Price drops

[cgsent]

Is there anything that you can do if the price drops aftsr the final payment date? I booked my cruise last year while on navigator at next cruise. Now the price is over 200.00 less. Rccl says that it is rare that prices will be less than you get on next cruise and there is nothing they will do.

Thanks

Greg

[WAAAYTOOO]

No, there really isn't much you can do. Some people have been able to upgrade their room to a higher category if the price drop affects that higher category to your advantage.

 

Unfortunately, the cost of cancellation fees will far outweigh any price reduction that you would get. You would be basically be rebooking your reservation.

[cgsent]

No, there really isn't much you can do. Some people have been able to upgrade their room to a higher category if the price drop affects that higher category to your advantage.

Unfortunately, the cost of cancellation fees will far outweigh any price reduction that you would get. You would be basically be rebooking your reservation.

That is what I thought. They could have thrown in a drink package :)

Thank you

Greg

[arebee]

I guess you can hound them for a drink package... Might work.. If so, let us know..

[Matt]

There is one possibility. After final payment date, if the price of a stateroom category above you drops to the same price you paid for your stateroom (or below), you can upgrade to that stateroom category. There will be no change in price.

[WAAAYTOOO]

There is one possibility. After final payment date, if the price of a stateroom category above you drops to the same price you paid for your stateroom (or below), you can upgrade to that stateroom category. There will be no change in price.

This is what I was trying to say above but guess it wasn't so clear !

 

☺☺

[coneyraven]

Very interesting, My final payment date isn't until July so there is plenty of time to stack on some savings..... Question though, someone referenced above a penalty to change after the final payment date, then Matt references upgrading the cabin..... is there a penalty with cabin upgrades after final payment?  This will be my wife's first cruise and she's the money manager of the household (and that's a VERY good thing) so we went the least expensive route with an inside cabin.  I would love to surprise her with an unexpected upgrade without an unexpected expense.

[Matt]

Very interesting, My final payment date isn't until July so there is plenty of time to stack on some savings..... Question though, someone referenced above a penalty to change after the final payment date, then Matt references upgrading the cabin..... is there a penalty with cabin upgrades after final payment?  This will be my wife's first cruise and she's the money manager of the household (and that's a VERY good thing) so we went the least expensive route with an inside cabin.  I would love to surprise her with an unexpected upgrade without an unexpected expense.

Unofficially, if you want to spend more money, RC usually has no problem with this, even if it's after final payment date.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Well, there is not a penalty to upgrade...there is a penalty to cancelling (after the final due date).

 

When you "take advantage" of a price change, you are basically rebooking your cruise.  So, if you want to take advantage of a price reduction after final payment, you can certainly do that...but you must also consider the fact that you will be cancelling your original booking and rebooking with this new, lower fare.  Part of the cancellation of your original booking will be the penalty that you will pay b/c your final payment date has passed.  That penalty varies depending upon how far past your final payment date you are.

 

SOMEtimes (but rarely) the price reduction is SO great that it outweighs the cost of the cancellation penalty...and so there is a net benefit to doing it but that is normally not the case.

 

You also have to consider whether there is any OBC or other incentives/promotions that you might lose if you rebooked at a lower rate.  If you have OBC that was part of your original pricing, you would lose that as well as pay the cancellation fee.  Your rebooked reservation would include any promotions/incentives that are part of the conditions of your new booking.  So occasionally, if the new price is seriously low and there are attached incentives or promotions associated with the new price, you will benefit from rebooking even if you have to pay the cancellation fee associated with the original booking...

 

...but Royal Caribbean knows what it's doing.  It will RARELY create a condition where the customer will benefit from ditching the original reservation and booking a new one.  If they got into the business of doing that, they would have a paperwork and scheduling nightmare on their hands with people cancelling and rebooking close to the sail date...and they do NOT want that.  That is entirely the reason that they have the cancellation fees to begin with.  They need a reliable prediction of who is going to be on each sailing well in advance so they know how to provision supplies and manpower.

 

It is rarely beneficial to cancel and rebook after your final payment date.

[coneyraven]

Well, there is not a penalty to upgrade...there is a penalty to cancelling (after the final due date).

 

When you "take advantage" of a price change, you are basically rebooking your cruise.  So, if you want to take advantage of a price reduction after final payment, you can certainly do that...but you must also consider the fact that you will be cancelling your original booking and rebooking with this new, lower fare.  Part of the cancellation of your original booking will be the penalty that you will pay b/c your final payment date has passed.  That penalty varies depending upon how far past your final payment date you are.

 

SOMEtimes (but rarely) the price reduction is SO great that it outweighs the cost of the cancellation penalty...and so there is a net benefit to doing it but that is normally not the case.

 

You also have to consider whether there is any OBC or other incentives/promotions that you might lose if you rebooked at a lower rate.  If you have OBC that was part of your original pricing, you would lose that as well as pay the cancellation fee.  Your rebooked reservation would include any promotions/incentives that are part of the conditions of your new booking.  So occasionally, if the new price is seriously low and there are attached incentives or promotions associated with the new price, you will benefit from rebooking even if you have to pay the cancellation fee associated with the original booking...

