Why are specials for New reservations Only?

[DaisyGirl55]

I am sailing on the Freedom OTS next month, and I thought I'd check to see if any rate changes are on for my cruise. I found them, and the rate is $391.68 less than what I paid per cabin. The only problem is that this rate is for new reservations only. What???

 

I booked this cruise last year while on the Monarch. I had no problem doing so, and thereby giving Royal my money to play with for a year. But to tell me that I am not eligible for a price drop because this is not a new reservation is just wrong.

 

If the price drop is given in the form of OBC, then Royal is not losing anything, and is in essence keeping the money. And this cruiser would be a bit happier. Makes me wonder if booking early is really the best way to go.

 

I have a friend who cruises quite often. She saves her money, and puts in for the week of vacation she knows she will cruise. Then, she books only about a month out, and always gets a great rate. Maybe that is not such a bad idea to do it that way.

 

So, am I just whining here? It isn't going to ruin my cruise (that would be ridiculous to say), but wish the rates posted were for everyone.

[John Henry on CC]

I am sailing on the Freedom OTS next month, and I thought I'd check to see if any rate changes are on for my cruise. I found them, and the rate is $391.68 less than what I paid per cabin. The only problem is that this rate is for new reservations only. What???

 

I booked this cruise last year while on the Monarch. I had no problem doing so, and thereby giving Royal my money to play with for a year. But to tell me that I am not eligible for a price drop because this is not a new reservation is just wrong.

 

If the price drop is given in the form of OBC, then Royal is not losing anything, and is in essence keeping the money. And this cruiser would be a bit happier. Makes me wonder if booking early is really the best way to go.

 

I have a friend who cruises quite often. She saves her money, and puts in for the week of vacation she knows she will cruise. Then, she books only about a month out, and always gets a great rate. Maybe that is not such a bad idea to do it that way.

 

So, am I just whining here? It isn't going to ruin my cruise (that would be ridiculous to say), but wish the rates posted were for everyone.

 

Do you have to fly to your cruise? I do. If I fly on anything but JetBlue or Southwest, and the price of the fare drops, the airline will not refund the difference.

 

I have cable TV. I pay a certain price per month. Every day, there is a new special price offered by my cable operator. It's less than I am paying. They won't give me the lower price - they are using it to lure new customers.

 

I have a cell phone. I paid a certain amount for the phone itself. If I wish to buy a new phone, I can either pay full retail or sign up for another two year contract. The phone company uses low prices to lure in customers.

 

It's a business model, not unique to cruiselines.

 

If you don't like it, don't book until the last minute, in hopes that the cruise you want and the cabin you want are available at the price you want.

[SpeedGeek]

The idea is that the specials are for when RCI wants to fill up a ship. High availability means they need to do something to kick people into getting on board.

 

The problem with your situation is, even if they give you the new rate, they haven't added a new passenger; only lowered their revenue for the cruise.

 

Not that it's fair, but that's the business aspect of it.

[DaisyGirl55]

I know, I know...you both are right...especially John Henry's analogy. Ok - I will hush now, and just be thankful I have the time and the resources to even go on a cruise....nuff said!

[SpeedGeek]

I know, I know...you both are right...especially John Henry's analogy. Ok - I will hush now, and just be thankful I have the time and the resources to even go on a cruise....nuff said!

 

Exactly, we're quite lucky. I've not experienced the pain of a price drop that I can't get, but I'm sure when I start looking at longer cruises and planning further out than 60 days, I'll have the heartache of not being the one paying the cheapest possible price... But in the end, it's still a blast!

[kc320]

Not to mention it's also Tuesday...those sales are always new bookings only...but keep watch, if the cabins don't move today they may have a price drop/resident rate/senior discount later...one can always hope!

[Desert Cruizers]

On our last cruise, they offered a special discount for Seniors/Military, however, when I factored in all fees, it ended up being higher then what we paid some 17 months earlier, and we picked our room of choice. Some benifted by the discount, because they had booked later. This happened to be a general discount, not for new bookings.

[Jimnbigd]

I wonder is you could book again, then cancel the old booking if the new booking goes through? Or has the final payment date passed already?

[snausman]

I am sailing on the Freedom OTS next month, and I thought I'd check to see if any rate changes are on for my cruise. I found them, and the rate is $391.68 less than what I paid per cabin. The only problem is that this rate is for new reservations only. What???

 

 

I wonder is you could book again, then cancel the old booking if the new booking goes through? Or has the final payment date passed already?

 

 

She says she is sailing next month and booked it over a year ago, so yes the final payment has been made.:rolleyes:

[Hunwolf]

Do you have to fly to your cruise? I do. If I fly on anything but JetBlue or Southwest, and the price of the fare drops, the airline will not refund the difference.

