New RCCL Price Drop Policy

[Bakincakes]

Paying $50 would be much better than possibly being forced to upgrade or have some stupid amount of money in an OBC...a $50 change fee i can see them implementing..but even with that it will just create more work for their accounting dept. Atlantis has this stupid $50 change fee...but yet if you just plain out cancel in their 60 day cancellation time frame you get a full refund....so all you do is cancel and rebook...it's real stupid and even reservations agrees...but that's what they do....some companies just don't get it:rolleyes:

 

Go ahead and try to implement this new policy and watch how many bookings vanish:eek:

 

 

You made great points baja...I'm starting to wonder who the heck RCI is employing!!! Someone is making some pretty boneheaded decisions.

 

Let's hope this really isn't one of them.:eek:

[bajathree]

If they do implement this new policy for you over the pond...watch out for other changes...oh yea $50 per person if you change cabin thats another of our new rules/charges. :mad: Now Steve just imagine how much that one would cost you :eek: ;)

 

 

Liz...that would cost me more than the cruise fare itself:eek::eek::eek:

[Gonzo70]

I was booked in an oceanview and I checked and noticed that the price for my category had gone done. I e-mailed my TA to inquire about a refund and she called me to say that RCL is no longer going to give refunds but emphasize upgrades, OBC. etc.

 

Is your booking paid-in-full or only deposited? :confused:

[petesweet]

I agree that I am happy if this does become a new policy, but look at it this way at least you can still get the $$ back at some point. Try asking for a price drop on some other lines (NCL for instance) and you will get a flat out NO!

 

Have I missed something? Did someone say there would be cash back if OBC is not used? We can't count on that. There has been talk about "use it or lose it" in the past.

Also there has been talk in the past about not allowing OBC to be used for gratuities. In both of these cases, our experience has been they say no refund but refund anyway. Can we count on that?

Bottom line: Why not wait until tomorrow?:)

Kathy

[Ladylouwho]

When you call RCL and request a price drop, you're playing with their money.

 

Well that is only true if you have already made final payment. For those that find a price drop prior to final payment the price should be adjusted accordingly as any amounts not paid are certainly still the customers money. Even the deposit is still the customers money if they cancel and ask for it back prior to final payment.

 

But my guess is one of the next changes coming out of Royal Caribbean (after this one if true), will be not allowing you to get your full deposit money back at any time for any reason prior to final payment. They may give that out in future cruise credits or something or nothing at all.

 

They are in business to make money. And if they can make money by changing the rules and getting away with it, they will. They do not particularly care about any customer, just the customer who is putting money in their pocket right now. They certainly have shown us that side of their corporate face this past year. I believe the changes will continue to be rolled out on a regular basis.

 

For me, this is only one more reason to wait until the last minute to book a cruise on any line, unless of course there are special needs, or a holiday or group booking or something. If it is just me and DH certainly last minute when the price is low sounds better than putting your money out there a year in advance.

 

And as for anything Fain or Goldstein say, well, hmmmm.......they will say anything. They are not exactly men of honor. They are just businessmen who came from very priviledged backgrounds. It is all about squeezing the money out of each passenger. The ship will sail whether full or three quarters full. Same expense for oil/gas and payroll and just about everything else whether the ship is full or not. The more customers, the more folks they can squeeze money out of. If there are fewer customers on board they will just squeeze harder on the ones they have.

 

JMO,

Colleen

[CruisinCJ]

Oh, I completely agree!!!!!

[bajathree]

Well that is only true if you have already made final payment. For those that find a price drop prior to final payment the price should be adjusted accordingly as any amounts not paid are certainly still the customers money. Even the deposit is still the customers money if they cancel and ask for it back prior to final payment.

 

But my guess is one of the next changes coming out of Royal Caribbean (after this one if true), will be not allowing you to get your full deposit money back at any time for any reason prior to final payment. They may give that out in future cruise credits or something or nothing at all.

 

They are in business to make money. And if they can make money by changing the rules and getting away with it, they will. They do not particularly care about any customer, just the customer who is putting money in their pocket right now. They certainly have shown us that side of their corporate face this past year. I believe the changes will continue to be rolled out on a regular basis.

 

For me, this is only one more reason to wait until the last minute to book a cruise on any line, unless of course there are special needs, or a holiday or group booking or something. If it is just me and DH certainly last minute when the price is low sounds better than putting your money out there a year in advance.

 

And as for anything Fain or Goldstein say, well, hmmmm.......they will say anything. They are not exactly men of honor. They are just businessmen who came from very priviledged backgrounds. It is all about squeezing the money out of each passenger. The ship will sail whether full or three quarters full. Same expense for oil/gas and payroll and just about everything else whether the ship is full or not. The more customers, the more folks they can squeeze money out of. If there are fewer customers on board they will just squeeze harder on the ones they have.

 

JMO,

Colleen

I think we have already seen this customer shift change...just look at ships 6 months out...they are WAY less booked than before. There is no doubt that if this new policy takes effect most people will wait it out till the very end....hey it ain't like there is no other vacation options than sailing ya know;)If the ship things doesn't work out there are plenty land based options.

[ccletzgo]

I have always felt this was coming. No refunds for price drops after final payment. OBC or upgrades. Carnival has had this policy for a while. It works well for them..

 

 

RCCL wont have a problem getting TA's to go along because price drops make there commissions smaller. A TA still gets the commission for the OBC.

[bajathree]

I have always felt this was coming. No refunds for price drops after final payment. OBC or upgrades. Carnival has had this policy for a while. It works well for them..

