A cautionary tale - booking early

We were recently disappointed to find our Papeete to Papeete trip in December discounted by >25%. Yes of course we've already paid in full. Naturally I asked our TA to investigate whether we would receive any consideration regarding the not inconsiderable difference. In Australia this involves the TA contacting the Australian agent who then contacts Regent; with the small amount of Regent business generated here there are no truly specialist TAs for the limited (but growing) market. Note we do not want to move cabins as we are travelling with friends from the US and we have $400 OBC already.

Regent's response was:

In addition, I asked given we are disembarking at say, 8 am and the first available flight was not until 2 am the following day if Regent would consider providing a tour or a day room. The response to this was:

Well passengers outside of the US and Canada don't HAVE the option to use their air, so this does seem a bit unfair. We're fairly new to cruising and will become Gold on this trip, so certainly not VIP customers.

I understand there are always last minute specials for a slow selling cruise but this does seem a mite churlish. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Unfortunately most cruiselines will do nothing after full payment and there is a price drop. While I don't like this policy either, it is understandable. In all events you did get the cabin that you requested. Enjoy your cruise as Tahitian islands are beautiful.

This is just the way they do things, but I admit they haven't been very polite or helpful about it.

Papeete is kind of a special case since there are just a handful of hotels, and flights often do leave either early morning or very late at night. If it's any consolation these dayrooms generally have to be vacated by something like 6 p.m., in my experience.

Try Le Meridien--we did an overnight there recently, friends did a dayroom, and it is a lovely property and a pleasant end to the trip. If you got a good enough rate, you could book a proper room for the night, then you could have it until you leave for the airport about 11 p.m. for your flight. Our rate, in September, was around $275USD, which seems a lot, but not for Tahiti. Not sure what our friends paid for their dayroom.

You have just violated one of my major rules of life: After final payment is made, never look at the price again. To do so just sets you up for frustration. Now, before final payment, definitely watch the price because if there is a significant reduction, you can just cancel and rebook. But not after final payment.

The price is reduced significantly because they are trying to fill up the ship. Sort of like when a dress goes on clearance at my favorite dept store. I don't get upset because I bought it at full price. Sure, I could have waited for it to go on sale, but I would risk them not having my size. When booking a cruise, you can wait hoping for a price drop, but you risk the cruise being sold out or not being able to get the suite you desire. You have to weigh the risk to see if it is one you want to take in the future.