48 hr Lowest Price GTY with a Next Cruise

[Aquahound]

Anyone been successful with making a 48 hour lowest price claim on a Next Cruise reservation? I booked yesterday and found a lower price today. I am beyond final payment date. I tried filling out the 48 hour claim form but because my reservation # was a Next Cruise, purchased 2 months ago, they are saying I'm outside of 48 hours. I plan on giving them a call....I'm just looking for experience first. I know some of you are experts at this. ;)

[Aquahound]

Well, no answer from RCI yet either. 30 minutes on hold so far. :rolleyes:

Edited April 6, 2013 by Aquahound

[kingsgirl]

I've never heard of this 48 hour thing....

[molly361]

Keep us posted. I have wondered about the answer to that myself. Good luck

[Clarea]

I've never heard of this 48 hour thing....

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithHero.do?pagename=best_price_guarantee&cid=RCConsumerWebLP-091609BestPriceGuarantee

[Aquahound]

Keep us posted. I have wondered about the answer to that myself. Good luck

 

Where do I even begin with this one. :rolleyes:

 

First, the agent I spoke with never heard of the 48 hour lowest price guarantee, so I had to refer her to their own website. I explained I tried the website claim link but because my cruise was booked on a Next Cruise, it said my booking was more than 48 hours old and wouldn't let me continue.

 

Then, she said it wouldn't work because I am beyond final payment date. I responded by saying if it was before final, the 48 GTY wouldn't matter because I could get the lower price at any time.

 

She then went to speak with Resolutions. She came back and said I had to request it in writing.....on the website....as though we never had that conversation already. I explained a second time about the problem I had on line.

 

On hold again while she spoke with Resolutions.

 

She then came back and said "as a good will gesture," they will give it to me as on board credit.

 

All this over $40. :rolleyes:

 

So, I still don't have an answer and it still seems the people I spoke with are clueless., but I did get my discount....although its not the 110% it's supposed to be.

 

But what upsets me the most is they act like my request is unreasonable and they cop an attitude when all I'm trying to do is take advantage of their own promotion. Oy vey!

Edited April 6, 2013 by Aquahound

[EVALUATOR]

Since you are a person of reason, I offer the following suggestion as to why you should not have received the credit.

 

Many times in the past people purchased FCC and used the argument they purchased the prior to the no combining discount policy. Those got to combine discounts.

 

Maybe RCI is just being consistent with their policies.:eek:

 

Yeah, yeah....I know, before someone even says it.:)

Edited April 6, 2013 by EVALUATOR

[molly361]

Thanks for the update Paul. I was afraid it would turn out to be that kind of story!!!:rolleyes:

[Aquahound]

Since you are a person of reason, I offer the following suggestion as to why you should not have received the credit.

 

Many times in the past people purchased FCC and used the argument they purchased the prior to the no combining discount policy. Those got to combine discounts.

 

Maybe RCI is just being consistent with their policies.:eek:

 

Yeah, yeah....I know, before someone even says it.:)

 

I see what you are saying, but this isn't any sort of special discount....at least, not in the way of balcony, residency, share holders, or anything like that. It's an advertised price reduction, and not one that says "new bookings only." The way I read the 48 hour guarantee, combining discounts shouldn't even be a factor in this.

 

Take a look at the link provided by Clarea. It seems pretty straight forward. But maybe I'm missing something. :confused:

Edited April 6, 2013 by Aquahound

[marci22]

That's a tricky one. Technically it's not a new booking because you purchased it 2 months ago, but they portray a NCC as something that needs to be converted into an actual booking 'when you decide', which you did, yesterday.

 

Adding to the problem is that if the computer thinks it's not a valid price guarantee request, it will not let you fill out the form. So you have to get someone on the phone right away to prove your point before the 48 hour guaranty expires.

 

My mother had a similar problem on Celebrity. We put a room on hold for her and then paid the next day. The next day, it went on sale, and they said it was not valid because it was >48 hours. I did contest it with Celebrity and they gave her the money as a goodwill gesture. It was a lot, ~$500 or so.

 

They make it really hard to take advantage of their Best Price Guarantee.

 

ps they did not give my mother the 110% either because it was a goodwill gesture.

