Price Drop FCC More Than Once

[EvanBedar]

4 hours ago, peg013 said:

 

Good luck! I asked for reconsideration of our $1200 FCC each when the cruise went down an additional $4000 while I waited for their initial response. I got their response within minutes of emailing them. Their response was sorry - one adjustment per cruise after final payment.

Yep.   Same gentle rejection.   Speedy response though.  I don’t think it was more than an hour.  

[cruiseny4life]

Thanks for this thread @gmbhardy! We have an upcoming final payment date this month. The prices have dropped once, so we were obviously able to get a decrease in the cost since we haven't paid. Now, we're trying to judge whether we cancel the cruise and wait until later to book or just accept that we'll have to gamble on one FCC when the price drops. I am almost certain the price will drop even further after final payment date. At least now I know I can only receive one FCC. 

 

Just checked, the price rate drop that we benefited from has gone away. Price on a room in the same category just increased to the original drop. Maybe we will hold on to the reservation...maybe. I am a bit of a risk taker. 

[leithbones]

On 11/3/2022 at 8:05 PM, leithbones said:

D

Ditto.  Have been contemplating this exact topic.

Should I try anyway?  See what happens?  "Nope" is the worst I can get.

If they up my FCC or allow cabin upgrade on top of FCC, yay me.

So I tried.

Live GuestServ by phone; not my PCC.

(I will say that I was very happy with original FCC for price drop= $6oo ea for inside cabin).

 

There was an additional price drop subsequent to being issued FCC>>to the point where  Balcony BA/Club MA is less than my original Inside IF- minus FCC!

 

"Can I get my FCC amount increased?"  Nope (expected).

"Can I get cabin upgrade (in the neighborhood of my Bid amount) instead of FCC increase?"  Nope (kind of expected).

 

As posted upthread, WHEN to request the FCC for price drop is important.  If I had waited longer to inquire, I may have been awarded more.

 

[Cherries Jubilee]

Is the once per cruise rule only AFTER final payment? Can I adjust it several times before the final payment date?

[vacation44]

2 minutes ago, Cherries Jubilee said:

Is the once per cruise rule only AFTER final payment? Can I adjust it several times before the final payment date?

Yes.   You can reprice all you want before final payment due date.    We repriced our March 2023 Epic sailing eight times since we booked it in April 2022.   Final payment is this Saturday and I am hoping for one more .   Total saved is $3,416.29.

[Cherries Jubilee]

20 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Yes.   You can reprice all you want before final payment due date.    We repriced our March 2023 Epic sailing eight times since we booked it in April 2022.   Final payment is this Saturday and I am hoping for one more .   Total saved is $3,416.29.

Thank you! 

[Midflap]

What exactly can a price drop FCC get a person on their next cruise if it too is already fully paid?

[JennKach]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:58 PM, peg013 said:

 

Yes, you can apply it to an already booked cruise as long as it is within the year. The FCC actually reduces the price of the cruise vs being a credit on your statement. I used all of ours (4 including hubbys) on the same already booked cruise. I read now that if you accept an upgrade you forfeit the FCC but do not know if that is true or not.

I was told I was getting FCC, but I subsequently upgraded from OV to Balcony using mastercard points and they took away the FCC.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, JennKach said:

I was told I was getting FCC, but I subsequently upgraded from OV to Balcony using mastercard points and they took away the FCC.

Good to know, I might be in a similar situation with an upcoming cruise. They also tried to take away a 10% onboard booking discount once when I used points to upgrade but got that back when they couldn't find any rules against it.

[ravenjls]

Thank you for this thread.  I have never booked longer than a few months before cruise.  However I plan on booking a cruise for September 2024.  So, if I understand correctly, I can repeatedly call and ask for a repricing before finally payment.  Once finally payment occurs, I can ask for a one-time only FCC if the same room category is still available at a lower price.  Do I have it right?

 

Do you have to book directly with NCL to be able to do this or can a travel agency do this if you book thru one?

[RocketMan275]

18 minutes ago, ravenjls said:

Do you have to book directly with NCL to be able to do this or can a travel agency do this if you book thru one?

I have received several price drops through my TA.

We are now attempting to get FCC for a price drop after final payment.  Their first response was "Category Sold Out".

