Frugal and frustrated

[firstsailor]

Since final payment the cost of our room has dropped over $1000! Anyone have any luck or tips to recoup any of the money?? I feel like we are being penalized for booking early....

Edited October 21, 2016 by firstsailor

[cb at sea]

Have you called and asked what, if anything can be done? Many times, they will give you a better cabin....if they can't rebook at a better price....doesn't hurt to call!

[reallyitsmema]

Since final payment the cost of our room has dropped over $1000! Anyone have any luck or tips to recoup any of the money?? I feel like we are being penalized for booking early....

 

Look at higher categories and see if they have gone down too. You can call and try to get upgraded to a higher category if they are comparable to what you paid for your cabin.

[firstsailor]

I did. The next highest that we could use is a Jr suite for $509 more. We could do the bigger balcony one but then my kids have to sleep together and my daughter has autism so that won't work. I can't give them another $500 when I watch my current room go down over $1000 :(

My frustration level is such that I'm afraid it will ruin the trip. I know I need to let it go but as a travel agent I won't be encouraging anyone to book early...

[tlatrice]

Are you a new travel agent? Doesn't this always happen?

 

Don't let it ruin your trip. Just go and enjoy the experience. If you hadn't checked, the experience would still be the same. So don't let something beyond your control taint it.

 

And, someone may have paid MORE than you.

[Ourusualbeach]

How much was your deposit? Up until 57 days prior to the cruise you can cancel and only lose your deposit.

 

Cruise Length

Days to Departure

Charges Per Person

5 Nights or longer

(Includes Holiday Sailings & Cruisetours)

90+ No charges

89-57 Days Deposit amount

56-29 Days 50% of Total Fare (taxes, fees & port expenses excluded*)

28-15 Days 75% of Total Fare (taxes, fees & port expenses excluded*)

14 Days or less

[firstsailor]

Not new but book mostly Disney, which doesn't have this issue. Thought we would try something different. If this were a client they would be mad at ME.

Does it always happen? I don't know, I'm not a frequent RC customer.

[firstsailor]

How much was your deposit? Up until 57 days prior to the cruise you can cancel and only lose your deposit.

 

Cruise Length

Days to Departure

Charges Per Person

5 Nights or longer

(Includes Holiday Sailings & Cruisetours)

90+ No charges

89-57 Days Deposit amount

56-29 Days 50% of Total Fare (taxes, fees & port expenses excluded*)

28-15 Days 75% of Total Fare (taxes, fees & port expenses excluded*)

14 Days or less

 

Hmmm. It was $1000. Holiday cruise. I need to figure my days. With the new rates I might still save money! Thanks.

[firstsailor]

Hmmm. It was $1000. Holiday cruise. I need to figure my days. With the new rates I might still save money! Thanks.

 

64 days... Something to consider. Thank you.

[Ourusualbeach]

Hmmm. It was $1000. Holiday cruise. I need to figure my days. With the new rates I might still save money! Thanks.

 

Keep watching, it may drop more.

[firstsailor]

Nope screwed again

89 to 64 Days Prior to Sailing

63 to 43 Days Prior to Sailing

42 to 22 Days Prior to Sailing

21 to 0 Days Prior to Sailing

Unless I cancel this second it's 50% per person

[jdc944]

How far in advance did you book? We have always been fortunate to book at lower rates. We have a good idea what a good rate is based on the sailing and just jump when the price drops. I don't know about Disney, but prices fluctuate quite a bit with the other lines. It takes some patience to wait on the best rates. We have booked Thanksgiving cruises two weeks out in the past. That is certainly not for everyone.

[firstsailor]

We booked in August for Christmas.

[jdc944]

I thought you might have booked it more than a year out. The holiday cruises are the trickiest. I booked our Thanksgiving cruise 2 weeks ago. The balcony cabins dropped from $1550 to $750 for one day. We jumped that morning. They were back up by the next day. I have always wondered how they justify these price drops to people who booked at the higher rates. I guess most people don't pay any attention once they have booked.

