Advice on a lower price after final payment

[Newfun4me]

Hi All,

 

First, I know it's a courtesy and it's their choice, so I would be appreciative of anything.  However, this is my situation and I'm just hoping to get a little bit of advice for those with more cruising experience than I have.  We have 2 Haven suites booked for the Vista from NY to Bermuda on May 31.  One is a 2-bedroom and there is only 1 more 2-bedroom available.  We also booked that one really early, so I doubt the price will be better than what we paid.  The other suite is for my son.  There are 13 more Haven penthouse suites available for that cruise as of right now and the price is currently $550 below what we paid (just dropped today).  I know the OBC is a one-time courtesy so I want to try to maximize it, if possible.  We are still 110+ days out.  I'm thinking it will likely go lower, but who knows?  Would you wait or would you go ahead and call?  I'm leaning toward waiting, but figured I would see what you think.

 

Thanks for sharing your perspective!

Edited February 6, 2020 by Newfun4me

[smplybcause]

Well if it's on the Vista you're on the wrong forum. 😉

[Newfun4me]

7 hours ago, smplybcause said:

Well if it's on the Vista you're on the wrong forum. 😉

Uh oh - I misspoke.  Oh man.  We are also on a Carnival cruise in April, so I used the wrong ship name.  Now I can't figure out how to edit it.  We are on the Encore to Bermuda in May.  

[dmdiver]

My experience with a price drop after final payment was that we were offered an onboard credit or upgrade.  The onboard credit was not the amount of the price drop.  It appears to be some random amount that is nowhere near the amount of the price drop.   I guess we've been spoiled by Carnival, where you actually get a credit equal to the price drop.  In our case, the upgrade would have just added an extra sink in the bathroom, so we took the onboard credit.  I figured it was better than nothing.

[ggTexasGal]

NCL will likely offer you an upgrade!

If you don't choose that option, your cruise consultant will "have to speak to a supervisor" in order to get you issued OBC (NON-REFUNDABLE) @ 25% of the original Guest Fare (only).

At a $550 price difference, that would be $137.50 OBC on that reservation.  Not a measly amount and beats "too bad!"

Bear in mind that each day you delay, you are gambling that others aren't booking those suites (or upgrading) already.

So, if you do wait, your choices may disappear altogether!

[Newfun4me]

Thanks, dmdiver.  I have read that we can expect it to be in the 25% range.  Again, definitely better than nothing and certainly not something they have to do.  🙂  I'm just wondering about the timing...  I'm thinking I should wait to see if it drops a bit more as I know it's a one-time courtesy.  

 

Thanks!

 

Kim

[Newfun4me]

4 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

NCL will likely offer you an upgrade!

If you don't choose that option, your cruise consultant will "have to speak to a supervisor" in order to get you issued OBC (NON-REFUNDABLE) @ 25% of the original Guest Fare (only).

At a $550 price difference, that would be $137.50 OBC on that reservation.  Not a measly amount and beats "too bad!"

Bear in mind that each day you delay, you are gambling that others aren't booking those suites (or upgrading) already.

So, if you do wait, your choices may disappear altogether!

Thank you!  The last time I cruised with NCL in 2016, we weren't able to upgrade (for a bargain!) until 30 days out.  That was before it was a bid process and I'm not sure when that bid process begins now.  Do you know if it's still in the 30ish day out range???  You are absolutely right - $137.50 is great compared to nothing!  From an upgrade perspective, the only one that would really make sense would be to a 2-bedroom.  With just two people, I'm not sure that makes a lot of sense (my son would probably disagree and be pumped about the extra room!).

 

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Newfun4me
added more detail

[ggTexasGal]

6 minutes ago, Newfun4me said:

Thank you!  The last time I cruised with NCL in 2016, we weren't able to upgrade (for a bargain!) until 30 days out.  That was before it was a bid process and I'm not sure when that bid process begins now.  Do you know if it's still in the 30ish day out range???  You are absolutely right - $137.50 is great compared to nothing!  From an upgrade perspective, the only one that would really make sense would be to a 2-bedroom.  With just two people, I'm not sure that makes a lot of sense (my son would probably disagree and be pumped about the extra room!).

 

 

Bid process starts at day 80.  If you used a TA though, you would need to go through them. And, not all TA's participate!

 

Our sons would love a larger room also! LoL. 

I just wouldn't want to pay that additional amount ...so the OBC makes more sense for us!

Edited February 6, 2020 by ggTexasGal
added info

[JamieLogical]

No one here has mentioned a future cruise credit option. The last time we had a big price drop after final payment (for our December Bliss sailing) we were offered an upgrade, 25% of the difference in OBC, or 50% of the difference in future cruise credit. Since we already had a future cruise booked and weren't even a little bit interested in the "upgraded" room category, it was an easy decision for us.

[ggTexasGal]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

No one here has mentioned a future cruise credit option. The last time we had a big price drop after final payment (for our December Bliss sailing) we were offered an upgrade, 25% of the difference in OBC, or 50% of the difference in future cruise credit. Since we already had a future cruise booked and weren't even a little bit interested in the "upgraded" room category, it was an easy decision for us.

Wow!  That has never been an offer from our Cruise Consultant.

However, I can see how it makes sense to offer it!

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Wow!  That has never been an offer from our Cruise Consultant.

However, I can see how it makes sense to offer it!

 

Yeah, I was super happy about it. Between that and doubling up on CruiseNext deposits, our upcoming March sailing only cost us $974 total out of pocket for an angled BA with all the perks for two people.

[ggTexasGal]

8 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Yeah, I was super happy about it. Between that and doubling up on CruiseNext deposits, our upcoming March sailing only cost us $974 total out of pocket for an angled BA with all the perks for two people.

Super deal!!

[Newfun4me]

2 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

Bid process starts at day 80.  If you used a TA though, you would need to go through them. And, not all TA's participate!

 

Our sons would love a larger room also! LoL. 

I just wouldn't want to pay that additional amount ...so the OBC makes more sense for us!

Thanks!  I wasn't sure about the timing of the bid process, so that really helps.  I booked direct, thankfully, so no worries about a TA in this case.   I think I'll probably give it a little more time, but will definitely reach out to them before 80 days out.