Edited April 6, 2013 by marci22

[EVALUATOR]

I see what you are saying, but this isn't any sort of special discount....at least, not in the way of balcony, residency, share holders, or anything like that. It's an advertised price reduction, and not one that says "new bookings only." The way I read the 48 hour guarantee, combining discounts shouldn't even be a factor in this.

 

Take a look at the link provided by Clarea. It seems pretty straight forward. But maybe I'm missing something. :confused:

 

I'm just saying the fcc purchase date not the booking date was used as a basis for applying multiple discounts.

 

Since they use the term "reserving" in the disclaimer I tend to side with you.

 

Many times we would book within 48 hours of sailing, have a price drop, then have to deal with it like you did. OBC wouldn't do us any good. The cruise would be over by the time they figured it out.

[JaneStarr]

Where do I even begin with this one. :rolleyes:

 

First, the agent I spoke with never heard of the 48 hour lowest price guarantee, so I had to refer her to their own website. I explained I tried the website claim link but because my cruise was booked on a Next Cruise, it said my booking was more than 48 hours old and wouldn't let me continue.

 

Then, she said it wouldn't work because I am beyond final payment date. I responded by saying if it was before final, the 48 GTY wouldn't matter because I could get the lower price at any time.

 

She then went to speak with Resolutions. She came back and said I had to request it in writing.....on the website....as though we never had that conversation already. I explained a second time about the problem I had on line.

 

On hold again while she spoke with Resolutions.

 

She then came back and said "as a good will gesture," they will give it to me as on board credit.

 

All this over $40. :rolleyes:

 

So, I still don't have an answer and it still seems the people I spoke with are clueless., but I did get my discount....although its not the 110% it's supposed to be.

 

But what upsets me the most is they act like my request is unreasonable and they cop an attitude when all I'm trying to do is take advantage of their own promotion. Oy vey!

 

This is the sort of thing that drives me nuts! The shipboard service on Royal Caribbean (and Celebrity, too) is usually impeccable, but there is a huge disconnect with the marketing & landside communications departments.

It's as if the right hand and the left hand belong to different bodies.

 

It's probably not worth wasting more of your time over the extra $4 OBC they owe you.

As a matter of principal, it might be worth shooting a quick email to Adam Goldstein's office to point out the disconnect.

 

It's like they shoot themselves in the foot with their offers -- instead of creating goodwill, they cause frustration.

Jane

[Aquahound]

I'm just saying the fcc purchase date not the booking date was used as a basis for applying multiple discounts.

 

Since they use the term "reserving" in the disclaimer I tend to side with you.

 

Many times we would book within 48 hours of sailing, have a price drop, then have to deal with it like you did. OBC wouldn't do us any good. The cruise would be over by the time they figured it out.

 

Ain't that the truth. Hey, for what it's worth, deck 9 SOs are only $179 on the Majesty next weekend. :D

 

That's a tricky one. Technically it's not a new booking because you purchased it 2 months ago, but they portray a NCC as something that needs to be converted into an actual booking 'when you decide', which you did, yesterday.

 

Adding to the problem is that if the computer thinks it's not a valid price guarantee request, it will not let you fill out the form. So you have to get someone on the phone right away to prove your point before the 48 hour guaranty expires.

 

My mother had a similar problem on Celebrity. We put a room on hold for her and then paid the next day. The next day, it went on sale, and they said it was not valid because it was >48 hours. I did contest it with Celebrity and they gave her the money as a goodwill gesture. It was a lot, ~$500 or so.

 

They make it really hard to take advantage of their Best Price Guarantee.

 

ps they did not give my mother the 110% either because it was a goodwill gesture.

 

Thanks. Good to hear I'm not the only one to go through this. I thought it would be really simple, not a half day debacle.

[EVALUATOR]

Ain't that the truth. Hey, for what it's worth, deck 9 SOs are only $179 on the Majesty next weekend. :D

 

While that sounds tempting, it is still a little too soon after losing Mrs E. :(

 

The burial at see was tough, but there were a lot of friends with me on that cruise.:)

 

Besides, I have nobody to watch the cats.:eek:

[wieslaw]

Hi,

I read this interesting to me thread and I am not sure, who is right or who is wrong.

I will give an example :

In sept of 2011 I booked a cruise for dec 10 2011.

I used Next Cruise Certificate dated 16 of may 2009 and the booking number from that NCC was used for the just booked dec 10 cruise.

A month or two later ( after my final payment) I saw a price drop on my dec cruise.

