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Lesson Learned


Clay Purvis

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I booked a cruise onboard my last cruise using the Next Cruise desk.  I felt like I got a decent deal for what I got. Just saw that my exact cruise is about $500 bucks less if I booked it today and since I am inside 75 days, I cannot rebook. I did not use a travel agent.  I have another cruise booked for next year and this one will be my first using a TA.  So in the future if I book with Next Cruise I will hand it off to my TA as soon as I get home and hopefully will get that savings.  I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience and do better next time. 

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19 minutes ago, Clay Purvis said:

Well I tried calling and got nowhere. No upgraded room. No on board credit.  Oh well. 

this is why although I don't use a travel agent ( i used to be one, a century ago) I always leave at least $200 dollars of my  balance until the last possible day to pay.  I check prices daily by checking the website and i go through my cruise planner as well.  Don't give up on Royal, you will end up loyal!  Enjoy yourself and call the Crown & Anchor desk and I would call customer service again and ask for a supervisor to see if they can do anything.  Bon Voyage!

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On 2/16/2020 at 6:27 PM, Clay Purvis said:

So in the future if I book with Next Cruise I will hand it off to my TA as soon as I get home and hopefully will get that savings.  I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience and do better next time. 

Make sure that your TA does repricing. Reading some of the posts here involving repricing, it seems that not all TA's offer that service. My TA Danette with MEI, has already repriced my Greek Isle Jr Suite for next Oct, twice and saved us $1400! Although I follow the prices religiously, she sent me an email notifying me of the savings before I even knew there was a price drop. Now that's what I call service! 

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2 minutes ago, FManke said:

Make sure that your TA does repricing. Reading some of the posts here involving repricing, it seems that not all TA's offer that service. My TA Danette with MEI, has already repriced my Greek Isle Jr Suite for next Oct, twice and saved us $1400! Although I follow the prices religiously, she sent me an email notifying me of the savings before I even knew there was a price drop. Now that's what I call service! 

+1 for Danette with MEI.

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16 minutes ago, shaydav19 said:

this is why although I don't use a travel agent ( i used to be one, a century ago) I always leave at least $200 dollars of my  balance until the last possible day to pay. 

With the past savings, I only have $250 left for our cruise. I told my TA to leave it until last payment is due in July, for the same reason. You never know if the price will continue to drop.

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On 2/16/2020 at 7:27 PM, Clay Purvis said:

I booked a cruise onboard my last cruise using the Next Cruise desk.  I felt like I got a decent deal for what I got. Just saw that my exact cruise is about $500 bucks less if I booked it today and since I am inside 75 days, I cannot rebook. I did not use a travel agent.  I have another cruise booked for next year and this one will be my first using a TA.  So in the future if I book with Next Cruise I will hand it off to my TA as soon as I get home and hopefully will get that savings.  I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience and do better next time. 

The truth is, you CAN rebook your cruise right up until a couple of days before your sail date, but since final payment date has passed, you would be subject to the cancellation fee, which almost always negates any savings that you would realize by a new, lower cruise fare.  Frankly, there is not much that an agent could have done for you, either.  An agent is invaluable when it comes to making reservation changes BEFORE final payment date but there is little they can do for you once final payment date has passed.  An agent MAY have been able to help you get a good deal on an upgrade (maybe, maybe) but just realizing a savings from a now-lower cruise fare price....sorry, nope.

I still think you are doing the right thing by going with a good TA in the future.  All sorts of bizarre things can and do happen where a TA is worth their weight in gold.  Our most recent cruise, Anthem of the Seas (8 Feb), where the ship was delayed for 3 days, was a perfect example.  My agent kept us up to date with changes that were happening, sometimes by the hour....and when our refunds came, she made sure they were correct and then transferred them to one of our already-booked cruises.  I would have HATED to worry about all of that stuff on my own while we were in a hotel waiting or after we [finally] boarded the ship.

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We just booked a cruise Monday for Grandeur next March, (adjoining Jr Suites), and after they were booked, I went looking for general info, deck plans, etc, & saw a note on another website indicating that certain rooms have a pole in the middle of the room, right at the end of the bed.  Uh-oh -- realized that was the room the DD's were booked into, & since older one is disabled, unsteady on her feet in general, & uses a wheelchair outside the room, I was concerned that the pole might become an issue.  Figured, OK, no problem, just switch rooms, DH & I can handle it.  My TA first said there might be a charge, since normally one person has to be on the original reservation, but then emailed me today to say that she s/w someone at Royal & got the cabins switched, no problem

BTW, does anyone know WHY there are poles in the middle of the cabin???

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37 minutes ago, MaryCS62 said:

We just booked a cruise Monday for Grandeur next March, (adjoining Jr Suites), and after they were booked, I went looking for general info, deck plans, etc, & saw a note on another website indicating that certain rooms have a pole in the middle of the room, right at the end of the bed. 

I've stayed in one of those rooms on Grandeur. The pole was right up against the end of the bed. I seemed odd, but my wife and I just made a game of it. I would rap my knuckle against the pole and make a "ping" every time I would go by it. And we would both laugh.

I hope you get your situation resolved.

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In this case since you are after final payment date, a TA could not have gotten you a price reduction either, correct?  Cruises many times drop in price AFTER the final payment date as the cruise line doesn’t have to reprice current customers. They can try to fill the ship with last minute deals. 

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Just had the same experience. I have a transatlantic coming up on Vision of the Seas from San Juan to Barcelona on April 25.  The price for my Junior Suite has gone down just over 40 percent.  When I called my travel agent he said he checked with RCL and was told that nothing could be done as I have passed my final payment date.  The next suite level up still exceeds the original price I paid for my JS.  I called the Crown and Anchor desk and confirmed that this is RCL policy. So bottom line, unless you catch a large price decrease prior to final payment date you are out of luck.  Being diamond plus offered no additional assistance or relief with this situation.

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1 hour ago, ZsOverseas said:

Just had the same experience. I have a transatlantic coming up on Vision of the Seas from San Juan to Barcelona on April 25.  The price for my Junior Suite has gone down just over 40 percent.  When I called my travel agent he said he checked with RCL and was told that nothing could be done as I have passed my final payment date.  The next suite level up still exceeds the original price I paid for my JS.  I called the Crown and Anchor desk and confirmed that this is RCL policy. So bottom line, unless you catch a large price decrease prior to final payment date you are out of luck.  Being diamond plus offered no additional assistance or relief with this situation.

I know how this feels. I’ve made a rule for myself to not even check the price of the cruises I have booked once I hit that final payment date.

While disappointing I’m sure, Junior Suite on that transatlantic itinerary still sounds like one incredible trip! Enjoy your cruise!

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Update.  My travel agent called this morning to advise that they had moved up the chain of RCL management and secured a $300 OBC and bottle of wine.  No where near meeting the difference in price however still appreciated.  Love the Jr Suite on the aft of the ship and look forward to the cruise.

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9 minutes ago, ZsOverseas said:

Update.  My travel agent called this morning to advise that they had moved up the chain of RCL management and secured a $300 OBC and bottle of wine.  No where near meeting the difference in price however still appreciated.  Love the Jr Suite on the aft of the ship and look forward to the cruise.

Well that's better than nothing and something that RC didn't have to do.

I feel that's always going to be the dilemma with booking cruises. You always have to balance what you are willing to spend and how early you are wanting to book vs. waiting for a better price and potentially not getting the cabin category or cabin location you want.

After the 90 days, all bets are off as RC is going to try and move any unsold cabins at any cost. 

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