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Early booking catastrophe


GinnyL2
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Catastrophe? Not by any sense of the word.  Irritating, yes. Im sure you wouldnt call it a catastrophe if you bought something in a store and saw it in a clearance sale a year later. You aren't going to be able to re price your cabin at this late date, but you could see if your TA could get you an upgrade or give you some OBC. If not, you still have the cruise you originally bought at a price you deemed acceptable at that time.

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27 minutes ago, Viv0828 said:

we booked a cruise that dropped in price. we called the cruise line and a pleasant guy upgraded us. he didn't have to but they probably had a lot of empty cabins.  it's worth a call!

That is exactly what I would try.  The price reduction may reflect lots of space available.  While they do not have to reduce your price they may wish to ease your “supposed” pain by offering you a cabin upgrade.  No harm in trying 

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4 hours ago, GinnyL2 said:

Booked a Jan. 2019 cruise in Feb.2018. Now the rate is almost half what I paid. Is there any recourse?

 

Hi

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

There are booking rates that will allow you to price match to a lower fare. I guess you don't know if that might apply to you. It certainly would not hurt to call the company (unless you booked through a travel agent) and ask. Who knows, you may get a credit for half your fare or a significant upgrade.

 

have a great cruise 

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It is obviously annoying, but hardly a “catastrophe”.   If OP had booked and fares had gone up, would he exult about a “bonanza”?  The prices of very few things: shares of stock, appliances, even cruises, remain fixed year in and year out:  that’s life.  What should be kept in mind is the value received of getting the cabin wanted - and not  being frustrated by seeing the ship sold out - and unable to sail.

 

 

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8 hours ago, GinnyL2 said:

Booked a Jan. 2019 cruise in Feb.2018. Now the rate is almost half what I paid. Is there any recourse?

 

OMG....

 

So, had you bought a television and later it became available at a lower price, would you expect a refund?

 

Ditto with airline tickets.

 

Ditto with cars.

 

Ditto with so many things.

 

Let me turn it around...you bought your cruise and the price later went up.  Would you think that the cruiseline should now be able to bill you for the increase, since you didn't pay the current price?  Or does it only work in one direction...yours?

 

 

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Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

This is not a catastrophe.

 

If you booked through a TA -- have that TA call and see what they can get you.  Your TA may need to talk to a supervisor.  Some people have been lucky to get nice upgrades while others have gotten shipboard credit.

 

If you booked the cruise yourself, then you have to call and try to negotiate a deal if one is out there.  Good luck.

 

This is why we prefer to use a TA -- let them do all the work.

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Those late sail prices are big discounts are usually for a cabin that no one else wanted to book.  That means it has some deficiency, whether size, shape or location.

 

It might be just above or below a club or galley where late night music or early morning activity keeps you awake or down in the bowels of the ship totally forward or aft.  If the OP would be able to switch cabins, they might be miserable with the cheap one.

 

As others have said, keep the original cabin and inquire for OBC.

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I have a January cruise that is now $50 more than what I paid in October when the final payment was due. In my category, only guarantee cabins are left. We often book far ahead but keep an eye on the prices up until final payment.  I have also had good luck with contacting the cruise line and receiving an upgraded cabin (obstructed OV to a balcony), but I wouldn't be upset if they refused.

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Rates often drop after final payment, which typically is coincident with the point at which cancellation penalties begin to apply on US bookings. This is done do the ship can sell the remaining cabins so the ship sails aw close to full as possible.

 

You might get some consideration from the line due to the price drop but its more likely that since you are in the cancellation penalty (not necessarily 100%) that they'd ask you to cancel and rebook at the lower rate. Whether this makes financial sense depends on how close you are to sailing (penalties start at 25 or 50% and increase as the clock runs down) and how much rates have been cut.

 

I generally don't look at prices once cancellation penalties kick in because I don't expect the savings to exceed the penalty.

 

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16 hours ago, GinnyL2 said:

Booked a Jan. 2019 cruise in Feb.2018. Now the rate is almost half what I paid. Is there any recourse?

 

As you can tell from the previous replies, it is all dependent on your cruise line and the fare type that you booked.  Care to enlighten us so we can help you more specifically?

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Also, some times, those cheaper fares are for new bookings only.  So you don't qualify to the lower fare.

 

We have done the upgrade for no cost thing.  In our case, the upgraded room was still thousands less than we had paid.  NO refund.

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On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 9:26 AM, GinnyL2 said:

Booked a Jan. 2019 cruise in Feb.2018. Now the rate is almost half what I paid. Is there any recourse?

Welcome to cruise critic. Unfortunately, these things happen, especially after final payment time as the cruise lines try to fill the ship. My advice is to try for an upgrade to a better cabin category. Good luck.

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On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 9:26 AM, GinnyL2 said:

Booked a Jan. 2019 cruise in Feb.2018. Now the rate is almost half what I paid. Is there any recourse?

Welcome to cruise critic. Unfortunately, these things happen, especially after final payment time as the cruise lines try to fill the ship. My advice is to try for an upgrade to a better cabin category. Good luck.

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On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 9:26 AM, GinnyL2 said:

Booked a Jan. 2019 cruise in Feb.2018. Now the rate is almost half what I paid. Is there any recourse?

Welcome to cruise critic. Unfortunately, these things happen, especially after final payment time as the cruise lines try to fill the ship. My advice is to try for an upgrade to a better cabin category. Good luck.

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8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Welcome to cruise critic. Unfortunately, these things happen, especially after final payment time as the cruise lines try to fill the ship. My advice is to try for an upgrade to a better cabin category. Good luck.

 

8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Welcome to cruise critic. Unfortunately, these things happen, especially after final payment time as the cruise lines try to fill the ship. My advice is to try for an upgrade to a better cabin category. Good luck.

 

8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Welcome to cruise critic. Unfortunately, these things happen, especially after final payment time as the cruise lines try to fill the ship. My advice is to try for an upgrade to a better cabin category. Good luck.

 

How did you do this?

I thought that CC forum software would not let you make multiple posts at the same time.

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4 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

How did you do this?

I thought that CC forum software would not let you make multiple posts at the same time.

 

It can happen with the new software.

 

What I have had happen is Submit, and it spins and nothing seems to happen.  So I copy the text I wrote, back out of the thread and come back and post it again.  And it lets me post exactly the same thing.  But I have noticed, that the first one does not show up until I post the second one.  Like the first one is hung up in the system, so it is not posted (so bypassing the duplicate check).

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1 minute ago, SRF said:

 

It can happen with the new software.

 

What I have had happen is Submit, and it spins and nothing seems to happen.  So I copy the text I wrote, back out of the thread and come back and post it again.  And it lets me post exactly the same thing.  But I have noticed, that the first one does not show up until I post the second one.  Like the first one is hung up in the system, so it is not posted (so bypassing the duplicate check).

 

That may also explain why when I went to post the above reply, there already was text in the reply text box.  It was the text from a reply I made yesterday!  The new software is a bit 'one step forward and two steps back'.

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