Michael Vitale Posted February 20, 2016 Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 ok gang,, first ever venture in booking without a TA (I was quite dissatisfied with my TA and saw no real advantage) anyhoo, here's my Q,, It appears that with the WOW sale, my cruise might well cost less now than when I booked on board Liberty earlier this month. If/when this is the case, whats my best course of action ? Should I call and trust them to give me the straight info on whether it would be less now, or should I just book another cabin at a lower cost, and then cancel the previous booking ? I just get the impression that these sales are designed to attract NEW bookings, not field 1,000 phone calls from people who already have reservations looking to save some money. Thoughts ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted February 20, 2016 Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 If you price it online before calling, there's no risk of mistrust as you'll know the price. In addition, they'll be able to handle transferring what you've already paid for the cruise to the new booking. If you cancel outright after booking a new reservation online, you'll be out your deposit if you took the OBC on your last cruise. Thus, I'd call. In addition, sometimes you can keep your onboard booking benefits. We did this on the Serenade and are price went down almost $600 and we kept the OBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 I'd just call and tell them what you want to do. Might be best course of action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polster Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 At Christmas time, I wanted to change our cruise from Radiance to the new Ovation of the Seas. When I called Royal Caribbean, I was told they do not transfer deposits, so I had to cancel Radiance (and wait approx. 3 weeks for the money I had paid to come back to my credit card), then I had to pay the new deposit to secure our booking on Ovation of the Seas..... It is also worth mentioning, that I kept an eye on my refunded deposit as it came back in bits. Once I added these bits up, I had been short changed $200 odd AUD, so worth checking your bank account to ensure you get all of your deposit back.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 At Christmas time, I wanted to change our cruise from Radiance to the new Ovation of the Seas. When I called Royal Caribbean, I was told they do not transfer deposits, so I had to cancel Radiance (and wait approx. 3 weeks for the money I had paid to come back to my credit card), then I had to pay the new deposit to secure our booking on Ovation of the Seas..... It is also worth mentioning, that I kept an eye on my refunded deposit as it came back in bits. Once I added these bits up, I had been short changed $200 odd AUD, so worth checking your bank account to ensure you get all of your deposit back.... I wonder if that's a regional thing? I was able to transfer my deposit from the Quantum to the Jewel without any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Polster - that is unusual and may be because you are outside the US I transfer money all the time- actually all they do is make the new booking and keep the money on the booking - very very easy Nicky - look at prices online Don't cancel your cruise there is no need to do that unless the new offers says FOR NEW BOOKINGS ONLY - Any good RCI agent, can just adjust your pricing - key is getting someone that knows how to do this - Keep in mind you may lose onboard credits (if that came with original prices) or get less obc etc. What I am seeing as a trend now is BOOK EARLY The clients I have that have booked 9 months or more out are getting the best deals on their pricing - even when new offers come out - their original prices are better bobroo and Polster 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polster Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I don't know why it is different in Australia, but I was really annoyed because I was rebooking another cruise immediately with them. Then with not getting all my refund back on my credit card, even though I was over a year in advance of sailing, having to chase that up was a pain. Got it all back in the end, but I had to be vigilant and email them again. Looking forward to my cruise now... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Vitale Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Update: after much research and comparison I came to realize that the stateroom I have booked is much more desirable than the options available for the lower cost. Not that I didn't expect that, but the difference in cost didn't nearly make up for the stateroom location. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 I called my ta because the wow sale seemed a bit better. I had only paid the deposit. She said that it was 300 better but only 100 instead of 200 obc. So I saved 200 dollars and didn't change my room or anything! Yeah! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 I don't know why it is different in Australia, but I was really annoyed because I was rebooking another cruise immediately with them. Then with not getting all my refund back on my credit card, even though I was over a year in advance of sailing, having to chase that up was a pain. Got it all back in the end, but I had to be vigilant and email them again. Looking forward to my cruise now... :) This is really simple since most of us pay with credit cards the credit card services have the final say not the cruise line. If they did not refunded within a reasonable time just dispute the charge, it costs you the customer nothing. However it does costs the merchant and they are required to reply and answer the dispute. Also your credit card service stops all interest on the transactions, so disputing is a very reasonable action for you to take. And really does not matter, if you are within the USA, AU, Europe, as all credit card transactions are control by International Rules. Polster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Generally speaking (when you are just looking for a better rate on the same cabin/cruise), if you booked online or in the Next Cruise office (basically directly with RC in both cases), you can simply call RC and they will check the current rate and let you know what the new rate will be... you then make the decision at that point if you want to have them adjust the fare. They are very, very friendly and I've literally never spent more than 10 minutes on the phone for any one call. You can do this as many times as you like until you make the final payment. Just be careful when you're dealing with more "complex" bookings with promos like OBC, free internet, etc., and make sure the adjustment is truly saving you money! I've had about 5 adjustments made for the last 2 cruises (I book at least one year in advance) and they make the adjustment immediately and also send you the new reservation paperwork showing the adjusted rate immediately via e-mail. It could not be easier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.