Best Price Guarantee lets you take advantage of a better price within 48 hours from the time you booked- just give us a call or use our online form. You’ll receive the difference as a non-refundable onboard credit inside final payment or rate adjustment outside final payment."
I understand, but you can re-price cruises up to final payment date. I've done it a few times already this year.
I don't know why Royal doesn't post the policy on their site, but I promise you it's still a policy.
Hate to say it but a real suite is not a good deal. For example we have been on Celebrity APEX twice now. The Infinite Verandahs are really really big and the bathrooms are as good as anything alfoat. Spare me trying to get in and out of a tub and shower curtain in a Junior Suite. This is ghastly. So why pay more??? Really you shouldn' t be spending a lot of time in your room.That is not what cruisng is about. If you want to do this. Stay home. As far as food goes. The specialty restaurants are easily the equal of the suite restaurants and a lot cheaper if you consider the cost just to have entreee into the suite restaurant. And you are not stuck in the same restaurant for the cruise. Further, the huge extra price you pay for the suite restaurant does not give you free access or free reservations at the specialty restaurants. So why bother. Buy your wife a new diamond when you are ashore instead of splughing on a real suite. Not a Junior suite which is not a real suite. The perks are negligible for the latter.
How do you get the absolute cheapest price for a suite
Book the day new itineraries come out
As of 5/02/22 Royal Caribbean will no longer honor price match guarantee 🤬
That's what happened to us today... They will find any reasons to denied it.. no more RC
How about $0 from the Crowns and Anchors Society :)
I dont like that royal up going from a balcony to a suite you dont get suite extra loyalty pts. Ruins it for me
You still get the suite and suite perks for the length of the cruise. You also get the regular loyalty points.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too. The way they handle it is fair to people who paid typical suite rates. They deserve the loyalty points.
Saving money by drinking water
Everyone always says use a good travel agent, but never says how to find one. Without that bit of info, it’s useless advice.
Use MEI Travel
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“Exist” in your house… NO THANKS!!!!
easy ...just ask for it