When do you ask your TA for a price adjustment?

[whataboutport]

I just checked my cruise and for my category room has dropped in price, but only $43pp. How many times and how often, or how much of a difference do you contact your TA and ask for an adjustment? I understand this may be just an OBC which I'm fine with. I'm before final payment.

[Flatbush Flyer]

40 minutes ago, whataboutport said:

I just checked my cruise and for my category room has dropped in price, but only $43pp. How many times and how often, or how much of a difference do you contact your TA and ask for an adjustment? I understand this may be just an OBC which I'm fine with. I'm before final payment.

Unless the cruise line has a “price drop match” guarantee (e.g.., Oceania has that for “book onboards”), that price drop you find may require rebooking which may mean adjustment of perks to what is currently offered. In essence, do the “bottom line” math before anything else.

As for $43 pp? Some folks would call that “chump change” and not worth the effort.  

[ldubs]

If before you final payment, your TA should be able to get the reduced fare with little trouble.  If it goes down more later, then ask again.   

[wheezedr]

Just repriced for a September cruise and saved over $400 with a half hour phone call.  Have another 5 couples with us, together all have repriced and saved over $2000.  Such a good deal that they are all willing to buy me a free drink.  What a deal since we all have a drink package😁😁.  I always check before final payment is due.

[whataboutport]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Unless the cruise line has a “price drop match” guarantee (e.g.., Oceania has that for “book onboards”), that price drop you find may require rebooking which may mean adjustment of perks to what is currently offered. In essence, do the “bottom line” math before anything else.

As for $43 pp? Some folks would call that “chump change” and not worth the effort.  

We have the basic fare from Princess where nothing is included. The only perk we got was $50 obc pp. Do they usually charge a rebooking fee? 

[ldubs]

3 minutes ago, whataboutport said:

We have the basic fare from Princess where nothing is included. The only perk we got was $50 obc pp. Do they usually charge a rebooking fee? 

 

We have never paid a rebooking fee for a price drop on the same category cabin.  While we have never experienced it, I would think if the lower price does not include the $50 OBC, then that changes everything.   Your TA will have the answer for sure.   

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, whataboutport said:

We have the basic fare from Princess where nothing is included. The only perk we got was $50 obc pp. Do they usually charge a rebooking fee?  a clue about princess. 

 

I’ve not a clue about Princess.

 

Most lines do have an administrative fee if you cancel. (And steer clear of TAs that charge their own “cancel” and/or “rebooking” fees).

And, of course, there’s always the “penalty phase” which may start quite some time before final payment is due.

 

But, if you are just rebooking the same cruise, there’s usually not a “change fee.” It all depends on the cruise line you’ve chosen. However, the $50 pp OBC you got could disappear if it was a time limited perk offered by Princess (or the TA or the TA’s consortium).

 

That said, ALWAYS make sure you read the T&Cs and Ticket Contract for your cruise. You are bound by the specifics and it’s amazing how many folks don’t peruse those docs. Your chosen line may also have an ever-changing FAQs page on their website AND those FAQs may supersede all other published docs.

 

 

[Markanddonna]

That is one reason we don't use a travel agent. I recall a sailing back in2019 where there were three price reductions and the person answering the phone at NCL always handled it very pleasantly. Some people are more diligent about keeping an eye on their booking while others don't want the bother. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

That is one reason we don't use a travel agent. I recall a sailing back in2019 where there were three price reductions and the person answering the phone at NCL always handled it very pleasantly. Some people are more diligent about keeping an eye on their booking while others don't want the bother. 

I don't understand why this precludes you from using a TA. We have had the same experience of obtaining price reductions with no problem from our TA. One cruise even had multiple drops and an upgrade. We were also warned once when asking for a price drop that a change in terms meant we would have to immediately pay a higher deposit. (Whch we did because the price drop was well worth it.)

[Markanddonna]

35 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I don't understand why this precludes you from using a TA. We have had the same experience of obtaining price reductions with no problem from our TA. One cruise even had multiple drops and an upgrade. We were also warned once when asking for a price drop that a change in terms meant we would have to immediately pay a higher deposit. (Whch we did because the price drop was well worth it.)

One experience taught me that we are likely better off overseeing our details. There was a price drop and I called our agent. He never returned our call until after the weekend and by then, the price had increased. I know some people say to get a great agent, but that is easier said than done. We typically book on the lower end of categories and therefore the agent has little wiggle room for perks. Our last cruise was a last minute $307 11 night transatlantic in a nice balcony. I doubt any agent could be as on top of our booking as we are.

[klfrodo]

Never.

[Hlitner]

I do get it and the OP has an excellent point/question.  We would never think of bugging our cruise agent to save $43 and perhaps that is why we get treated very well by the agencies we use.  But each person has their own ideas of "what is worth the effort" so there is no rule.  We use several excellent cruise agents (we often cruise over 100 days a year) and a couple of them actually have language in their "terms and conditions" that allows them to charge a small fee for more than one repricing of a cruise.   We have never been charged any fees (even for multiple repricing) because the agencies obviously want our business and are aware we do not bug them to save only a few dollars.  The most recent repricing request we did (about 2 weeks ago) was on a MSC booking and our savings were in excess of $1000.  

