@@farhatagwaeten1870 Directly from Royal Caribbean. Last year they greatly reduced excursions, drink packages, and all the stuff you buy after your cruise is booked.
Always check the price often before paying in full. I book my cruise in advance and check the price every month or two. When the price drops, I call RC and they lower the price and make a new bill with the new lower price
Is that allowed even when there’s a disclaimer at checkout while making the deposit before final payment that you only have 48hrs to adjust price if it drops?
You should do a video on solo traveling. How to book a solo on a RC cruise on their website: Solo balcony rooms to save money. They are usually 1.5x the price. But you need to reserve in advance since there are so few solo cabins
@@kmarshie Most Quantum class and a couple of the Oasis class have solo rooms, they're called studio rooms and usually about 12 or so per ship, so they go extremely quick
I’ve used vacations to go to book my cruises and they do a pretty good job on pricing, answering questions and knowing the layout of ships. They also reprice cruises if you notice a drop in price
Though I don't use them (we use Crucon), I love VTG's advanced search engine function to see everything that is available for the type of itinerary we desire.
@@stephanieking754 sorry you had a bad experience with them my agent Hugh from VTG has been really great and helpful. He always calls RC when I notice a price drop and factors in the on board credit VTG gives. Even if I’m saving $50 he’ll let me know whether to reprice or not
Just last night I was looking at a cruise from Rome to Miami 13 nights for $450 per person. Two people including taxes and fees would be all-in for $1200. The cost per night is the lowest I have ever seen, but one must factor the costs of international flights. Cheapest possible cruise may be the closest port to you or cheapest flight as well.
How do people find out about all the different ways to save money? I ran into a couple on my cruise last week who cruise 6 months a year! I was like HOW???? They said three things! 1) If you are a shareholder, you can save hundreds per shareholder, so if both people are shareholders (100 share minimum), EACH person gets $250 off the price, so that can be $500 off EACH CRUISE. 2) They are part of the casino players club and get HUGE discounts on cruises, getting hundreds off each cruise, sometimes a free cruise-based off how much you play, not how much you win or lose and joining these clubs is FREE, you just have to enroll 3) Both of them served in the military. Between these three things, they told me the average cruise cost them $50 each, (not including port fees/taxes). I'm sure there even more ways, must not sure how people find out, I guess watching TH-cam videos and reading comments... LOL 🤪
Matt is completely correct , my cruise is in November and my flights have changed twice since March. My travel agent has kept me up to date and made sure that my choices have always been considered.
I’m going on Vision of the seas to Bermuda 4th time 😅 out of Baltimore on August 26th. Bringing two first timers with me. We got the drink package. We have a window room and placed a 200$ PP bid to upgrade to a balcony on a sold out ship… fingers crossed
I booked an inside guarantee on Allure back in March during a Kids Sail Free promo. Sailing in January 2024, Its just myself and my 2 kids going $1202 with Prepaid gratuities! Interior guarantee cabins are currently sold out. To select your interior cabin right now on that sailing is $2110 without gratuities. Love a great deal on travel!!
Love, love, love repositioning cruises! Almost always the best value per night available. We particularly like westbound transatlantic - for both Celebrity and Royal. These typically sail in the fall of each year from Europe back to the US. Barcelona, Rome, and Southampton are the typical departure ports. Air fares over to Europe also tend be less expensive that time of year as well. Our strategy is to go go over to Europe a week or so ahead of time, see some sites, and then invest our last day before boarding getting our laundry done and repacking to get on-board the next day. Then, we come home "the old fashioned way" via a sailing. Right now, we are eyeing a Sept/Oct '24 repositioning cruise from HI to Sydney, AUS. There are several sailings spread across both Celebrity and Royal. This would also give us both an equator and a dateline crossing via a ship. Though we already have an equator crossing from a Lauderdale to Chile canal crossing repo on Celebrity, it's always fun repeat the equator crossing and watch the "Order of Neptune" ceremonies that are a mariner tradition.
@@camiengle1680 The specific cruises in question all depart from Honolulu and sail to Sydney. They are, in order, Celebrity Solstice departing 10/1 and arriving SYD 10/19, Celebrity Edge departing on 10/3 and arriving SYD on 10/22, and RC Ovation departing 10/13 arriving SYD 11/1. I hope this is helpful.
