Price drop--or not?

Yesterday, the prices for our November cruise on O's website had dropped from when we booked in December. I called O, and the rep told me that she couldn't find the drop on their internal system, but that I was the 2nd call she had fielded about it. She was going to send a request for fare reduction to upper management, which she made sound like SOP.

Later, the O website was down for a time; when it came back up, the original prices were listed.

Do you think O will honor that brief price drop? Should they?

Yesterday, the prices for our November cruise on O's website had dropped from when we booked in December. I called O, and the rep told me that she couldn't find the drop on their internal system, but that I was the 2nd call she had fielded about it. She was going to send a request for fare reduction to upper management, which she made sound like SOP.

 

Later, the O website was down for a time; when it came back up, the original prices were listed.

 

Do you think O will honor that brief price drop? Should they?

My understanding (strictly from reading Posts here on Cruise Critic) is that those so called price drops were more or less restatements of the existing fares because significant benefits which had been included in the original prices (Gratuities, Internet, even Airfare), had been excised from those "new Fares".

Again, this is all second hand information, but I am led to believe that the one or two people who were quick enough to book during that brief window when the Prices had changed, have since opted to revert to the original deal, because the lower price would actually have cost them more money in the end.

As my grandmother used to say, "Knowing the price is not always knowing the value".

I like that saying.

The price yesterday included the "perks" we got when we booked in December.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

My understanding (strictly from reading Posts here on Cruise Critic) is that those so called price drops were more or less restatements of the existing fares because significant benefits which had been included in the original prices (Gratuities, Internet, even Airfare), had been excised from those "new Fares".

 

Again, this is all second hand information, but I am led to believe that the one or two people who were quick enough to book during that brief window when the Prices had changed, have since opted to revert to the original deal, because the lower price would actually have cost them more money in the end.

 

As my grandmother used to say, "Knowing the price is not always knowing the value".

Not true in my case with either of my two cruises. So please explain how the fares on Saturday were higher than today's fares.....Bottom line they were not. I for one would not have reverted back to today's fare.

I actually booked two dummy reservations on Saturday for each of my cruises and took the air credit and the prices were much less than the original fares. So saying that the lower price would have actually cost more at the end makes no sense.

If I could still get the fares that were on the Oceania website on Saturday...it would have been a savings to us.

On our Alaska cruise (June 7, 2014)...the prices went down $930 per person for a PH1 suite with the same perks.

On our next cruise (Sept.2, 2014)...the fares had gone down also. We would save $570 per person. Final payment had not been made and the same perks such as FREE Pre-Paid Gratuities, FREE Unlimited Internet Package and $300 Shipboard Credit were still being offered.

It sounds from another thread that this was a technical error. No one in infallible -- not even Oceania:)

It sounds from another thread that this was a technical error. No one in infallible -- not even Oceania:)

Our TA has confirmed that the brief price drop was in fact a glitch and one would not have been able to complete an actual money transaction.

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Our TA has confirmed that the brief price drop was in fact a glitch and one would not have been able to complete an actual money transaction.

 

 

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Ditto here.

NOT

Jancruz1

NOT

Jancruz1

The soul of brevity-

but such a chatty woman, in person :p

The very pleasant cruise rep left me a message today saying O wouldn't honor the price drop because it was an error.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised.

I have a more detailed answer: the lower price was only supposed to be available to one of O's (unnamed) travel partners; the IT glitch was making it available for everyone to see.

Aha! Very interesting ... these things happen.

Sorry for you, though.

(But I wouldn't say Jan is exactly "chatty" in person ... very friendly, however!)

Mura

Love it! That was too funny! ...

:D

Mura

I have a more detailed answer: the lower price was only supposed to be available to one of O's (unnamed) travel partners; the IT glitch was making it available for everyone to see.

If true, that is really sad. Oceania should honor even a pricing mistake. It's really all about customer care and customer service, they say they treat every person the same--guess we know now they don't.

Rick

they say they treat every person the same--

If you really believe that.....about ANY Travel Company, Hotel Chain, Cruise Line

or even Amtrak, then you are exceptionally naive.

In the travel game, it is ALL about who you know, how you know them and what you have done for them lately.

If anything, Oceania has more of a reason to play by those rules than most. Many claim that their erstwhile parent company Renaissance Cruises got put out of business for trying to buck that status quo, when they tried to bypass the third part sellers, altogether.

That business model would not fly because the Industry was just not ready for it, and the backlash against Ren. was terrible to behold.

He who ignores history is condemned to repeat it.

In an ideal world of customer service, O would honor the price drop, even though it was an error.

Part of me thinks that not so many people called about it, but another part says that it might have been cost prohibitive.

