Price drop comparisons (how to get them?)

[penaddict]

I know this topic has been discussed at length, but I'm confused as to what constitutes a price drop?

I get alerts about the price of my cruise dropping but when I mention it to my travel agent (booked through the "compete" site), she states that I need to look at Holland's site for the price difference.  But that site was already higher.  
I got a notification this morning (through "shipmate") that the price dropped again but Holland doesn't show that.
I then went to other cruise booking sites and do see the price is less now and there's more of a shipboard credit than I got originally as well.
So how does my travel agent honor or look at this?
Thanks.

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, penaddict said:

I know this topic has been discussed at length, but I'm confused as to what constitutes a price drop?

I get alerts about the price of my cruise dropping but when I mention it to my travel agent (booked through the "compete" site), she states that I need to look at Holland's site for the price difference.  But that site was already higher.  
I got a notification this morning (through "shipmate") that the price dropped again but Holland doesn't show that.
I then went to other cruise booking sites and do see the price is less now and there's more of a shipboard credit than I got originally as well.
So how does my travel agent honor or look at this?
Thanks.

 

I always just use the HAL website and compare to what it was previously and what I paid when I booked.  Of course, I take into consideration the differing "perks" between the old and new price/offers.  Since the price can change almost daily, what I do is after I book I calculate my "net" fare for the cruise (I do not use taxes and fees as this is a wash), using the basic fare less the "value" to me of any perks I got (remember, the perks, such as free drink package, can be worth more to some people than others).  I write this net number (along with the calculations) on the large envelop that I use to keep my cruise information in (I have a different one for each upcoming cruise of course).  This way when I notice any change in HAL's prices or fares for my cruise, I can do a quick evaluation to determine if I should call my PCC (or TA) to rebook/refare. 

[Homosassa]

2 hours ago, penaddict said:

I know this topic has been discussed at length, but I'm confused as to what constitutes a price drop?

I get alerts about the price of my cruise dropping but when I mention it to my travel agent (booked through the "compete" site), she states that I need to look at Holland's site for the price difference.  But that site was already higher.  
I got a notification this morning (through "shipmate") that the price dropped again but Holland doesn't show that.
I then went to other cruise booking sites and do see the price is less now and there's more of a shipboard credit than I got originally as well.
So how does my travel agent honor or look at this?
Thanks.

 

You don't.

 

The price you need to match against is the HAL website.  The other website represent other travel agencies that are to sell their blocks of rooms and may have different sales and incentives then the agent you have booked with.

 

If the  other offer is that enticing, you can cancel your booking (subject to the restrictions and penalties of your fare, agent or HAL) and rebook.

[penaddict]

2 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

 

You don't.

 

The price you need to match against is the HAL website.  The other website represent other travel agencies that are to sell their blocks of rooms and may have different sales and incentives then the agent you have booked with.

 

If the  other offer is that enticing, you can cancel your booking (subject to the restrictions and penalties of your fare, agent or HAL) and rebook.

Yes, my deposit is non-refundable so no point in re-booking.  I just email her from time to time then I guess to see if there was a drop.  She doesn't seem to do that on her own like I see other agents doing, but that's ok.  I take the time to look.  Thanks.

[Homosassa]

My agent also doesn't doesn't keep track of my cruise prices.

 

I can do so if I want to, but his agency's prices are usually much lower than a cruise line's rack rates and remain that way.

 

The only exceptions to the low price are the dump sales after final payment for new bookings when the cruise lines are trying to fill cabins from the fare churning passengers that cancelled at final payment or unsold cabins.

 

The cruise lines are finally wising up to the passenger "nickel and diming" fare games and are laying more restrictions on deposits, final payments, and attempts to have free upgrades or on board credit due to price drops.

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

There are Websites that will monitor your Cruise for 99 cents per Cruise 

[MisterBill99]

2 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

There are Websites that will monitor your Cruise for 99 cents per Cruise 

 

Multiple sites?  The one I have always used, whose name ends in "fish", has been running on autopilot for some time and works on very few cruises (basically if you get an alert, you're lucky). I checked the HAL sailing I booked about a month ago did not have any updates after the initial prices posted well over a year ago and all of the prices have lines thru them, as if it thinks they are sold out (and they were not when I checked after booking).

 

If there is another site that still works and has the same level of granularity as the fish site (i.e., being able to monitor specific categories, not just stuff like "balcony" ), please post info or email me at my name here at gmail. Sadly, the Cruise Critic price checker is useless. I remember being very excited when they announced it, only to realize it was more of a "book this cruise now" thing.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It works great 

[MisterBill99]

10 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

It works great 

 

The fish site? It doesn't for many people, Go check the many threads on their own boards complaining about price changes not being noticed. And sending email to the site owner goes unanswered. Have your HAL cruises had price changes reflected in the past several months?