We actually look for places we can drive to so that we don't have to pay airfair. Plus my Dad was honorably discharged from the Navy (he was Navy JAG) so we get the military discount. Plus, all 3 of us are Diamond and Emerald members of "Crown And Anchor Society" so we get special discounts. We also use a fantastic TA who knows our needs and has additional discounts.
A great youtube with good information. Last month we were on the Grandeur in a GS which cost half of what a GS would have cost on the Wonder. Thank you for great content.
Don't forget booking a cruise while on another cruise. We booked a 12 night cruise in a Grand Suite while on another cruise and got a good price on the stateroom (it was a Guaranty booking) as well as $600 in OBC. Reduced deposits are also a benefit of on board booking. Since we know we'll spend that much (and probably more) while on board, we look at it as money saved.
Best ways to save are last minute if flexible with departure port, and transatlantic which was our first cruise actually! However, ease of travel is also worth a lot of money. As long as you can afford whatever cruise you purchase, paying more for ease is often worth it. Rarely have we shown up to the cruise ship and focused on the paid price, we are just excited to get easily from the car to the ship
I always book as far in advance as possible. I have cruises booked all the way up to July 2025! I work part-time as a travel agent but my full-time job does not have flexibility for when I can travel. Alaska has been very cheap lately! We are traveling Friday on our first Alaska cruise and can't wait.
I'm planning my first cruise, still a ways in the future, and your channel is so fun and informative for me, thank you. No matter what, I'm saving for that mid-ship, unrestricted-view balcony. ❤️🥰🚢⚓
I always book my next cruise the day I board my current cruise. The best perk is getting some really good onboard ship credit. I book anywhere from 7 months to 1 year in advance. I make payments as I go so when the final payment is due it's not as large a payment.
You’re right about that! I’m taking my mom on our first cruise in near 20 years and the airfare and airport transfers are not much less money than both of our cruise tickets in a balcony cabin. Not to mention the drink package, excursions and all the nickel and diming the airlines do!
@nnahler We don't buy drink packages, except for a couple of us buying the soda package. We usually do a couple of excursions, but most of the time, we shop in the ports and do stuff on the ship. We see all of the shows, and we don't drink enough to justify a drink package. It's the cost of flying to and from the port and flying in early, so there's the cost of a hotel and transfers too. That's the killer - almost as much as the cruise.
Same here. Just went on one last month. The tickets were almost 1900 and the cruise itself was about 2300 for a balcony cabin. Thinking about driving next time 🥲
Thank you, Matt, for your very helpful tips. Especially like your advice to book through a travel agent. We never know when an issue might arise. We might have a small question about our booking or something more serious that needs sorting out. TA will be able to use their expertise, help resolve the problem saving us a lot of worry👍🏻 Thank you again.
I was a travel agent for 17 years. I helped the client get the best deals and kept checking the fares in case they went down. I was there to help them anyway I could.
I just did my first booking with a travel agent and I am on Icon for a lot less than through RC's website. It's part of a group rate from the travel agent. It helps that it's only two of us going instead of the usual 3 but I'll take it. On the newest ship for a lot less? Yes please. One negative to the one way Alaska ones that I've found is that the flights can be more than if you did round trip from Seattle, at least us coming from the Midwest.
I booked icon of the seas back in April I believe to leave Miami in March, prices in April for me and my wife $3500, now the price to book for 1 person is $4500!!!! If we waited we would’ve had to pay $9000!!
@KK-FL that is exactly what I did and I was worried that my agent wouldn't allow me to do so. So happy she didn't take it personal and allowed me to take control of 90% of things. The only part I hate is when it comes to making payments or any account balances towards the cruise royal caribbean will not speak with you and refers you back to your agent. Other than that it's been a good experience 😊
I enjoy the process so much that I became a part time travel agent 😂😂😂😂. There's only so many cruises I can research and book for myself and now I get to explore even more.
My TA just saved us $2000 on balcony cabin because they had a group rate. I did all the research and plan to do an interior cabin and she got us the balcony cheaper than the interior on the RCCL site.