 

...but Royal Caribbean knows what it's doing.  It will RARELY create a condition where the customer will benefit from ditching the original reservation and booking a new one.  If they got into the business of doing that, they would have a paperwork and scheduling nightmare on their hands with people cancelling and rebooking close to the sail date...and they do NOT want that.  That is entirely the reason that they have the cancellation fees to begin with.  They need a reliable prediction of who is going to be on each sailing well in advance so they know how to provision supplies and manpower.

 

It is rarely beneficial to cancel and rebook after your final payment date.

So very true ..... I work at our local newspaper, many forget that we are a "For Profit" Business.

 

And yes, Funny Man Matt, I doubt they would ever decline additional $$$'s coming their way ..... Just checking.... I'm binge listening to your podcasts and your Episode 71 about ways to save really opened up my eyes --- Thank You (I'm on #80 now and working my way up)

 

Thanks guys

[Matt]

I'm binge listening to your podcasts and your Episode 71 about ways to save really opened up my eyes --- Thank You (I'm on #80 now and working my way up)

Glad the podcast is helping you!

[GrandPa]

The only way to get money back is to cancel your res.  That said, if you cancel after final payment, you would receive the refund minus the penalty.  That's that.

 

Repricing, on the other hand, can be done before or after final payment with out cancellation as long as you're not looking for money back (which would require cancellation).  That's why if your inside cabin price is now higher than an outside, they will give you the upgrade (with no residual refund, which again, would require cancellation).  You can also pay for an upgrade after final payment with no cancellation via repricing.  As WAAATOOO said above, any perks that were given that aren't in the current pricing will be forfeited.  The only exception is Next Cruise OBC which stays with the res no matter what.

 

With all that said, we did get money back one time after final payment.  It was when we turned Diamond on a cruise which was after final payment on the next one booked.  Our balcony discount went up $100 because of that and C&A issued a $100 credit to my CC.

 

I subscribe to a cruise price monitoring site.  I keep a list showing all my booked rates (currently 6) and the net amount which includes OBC.  If the price drops below (significantly) the net amount, I'll call and reprice before FP.  I've also called and repriced paying a little more and getting significantly more OBC.  After FP, I have to take into account any loss of OBC as to if it's worth the upgrade if a higher cat price drops.  

[firegal2539]

WAAAYTOOO,

 

You seem to understand the price drop questions so I was wondering if you could explain to me how it works. If there is a better place for me to post this question please let me know. What I want to know is, I book all cruises through my TA. She called me last week to tell me a cruise (Princess) had dropped $615 and they had changed the cost of my cruise that amount which meant that I had paid for the cruise. I didn't want to do that because final pay isn't for 6 more months and if I am correct any more reductions and I wouldn't get them because I am paid in full, is this correct? Next, my TA has stated that if there is a price reduction and final pay has passed you can ask for an upgraded cabin or OBC, is this correct? I have been on 30+ cruises and several times before final pay I have been given a price reduction. An example is an RCCL last fall down the Pacific Coast, dropped a total of $900 from the original booking price, does this happen often? How can I keep up with price drops on cruises? I have joined RCCL blog Insider and asked to become a patron so I can use the Price Drop Tool, will that be helpful?

 

Any information you can give me would be appreciated.

 

Thanks, Candie

[jticarruthers]

Not WAAYTOO but chiming in with what I think I know.

 

Having "paid" for the cruise in full does not mean you are not still eligible for a refund if the price drops again, being paid in full vs deposit only just affects how much money you have on the game, the refunds due to you if you cancel,rebook, etc. are governed by the cancellation policy.

 

In regards to price drops after final payment, my understanding is the Royal will only give you an upgrade, no OBC option but I think Carnival offers the OBC option for example so it is dependent on the line as well as the situation.

 

Royal is actively trying to limit the price drop after final payment scenario, I know I saw a dramatic drop on my NCL cruise recently so I think that also varies by line.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Candie, as JTI said, the different lines have different rules, so what Princess does isn't necessarily what RCI will do.

 

I will admit that I don't know the real ramifications and limitations that paying in full can trigger.  I know that ONE of the things that you cannot do after the cruise has been paid in full is that it can no longer by transferred (e.g., to a travel agent) once the balance has been paid in full.  Whether or not you would still be eligible for a repricing resulting from a fare reduction...I admit, I do not know.  I will say that I do not pay my cruise in full until the final payment is due just so that I retain all options just in case I want to make some of change. 

 

Your situation with Princess is rather unique.  If I understand what you have said, the price reduction that your TA took advantage of for you, essentially left you with a paid in full cruise.  Is that correct ?  I hope that one of the resident TA's that frequent this site can tell you what that means for you.  I cannot.

 

Also whether RCI will give you OBC as opposed to an upgrade (after final payment), I am not sure.  I know that you CAN get an upgrade if the cost of the upgraded accommodations is at or below what you paid for your already reserved accommodations.  I have not heard of RCI giving an equivalent amount of OBC so I suspect that this is the case.

 

Guess I don't know as much as you thought I did...but JTI seems to have it covered.  Thanks for jumping in !

[firegal2539]

WAAAYTOOO and jticarruthers and all the other posters,

 

Thank you, Thank you. I received amazing advice from WAAAYTOOO and Jticarruthers and it was exactly right. I joined the Royal Caribbean Blog Price Tracker and tracked my four cruises on RCCL and all are raising in price but one. I called and thanks to all of you I got a $130 price drop (might not be much, but to me it is a fortune) and I got another $100 OBC.

 

I can't thank you enough and appreciate all of your information.