coneyraven Posted October 16, 2016 Report Share Posted October 16, 2016 Quick Question... If you pay for your cruise well in advance of Final Payment Date ..... and the price drops before Final Payment Date, are you still able to take advantage of the drops in the form of OBC's or an actual refund of the difference? Xobertlab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdb Posted October 16, 2016 Report Share Posted October 16, 2016 I think you best avenue for an accurate response is through a travel agent.Alternatively try contacting the company that has chartered the ship ie cruiseco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I believe you may have misunderstood the question .... In a nutshell, if you pay for a cruise in full well before the assigned Final Payment Date, does that work against you if the price drops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 In a nutshell, if you pay for a cruise in full well before the assigned Final Payment Date, does that work against you if the price drops? It doesn't work against you, but does make things more difficult if you want to change the price later. My TA gave me good advice. Pay it all off, except for like $2-500. That way, if there is a price change, it likely will not be an issue. The reason why paying off the total balance can be an issue is when changing prices, RC has to first refund the money, change booking and then re-get the money. Easier to do this when there is a balance due. ryan.aubin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 It doesn't work against you, but does make things more difficult if you want to change the price later. My TA gave me good advice. Pay it all off, except for like $2-500. That way, if there is a price change, it likely will not be an issue. The reason why paying off the total balance can be an issue is when changing prices, RC has to first refund the money, change booking and then re-get the money. Easier to do this when there is a balance due. Makes perfect sense to me ..... Thanks Matt .... Although, if there is a price change in a situation like that, I'd be just as happy with the difference being applied as OBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I agree w/ Matt, even though I have the ability to pay the balance at booking it is best to pay the deposit only & set reminder in phone to pay off balance on due date. If there is a price change it's better to have RC adjust instead of you waiting on your refund. It's just cleaner. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I know for sure that once you pay the balance in full you no longer have the ability to transfer the booking to a TA (assuming you made the reservation through Royal originally). This happened to one of our group on the Feb. Allure Group Cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marti314 Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 I have never had any problems getting refunds for a price drop even if the cruise is paid in full. If you are outside the 100% cancellation window there are no problems whatsoever, even if you are paid in full. coneyraven 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 They will always let you reprice a cruise. The question is whether or not it will actually save you money to do that. If the price drops in your cabin category there are a number of reasons why it might not make (financial) sense to reprice. #1, you will have to reprice with whatever current promotions are applicable. If your original pricing included OBC or a complimentary perk like dining, beverage package or gratuities (just to name a few) a lower room rate may be an overall net loss if those perks will be forfeited with a repricing. #2, if the final payment date has passed, you would have to pay some financial penalty for repricing (amount depending upon how far past final payment date it is). I won't say that it NEVER works out in your favor to reprice after final payment but I will say that it nearly always costs you more to pay the penalty than you would save with a cabin price reduction. RCI does this intentionally. They make it hard to reprice your cruise close to sailing. They don't want the nightmare of having people making a lot of last minute changes. They need their manifests and inventory stable close to sailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 In all the cruises I went on, I never saw a price drop. Saw opportunities to upgrade to a suite or two, a meet and greet with the Captain of the ship or a firm handshake with the cruise director, but, a price drop? Nada. I eat my vegetables, do my exercises and say my prayers. What did I miss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 In all the cruises I went on, I never saw a price drop. Saw opportunities to upgrade to a suite or two, a meet and greet with the Captain of the ship or a firm handshake with the cruise director, but, a price drop? Nada. I eat my vegetables, do my exercises and say my prayers. What did I miss? Sometimes booking in advance is the best strategy, period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firegal2539 Posted October 19, 2016 Report Share Posted October 19, 2016 As Matt said "Sometimes booking in advance is the best strategy, period". I always book cruises at least a year to 18 months out from the cruise date. I pay the initial deposit, $50, $100, $200, $250 and then I have a year to 18 months to pay the cruise off in monthly installments, with no interest charged by the cruise line. To me, it is free financing for your cruise. I then set up a payment schedule, let's say the cruise is $1000 (I know there aren't any for that cheap) and the $1000 includes taxes/fees, gratuities, transfers and insurance, I look at the date of paid in full by and divide the months, and come up with what I have to pay every month until final payment. If I can pay more, which I usually do, I always leave a $50 balance that I pay the week of final payment. I have gotten many price drops, as an example, on another cruise line, I had a 7 day Pacific Coastal, saw there was a special going on and did a mock booking on the cruise line's website. I came up with it dropping about $150, I didn't lose any OBC, it stayed the same and I had free grats which stayed the same. I immediately called my travel agent. She contacted them and I had two choices, I had a $600 price drop, because I forgot to use my casino discount when I did my mock booking or I could upgrade to a balcony cabin (had an Ocean View) and the price would drop $400. I didn't like the location of the balcony they were offering me, so they gave me a better Ocean View, rear facing Aft and I got a discount of $500. The cruise started at $1579 and dropped to $1100. That was an amazing price drop. I have done some where I only get $25 difference. It is worth it to check you pricing at least once a week on your cruises you have booked. I check every other day and especially when I hear there is a new sale starting. Candie Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzard05 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I have never had any problems getting refunds for a price drop even if the cruise is paid in full. If you are outside the 100% cancellation window there are no problems whatsoever, even if you are paid in full. So how did you do this? I called tonight and tried to get a refund or onboard credit and was told the only thing they could do was try to get me an upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 So how did you do this? I called tonight and tried to get a refund or onboard credit and was told the only thing they could do was try to get me an upgrade. Has your final payment deadline past? If so, this is the only option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzard05 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Has your final payment deadline past? If so, this is the only option. Yes, and that is what I thought as well after reading the posts on this board. However, when "marti" stated (above) that he has had no trouble getting refunds even after being paid in full and outside of the 100% cancellation penalty window, I had a glimmer of hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 He was talking about being paid in full but BEFORE there final payment deadline. After the deadline, the only thing Royal will do is move you TOI a better cabin if there price of those cabins come down to what you paid fort there cruise. Buzzard05 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Bottom line - it costs you nothing to call and ask. Before giving up completely, I would try. Buzzard05 and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 I know for sure that once you pay the balance in full you no longer have the ability to transfer the booking to a TA (assuming you made the reservation through Royal originally). This happened to one of our group on the Feb. Allure Group Cruise. While not related to this topic, also note that you cannot move it to a TA if 60 days after booking has passed. I have a cruise that was booked a year plus out, and then a group cruise on a particular topic I'm interested in (rum!) was announced well after the 60 day window. To get my booking transferred to the group took a heck of a lot of work on the organizers part, plus over a month of back and forth between Royal and her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschaetz123 Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 When is the best time to pay your final payment? On the actually due or a couple days before?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 When is the best time to pay your final payment? On the actually due or a couple days before?? My TA schedules a reminder for two weeks out as a cushion. I usually try to make the charge just after the billing cycle for my credit card as I don't carry a balance on my card and that gives me an extra 30 days to pay the credit card off in full. I wouldn't wait until the day of just in case something comes up that would prevent you from paying it that day. coneyraven and mschaetz123 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 When is the best time to pay your final payment? On the actually due or a couple days before?? Couple days before works for me. I agree with Kris, never wait for the actual day. Just playing with fire for no good reason. coneyraven and MylesDots 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firegal2539 Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 My TA has drilled it into my tiny little brain that never wait to the last day, so many things could go wrong, website down, phone problems, etc. She told me 3 to 4 days before the date is sufficient. Plus if the TA is out of the office that day you are really in trouble because you can't make the payment, the TA has to do it. Candie Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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