Royal got me again on a price drop

[cruisinfanatic]

When you make a purchase in a store, you do so because you like and want the product and pay the price. When the store has a sale a few weeks later and drops the price of your item, you don't go back to the store and demand a refund of the difference , or some other form of compensation.

Actually there are many stores that allow it

[NJcruisenewbie]

Price fluctuation happens on lots of purchases - airfare, cruises, cars, houses, etc.

 

The best thing to do is not check price after you purchase if there isn't anything you can do to adjust it.

 

I can't believe you're throwing a fit over $100.

[Biker19]

We were on another cruise when final payment was due for an upcoming cruise. I called Royal told them about our circumstance, and they were happy to postpone the payment till we got back. But they did state that the deposit would be forfeit if we didn't make the payment.

Worked out fine.

 

Yes, but, you couldn't have gotten any price drops during that period, which is what the OP is critical about.

[goodml]

The price drop after final policy works great for me. We booked a promenade cabin 16 months ago while on another cruise. We tracked the price using a certain cruise website with fish in its name, and the price never went lower. Two days before final the price for x category balcony guarantee came down to within pennies of what we paid for the promenade. All the insides and outsides are now much higher priced than the balconies. We took the guarantee and were assigned D3's three days later after final. We didn't love the location but there's a glut of cabins available so we got moved to ones that we like better. Then the D2s dropped so we got moved up a deck and a location we like even a bit better. Still no cost out of pocket. The staff at crown and anchor have been amazing with all my changes.

 

For the OP your specific cabin seems to be the most important thing for you so once final payment happens you need to stop looking. The policy is fair.

[robtulipe]

The problem I find with RCI is that after the final payment date they make it very difficult to upgrade to a higher class of cabins, especially if it's a guaranty at a very good price, as they insist most of the time these are for new bookings only. We've had this situation a few times in the past.

I noticed just under 2 weeks ago that a X Gty was available for this month's Brilliance TA as part of the Going, Going, Gone sale. I knew this was for new bookings only so I waited until Saturday, that week the GGG sale went from Monday to Friday and saw that it was still available so I called our travel agent to upgrade our OV cabin to this. RCI told her that the X Gty offering was still part of that promotion which had been extended for the weekend thus wasn't available as an upgrade to us with a current booking. This I found unusual as that promotion was suppose to have ended.

Come the following Monday RCI is now offering an E3 Gty at a different slightly higher price so I try to upgrade again. Again they insist that it is part of that week's GGG sale although this sailing isn't listed as part of that sale. Our TA even spoke to someone in resolutions about this and got the same response.

I told my TA if that's the way RCI wanted to play this game I would be booking our cruises from now on with Princess, as we have Capt's Circle status with that cruise line or with other cruise lines and not with RCI. MSC status match program came to mind. By the way we are C&A D+ and over the last two years have done 9 cruises with RCI. As my signature below shows we typically do 4 to 6 cruises per year. Our TA again spoke to RCI and found someone who was sympathetic with our situation and allow us to upgrade. Our TA said it was our C&A status and the fact we were willing to pay for the upgrade that convinced RCI to allow this to happen.

Currently, almost two weeks later, that E3 Gty is still available at the same price we paid. Also there are only D1 balconies available which was the case when we upgraded. One of those D1s is what we were assigned the day following us upgrading. :D

Edited October 1, 2016 by robtulipe

[Merly]

Actually there are many stores that allow it

 

Really! Not in the UK.

[Charblondie]

It people like this i don't want on my cruise. These people are never happy with anything & bitch all the time. They should do all inclusive instead & if the price drops i'd like to see them try to get $ back - Never!

First of all get off your high horse & you by far don't keep the RC a float people like u actual sink it! Its the workers that don't even make a $100 a week & work 7 days straight for 6 months. These workers are the ones that keep the ship a float not you! I hope to never see you on any of my trips!!

