Price Drop Hypothetical Question

[travelplus]

Let's say you booked a cruise and there was a "Price Drop". What I have been reading is that your reservation is cancelled and you are rebooked. Here is the problem I have with this.

 

Let's say you purchased shore excursions, specialty restaurant packages, photo packages etc and they get cancelled as well as show times. Let's say the dining time you wanted is no longer available, the shore excursion is not available. This is potentially lost revenue since the chances of the customer going onboard to purchase the excursion or reserve the specialty dining time because all pre-reserved online times are taken etc. Your stateroom location could change etc.

 

Why not just refund the money back to the credit card on file and keep the same stateroom or upgrade to the next stateroom category such as Oceanview to Balcony? Do you realize how stressful it would be if a customer had to waitlist for their dining times and show times, repurchase packages and may not get the same excursions if the price drop happened closer to the Final Payment Date and the ship was pretty full?

 

Why would Royal just rebuild the reservation for a price drop and not do the easy way for accounting purposes and just refund the amount or upgrade the cabin and keep the reservation the same? The SeaPass would only need to be reprinted for a change in Sateroom location.

 

What is your take on this?

Edited January 31, 2014 by travelplus

[The_Big_M]

Because their aim is not to make it easy for people to book at the lowest possible price?

 

Basically, you can work around the requirements if you find it advantageous for you, but I don't see why they have to go out of their way to make special arrangements for people to get the lowest price ever.

[molly361]

In most cases where folks have had to re-book it is before final payment and usually the bookings for shore excursions and such have not yet opened up. Usually RCL just credits the credit card for the price drop and does not make you cancel and re-book.

Edited January 31, 2014 by molly361

[cruisinfanatic]

Let's say you booked a cruise and there was a "Price Drop". What I have been reading is that your reservation is cancelled and you are rebooked. Here is the problem I have with this.

 

Let's say you purchased shore excursions, specialty restaurant packages, photo packages etc and they get cancelled as well as show times. Let's say the dining time you wanted is no longer available, the shore excursion is not available. This is potentially lost revenue since the chances of the customer going onboard to purchase the excursion or reserve the specialty dining time because all pre-reserved online times are taken etc. Your stateroom location could change etc.

 

Why not just refund the money back to the credit card on file and keep the same stateroom or upgrade to the next stateroom category such as Oceanview to Balcony? Do you realize how stressful it would be if a customer had to waitlist for their dining times and show times, repurchase packages and may not get the same excursions if the price drop happened closer to the Final Payment Date and the ship was pretty full?

 

Why would Royal just rebuild the reservation for a price drop and not do the easy way for accounting purposes and just refund the amount or upgrade the cabin and keep the reservation the same? The SeaPass would only need to be reprinted for a change in Sateroom location.

 

What is your take on this?

Don't know where you heard this, but it's very rare that a booking is cancelled and rebooked. The booking is simply repriced as long as it's before the final payment date

[jmorgania]

don't know where you heard this, but it's very rare that a booking is cancelled and rebooked. The booking is simply repriced as long as it's before the final payment date

 

+1!

[molly361]

There was 1 time that they made us cancel and re-book. I was told that the price was for new bookings only. This was on a cruise over 6 months out.

 

The RCL agent went ahead and cancelled my current reservation and re-booked the same cabin at the lower price. Not a very efficient use of time:rolleyes:.

[Icerecon]

Don't know where you heard this, but it's very rare that a booking is cancelled and rebooked. The booking is simply repriced as long as it's before the final payment date

 

If you are an Australian this is what you have to do. By the way you can wait for up to 12 weeks to get your deposit paid back into your account so you can book again.

 

There are no price guarantees booking with RCI down under.......

[P&C4/16/67]

Don't know where you heard this, but it's very rare that a booking is cancelled and rebooked. The booking is simply repriced as long as it's before the final payment date

 

We've grabbed a price drop on most of our cruises and this is exactly what they did.

[Ken at the beach]

In most cases where folks have had to re-book it is before final payment and usually the bookings for shore excursions and such have not yet opened up. Usually RCL just credits the credit card for the price drop and does not make you cancel and re-book.

 

There was 1 time that they made us cancel and re-book. I was told that the price was for new bookings only. This was on a cruise over 6 months out.

 

The RCL agent went ahead and cancelled my current reservation and re-booked the same cabin at the lower price. Not a very efficient use of time:rolleyes:.

 

We too have had both these situations apply.

[madelk]

If you are an Australian this is what you have to do. By the way you can wait for up to 12 weeks to get your deposit paid back into your account so you can book again.

 

There are no price guarantees booking with RCI down under.......

 

Agreed - I'm Aussie and this happened to me in February during the WOW sale - I was super MAD :mad::mad: I had booked on board at Christmas (my first RCI) for Feb 2015 and was told I wouldn't have any issues changing the second person's name etc and that the price drop WOULD APPLY. Obviously the LA was new to the Aussie scene! None of that applied and yes I had to cancel and rebook and in doing so saved over 40% of my fare! Definitely worth the effort!! :D

 

(and yes up to 12 weeks for my $200 refund of my half price deposit :( but it only took around 6 weeks to show up and my credit card company even refunded the "interest" on that $200! Although in the meantime I'd had to pay the full $400 deposit...)

Edited April 29, 2014 by madelk

[yolanda1]

Don't know where you heard this, but it's very rare that a booking is cancelled and rebooked. The booking is simply repriced as long as it's before the final payment date

 

 

 

Bookings are cancelled and rebooked regularly in the UK and other countries, with the loss of deposit paid, when prices drop.

 

I think it may only be American customers who can keep the original booking and have the price adjusted to the lower price.

[bigque]

To answer the OP because I don't know what the policy is in other countries, I have had price drops on past cruises and they did not cancel my booking and then rebooked. My fare was reduced and that was it. Nothing was cancelled at all! :cool:

[jules815]

We've grabbed a price drop on most of our cruises and this is exactly what they did.

 

Same here, and as recent as last week. I've never had my reservation canceled and rebooked due to a price drop. They just make an adjustment.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Don't know where you heard this, but it's very rare that a booking is cancelled and rebooked. The booking is simply repriced as long as it's before the final payment date

Yup...we had that happen/done now 4-5 times...