My response was "If that's true, why are you listing cabins in that category for sale on your website?"

Their response was "We will get back with you".

Should hear back on Monday.

[julig22]

32 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I have received several price drops through my TA.

We are now attempting to get FCC for a price drop after final payment.  Their first response was "Category Sold Out".

My response was "If that's true, why are you listing cabins in that category for sale on your website?"

Their response was "We will get back with you".

Should hear back on Monday.

Good luck with that.  It's been a month since I responded to their " there wasn't any price change " reply to my FCC request.

[RocketMan275]

On 11/19/2022 at 12:51 PM, RocketMan275 said:

I have received several price drops through my TA.

We are now attempting to get FCC for a price drop after final payment.  Their first response was "Category Sold Out".

My response was "If that's true, why are you listing cabins in that category for sale on your website?"

Their response was "We will get back with you".

Should hear back on Monday.

 

On 11/19/2022 at 1:25 PM, julig22 said:

Good luck with that.  It's been a month since I responded to their " there wasn't any price change " reply to my FCC request.

Just received email from my wonderful TA.  As you can see earlier, we did have some pushback from NCL.  However, my TA just forwarded an email from NCL: "In a review of current rates for your client's sailing xxxxxxx, we have identified a price drop in the amount of $xxxx."

 

and, "As a one-time goodwill gesture,  we have created 100% of that amount as future cruise credits for you below:..."

 

Notice the one time goodwill gesture.  Only took two working days.

[julig22]

27 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

 

Just received email from my wonderful TA.  As you can see earlier, we did have some pushback from NCL.  However, my TA just forwarded an email from NCL: "In a review of current rates for your client's sailing xxxxxxx, we have identified a price drop in the amount of $xxxx."

 

and, "As a one-time goodwill gesture,  we have created 100% of that amount as future cruise credits for you below:..."

 

Notice the one time goodwill gesture.  Only took two working days.

Congrats! I recently sent a "reminder" message since it's been over a month since I'd asked for a recount.  And my pcc said she was looking into it as well so hope they do something.  In the meantime, prices have dropped more, so a paid upgrade into a balcony isn't possible either.

Edited November 22, 2022 by julig22

[RocketMan275]

5 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Congrats! I recently sent a "reminder" message since it's been over a month since I'd asked for a recount.  And my pcc said she was looking into it as well so hope they do something.  In the meantime, prices have dropped more, so a paid upgrade into a balcony isn't possible either.

Wish you well.  How about a suite upgrade?

 

[pghflyer]

Hmm.....so what if you made "final payment" BUT before 120 days out (technically still cancelable without penalty)?  My big box TA required payment early as part of their process.

 

So can you combine this "price-adjust FCC" with CruiseNext certificates on your next booking?  

 

I would rather have OBC but honestly surprised they even do this at all.  But I guess the travel industry in general has moved towards MORE flexibility (ex. since the COVID pandemic, you can now get travel credit for cancelling most airline bookings and rebook to get a better price).

[gmbhardy]

On 11/19/2022 at 1:30 PM, ravenjls said:

Thank you for this thread.  I have never booked longer than a few months before cruise.  However I plan on booking a cruise for September 2024.  So, if I understand correctly, I can repeatedly call and ask for a repricing before finally payment.  Once finally payment occurs, I can ask for a one-time only FCC if the same room category is still available at a lower price.  Do I have it right?

 

Do you have to book directly with NCL to be able to do this or can a travel agency do this if you book thru one?

Yes, you have it right. Doesn’t matter your method of booking.

[julig22]

37 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

Hmm.....so what if you made "final payment" BUT before 120 days out (technically still cancelable without penalty)?  My big box TA required payment early as part of their process.

 

So can you combine this "price-adjust FCC" with CruiseNext certificates on your next booking?  

 

I would rather have OBC but honestly surprised they even do this at all.  But I guess the travel industry in general has moved towards MORE flexibility (ex. since the COVID pandemic, you can now get travel credit for cancelling most airline bookings and rebook to get a better price).

Yes, you can use FCC and CNs

FCC is much better for marketing/increasing income.  With FCC you have to book another cruise, thereby potentially spending more money. They only lose if you've already booked your one and only last cruise with NCL and it's within the use it or lose it FCC window.

[Turtles06]

57 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

I would rather have OBC but honestly surprised they even do this at all.  But I guess the travel industry in general has moved towards MORE flexibility

 

I agree in general with your statement, but I don't consider this particular change by NCL to be a move toward "more flexibility."   Having a one-year deadline on the FCC by which it not only has to be applied to a cruise but also that the cruise must sail by that date is pretty inflexible and will render the FCC useless to many folks.  Obviously, the intent is to generate a new booking within that window, and I understand the business reason for that.   

[pghflyer]

Wow didn't realize you have to BOOK and SAIL within 12-months (of the date you get the the FCC?)....yeah not ideal at all but similar to how Southwest Airlines did until the last few months.

[pghflyer]

For future posterity of people searching, I was able to get a REFUND of my cruise price difference for my full payment already made before the 120-day cancellation window, no problem at all.

[eileeshb]

On 11/19/2022 at 6:30 PM, ravenjls said:

Thank you for this thread.  I have never booked longer than a few months before cruise.  However I plan on booking a cruise for September 2024.  So, if I understand correctly, I can repeatedly call and ask for a repricing before finally payment.  Once finally payment occurs, I can ask for a one-time only FCC if the same room category is still available at a lower price.  Do I have it right?

 

Do you have to book directly with NCL to be able to do this or can a travel agency do this if you book thru one?

Just one gotcha with this approach, if the pricing promotions terms change from when you originally booked and when you re-price before final payment your “new” booking will have the the new t&cs.

for example when I booked my next cruise the Free at Sea promo still had 2 specialty dining credits and 250mins of free WiFi, if I was to ask for repricing now I’d lose 1 of the dining credits and 100mins of the WiFi as the free at sea terms have changed. I deliberately booked that cruise ages ago when the rumours of the Free at sea changes were mentioned here.

When you re-price before final payment you effectively cancel your original booking and move your existing payments to a new booking along with all changes to terms and conditions which could include a higher cost on free at sea and daily service charges.  So I’d strongly suggest checking exactly what is included in your existing reservation costs v’s a new reservation cost before making that phone call. 

[Busybeeva]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:26 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Peg, thanks for that info.  Happy to learn my memory wasn't faulty! 😂

 

That new 50% "sale" actually resulted in a price drop for our Gem PC cruise (the Feb. 6 leg), so I requested whatever it is they could give us.  We'll see.  (Not sure it will be enough to entice another booking in the time frame allotted.) 

Curious if they gave you the FCC on the price drop when the sale went for the usual 35% to 50%? Or did they say promo terms different so it does not apply? (I’m watching our Jan 27 2024 cruise which now has a price drop with the current 50% promo). 
 

thank you!

[cruiser2015]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:58 PM, peg013 said:

 

Yes, you can apply it to an already booked cruise as long as it is within the year. The FCC actually reduces the price of the cruise vs being a credit on your statement. I used all of ours (4 including hubbys) on the same already booked cruise. I read now that if you accept an upgrade you forfeit the FCC but do not know if that is true or not.

If you go for an upgrade, you have cancelled your original cabin booking.

Why would you expect a credit (discount, but against a future cruise) for something that, in the end, you did not purchase?

[TrumpyNor]

On 11/7/2022 at 12:00 AM, peg013 said:

 

Good luck! I asked for reconsideration of our $1200 FCC each when the cruise went down an additional $4000 while I waited for their initial response. I got their response within minutes of emailing them. Their response was sorry - one adjustment per cruise after final payment.

 

On 11/7/2022 at 1:44 AM, Turtles06 said:

 

Yikes!!   Definitely a crap shoot when to ask for an FCC after final payment.  😮

I received about $1700 FCC (2 persons) on a cruise we did had booked for the summer of 2023. When I applied for the pricedrop FCC (about 2 months before sailing date), my PCC actually asked me if I wanted to wait with the FCC application until I was closer to the sailing date, as I could apply for it as late as 16 days before sailing date. And stupid me replied to just go ahead and apply at that time instead of waiting. Turns out the cruise price dropped with another $1000 during the next month... So next time I will definitely wait until closer to the sailing date to apply for it.