 

 

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[Biker19]

! Its the workers that don't even make a $100 a week & work 7 days straight for 6 months.

 

They make a bit more than $100 per week.;)

[Charblondie]

They make a bit more than $100 per week.;)

You can tell you are truly missing the point here!

[not-enough-cruising]

I was looking tonight and found out my cruise in December on Oasis has gone down almost $100. I called them and was told that since I've made the final payment the only thing they can do is offer me an upgrade with a guarantee balcony but can't promise where it will be. Well, we have the one we want, deck 11 overlooking the aqua theater so that is out of the question. This is the second time #RoyalCaribbean got me like this. They need to figure out what they can do, on board credit, dinner at a restaurant, some free drinks. Not like this is our first cruise, we will be #Emerald #Crown&Anchor after our next cruise in a couple weeks. I said it last time that I won't do final payment until a few weeks before the cruise, now I mean it. I don't care how many emails they send. I may not be Pinnacle but I am loyal, at least for now. And its people like us who are the ones who can keep them afloat.

 

 

If I were you, i would absolutely remove my auto-gratuities, you shouldn't have to tolerate this treatment!!

 

 

HAHAHAHA!!

[goodml]

The problem I find with RCI is that after the final payment date they make it very difficult to upgrade to a higher class of cabins, especially if it's a guaranty at a very good price, as they insist most of the time these are for new bookings only. We've had this situation a few times in the past.

I noticed just under 2 weeks ago that a X Gty was available for this month's Brilliance TA as part of the Going, Going, Gone sale. I knew this was for new bookings only so I waited until Saturday, that week the GGG sale went from Monday to Friday and saw that it was still available so I called our travel agent to upgrade our OV cabin to this. RCI told her that the X Gty offering was still part of that promotion which had been extended for the weekend thus wasn't available as an upgrade to us with a current booking. This I found unusual as that promotion was suppose to have ended.

Come the following Monday RCI is now offering an E3 Gty at a different slightly higher price so I try to upgrade again. Again they insist that it is part of that week's GGG sale although this sailing isn't listed as part of that sale. Our TA even spoke to someone in resolutions about this and got the same response.

I told my TA if that's the way RCI wanted to play this game I would be booking our cruises from now on with Princess, as we have Capt's Circle status with that cruise line or with other cruise lines and not with RCI. MSC status match program came to mind. By the way we are C&A D+ and over the last two years have done 9 cruises with RCI. As my signature below shows we typically do 4 to 6 cruises per year. Our TA again spoke to RCI and found someone who was sympathetic with our situation and allow us to upgrade. Our TA said it was our C&A status and the fact we were willing to pay for the upgrade that convinced RCI to allow this to happen.

Currently, almost two weeks later, that E3 Gty is still available at the same price we paid. Also there are only D1 balconies available which was the case when we upgraded. One of those D1s is what we were assigned the day following us upgrading. :D

 

 

Are you calling Crown & Anchor? I have personally done exactly what you are trying to do 4 times with 3 different cabins since final payment was made last Saturday. I just said I've got this booking number with an inside cabin and x category is now the same price.... no problem. One of the three cabins didn't qualify for one of the rate specials so decided not to pay to move. Since then we were assigned cabins and I've switched categories upwards twice with further price drops as have others on our roll call. Our third cabin qualified two days ago for the lower rate and got a D2. I've noticed they're bouncing between huge senior discounts one day to resident specials the next and so on but we've had zero push back and I have been bugging them a lot lol.

Edited October 2, 2016 by goodml

[PCWalton1]

[robtulipe]

Are you calling Crown & Anchor? I have personally done exactly what you are trying to do 4 times with 3 different cabins since final payment was made last Saturday. I just said I've got this booking number with an inside cabin and x category is now the same price.... no problem. One of the three cabins didn't qualify for one of the rate specials so decided not to pay to move. Since then we were assigned cabins and I've switched categories upwards twice with further price drops as have others on our roll call. Our third cabin qualified two days ago for the lower rate and got a D2. I've noticed they're bouncing between huge senior discounts one day to resident specials the next and so on but we've had zero push back and I have been bugging them a lot lol.