We pull the kids out of school. Our sweet spot is hurricane season and it’s never impacted us. Not ideal but we couldn’t do it at peak pricing. We have always gone Carnival but we are going Royal Carribean in September. It was cheaper for us to do a 7 day with 4 ports than a 4-5 day with 2 ports. SOLD
The sailing on a smaller and older ship is very much region dependant. If you're sailing from outside the US, or even Europe perhaps, RCL, and other lines, may only send one or two ships to that region for the season, thus eliminating ship choice.
What did you call the deal you could get on older boats that had been refurbished? Amfly ? Sorry couldn’t make out what you said. I have trouble with that sometimes. 🥴
DEPENDS... LOL. I know, everyone loves that answer. Some cruise lines offer onboard credit, so the cruise is the same price, but they give you hundreds to spend on board, because they know the massage onboard cost $250, thus they are only giving you ONE massage, the hundreds they give you is all flash, with very little buying power... Some cruise lines will let you buy future credit towards a future cruise, but it expires in X months, use it or lose it... So you can buy several $100 gift cards towards the purchase of a cruise for only $75 each, but again, remember, if you don't use them, you LOSE them, unless you KNOW you are going to use ALL the ones you buy, you can end up losing money quick... Several other ways they offer discounts as well, the key is to read the FINE PRINT!!!!
booking with a travel agent is ridiculously expensive. A friend of mine spent $8,000+ on a cruise package and I did a better cruise everything included for under $2500.
One thing I loved when I started off Cruising was booking it a year in advance for 2 reasons. 1. You can always re-book the cruise if the price actually changes. Sometimes there will be a sale that could make the cost much cheaper then when you first booked it. So if you talk to your travel agent or with Royal themselves. They can re-book it for you. 2. There are some agents (And I believe Royal can too. I never tried) that can do a payment plan for a cruise. This helped me a lot instead of paying a huge amount at one time. Of course once you hit 3 months or so before the cruise. You have to finish paying the rest off. BUT! It does make it easier paying $100 a month then paying a couple thousand (for example) all at once.
I haven’t been on a cruise but when I go I want to sail royal carribean the only issue is that I have five people in my family, meaning we have to buy two separate staterooms which means double the price.
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlogI saw a few of there ships had five people rooms but now I don’t see that. What would you suggest? Just buy the two rooms is that the best thing I can do?
I book through the Club Royale travel agent. We usually get the best prices. I’ve bother through travel agents twice. One, a friend of a friend, I had to badger ever sale to make sure I got the best price. Then she crowed about how much more money she got me off. Really??? The second, I was online at the same time, I found a concierge balcony for $500 less than the regular balcony with $450 onboard credit. She switched my and then my other friend’s cabin. But she did get us another $100 in onboard credit. Overall, I am not impressed with travel agents.
Another way to save money if you're just a couple cruising is book the cheapest room. Do you really need a balcony or oceanview if you're only in your room to shower & sleep?! 🤷♂️ You get plenty of ocean views all over the ship all day/night. I also second the tip in this video about older ships. I know how great some of the newest ships look but they're pretty crowded no matter what time of year you go. Wait until the current new ships are no longer the new ships. I like looking at the ships that are around 4 - 10 years old because they tend to be less crowded (depending on time of year) and slightly cheaper but still offer a modern feel. Anything older tends to feel too dated. Most people book the newest and biggest ships from the past 2-3 years. In 2024 you're going to pay more for a cruise on a ship that first started sailing between 2022 - 2024 than you will if you book a cruise on a ship from 2016 - 2019 for example.
I've booked two cruises on my own and two through travel agents. Our next cruise is also through a travel agent. They can find deals that you can't find on your own. I booked through AAA once and all four of us got two meals each in the specialty restaurants, plus $50 in shipboard credits per cabin. My current travel agent always finds us some discounts that we couldn't get on our own.
I booked my first cruise with a travel agent but didn't have great experiences so I started booking myself. I then started using the agency Matt recommends and didn't have issues but decided to become a travel agent myself instead 😂.
Determine how long you can afford to have the cruise line make. Money on your money. Book early get insurance but pay over time within the set deadlines.
