Protocol for Falling Prices

[SHINEMAN]

If NCL drops the price for your category, do you automatically get the reduction?

If there is a reduction, is it the TA's job to get it for you? Do TA's monitor the price changes?

Do the TA's lose commission if there is a reduction? In other words, is there a conflict of interest here, so that you should monitor for price changes yourself?

Is the only way to monitor changes to use the NCL website asif you were purchasing a cruise?

Will Latitudes tell you if you call them?

Are there any deadlines for one to get the drop in fare< for example, at time of final payment or some number of days before cruise?

[immargaret]

I booked directly with NCL for my Feb. 06 cruise. When I noticed one of the cabins I booked had a price reduction on the NCL site I called up and they had no problem changing the price for me and it took less than 5 minutes total. I will keep looking right up until final payment is made, because I always have the option to cancel the booking anytime before final payment without a penalty. Once final payment is made I have asked for onboard credit in the amount of lowered fare, but I have never received a lower price with NCL.

 

If your monitoring the NCL prices at NCL.com and see little cross (t) signs near the prices click on the price and it will show you a promotional price that you may qualify for. This is on the page where all the cabin categories are listed with prices near them.

 

A good TA will keep an eye on price reductions for you, and will handle getting the new price for you. I used a major online TA in the past and it was a real pain for me to monitor the prices, and then contact them to have them contact NCL to get me the lower fare. This particular company said it didn't actively check prices once the cabins were booked.

 

I do think the TA's commission goes down with the lower fee, but I'm not a TA and can't say for sure.

[Shore Girl]

If NCL drops the price for your category, do you automatically get the reduction?

If there is a reduction, is it the TA's job to get it for you? Do TA's monitor the price changes?

Do the TA's lose commission if there is a reduction? In other words, is there a conflict of interest here, so that you should monitor for price changes yourself?

Is the only way to monitor changes to use the NCL website asif you were purchasing a cruise?

Will Latitudes tell you if you call them?

Are there any deadlines for one to get the drop in fare< for example, at time of final payment or some number of days before cruise?

 

NCL will protect lower rates only if you haven't reached your final payment due date yet. Once your reservation is in penalties they will not lower your rates, but some on here have said they offer upgrades or maybe an OBC.

If you booked with a t/a then yes they will havbe to contact NCL for you to make any changes, if you booked directly then you can call them.

Not all t/a's will monitor rates, you might want to look into it yourself & then give them a call if you do see lower rates.

If you call NCL Reservations or Latitudes they can give you the current price for your cruise, but they won't update your res if you booked through a t/a.

[LuAnn]

Don't know about NCL but with Princess I have received mailings which indicated lower fares than what I had booked...called my TA and she called Princess and had the rate lowered... last time I saved over a $1,000.00..it is worth it to keep checking..and I would think the TA would lose some commission?

[Guest nhrich]

It's not automatic, and it all depends on the TA...some will monitor pricing and others will not. This is one question you should ask a TA before booking with them.

 

Yes, the TA gets a reduced commission based on the new price, but to me, it's worth a few bucks to have a satisfied client.

 

Rich, ACC

Carefree Vacations

[bandit0000]

Unfortunately here in the UK it is different. Once you have booked that price, that is the price you pay, no refund, no upgrade & no OBC. If you cancel even if it is before final payment you lose your substantial deposit.

I was recently very annoyed when I booked the Jewel mini cruise. They were selling balconies £30 cheaper than the lowest grade inside that I had. They would not upgrade me even for a reasonable price. They said that because I had already booked I would have to pay the full price, not the offer price and if I wanted to upgrade to a balcony it would cost me another £110. This would then have cost me £140 more than they were selling it for.

Very unfair system I think, especially as they do it differently in America.

Regards,

Lisa

[SHINEMAN]

Unfortunately here in the UK it is different. Once you have booked that price, that is the price you pay, no refund, no upgrade & no OBC. If you cancel even if it is before final payment you lose your substantial deposit.

I was recently very annoyed when I booked the Jewel mini cruise. They were selling balconies £30 cheaper than the lowest grade inside that I had. They would not upgrade me even for a reasonable price. They said that because I had already booked I would have to pay the full price, not the offer price and if I wanted to upgrade to a balcony it would cost me another £110. This would then have cost me £140 more than they were selling it for.

Very unfair system I think, especially as they do it differently in America.

Regards,

Lisa

 

It is difficult to imagine any rationale for the different treatment. Could it be the TA rather than NCL?

[bandit0000]

It is difficult to imagine any rationale for the different treatment. Could it be the TA rather than NCL?

 

Hi,

I booked direct with NCL, but even with an agent the story is the same unfortunately.

Regards,

LIsa

[fyrmand]

I just had this happen for my 10/22 cruise on POAmerica. The price dropped 130.00 for two (no air). I called my TA who called NCL. Even though final payment was already made they credited my account 130.00. Give it a try...Good Luck

[denims]

I just had this happen for my 10/22 cruise on POAmerica. The price dropped 130.00 for two (no air). I called my TA who called NCL. Even though final payment was already made they credited my account 130.00. Give it a try...Good Luck

 

How did you find out the price of your cruise came down in price?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

[fyrmand]

My TA has a website and I constantly monitored it for changes. Did the same for Carnival sailing last year and got reduced price as well.

[SHINEMAN]

I checked with my TA. She called someone and said that the fare now posted was only for those who did not buy the tie-in air. That seemed strange to me since we all know that purchasing the air through NCL is usually more expensive and NCL makes more bucks.

The amount of the reduction is not negligible, about $300.

I called Latitudes who first said I got the lowest fare. After I pointed out it was posted on their site, they checked and verified that the price had dropped.

Then they said I was out of luck because I had already paid. This is true. O protested that I was being penalized for being a good customer and paying in advance of the deadline. I asked if they might give me an on-board credit. The reply was that "I can't touch that."

I guess the moral of the story is, don't pay until the deadline.

But it sure leaves one with a bad taste in his mouth.

[seahorse]

I checked with my TA. She called someone and said that the fare now posted was only for those who did not buy the tie-in air. That seemed strange to me since we all know that purchasing the air through NCL is usually more expensive and NCL makes more bucks.

The amount of the reduction is not negligible, about $300.

I called Latitudes who first said I got the lowest fare. After I pointed out it was posted on their site, they checked and verified that the price had dropped.

Then they said I was out of luck because I had already paid. This is true. O protested that I was being penalized for being a good customer and paying in advance of the deadline. I asked if they might give me an on-board credit. The reply was that "I can't touch that."

I guess the moral of the story is, don't pay until the deadline.

But it sure leaves one with a bad taste in his mouth.

 

Call our TA back and have her call again and you are correct do not pay your final until it is due. I do not see where the air has anything to do with it, the cruise came down, not the air. Call again.