[Ocean Dancer]

It is pretty well known around here to not look at prices after your final payment. You booked it at a price you were comfortable with. Cruises drop and cruises go up. You got the cabin you wanted at a price you liked, sorry........only option may be an upgrade.

 

Don't fret, and have a great cruise. :) It's like the stock market, prices do fluctuate.

[psakid]

FirstSailor, I feel your pain. Our cabins have dropped over $560 this last week for a Thanksgiving Cruise. We booked in September ourselves after final payment. I looked into a OBC as I've heard others have had luck with. No such deal, but we could upgrade for and additional $500 for two cabins. Not interested. The next day I call again as the prices dropped an additional $150 per cabin and was told that I couldn't even upgrade except at the full internet price of an additional $1500 per cabin (virtual balcony to a neighborhood balcony) with a straight face. WHAT! Maybe I should mention that I'm a retired airline employee using Interline pricing; however, I found out that they have a take it or leave policy. No changes what so ever after Final Payment so you're stuck. Now I'm sure I won't get much empathy as the price is discounted because it's the principle that some groups get OBC & Upgrades after Final Payment when others don't. I agree, it just leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.

 

I keep hearing from everyone about their additional OBCs or upgrades and I'm told that I have an 'L' on my forehead. Really, the love for spending money onboard or additional cruises is not flowing in my direction (it's something else). If others cope with this situation by sticking their head in the sand, then more power to you.

 

If this is their policy, then I recommend holding off until the last minute to book a holiday cruise as this year they've panic about 35-28 days out. I guess the pricing model for this cruise was a little off. A lot of us are paying the inequitable price for this mistake.

 

This may be the cruise where we try and spend less than $100 for a family of 4 (gratuities excluded). I guess this is my way of making Lemonade out of Lemons. Let the adventure and flamers begin #thanksshanghai.

[Rjh8842]

Keep in mind find these facts when comparing with disney:

1) disney only has 4 ships so they are not going to have a whole lot of rooms available for a lower price just before sailing.

2) disney does lower the price right before sailings when they are at a low compacity to fl residents. So unless you are a fl resident you may not be geting the best price anyways.

3)disney is significantly more expensive than rccl. So I am sure that probably got a better deal.

 

I also hate that someone booking last minute can get a better price but sometimes they pay more. I have to have a wheelchair accessible room so I had to book over a year in advance. At a year out from my upcoming cruise wheelchair rooms were sold out. So I could not have booked last minute. I also can not upgrade becuase like I said it sold out for accessible rooms. But I would rather book early and pay more knowing I have a room than not be able to cruise. I of course check daily for price changes and get a reduction when I can. As a matter of fact I am now paying 20% less than my original price because you can get reductions until final payment. Who knows maybe the cruise you are going on will have another reduction and you can get a free upgrade. But if you are looking for the best possible price on a cruise with many cruise lines you have to willing to take the chance that a last minute booking is available. I did get lucky doing that with a cruise once but it was stressfull.

[grandgeezer]

Let me get this straight, if the price goes down you want to be able to get the new price, but if it goes up, you don't want to have to pay more? You can't have it both ways. You decide when to book. Nobody guesses right all the time, buy at a price you can live with and don't worry about it after the fact.

[ColoradoGurl]

Think of it this way, you paid a higher price to ensure you would have a spot on the ship. There's always a chance a sailing will sell out, it just happens yours didn't and it sounds like the room category just happens to be one where there are more available rooms than other categories; supply and demand.

 

If you waited til the last minute to book, you'd also have to buy airfare last minute, and that price increase could negate any savings you'd have gotten from the cheaper cruise.