I booked at a price that I'm comfortable with, and am looking forward to a wonderful time.

In an ideal world of customer service, O would honor the price drop, even though it was an error.

Part of me thinks that not so many people called about it, but another part says that it might have been cost prohibitive.

I booked at a price that I'm comfortable with, and am looking forward to a wonderful time.

But booking at the price your comfortable with isn't what happened here, Oceania doesn't stand by their word-if you print something you honor it or you have no honor. Simple as that.

Rick

I have a more detailed answer: the lower price was only supposed to be available to one of O's (unnamed) travel partners; the IT glitch was making it available for everyone to see.

Last month Oceania had a "secret sale" (10-15% off) on many of their spring, summer and fall sailings for a certain large travel partner in Los Angeles.

I tried to transfer my Sept. booking since final payment has not been made over to this other large travel partner and was not able to. My agent would have released the space but Oceania would not release our booking to the other agency. Oceania said that I could not cancel and rebook the same cruise which did not seem fair. I understand that Oceania wants to protect the travel agent but and there is a big but......both of my cruises (June 7-Regatta and Marina-Sept.2) were 10% less than the publish price on Oceania's website with all the same perks.

The bottom line is: it is either money in my pocket or Oceania's.

I wasn't thrilled that the Alaska cruise had been discounted but I could not cancel out the cruise because final payment had been made.

So what Andee is saying makes perfect sense....

At least with the airlines when they make an error with fares they have to honor the reduced fare....New Department of Transportation regulations, aimed at truth in advertising, require airlines to honor any mistake fares offered. Not so with Oceania.

BTW we are dealing with a large travel agency and they are not amused at all with these sales for certain agencies and not others. This secret sale that was offered last month (what Oceania called it) was not an IT glitch.

Last month Oceania had a "secret sale" (10-15% off) on many of their spring, summer and fall sailings for a certain large travel partner in Los Angeles.

 

I tried to transfer my Sept. booking since final payment has not been made over to this other large travel partner and was not able to. My agent would have released the space but Oceania would not release our booking to the other agency. Oceania said that I could not cancel and rebook the same cruise which did not seem fair. I understand that Oceania wants to protect the travel agent but and there is a big but......both of my cruises (June 7-Regatta and Marina-Sept.2) were 10% less than the publish price on Oceania's website with all the same perks.

The bottom line is: it is either money in my pocket or Oceania's.

 

I wasn't thrilled that the Alaska cruise had been discounted but I could not cancel out the cruise because final payment had been made.

 

So what Andee is saying makes perfect sense....

 

At least with the airlines when they make an error with fares they have to honor the reduced fare....New Department of Transportation regulations, aimed at truth in advertising, require airlines to honor any mistake fares offered. Not so with Oceania.

 

BTW we are dealing with a large travel agency and they are not amused at all with these sales for certain agencies and not others. This secret sale that was offered last month (what Oceania called it) was not an IT glitch.

Sounds to me like you're annoyed because Oceania is still small and alert enough to stop you from playing the "I'll sell my booking to the highest bidder game".

I applaud Oceania for attempting to give their Agent Partners some relief from that kind of nonsense.

Is it different in the US because in the UK an advertised price is an offer to treat it is only when cash changes hands that it becomes a legally binding contract which helps to protect companies if there was a genuine mistake. Of course if a company makes a habit of this then it is addressed by the powers that be.

Sounds to me like you're annoyed because Oceania is still small and alert enough to stop you from playing the "I'll sell my booking to the highest bidder game".

 

I applaud Oceania for attempting to give their Agent Partners some relief from that kind of nonsense.

 

I don't understand how you're applauding Oceania for "not selling to the highest bidder" when they are selling their product at different prices to different travel agencies. That's not to be applauded, rather it should be condemned.

BTW my mother-in-law is our travel agent. It is no fault of ours or to our travel agency that Oceania is the one playing games giving some agencies lower fares.

Enough said.....

I don't understand how you're applauding Oceania for "not selling to the highest bidder" when they are selling their product at different prices to different travel agencies. That's not to be applauded, rather it should be condemned.

 

BTW my mother-in-law is our travel agent. It is no fault of ours or to our travel agency that Oceania is the one playing games giving some agencies lower fares.

Enough said.....

To the contrary, the fact that you are using your Mother-In-Law as your Agent opens a whole new avenue of discussion, and actually explains a great deal about your position.

If she were more savvy about the business, she could have told you that high volume Agents have always had access to sweeter deals.

Every Cruise Line, across the board, does it, and it has always been thus.

Ironically, if you knew all of the facts, you might consider Oceania to be one of the good guys in this scenario, because by withholding commissions from Agents who flip Bookings late in the game, they protect Agents like your MIL.