What to do about price drops

[sonomaphil]

I posted this on the "Ask a cruise question" board and it was recommended that I post it here.

 

I booked my December Princess cruise through one of the major agencies. I know you can‘t talk about individual agents but let's just say you probable have their card in your wallet. Don’t leave home without it. The price I booked at the time was the same as on the Princess web site. The price is still the same at both sites. I’m new to all this and am learning that this is usually the expensive way to go. I was messing around the internet and checking things out. I requested a few quotes from other agents online. Most came back with a minimal discount at best. But one agency came back with one that made me think. My current booking is for a BE balcony, guarantee. The other agent came back with a BA balcony, $50 in shipboard credit and their price was $236 LESS than my original booking and $600 less then a BA at the Princess web site.

 

So what are my options? Can I contact my original agent and see if they can match? Can I cancel the first booking and go with the second? Is any of this possible? Final payment isn’t due until the end of September.

[Toto2Kansas]

You can try contacting the original agency you booked with and see if they will lower the price for you, some will, some won't. There are agencies out there that discount their commision and pass some of the savings along to their customers.

Now, it is easy to either cancel and rebook or to switch your booking over to a new TA................but there are some drawbacks to this. It is possibly that the original agency may charge a cancellation fee, many of the larger companies do that now, which will almost eat up the extra savings. If they don't, then contact the agency with the price you liked, make sure everything is included in that as some don't quote you the price with port charges and government fees and you don't find out until it is too late.

 

A simple fax to Princess after you contact the new agent should transfer your booking over with the new price.

 

As I said though, be careful as some agencies will cancel the booking and you will loose the original cabin before the other agent picks up the booking. I have read here on CC that has happened to some in the past.

 

Best of Luck.

[calliecat]

sonomaphil,

I did this two years ago. I had booked with a local travel agency (you might get your triptix from them or get your car pulled out of the ditch in the winter:rolleyes: ) and I didn the same as you did, looking at different agencies after I had booked.

What you do is contact the agency and tell them you want to TRANSFER your booking and let them know all the info..... they will take care of the rest.

They contact your orginial booking agency and go from there. It should not be a problem if you haven't given final payment.

 

It ended up being personal with the TA on my end when I transferred my booking. She called me at home at 9pm and threatened to cancel my trip (along with a multitude of other threats). She had booked my cruise. Period. We had done nothing else. I do my own tranfers, side excursions, air, etc. We were 4 months from the cruise and I found a TA online that was $1500 less! This TA (whom I've booked two other cruises with warned me NOT TO CALL HER because she could potentially cancel my cruise, which I didn't want because I wanted a particular room and this cruise was filling up. Now it might not have been the proper thing to do, not letting the local TA know in advance but on the other hand, I'm not in the habit of giving money away.

 

This local TA also told me, among other things, that the online TA was not legitamate and that she hoped I had problems! I should have reported her, but I've chosen to just go on line and get my triptix sent to me rather than visiting the local agency now because I know that she is sitting at her desk with something to hurt me should I ever walk in again.

 

You should have no problems doing this.:D

[Pam in CA]

When comparing quotes and pricing, make sure you're comparing apples with apples and that all port charges, taxes, etc. are included and check to see if one quote includes insurance and another doesn't. Some online agencies will quote you only the basic cruise fare and then tack on the port charges, taxes, etc.

[sonomaphil]

When comparing quotes and pricing, make sure you're comparing apples with apples and that all port charges, taxes, etc. are included and check to see if one quote includes insurance and another doesn't. Some online agencies will quote you only the basic cruise fare and then tack on the port charges, taxes, etc.

 

Looks like I'm safe on the port charges being included in the new quote. From their quote:

 

"The prices given are current all rates include Port Charges, Government Taxes and Fees, but are subject to change on a daily basis, so please contact us promptly to secure these quoted discount prices."

 

"There is NEVER an Agency Fee to Cancel, or Mailing Document Fee's. Invoices are sent out promptly."

 

No insurance is in the first quote. It's very basic. How does one go about transfering abooking?

[MoonPet]

sonomaphil: If you are dealing with the Platinum/Centurion division of the TA you have mentioned, they offer amenities that sometimes make up for the slight difference in rates from TA to TA. However, if the price of your cruise drops before you make the final payment, they will reprice your itinerary.

 

Hope that helps and doesn't violate any terms of the cruisecritic board!