Price drop after final payment. What are my options ?

I sail NCL Sun in July to Alaska. As the trip nears, I'm seeing price drops and my balcony suite is now $500 cheaper than when I booked. I'm past my final payment so there is no price guarantee anymore. Do I have any options ? I don't want to pay more and upgrade. The agent thru whom I booked said there isn't anything we can do. Anybody here have any suggestions or ideas ? TIA

If it was booked through a TA NCL will usually only talk to him. Sometimes people get things like extra OBC, but it is up to the TA to get anything for you. Odds not in your favor.

Thanks mugtech. Yeah, the TA told me she has been doing this for 20 years and even the upgrade is not guaranteed but she can try if I want to. I just don't want to spend more especially to justify the price drop. Booking a balcony was a splurge to begin with. Oh, well. One day I'll retire and take last minute deals and go cruising :)

Your TA should speak with NCL to see what they may do for you. They will almost certainly not give you a refund or OBC, but sometimes they may upgrade you for no additional charge to a room that is now equivalent to what you paid. It is up to the TA to negotiate for you to get them to do something. $500 is a really large drop and a good TA will be able to do something about that.

That's happed to me in the past, and I usually call my PCC to see what he can offer. I had 3 cruises booked B2B on the Jade last year and the price for our suite went down after final payment. I got an additional $300 OBC, $100 for each week, or $50 bucks for each passenger. Not near the amount of the price drop, but OK by me.;)

I upgraded from an inside to a balcony after noticing a large price drop on balconies for my upcoming cruise to Alaska. 2 days later, the balcony I upgraded to dropped another $100pp. I asked my TA to call and NCL gave me an additional $25 OBC. Not much, but something. I don't think it ever hurts to ask.

This is not at all unusual. Like many service industries, there will be last minute "fire sales" to sell remaining rooms, seats, cabins. You might get a small OBC or possibility a cabin increase..if one remains that would be better. However, if you were happy with the booking when you made it, nothing has changed. It will still be great. enjoy you cruise. Again, this is very common. Most of us have had this happen on cruises we've booked.

In a similar situation last year I was able to upgrade from an inside to an ocean view cabin for a $50 admin fee. My wife and I are both Platinum so that might have helped.

I sail NCL Sun in July to Alaska. As the trip nears, I'm seeing price drops and my balcony suite is now $500 cheaper than when I booked. I'm past my final payment so there is no price guarantee anymore. Do I have any options ? I don't want to pay more and upgrade. The agent thru whom I booked said there isn't anything we can do. Anybody here have any suggestions or ideas ? TIA

I assume you are talking about your travel agent: normally, if there is anything available in a higher catagory NCL will upgrade you. all your agent has to do is give them a call. If you did go through a Travel Agent, you can not contact NCL directly. If you are talking about your agent at NCL I would call her/him again and ask about an upgrade without any additional cost. Do remember, you were happy with your price when you booked and there will always be someone who got a better deal. If the price went up you wouldn't want the cruise line to raise your rate I am sure.

That being said, I would be a little frustrated as well and though I am 100% in favor of using travel agents, bad ones can be pretty bad. If yours hasn't checked she/he isn't a good one. If they have, you will need to be happy with what you have and enjoy your cruise.

Thanks mugtech. Yeah, the TA told me she has been doing this for 20 years and even the upgrade is not guaranteed but she can try if I want to. I just don't want to spend more especially to justify the price drop. Booking a balcony was a splurge to begin with. Oh, well. One day I'll retire and take last minute deals and go cruising :)

ok, now I have read the rest of your comments, I should have done that first. What the agent is telling you is: she can try but can't guarantee anything. She is right and no, she isn't talking paying anything more. Remember an upgrade can be nothing more than a better location on the ship. In fact that is what they normally mean, but not always. We got upgraded on our last cruise. We booked an outside cabin and after final payment our agent got us a balcony one, but the location wasn't quite as good.

As for last minute cruises, they are not always good deals. unless you live near the port, the extra cost of flying can offset any price savings.

My cruise, leaving next week, dropped in price yesterday. I called NCL and they offered me an upgrade from balcony to mini suite. I asked for OBC instead since the mini suite was a guarantee not an assigned cabin. They said no problem. They were very pleasant. Your TA should call for you.

