Balcony Upgrade after Final Payment

[kevey]

Hi all

 

Going on AOS on 29th Sep from Southampton. Have booked an ocean view cabin on deck 3 and noticed that balcony cabins are a lot cheaper now, but when I tried to upgrade was told that would have to pay the difference in cost for balcony cabin based on the prices when I first booked our cruise (back in Dec 12) which is £339 pp extra.

 

I thought that RCL policy allowed you to upgrade at current prices, but presume this is not the case once fully paid ?

 

I feel that I am being penalised for booking early now and wonder if anybody has had the same experience or perhaps managed to upgrade their cabin at the cheaper prices ?

[Clarea]

Hi all

 

Going on AOS on 29th Sep from Southampton. Have booked an ocean view cabin on deck 3 and noticed that balcony cabins are a lot cheaper now, but when I tried to upgrade was told that would have to pay the difference in cost for balcony cabin based on the prices when I first booked our cruise (back in Dec 12) which is £339 pp extra.

 

I thought that RCL policy allowed you to upgrade at current prices, but presume this is not the case once fully paid ?

 

I feel that I am being penalised for booking early now and wonder if anybody has had the same experience or perhaps managed to upgrade their cabin at the cheaper prices ?

That does not sound right. Your rules must be different because we can upgrade after final payment here in the US by paying the difference between what we paid and the current price. The only restriction here is that the current price cannot be restricted to new bookings.

[villauk]

Hi all

 

Going on AOS on 29th Sep from Southampton. Have booked an ocean view cabin on deck 3 and noticed that balcony cabins are a lot cheaper now, but when I tried to upgrade was told that would have to pay the difference in cost for balcony cabin based on the prices when I first booked our cruise (back in Dec 12) which is £339 pp extra.

 

I thought that RCL policy allowed you to upgrade at current prices, but presume this is not the case once fully paid ?

 

I feel that I am being penalised for booking early now and wonder if anybody has had the same experience or perhaps managed to upgrade their cabin at the cheaper prices ?

 

I take it you are comparing the current prices of balcony cabins on RCI website and working the difference from what you initially paid? I have rang several times and was told they are not the prices they use, those are for new bookings only! I'm unsure as to which prices they use when you have previously booked :confused: Each time I ring to upgrade, there is another excuse as to why I can't upgrade using the prices quoted on their website.....even when the prices are constantly changing :confused:.

 

Yet another reason for booking via the US! And if someone else quotes it's because we are better protected in the UK, I'll scream! How can booking a cruise only section of the vacation be any better protected - we're not talking flights, so no package cover??? If we don't visit a port because of a diversion, no compensation. So what's the difference where you book the cruise only portion!

 

Btw, I do intend trying to purchase NCCs (next cruise certificates, just in case you didn't know) in US$ on my next cruise, let's see what excuse they can find to stop me doing that ;).

 

Sorry if I went off at a tangent :o, but I know where you're coming from.

[Daghis]

I think there is a misunderstanding of the policy.

 

Royal Caribbean allows upgrading if you pay the difference between what you paid and the current price of the higher category.

 

It reads like you're thinking you'd pay the difference between the current prices between the two categories. That's not how RCI does it.

[emeraldcity]

I think there is a misunderstanding of the policy.

 

Royal Caribbean allows upgrading if you pay the difference between what you paid and the current price of the higher category.

 

It reads like you're thinking you'd pay the difference between the current prices between the two categories. That's not how RCI does it.

 

That's true. In my case, I have a 10-day cruise booked in a JS. When I booked it, I was using my future cruise credit that we received when the Grandeur cruises were cancelled. They took the current price of the JS and subtracted the future cruise credit, so my invoice show an artificially low price for the JS ... as if the FCC had never existed. Consequently if the price of the GS drops, I can't upgrade without completely losing the benefit of the FCC, because I will have to pay the difference between the number of the invoice and the new cost of the GS.

[villauk]

I think there is a misunderstanding of the policy.

 

Royal Caribbean allows upgrading if you pay the difference between what you paid and the current price of the higher category.

 

It reads like you're thinking you'd pay the difference between the current prices between the two categories. That's not how RCI does it.

 

No, that's not what is being said. They won't allow him to pay the difference between the original cost and the new costing of that cabin as per their website (as the website prices are for new bookings only), so they are quoting prices that are not visible to the OP to upgrade to another stateroom e.g say he originally paid $500 for an OV and now the balconies are showing $600, he won't be able to pay the $100 difference - they'll tell him it will cost him $800 to upgrade to that cabin as he doesn't qualify for those prices. Whatever is stated on the website does not apply to his booking (it will be said that those are some sort of deal/promotion/flash sale/anything to prevent him obtaining those prices etc), irrespective of the ever changing amounts.

[kevey]

VillaUK - correct, they said I can upgrade to a balcony cabin but must pay the difference between what I originally paid for an OV and what I would have paid had I originally booked a balcony cabin instead i.e Based on Dec 12 prices.

 

Therefore, whatever the prices now show on their website for balcony cabins, is irrelevant because they apply to new bookings only.

 

I think this is unfair, as surely it would be easier for them to re-sell my cheaper OV cabin than a balcony cabin ?

 

Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can deal with this, or should I just accept that if I want to upgrade then I have to pay £339 pp extra ?

[Clarea]

VillaUK - correct, they said I can upgrade to a balcony cabin but must pay the difference between what I originally paid for an OV and what I would have paid had I originally booked a balcony cabin instead i.e Based on Dec 12 prices.