 

I have cable TV. I pay a certain price per month. Every day, there is a new special price offered by my cable operator. It's less than I am paying. They won't give me the lower price - they are using it to lure new customers.

 

I have a cell phone. I paid a certain amount for the phone itself. If I wish to buy a new phone, I can either pay full retail or sign up for another two year contract. The phone company uses low prices to lure in customers.

 

It's a business model, not unique to cruiselines.

 

If you don't like it, don't book until the last minute, in hopes that the cruise you want and the cabin you want are available at the price you want.

 

I agree with all of your arguments except the cable one. Everytime I get the "new customer" advertisement either via mail or email I call them up and ask for it. If they say no...I say fine I'm switching to Dish or DirecTV. They immediately give me the deal. It's worked for 4 years now. :D

[Ella2]

I am sailing on the Freedom OTS next month, and I thought I'd check to see if any rate changes are on for my cruise. I found them, and the rate is $391.68 less than what I paid per cabin. The only problem is that this rate is for new reservations only. What???

 

I booked this cruise last year while on the Monarch. I had no problem doing so, and thereby giving Royal my money to play with for a year. But to tell me that I am not eligible for a price drop because this is not a new reservation is just wrong.

 

If the price drop is given in the form of OBC, then Royal is not losing anything, and is in essence keeping the money. And this cruiser would be a bit happier. Makes me wonder if booking early is really the best way to go.

 

I have a friend who cruises quite often. She saves her money, and puts in for the week of vacation she knows she will cruise. Then, she books only about a month out, and always gets a great rate. Maybe that is not such a bad idea to do it that way.

 

So, am I just whining here? It isn't going to ruin my cruise (that would be ridiculous to say), but wish the rates posted were for everyone.

 

There are currently FLORIDA RESIDENT RATES on your sailing for certain categories, did you check those? (I'm assuming you are from Florida based on your profile.) Those are NOT restricted to new bookings only, only the Tuesday sale has that restriction.

 

There are also military, fire/police and senior rates available in certain categories. Lots of discounts available...hopefully one of them will apply to you. :)

[PR Cruisers]

We are going on the Liberty on August 29....

 

Today I could upgrade my cabin (from interior to balcony) with the prices published for the today's sale?

[bajathree]

We are going on the Liberty on August 29....

 

Today I could upgrade my cabin (from interior to balcony) with the prices published for the today's sale?

 

Nope..."special sales events" like the Tuesday sale aren't even eligible for upgrades.

[DaisyGirl55]

There are currently FLORIDA RESIDENT RATES on your sailing for certain categories, did you check those? (I'm assuming you are from Florida based on your profile.) Those are NOT restricted to new bookings only, only the Tuesday sale has that restriction.

 

There are also military, fire/police and senior rates available in certain categories. Lots of discounts available...hopefully one of them will apply to you. :)

 

 

Tried the Florida resident rate, which is lower - however, because the cruise is paid in full, then my TA says I am still not eligible for anything...oh well...I tried! :rolleyes:

 

We were going to book another cruise while on board to take advantage of the reduced deposit and the OBC...now we are not too sure we will do this. I'll keep my own money, and book when the rates are good. The $100 OBC is not worth what I could have saved had I waited to book.

[FLACRUISER99]

Tried the Florida resident rate, which is lower - however, because the cruise is paid in full, then my TA says I am still not eligible for anything...oh well...I tried! :rolleyes:

 

We were going to book another cruise while on board to take advantage of the reduced deposit and the OBC...now we are not too sure we will do this. I'll keep my own money, and book when the rates are good. The $100 OBC is not worth what I could have saved had I waited to book.

The first thing you have to do is find a new TA. If you booked a year ago you are eligible for OBC at the least because you are under the old rules which were up to 48 hr. b4 sailing.

[negc]

I think that one question you need to answer is whether or not you were happy with the price when you originally booked. If so, while I can understand your disappointment at not being eligible for the "for new bookings only" price, you need to recognize that, by booking when you did, you had the advantage of having a larger selection of rooms to choose from and were protected from any subsequent price increases that might have occurred. Even with the recent changes to their price policies, RCI is still more customer-friendly than most other businesses we deal with on a day to day basis.

[maweberpa]

I know this has been discussed quite a bit, but I'm still not clear. We booked our March 2011 cruise last February. We make the final payment on 12/25. I'm fine with the price we paid because we got a full hump JS that is non-connecting which are pretty rare on Oasis. That said, if I'm elligible for an OBC or a lower final payment I don't want to miss out. What's the best way to check if you're elligible for a rate change?