The cruise you booked, suddenly sold for less than half the price!

[lesjudym]

I am booked for a cruise from Sydney, October 2017. Booked February 2016 and paid as demanded. Suddenly in August 2017 same cruise advertised more than 50 cabins left at less than half the price I paid. Agent would not do anything and the charting agency dismissive. What can I do? I have been on a cruise that dropped the price and operator refunded the difference. However this operator has no respect for me as a third time client!

[Hey Tina]

Well if you have a TA and they refuse to do anything, since you can't talk to the cruise line directly, and it's more than likely well past the timeline to transfer back to the cruise line or another TA, you have one option:

 

In February 2016 the price was acceptable, so you need to come to terms with that and reconcile that with your feelings today. If, for example, you paid $1,000 but you really only wanted to pay $500, and that is the price today, in the future you need to not book that $1,000 cruise. Wait until it is $500, so this doesn't happen again.

 

Edit: Actually, I have another idea. Cancel your cruise and re-book it at current rates if you will come out financially ahead even with cancellation fees/penalties.

[Keith1010]

If the cruise was several months out I would look at cancelling it. However if the cruise is next month you may incur a lot of

penalties at this time. Also give how close the cruise is I can understand why your TA would not allow you to transfer the booking

and I am assuming that you have paid in fulll so usually that is no longer possible.

 

Assuming there is nothing you can do I would just put this out of your mind and focus on having a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[CruiserBruce]

There are so many questions left unanswered. What is the small print involved? New bookings only? Are we inside final payment? Are we talking a country with certain laws about if you have already booked, and your ability to cancel.

 

So many issues outstanding. ...

[easyboy]

Since you are past the final payment period, you may have to determine the amount that will still be refundable if you cancel. If it is more than the amount to book at the reduced price that you found, you can discuss it with another TA. Otherwise, you just have to accept your lost opportunity.

 

 

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Edited September 6, 2017 by easyboy

[John Bull]

OP is sailing from Sydney, and I strongly suspect that they're Australians who booked in Oz. Cancellation terms there are similar to the UK and very different to the US - the deposit is forfeit as soon as it's paid, and (probably) a rising scale of cancellation charges as sail date approaches. So it's very rarely worthwhile to cancel and re-book.

And whilst the cruise price may have halved, there will be other differences - the OP probably got early-booking freebies like OBC, cabin selection, free parking, etc, which narrows the price gap.

 

To the OP - early booking is heavily promoted. Closer to the date the cruise may be sold-out, prices (net of freebies) may actually increase, or .............. if there are a lot of unsold cabins, prices may drop significantly.

We are flexible on date (retired) , cruise line, ship and itinerary, and we're cheapskates. So we tend to book late at discounted prices. If a cruise sells out, so be it - we wait for another. Only on a couple of occasions have we booked comparatively early, for an itinerary we don't want to miss. But lots of folk - particularly those with fixed vacation dates - don't have the luxury of leaving it late. In fact, when we were in business Christmas & New Year - the most expensive time of the year - was our only opportunity to put a week or more together so we had to bite the bullet on price.

 

The way to look at it is as Tina has posted.

Whilst it's difficult, you need to ignore what others are paying cos that's nothing to do with you. You were happy with the price when you booked, so don't let other folks' good fortune spoil your cruise.

 

If others on the ship brag about how little they paid, tell them you paid less than they did. You'll be lying, but probably so are they ;). And it quickly shuts them up :D

 

Live & learn. And if you're flexible, next time book much later.

 

JB :)

[scienceteacher]

The new price may not include any perks that you already have.

[bUU]

Live & learn. And if you're flexible, next time book much later.

Except, of course, the price drop might hot happen next time.

[babs135]

Live & learn. And if you're flexible, next time book much later.

 

Except, of course, the price drop might hot happen next time.

 

And this is the problem. We've tended to book late and had the benefit of a very nice price drop, but for our upcoming cruise in 2018 we booked in February (never been so early before) and since then we have watched the price rocket.

 

It really is a case of 'you win some, you lose some'.

 

Have a great cruise.

[AdGuyMG]

I have been on a cruise that dropped the price and operator refunded the difference. However this operator has no respect for me as a third time client!

 

Who is the operator?

[sparks1093]

Who is the operator?

 

Lily Tomlin.:loudcry:

 

OP, as others have said it's a gamble and sometimes the price goes up rather than down. If you can be flexible then waiting to book can pay off but then you are stuck with the cabins that are available which may not be what you want either.

