Aren't we entitled to price drop even after

[LeopardGirl2]

final payment? I just spoke to someone on the online travel site who we booked with, and was told they would have to contact Princess directly in the morning to see if we could get that price difference. Is this correct?

[Sheffie]

I know that on RCI, we can get a refund, even after final payment. The travel agents "own" your booking, so they are the ones who have to contact the cruise line. I hope you have great news tomorrow!

[sailinglisa]

Princess is known for not giving price drops after final payment has been made.

[Ephraim]

Most lines will honour a price drop UNTIL final payment. You can sometimes ask for an upgrade on your room if your price drops, but that's about it.

[momofmeg]

Princess is known for not giving price drops after final payment has been made.

 

I know when HAL dropped prices on our Alaska cruise our TA was able to get us the price drop of $100 a person.

 

The tA has to contact the line and ask. If the TA doesn't bother, you don't get it. So if you don't get the dropped price, you know it is time to find another agent. All the TA has to do is contact the line and it is done.

[paul929207]

Most price drops before final payment date are for all bookings. Most price drops after final booking are only for new bookings. If your TA/cruise line wll not give you the lower price, you can cancel and rebook at the lower price, but that will cost you the penalty amount.

[jlp20]

final payment? I just spoke to someone on the online travel site who we booked with, and was told they would have to contact Princess directly in the morning to see if we could get that price difference. Is this correct?

 

 

By booking early, you benefited from the best selection when choosing your cabin. Those who wait risk a price hike (yes this does happen), less desirable cabin locations or don’t get to book because the ship is sold out. You are asking for the best of both worlds. Some cruise lines will honor price drops to pax already under the final payment date, some don’t. Princess has a history of holding its customer’s to the contract they agreed to. And using your word "entitled", since YOU made the contract, you are not "entitled" to anything outside of the cruise contract you agreed to.

 

By the way, since you dealt with a T/A, Princess will not deal with you at all, only the T/A. You will have o trust the T/A makes the first call much less any follow ups, with calls closer to departure.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

I keep reading about price drops, but my cruise price has never gone anywhere but up. If the cruise is waitlisted in every catagory what are the chances the price will go down? Slim to none:rolleyes: ??

 

Jan

[ChBoxers800]

I'd really like someone who has gotten a price reduction after final payment to post which cruise line. Not someone who has heard that such and such a line does it, someone who has actually had it happen. No extenuating circumstances, just a simple reduction in price after final payment is made.

 

Common sense tells us why price drops occur. The ship is close to sailing, it has empty cabins and they are going to drop the price to entice people to book and fill the ship. They don't make money on empty cabins. I would think that they'd almost give cabins away very close to sail dates as they will make money off those people while they are on board.

 

Those of us who book early get a wide choice of cabins to pick from, get to book our airfares early to get the best prices and get the assurance that we have a cabin on the cruise of our choice. And we pay for those advantages by booking early and not getting the absolute lowest price. We also have the guarantee that we are locked into that price should the prices go up closer to sailing if it is a popular cruise.

 

Giving price reductions after final payment just seems like poor business practice to me. Wouldn't everyone want that price reduction? So in reality, if they are selling cabins at a very low price to fill the ship, and everyone is entitled to the reduction, and demands it, the entire ship would be sailing at those extremely low rates which makes no sense whatsoever.

 

I want a price reduction as much as the next guy but I certainly understand why I won't get it after final payment.

[lvtotrvl1]

I'd really like someone who has gotten a price reduction after final payment to post which cruise line. Not someone who has heard that such and such a line does it, someone who has actually had it happen. No extenuating circumstances, just a simple reduction in price after final payment is made.

 

Common sense tells us why price drops occur. The ship is close to sailing, it has empty cabins and they are going to drop the price to entice people to book and fill the ship. They don't make money on empty cabins. I would think that they'd almost give cabins away very close to sail dates as they will make money off those people while they are on board.

 

Those of us who book early get a wide choice of cabins to pick from, get to book our airfares early to get the best prices and get the assurance that we have a cabin on the cruise of our choice. And we pay for those advantages by booking early and not getting the absolute lowest price. We also have the guarantee that we are locked into that price should the prices go up closer to sailing if it is a popular cruise.

 

Giving price reductions after final payment just seems like poor business practice to me. Wouldn't everyone want that price reduction? So in reality, if they are selling cabins at a very low price and everyone is entitled to, and demands the lower price, the entire ship would be sailing at those extremely low rates which makes no sense whatsoever.

