Price Drop (10 days from sailing)

[Lunarclipse]

that incorrect.....they sell those Z's , Y's etc a lot prior to the 75 day payoff time (in the 30-60 day timeframe is when they generally start selling the "new bookings only" cabins)

 

Edited it to say......maybe "a lot" is a strong word.....I should say "sometimes" they do sell those "letters" before final......so I know it's more than .1% like you say

 

I don't quite understand what you are saying here. Z x y w gty's can be sold years in advance.... 99.99% they are sold at some promotional rate. C sale, Tuesday sale, r sale, etc. Of course that is a made up statistic but your opinion of how you think it works is inaccurate. My posts are backed with the personal experience of being that person you get transferred to that tells you no unfortunately those categories are for new bookings only. 1/10 times do I see people go into one of these cats on an existing reservation. It happens but it's more rare than it being new bookings only.

[Ken at the beach]

Were they category gty or super category gty? I stare at this all day so I know you didn't. Like I said 99.99% of the times you cannot. The only exception and possibility you took an existing reservation and changed staterooms into x z w y, is that .01% of the time a super category gty aka z x y w is not linked with a promotion. You either got extremely lucky there was no promotion or you went into a category gty. Spouting out well we did this three times! Let's everyone think they can when in reality there could be huge differences in situations.

 

category z. Go ahead and stare all day long, you are still wrong.

[Ken at the beach]

Were they category gty or super category gty? I stare at this all day so I know you didn't. Like I said 99.99% of the times you cannot. The only exception and possibility you took an existing reservation and changed staterooms into x z w y, is that .01% of the time a super category gty aka z x y w is not linked with a promotion. You either got extremely lucky there was no promotion or you went into a category gty. Spouting out well we did this three times! Let's everyone think they can when in reality there could be huge differences in situations.

 

category z. Go ahead and stare all day long, you are still wrong.

 

And if you want details here they are,

 

Liberty Dec 21 originally booked category K one cabin for 4, that got changed to a specific guarantee ( category n or m ) and then on June 28 that was switched to two category Z guarantees.

 

Liberty March 10 changed cabins to a W and a Z guarantee on June 30.

 

As you said there are always different situations but I did not spout off about something made up and while what you describe may in fact happen I do not believe that it is anywhere close to the 99.99% that you quoted.

[Eng23]

I do not understand why it is difficult to understand that the lower prices are applicable to new bookings only? There are other times where prices are adjusted for reasons other than a sale. In that case people with an existing booking can request a price adjustment if prior to final payment and an upgrade if past final payment.

The lower price is obviously only applicable for "new bookings" in which case the OP is not eligible to upgrade.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Merion_Mom]

Your cruise is part of the "hot deals" sales promo offered by RCI. I have posted the link that shows your cruise and he terms and conditions at the bottom of the page state it is for new bookings only.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/dealsandmore/hotdeals.do?cS=NAVBAR&pnav=3&snav=1

 

I don't think that's it, Ken. This is the info from that promo:

 

 

23 Nov

2013

8 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise

 

Sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida,

on the Independence Of The Seas

 

Details & Pricing | View Itinerary Map

Book Now

 

INTERIOR

$ 599 USD

per person

 

OUTSIDE

$ 759 USD

per person

 

BALCONY

$ 1,119 USD

per person

 

DELUXE/SUITES

$ 1,428 USD

per person

[Jsauerwald]

Cat z y x w are 99.99% new bookings only and if you have a z (interior gty) and a y (ov gty) is less you can't get it because that y is for new bookings only. So to make it easier... Guarantee staterooms(in z x y and w) are 99.99% for new bookings only and in the booking system they will not allow an existing reservation to switch into a guarantee. Period. That means you who are booked in that z gty can't move to that y gty because that category is for new bookings only. Now if you were in a z category and the I category (lowest ov) became equal or less to what you paid i would see no problem getting that upgraded after final.

 

This makes sense. Thank you.

 

I have pretty much put this upgrade idea to rest (after the one call I made this morning), now I just want to educate myself on the "system." So this morning, a category I OV was listed at 651pp. I called to see if I could pay the difference for an upgrade but of course it was part of a sale and base fare on the OV was around 950pp. Is there any day of the week where they aren't running a sale? Is there a way to check the base fares?