 

I transferred this onboard booking to a travel agency to get OBC from them so I must deal through them. I am calling my agent and she is making the calls to RC including the resolutions division and C&A. She appears to be on the ball concerning what is happening. She said recently that RCI is making it more difficult for her clients to get paid upgrade using special offers. RCI was quite willing to upgrade us to a balcony if we paid their regular, non-guaranty price though.

That's the disadvantage when your booking is with an agency as all inquiries and changes must be done through the agency. :(

Edited October 2, 2016 by robtulipe

[Biker19]

You can tell you are truly missing the point here!

 

That you are passionate about what the OP said and are making exaggerations to make the point? Yeah, I got that.:rolleyes:

[TigerLady]

I transferred this onboard booking to a travel agency to get OBC from them so I must deal through them. I am calling my agent and she is making the calls to RC including the resolutions division and C&A. She appears to be on the ball concerning what is happening. She said recently that RCI is making it more difficult for her clients to get paid upgrade using special offers. RCI was quite willing to upgrade us to a balcony if we paid their regular, non-guaranty price though.

That's the disadvantage when your booking is with an agency as all inquiries and changes must be done through the agency. :(

 

Again, I will not use a TA, because, any time i want, I can call, check prices, and upgrade if available. Upgraded Tuesday.. From Balcony to Jr Suite. Cost me 15 minutes on the phone, and TWO DOLLARS from my bank account..

[goodml]

I transferred this onboard booking to a travel agency to get OBC from them so I must deal through them. I am calling my agent and she is making the calls to RC including the resolutions division and C&A. She appears to be on the ball concerning what is happening. She said recently that RCI is making it more difficult for her clients to get paid upgrade using special offers. RCI was quite willing to upgrade us to a balcony if we paid their regular, non-guaranty price though.

That's the disadvantage when your booking is with an agency as all inquiries and changes must be done through the agency. :(

 

True. Bummer. Sometimes I'm tempted to do it just to grab an extra obc or prepaid gratuities but this is when I'm happy that I do it myself.

[sennister]

We recently booked our first cruise with Royal. We sail Dec 22, 2016. Our due date for pay in full is Oct 8th but my wife paid it off lastnight. She logged in this morning and noticed that the price dropped on our inside stateroom by $100 and they are now offering $100 OBC. She called this morning and even though she already paid it off they credited us $100 and gave us the $100 OBC. Maybe it was because we still were not at our final payment date even though it was paid off. Not sure. After we talked about it a bit more she called back and we upgraded the cabin to a D2. She had looked up the price for the D2 room as a new booking online before calling and we were given the same price.

 

Maybe we got lucky.

[Ashland]

We recently booked our first cruise with Royal. We sail Dec 22, 2016. Our due date for pay in full is Oct 8th but my wife paid it off lastnight. She logged in this morning and noticed that the price dropped on our inside stateroom by $100 and they are now offering $100 OBC. She called this morning and even though she already paid it off they credited us $100 and gave us the $100 OBC. Maybe it was because we still were not at our final payment date even though it was paid off. Not sure. After we talked about it a bit more she called back and we upgraded the cabin to a D2. She had looked up the price for the D2 room as a new booking online before calling and we were given the same price.

 

Maybe we got lucky.

 

Yes...it's always the date final is due...not the date you choose to do final payment.

[Jackhammer25]

Yes...it's always the date final is due...not the date you choose to do final payment.