Any tips for a family of 5? Hard to find rooms that accommodate 5 anymore so you are forced to book a suite, which is also pretty expensive these days. Sad that they are pricing bigger families out.
Why is booking a family of 5 so hard? I keep getting an error that says theirs no cabins for 3 people (trying to do two cabins). It also don't let me input 5 people... I probably need a TA don't I.
If you have the vacation time, book a back to back one way Alaskan cruise, cheapest 14 day round trip Alaskan cruise out there. No need to "do it all" on the 1st one way as you will see it upon your return trip.
Question for all of you experienced cruisers: how much is considered a cheap cruise rate per person per night (including taxes)? Name a range. Is it 100 - 130 an awesome deal? As this nightly rate its a good indicator and standardise way of comparing.
Have you tried slowing down the video. The command is under 'settings' (little gear logo) at the bottom right of the screen. I hope this is of some help :)
Have you tried slowing down the video. The command is under 'settings' (little gear logo) at the bottom right of the screen. I hope this is of some help :)
Watch for Black Friday Deals for excursions, drink packages, etc… We saved up to 60 % by purchasing Black Friday deals.
Which website you got 60% discount ?
@@farhatagwaeten1870 Directly from Royal Caribbean. Last year they greatly reduced excursions, drink packages, and all the stuff you buy after your cruise is booked.
@@farhatagwaeten1870royal caribbeans website
Me too
@@farhatagwaeten1870 Royal Caribbean’s website.
Always check the price often before paying in full. I book my cruise in advance and check the price every month or two. When the price drops, I call RC and they lower the price and make a new bill with the new lower price
Is that allowed even when there’s a disclaimer at checkout while making the deposit before final payment that you only have 48hrs to adjust price if it drops?
Do you pay extra for a full deposit refund?
@@deskubriryes it is allowed. I repriced my cruise 4 times since booking, and they were weeks apart when I called.
You should do a video on solo traveling. How to book a solo on a RC cruise on their website: Solo balcony rooms to save money. They are usually 1.5x the price. But you need to reserve in advance since there are so few solo cabins
I go all the time. But it's usually paying double occupancy.
Can u explain more? Or give an example? I want to try this
I have only seen single cabins with Norwegian. They even have a lounge abs while deck designated for the solo travelers
@@kmarshie Most Quantum class and a couple of the Oasis class have solo rooms, they're called studio rooms and usually about 12 or so per ship, so they go extremely quick
I’ve used vacations to go to book my cruises and they do a pretty good job on pricing, answering questions and knowing the layout of ships. They also reprice cruises if you notice a drop in price
Same
Though I don't use them (we use Crucon), I love VTG's advanced search engine function to see everything that is available for the type of itinerary we desire.
VTG wouldn't reprice for us. Our cruise dropped dramatically and they gave us $100 off. I don't use them anymore.
@@stephanieking754 sorry you had a bad experience with them my agent Hugh from VTG has been really great and helpful. He always calls RC when I notice a price drop and factors in the on board credit VTG gives. Even if I’m saving $50 he’ll let me know whether to reprice or not
Just last night I was looking at a cruise from Rome to Miami 13 nights for $450 per person. Two people including taxes and fees would be all-in for $1200. The cost per night is the lowest I have ever seen, but one must factor the costs of international flights. Cheapest possible cruise may be the closest port to you or cheapest flight as well.
What date, ship, cabin type?
Where you find that deals Bro 😎? More details, which website? Date ?
It is a one-way cruise on Royal Caribbean's site. Just go to the cruises page and sort by longest first.
How do people find out about all the different ways to save money? I ran into a couple on my cruise last week who cruise 6 months a year! I was like HOW???? They said three things! 1) If you are a shareholder, you can save hundreds per shareholder, so if both people are shareholders (100 share minimum), EACH person gets $250 off the price, so that can be $500 off EACH CRUISE. 2) They are part of the casino players club and get HUGE discounts on cruises, getting hundreds off each cruise, sometimes a free cruise-based off how much you play, not how much you win or lose and joining these clubs is FREE, you just have to enroll 3) Both of them served in the military. Between these three things, they told me the average cruise cost them $50 each, (not including port fees/taxes). I'm sure there even more ways, must not sure how people find out, I guess watching TH-cam videos and reading comments... LOL 🤪
Matt is completely correct , my cruise is in November and my flights have changed twice since March. My travel agent has kept me up to date and made sure that my choices have always been considered.
