Better deals after full payment

[hsmcruise]

We have been on numerous cruises and are ready to try oceania. My concern

Is that after the final payment deadline prices will drop. We are thinking about Greece and some might feel this is an unstable area to travel to. Also, when we called Oceania, initially we were quoted one rate and then the agent said he forgot to add in the airfare. It also seems these days that some of the lines are

Including half price excursions, free prehotel, etc. please let me know if u have had any experience with this.

[wripro]

Why not use a good TA to answer all your questions and do the work?

[LHT28]

I have not seen the prices drop on any of my cruises after final payment & for sure no 1/2 price excursions:D

 

Oceania does not operate like the mainstream lines

 

They may have some special offers for unsold cabins on some itineraries but on some cruises they actually ask people to move to another cruise because of overbooking

 

Lyn

[hsmcruise]

That's what I thought, I just don't like it when others get incredible deals, And

Brag about it. It seems like the lower price cabins go quickly because there aren't that many. The cruise I'm thinking about does have some waitlisted categories yet the roll call is extremely quiet!

 

I'll be contacting my agent and see what she comes up with. I like dealing with

The cruise line, because if there are any changes they have to be done directly

With the TA, once booked. I also have heard of agents forgetting to submit

The final payment and their client was waitlisted on a overbooked cruise!

I'm sure this doesn't happen often?

[LHT28]

That's what I thought, I just don't like it when others get incredible deals, And

Brag about it. It seems like the lower price cabins go quickly because there aren't that many. The cruise I'm thinking about does have some waitlisted categories yet the roll call is extremely quiet!

 

I know it is hard to believe but not everyone on the cruise knows about Cruise critic ;)

I'll be contacting my agent and see what she comes up with. I like dealing with

The cruise line, because if there are any changes they have to be done directly

With the TA, once booked. I also have heard of agents forgetting to submit

The final payment and their client was waitlisted on a overbooked cruise!

I'm sure this doesn't happen often?

People should always make a note of the final payment date & contact their TA a few days in advance if the TA has not contacted them to advise the final payment is due soon

 

Lyn

[jjeffjb]

Oceania will honor price drops after your deposit is paid as long as it is before final payment. We received several promo emails from Oceania for cruises that we have booked for this summer. If the promo price is less than what you paid, your final payment invoice will be adjusted. FYI - these cruises were all booked with a TA and we requested the adjustment with the TA. One of our cruises had 2 price drops. So, look for those promo emails.

[Hunding]

We have been on numerous cruises and are ready to try oceania. My concern

Is that after the final payment deadline prices will drop. We are thinking about Greece and some might feel this is an unstable area to travel to. Also, when we called Oceania, initially we were quoted one rate and then the agent said he forgot to add in the airfare. It also seems these days that some of the lines are

Including half price excursions, free prehotel, etc. please let me know if u have had any experience with this.

 

Those of us on Regatta's Panama Canal cruise last September were pleasantly surprised when prices dropped in all stateroom categories, and proportional refunds were credited back to our credit cards. They were, by the way, not inconsiderable.

[azam71209]

It's always a good idea to check with your credit card company that the payment was actually processed, rather than assume that the TA took care of it. My TA recommends that the final payment be made a few days early-just in case there's a glitch.

[hsmcruise]

The TA had received the go ahead to process full payment weeks ahead of the due date, but it wasn't done, and the cruise line gave up the room, and there

Was no room to be found In any category!

[LHT28]

The TA had received the go ahead to process full payment weeks ahead of the due date, but it wasn't done, and the cruise line gave up the room, and there

Was no room to be found In any category!

Sounds like you need a new TA then.;)

[spook1]

AHHHH, BIG DIFFERANCE BETWEEN A TRAVEL AGENT AND A CRUISE CONSULTANT. The latter does nothing but cruises.:cool:

[rubysue]

Oceania will honor price drops after your deposit is paid as long as it is before final payment. We received several promo emails from Oceania for cruises that we have booked for this summer. If the promo price is less than what you paid, your final payment invoice will be adjusted. FYI - these cruises were all booked with a TA and we requested the adjustment with the TA. One of our cruises had 2 price drops. So, look for those promo emails.

 

Not quite true. We paid our final payment last June for a September cruise, then found out a couple of weeks later there were substantial price reductions in our cabin category and we were able to get O to credit us AFTER final payment had been made. They did get some of it back when they offered us an upgrade to a PH2 a mere two weeks before the cruise that was too good to pass up.

[grmmybtty]

Rubysue,

We are in the same situation as you found yourself. We made our final payments earlier this month. We have a B2B Istanbul-Athens and Athens-Barcelona in November. The price on both cruises have dropped significantly. I thought that Oceania would not refund the excess amount so called my TA to see if we could get an upgrade instead. I haven't heard back from her yet, but it has only been a day. Either a refund or upgrade would be welcome. How were you able to get the refund?

[rubysue]

Rubysue,

We are in the same situation as you found yourself. We made our final payments earlier this month. We have a B2B Istanbul-Athens and Athens-Barcelona in November. The price on both cruises have dropped significantly. I thought that Oceania would not refund the excess amount so called my TA to see if we could get an upgrade instead. I haven't heard back from her yet, but it has only been a day. Either a refund or upgrade would be welcome. How were you able to get the refund?

 

Hi, Betty - we weren't using a travel agent last year, so I found out about the drop in price from our Roll Call group. I called up O and asked for the reduction and they accommodated it without a question. Who knows, they might have cracked down on this, but I would give your TA a day or so to find out. It seems like the itineraries like yours (ours last year was Venice to Istanbul) have a better chance of having some sort of price reduction and/or upgrade offer.

[grmmybtty]

Thanks Rubysue. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed. I am hoping for an upgrade or at the very least the chance to purchase an upgrade at a greatly reduced price.

[JimandStan]

Thanks Rubysue. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed. I am hoping for an upgrade or at the very least the chance to purchase an upgrade at a greatly reduced price.

 

I wish you the best of luck but your situation is not really conducive to last minute cabin changes.

 

If you are booked into the same cabin for both voyages, for example, Oceania is going to assume that you will want to stay where you are, UNLESS you TELL THEM differently in very specific terms.

 

I know of many passengers who would adamantly refuse to be upgraded on a B2B if it meant that they had to change rooms.

 

Communication is the key here :rolleyes:

[swissyrescue]

By not refunding the difference to those who've already paid in full, they are only encouraging people to wait until the very last moment to pay off their cruise.

 

If the cruise we're booked on were to fall in price and Oceania gave credits to other passengers but not me because I had the "audacity" to pay in full, it'd be the last O cruise I ever took! And I'd be pretty vociferous about my displeasure, too! :mad: