Has anyone ever heard of this.....

[Booman14]

Hello,

  This morning I notice that the price of my room dropped by $599, so I called NCL and after a 45min wait, I spoke to a very friendly lady that agreed the price has dropped that amount; HOWEVER, she stated NCL only refunds 25% of that amount in the form of an onboard credit, after final payment, which would only be $149.75.  (My cruise is 3 months away.) ALSO- if I do decide to take the onboard credit, I would not be able to ask for any other credits if the price continues to drop. Has anyone else run into this?

Thanks!

[smplybcause]

Yes, that's what NCL does. Which is better than some lines! There's also another option of upgrading to a better cabin if the prices have fallen to what you've paid...not sure if there's a one-time restriction on that or not. Also works if you pay any difference between what you paid and a higher category. But upgrading may impact your perks so make sure to ask beforehand what all changes with the upgrade. 

[Budget Queen]

You are lucky to get anything, since you are entitled to nothing.    

 

Final payment is past.  You are in penalty.   

[david_sobe]

If final payment is already made, they actually don't have to offer you anything.  But 25% OBC is a good deal. Sometimes they can do an upgrade or a higher deck too.

[Booman14]

Yes- She offered an upgrade, but it wasn't anything we wanted.  She did recommend waiting a bit before asking for the onboard credit.  She said with us still being so far out from the cruise, most likely the price will drop even more.  Another $300 and I can have the Aft Balcony we want!!!  LOL

Thank You for answering so quickly.  Have a great one. 

[casofilia]

Take it.   What could happen is that the price drop may well entice people to book and as they do the price will rise again.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Some cruises should never be booked early.

[FLAHAM]

8 minutes ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

Some cruises should never be booked early.

...and many should be booked when first listed.

[casofilia]

@FLAHAM

...and many should be booked when first listed.

 

Especially those that are new itineraries.  I have just looked at NCL Spirit, Dubai-Capetown-Singapore.  In NZ dollars the price is now about NZD8000 more than we paid each when we booked; it was in the first month of being offered.

 

That is for Inside!!

Edited June 19, 2019 by casofilia

[MeHeartCruising]

I would take that 25% OBC offer NOW and be happy about it.  There is no "official" policy at NCL to do what they have offered.  It is done a fair amount of time, but there are many times that people on Cruise Critic report that they not offered anything.  I would not count on a different agent holding to this offer at a later date.   It is not a guaranteed offer that you can choose to accept at any time you wish.

Edited June 19, 2019 by MeHeartCruising

[vince_g]

1 hour ago, Booman14 said:

Yes- She offered an upgrade, but it wasn't anything we wanted.  She did recommend waiting a bit before asking for the onboard credit.  She said with us still being so far out from the cruise, most likely the price will drop even more.  Another $300 and I can have the Aft Balcony we want!!!  LOL

Thank You for answering so quickly.  Have a great one. 

Or what I just experienced could happen to you.  Prior to final payment we had a $140 per person drop.  Called and requested a price adjustment, which they did without problem.  Since this cruise is in October and final payment is due 6/27, I figured I would continue to look for price drops.  That won't be possible now because the category is showing as SOLD OUT.  It's hard to get a price drop when there is no price.  It's up to you, but I would grab what they are offering.

[Son of a son of a ...]

1 hour ago, FLAHAM said:

...and many should be booked when first listed.

 

There are some itineraries that should be booked early, but the cattle runs are very safe for late booking.  Indeed, you lose money, as the OP indicates, for early booking.

[mugtech]

2 hours ago, casofilia said:

@FLAHAM

...and many should be booked when first listed.

 

Especially those that are new itineraries.  I have just looked at NCL Spirit, Dubai-Capetown-Singapore.  In NZ dollars the price is now about NZD8000 more than we paid each when we booked; it was in the first month of being offered.

 

That is for Inside!!

Saw that back in March on the Jewel, the cruise next people were very proud to do a heavy sales pitch on those cruises, which were already priced out of sight. 21 day cruise $6,000 pp inside cabin????

[Joken35]

we booked a Mediterranean cruise on Black Friday.The balcony we booked has gone down in price 6 times . we have all the benefits possible including free gratuities from our TA as well as some nice OBC. I watch the price daily and when it drops I call for an adjustment.We have  a month until final payment. I will Continue to watch  after the final payment if this is the new policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[newmexicoNita]

14 hours ago, Booman14 said:

Hello,

  This morning I notice that the price of my room dropped by $599, so I called NCL and after a 45min wait, I spoke to a very friendly lady that agreed the price has dropped that amount; HOWEVER, she stated NCL only refunds 25% of that amount in the form of an onboard credit, after final payment, which would only be $149.75.  (My cruise is 3 months away.) ALSO- if I do decide to take the onboard credit, I would not be able to ask for any other credits if the price continues to drop. Has anyone else run into this?