I’m going on Vision of the seas to Bermuda 4th time 😅 out of Baltimore on August 26th. Bringing two first timers with me. We got the drink package. We have a window room and placed a 200$ PP bid to upgrade to a balcony on a sold out ship… fingers crossed
I booked an inside guarantee on Allure back in March during a Kids Sail Free promo. Sailing in January 2024, Its just myself and my 2 kids going $1202 with Prepaid gratuities! Interior guarantee cabins are currently sold out. To select your interior cabin right now on that sailing is $2110 without gratuities. Love a great deal on travel!!
Love, love, love repositioning cruises! Almost always the best value per night available. We particularly like westbound transatlantic - for both Celebrity and Royal. These typically sail in the fall of each year from Europe back to the US. Barcelona, Rome, and Southampton are the typical departure ports. Air fares over to Europe also tend be less expensive that time of year as well. Our strategy is to go go over to Europe a week or so ahead of time, see some sites, and then invest our last day before boarding getting our laundry done and repacking to get on-board the next day. Then, we come home "the old fashioned way" via a sailing.
Right now, we are eyeing a Sept/Oct '24 repositioning cruise from HI to Sydney, AUS. There are several sailings spread across both Celebrity and Royal. This would also give us both an equator and a dateline crossing via a ship. Though we already have an equator crossing from a Lauderdale to Chile canal crossing repo on Celebrity, it's always fun repeat the equator crossing and watch the "Order of Neptune" ceremonies that are a mariner tradition.
The Sept/Oct '24 cruise sounds amazing. Is it through Royal Caribbean? I looked under repositioning and did not see it. Thanks.
@@camiengle1680 The specific cruises in question all depart from Honolulu and sail to Sydney. They are, in order, Celebrity Solstice departing 10/1 and arriving SYD 10/19, Celebrity Edge departing on 10/3 and arriving SYD on 10/22, and RC Ovation departing 10/13 arriving SYD 11/1. I hope this is helpful.
@@dennisblazey3315 very helpful. Thank you!
We actually look for places we can drive to so that we don't have to pay airfair. Plus my Dad was honorably discharged from the Navy (he was Navy JAG) so we get the military discount. Plus, all 3 of us are Diamond and Emerald members of "Crown And Anchor Society" so we get special discounts. We also use a fantastic TA who knows our needs and has additional discounts.
A great youtube with good information. Last month we were on the Grandeur in a GS which cost half of what a GS would have cost on the Wonder. Thank you for great content.
Don't forget booking a cruise while on another cruise. We booked a 12 night cruise in a Grand Suite while on another cruise and got a good price on the stateroom (it was a Guaranty booking) as well as $600 in OBC. Reduced deposits are also a benefit of on board booking. Since we know we'll spend that much (and probably more) while on board, we look at it as money saved.
0:57
Best ways to save are last minute if flexible with departure port, and transatlantic which was our first cruise actually! However, ease of travel is also worth a lot of money. As long as you can afford whatever cruise you purchase, paying more for ease is often worth it. Rarely have we shown up to the cruise ship and focused on the paid price, we are just excited to get easily from the car to the ship
Unless your passport can’t go to the embarking or disembarking port and need to fly 14 hours to apply for a visa
I always book as far in advance as possible. I have cruises booked all the way up to July 2025! I work part-time as a travel agent but my full-time job does not have flexibility for when I can travel.
Alaska has been very cheap lately! We are traveling Friday on our first Alaska cruise and can't wait.
What cruise line are you cruising to Alaska with?
Thanks for plugging Travel agencies! I own a travel agency and get my client better deals then they can on their own most of the time.
I'm planning my first cruise, still a ways in the future, and your channel is so fun and informative for me, thank you. No matter what, I'm saving for that mid-ship, unrestricted-view balcony. ❤️🥰🚢⚓
I always book my next cruise the day I board my current cruise. The best perk is getting some really good onboard ship credit. I book anywhere from 7 months to 1 year in advance. I make payments as I go so when the final payment is due it's not as large a payment.