I knew about the changes that took place on may 17, 2010

( no price drop will be honored ...... )

So I did call RCI to get a clarification which date will they consider as my booking date ...... and will my dec cruise qualify for the price drop. They considered my NCC dated may 16, 2009 as the booking date and they issued credit to my credit card.

So if I look at this example I am not sure if the OP's cruise is covered by the 48 hrs rule. His NCC was used for his cruise and whatever date was on it ...... that was the date that RCI used. Perhaps I am wrong in my observation ..... but 'we' can not have it both ways and use only the rules that are beneficial to us.

[Aquahound]

So if I look at this example I am not sure if the OP's cruise is covered by the 48 hrs rule. His NCC was used for his cruise and whatever date was on it ...... that was the date that RCI used. Perhaps I am wrong in my observation ..... but 'we' can not have it both ways and use only the rules that are beneficial to us.

 

You could very well be right. I think an argument could be made either way concerning the NCC date. I think part of my frustration was RCI couldn't answer this for me. Despite my "goodwill gesture," I still don't know what the rule is under this scenario.

[EVALUATOR]

You could very well be right. I think an argument could be made either way concerning the NCC date. I think part of my frustration was RCI couldn't answer this for me. Despite my "goodwill gesture," I still don't know what the rule is under this scenario.

 

It is disappointing that you even had to explain the existence of the 48 hour price guarantee to them...twice.

 

Since changing terms of NCC previously purchased would seem inappropriate, maybe defining what is considered the booking date for the price guarantee might be in order.

 

But then RCI would have to educate the reps.:rolleyes: ....twice....or at least once.:eek:

[wieslaw]

You could very well be right. I think an argument could be made either way concerning the NCC date. I think part of my frustration was RCI couldn't answer this for me. Despite my "goodwill gesture," I still don't know what the rule is under this scenario.

 

Hi,

 

I have read many of your posts ...... I like them and many times I have learned something new from them.

This one might be another one that I will learn something new .... so please if you do find someone in the RCI organization that will provide a correct answer or rule ....... please post it .

 

The NCC is a little tricky even for travel insurance companies.

The same example that I provided above was a problem for my purchasing of travel / cruise insurance for that particular dec. 10. 2011 cruise.

 

I wanted to be covered for preexisiting conditions and I was told by one insurace company that in order to have this coverage, I had to pay ( for the insurace ) within 21 days from the time of the initial deposit ....... and they looked at the NCC 100 dol deposit as the initial deposit.

It took more than one call and few emails to have this clarified ...... so RCI is not the only one ........

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited April 7, 2013 by wieslaw

[Coralc]

Hi,

 

I have read many of your posts ...... I like them and many times I have learned something new from them.

This one might be another one that I will learn something new .... so please if you do find someone in the RCI organization that will provide a correct answer or rule ....... please post it .

 

The NCC is a little tricky even for travel insurance companies.

The same example that I provided above was a problem for my purchasing of travel / cruise insurance for that particular dec. 10. 2011 cruise.

 

I wanted to be covered for preexisiting conditions and I was told by one insurace company that in order to have this coverage, I had to pay ( for the insurace ) within 21 days from the time of the initial deposit ....... and they looked at the NCC 100 dol deposit as the initial deposit.

It took more than one call and few emails to have this clarified ...... so RCI is not the only one ........

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

I don't think people realize that about travel insurance. From an insurance company standpoint, they state that it is when you put "any" deposit money towards the trip. (certificate purchase date)

 

I don't think future cruise certificate is in their vocabulary. :)

 

This thing about Next Cruise certificates was mentioned in another thread today. If a person wants to claim that the certificate purchase date means that it is more than 6 months out to receive the extra $25 in onboard credit.....then it doesn't make sense that it would be valid for the 48 hour price guarantee. (certificate purchase date)

 

In a similar vein, if a person has an old certificate purchased prior to the changes, that they want to use to claim combined benefits and extended price drops, then it wouldn't be valid for the 48 hour price guarantee. (they wouldn't need it, but it would still be certificate purchase date)

 

If this situation should arise for our future bookings, I might call, but I don't think they are really obligated to honor it. :)

[EVALUATOR]

I don't think people realize that about travel insurance. From an insurance company standpoint, they state that it is when you put "any" deposit money towards the trip. (certificate purchase date)

 

