HELP! Cruise price went DOWN. Can I get a refund?

[Gerbz]

Hi!

 

I just booked a cruise 5 days ago (Holland America) and today I checked the price and was HORRIFIED to see that the final price dropped by $1050!! That's a LOT of money!! :eek:

 

Does anyone know whether or not I can get a refund or some kind of compensation? I mean, I was literally forced to purchase the cruise at the time because HOLLAND AMERICA listed it as a "flash sale"....and I was told it's available for a limited time and I should act immediately! I was led to believe that it was the best deal! :mad:

 

AND now...it's gone EVEN cheaper...I mean..if the price goes down a couple weeks or a month later, I wouldn't be so upset, but FIVE days later....and $1050???? OUCH..... :(

 

Can anyone help me?? :confused:

 

Thanx in advance! :)

[sjmccmjs]

If you haven't paid in full yet, HAL should honor the new price. But if you've paid in full, you may be out of luck.

 

Good luck.

[hammybee]

When is your cruise?

 

I assume you purchased it from a travel agency.

 

Are you from N.A. or elsewhere?

[DebbieS732]

Since I booked my HAL cruise, the price has dropped twice. First time, I emailed them and asked for a price adjustment and got it. Second time, they said they couldn't do a price adjustment because my category was sold out (they are still doing guarantees, though). So I called them and got an upgrade to 2 categories higher for the same price.

 

I'm still 30 days from my final payment. I don't know if after that point they will do an upgrade but it doesn't hurt to ask, especially if the cruise is not full.

 

PS. I booked online directly - didn't use a TA.

[Gerbz]

When is your cruise?

 

I assume you purchased it from a travel agency.

 

Are you from N.A. or elsewhere?

 

Yes, I booked through a travel agent!

I'm in North America....Canada, actually! :)

[Gerbz]

Since I booked my HAL cruise, the price has dropped twice. First time, I emailed them and asked for a price adjustment and got it. Second time, they said they couldn't do a price adjustment because my category was sold out (they are still doing guarantees, though). So I called them and got an upgrade to 2 categories higher for the same price.

 

I'm still 30 days from my final payment. I don't know if after that point they will do an upgrade but it doesn't hurt to ask, especially if the cruise is not full.

 

PS. I booked online directly - didn't use a TA.

 

I've heard of people getting adjustments if they haven't made payment in full. Unfortunately, I paid in full so I have no idea what the process is. I'm off to see my travel agent. I hope he can do something for me!

[HALFans]

Even if you've paid in full, if the sailing is quite a ways out you still may have a lot of options.

 

How soon is the sailing, or did I just miss that from an earlier post?

[jhannah]

After final payment, sales will be advertised to help fill up the ship. Virtually all of these are noted "for new bookings only." Whatever your circumstance, I wish you luck in getting an adjustment.

[Kween Karen]

I have a cruise scheduled and I had paid in full. When the price dropped significantly I wrote to my TA and asked........with NO problem I was refunded over $3000. The cruise was still 8 months away at the time so that MAY have made a difference. I was very surprised to receive the refund so easily.....but then I also had plenty of time to cancel and rebook and they knew that.

[HALFans]

...The cruise was still 8 months away at the time so that MAY have made a difference. I was very surprised to receive the refund so easily.....but then I also had plenty of time to cancel and rebook and they knew that.

 

You're right. That made all the difference in the world!

 

In real estate, it's location, location, location. In the cruise world, perhaps the key word is 'timing'? ;)

[cmdchiefthom]

It's been my experience that as long as you're outside of the 75 day window, you can request the lower rate, and have the option to cancel and rebook, withour penalty. Inside that window, there's not much you can do, except beg.;)

[Bill S]

I was checking the HAL website last night for our upcoming May Alaska cruise to see if the fares had changed. Final payment is due this weekend. Well, the fares had not changed, but they had dropped a couple of months ago and our TA made the adjustment then.

