Change of Cruise Pricing

[achoosey]

Hello Everyone,

I have booked a cruise from Palma to Barbados for 29th October 2016, I was happy with the price and paid a deposit in March, then I have a email from the same company offering the exact same cruise for £600 less than what I was quoted, so I rang the company up ( don't think I can mention their name ) to see if it can be amended or upgrade my cabin from an outside cabin to a balcony, which is the price now that I am paying for the outside cabin. It fell on deaf ears, they say that they can do nothing about it, except cancel and lose my £400 deposit and rebook at the new price, although this will still save me £200 but I have to pay again the £400 deposit. They were not at all helpful, which upsets me because I have booked quite a few cruises with them...if it was just a reduction of £100 I would not have minded but £600 is a big jump...any ideas what to do, has it happened to anyone else ?....Thank You...Alan

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Pricing changes happen all the time in the cruise industry, it is not uncommon. Depending on the cruise line and local booking rules, sometimes you can get price adjustments and sometimes you cannot. It sounds like you cannot do much about your current situation. I don't know if this is an option for you in the future, but we have friends in the UK that use US travel agents to book cruises because of the more liberal pricing and cancellation policies when booking under US rules.

[Hlitner]

If you lived in North America, you would likely be able to reprice or rebook the cruise at the lower price. But living in the EU gets you certain benefits from EU Consumer Protection regulations, but also has a downside. Apparently there are many regulatory issues involved in changing prices after a deposit has been received. On the other hand, EU folks have many more rights...when it comes to dealing with the airlines then we have here in the USA.

 

With some cruise lines you could simply work with a US or Canadian Travel/Cruise agency (you need to do this at the time you originally book) and get the pricing benefits. But there are some cruise lines (Holland America comes quickly to mind) that will not let you book with a North American agency unless you are a resident of the US or Canada. I should mention we have an Australian friend who travels about 200 days a year with HAL, and he always books using a Canadian address (that belongs to a friend) so that he can get lower prices. Tis the way of the world.

 

Hank

Edited June 1, 2016 by Hlitner

[John Bull]

It happens all the time. And it's a chance you take when you book relatively early.

 

Price changes & committed deposits for cruising are no different to other UK-booked holidays, you pays your money & you takes your chances.

Prospects are that most, but not all, cruise prices go down closer to the sailing date. And yours might go lower yet.

But leaving it late to book is also taking a chance. Too late & the cabin type that you want, or even the entire cruise, may be sold-out. Or prices do sometimes go up. And late-booked flights almost always do.

 

Unlike in the USA, from the moment you hand it over your deposit is forfeit if you cancel & re-book.

At first glance it looks like that may be worthwhile in this case - but do be sure that you're comparing apples with apples. For instance by re-booking do you forgo your specific choice of cabin, dining option, & various freebies, & have to re-book just a "guarantee" cabin? And if this includes flights (thinking here of P&O or Thomson) will your choice of regional airport near Stoke be sold-out, leaving you with a choice of Glasgow or Glasgow?

 

The following more for the future, rather than that particular cruise ................

 

If work or kids or other constraints dictate your date, or if you have your heart set on a particular ship or itinerary, then you have to bite the bullet & book, despite the prospects that there may be a better late deal.

We did that last year for a Panama/Cuba cruise - we've cruised the Caribbean to death but this rare itinerary appealed. We watched & waited for prices to fall. They didn't. And cabins started to sell-out. So we booked some months in advance because we had our hearts set on it. As it happens, there were a few cabins sold-off late - though not a big price difference, & not worth losing the peace of mind

But in the main, being retired now & not committed to dates, we wait for bargains. Sometimes bargains bigger than £600 !! :). If one sells-out before we book, no worries - another will be along soon.

Only downside is that we're limited to cruises from Europe or chartered long-haul fly-cruise packages, because the afore-mentioned late-booked air fares would usually more than wipe out the savings

 

Hank & Clarea have mentioned using a US travel agent.

Quite a few of us used to do that, when lower US prices were more important than cancellation rights.

Doesn't happen so much now, there's still the better cancellation terms but the fare savings aren't so significant. And nowadays some cruise lines don't allow non-North American residents to book through US travel agents, though there are often ways around that. There are other pitfalls too, so ask on here if you ever think of using a US travel agent.

 

Altho it's by-the-by, I'll respectfully disagree with Hank (we rarely disagree ;)) about the reasons for the different cancellation terms & prices. I put it down to the cruise lines screwing the best prices they can wherever they can and protecting their agencies in different countries, rather than any UK or EU safeguards. Aussies pay even higher prices & have the same poor cancellation rights, and it'll be quite a while before the megalomaniacs in Brussels invite them to join the EU. :D

And altho we have ABTA safeguards, using a credit card provides the same financial safeguards.

 

For this cruise, put it down to experience. And enjoy sleeping soundly at night between now & October, knowing you're all fixed up.

 

If anyone on the ship brags to you about how little they paid for a late booking (some like to gloat), watch the look on their face when you tell them you paid £120 less than them. :p

OK, so you'll be lying.

But so will they :D

 

JB :)

Edited June 1, 2016 by John Bull

[achoosey]

Thanks John Bull for your reply, the last couple of paragraphs made me smile, yes I will still enjoy my cruise, would have been better with £600 still in my pocket though :-)