Thanks!

Yes, this is common practice. Just think if prices were adjusted for everyone when there is a price drop after final payment, not only would the reservation reps being swamp but the cruise line would be broke in no time. This is a reason not to even check after final payment and if you do, don't expect a complete adjustment. As for accepting the offer for a OBC, the same, imagine what it would be like, if people adjusted their final amount over and over. Remember you must have been satisfied with the original price or you would not have booked. You will always find someone who paid less than you. 

[Birdie And Sue]

ONLY $150?  wow!

[tomk3212]

Once you've made the final payment you have very little leverage getting an adjustment do to a subsequent price drop.  I'm amazed that NCL has a policy offering the OBC; that's incredibly generous, IMHO.

 

Here's where having a good relationship with your PCC can come in handy; we booked a 14 day cruise out of Venice a few years back at what we thought was a rock-bottom price with our PCC.  As luck (bad luck!) would have it the price dropped another $200 the following week!! We called our PCC & he was able to bump us up from a GTY Inside to a GTY Balcony at the price had paid!!  Not too shabby!

Edited June 20, 2019 by tomk3212

[JamieLogical]

16 hours ago, Booman14 said:

Hello,

  This morning I notice that the price of my room dropped by $599, so I called NCL and after a 45min wait, I spoke to a very friendly lady that agreed the price has dropped that amount; HOWEVER, she stated NCL only refunds 25% of that amount in the form of an onboard credit, after final payment, which would only be $149.75.  (My cruise is 3 months away.) ALSO- if I do decide to take the onboard credit, I would not be able to ask for any other credits if the price continues to drop. Has anyone else run into this?

Thanks!

 

That's pretty much the standard policy for price drops after final payment. A one-time offer of 25% of the difference as OBC or an option to upgrade to a higher cabin category and pay the difference. They always caution that this is a one-time offer so if you take it, don't call back next week when the price drops again.

[LaCal]

Prices don’t always keep dropping....lots of times the prices will actually go up the closer the cruise gets

 

Id take that 25% OBC Now and be done w it 

[Albinroo]

       On a related note, are they obligated to do anything before the final payment date? Our Panama canal cruise cabin is now about 500 usd less than it was at the time of booking, but because I am in the EU, we will lose the deposit (about 750 usd if I remember correctly) if we cancel before final payment. 

[zqvol]

20 hours ago, Booman14 said:

Hello,

  This morning I notice that the price of my room dropped by $599, so I called NCL and after a 45min wait, I spoke to a very friendly lady that agreed the price has dropped that amount; HOWEVER, she stated NCL only refunds 25% of that amount in the form of an onboard credit, after final payment, which would only be $149.75.  (My cruise is 3 months away.) ALSO- if I do decide to take the onboard credit, I would not be able to ask for any other credits if the price continues to drop. Has anyone else run into this?

Thanks!

 

Standard procedure, and  honestly it is more than NCL has to do. Instead of the OBC why not upgrade to a nicer cabin?

 

[GA Dave]

I bought a brand new car three months ago, but I just noticed the dealer is now offering the same model for $300 less.  I would never think of going back and asking for a refund on the difference.  Why do people expect cruise lines to do it?

[hawkman402]

6 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

I bought a brand new car three months ago, but I just noticed the dealer is now offering the same model for $300 less.  I would never think of going back and asking for a refund on the difference.  Why do people expect cruise lines to do it?

 

But have you been able to drive that car in those 3 months?  I suspect people think that way because they haven't received the actual product/service yet.

 

Of course once you make final payment, they owe you nothing. Take the offer and run.

[hawkman402]

3 hours ago, Albinroo said:

       On a related note, are they obligated to do anything before the final payment date? Our Panama canal cruise cabin is now about 500 usd less than it was at the time of booking, but because I am in the EU, we will lose the deposit (about 750 usd if I remember correctly) if we cancel before final payment. 

 

My understanding is before final payment is made you can cancel.  If so they can't stop you from cancelling and re-booking at the better price.  So it's just easier for them to lower the price and credit you the difference.

 

Having said that, all of my cruises have been "last minute" so I could be wrong.

[rtkenmore]

On 6/19/2019 at 4:57 PM, Booman14 said:

Yes- She offered an upgrade, but it wasn't anything we wanted.  She did recommend waiting a bit before asking for the onboard credit.  She said with us still being so far out from the cruise, most likely the price will drop even more.  Another $300 and I can have the Aft Balcony we want!!!  LOL

Thank You for answering so quickly.  Have a great one. 

 

If an aft balcony is even still available by then...