Decreased price of cruise - refund and loss of OBC?

[ktcruiser]

Hi all,

 

I have a question about a cruise I booked, which has decreased in price since the time I booked it. I've seen ppl on the boards get refunds for the difference in price. However, my TA has indicated that any refund for difference in price will come out of my OBC, so until now, I haven't bothered. (Exc I just learned Celebrity will probably refund my fuel surcharge in the form of OBC... so the total of both would probably be more OBC than we would spend!)

 

This does not seem fair to me, based on my limited understanding of how this works. It seems to me that the refund would come from the cruise line, not the TA themselves. However, I assume that the OBC comes out of the TA's commission... so if I request a refund for the difference, this particular TA would come out way ahead, by getting most or all of its commission back. (I would understand them decreasing the OBC PROPORTIONALLY to the decrease in price...)

 

Do I have my facts straight? Does this seem like a fair situation? :confused:

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

-Karyn

[EGG]

I think what happens is that if the price goes down before final payment, you should get it taken off your bill and you don't pay the extra at all. If you've already paid, you get money added to your OBC or maybe your credit card, I'm not sure what Celebrity does but lets assume it is added to OBC. (I hope this is what you meant when you said taken out of OBC). Maybe others will comment if his scenerio sounds correct.

 

OBC for fuel surcharges and price reductions comes from the cruise line not the travel agent. The only thing that may happen is that the travel agent is now selling a cheaper trip so the commission goes down.

 

On RCL, we received our excess OBC in cash on the last day of the cruise from guest relations.

 

Don't forget you can charge your tips from OBC. Another way to use OBC is not to sign up for excursions ahead of time, but to sign up as early as possible when you get on the ship. This way the excursions get charged to your OBC and not your credit card. Same goes for specialty dining.

 

This is something that should make you happy. Please respond on this board whether this is before or after final payment. By the end of today, you should have all your questions answered.

[CGinMTL]

If price reduction is after final payment, then yes it does come in the form of OBC ( which is still better then not getting it at all).

 

If before, then it reduces the amount of your final payment.

 

Finally, I believe that any unused OBC will be refunded to you at the end of the cruise. Before you go spending all your OBC ( in case it is spend it or lose it policy) ask the front desk as soon as possible, then you know where you stand

[firefly333]

Its very often a TA has a set amount, say $50 OBC if your cruise is over a certain amount. If you cruise is then cheaper you do lose the OBC. If you are booked in a group cruise, it is also common.

 

I know folks who had the tips prepaid and lost them when their price went down.

 

Its not that uncommon if the OBC came from the TA.

[firefly333]

Finally, I believe that any unused OBC will be refunded to you at the end of the cruise. Before you go spending all your OBC ( in case it is spend it or lose it policy) ask the front desk as soon as possible, then you know where you stand

 

Carnival, for instance, some OBC is use it or lose it, some is refundable.

 

Pretty much all OBC from TAs as a booking incentive, that I know of, is nonrefundable.

[Sheffie]

If the OBC is an incentive that the TA gave you to book, then they can take it away. The TA's OBC comes out of their pocket from their commission. If it is from the cruise line for you booking while onboard a different cruise, then it shouldn't be taken away.

 

You will have to decide which is best for your pocketbook.

[fideauxdon]

I've had several reductions take place in the last month or so for future cruises that I've booked, and not made my final payments yet. I've dealt with two agents; one of the agents holds two HAL bookings for me. The OBCs on these cruises were very small (about $50). The other agent holds two Celebrity bookings for me, and the OBCs were significant ($450 range). When the HAL reductions took place, the agent gave me a new, lower price and did not decrease the OBC. The Celebrity agent gave me the new, lower price, and lowered the OBC proportionally. I'm really not sure what the policies are, and if they're even documented, but if I receive a $1000 discount, I'm not really unhappy if my agent lowers the OBC by $100. The only aspect of price reductions that I'm unhappy with is that nearly all agents claim that they'll monitor your bookings for price reductions, and I've yet to have an agent notify me when a price reduction occurred.

[greatam]

Celebrity cruises (and RCCL ) CANNOT be discounted per corporate policy. So TA's have a variety of gimmicks to get the bookings and reduce the price-OBC, TV's, port excursions, insurance, etc. etc.

 

Other cruise lines allow discounts by TA's on the cruise itself, although some of the discounts come out of the TA's commission.

 

Example: X cruise-$3000.00 total

Assume a commission of 12%-$360.00 TA gives you $250.00 OBC and makes $110.00 commission

 

X cruise price drops to $2000.00 total

Commission is now only $240.00. So how does the TA give you $250.00 OBC???

 

You will have to figure out which scenario-reduced cruise price or reduced OBC-works best for you. With Celebrity and RCCL, you most likely will not be able to have both. It SHOULD all come out in the wash the same.

[ktcruiser]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for your feedback on this situation. To clarify, this cruise leaves in 6 days, so I have most definitely made my final payment. :)

 

So it sounds like ppl are saying that, at this point, if I'm gonna get anything back for a reduced cruise price, it's likely going to be OBC that I may not know about until I get on board ship? ( This is Celebrity.) I did see on my TA's website that the price seemed a little lower... but there may be no guarantee I get anything... I've never gotten any kind of refund before from any cruise line so kind of not sure how to make sure I do get what I might be due.

 

Would be nice to be refunded any unused OBC... we don't drink or generally buy tours through the cruiseline... I think the two of us will have close to $200 in OBC on this cruise, and tips are unlikely to use all that up.

 

Thanks again!

Karyn

[greatam]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for your feedback on this situation. To clarify, this cruise leaves in 6 days, so I have most definitely made my final payment. :)

 

So it sounds like ppl are saying that, at this point, if I'm gonna get anything back for a reduced cruise price, it's likely going to be OBC that I may not know about until I get on board ship? ( This is Celebrity.) I did see on my TA's website that the price seemed a little lower... but there may be no guarantee I get anything... I've never gotten any kind of refund before from any cruise line so kind of not sure how to make sure I do get what I might be due.

 

Would be nice to be refunded any unused OBC... we don't drink or generally buy tours through the cruiseline... I think the two of us will have close to $200 in OBC on this cruise, and tips are unlikely to use all that up.

 

Thanks again!

Karyn

 

If you are only 6 days from you cruise, you most likely are NOT eligible for any of the discounts you are seeing now. Those are close out, really cheapo prices to fill the ship and those discounts are usually for NEW BOOKINGS only. You can ask the TA, but at this late date, other than MAYBE the fuel surcharge, please don't count on anything. It would be a shame to loose the OBC at this late date. Enjoy your cruise!!!