 

I want a price reduction as much as the next guy but I certainly understand why I won't get it after final payment.

 

Royal Caribbean does give reductions after final payment (unless it is a promo for new bookings only). I do it for clients all the time. They are the easiest to work with , it can happen on the others, but takes alot of work and time, and sometimes they just won't budge.

[ChBoxers800]

Royal Caribbean does give reductions after final payment (unless it is a promo for new bookings only). I do it for clients all the time. They are the easiest to work with , it can happen on the others, but takes alot of work and time, and sometimes they just won't budge.

 

 

That is truly amazing. Can see why RCCL fans are so faithful. Will have to try them again.

 

Thanks for the info.

[lovinbuzz]

We got a credit of almost 300 bucks from a price drop on our last cruise.

I keep checking the price right up until we leave.

[wrp96]

My last cruise we received 2 price drops AND upgraded our cabin category after final payment. This was on Royal Caribbean.

 

Royal Caribbean is very good about giving price drops even after final payment, the only exceptions are rates that are for new bookings only which are typically their Tuesday sales specials. But sometimes they will even give you price drops which say for new bookings only.

[kitty9]

The key word here is "entitled". Noone is entitled to the price drop, but some cruise lines can do this, and many do, but Princess is known to be quite stingy with rebates. A lot of times they get away with this by saying the new prices are for new bookings only, and they also say they won't allow cancellations and rebookings.

[hajekfam]

Celebrity also gives reductions after final payment - provided that the lower price is not a "new booking only special" but a real price drop. We have gotten a price reduction after final payment on a couple of our cruises.

Some travel agents don't like to go after the price reduction as it lowers their commission - just as when there is a coupon discount some TA's will not give you the full coupon but discount it for their commission. If I had a TA like that, I would quickly change for my next cruise and/or travel plans.

[momofmeg]

I'd really like someone who has gotten a price reduction after final payment to post which cruise line. Not someone who has heard that such and such a line does it, someone who has actually had it happen. No extenuating circumstances, just a simple reduction in price after final payment is made.

 

Common sense tells us why price drops occur. The ship is close to sailing, it has empty cabins and they are going to drop the price to entice people to book and fill the ship. They don't make money on empty cabins. I would think that they'd almost give cabins away very close to sail dates as they will make money off those people while they are on board.

 

Those of us who book early get a wide choice of cabins to pick from, get to book our airfares early to get the best prices and get the assurance that we have a cabin on the cruise of our choice. And we pay for those advantages by booking early and not getting the absolute lowest price. We also have the guarantee that we are locked into that price should the prices go up closer to sailing if it is a popular cruise.

 

Giving price reductions after final payment just seems like poor business practice to me. Wouldn't everyone want that price reduction? So in reality, if they are selling cabins at a very low price to fill the ship, and everyone is entitled to the reduction, and demands it, the entire ship would be sailing at those extremely low rates which makes no sense whatsoever.

 

I want a price reduction as much as the next guy but I certainly understand why I won't get it after final payment.

 

HAL-and waht they did was gave us a $300 credit-so we did not get money back but when we bought stuff on ship-like drinks etc. We did notpay for the first $300.

 

Ofcourse our travel agent got us that. I hated when about a year after 9/11 she left the travel business. She said she just could no longer make it- I think her job was based on comission.

 

Anyway she was the best TA we ever had.

[ehfl]

If you book through the cruise line, then yes, you will usually get a refund. If you book through a TA, then you take your chances, and it's up to them.

[JenSinMA]

I just today got a refund from Royal Caribbean of $80pp for applying a senior rate. When I was cruise shopping a month ago, there were no special deals--senior rates or state residents rates or anything--showing up for my the sailing I wanted, but I booked it anyway. And I had to pay in full immediately because it was inside 60 days of sailing. I also booked one of the last 5 or so empty cabins on the whole ship. After reading these boards about price drops, I went looking for one and lo and behold, there were deals listed on RCI's website for my cruise and a few more cabins available. So obviously there are some cancellations as the sailing date approaches. I emailed my online TA about applying the senior rate, he said he'd have to call RCI and ask because there is often "fine print"...yadda yadda...so I didn't get my hopes up. After all, I had already paid in full at a price I thought was already pretty good and the ship was practically sold out. But he called me the next day with the good news! And it's an actual refund on my credit card, not obc, with which I would have been just as happy.