The problem with Midwest cruisers is the flight to and from the port. That's why we don't cruise more often then we do.
You’re right about that! I’m taking my mom on our first cruise in near 20 years and the airfare and airport transfers are not much less money than both of our cruise tickets in a balcony cabin. Not to mention the drink package, excursions and all the nickel and diming the airlines do!
@nnahler We don't buy drink packages, except for a couple of us buying the soda package. We usually do a couple of excursions, but most of the time, we shop in the ports and do stuff on the ship. We see all of the shows, and we don't drink enough to justify a drink package.
It's the cost of flying to and from the port and flying in early, so there's the cost of a hotel and transfers too. That's the killer - almost as much as the cruise.
Same here. Just went on one last month. The tickets were almost 1900 and the cruise itself was about 2300 for a balcony cabin. Thinking about driving next time 🥲
Yea it overall is always more expensive for us
Wow! I had no idea about the GGG list on mondays. Thanks!!
Thank you, Matt, for your very helpful tips.
Especially like your advice to book through a travel agent.
We never know when an issue might arise.
We might have a small question about our booking or something more serious that needs sorting out.
TA will be able to use their expertise, help resolve the problem saving us a lot of worry👍🏻
Thank you again.
I was a travel agent for 17 years. I helped the client get the best deals and kept checking the fares in case they went down. I was there to help them anyway I could.
I just did my first booking with a travel agent and I am on Icon for a lot less than through RC's website. It's part of a group rate from the travel agent. It helps that it's only two of us going instead of the usual 3 but I'll take it. On the newest ship for a lot less? Yes please.
One negative to the one way Alaska ones that I've found is that the flights can be more than if you did round trip from Seattle, at least us coming from the Midwest.
If you have time, do a back to back Alaska (two one ways) then you can book a roundtrip from the same airports.
How much for the icons? What travel agency? Is it off season?
Can you recommend travel agent? Thank you
Is the Going Going Gone flyer available weekly? Thanks for all you do to keep us informed!
Yes, nearly most weeks it gets updated
I booked icon of the seas back in April I believe to leave Miami in March, prices in April for me and my wife $3500, now the price to book for 1 person is $4500!!!! If we waited we would’ve had to pay $9000!!
I see most cruise youtubers recommend a travel agent but I enjoy the process too much to have someone do it for me.
I like to find the cruise I want and then get my TA to book it for me. I definitely need to be in control of the details!
@KK-FL I do the same. I pick the cruise, let my TA do the work, then I choose the details.
@KK-FL that is exactly what I did and I was worried that my agent wouldn't allow me to do so. So happy she didn't take it personal and allowed me to take control of 90% of things. The only part I hate is when it comes to making payments or any account balances towards the cruise royal caribbean will not speak with you and refers you back to your agent. Other than that it's been a good experience 😊
I enjoy the process so much that I became a part time travel agent 😂😂😂😂. There's only so many cruises I can research and book for myself and now I get to explore even more.
My TA just saved us $2000 on balcony cabin because they had a group rate. I did all the research and plan to do an interior cabin and she got us the balcony cheaper than the interior on the RCCL site.
We pull the kids out of school. Our sweet spot is hurricane season and it’s never impacted us. Not ideal but we couldn’t do it at peak pricing. We have always gone Carnival but we are going Royal Carribean in September. It was cheaper for us to do a 7 day with 4 ports than a 4-5 day with 2 ports. SOLD
The sailing on a smaller and older ship is very much region dependant. If you're sailing from outside the US, or even Europe perhaps, RCL, and other lines, may only send one or two ships to that region for the season, thus eliminating ship choice.
Where is the "Going Going Gone" link?
creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Here is Going going gone link..... creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Added it to the description!
What did you call the deal you could get on older boats that had been refurbished? Amfly ? Sorry couldn’t make out what you said. I have trouble with that sometimes. 🥴
Thanks for the "going, going, gone" upload! Is there anyway that we can either subscribe or locate this on a weekly basis?
The URL never changes, so check back each week
Where can I find the going, going gone sale flyer every week?
Is it best to book your next cruise while you are on cruise?
