In 2023, we booked well over 20 cruises and our strategy ended up being very consistent.
- Find and price the cruise on Vacationstogo.com.
- Watch the cruise price and wait until Crucon.com was having a promotion (usually monthly)
- Book the Cruise on Board the ship (Most of our cruising is on Royal Caribbean) to take advantage of the reduced deposit and extra On Board Credit.
- Have RCL transfer the booking to Crucon to capture all the Crucon perks (On Board Credit, Specialty dinners, etc.)
- Request the shareholder bonus (we keep 100 shares of RCL Stock and Carnival stock for this purpose) and add MyVegas video slot promotions of $100 On Board Credit or $150 Casino Freeplay.
This approach worked well for us 75% of the time and depending on the situation or cruise we wanted to take, we would adjust appropriately. But as with everything else, times change and strategies need to be adapted. So now that it is 2024 and we are beginning to look at 2025 cruises, its time to reevaluate. In 2023, you just couldn’t find better deals than those from Crucon….and they are still good….but they are being less generous and their competitors have closed the gap.
In 2025, we are contemplating a taking a trip around the world. RCL’s Anthem of the Seas is sailing from Singapore to Tokyo and then Tokyo to Seattle. The Anthem is one of two RCL ships that we have not sailed on, so it seems to be a perfect fit. These cruises, totaling 26 days, sailing in April fit well with our schedule and we would like to start our journey with a Transatlantic cruise to Europe. Then we could work our way from Europe to Singapore.
So the key is to pick the best Transatlantic cruise in March 2025 to align with our plans. Of course, we want the best cruise at the best value. As usual, the first step is to use the search tool at Vacationstogo.com to screen cruises. In doing this was saw the the Celebrity Apex (a new ship that we had not been on before) was departing March 8th from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and arriving in Barcelona Spain on March 21st. The Anthem departs Singapore on 13 April so that would give us 23 days to make our journey from Barcelona…..a little long but workable.
So I began evaluating the price of this cruise. The cheapest Balcony cabin on the ship is a “Porthole Balcony” but we would like to try out Celebrity’s “Infinite Veranda” stateroom. With this room, the balcony is incorporated into the room which is something we have never experienced. This is a class 2E cabin on Celebrity.
Here is the breakdown of what I considered the best prices I received from the various travel agents: (This is the total for room including everything for two except the tips.)
Celebrity Website: $3,273.62 or $4,516.62 with Drinks and internet, $200 On Board Credit, $900 non-refundable deposit
Vacations to go: $3,702.62 (obstructed view), $100 OBC, $900 Non-refundable deposit.
Crucon: $3,902, $400 OBC, $900 refundable deposit
On-Line vacation Center: $4,098 including drinks and internet. $425 OBC, $1,298 Deposit, $900 refundable, $398 transferable to another OVC booking.
Cruise Compete: Nine separate quotes: Best ones: $2,898 $200 OBC, Refundable deposit. $3,898 with drinks and WiFi, $375 OBC.
Now prices are always changing but the variance was dramatic. Based on this, I went back and asked Crucon and VTG to give me a better price. In the long run, I don’t feel a need to rush into this purchase. The ship is not going to sell out and I will revisit this decision later in the year. Just remember that the Cruise line will never offer you the best deal. Shop around see what you can get!
Update: On 13 Jan, we booked the Celebrity Apex cruise while on the RCL Mariner of the Seas. We ended up getting a rate including drinks and WIFI for $4,048.62. We booked a porthole balcony but we learned that as long as not all of the infinite balconies are not booked, we will be automatically upgraded. There was a non-refundable $200 deposit. We transferred the cruise to Crucon and ended up with $500 On Board Credit ($400 from Crucon and $100 from Celebrity).In general, the price of this cruises changed every day or two. If the price drops before final payment and we tell them, they will honor the lower price.
Sail on Ducks!
