Is refaring/rebooking unique to Princess?

[1965]

So many things I like about Princess. One of my faves is being able to refare or rebook if my fare drops. A friend asked me if other lines do this. Got me thinking. Does any other line allow you to do this? 

Edited January 25, 2023 by 1965

[rebeccac]

It does vary somewhat from line to line, but in general as long as you are prior to final payment most cruise lines will allow a refare or rebook.  

[Lady Arwen]

I’ve refared both HAL and Celebrity in the last six months with no problem at all.  Always before final payment for me.

[AZjohn]

We were always able to adjust the price on every line we sailed if the price went lower than what we booked for a specific cabin. There were even cases that happened after final payment and got the difference as OBC.

 

Always a clever idea to keep an eye on prices 🙂 

[minnesotasisu]

We have even refared AFTER final payment with Princess even though they didn’t have to. 

[Fa-Li]

I've been able to reprice for Royal Caribbean far more often than for Princess.  Seems like more price fluctuation for those suites?

[Essiesmom]

Just don’t try it on MSC.  Trying to adjust your booking in any way is like taking an eggbeater to it.  EM

[Ken the cruiser]

We've usually had no issues refaring a booking with Princess, Celebrity, HAL, or NCL as long as it's before final payment and the cruise was booked with a refundable deposit. However, we did run into a wall with HAL a while back when we tried to refare a booking with a nonrefundable fare.

[cdngrl]

I booked with a $1 deposit. I refared once then there was another price drop. I called to refare again (re-refare?) and was told they can’t do it because I refared once already. Wait, what?  Okay, then, cancel it please. And I rebooked at the cheaper fare. I miss when cruise ‘navigators’ knew at least a little bit.

[malba2366]

Most lines allow it if you are in the fully refundable period...makes sense because otherwise you could just cancel and rebook which creates more of a hassle for them.  RCL and Celebrity have recently started charging more for refundable deposit fares so others could follow.

[LadyL1]

Absolutely not possible in UK. The USA has far better T&C’s (ad prices) than across the pond for most lines.

[PurpleTraveller]

I'm in Australia and have not been able to refare my Princess cruises when there is a price drop but have to cancel my existing booking and lose any existing perks and reservations (ie. for excursions or speciality dining) and then rebook to get the lower fare and have to redo all reservations again. Celebrity allows me to refare without having to change my booking and lets me keep all existing perks. Celebrity will also refare after final payment but instead of getting a refund you receive OBC. In Australia, Celebrity is much easier to get a lower fare than Princess.

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[trinitygirl]

I’m also in Australia.  I have had no problems refaring and have done it many times.  For the med cruise I am going on in August, I have now refared four times, saving about $4000!    Having said that, last week I did run into a situation where I had to cancel and rebook a TA cruise, and am now having to rebook all the excursions, wifi, gratuities and spa bookings.  It was because the current promo, Three For Free! only applies to bookings made after Dec 8th 2022, where my original booking was June 2022.  In the end, the price difference was over $500 even with the foreign exchange rate changes and the increased cost of wifi and gratuities (which are not included in Australian bookings for non-Australian cruises) so I decided it was worth the hassle.   I have also refared celebrity cruises where I have a non-refundable deposit, but have not been able to change cabin categories to take advantage of lower rates (eg I wanted to change from Concierge to a deluxe balcony but that was a no-go).  

[Reina del Mar]

On 1/26/2023 at 4:16 AM, LadyL1 said:

Absolutely not possible in UK. The USA has far better T&C’s (ad prices) than across the pond for most lines.

We are allowed one change in UK but at an admin cost of £100 per booking..so make sure it’s worth it.

 

I agree T&Cs should be the same wherever you book.

[satxdiver]

Don't try this on Carnival  They charge a fee to cancel after booking.  If you want a re-fare you have to submit a form for them to make a decision ...usually no.  Depends on the booking where some "allow" re-fare allegedly.   One of the many reasons to stay off the "fun" ship!

[malba2366]

48 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

Don't try this on Carnival  They charge a fee to cancel after booking.  If you want a re-fare you have to submit a form for them to make a decision ...usually no.  Depends on the booking where some "allow" re-fare allegedly.   One of the many reasons to stay off the "fun" ship!

I think this is going to become standard industry-wide...the deposits will become non-refundable to get the best fares.

[DHP1]

47 minutes ago, malba2366 said:

I think this is going to become standard industry-wide...the deposits will become non-refundable to get the best fares.

I hope not. For the past 15 years almost every cruise we booked, we refare at least once or twice. In some cases, we saved anywhere between a $1,000 to $2,000. 

[trinitygirl]

Hey, this post inspired me to check in on my Celebrity bookings again last night.  I re-fared back in mid December and honestly thought that was as good as it was going to get - which was, I thought, pretty good value.  Anyway, last night I discovered a lunar new year sale that was ending in 35 hours - both of my cruises had dropped in price and I just got off the phone after the lovely assistant re-fared both cruises and saved me a whopping $800 AUD.  It took all of three minutes.  AMAZING.  It definitely pays to keep checking.