 

Speaking of cruise agencies, the issue of being able to reach your specific agent is interesting.  We currently use 3 different cruise agencies (whichever has the best deal usually gets our booking) and they all maintain a "customer service desk" that any customer can call if they cannot reach their specific agent.  Relying on a single agent to always be available is ridiculous as agents do have days-off, vacations, etc.

 

Hank

[whataboutport]

A simple email to the agency last night asking what their policy was about pricing adjustments and I got a reply this morning. No issue, they adjusted my total and my OBC is still the same.

[Markanddonna]

28 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I do get it and the OP has an excellent point/question.  We would never think of bugging our cruise agent to save $43 and perhaps that is why we get treated very well by the agencies we use.  But each person has their own ideas of "what is worth the effort" so there is no rule.  We use several excellent cruise agents (we often cruise over 100 days a year) and a couple of them actually have language in their "terms and conditions" that allows them to charge a small fee for more than one repricing of a cruise.   We have never been charged any fees (even for multiple repricing) because the agencies obviously want our business and are aware we do not bug them to save only a few dollars.  The most recent repricing request we did (about 2 weeks ago) was on a MSC booking and our savings were in excess of $1000.  

 

Speaking of cruise agencies, the issue of being able to reach your specific agent is interesting.  We currently use 3 different cruise agencies (whichever has the best deal usually gets our booking) and they all maintain a "customer service desk" that any customer can call if they cannot reach their specific agent.  Relying on a single agent to always be available is ridiculous as agents do have days-off, vacations, etc.

 

Hank

Yes, we had a poor agent who didn't have any back up. This experience taught us that we can do it quite nicely ourselves, and we haven't been disappointed. It would be wonderful to find a great agent but then that means giving up our booking to try out someone. 

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Yes, we had a poor agent who didn't have any back up. This experience taught us that we can do it quite nicely ourselves, and we haven't been disappointed. It would be wonderful to find a great agent but then that means giving up our booking to try out someone. 

Ahhh, but that brings us to an issue often discussed on these boards.  There is a lot of money to be saved by shopping around for a reputable high volume cruise agent/agency.  I am talking about real money that can come from On Board Credits and other amenities.  On some cruise lines the savings can be thousands of dollars on a single cruise.  We have often suggested that with most cruise lines folks should look to save 7-10% although we have done much better with a couple of mass market lines.  On the other hand, one of the high-end luxury lines we cruise the percentage savings are somewhat less (percentage wise) but still a substantial sum.

 

One other issue that is a current problem.  If you look across the various cruise line boards you will notice there are many complaints about being on hold for hours to reach a cruise line.  And even when you get to some lines, the quality of their customer service folks seems to have waned.  Since we work with a couple of cruise agents/agencies we do not wait on hold with anyone.  If we have a request or issue it takes a few seconds to send off an e-mail to my agent and then they can be the folks that must sit on hold :).

 

Hank

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

One experience taught me that we are likely better off overseeing our details. There was a price drop and I called our agent. He never returned our call until after the weekend and by then, the price had increased. I know some people say to get a great agent, but that is easier said than done. We typically book on the lower end of categories and therefore the agent has little wiggle room for perks. Our last cruise was a last minute $307 11 night transatlantic in a nice balcony. I doubt any agent could be as on top of our booking as we are.

We never had that problem getting our TA to do a price adjustment.

[donaldsc]

I would not ever bother my TA for a $43 reduction.  She works hard to get me deals and such a small reduction would be a waste of her time.

 

DON

[PurpleHays]

It has to be enough to feel like I get a benefit. I have refared several times on my upcoming cruise. I watch the price and notify my TA when it's enough to make a difference. The first one was about $1200, the most recent was an upgrade (only one category) that listed for about $300 more, but my TA made the call and got the upgrade for $56 more. Said it was the best thing she'd done all day (she'd been dealing with a very unhappy client most of the day, not her fault).

 

With airfare included, we're still below our original quote.

[jsn55]

My cruise TA would rebook me the minute the numbers were right.  I realize that I am very, very lucky.  She was a friend first, so the mutual trust is there.  I think a savings of more than $200 pp qualifies for some activity; I'd never bother her for any less.  She picks this stuff up on her own anyway, I don't have to follow any pricing.  What I like best is giving her several options for an upgrade ... if one comes up she pounces on it and we are rebooked before we even knew there was availability.  She has been a cruise expert for years and is a natural networker, so she works with the cruise line's best people and has top management to rely on with a real problem.  I completely understand Markanddonna's stance, and I'd no doubt do the same if Carol weren't so 'perfect'.  The amusing thing is, when she wants to fly somewhere, she has me set it all up and she just goes in and books it herself ... so it's a mutually beneficial biz relationship. 

[ldubs]

IDK, I guess I would ask our TA to capture a $43 per person difference ($20, maybe not).   If they offered us an upgrade I wanted for $43 per person I wouldn't expect them to eat it.    

 

 

[screwsmcernst]

On 6/6/2022 at 10:55 PM, whataboutport said:

I just checked my cruise and for my category room has dropped in price, but only $43pp. How many times and how often, or how much of a difference do you contact your TA and ask for an adjustment? I understand this may be just an OBC which I'm fine with. I'm before final payment.

 We usually book cruises 1.5 yrs in advance.  Our last cruise, pre-pandemic, dropped the price 4 different times, and each time, I called our TA and she took care of it.  Ended up saving over $300 after all was said and done. As long as your cabin category is still available, keep checking.  😃