 

It certainly USED to be a great site and well worth paying for.

[jm485]

21 hours ago, Homosassa said:

My agent also doesn't doesn't keep track of my cruise prices.

 

I can do so if I want to, but his agency's prices are usually much lower than a cruise line's rack rates and remain that way.

 

The only exceptions to the low price are the dump sales after final payment for new bookings when the cruise lines are trying to fill cabins from the fare churning passengers that cancelled at final payment or unsold cabins.

 

The cruise lines are finally wising up to the passenger "nickel and diming" fare games and are laying more restrictions on deposits, final payments, and attempts to have free upgrades or on board credit due to price drops.

 

 

We book directly through HAL.  Called yesterday because fares on a trip in early July were so much cheaper than what we paid.  Politely asked PCC if there was anything that could be done in terms of OBC or cabin change.  He checked and we went from VE to AS (we preferred the aft view) at no cost, based on the fare we paid.  He encouraged me to keep on eye on the fares and call him so he could see if there was "anything further that could be done closer to sail date."

 

My attitude is "the worst that can happen is they say no."  We would have been fine staying where we were.  That the VEs were sold out may have worked to our favor; they may have an easier time selling less expensive cabins to those who want to get the cheapest fare possible and have the flexibility to book right before sailing.

 

To OP -- I do what others do.  I know what my original fare was and compare that to whatever the current highest posted fare on the HAL website.  I don't usually bother for relatively small amounts (say, less than 10% of what we paid), particularly if we got a good bonus.  But when I saw that the current fare for our cabins was about 20% less than what we paid, I figured it was worth a phone call.

[SFO Peter]

We have saved a couple thousand from "Fishing" in the past but lately has not worked satisfactory the last two years.

I saw and got price drops when signed on to the HAL site that "Fishing" had no record of.   HAL also has discounts

which are targeted to groups.  I have no idea how HAL does this except for the gamblers.  I still have upcoming cruises

on the site.

Long story short you have to put some effort into signing into HAL's website to look at prices.

 

Peter

 

[DaveOKC]

7 minutes ago, SFO PETER said:

We have saved a couple thousand from "Fishing" in the past but lately has not worked satisfactory the last two years.

I saw and got price drops when signed on to the HAL site that "Fishing" had no record of.   HAL also has discounts

which are targeted to groups.  I have no idea how HAL does this except for the gamblers.  I still have upcoming cruises

on the site.

Long story short you have to put some effort into signing into HAL's website to look at prices.

 

Peter

 

 

Agreed.  It has been well worth my time over the past several years to monitor the HAL website concerning cruises I hve already booked.  On almost every one I have been able to save money, sometimes over $1000.

 

[wyobean]

We only book one cruise at a time, so it is easy for me to keep an eye on prices. We also book 6-9 months out. I use c******inedotcom and get notified any time there is a change up or down. We booked our current cruise at about $950 pp inside cabin. It went down several times. After final payment it went to $399. I went on HAL’s site and did a fake booking. There was a balcony available that I would like for about $830(less than what I paid for my inside). So, I called my big box TA and just asked if there was anything that could be done since the price had gone down so much. I wasn’t specific...I just said OBC, an upgrade or something. She called HAL and came back with an upgrade to the specific cabin I had been looking at. We got to keep the prepaid gratuities, drink cards and OBC that we already had. If we had been turned down we would have been fine with it. We had booked exactly what we wanted. Sometimes things work out and we are thrilled because we never book a balcony. 

I always keep track of my prices. Ultimately you are the one who controls your booking. We always book what we are happy with. This is the first time I have ever requested anything. I have had them go up but never down like they did this time. Thank you CC family for that info...I would have never tried without reading about it here...lol

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

17 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

It works great 

 

17 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

The fish site? It doesn't for many people, Go check the many threads on their own boards complaining about price changes not being noticed. And sending email to the site owner goes unanswered. Have your HAL cruises had price changes reflected in the past several months?

 

It certainly USED to be a great site and well worth paying for.

 

I’ve used that site but over the past year or so it has not been working right.

 

Prices never change on a number of HAL cruises.  Moreover, it doesn’t even show correctly the sold out cabins often.

 

And yes, I am one of the posters on the thread about it not working.  The last time I looked, no one came on to say they were still working it and/or would have it fixed.

 

It was cheap at 99 cents but sadly, it’s now not worth that IMO.