Price drops

[kensington31]

Hi

This has got to have been asked many times before but I am fairly new to cruising so wanted to clarify. I am cruising in sept and have not yet paid my full balance,I have noticed that the price and cat I booked has now gone down by £400. With my last cruise with Princess I rang and they applied the price adjustment but I have just spoke to RCI and they said I will have to cancel my original booking and loose my deposit and then rebook a new booking? Is this correct???:mad:

[dst87]

Hi

This has got to have been asked many times before but I am fairly new to cruising so wanted to clarify. I am cruising in sept and have not yet paid my full balance,I have noticed that the price and cat I booked has now gone down by £400. With my last cruise with Princess I rang and they applied the price adjustment but I have just spoke to RCI and they said I will have to cancel my original booking and loose my deposit and then rebook a new booking? Is this correct???:mad:

 

If you're based in the UK then this sounds accurate. UK booking conditions are appalling, and you may have got lucky with a generous Princess advisor before.

 

Not as sure about US policy, but I believe you should be able to cancel before final payment with no penalty at all.

 

We definitely get screwed in the UK, especially as we invariably pay higher prices for exactly the same product too!

[clarky213]

If you have booked through RCCI UK or a UK TA, then you cannot get a price drop as far as I know, but now harm in calling to try.

You would also lose your deposit if you cancel & re-book.

 

If you had booked through a US TA (there are some that have a UK freephone number) then you would get the price drop and probably a cheaper price to start with.

I have saved about £400 on my last cruise & £700 on the previous cruise using a US TA through price drops and lower US prices.

[kensington31]

If you have booked through RCCI UK or a UK TA, then you cannot get a price drop as far as I know, but now harm in calling to try.

You would also lose your deposit if you cancel & re-book.

 

If you had booked through a US TA (there are some that have a UK freephone number) then you would get the price drop and probably a cheaper price to start with.

I have saved about £400 on my last cruise & £700 on the previous cruise using a US TA through price drops and lower US prices.

 

I booked it over the phone but it was an American consultant? Surely no matter where you live should have no difference in the cost we are all boarding the same ship.....

[tapemann]

Try asking for just an On Broad Credit equal to the price drop to use on the ship. Your going to spend funds on the ship anyway.

[Ken at the beach]

I booked it over the phone but it was an American consultant? Surely no matter where you live should have no difference in the cost we are all boarding the same ship.....

 

You would think so but unfortunately there are a different set of rules for the UK. (And some other countries as well).

[pattle66]

Don't feel alone, we get shafted here in Australia too. Once I book for a price I am happy with I try not to look again. One day I will get enough courage to use a TA from the US.

[Clarea]

I booked it over the phone but it was an American consultant? Surely no matter where you live should have no difference in the cost we are all boarding the same ship.....

If you are saying you used a US travel agent, then contact them and ask for the price drop. Several UK cruisers on this forum use US based travel agents and are able to take advantage of US booking rules.

[kensington31]

Try asking for just an On Broad Credit equal to the price drop to use on the ship. Your going to spend funds on the ship anyway.

 

I have sent them an email worth a try lol

[dani negreanu]

One day I will get enough courage to use a TA from the US.

 

Why do u need "courage" ?

 

I live in Israel and I'm using an US TA. Yes, I pay the commission from $ to shekels, BUT it is worth it. I also booked for my cousin, who lives in Germany, and the prices there are also very high.

On my upcoming cruise on Anthem, there were 3 price drops that I took advantage of, and one of 200$ OBC per cabin. Saved almost 1000$ off the original price, even though I have to pay for long distance calls....:)

[bogofman]

i wish there was a way to find recommended US TA's (with free phone to UK)

without breaking this sites rules

 

i've searched the web and found loads of TA's but how do i know they are any good, reliable, or even real? without personal recommendation?

 

 

In the US do you also keep your perks when asking for a price drop, obc?

 

again here in UK, we would lose any perks and deposit to change the booking,

 

unless the perks were still active as an offer

[Clarea]

...In the US do you also keep your perks when asking for a price drop, obc?...

My TA gives OBC based on the price of the cruise, and that OBC does go down if the cruise price goes down significantly.

[little britain]

I booked it over the phone but it was an American consultant? Surely no matter where you live should have no difference in the cost we are all boarding the same ship.....

 

The call centre for the UK office is now in Guatemala.....

 

Anyway, yes you can get price drops in the UK. I have done so many times.

 

However what you have to bear in mind is that there are several bands of prices for each cabin category. The prices shown on the website are for new bookings only and therefore are their best prices.

Sometimes, you can get these prices but often they are coded in the booking system so that they only can be applied for new bookings and 'computer says no' if you ask for this costing on an existing booking. But, there may well be another price for you within your cabin category which you can ask to be swapped to which is lower than you paid.

 

In UK they will let you have one major change to your booking (such as a price drop or swapping a name) for free then after than they charge a £35pp admin fee.

 

So the short answer, is call them again, and ask them to check out the cheapest 'convertible' price code for your cabin category.

And yes, sometimes the price drop is so large that it is worth cancelling, losing the £150pp deposit and booking again. A funny way to do business.

 

Many of us have learnt just to book direct in the USA where obtaining price drops is easy. In fact my USA TA had adjusted one of my upcoming bookings where I got a price drop of $900 before I even asked her to. Now that is service.:cool:

Edited July 9, 2015 by little britain