[Kate45]

Next time try buying cancellation insurance that covers for any reason. My travel agent told me if I have a bad hair day, I could cancel. It's not cheap but well worth it if needed. I agree with posters who say price could go up. Our Caribbean cruise went from under $1000 to over $1500 after final payment!

[sparks1093]

Next time try buying cancellation insurance that covers for any reason. My travel agent told me if I have a bad hair day, I could cancel. It's not cheap but well worth it if needed. I agree with posters who say price could go up. Our Caribbean cruise went from under $1000 to over $1500 after final payment!

 

The any reason insurance that I've seen only gives you back 75% of your insured costs and cancellation must take place 48 hours before sailing so it isn't without it's drawbacks.

[BlueRiband]

Cruise pricing is all about supply and demand. All kinds of social, political, and economic factors will determine how many people will book a particular sailing. You could have waited for a better deal. Or while you were waiting the price instead went up and/or the ship sold out. Or a deal comes and goes because you were waiting for an even better one that doesn't happen.

 

If you have to fly to the embarkation port late air fares can cancel out any savings on the cruise fare.

 

Here are five things to consider if you want to wait for a late sale before booking:

1) lowest price is you goal over and above any other consideration

2) you can accept that the price might instead go up or the ship sells out

3) you are not tied to one sailing date

4) you can accept a category guarantee

5) airfare is not an issue

[navybankerteacher]

If it is certain that OP has no recourse his best bet is attitude adjustment. By buying early he did have the comfort of certainty - enabling him to plan to be away, to economically handle related expenditures; he also enjoyed protection against late price increases - sure, they did not happen, but it was a protection he did have.

 

He also should ask himself: would he for one second contemplate a request from the cruise line to pay more if prices had gone up. Unless he is willing to pay more if prices go one way, why should he feel entitled to pay less if they go the other way?

[imouer]

I always book the early saver fares which guarantees the lowest rate for this reason. Once this happened to me on the Carnival ship and we ended up with the $900 room credit that we could use on drinks and excursions

 

 

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[geoherb]

That's one of the reasons we wait until after the final payment date to book most cruises. We want to be the ones who paid half what other people paid. What we miss out on though is the ability to pick the prime cabins. We also sometimes miss going on a cruise because the prices go up as frequently as they go down. It's easier now that we're retired and are no longer constrained by DH's breaks as a professor at a community college.

[Nitemare]

Lily Tomlin.:loudcry:

 

 

[CPT Trips]

I never knew Ernestine was a witch.

[imouer]

That's one of the reasons we wait until after the final payment date to book most cruises. We want to be the ones who paid half what other people paid. What we miss out on though is the ability to pick the prime cabins. We also sometimes miss going on a cruise because the prices go up as frequently as they go down. It's easier now that we're retired and are no longer constrained by DH's breaks as a professor at a community college.

 

 

 

I think it's a risky strategy and one that won't always work out well for you. Again most cruise lines have an early saver plan that guarantees in the lowest rate. The last four or five cruises that I've been on the prices have doubled in tripled in the time that I had bought my ticket

 

 

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[sparks1093]

I think it's a risky strategy and one that won't always work out well for you. Again most cruise lines have an early saver plan that guarantees in the lowest rate. The last four or five cruises that I've been on the prices have doubled in tripled in the time that I had bought my ticket

 

 

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The only line with an early saver plan that guarantees the lowest rate that I am aware of is Carnival. Others will make price adjustments up until final payment, maybe, and might make adjustments after final payment but they don't guarantee that. And of course Early Saver doesn't work for everyone with it's restrictions on making changes.

[imouer]

I guess I wasn't fully aware of that. I learned something new

 

 

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[sparks1093]

I guess I wasn't fully aware of that. I learned something new

 

 

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One of CC's greatest features:) and one of the reasons I use it.

[John Bull]

Bear in mind that the OP is probably from Oz, so things like "any reason cancellation insurance" and price-drop credits after final payment date probably don't apply.

 

Yes, prices can & do go up closer to the sail-date, and yes cruises do sell-out. Plus other constraints such as cabin and dining choices. That's why late-booking is only really suitable for those who can be flexible - who can change dates at a whim, or are happy to let an "over-priced" cruise go by & wait for a bargain.

And yes, late-booked airfares tend to be expensive & that can wipe out the savings on a bargain cruise - so only suitable for those who don't need a medium-long haul flight to the departure port. Or for fly-cruises using chartered aircraft (a seat on the airplane matches a berth on the ship) which we have in the UK but not in the States & mebbe not in Oz.

 

JB :)

[CruiserBruce]

And of course, nobody expects to pay more if their air or cruise fare goes UP after they bought theirs, but they expect the difference refunded if their fare goes down.