DEPENDS... LOL. I know, everyone loves that answer. Some cruise lines offer onboard credit, so the cruise is the same price, but they give you hundreds to spend on board, because they know the massage onboard cost $250, thus they are only giving you ONE massage, the hundreds they give you is all flash, with very little buying power... Some cruise lines will let you buy future credit towards a future cruise, but it expires in X months, use it or lose it... So you can buy several $100 gift cards towards the purchase of a cruise for only $75 each, but again, remember, if you don't use them, you LOSE them, unless you KNOW you are going to use ALL the ones you buy, you can end up losing money quick... Several other ways they offer discounts as well, the key is to read the FINE PRINT!!!!
AARP also offers discounted gift card for some curies lines. Enjoyed the video. Thanks for the insightful information on discounts.
9:30: I don't see the link to the Going, Going, Gone PDF as promised in the video...
Here is Going going gone link..... creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Added it to the description!
Thank you for being so honest and helpful to us new cruisers (been on 2 bout to go on 3 UTOPIA OF THE SEAS)! Thanks Matt!
booking with a travel agent is ridiculously expensive. A friend of mine spent $8,000+ on a cruise package and I did a better cruise everything included for under $2500.
Do you have any tips?
Hi!! Do excursion prices change closer to sailing? Is a 25% of good? Will it go down more? Thanks in advance ☺️
One thing I loved when I started off Cruising was booking it a year in advance for 2 reasons.
1. You can always re-book the cruise if the price actually changes. Sometimes there will be a sale that could make the cost much cheaper then when you first booked it. So if you talk to your travel agent or with Royal themselves. They can re-book it for you.
2. There are some agents (And I believe Royal can too. I never tried) that can do a payment plan for a cruise. This helped me a lot instead of paying a huge amount at one time. Of course once you hit 3 months or so before the cruise. You have to finish paying the rest off. BUT! It does make it easier paying $100 a month then paying a couple thousand (for example) all at once.
We booked our next cruise two years ahead.
ii
Do you know if you can do price protection with your credit card if the price drops and you've already paid in full?
we always book a guaranteed room, the only down side is we don't get our state room assignment until really close to departure date
Thank you for the video.
Question is, how to find a good travel agent
Word of mouth recommendation. I recommend MEI Travel
I haven’t been on a cruise but when I go I want to sail royal carribean the only issue is that I have five people in my family, meaning we have to buy two separate staterooms which means double the price.
In many cases, two rooms is still cheaper than one larger room.
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlogI saw a few of there ships had five people rooms but now I don’t see that. What would you suggest? Just buy the two rooms is that the best thing I can do?
I book through the Club Royale travel agent. We usually get the best prices. I’ve bother through travel agents twice. One, a friend of a friend, I had to badger ever sale to make sure I got the best price. Then she crowed about how much more money she got me off. Really??? The second, I was online at the same time, I found a concierge balcony for $500 less than the regular balcony with $450 onboard credit. She switched my and then my other friend’s cabin. But she did get us another $100 in onboard credit. Overall, I am not impressed with travel agents.
Another way to save money if you're just a couple cruising is book the cheapest room. Do you really need a balcony or oceanview if you're only in your room to shower & sleep?! 🤷♂️ You get plenty of ocean views all over the ship all day/night.
I also second the tip in this video about older ships. I know how great some of the newest ships look but they're pretty crowded no matter what time of year you go. Wait until the current new ships are no longer the new ships. I like looking at the ships that are around 4 - 10 years old because they tend to be less crowded (depending on time of year) and slightly cheaper but still offer a modern feel. Anything older tends to feel too dated. Most people book the newest and biggest ships from the past 2-3 years. In 2024 you're going to pay more for a cruise on a ship that first started sailing between 2022 - 2024 than you will if you book a cruise on a ship from 2016 - 2019 for example.
I live in Orlando, which ship would you recommend for a first time cruiser on Royal? Can you recommend a good travel agent to use? Thank you!!
Do you have a list of some of the travel agents you use?
In another video he's mentioned using MEI travel.
MEI Travel
I booked my first cruise months ago for July 2024. I booked it through the website myself. But next time I will definitely go through a travel agency.