 

Therefore, whatever the prices now show on their website for balcony cabins, is irrelevant because they apply to new bookings only.

 

I think this is unfair, as surely it would be easier for them to re-sell my cheaper OV cabin than a balcony cabin ?

 

Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can deal with this, or should I just accept that if I want to upgrade then I have to pay £339 pp extra ?

That's all you can do at this point.

[molly361]

I don't know if the rules are different over there but I would try again.

 

I don't see how they can even know what the prices were for a balcony when you booked it as prices can change even more than once a day.

 

Good luck

[filmstar40]

Kevey,

 

After a price drop I tried the same on my next Freedom cruise and was told pretty much the same - tough.

Pay the orig price difference between Oceanview and Balcony or keep the booking as is. Frustrating when RCI then advertised free Balcony upgrades on that cruise after the price drop.

 

However I was happy at the orig price and Oceanview cabin so my money will stay in my pocket.:)

 

To get the new price I was told I would have to cancel the orig booking, lose my deposit some £400 and rebook. The price drop is cancelled out by the losing of the deposit. My TA was pathetically poor in assisting me and was eventually told she had lost us as clients.

 

I.M.H.O The reasons for booking early do not outweigh the potential price drops that you are excluded from and I doubt I will ever be tempted to book a year ahead again. Not sure in the UK that RCI treat returning cruisers with the same respect as the US cruisers seem to get.

 

I appreciate some guys want a particular cabin, etc and that booking early suits them.

[yolanda1]

I have never been able to fathom the logic in RCI's pricing. This is a slightly different scenario and doesn't involve an upgrade, however - Two years ago the price of our JS dropped by over £1,100 before the final balance was due. When we tried to take advantage of the RCI Price Drop Guarantee (which had been pointed out to us on another forum), the company said that our particular cruise wasn't covered by the guarantee, and that the new price was for new customers only! We had to cancel the booking, re-book immediately to ensure we got the same JS, and in doing so, lost our £300 deposit. We still saved hundreds of £s though.

 

I think the rules must be different between the UK and the US.

[villauk]

VillaUK - correct, they said I can upgrade to a balcony cabin but must pay the difference between what I originally paid for an OV and what I would have paid had I originally booked a balcony cabin instead i.e Based on Dec 12 prices.

 

Therefore, whatever the prices now show on their website for balcony cabins, is irrelevant because they apply to new bookings only.

 

I think this is unfair, as surely it would be easier for them to re-sell my cheaper OV cabin than a balcony cabin ?

 

Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can deal with this, or should I just accept that if I want to upgrade then I have to pay £339 pp extra ?

 

I totally agree with you and feel your frustration as I too have tried to upgrade. Again, it pays to book via a US TA as you would have been able to upgrade and just paid the difference. You can also cancel before final payment without being penalised i.e. your deposit will be refunded.

 

Filmstar40's comments hit the nail on the head. It's really made me think about booking so far in advance unless I'm desperate for a particular cabin e.g. wanted a FV for next year's Infinity cruise and knew there are only a few on them on the ship, so waited for a price drop and booked during the free drinks package promotion. At present, I'm waiting until after US final payment date on an October cruise I'm hoping to take. Also, as stated previously, I'm attempting to purchase some NCCs in US$ whilst on Oasis to use with a US TA. It will be interesting to see if I'm denied the opportunity?

[kevey]

A quick update - I called my TA today and spoke to the person who did my original reservation this time as he was on vacation when I first called a few days ago.

 

I pleaded my case, and he has said he will call RCI tomorrow and try to negotiate a better price for a balcony upgrade.

 

He sounded like he was on my side, therefore, I at least have 'hope' that he may be able to do something for me.

 

Will let you all know !

[Texlahoma]

This probably doesn't help at all but, back in Feb I booked an inside guarantee, then upgraded to a balcony guarantee (after the price dropped), then the Junior Suites came down in price and I upgraded again. No problems, just paid the difference. However, this was booked directly with Royal Caribbean UK (not through a Travel Agent) and was before final payment was made.

 

Fingers crossed they let you get the upgrade.

[kevey]

Fantastic News - Thanks to the perseverance of my TA, Royal Caribbean have relented and agreed for us to receive a guaranteed balcony upgrade cabin for no extra cost. We have had to forego $300 of our $350 onboard credit, but in my opinion it is far better to have a balcony than the extra on board credit.

 

One very happy cruiser.

 

Next question - how long until we find out where our actual cabin will be ?

[molly361]

Fantastic News - Thanks to the perseverance of my TA, Royal Caribbean have relented and agreed for us to receive a guaranteed balcony upgrade cabin for no extra cost. We have had to forego $300 of our $350 onboard credit, but in my opinion it is far better to have a balcony than the extra on board credit.

 

One very happy cruiser.

 

Next question - how long until we find out where our actual cabin will be ?

 

 

YIPPEEE!!! I knew you could do it:D Congrats

[Clarea]

Fantastic News - Thanks to the perseverance of my TA, Royal Caribbean have relented and agreed for us to receive a guaranteed balcony upgrade cabin for no extra cost. We have had to forego $300 of our $350 onboard credit, but in my opinion it is far better to have a balcony than the extra on board credit.

 

One very happy cruiser.

 

Next question - how long until we find out where our actual cabin will be ?

If you are now in a guarantee category, then your stateroom can be assigned anytime between now and when you board the ship. Our assignments have come within a week or two of booking the stateroom, so keep checking Royal's website to see if a stateroom has been assigned.