 

I agree with the poster who said this is really not a good business practice from the cruise line's point of view. They have no incentive to give me any money back on a paid-for, sold-out cruise, except to make me happy and encourage my loyalty. I'm guessing this is why they do it, and I'm also guessing it doesn't really cost them that much. I wouldn't have gotten anything back had I not asked, or had my TA not complied. I'll bet a lot of people just "book it & forget it" and don't even go looking for rebates.

 

Jen S.

[blindrid]

I don't necessarily think one should get a reduction after booking. It seemed like a fair price at time of booking or we would not have booked it. With all of the discounting (or in RCI's case, lack of discounting), that has to come into play as well.

 

We don't request reductions from hotels, airlines etc. Why do we from Cruise lines?

 

I'm OK with getting some relief before final payment, but after, to me the deal is consumated.

[LeopardGirl2]

Guess what?? Spoke to the TA today, and Princess is refunding us the price difference!! Glad I asked.

[spartygrad95]

I got onboard credit with Carnival for 80 dollars. Not a lot, but it will pay for dinner at the supper club for the two of us. This was AFTER final payment, AND while dealing with a TA. I noticed the price had dropped (only for 2 day too). I called the TA, not expecting anything. We had booked originally an inside room on the upper deck. Carnival, at first, offered to move us to the empress deck. I said I'd rather have the onboard credit, but, if that isnt feasible, I understand. Long story short, the TA called back 1/2 later with the good news. Do I feel I was entitled to it? NO. Am I glad I called just to check. Yup.

[cruiserbryce]

I keep reading about price drops, but my cruise price has never gone anywhere but up.

 

most of the time this is about all that happens...price drops are not the norm

[sea_u_onboard]

I have gotten many price drops on Carnival. I booked our Alaska cruise and about a month before sailing the price dropped. Got onboard credit. 2 weeks before sailing price dropped again. Ended up with just over $1200 in OBC (for 4 of us).

 

For my upcoming April cruise I have already gotten 2 price drops totaling $145 (for 3 of us). Almost pays for the tips. This was before final payment so they credited my balance. I was told to call back if the price drops again. We are only a few weeks out so I've been checking a couple times a day - but I don't expect to see anything as the price now is more then what I originally booked for. Some on the Carnival board say they were told that they are no longer going to honor price drops - but my CVS (Carnival Vacation Specialist) told me that most likely the individual PVP's (Personal Vacation Planners) just don't want to discount as it affects their commission. CVS's don't work on commission.

 

While I don't feel entitled I think it's great that they will give the discounted rate. There are other instances where businesses do this same thing. If you put something in layaway at lets say Wal-Mart and you notice the price drop you can go to customer service and request the reduction to be applied. Good customer service as far as I'm concerned.

[momofmeg]

Guess what?? Spoke to the TA today, and Princess is refunding us the price difference!! Glad I asked.

 

You have found a great TA. I would keep him/her.

[Cruising89143]

I'd really like someone who has gotten a price reduction after final payment to post which cruise line. Not someone who has heard that such and such a line does it, someone who has actually had it happen. No extenuating circumstances, just a simple reduction in price after final payment is made.

 

Common sense tells us why price drops occur. The ship is close to sailing, it has empty cabins and they are going to drop the price to entice people to book and fill the ship. They don't make money on empty cabins. I would think that they'd almost give cabins away very close to sail dates as they will make money off those people while they are on board.

 

Those of us who book early get a wide choice of cabins to pick from, get to book our airfares early to get the best prices and get the assurance that we have a cabin on the cruise of our choice. And we pay for those advantages by booking early and not getting the absolute lowest price. We also have the guarantee that we are locked into that price should the prices go up closer to sailing if it is a popular cruise.

 

Giving price reductions after final payment just seems like poor business practice to me. Wouldn't everyone want that price reduction? So in reality, if they are selling cabins at a very low price to fill the ship, and everyone is entitled to the reduction, and demands it, the entire ship would be sailing at those extremely low rates which makes no sense whatsoever.

 

I want a price reduction as much as the next guy but I certainly understand why I won't get it after final payment.

 

I have had a price drop three times with Royal Caribbean. The last was just this past November on the Navigator of the Seas. Our Junior Suite price dropped a total of $720.00 for price of the cabin less than two weeks from sail date. I called RCI and they gave me the price drop without hesitation. The credit was issued before we sailed. RCI has always been good for this.