I've booked two cruises on my own and two through travel agents. Our next cruise is also through a travel agent. They can find deals that you can't find on your own. I booked through AAA once and all four of us got two meals each in the specialty restaurants, plus $50 in shipboard credits per cabin. My current travel agent always finds us some discounts that we couldn't get on our own.
I booked my first cruise with a travel agent but didn't have great experiences so I started booking myself. I then started using the agency Matt recommends and didn't have issues but decided to become a travel agent myself instead 😂.
@@travelingbeyondboundaries nice I would love to work as a travel agent
We never book through official website nor travel agency. Theyre too pricey.
Any one know a TA that can guarantee savings over booking direct?
Was there a link to the Going, Going, Gone rates? Or did I miss it?
Here is Going going gone link..... creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Added it to the description!
i think icon of the seas will be a great cruise ship
7 night north south or reverse Alaska does not save as air fares are very expensive
Matt can you recommend a good travel agent for booking my cruises ?
MEI Travel
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog thank you
Determine how long you can afford to have the cruise line make. Money on your money. Book early get insurance but pay over time within the set deadlines.
Any tips for a family of 5? Hard to find rooms that accommodate 5 anymore so you are forced to book a suite, which is also pretty expensive these days. Sad that they are pricing bigger families out.
Where is the going going gone link? Cant find it
GOING, GOING, GONE!* • August 1-2, 2023 creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Here is Going going gone link..... creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Added it to the description!
Matt which travel agent do you personally use?
MEI Travel
what travel agency do u use. the royal caribbean one or do u use another one local to you?
MEI Travel is who I use
Why is booking a family of 5 so hard? I keep getting an error that says theirs no cabins for 3 people (trying to do two cabins). It also don't let me input 5 people... I probably need a TA don't I.
Do you know of a good travel agent in the Orlando area.
MEI Travel is who I recommend
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog is MEL or MEI travel
Costco deals
Know that the percentages on the website mean nothing. They just raise regular cruise fare and make it look like a sale
Where is link to going going gone pdf?
Looking for this too
I was looking as well.
Same Question....................
creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
If you have the vacation time, book a back to back one way Alaskan cruise, cheapest 14 day round trip Alaskan cruise out there. No need to "do it all" on the 1st one way as you will see it upon your return trip.
We did a one way trip in Alaska
Who’s the travel agent you recommend?
MEI Travel
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog thank you!
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog is there a number I can contact? I don’t see anything on their website
Do you have a travel agent to recommend?
MEI travel
What travel agent do you use Matt
MEI travel
Where is the "Going Going Gone" list?
He mentioned the link was in the description, but I am not seeing it.
GOING, GOING, GONE!* • August 1-2, 2023 creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Here is Going going gone link..... creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Added it to the description!
Those older ships were huge once, but they shrink after a couple of decades in the water.
Where are the links? I wanted the one towards the end of the video
Here is Going going gone link..... creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Promotions/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf
Sorry! They are added
i try to book but the page doesnt work, what can i do? call?
Work with a travel agent!
Ive signed up for RCI emails and never get anything :(
Yes ive checked my spam folder
Mature cruisers, avoid the cruise lines that advertise "kids sail free" unless you want an amusement park experience.
Question for all of you experienced cruisers: how much is considered a cheap cruise rate per person per night (including taxes)? Name a range. Is it 100 - 130 an awesome deal? As this nightly rate its a good indicator and standardise way of comparing.
To be clear. A travel agent will most often than not beat the “sale price” than what is reflected on the website? Not doubting, just confirming.
Could only understand 75% of what was said. You gotta' slow down and annunciate your speech.
You can bring the speed to 0.75 and understand everything
so what travel agency do you use??
I recommend MEI Travel
you talk way too fast and some words are not understandable
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I can hardly understand anything you are saying. You talk way too fast!!
Change the “playback speed”
Man slow down bro you talk too fast some of the words are just so jumbled together I can’t even understand what you’re saying
Have you tried slowing down the video. The command is under 'settings' (little gear logo) at the bottom right of the screen. I hope this is of some help :)
You talk way too fast to even know what your saying
Have you tried slowing down the video. The command is under 'settings' (little gear logo) at the bottom right of the screen. I hope this is of some help :)
Any good travel agent to recommend??
I recommend MEI Travel