Does Royal Caribbean honor price drops?

[Robinola]

I have read and re-read their policy, and I do not understand.

 

If I book now, for a trip next year, and the price drops, will

they honor the reduced rate up until the time of final payment?

 

There seems to be a lot of mumbo jumbo on their site that I do not

understand. Seems like a simple question.

[Clarea]

I have read and re-read their policy, and I do not understand.

 

If I book now, for a trip next year, and the price drops, will

they honor the reduced rate up until the time of final payment?

 

There seems to be a lot of mumbo jumbo on their site that I do not

understand. Seems like a simple question.

Assuming you are a US/Canadian cruiser, they will honor price drops until final payment date, as long as the price drop is not restricted to new bookings.

Edited May 13, 2013 by clarea

[tahqa]

In general, yes, up until final payment date. However, many times you'll find a sale price and you may or may not be able to match that sale price. For instance, usually the Tuesday sales are not eligible for price matching. However, if that price is still available on Wednesday then I've always managed to get the match. It's all in the fine print. If it says "For new customers only" (or something to that effect) they likely will not match.

[dasi11]

They will honor the price most of the time... But you can always cancel and rebook if they are giving you a hard time about it... You are far enough out to have no problems, I think.

[cruisenfever]

They will honor the price most of the time... But you can always cancel and rebook if they are giving you a hard time about it... You are far enough out to have no problems, I think.

Price drops are honored all of the time, unless the price drop is for "new bookings" only.

[UCF_Knight]

They will honor the price most of the time... But you can always cancel and rebook if they are giving you a hard time about it... You are far enough out to have no problems, I think.

 

Usually if the promotion is one that says "New bookings only", they will not honor the price drop AND there is language in the fine print of the sale which states you will not be eligible if you cancel an existing booking and try to rebook.

[hallasm]

Just be aware of rules and practices being different from country to country.

There might or might not be a fee associated with changes.

[setsail]

Using a TA that groups you into a group booking could prevent being able to get a price drop before final

[villauk]

Assuming you are a US/Canadian cruiser, they will honor price drops until final payment date, as long as the price drop is not restricted to new bookings.

 

Bob,

 

I think you're safe with your advice as the OP is definitely not from the UK - check out the word 'honour', or should I have stated 'honor' :D.

[FL1095]

We are more than 30 days out from sail date and the price has dropped almost $!000, plus up to $1000 on board credit is being offered currently. I called Costco Travel, (booked through them), and they indicated that Royal Caribbean's policy is no credit past final payment date - wish I had know that! They called them and asked and they offered nothing - no upgrade, no cruise credit….I called RC directly, (we have cruised with them numerous times), and they said nothing they could do. The only upgrade was a suite and it was more than I paid, so no upgrade. They could have offered a minimal on board credit, or something for goodwill, but frankly, they weren't even nice about it. I'll be rethinking my next cruise line I sail with! So much for booking early!

[cruisenfever]

We are more than 30 days out from sail date and the price has dropped almost $!000, plus up to $1000 on board credit is being offered currently. I called Costco Travel, (booked through them), and they indicated that Royal Caribbean's policy is no credit past final payment date - wish I had know that! They called them and asked and they offered nothing - no upgrade, no cruise credit….I called RC directly, (we have cruised with them numerous times), and they said nothing they could do. The only upgrade was a suite and it was more than I paid, so no upgrade. They could have offered a minimal on board credit, or something for goodwill, but frankly, they weren't even nice about it. I'll be rethinking my next cruise line I sail with! So much for booking early!

I am surprised that, since you stated you have cruised with RCI numerous times, that you were not aware of the pricing policy which has been in effect for 4+ years.

 

5/17/2010 ~~ Another New Pricing Policy takes affect..... now only price drops up until final payment will now be honored. If, after final payment, a cabin category higher than what was originally booked is priced the same as or lower than, an upgrade can be requested.

[marci22]

The 'new bookings only' phrase is their out. It is almost always in the fine print of the offer.

 

That being said, you can usually just cancel and rebook. Check for penalties if you used a TA.

[Big_G]

Originally Posted by FL1095

We are more than 30 days out from sail date and the price has dropped almost $!000, plus up to $1000 on board credit is being offered currently. I called Costco Travel, (booked through them), and they indicated that Royal Caribbean's policy is no credit past final payment date - wish I had know that! They called them and asked and they offered nothing - no upgrade, no cruise credit….I called RC directly, (we have cruised with them numerous times), and they said nothing they could do. The only upgrade was a suite and it was more than I paid, so no upgrade. They could have offered a minimal on board credit, or something for goodwill, but frankly, they weren't even nice about it. I'll be rethinking my next cruise line I sail with! So much for booking early!