I don't think future cruise certificate is in their vocabulary. :)

 

This thing about Next Cruise certificates was mentioned in another thread today. If a person wants to claim that the certificate purchase date means that it is more than 6 months out to receive the extra $25 in onboard credit.....then it doesn't make sense that it would be valid for the 48 hour price guarantee. (certificate purchase date)

 

In a similar vein, if a person has an old certificate purchased prior to the changes, that they want to use to claim combined benefits and extended price drops, then it wouldn't be valid for the 48 hour price guarantee. (they wouldn't need it, but it would still be certificate purchase date)

 

If this situation should arise for our future bookings, I might call, but I don't think they are really obligated to honor it. :)

 

So if some booked, on the same day, a B2B using a 2 year old ncc for the first leg and a regular booking for the second, for insurance purposes, they might have a pre-existing conditon for the first leg but not the second?

[Coralc]

So if some booked, on the same day, a B2B using a 2 year old ncc for the first leg and a regular booking for the second, for insurance purposes, they might have a pre-existing conditon for the first leg but not the second?

 

As I understand the insurance policy definitions, yes. That is how the "insuremytrip" people explained it in an online chat.

[Aquahound]

I have read many of your posts ...... I like them and many times I have learned something new from them.

This one might be another one that I will learn something new .... so please if you do find someone in the RCI organization that will provide a correct answer or rule ....... please post it .

 

Thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately, I think this one will remain a mystery.

 

At this point, I'm just hoping RCI is reading this thread. That way, they can be a little more clear with this policy.

[wieslaw]

.......... Unfortunately, I think this one will remain a mystery.

 

At this point, I'm just hoping RCI is reading this thread. That way, they can be a little more clear with this policy.

 

Hi Aquahound ,

I gave another thought to my comments in my post above , where I gave the example of using the date from my 'old' NCC.

 

I think that I was correct about RCCL using the date connected with the NCC's booking number but I was wrong in my comment that "we can not have it both ways ".

 

I read again all the rules and conditions of the 48 hrs rules and there was nothing there excluding the NCC .......... so I wrote email to someone that I coressponded with before, at the RCCL executive office.

 

I just got the answer ........ and yes you were right and I was wrong.

 

Here it is:

 

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxxx:

 

Thank you for your email.

 

The Next Cruise reservation is included in the Best Price Guarantee, however our on-line verification process does not currently support this type of reservation. Because the verification process is programmed to compare the date the reservation was created against the date of the request, it will create an error message stating that the reservation does not qualify.

 

If the guest has booked directly with us, they may contact us at, (800) 205-9812 and ask to speak with our Resolutions Department. We will then review the reservation and if it qualifies, the Best Price Guarantee will be honored. If the guest is working with a travel agency, then they would contact the travel agent who in turn would contact us for the price protection.

 

I see that you currently hold a Next Cruise reservation, now called Decide Later Open Booking, reservation xxxxxxxx. If you are considering converting that reservation to an actual ship and sail date, please be assured that we will honor the Best Price Guarantee.

 

I will alert our Information & Technology Department of this issue, to see if we can include directions on-line for guests holding a Decide Later Open Booking that was converted. Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.

 

Sincerely,

 

xxxxxx xxx

Executive Guest Specialist

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.

 

[Aquahound]

wieslaw - Thank you very much for your effort in this matter. The answer you received makes sense according to the wording in the 48 hour guarantee. Like you, I saw nothing that excluded a NCC. It only made sense for the 48 hours to begin when an actual booking was applied.

 

So basically, I am cheated $4! :rolleyes::D I don't really care about the $4, but according to policy and according to the response you received, I should have received $44 OBC, which would have been 110%, not the $40 I received, which was the actual price difference.

 

I also know to call Resolutions directly if this were to happen again in the future.

[Merion_Mom]

wieslaw - Thank you very much for your effort in this matter. The answer you received makes sense according to the wording in the 48 hour guarantee. Like you, I saw nothing that excluded a NCC. It only made sense for the 48 hours to begin when an actual booking was applied.

 

So basically, I am cheated $4! :rolleyes::D I don't really care about the $4, but according to policy and according to the response you received, I should have received $44 OBC, which would have been 110%, not the $40 I received, which was the actual price difference.

 

I also know to call Resolutions directly if this were to happen again in the future.

 

I will give you $4 when we sail together. When is that going to be?