Taking advantage of a Price Drop when you book with an online TA

[HelenaCruiser2012]

Hi all, we booked our September cruise on Breakaway with an online TA, and will make final payment by the end of this month. If I see a price drop (or if I see a higher grade cabin with a reduced price), can I call NCL to request an adjustment, an upgrade, or OBC even though we didn't book with them directly? And when can we call, before we make the final payment or after? Also, could NCL reach out to us with an upsell bid e-mail even though we didn't book directly with them?

 

Thanks for your help!

[khaide612]

You have to do everything through your TA - they own your reservation.

[johnnypiano]

And once your final payment date has passed, I would not expect NCL to do anything. You purchase your cabin and sale date at the price you agreed to. The reason prices drop is they are trying to fill cabins on the ship - an empty cabin equals lost onboard revenue.

 

If NCL does anything for you, consider yourself extremely lucky.

[soccermommy]

If you haven't made final payment, your TA might be able to get you a lower price by canceling and rebooking, but beware, I understand some online TAS might charge for that. My ( real, live) TA was able to do that on our Spirit cruise last year without any extra charges.. This year, we found out there was a price drop on our (12 days away!) Jade cruise around Britain after we made final payment, and she got us in upgrade from an inside to a balcony.

Check with you TA and see what can be done. If you don't ask, you don't get. You have nothing to lose and potentially, something to gain.

[spanishguy1970]

WE have an excellent TA. We made a mistake booking our next cruise on board and the price was exorbitant. When we got home she had received our reservation and within 3 weeks was saving us 3000 dollars. She always give us great on board credit as well as keep us updated on price drops, however all of this before the final payment..She does not charge extra to cancel and rebook.

 

Good luck on your cruise.

[Regguy]

Also, could NCL reach out to us with an upsell bid e-mail even though we didn't book directly with them?

 

I don't see that this part of your question has been answered. You can participate in bids on upgrades even if you booked through a TA. That's independent. I just got an upgrade e-mail even though I used a TA.

 

As for the rest of your question it's definitely one downside to a TA. I saw a good price on a higher cabin recently that came open and I wanted to upgrade to it, but by the time I got my TA to call it was too late. I saved a fair amount using the TA, and having someone in the middle some time can definitely help, but there's also a downside.

[uneamie]

It depends on your TA. Our cruise for Jan went down $80 a few months after we booked it. I called and they adjusted the price without "canceling and rebooking". Apparently I can get them to do that up until final payment. Once final payment is made then there are no adjustments to your cost. They told me to constantly pay attention to price drops and that they would adjust ours whenever we called if we see a new drop. They also told me to ask the customer service rep on the day we make final payment to make sure there is no price drop on that day.

[easyboy]

You can ask your TA for any price adjustment before final payment. It is advisable that one monitors the price movement like you do.

 

 

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[Markanddonna]

You can ask your TA for any price adjustment before final payment. It is advisable that one monitors the price movement like you do.

 

 

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Very true, but if you have a nonresponsive TA, they can miss the window of opportunity for you if they don't return your phone call promptly. That happened to me and all the apologies in the world couldn't get the price drop.

[BostonGal35]

we book direct with a PCC at norwegian. when we see a price drop, regardless of final payment date, we can usually get an upgrade a nicer room at no cost. around day 30, we were able to move from a balcony on deck 10 to a mini suite on deck 11 at no cost for our upcoming sail.

[HelenaCruiser2012]

Thank you all for the input! I knew everyone here would have the answers. We'll keep an eye on prices now and after final payment. I completely agree that if you don't ask, the answer's always No, so it makes sense to at least ask.

 

Happy cruising everyone! :)

[lz5ev]

I booked 4 NCL stateroom with a two large online TAs back in April. I saw the prices drop significantly. it was originally $989 for inside room, but saw that balcony decreased to the same price as inside room. Called up both TAs last night, and they managed to upgrade me from inside stateroom to balcony room for no additional charge! Worth asking!