 

That's been the rule for years now. I can't be worried about who got a better deal. I do my homework and get the cabin and itinerary I want and only look back after final payment if I'm looking for an upgrade. Have a great cruise. ;)

Edited November 11, 2014 by Big_G

[Desert Cruizers]

The only time we lucked out with a price drop was for a Residence drop for AZ, Calif & TX so not everyone benifted. We saved $1250 when factoring in all fees less Platinum discount.

[JasonV1]

If there is inventory, this almost always happens. This is why once final payment is made all you should really consider is upgrades (for little or no $), not price drops.

 

You realize that to an extent Royal will do what they can to fill a boat as the sail date get closer? Supposedly this practice will end, but many doubt that.

 

There are websites out that that record prices from the minute the cruise is first put on sale. If you are wondering if what you have paid/will pay is a good deal, you can always check one of those sites.

 

You can also use those sites to see how a price has dropped for a current cruise that is close to the sail date; this will give you an idea of how much prices can drop if there is inventory.

 

You can always switch tactics to book last minute (especially if you don't mind what cabin location and category you get), but not everyone has the flexibility to do that.

 

Short of a really good sale (which Royal had late spring) I have found that the best prices for RCI cruises are found if you book as soon as the cruise is announced. What happened this spring was pretty rare though as I got significant drops on every Royal cruise I had booked, which is not something you usually see. By booking at schedule release and watching all sales you ensure that you will have the best available deal going into the final payment period.

 

The fun doesn't stop during final payment of course, as that is when I tend to look for lower cost suite upgrades.

 

If you book insides only I would advise against checking prices at all after final payment as they almost always drop like a rock (again, if there is enough inventory). I've seen summer Oasis/Allure insides go for $599-$649 once final payment has passed. Outsides and balconies can drop as well, but if those are still out of your price range that doesn't help you much.

 

We are more than 30 days out from sail date and the price has dropped almost $!000, plus up to $1000 on board credit is being offered currently. I called Costco Travel, (booked through them), and they indicated that Royal Caribbean's policy is no credit past final payment date - wish I had know that! They called them and asked and they offered nothing - no upgrade, no cruise credit….I called RC directly, (we have cruised with them numerous times), and they said nothing they could do. The only upgrade was a suite and it was more than I paid, so no upgrade. They could have offered a minimal on board credit, or something for goodwill, but frankly, they weren't even nice about it. I'll be rethinking my next cruise line I sail with! So much for booking early!

Edited November 11, 2014 by JasonV1

[debdingdong]

is there a site that I can go to price check my cruise on royal Caribbean?? is it our ta responsibility or my own to find those price drops?

[Clarea]

is there a site that I can go to price check my cruise on royal Caribbean?? is it our ta responsibility or my own to find those price drops?

Use Royal Caribbean's site to do a mock booking of the same cruise and stateroom category.

 

Speak to your TA about who should look for price drops. I suspect that travel agents are too busy to look at every client's price every day.

Edited August 24, 2016 by clarea

[debdingdong]

thank you Bob!

[Clarea]

thank you Bob!

You're welcome.:)

[maxsales]

Using a TA that groups you into a group booking could prevent being able to get a price drop before final

 

Disagree with this statement.:)

[maxsales]

is there a site that I can go to price check my cruise on royal Caribbean?? is it our ta responsibility or my own to find those price drops?

 

Yours.

[andy@the-reids.com]

Following our first ever cruise eariier this year we booked a 12 night cruise on Independence for next June a couple of months ago.

 

Just discovered RCI have now introduced a deal which means cruise is cheaper and includes an Ultimate Drinks package.

 

Ive read elsewhere that RCI wil reprice if there is a price drop so I called RCI to ask if I can have my booking updated to take advantage of this and told under no uncertain terms that this wasn't possible as I already had a deal that included free parking at Southampton (which I have no requrement for).

 

I do enjoy a good few beers and spirits on holiday so this new offer had the potential to save ££££s. I worked out it will be cheaper to cancel and forfeit the deposit and then reboot with the deal rather than buying drinks packages.

 

Before I go ahead and do this any other advice or anything to watchout for?

[johnjen]

is there a site that I can go to price check my cruise on royal Caribbean?? is it our ta responsibility or my own to find those price drops?

 

It's certain to be your responsibility - but in my case, I called her on our price drop on our first cruise...she went on vacay, then I got from someone there that they couldn't help me since it wasn't their account, bla bla, so I had to phone in to RCL to get it myself. That incident soured me away from TA's altogether. They're simply not worth the free excursion and I've come to enjoy doing the bookings direct through RCL anyway.

 

Now, what DW does, is she will go to the RCL site and go through the motions of booking the same cruise from scratch and she can tell if we have a drop or not. She checks every week at least once.

Edited September 21, 2016 by johnjen

[Biker19]

Before I go ahead and do this any other advice or anything to watchout for?

 

I would call at least two more times to see if you get a different answer.

[troykahack]

I have yet to see a price drop in our cabin class that could beat the discount we got from Club Royale.