What are Royal Caribbeans best cruise deals?

[pittsburghmom]

Toying around with the idea of a cruise. Family of 5. 2 adults, 3 kids (13, 9, 7). I see right now they are offering a 60% off 2nd passenger deal. Historically, what are some of the better deals offered...or is this one pretty decent ? Just in the research phase right now, so in no rush to pull the trigger...

 

[frank808]

Toying around with the idea of a cruise. Family of 5. 2 adults, 3 kids (13, 9, 7). I see right now they are offering a 60% off 2nd passenger deal. Historically, what are some of the better deals offered...or is this one pretty decent ? Just in the research phase right now, so in no rush to pull the trigger...

Royal sales are marketing gimmicks. Just price out your cruise with each "sale" and book when the pricing is comfortable for you. Also if you find a cheaper price BEFORE final payment, which is usually 90 days out for 7 day sailings, you can call and have the price of cabin adjusted. You will lose any perks that were associated with the previous price of cabin if they are not on the new sale. IE you booked when the cabin was $2000 with $200 on board credit. Now you find a price that is $1800 with no obc. If you reprice it to the current price of $1800 you will lose the previous $200 obc that was associated with the price. One true royal sail is usually when they do kids sail free promotions.

 

[AlohaNow]

Agree with frank808. A percentage off of 2nd passenger is pretty standard for them and will be offered almost constantly. It is 'wave season' in the cruise industry where everyone is offering pretty good deals for bookings made in January - March. Wait just a bit longer and I bet Royal will offer kids 12 and under sail free. Given the ages of your kids, I would definitely wait for that promo. We booked it March 1 of last year for an October sailing of the same year. Maybe also check out NCL's Take Five offer and do some price comparisons. Have fun planning!

 

[jenf22]

I agree with the poster above, definitely wait for the Kids Sail Free promo. We got an amazing deal on our Allure cruise last year. We loved Allure so much, we're booked on Harmony for this October. We also really like NCL and they do a 3rd and 4th passenger free promo as well. Their current promo has that offered on some cruises. We also use a TA for either OBC or a gift card when we return. You can also always rebook if you're before final payment for cheaper prices too. So keep watching the fares even after you book. Good luck!

 

[mom2rose&john]

I am interested in the Allure. But without the waterslides it makes me nervous my kids 14 & 16 will not have enough to do. They love water slides. Adventure of the Seas looks amazing and was wondering if that would be better over the Allure. Any advice?

 

[Frozen2014]

Note that Kids Sale Free is for 12 years and younger (so OPs 13 year old wouldn't be included) and also excludes main school break days (march break, summer, etc). Once decided on a cruise, i personally wouldn't wait as it can always be re-priced if a price drop occurs before final payment. If OP is unsure of the cruise, I'd recommend refundable rate vs non-refundable. We book way in advance but always start with refundable, and then will switch over to non-refundable once we book our flights (but sometimes our refundable rate is cheaper than the non-refundable rate by that time)

 

[Frozen2014]

I am interested in the Allure. But without the waterslides it makes me nervous my kids 14 & 16 will not have enough to do. They love water slides. Adventure of the Seas looks amazing and was wondering if that would be better over the Allure. Any advice?

When are you going? Allure is getting refurbished April 2020 and most likely they'll add slides (not guaranteed though until they announce).

We took our kids on Allure when they were 10 and 6 years and they loved it, even without the slides. There is still the zipline, flowrider, rock wall, mini gold, etc, etc...teen club, swimming and lots of activities. The shows are amazing, and the different neighborhoods are so unique.

Other similar options : Oasis (which is getting refurbished Fall 2019...also probably waterslides-TBC), Harmony - which has waterslides and Abyss (dry slide), and Symphony - newest ship with waterslides and Abyss (dry slide).

Haven't been on Adventure, but I've been on Mariner which has waterslides and Sky Pad...but does shorter cruises. Ship itself is great though. I would personally recommend though Oasis class (Allure, Oasis, Harmony or Symphony) if it fits budget and schedule.

 

[jenf22]

Note that Kids Sale Free is for 12 years and younger (so OPs 13 year old wouldn't be included) and also excludes main school break days (march break, summer, etc).

On the cruise we booked for October on Harmony, I booked when it was Kids Sail Free. I tried pricing it with 2 adults, 1 child and then with 3 adults and got the same price. Our kiddo will be 12 this year so I was wondering how that would affect our sales in future years. I don't know if that's a 'your miles may vary' type of situation or if it's really 3rd and 4th person free. We sailed last October and then this October during our kiddo's fall break under the sale. So definitely look because sometimes the sales are at the right times!

Definitely book refundable deposit!

 

[richmo]

As mentioned, Royal seems to repackage the same sale in various ways. I don't think there's any time when there isn't some kind of sale going on.

I'm taking the kids out of the equation here, but with an odd number of people, I'd be more likely to look for one of their "25% off" or "30% off" sales rather than 50 or 60% off the second guest. They may also vary the onboard credits slightly, usually either $100 or $150 per stateroom.

Pretty much the sales stay the same, or very similar...

 

[jenf22]

Kids Sail Free is back on some cruises. Sale started today

 

[Mrsjvb]

Pick a price you are willing to pay with whatever amenities you want. Pay no attention to sales. Just look at the bottom line cost.

We pay roughly the same amount no matter what the current ‘sale’ is