I stopped checking prices after final payment - and failed miserably

[Demonyte]

Disclaimer: I sent an email (my choice, could have called also) to our TA but they haven't gotten back to me yet so I don't know if we will get anything from NCL -- that is not the point of this post, I'm well aware that we are not entitled to anything from NCL. This post is about me blaming me for not checking the prices because I didn't think that this would actually happen even when I of course knew at the back of my mind that it could.

So, we are booked and paid in full for our Mediterranean cruise leaving next month (currently 49 days out). We booked last summer with KS-50% (we have two couples in a SC suite) and since then the price slowly but steadily hiked upwards (the high point being at $1500pp more than we paid, a few weeks before final payment) so as the price was still significantly more than we paid, I stopped checking prices when we had paid in full.

I figured that once we are paid in full, I wouldn't worry about it anymore as surely the price won't drop low enough making any kind of changes cost effective - but as you probably can guess already, this was a costly mistake on my part.

Well, lo and behold, the unthinkable actually happened and the price of the suite dropped from $5549pp (day of our final payment, still about $1000pp more than we paid) to the current price of $2399pp.

Even on the last days of "lose only deposit" period (74-56 days before) the price had already dropped to $3099pp - a whopping $1500pp less than we paid.

If I had been watching the prices at that point, by cancelling and rebooking we would have saved - even with the lost deposit amount taken into account - almost $2000 [B]plus[/B] gotten all the perks of Freestyle Choice promotion (now we only have some OBC and KS-50%).

So what can we learn here? Even if the cruise is a holiday cruise (easter in our case, most suite categories are and have been sold out for months) and prices seem only to go up, it still pays to keep checking those prices after final payment - with good enough price drop even the lost deposit doesn't hurt at all, and you can spend 20 extra days to wait for those big drops.

This was the first time I stopped checking because in the past nothing like this had happened - and of course now it did happen. Not quite like Murphy's Law, but close. :)

[Rhea98]

That's some really good advice especially about the "lose only deposit" timeframe. Sorry about the hard knocks lesson but glad you shared it for us.

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[AlwaysNeedSun]

[quote name='Demonyte']Disclaimer: I sent an email (my choice, could have called also) to our TA but they haven't gotten back to me yet so I don't know if we will get anything from NCL -- that is not the point of this post, I'm well aware that we are not entitled to anything from NCL. This post is about me blaming me for not checking the prices because I didn't think that this would actually happen even when I of course knew at the back of my mind that it could.



So, we are booked and paid in full for our Mediterranean cruise leaving next month (currently 49 days out). We booked last summer with KS-50% (we have two couples in a SC suite) and since then the price slowly but steadily hiked upwards (the high point being at $1500pp more than we paid, a few weeks before final payment) so as the price was still significantly more than we paid, I stopped checking prices when we had paid in full.



I figured that once we are paid in full, I wouldn't worry about it anymore as surely the price won't drop low enough making any kind of changes cost effective - but as you probably can guess already, this was a costly mistake on my part.



Well, lo and behold, the unthinkable actually happened and the price of the suite dropped from $5549pp (day of our final payment, still about $1000pp more than we paid) to the current price of $2399pp.



Even on the last days of "lose only deposit" period (74-56 days before) the price had already dropped to $3099pp - a whopping $1500pp less than we paid.



If I had been watching the prices at that point, by cancelling and rebooking we would have saved - even with the lost deposit amount taken into account - almost $2000 [B]plus[/B] gotten all the perks of Freestyle Choice promotion (now we only have some OBC and KS-50%).



So what can we learn here? Even if the cruise is a holiday cruise (easter in our case, most suite categories are and have been sold out for months) and prices seem only to go up, it still pays to keep checking those prices after final payment - with good enough price drop even the lost deposit doesn't hurt at all, and you can spend 20 extra days to wait for those big drops.



This was the first time I stopped checking because in the past nothing like this had happened - and of course now it did happen. Not quite like Murphy's Law, but close. :)[/QUOTE]


I never looked at it like that... I always stop looking after final payment also. Thanks for the tip!

[triptolemus]

Ouch...that stings.

But as you pointed out, the dynamics of price drops changes dramatically when a promo like KSF or CHOODB is running. The added value of these promos can substantially offset the hit normally seen when canceling and rebooking after final payment...even when considering the differences between perceived value and actual value of the promos.

Sorry for the stinger ya got there... Enjoy your time!

[conandrob240]

ALWAYS check! Especially check right before final payment and still check regularly after that. NCL always does something for you for a price drop. Might not be a $2000 savings but at least you get something to make it feel a little better! Edited February 11, 2015 by conandrob240

[SissasMomE]

Sorry to hear that :(

[hawkeyetlse]

You can still cancel passengers 3&4 for a full refund of their (50%) cruise fares, and they can take advantage of the current pricing and promo. I'm not sure how much they paid, maybe $2000 per person? So it would be worth it for them to get their own suite with all the current perks.

Of course that makes the average price per person in your cabin even worse, but maybe you can come up with some arrangement with the other couple to share the benefits of the rebooking (for example, they buy the UBP and UDP for one of you).

[LrgPizza]

That's a big bummer, but a helpful tip for others.

[mizLORInj]

[COLOR="Indigo"]Yeah, I hear ya. Some of our cruise prices have increased after final payment, and sometimes dropped substantially. For our upcoming cruise $ dropped too but I don't want to move from the cabin I'm in due to its larger balcony. Not so sure I'll book far in advance again though.

That said, sometimes the price has increased and I've benefited by having paid less, so I supposed it could be viewed as a wash.

I don't agree that NCL "always" does something, but it pays to ask to see if they'll do anything. [/COLOR] Edited February 11, 2015 by mizlorinj

[warriorking]

:D Thankfully I am at the other end of the equation, the price for my booking is so low that there is no place for it to go other than up in the future..
If it were to go any lower they will be paying me for the cruise...

[herdingdogmom]

Hopefully your TA will work something out. We were on the Jade last March and our mini category dropped a lot a couple of months before sailing. Many on our roll call received free upgrades to suites. I know we were past final payment but I don't remember the exact number of days in the cancellation table. My TA contacted NCL and we were offered a penthouse suite that didn't work for us because of the bed configuration limitations. So we were offered on OBC of 25% of the price difference in our category. Happy to have it and spent it on board. Well worth the email to your TA.

[Demonyte]

Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

With what we paid in total (over $10k) we sure could get two SCs at current prices (we'd be happy with two SEs and/or SFs too, those are only three suite cats with any availability besides H4 that is still way more that we paid so upgrading there is not an option either) but I know that even thinking about that is wasted time. :)

Unfortunately because of the KS-50% 3rd and 4th are paying about $800 each so cancelling them and booking a SE or SF (currently around $1800pp) would still cost about $2000 extra, second SC almost $3000. Getting suite privileges to everybody is "my client's" (stepdad; read below) absolute requirement so downgrading to anything lower than SF is not an option.

It's my stepfather's 60th bday cruise, and because of their health issues, this is probably the last big cruise for them (that's why we're willing to take the tiny 2nd bedroom even though we're pretty sure that our luggage doesn't agree ;) ) - the whole cruise is paid from one source anyway and if they knew about this drop, it would devastate them so I'm only telling them anything (and still not everything) if NCL comes forward and we'll get something "back".

But for me personally this is the biggest fail during all the time we've been cruising and definitely leaves a mark on the memory of this family cruise for me. Luckily at this point I have only myself to blame so no hard feelings towards anyone else. ;)

[Ewoodspark]

I am very surprised that you did not even check on what you may have got out of NCL even after final payment date. Similar to our booking, the price at one stage increased by 75%. When the promotion of UBP came out, the prices were still a lot more than we paid. We made the final payment and then found that the price had dropped to even less than the opening base price. At that stage, I was a little miffed so I contacted our TA, who persuaded NCL UK to re-book the deal in the same cabin (they blocked the system until re-booked) and included the 2 promotion choices of $200 OBC and the UBP.:)

[Markanddonna]

Our spring 2015 cruise taught me to keep looking. The prices crashed just a few days after the final payment but after talking to NCL, they upgraded us for no cost from OK to a balcony. I'm not sure I will ever book before final payment again. We could have had a cheaper price, the dining package and a nicer room if we had waited.

BTW- I have never seen prices crash 70 days out like I did last week for that cruise. Our balcony room went from about $3,000 to $995.

[Copper_beeches]

[I]I know you mentioned that you've contacted your TA already, I'd call... it can't hurt to ask, and if the SCs are sold out and the other lower suites aren't, maybe they WOULD give you two, if it's that big a difference... I've heard of 25% OBC being given, or maybe they'd give you the current perks but can't hurt to try... that truly sucks.[/I]

[Demonyte]

I just got an email from our TA - while NCL won't do anything for this cruise, we got a nice chunk of the difference as cruise certificates for future NCL cruises. I'd say that this result is a win-win-win for all parties involved. :)

[Trevor Fountain]

Booked in September. Happy with the deal. Don't know if the price has dropped and don't care about promo's.
I definitely would hate the US model here in the UK. I read of lot's of people booking and then spending months looking for price drops, and loads of disappointed people, who should, after booking, be free to enjoy the pleasure of pre-cruise planning. No sour taste in the mouth here.

[SeaCookie94]

That sucks, but hey at least you're gonna have the time of your life on the cruise and you know what to do next time. :)

[punkincc]

[quote name='Trevor Fountain']Booked in September. Happy with the deal. Don't know if the price has dropped and don't care about promo's.
I definitely would hate the US model here in the UK. I read of lot's of people booking and then spending months looking for price drops, and loads of disappointed people, who should, after booking, be free to enjoy the pleasure of pre-cruise planning. No sour taste in the mouth here.[/QUOTE]


I don't see any downside to the ability to adjust your booking and save yourself thousands in some cases. Yes, it takes some attention, but well worth the results sometimes. From the comments on the board recently, it looks like those who are happy they monitored far outnumber the disappointed ones.


[quote name='Demonyte']I just got an email from our TA - while NCL won't do anything for this cruise, we got a nice chunk of the difference as cruise certificates for future NCL cruises. I'd say that this result is a win-win-win for all parties involved. :)[/QUOTE]


Fantastic news! Always wondered how some people got those credits for future cruises ( not FCCs or Cruise Rewards ). Enjoy your cruise. Edited February 12, 2015 by punkincc