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Taking Advantage of Sales and Price Drops


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Can we reserve a cabin and pay a deposit, then take advantage of later sales and price drops before final payment?  Assuming so, would it be best to deposit through HAL initially, then switch to a travel agent only once a sale occurs?  Thanks for any advice.

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12 minutes ago, aaaaa said:

Can we reserve a cabin and pay a deposit, then take advantage of later sales and price drops before final payment?  Assuming so, would it be best to deposit through HAL initially, then switch to a travel agent only once a sale occurs?  Thanks for any advice.

 

Are you in the U.S.?  We can do that here but not in some other countries like UK according to posters here on CC.  The cruise lines have set up deadlines for transferring new bookings to travel agents.  We used to do that before final payment, but now most of them require transferring by 60 days. Good luck!

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1 hour ago, aaaaa said:

Can we reserve a cabin and pay a deposit, then take advantage of later sales and price drops before final payment?  Assuming so, would it be best to deposit through HAL initially, then switch to a travel agent only once a sale occurs?  Thanks for any advice.

Usually  this option is available but I would check on their website and then call the office just to make sure that I wont pay for nothing. Deposts.. I hate deposits. I would rather pay the whole  price but being sure that it will be refunded in case of anything 

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We routinely do this with HAL and most other cruise lines...all of which we book through an excellent cruise agency that saves us 7-10% + over booking direct with the cruise lines.  If we notice a good sale, price drop, addition of amenities, etc. we simply send a short e-mail to our cruise agent asking her to "reprice" our booking.  This is generally done within a few hours of our request and we quickly receive a revised invoice.

 

With HAL you do need to be careful at the time you make your original booking.  HAL generally has multiple pricing options (especially if you deal with good cruise agencies) with differing rules.  For example, HAL will often have a slightly discounted price if you book with a "Non-Refundable" deposit.  The terms of the non-refundable deposit bookings often make it clear that you would NOT be eligible for repricing (or upgrades).    The general rule for any cruiser is to always know the Terms and Conditions related to the fare your book and also ask whether your cruise/travel agency charges any extra fees if you request them to "reprice."

 

I should add that there are some times where a sale price can be so good that it might make sense for somebody with a non-refundable booking to cancel, take the loss of the deposit, and then rebook with the current sales price.   While this is rare, it does happen...especially with longer expensive cruises.

 

Hank

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We've done this many times over the years. Whenever there is a hint or whiff of a sale, I shoot an email (or text) to my TA to price it out. Sometimes its a better deal than we already have, sometimes not. You have to add up the value of the new perks versus what you already have and make a decision. Sometimes deposits become non-refundable and that has to be taken into account too.

 

Always worth checking it out though.  

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12 hours ago, KroozNut said:

Also, most times with a reprice or re-fare, you lose whatever perks you may have had with the original booking.

 

You will qualify for any current perks at time of re-booking.

Thanks to info on CC I emailed my TA about a re-fare two weeks ago.  I saved $630, got to keep all my perks from the original booking and HAL threw in $250 SBC.  Sweet.

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What Hank said. When HAL started the non refundable deposits, our agency was clear in pointing out it could not be re-priced. So unless I’m sailing fairly close to final payment, I stick with the refundable option.

 

We’ve re-priced cruises often. One thing I found helpful was to add up my bar, specialty coffee, water and wine charges after one trip. That knowledge of what we’d spend per person per day has made it easier for me to calculate & compare all the perks & credits and arrive at my true bottom line - using a real-world value of that beverage package to me vs buying drinks as we go.

Edited by Caribbean Chris
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1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

One thing I found helpful was to add up my bar, specialty coffee, water and wine charges after one trip. That knowledge of what we’d spend per person per day has made it easier for me to calculate & compare all the perks & credits and arrive at my true bottom line - using a real-world value of that beverage package to me vs buying drinks as we go.

 

Excellent advice.  I do the same.  Each person needs to know what the perk(s) is worth to them and then they can determine if it’s worth it or not.

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4 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

What Hank said. When HAL started the non refundable deposits, our agency was clear in pointing out it could not be re-priced. So unless I’m sailing fairly close to final payment, I stick with the refundable option.

 

We’ve re-priced cruises often. One thing I found helpful was to add up my bar, specialty coffee, water and wine charges after one trip. That knowledge of what we’d spend per person per day has made it easier for me to calculate & compare all the perks & credits and arrive at my true bottom line - using a real-world value of that beverage package to me vs buying drinks as we go.

Great advice!  We end up rebooking almost every cruise as I keep a close eye on pricing.  I seem to do well right AFTER a promotion ends, as prices sometimes drop alot and many perks are not that valuable to me as cash in hand.

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The best price drop we have even had came courtesy of CC's Australian and NZ page.  They had a topic about cruise bargains.

 

I was 10 minutes away from asking our NA on line TA to confirm a late booking 21 day Aus/NZ cruise. We were about to travel from Malaysia to Gold Coast, Australia. 

 

As a last thought I decided to log into this CC forum for a lark.   Much to my surprise the cruise that we were about to buy was mentioned by a poster.  At a price 30 percent below (adjusted for currency) what had been our  US on line TA's best quote.  We called RCI in Sydney direct.   Made the reservation in 10 minutes and saved ourselves just over 30 percent. Thanks to several Australian CC posters who had highlighted the offer on this forum.

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My experience with a price drop is as follows.....

 

When I see the lower price, I email my TA (the one with the 90 day ticker) and say "the prices have dropped, what can you do for me?".

 

The TA then comes back with "HAL says you can re-book but you will loose all the OBC you originally booked"...which turns out to be more expensive...... but "we can upgrade you within your category"...example balcony VF to balcony spa level.

 

We are "excited" by the upgrade and continue to look forward to our cruise.