 

and like i said....what if you are already booked in the highest category available or you have kids in a connecting cabin and there is no other option....you are forced to take OBC:confused:

[critterchick]

I have always felt this was coming. No refunds for price drops after final payment. OBC or upgrades. Carnival has had this policy for a while. It works well for them..

 

RCCL wont have a problem getting TA's to go along because price drops make there commissions smaller. A TA still gets the commission for the OBC.

 

TAs won't have a choice if they implement the policy, so I'm not sure what you mean by that...

[molly361]

I have always felt this was coming. No refunds for price drops after final payment. OBC or upgrades. Carnival has had this policy for a while. It works well for them..

 

 

RCCL wont have a problem getting TA's to go along because price drops make there commissions smaller. A TA still gets the commission for the OBC.

 

Unfortunely I have felt that this would be coming as well. Hope it is NOT true, though

[patseacruiser]

The customer service rep said it was supposed to be announced 9/1 (that's tomorrow). Could she not know what she was talking about??? YES. Can I hope she didn't know what she was talking about ??? YES

[John Henry on CC]

TAs won't have a choice if they implement the policy, so I'm not sure what you mean by that...

I am pretty sure that she is saying that giving a passenger OBC instead of refunding part of the cruisefare won't diminish the TA's commission the way that a refund would, so the TA's will cooperate and be happy with this new policy..............if there IS a new policy. :)

[ccletzgo]

Both JetBlue and Southwest will give you a credit into your account for a future flight within a year if the price goes down....I just got over $500 back this past summer from JetBlue on my Bahamas flights....it was as easy as just calling, no questions asked and the money went into your airline account.

 

 

"your airline account" is the key here. Its still Jetblues money. Same thing with OBC...Royal still gets it.

[Bakincakes]

If they insist on doing this they should let pax use the OBC for anything they choose, including gratuities and excursions.

 

There have some pretty substantial price drops which would translate into some pretty hefty OBC.

 

If they won't give you the cash and will limit what you can use it for that is akin to theft and penalizes those who wish to book certain cabins and book early to get them.:mad:

 

Not everyone who sails will be able to drink up their OBC at the bars or gamble it away in the casino.

[Ladylouwho]

I think we have already seen this customer shift change...just look at ships 6 months out...they are WAY less booked than before. There is no doubt that if this new policy takes effect most people will wait it out till the very end....hey it ain't like there is no other vacation options than sailing ya know;)If the ship things doesn't work out there are plenty land based options.

 

You got it!!!! lol!

 

 

Colleen

[crusinmama06]

PAT! I wish I could have heard your end of the conversation! I can just imagine how that sounded...something like "WHAT DO YOU BLEEPING MEAN I AM NOT GOING TO GET A PRICE DROP? ARE YOU BLEEPING KIDDING ME????" :D;););)

[bajathree]

"your airline account" is the key here. Its still Jetblues money. Same thing with OBC...Royal still gets it.

 

It's not the same as OBC .... OBC must be used during the cruise only....putting a refund into a future JetBlue account you have up to a year to use however you like.....it would be the same if RCCL put it towards a future cruise purchase within a year.

[TRadle]

Not everyone who sails will be able to drink up their OBC at the bars or gamble it away in the casino.

 

Don't forget the 3% they charge in the casino for using your seapass card for gambling money.

 

 

We ended up with a substantial price drop on our past cruise. If RCI does this they really should figure out just how much they want for each cabin and have a fixed price. This way nobody will have to worry about price fluctuations and can book their cabins in advance. No price adjustment would give me pause booking out over a year.

[livylotte]

My onboard spend is usually very low, I am already getting OBC which I anticipate will be more than enough to cover my bill. I would be happy to receive a price drop as OBC if I knew I would be able to have any unused credit refunded to my CC or perhaps be able to use it towards tips (I don't prepay) or excursions.

[Bakincakes]

It's not the same as OBC .... OBC must be used during the cruise only....putting a refund into a future JetBlue account you have up to a year to use however you like.....it would be the same if RCCL put it towards a future cruise purchase within a year.

 

Gee...don't give them any ideas!!!!!:eek:

[ccletzgo]

It's not the same as OBC .... OBC must be used during the cruise only....putting a refund into a future JetBlue account you have up to a year to use however you like.....it would be the same if RCCL put it towards a future cruise purchase within a year.

 

 

My point was that both Jet Blue and RCCL keep the money. Jet blue is not giving it back to you to put in your pocket! AND, getting cash back from an OBC is possible once on board the ship.

 

RCCL would NEVER give you the refund of a price drop for a furture cruise. People would go balistic on them.:eek: People do not cruise as often as they fly.

[liffeylady]

We've booked our first ever cruise , Navigator, Med, in October, through a travel agent - can somebody please explain price drops, can they apply to a cruise, now fully paid, and how do you know about it and claim a possible OBC - I'd love one!

[ccletzgo]

We've booked our first ever cruise , Navigator, Med, in October, through a travel agent - can somebody please explain price drops, can they apply to a cruise, now fully paid, and how do you know about it and claim a possible OBC - I'd love one!

 

check prices on-line. IF your price has gone down, call your agent and see what your options are..;)

[critterchick]

We've booked our first ever cruise , Navigator, Med, in October, through a travel agent - can somebody please explain price drops, can they apply to a cruise, now fully paid, and how do you know about it and claim a possible OBC - I'd love one!

 

Do a mock booking on the RCI website. Be sure to check the boxes for senior, military, fire/police if you're eligible, and put in your state of residence. Sometimes the price doesn't actually drop, but they will offer a discount to those individuals or residents of certain states.