[Jsauerwald]

I do not understand why it is difficult to understand that the lower prices are applicable to new bookings only? There are other times where prices are adjusted for reasons other than a sale. In that case people with an existing booking can request a price adjustment if prior to final payment and an upgrade if past final payment.

The lower price is obviously only applicable for "new bookings" in which case the OP is not eligible to upgrade.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

It is not difficult to understand this. The difficulty that I am having is that another cruiser in my roll call got the same upgrade I wanted yesterday (interior to balcony) so I would like to educate myself as to why for future cruise purchases. Maybe booking a certain category will make upgrading cheaper and/or easier. I always need to get the biggest bang for my buck so to speak.

 

Can you please expand on "there are other times where prices are adjusted for reasons other than a sale?" How would I find these prices? Is there any pre-cruise time period where the adjustments are more or less prevalent?

[Ken076]

Can you please expand on "there are other times where prices are adjusted for reasons other than a sale?" How would I find these prices?

 

This could include announcment of 55+ or your state Resident rates (and Military Rates if you're eligible).

 

According to some posters, Terms & Conditions for some Sales include a look-back period for existing bookings, such that you wouldn't be eligible if you had already booked in the last xx weeks.

 

ken

Edited November 14, 2013 by Ken076

[Eng23]

It is not difficult to understand this. The difficulty that I am having is that another cruiser in my roll call got the same upgrade I wanted yesterday (interior to balcony) so I would like to educate myself as to why for future cruise purchases. Maybe booking a certain category will make upgrading cheaper and/or easier. I always need to get the biggest bang for my buck so to speak.

 

Can you please expand on "there are other times where prices are adjusted for reasons other than a sale?" How would I find these prices? Is there any pre-cruise time period where the adjustments are more or less prevalent?

I understand your concerns a little better now. The other times prices are adjusted is basically tied to supply and demand not related to any sales or special promotions. There are times when some cruise's are booking slowly and Royal will just lower the price with no restrictions. Sometimes certain cabin categories are selling really well or sell out while there is still a high demand for those categories; when this occurs Royal will offer reduced price upgrade's or for those fortunate enough a complimentary upgrade to free up the category that is selling well or sold out.

 

As far as finding those prices you would just have to follow how your cruise is booking by doing a mock booking to see what is available and the prices. Check in with your sailing's Roll Call as many folks are always checking for eligible price drops and let everyone know. Conversely prices sometimes increase significantly to where you see the higher price and you then have a better deal than the folk's who book while the price is higher.

[Jsauerwald]

Can you please expand on "there are other times where prices are adjusted for reasons other than a sale?" How would I find these prices?

 

This could include announcment of 55+ or your state Resident rates (and Military Rates if you're eligible).

 

According to some posters, Terms & Conditions for some Sales include a look-back period for existing bookings, such that you wouldn't be eligible if you had already booked in the last xx weeks.

 

ken

 

They really think of everything, don't they! I mean they are a for-profit business after all.

[Jsauerwald]

I understand your concerns a little better now. The other times prices are adjusted is basically tied to supply and demand not related to any sales or special promotions. There are times when some cruise's are booking slowly and Royal will just lower the price with no restrictions. Sometimes certain cabin categories are selling really well or sell out while there is still a high demand for those categories; when this occurs Royal will offer reduced price upgrade's or for those fortunate enough a complimentary upgrade to free up the category that is selling well or sold out.

 

As far as finding those prices you would just have to follow how your cruise is booking by doing a mock booking to see what is available and the prices. Check in with your sailing's Roll Call as many folks are always checking for eligible price drops and let everyone know. Conversely prices sometimes increase significantly to where you see the higher price and you then have a better deal than the folk's who book while the price is higher.

 

Some great information! Thank you! I was however hoping there was another way to check the prices other than mock booking; I generally only can get sale rates that way (which I more than likely won't be eligible for).

[Eng23]

Some great information! Thank you! I was however hoping there was another way to check the prices other than mock booking; I generally only can get sale rates that way (which I more than likely won't be eligible for).

I have seen it mentioned on some threads that there is a website that monitor's prices that you can register for and when there is a price drop you will get an email. Unfortunately I do not recall the website address.