 

We always book the fare without the frills (drinks, wifi, gratuity, pinnacle dinner) because the price of those frills never exceed what we can get with the basic fare.  We check every time and do the math with our drinking, etc. and it never exceeds the no frills basic fare.

 

Of course, YMMV but that's our experience.

 

Savor the journey......

 

 

 

 

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I used to really enjoy monitoring sales and promos seeing how much I could lower my fare and/or sweeten my deal between initial deposit and final payment.

This has certainly lost its luster for me now with the uncertainty of when and how cruises will resume.

Hard to get excited getting a great deal on a cruise that may never sail sadly.....

JMO

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One thing we in the North have to consider is that the increase in price for the "free" perks on our cruisefare is in CAD $$  and what we would spend on the ship "as we go" would be in US $$.  The included package is often a much better deal.

 

Always good to do the math before and after each cruise.  We always get a print out that includes all the beverages, dinners etc that we've purchased during the cruise using the "free" promo.

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I just want to add some words of encouragement to those who care about following pricing and taking advantage of changes.  We agree with those who suggest that one should put their own value on included amenities based on your own habits!  The example I post actually happened to us with HAL.  A few years ago we booked a long Oosterdam cruise (think it was about 40 days) which involved a Transpacific from Seattle to Sydney and then another segment to Auckland.  We booked a nice verandah cabin during a promotion which included a beverage package (both DW and I enjoy adult beverages).  When that promotion ended I looked at the new pricing of the cruise and noticed that the price of our cabin category dropped nearly $11,000.  I immediately e-mailed my cruise agent about repricing and a few hours later she called me to discuss options.  She pointed out that we could save about $11,000 and keep our cabin but that we would lose the beverage package.  This was a 40 day cruise so we would save about $137 per day (per couple) by repricing.  My agent and I had a good laugh when I said she should reprice as we have never spent anywhere near $137 on drinks (we average about $70 per day per couple).  

 

My point is that dealing with various amenities can be a challenge to many folks who do not have a math oriented mind.  The cruise lines do their best to confuse your calculations by playing around with various amenities.  The trick is to simply price out the amenities at their real value to you....not the value put on them by the cruise line.  So, for example, a beverage package that the cruise line claims is worth $140 per day (per couple) is likely worth a lot less to most folks.  Use the value that comes closest to your own spending habits and ignore the phony values used by the cruise lines.   Work the math and determine your real cost per passenger day!   At that point it is easy to compare different deals even when they try to confuse you with all kinds of amenities.  

 

Hank

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1 hour ago, aaaaa said:

Is there reason to transfer the reservation to a travel agent soon after booking rather than closer to (but still before) final payment?

If you want to transfer to a TA, there is a limited amount of time to get that done in. I believe it is 30 days, but it could possibly be longer. Best to check with HAL when you make the booking, or just make it with the TA in the first place.  

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1 hour ago, aaaaa said:

Lots of great information on re-pricing -- thanks.  Is there reason to transfer the reservation to a travel agent soon after booking rather than closer to (but still before) final payment?

 

We USED to be able to transfer close to final payment but that is no longer permitted.

 

Transfers are now only permitted within 60 days of the booking (at least that is the latest regulation I am aware of).  You have to complete a form that World Cruise Department has and it has to be sent and dealt with in time.

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6 hours ago, iancal said:

Why do some people even bother with dealing with the cruise line when they intend to move the reservation to a TA?

 

Would it not be so much simpler to deal with a good TA in the first place?

I agree.  Others may have different ideas, so I hope they post them.

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6 hours ago, iancal said:

Why do some people even bother with dealing with the cruise line when they intend to move the reservation to a TA?

 

Would it not be so much simpler to deal with a good TA in the first place?

We have asked this question for several years.  The answer we get is often something along the lines of having loyalty to a cruise line employee such as a so-called PCC.  Some will also tell you that they get better consideration by dealing directly with their PCC or a cruise line employee.  Having  booked cruises with 15 different cruise lines we have never seen any advantage to booking direct.  I have also tried to explain to some folks that simply transferring a cruise to a cruise agent might not get you the best deal because you have lost leverage (the cruise is already booked).  

 

Here is another shocker (which I do not like to admit).  There is sometimes loyalty shown to a good customer when dealing with high volume cruise agencies.  This can translate into better deals and special handling.   We can book just about any cruise line through a single cruise agent/agency which generates a lot of commission for the agent and agency.  They do have ways of showing their appreciation.  When a rep of one particular cruise line worked hard at getting our business I simply asked her if she could match what we could get from one of our favored cruise agencies.  The cruise line person told us they would not compete with a cruise agency (on price) but suggested we book through the cruise line and then transfer the booking to the cruise agency.  When I inquired as to why.....we never got a good answer.  

 

Our favorite cruise agent understands our wants/needs.  We can use her to book any cruise line and she can also advise of us if she has heard of better options using other lines.  Since we often have bookings with 4 or 5 different lines it is very handy to only deal with 1 or 2 cruise agents.  

 

Here is another shocker to some folks.  When a single cruiser deals with a large cruise line they are simply one more customer.  But when our cruise agency deals with that same cruise line (on our behalf) they are a very big customer who books hundreds of cruises on a routine basis.  Who do you think has the most clout and ability to get to the right folks when there is an issue?

 

Hank

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Our next cruise was booked (through HAL directly) using a Casino Offer.  We booked a Neptune for about 1/3rd the going price, so IMO there is no reason to use a TA or even watch HAL pricing - am I correct is this or am I missing something??

 

Second, next cruise after that we were able to get a 20% casino discount, so I doubt that a TA could get a better deal, but I may be wrong - advice please.  Of course on this deal, I watch pricing as if prices go down I should still get my 20% off (depends of course).

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