 

It makes total sense for them to decrease the price after final payment because after final payment is the only time they can be sure people aren't going to cancel and leave them without revenue for an empty room that they thought was going to be filled. Final payment date comes and people cancel and all the sudden there's a bunch of available rooms that weren't there before and they have a short amount of time to fill them back up. If they charged $1,000 less as the regular price that wouldn't make financial sense; they are simply trying to make sure they are making something vs nothing.

 

It's kind of like when you go to a shoe store and suddenly see that some shoes you bought went on sale for 75% off and you're mad that you bought them at full price, until you realize they are only trying to get rid of the leftovers nobody wanted; like the size 5's and 10's. At that point you're glad you got your shoes when you did because otherwise your size would have been gone. You don't get mad that you didn't get the sale, because your particular size (or room) was already sold out and therefore doesn't count for being on sale.

 

 

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[BekkaW]

You paid a price you were happy with at the time, and were guaranteed your cabin selection. No point being upset about it now and ruining your holiday.

[DISFANS3]

Do ships sell out every cruise??

[Slopoke15]

Think of it this way, you paid a higher price to ensure you would have a spot on the ship. There's always a chance a sailing will sell out, it just happens yours didn't and it sounds like the room category just happens to be one where there are more available rooms than other categories; supply and demand.

 

If you waited til the last minute to book, you'd also have to buy airfare last minute, and that price increase could negate any savings you'd have gotten from the cheaper cruise.

 

It makes total sense for them to decrease the price after final payment because after final payment is the only time they can be sure people aren't going to cancel and leave them without revenue for an empty room that they thought was going to be filled. Final payment date comes and people cancel and all the sudden there's a bunch of available rooms that weren't there before and they have a short amount of time to fill them back up. If they charged $1,000 less as the regular price that wouldn't make financial sense; they are simply trying to make sure they are making something vs nothing.

 

It's kind of like when you go to a shoe store and suddenly see that some shoes you bought went on sale for 75% off and you're mad that you bought them at full price, until you realize they are only trying to get rid of the leftovers nobody wanted; like the size 5's and 10's. At that point you're glad you got your shoes when you did because otherwise your size would have been gone. You don't get mad that you didn't get the sale, because your particular size (or room) was already sold out and therefore doesn't count for being on sale.

 

 

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I think this summarizes things pretty well. I agree with all previous posters that suggest that you booked at a point in time and you were happy with your booking at that time. I also agree that you can call to ask about price changes and possible upgrades ... but don't let it change the fact that you were ok when you booked ... the last minute stuff is after final deposits, and comes with risk (eg. not getting the cruise you wanted)

[bigque]

I always book very early so that I can get the room I want where I want. I then check continuously for price drops throughout the booking till final payment. On all my cruises I have only received a price drop once and from my experience the price has always gone up! I have a JS booked on Oasis for next year and the price has gone up a lot since I first booked. After final payment I stop checking cause I don't even want to know! :cool:

[2chiefs]

Since final payment the cost of our room has dropped over $1000! Anyone have any luck or tips to recoup any of the money?? I feel like we are being penalized for booking early....

 

I think if you felt the trip was a good value when you booked , then you shouldn't feel penalized.

 

This has happened to us a few times but most of the time when we have booked early, the prices generally go up. So in the long run, I think it pays to book early if you cruise often.

Edited October 21, 2016 by 2chiefs

[happymanitee]

When you do a mock booking, you can see how many junior suites they still have available. If it seems like there are a lot, then the price for the junior suites will probably drop even more as the cruise gets closer. You might still be able to get that upgrade at no charge if you keep watching the prices.

 

But, if you keep watching the prices, you have to tell yourself not to get upset. It's just a gambling game. Waiting until the last minute to book might mean a lower fare, or it might mean a sold out cruise. And, if you have to book airfare, then last minute cruises are even more of a hassle. You might pay less for the cruise, but usually last minute airfare is much more expensive.

 

I do know how you feel though. I am frugal too :). The same thing happened to me on my November cruise this year. I did finally get that JS upgrade after watching the prices for about a month. I've never been in a junior suite, so I am excited!