So, I checked the fares for a cruise we booked in December for a January 2010 cruise and WOW-the fare for our cabin category had dropped over $600 per person! This morning I called our TA and he verified with HAL the price reduction, and the bottom line is that we will save more than $1,200!:D

 

It sure can pay to watch the HAL website in these uncertain times. I shall continue to monitor the fares on that cruise, just in case.

[Gerbz]

Thanx for all your advice! Unfortunately, the cruise is only 7 weeks away. Anyhow, I'm still waiting to hear back from my TA to see what he can do. I'm really not expecting a refund but an onboard credit would be great! I really wouldn't mind doing some shore excursions! OR...I guess the next best thing is an upgrade!!

[KAKcruiser]

They might not adjust your price, but I would definitely try for an upgrade.

[kyriecat]

I have a cruise scheduled and I had paid in full. When the price dropped significantly I wrote to my TA and asked........with NO problem I was refunded over $3000. The cruise was still 8 months away at the time so that MAY have made a difference. I was very surprised to receive the refund so easily.....but then I also had plenty of time to cancel and rebook and they knew that.

I'm still new to HAL so please forgive my asking - what type of cruise requires full payment 8 MONTHS in advance? I assume it's a very special long cruise or else it's a requirement from your TA. My husband and I usually book at least a year in advance then put money in a vacation account so we have it available (and earning some interest ;)) when final payment time comes. I don't think we could cover a final payment due that far before cruise date but we usually only book cruises less than 14 days so it hasn't been a problem (yet). Someday I want to take a longer cruise but I'll probably have to wait until I retire, so only 25 years to go!

[pms4104]

I was checking the HAL website last night for our upcoming May Alaska cruise to see if the fares had changed. Final payment is due this weekend. Well, the fares had not changed, but they had dropped a couple of months ago and our TA made the adjustment then.

 

So, I checked the fares for a cruise we booked in December for a January 2010 cruise and WOW-the fare for our cabin category had dropped over $600 per person! This morning I called our TA and he verified with HAL the price reduction, and the bottom line is that we will save more than $1,200!:D

 

It sure can pay to watch the HAL website in these uncertain times. I shall continue to monitor the fares on that cruise, just in case.

We booked only 2 weeks ago for coming December ... 1 week later, the price dropped $500/person. Contacted our T/A and requested and received the reduced pricing. Also, she then tossed in a $50/person OBC, courtesy of her agency.

[hammybee]

 

I'm still new to HAL so please forgive my asking - what type of cruise requires full payment 8 MONTHS in advance? I assume it's a very special long cruise or else it's a requirement from your TA.

 

There are plenty of people who prefer to pay in full at the time of booking, for whatever reason. Maybe it's easier to be done with it.

 

That one pays in full before final payment date does not change that the entire amount is refundable for N.A. passengers, should they choose to cancel on or before final payment date.

 

There is also a magical period immeditely following final payment date where it may make sense to cancel, with penalty and rebook at a lower rate. Of course when and if this is done, they may lose their specific cabin, dining preferences, if any and onboard excursions they reserved.

[geoherb]

I usually don't bother looking at prices after the final payment date. Most of the specials have the "new bookings only" phrase included. Of course the cruise lines all have to make money. If the price seems OK to you at the time of booking, don't complain after final payment that someone is getting it for less. That person is not getting the cabin choice that you had, the dining preference, ability to book excursions when they're available on the website, etc.

 

In the OP's situation, it just means that price of the flash special you jumped at wasn't good enough to fill the ship and HAL had to lower it to get more people.

 

When I was watching prices of several Christmas cruises last fall, most of the time price drops were not very dramatic--$100 per person at a time. I never saw any for $575.

[TravelinGrandma]

Actually, I have had 2 price reductions since booking our Fall 2009 cruise. The first one was $200 per person. No problem getting that reduction. This past week there was another $200 per person reduction, but our TA had to talk to 3 HAL agents before understanding why they weren't willing to give us the reduction and also let us keep our cabin - it seems that the Eurodam inserted another cabin category that would make our previous 2-upgrade promotion (thru TA) a three-upgrade. We settled for keeping our room and the TA also got us a $150 per person reduction! Add all that to the fuel charge reduction, and we are happy campers, er, cruisers!