Lower Fares

[schoolman]

I am not a first time cruiser but have a question that I am wondering about. We are looking at booking a cruise over a year off and wonder if the fares go down, will we able to take advantage of them if we book through the cruise line vs. travel agent? I understand if the final payment has been made, you cannot take advantage of lower fares. Please advise to whether or not you would book directly with a cruise line or a TA and about lower fares.

[cherylandtk]

Depends on the cruiseline policy, depends if the new fare is applicable to you and if your TA honors price drops. Most TA's do, and most price drops prior to final payment due date are applicable.

 

A few more details would help answer your question, but in general, it would not matter if you booked via a TA or the cruiseline in order to obtain a price drop you are eligible for.

[paul929207]

If you are dealing with a TA, ask before booking.

[spacepotatoes]

If the price drops before final payment, many cruise lines will adjust your balance if you booked directly with them. After final payment, they may upgrade you or not at their own discretion It's luck of the draw at that point. If you booked through a travel agent, they should still adjust the total before final payment but check with the TA before booking with them to make sure that they will do that for you.

 

Price wise, there is no advantage to booking with a TA or directly as most lines now do not allow TAs to discount fares. If you shop around, though, sometimes you can get some good incentives with a TA. Otherwise, I can't speak for any other lines but NCL will not deal with you directly when you call them if you booked through a travel agent. For us, that was a good incentive to book directly with them because we didn't want to have to go through a "middle man" and sometimes it was difficult to get answers to questions through our TA. If you have a good TA who will go to bat for you with the cruise line, then that's not an issue.

[candydane]

Most TAs will honor fare reductions for booked cruises but some won't. Some SAY they will but it's almost impossible to have them do that.

 

Many TAs do NOT charge for changes to your fare.

 

However, but there are TAs who charge fees for ANY changes they make to your reservation, including fare reductions. Those TA fees are above whatever fees (if any) that are charged by the cruiseline.

 

So if you book with a TA, be sure to get WRITTEN confirmation of what TAs fees you'll be charged between your booking and your cruise. Also get written confirmation that the TA will adjust your booked fares for subsequent fare reductions by the cruiseline.