Planning Party with Nick and Howie I'd very loosely call this a planning party. It was basically 33 minutes of Nick and Howie clearly having no clue what is going on. But a few items they mentioned:
- Theme night suggestions: Neon night; Halloween night; drag night.
- Their advice for first time cruisers: According to Howie start sleeping now and "Start detoxing now."
- They alluded to the fact that they'd sing songs off their new album during the concert on board.
- They said they might try to do some DJing this time around
Booking
It seems like a lot of people have questions on the booking process. Here are a few items that you should consider:
Make sure you and your roommates all register in advance at this site:
https://www.reservations.rosetours.com/Booking/Account/Register?returnUrl=%2FBooking
Know what cabin you want
Make sure you know in advance the type of cabin you want as well as backup cabins. Particularly if you're going for a type of cabin where there aren't too many rooms available, such as the owner's suite.
Pre-Sale
If you were a past cruiser or a fan club member, you should've received an email from Rose Tours or Ground Ctrl with a password and booking instructions. I got my emails on Monday. As long as there is 1 passenger in your cabin who has cruised before or is a fan club member, you can book during the pre-sale. If you didn't receive an email, I recommend contacting Rose Tours/Ground Ctrl.
Booking Day
Watch this video so you know what to expect. This video takes you through the booking process.
Credit: Girlygirlstefie
1- Login to the Rose Tour site.
2- Choose the number of people in the cabin
3- Choose the category of room you want (have a backup in case)
4- Confirm your choice
5- Choose if you want to have insurance
6- Review the price and checkout
7- Enter names of you and and the people you are staying with. Make sure you have their full legal first and last name as well as the email address that they registered under.
8 - Next is the payment screen. Your choices are for each person to put the deposit on their own credit cards (which they should've each filled out when they registered) or 1 person will pay the whole deposit. Note that payments/credit cards can be changed later.
I believe at some point you will choose your exact room as well. At least we did last year, not sure what it will be like this year.
My last piece of advice to first time cruisers is stay calm and be patient. I feel like everyone goes into panic mode and there's no need. If your first choice cabin isn't available, don't freak out. I find that cabins will be "sold out" and become back available throughout the first hour, much like concert tickets. You will have multiple people trying to book cabins from each room, and inevitably rooms get released. So hang in there and keep trying!
Good luck everyone and I wish you all a happy and stress-free booking.
So do I start on the Rose Tour site... the http://www.BackstreetBoysCruise.com or do I go from the "to book the advanced sale, please click here" link on the email they sent me with my fanclub presale password?! I hope you see this and reply before booking... I am SOOOO nervous... I had a dream I booked an Nsync cruise instead... oh the horror. lol.
ReplyDeleteHey! Im almost positive you need to use the link that says 'to book the advances sale please click here' I just went to that link and they asked for the password. SO don't quote me on that, but im like 90% sure thats where you need to go. Good luck!!
DeletePS- And we're not allowed to mention the N-word on this blog ;) haha, just teasing.
Haha I followed up with oh the horror... Okay, going with the link.... ahhh, wish it was time... I am so freaking out.
ReplyDeleteso today... if I pay for the insurance and the cabin I want I will be paying $399 or $699 based on my cabin... will therre be any other fees tacked on today?
ReplyDeleteNope- no other fees that Im aware of. i think that should be all. But Im also not 100% positive on that. All i know is today they just want the down payment. Sorry i cant be of more help! I think my head is already in a pre-cruise booking fog though ;) Good luck!
DeleteThank you soooooo much for all your booking tutorials and insight... even tho I was shaking like a leaf while doing it, the booking process went totally smooth and we got the cabin and placement we wanted. It was GREAT to be able to know what to expect from the booking process thanks to your video.
DeleteNo problemo! Happy to help and even happier you got the cabin you wanted. See you on board!! :D
DeleteJust want to say thanks Laura for the advice for first time cruisers. Originally our top choice cabin was unavailable but when I refreshed the page a cabin appeared so we snatched it up! Two BSB cruise virgins ready to party, just have to wait a year :-(
ReplyDeleteHappy to help!!! Glad you were able to get your first choice cabin. Cant wait to see you on the cruise. Woohoo!!
DeleteThis is slightly belated but wanted to thank you for the advice! First time cruisers here and after reading some comments was slightly panicking about the whole process but I have to say it couldn't have been easier! (maybe we were lucky???) - now looking forward to starting a countdown! See you on the cruise!! :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful!! Glad you had a successful and easy booking process. See you on board!! :)
DeleteHey Laura! Did you get your room yet?! Cant wait to see you again on the ship!
ReplyDeleteI did! Im on deck 6 room 229. What about you?? Can't wait to see you again!
DeleteI'm deck 7 I think room R299! Sorry it took me so long to see this! :/
DeleteHi! First-time (possible) cruiser here. How quickly do you think the cabins will sell out this year? If I wait until next week to book, do you think it'll be sold out by then?
ReplyDeleteHey! Based solely on last year's cruise- they didnt end up selling out so I think you should be okay. There seems to be slightly more demand this year, but if i were a betting woman I'd say there will still be cabins available next week.
DeleteThough if you have a specific cabin type in mind, you may want to book sooner than later just to ensure you get your first choice. Plus you'll get a better reservation number which translates into a better seat in the lounge.
Good luck with everything! Hope you decide to go :)
One more suggestion- Id say check back regularly on the rose tours site to keep an eye on cabin availability. That way you dont risk them selling out.
DeleteThanks Laura for the quick response and good tips to note! I've been stuck reading your blog for the past few weeks as I've debated whether or not to go this time around :)
DeleteOne more question and I'm not sure if you know the answer to it but figured I'd ask anyways...if I have a group of 4 but don't want to have 4 to a cabin, do I need to book as 2 separate groups? By default, if I book for my group of 4, will they put me us all in 1 cabin? Sorry to bother because I know you are just a regular fan like the rest of us but you seem so all-knowing :)
DeleteHaha. Well thanks for trusting my opinions. My thinking is you need to book your cabins separately if you dont want to put 4 in a room together. That's really all Rose Tours cares about- who is in what cabin.
DeleteIf you want to stay with the other people in your group- make sure you both choose the same dining option (either both early or both late) to ensure you're in the same group for all the events. Your dining time dictates your group.
To further make sure you guys are together, you can email Rose Tours and identify the other people in your group under "dining cross reference". This makes sure you'll be assigned the same dining room. *Note- they did this last cruise. Not sure if they're doing it for the 2013 cruise. But it cant hurt to ask.
Another important thing to note. If you are not in the same cabin as your friends, you will not be guaranteed to sit next to them at the events in the lounge. You will sit with the people in your cabin since its assigned based on reservation #. Theoretically if you both book at the same time your reservation #s should be close to each other & thus you'd sit near each other. But there's really no guarantee there. Just my speculation ;)
My 2 cents- I have a ton of friends in my "group". Even though we're not in the same cabin, there is plenty of opportunity to see them around the ship, eat dinner, at events, etc. If I were you, I would just ensure you both select the same dining time and you'll be more than fine.
Hope that helps!
Thanks Laura, that was perfect! I checked the pricing and you're right, they are selling out fast! The cabin we are aiming for is still available so hopefully we'll be able to book by Saturday. Thanks again for all your help and insights!
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