Would Cunard take pity......?

[AspirationalFlyer]

.......if I told them that a cruise I have booked in the coming weeks is now on sale for less than I paid. 
 

I appreciate Cunard won’t refund the difference, but is it possible to get an upgrade to what is now available at the same price? Or is it just hard luck? I appreciate this is always a risk when you book well in advance. It is not a large amount but never nice to pay more than you have to.  
 

Any thoughts? Has this ever happened to you? If so, what did you do?

 

Thank you! 

 

[oskidunker]

Cant hurt to ask but not optimistic.  Those that book at the last minute have to deal with high air costs. They might give you some small onboard credit. 

[Ray66]

1 hour ago, AspirationalFlyer said:

Any thoughts? Has this ever happened to you? If so, what did you do?

 

Thank you! 

 

It's happened to us many times.  There's nothing you can do after you've paid the balance. It's just one of those things.

 

There was just one time we did do something. It was just as the balance was due to be paid. We noticed the price had gone down a lot. We cancelled and re-booked. We lost the deposit and free car parking but still saved a couple of hundred.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

Yes, we're seeing a $1300 reduction on our roundtrip TA in December. Looks like we won't book far ahead again!

[Bigmike911]

1 hour ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

Yes, we're seeing a $1300 reduction on our roundtrip TA in December. Looks like we won't book far ahead again!

Or there might be an increase, or not the accommodation you wanted or your category might be sold out. There is an old expression that fits here. Don't cry over spilled milk. I always believe that if I get what I paid for, I am fine even, if some one else paid less. If I get a bit more, nice. 

[BlueRiband]

Just to play Devil's Advocate here, you are asking to have it both ways.  You want Cunard to maintain your advantage of best stateroom selection and priority for dinner seating.  Yet you want the lower price paid by those who have to take a category guarantee and are way down on the dining priority list. 

 

Nobody wants to pay more than they have to for anything.  Yes, prices can go down but they might go up or your opportunities become limited.  We had recent posts here where one saw a voyage "disappear" because it sold out.  Another poster - a scooter user - booked a standard cabin late as no HC rooms were available. She then wrote a long dissertation on how difficult is was to cope.

[navybankerteacher]

15 hours ago, AspirationalFlyer said:

.......if I told them that a cruise I have booked in the coming weeks is now on sale for less than I paid. 
 

I appreciate Cunard won’t refund the difference, but is it possible to get an upgrade to what is now available at the same price? Or is it just hard luck? I appreciate this is always a risk when you book well in advance. It is not a large amount but never nice to pay more than you have to.  
 

Any thoughts? Has this ever happened to you? If so, what did you do?

 

Thank you! 

 

 What would you say to Cunard if demand for the itinerary had been unexpectedly great , the prices for late bookings had gone up- and they came to you asking you to pay more?

[Lilydes]

Well, it happened to me a few years ago. The prices were way down from what I paid, in fact, the grills were cheaper than what I paid in Britannia!! So I rang them up and pointed this out and they put us in Queen's Grill. So there is no harm in asking. As for asking you to pay more....that's one of the reasons they give for paying well in advance, that the price may go up, so basically you have paid more upfront.

[Lilydes]

10 hours ago, BlueRiband said:

Just to play Devil's Advocate here, you are asking to have it both ways.  You want Cunard to maintain your advantage of best stateroom selection and priority for dinner seating.  

Yet you want the lower price paid by those who have to take a category guarantee and are way down on the dining priority list. 

 

You are saying they should be happy to pay what could amount to A LOT of money just so they can choose first or second seating! Blimey! At the end of the day Cunard is just a business that you are doing business with, so if you can get something to your advantage, from them,well done.

[BlueRiband]

13 hours ago, Lilydes said:

You are saying they should be happy to pay what could amount to A LOT of money just so they can choose first or second seating! Blimey! At the end of the day Cunard is just a business that you are doing business with, so if you can get something to your advantage, from them,well done.

In one word, yes.  The fare was perfectly acceptable to the OP when he booked.  If he can negotiate some perk then more power to him.  

 

If I buy an evening dress at full price, than two months later the same dress is now heavily discounted, the store isn't going to refund the difference.   This kind of thing happens all the time in US retailing.   I can choose to buy it now.  Or I can choose to wait for a deal and risk that my size is sold out.  We make choices based on our tolerance for risk and how badly we want something. 

[newjoisey]

Well it cannot hurt to try to get some type of adjustment/perk .....i once knew a person that was pretty good at getting something back when they missed a discount .If you are a frequent traveler with cunard it may help 

Edited October 9, 2019 by newjoisey

[Lilydes]

1 hour ago, BlueRiband said:

 

 

If I buy an evening dress at full price, than two months later the same dress is now heavily discounted, the store isn't going to refund the difference.   This kind of thing happens all the time in US retailing.   I can choose to buy it now.  Or I can choose to wait for a deal and risk that my size is sold out.  We make choices based on our tolerance for risk and how badly we want something. 

Are you saying that you buy dresses that can be reduced by $1300? You can't really compare everyday shopping with a cruise.

[MCC retired]

That dress that you purchased today , you are able to wear today.

That cruise that you purchased today, you can not use for quite some time .

 

[AspirationalFlyer]

Hello, 

 

Thanks very much for your responses. 
 

After a couple of tries, I spoke to someone helpful and sensible at Cunard. I appreciate they won’t refund the price change - I didn’t ask and it was not offered. I agree I had entered into a contract and the price was agreed at the outset. That was never in dispute. However, whilst I won’t go into the specifics we agreed a compromise we were both happy with. I feel I’ve got solid value for money and Cunard has a happy customer again. 
 

Safe travels everyone. 
 

AF

[Solent Richard]

On 10/8/2019 at 2:30 PM, navybankerteacher said:

 What would you say to Cunard if demand for the itinerary had been unexpectedly great , the prices for late bookings had gone up- and they came to you asking you to pay more?

 

We ex-Naval chaps certainly have a way with words.

 

Take an uptick for making me smile and being a man after my own heart.

 

😁

[Neuhoftraveler]

On 11/11/2019 at 6:03 PM, AspirationalFlyer said:

 

However, whilst I won’t go into the specifics we agreed a compromise we were both happy with.

Last year we booked  a westbound TA in PG.  When the price went down about $300 p/p, we asked to re-book.  Cunard counterproposed to upgrade us to QG if we forwent the price reduction.  This gave us QG for substantally less than the going price for QG.  We were very happy.  (This was all before final payment, of course.)

 

Candor and helpfulness being the hallmarks of this forum, can I persuade AspirationalFlyer to disclose the specifics if his/her compromise?  This might be an idea someone else could put to good use some day.