 

 

I paid for my cruise in full for a 12 day cruise but the official due date has not passed yet and I noticed that I would save $60 bucks for my cabin if I ordered it today. If I called RC would they make up the difference for me? I also ordered the premium drink package for two people when they had a sale for 52 dollars a day after gratuities pp, which is now the deluxe and was wondering if you guys think Id lose out on that deal by asking to change my order? $60 isnt the end of the earth but it would be nice to have that extra spending money.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Jackhammer25

[Retired LEO]

I paid for my cruise in full for a 12 day cruise but the official due date has not passed yet and I noticed that I would save $60 bucks for my cabin if I ordered it today. If I called RC would they make up the difference for me? I also ordered the premium drink package for two people when they had a sale for 52 dollars a day after gratuities pp, which is now the deluxe and was wondering if you guys think Id lose out on that deal by asking to change my order? $60 isnt the end of the earth but it would be nice to have that extra spending money.

 

Your drink package will not change. If your cabin category has gone down call them. They should make the adjustment in price.

[aubreyc1988]

I've given up looking at prices on their website this week, its been SO buggy

[Saab4444]

The price goes down after final payment date because many North Americans cancel or change several cruises free of charge just before final payment. A lot more cabins become available so the price goes down.

 

As mentioned before other countries do not have this flexibility at all and stick to their originally booked cruises and prices.

 

 

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[Clarea]

I paid for my cruise in full for a 12 day cruise but the official due date has not passed yet and I noticed that I would save $60 bucks for my cabin if I ordered it today. If I called RC would they make up the difference for me? I also ordered the premium drink package for two people when they had a sale for 52 dollars a day after gratuities pp, which is now the deluxe and was wondering if you guys think Id lose out on that deal by asking to change my order? $60 isnt the end of the earth but it would be nice to have that extra spending money.

Aslong as the drink package discount was not part of a booking promo, you should be able to get the $60 refund on your stateroom without affecting the drink package price.

[sennister]

I paid for my cruise in full for a 12 day cruise but the official due date has not passed yet and I noticed that I would save $60 bucks for my cabin if I ordered it today. If I called RC would they make up the difference for me? I also ordered the premium drink package for two people when they had a sale for 52 dollars a day after gratuities pp, which is now the deluxe and was wondering if you guys think Id lose out on that deal by asking to change my order? $60 isnt the end of the earth but it would be nice to have that extra spending money.

 

I would call. That is pretty much the same situation we were in.

 

In our case our cruise went down $100 plus they offered $100 OBC which we didn't have. We had paid in full but the due date hadn't yet passed. My wife called and they did it. As I mentioned above, I assume it was because the due date hadn't passed but it could have been that it was less than 24 hrs since we paid it off and when we requested the price adjustment.

 

As far as the drink package. This is our first time on RCI but we also bought drink packages and they transferred over fine. I have read that it is pretty much normal that they offer that 20% off the premium package but not sure when the cut off is. Maybe it disappears when you are after your due date or maybe it is there until the day before you sail. I have read it is pretty standard though so you should be fine. Where you might miss out on something is that I have read that when they do these changes, it actually can reset some of the benefits. For instance when you originally did your booking, you might have gotten OBC. If that is no longer available when they make the change you would miss out on that. Or maybe you have locked in a certain stateroom, you might be switched to a category guarantee rather than than specific room. So those are things to consider.

 

In our case we lost the room we had but I don't care much. We had called back after the adjustment and upgraded so we went from an inside cabin under the theater on the 3rd deck to a superior balcony category D2 guarantee cabin. On the Brilliance I think that moves us up to the 9th or 10th Deck.

[waterbug123]

the only thing they can do is offer me an upgrade with a guarantee balcony but can't promise where it will be. Well, we have the one we want, deck 11 overlooking the aqua theater so that is out of the question.

 

You said it all right there. You booked early and got the exact cabin you want. That comes at a price. Feel free to take a chance next time by not booking til the last minute. You may get a lower price but you may also find your selection of cabins to be severely limited. Which is more important to you? Saving some money or getting your preferred cabin? Frankly, I don't understand why you're upset. :confused: