Refare Policy Change?

[olsonfive]

Just curious if Princess has recently changed their policy regarding re-faring current bookings?  We are booked for July 31st British Isles and website shows over $1k lower now.  I reached out to TA and Princess says that lower price is valid only for new bookings (even though no mention of that on website).  In the past we have had no issues in doing so - and if that has changed there seems to be no reason to book early.  We don’t want to deal with re-booking as have already paid for some excursions that are now sold out.  Would appreciate any advice (and apologies if covered in other threads - didn’t see on search).  Thanks.

[Shelly97060]

6 minutes ago, olsonfive said:

Just curious if Princess has recently changed their policy regarding re-faring current bookings?  We are booked for July 31st British Isles and website shows over $1k lower now.  I reached out to TA and Princess says that lower price is valid only for new bookings (even though no mention of that on website).  In the past we have had no issues in doing so - and if that has changed there seems to be no reason to book early.  We don’t want to deal with re-booking as have already paid for some excursions that are now sold out.  Would appreciate any advice (and apologies if covered in other threads - didn’t see on search).  Thanks.

There is no blanket policy change. Some fares offered are for new bookings only some are not. 

[no1racefan1]

That doesn't make any sense, as one could easily just cancel their current booking and rebook at the lower rate (as long as it's before final payment). I know you don't want to do that. I would probably try again with a different person.

[cruisingrob21]

14 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

That doesn't make any sense, as one could easily just cancel their current booking and rebook at the lower rate (as long as it's before final payment). I know you don't want to do that. I would probably try again with a different person.

See the post above yours - some are listed as New Bookings Only and the system will not allow travel agents or princess reservation agents to override that.

 

Booking early means you get your pick and choice of many things

Booking late means you don't, but you may pay less.

[PacnGoNow]

32 minutes ago, olsonfive said:

Just curious if Princess has recently changed their policy regarding re-faring current bookings?  We are booked for July 31st British Isles and website shows over $1k lower now.  I reached out to TA and Princess says that lower price is valid only for new bookings (even though no mention of that on website).  In the past we have had no issues in doing so - and if that has changed there seems to be no reason to book early.  We don’t want to deal with re-booking as have already paid for some excursions that are now sold out.  Would appreciate any advice (and apologies if covered in other threads - didn’t see on search).  Thanks.

It seems most of the sale fares, say new bookings only these days.  So, the TA would need to rebook, you would lose any perks with that one and get the perks of the new fare.  Yes, you would have to rebook everything you booked originally , like excursions, onboard services, EZAir reservations, Stock OBC, your deposit, etc.  So, weigh the differences and see which is better for you.

You’ll get your refunds on these items and have to request them again.

 

Make sure your deposit is refundable.  Sometimes, they are not.

 

 

 

[voljeep]

40 minutes ago, olsonfive said:

Just curious if Princess has recently changed their policy regarding re-faring current bookings?  We are booked for July 31st British Isles and website shows over $1k lower now.  I reached out to TA and Princess says that lower price is valid only for new bookings (even though no mention of that on website).  In the past we have had no issues in doing so - and if that has changed there seems to be no reason to book early.  We don’t want to deal with re-booking as have already paid for some excursions that are now sold out.  Would appreciate any advice (and apologies if covered in other threads - didn’t see on search).  Thanks.

more work and less commission for your TA ...

 

j/s

[Guest ldtr]

2 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

It seems most of the sale fares, say new bookings only these days.  So, the TA would need to rebook, you would lose any perks with that one and get the perks of the new fare.  Yes, you would have to rebook everything you booked originally , like excursions, onboard services, EZAir reservations, Stock OBC, your deposit, etc.  So, weigh the differences and see which is better for you.

You’ll get your refunds on these items and have to request them again.

 

Make sure your deposit is refundable.  Sometimes, they are not.

 

 

 

That has been practice with refares for quite a while. Before final payment you can refare, but any perks you had when you originally booked from Princess would not longer apply, and only the perks currently being offered with the new fare would. Basically the same as canceling and rebooting except you keep the same booking number  Any perks from your TA would be up to the TA.

[Lady Arwen]

Exactly what happened to us two weeks ago.  Our British Isles cruise in September went down $1693 (ca) for our mini suite.  Called our CVP and she said she could not do a refare, but only a new booking and cancelling the original.  We had booked and paid for our excursions, too,  but worth starting over to save that amount of money.  Luckily, our Princess Plus and OBC stayed the same.  Our deposit was refunded to us and we gave a new deposit to secure the booking.  We did get a new booking number.

 

I had a conversation with our CVP and she said that most of the time now, refares will be turned into new bookings.  Gone are the days when you could count on getting a lower fare applied to your existing reservation.  It can happen, but only on designated sailings.  She said she really doesn’t know why Princess can’t do this anymore, since other lines do it routinely.  She said there is no possible way to even simply change the fare, as there is a process in place that will not allow them to do so.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Lady Arwen

[Tedferg]

Yes, new bookings only. I asked my TA to refare when I saw promo with more OBC. I got the OBC but fare was higher than Princess showed. I pointed this out to TA and she got the new fare but said she had to rebook. No excursions involved. Final payment is due and I noticed a lower price, when I called TA to check this out she said, 'Hmm there are about twenty sales items' She found the one I saw quoted and I got the new price. Not sure if she cancelled and rebooked.

[fpsphil]

Had to do this for our New England cruise in Oct. Fare had gone down substantially but a refare not as large. Did a completely different booking and got the difference. Only weird piece was had to do another FCD while onboard to do it since they couldn't just transfer it like my CVP would do.

[13cheermom]

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

 

I had a conversation with our CVP and she said that most of the time now, refares will be turned into new bookings.  Gone are the days when you could count on getting a lower fare applied to your existing reservation.  It can happen, but only on designated sailings.  She said she really doesn’t know why Princess can’t do this anymore, since other lines do it routinely.  She said there is no possible way to even simply change the fare, as there is a process in place that will not allow them to do so.

 

 

So have to disagree with this, as I just re-fared my booking for next year for a $410 reduction as well as a $100 more OBC change to my booking.  I asked the first rep. I talked to if it could be done without interfering with my EZ-Air and FCD, and was told yes.  He then transferred me to a specialist who actually confirmed that it could be done, and he said it would be easy peavy.  He did it within minutes and it was confirmed online as well as through email that the fare had been changed and nothing else.  I don't use CVP or TA, and just call into the main #, and will continue to do this because I never have issues.  I would suggest just trying the main # and see what happens.

[Lady Arwen]

2 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

So have to disagree with this, as I just re-fared my booking for next year for a $410 reduction as well as a $100 more OBC change to my booking.  I asked the first rep. I talked to if it could be done without interfering with my EZ-Air and FCD, and was told yes.  He then transferred me to a specialist who actually confirmed that it could be done, and he said it would be easy peavy.  He did it within minutes and it was confirmed online as well as through email that the fare had been changed and nothing else.  I don't use CVP or TA, and just call into the main #, and will continue to do this because I never have issues.  I would suggest just trying the main # and see what happens.

As I mentioned, my CVP said it is possible on some sailings, depending on the date of sailing, the itinerary and ship.  You are one of the lucky ones.  For me, it’s really not a big deal to just rebook a few excursions.  I don’t book air with Princess.  I refuse to sit on hold to get through to a regular reservation agent.  I call my CVP and either talk to her or leave a voice message.  She takes care of everything for me and I like that.

[Coral]

On my recent cruise booking (sailing in May) - I had to cancel my booking and re-book at final payment. I did not have air tied to it. A friend who did have air tied to it decided against it as air had gone up quite a bit.

 

This TA had previously re-fared previous cruises many times (she sells a ton of Princess). On this, to get the better rate, we had to cancel. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Coral

[Ombud]

3 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

That doesn't make any sense, as one could easily just cancel their current booking and rebook at the lower rate (as long as it's before final payment). I know you don't want to do that. I would probably try again with a different person.

That's what I do!! My CVP maneuvers somehow because she gets me same room, lifts & shifts flights to keep same price, moves over excursions  ..... but I have to resubmit for shareholder benefit 

 

 @olsens5 stated: 'there seems to be no reason to book early' 

I want particular rooms so I have every reason to book as soon as I'm sure ... until then I just save it. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Ombud

[no1racefan1]

It still doesn't make sense, it's no benefit to Princess...but I guess if they want to make everybody do twice the work, fine. I've only been on a handful of cruises (different lines) but every time I've been able to re-fare. Yes, understandably, if you re-fare, you have to accept whatever the new terms are regarding OBC, promos, etc. I've just never had to completely cancel and rebook a new cruise and new shore excursions. Hopefully I won't have to do this with the cruise I have booked for next year! (wishful thinking the price will come down)

 

[malba2366]

29 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

It still doesn't make sense, it's no benefit to Princess...but I guess if they want to make everybody do twice the work, fine. I've only been on a handful of cruises (different lines) but every time I've been able to re-fare. Yes, understandably, if you re-fare, you have to accept whatever the new terms are regarding OBC, promos, etc. I've just never had to completely cancel and rebook a new cruise and new shore excursions. Hopefully I won't have to do this with the cruise I have booked for next year! (wishful thinking the price will come down)

 

 

It is a benefit to them, because they want to prevent people from re-faring the cruise...they want to stop the game of people booking a cruise 2 years out and then constantly checking the price and getting multiple price adjustments.   If you have to cancel which entails losing your booked excursions and price locked airfare then it will not make sense for a lot of people to do that.  Other cruise lines have started charging more for refundable deposits, and I assume that is the direction the entire industry will eventually go.

[olsonfive]

Thanks to all for the responses and sharing your experiences.  Does seem to be changing dynamics and a lot of factors to consider (like in our case not wanting to miss out on sold out excursion if we rebook).  The days of more consistent re-faring were certainly easier.

[wowzz]

I hope you all know how envious you make us Brits feel, with your ability to refare, seemingly at will !

[trinitygirl]

Just a word of warning ...  I ran into this in early January - a TA cruise dropped by a considerable amount but only for new bookings.  I had already pre-paid my excursions, wifi, gratuities, Enclave booking etc before the price rises.  After doing my maths, it was still very worthwhile to cancel my existing booking and book the new fare - not only the price drop, but the increased OBC and the free specialty dining.  So I did and now, six weeks later, I am still waiting for refunds.  They transferred over my deposit to the new booking no drama, and they refunded the gratuities and wifi almost immediately, but I am still waiting for them to refund Enclave and excursions - over $1000 seems to have got lost in the system somewhere. 

[Guest ldtr]

26 minutes ago, trinitygirl said:

Just a word of warning ...  I ran into this in early January - a TA cruise dropped by a considerable amount but only for new bookings.  I had already pre-paid my excursions, wifi, gratuities, Enclave booking etc before the price rises.  After doing my maths, it was still very worthwhile to cancel my existing booking and book the new fare - not only the price drop, but the increased OBC and the free specialty dining.  So I did and now, six weeks later, I am still waiting for refunds.  They transferred over my deposit to the new booking no drama, and they refunded the gratuities and wifi almost immediately, but I am still waiting for them to refund Enclave and excursions - over $1000 seems to have got lost in the system somewhere. 

Usually it has taken me about 2 weeks to get refunded for excursions and enclave when I cancel or rebook a cruise . That is booking directly with Princess, no TA.

[Ken the cruiser]

I find this thread interesting. I guess it depends on where you live and who you (or your TA) talks with to make it happen.  We have never had an issue with our TA being able to refare one of our bookings prior to the final payment date. In fact just last week we had our TA refare our M1 cabin on an Oct 2023 Canada/New England land-cruise on the Caribbean Princess for the second time in the past 3 weeks. The first refare saved us around $400 and then last week the second refare saved us another $800. On the initial refare we were also able to get our oringal Plus package upgraded to the existing $60 pp/day offerings, which was a nice plus from the $40 pp/day perks we got over a year ago when we initially booked the cruise.

 

We also did not lose any of our prebooked excursions or our Military, shareholder benefits, or FCD OBC on either of those refared.

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[wallyj]

Hi @Ken the cruiser, when I have been able to re-fare in the past, shareholders ALWAYS dropped off the booking, but in the past it was a simple call without resubmitting docs to get it re added. Now I am told, that department does not exist anymore. 
 

I was hoping a call or live chat would be a simple request to get shareholders added to a new cruise I booked a month after a current cruise which has it added already. Was told have to submit docs as that department that would do this in the past is no longer.

 

No problem as request was done within 2 days of emailing docs.

 

I did have an issue a couple months for my August 2023 Emerald Hawaii sailing. I saw the fare on Princess and in my TA booking engine drop. When I called my TA, they said they could not see the lower fare. Turns out, it was new bookings only for the lower fare, so I did have to cancel original booking. 

[brisalta]

9 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

As I mentioned, my CVP said it is possible on some sailings, depending on the date of sailing, the itinerary and ship.  You are one of the lucky ones.  For me, it’s really not a big deal to just rebook a few excursions.  I don’t book air with Princess.  I refuse to sit on hold to get through to a regular reservation agent.  I call my CVP and either talk to her or leave a voice message.  She takes care of everything for me and I like that.

 

My CVP re-fared me evening though the website said the new price was for new bookings only. He also kept my OBC even though the new fare did not come with OBC. This was before final payment was due.

Edited February 24, 2023 by brisalta

[Ken the cruiser]

39 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Hi @Ken the cruiser, when I have been able to re-fare in the past, shareholders ALWAYS dropped off the booking, but in the past it was a simple call without resubmitting docs to get it re added. Now I am told, that department does not exist anymore. 
 

I was hoping a call or live chat would be a simple request to get shareholders added to a new cruise I booked a month after a current cruise which has it added already. Was told have to submit docs as that department that would do this in the past is no longer.

 

No problem as request was done within 2 days of emailing docs.

 

I did have an issue a couple months for my August 2023 Emerald Hawaii sailing. I saw the fare on Princess and in my TA booking engine drop. When I called my TA, they said they could not see the lower fare. Turns out, it was new bookings only for the lower fare, so I did have to cancel original booking. 

We used to have that issue of our SHB OBC disappearing when our TA would refare a cruise prior to the pandemic as well. Then we got a new TA rep once we were able to start booking cruises again and (knock on wood) we haven’t run into that “disappearing” issue since. However, you’re right regarding the special phone number you could call is no longer on the form. 
 

As far not being able to refare a booking, I’ve heard of instances like you encountered with your Aug 2023 booking mentioned on CC. Luckily, it hasn’t happened to us yet. However, I have noticed when doing mock bookings there will periodically be a temporary 1-2 day price drop and then it goes back up. Because of this I now wait 2-3 days to make sure the drop is real before sending my refare request to our TA.

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

37 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

My CVP re-fared me evening though the website said the new price was for new bookings only. He also kept my OBC even though the new fare did not come with OBC. This was before final payment was due.

If I might ask what type of OBC was kept? I know our Military, SHB, FCD, and the $150 excursion OBC they now include with new bookings will remain. What other type of OBC is there, other than that possibly issued by your TA?