I sail NCL Sun in July to Alaska. As the trip nears, I'm seeing price drops and my balcony suite is now $500 cheaper than when I booked. I'm past my final payment so there is no price guarantee anymore. Do I have any options ? I don't want to pay more and upgrade. The agent thru whom I booked said there isn't anything we can do. Anybody here have any suggestions or ideas ? TIA

Not clear to me what you have booked. You refer here to a balcony "suite" and elsewhere to a balcony. But regardless, I would be surprised if NCL would not do something for you, but of course no guarantees. But do not let the TA get away with not calling to ask. Upgrades and upsells are very common, but only if you ask.

On our Alaska cruise, prices fell and continued to fall across the board during the last several weeks pre cruise, everything from insides to suites. Many people on my cruise got free upgrades like inside to ocean view or ocean view to balcony, or low cost upsells, my self included. Some traded up to the top suites on the ship. We started out in an aft facing balcony and ended up with an aft facing corner Penthouse suite. It only cost us about $40 per person and those suite perks and that huge balcony were well worth it. When prices dropped again after we took the suite, they offered us additional OBC. We were using a TA on this cruise, and I was glad I had an experienced agent used to dealing with these kind of requests to represent me. I wonder if I would have been as successful in the negotiations if it were just me calling.

I apologize for the confusion regarding my room. It's a balcony and not a suite. I paid $4,800 for the 4 of us and now it's $4,300. The nearest upgrade would be a mini suite but it's $5,200 right now so I would have to pay $400 for that. The TA thru which I booked and NOT a NCL agent said there wasn't much NCL will do. Do you think there is a possibility that NCL will upgrade me to a mini suite at a no or minimal cost ? I'm waiting for a price drop at mini suite and maybe upgrade to that. However, if the only difference between a balcony and mini suite is the size of the room and or bathroom I don't want to spend the extra money. Most port days we will be on excursions and if on ship then on the deck. While a lot of people here are reporting success with upgrades and OBC, my TA said there was nothing that can be done. I'm confused now.

. I paid $4,800 for the 4 of us and now it's $4,300. The nearest upgrade would be a mini suite but it's $5,200 right now so I would have to pay $400 for that. The TA thru which I booked and NOT a NCL agent said there wasn't much NCL will do. Do you think there is a possibility that NCL will upgrade me to a mini suite at a no or minimal cost ?

Free no. $400 yes.

While a lot of people here are reporting success with upgrades and OBC, my TA said there was nothing that can be done. I'm confused now.

With a price drop like this what NCL usually does (If they will do anything - as others have said, odds are not in your favor, but it never hurts to ask) is to upgrade to a better cabin for free if the price of the higher category has dropped enough (there is only one balcony category that has nothing else to upgrade to than minisuite, if you have a lower class balcony, you could get for example better location balcony cabin) or if no upgrades are possible, 25% of the drop in OBC - in this case $100.

I'm getting the feeling that the TA has not even contacted NCL and is reluctant to make the call.

I think demonyte is probably correct that your TA hasn't even tried. I was on an NCL cruise in April and was upgraded for free from an OV to a balcony at no cost, but I didn't have a TA. Another example of why booking with a TA is often not the best option. You never know which is the best option until all the upgrades and perks are tallied.

With a price drop like this what NCL usually does (If they will do anything - as others have said, odds are not in your favor, but it never hurts to ask) is to upgrade to a better cabin for free if the price of the higher category has dropped enough (there is only one balcony category that has nothing else to upgrade to than minisuite, if you have a lower class balcony, you could get for example better location balcony cabin) or if no upgrades are possible, 25% of the drop in OBC - in this case $100.

 

I'm getting the feeling that the TA has not even contacted NCL and is reluctant to make the call.

The TA is reluctant to make the call because

1. I told her I didn't want to spend more money for an upgrade and

2. she said she has been doing it for 20 years and knows that the only thing NCL will do is offer an upgrade if anything.

To add to what other's are saying but totally unrelated at this point - I'd initially booked the cruise thru an NCL agent. However, later I found that this cruise travel company was offering $250 of OBC of their own with the same price as NCL. I transferred my reservation to this cruise travel company to get the extra OBC. So I feel there are pros and cons to both - booking directly thru NCL or thru a TA

Another example of why booking with a TA is often not the best option. You never know which is the best option until all the upgrades and perks are tallied.

You are over-generalizing (again ;)). Having a good TA is always better option than having a poor PCC - of course one shouldn't just look at the price, but with good research one can get a lot better pricing through a TA and still get good service from them (and not that "I've been doing this 20 years, they won't do anything" cr*p). :)

The TA is reluctant to make the call because

 

1. I told her I didn't want to spend more money for an upgrade and

 

2. she said she has been doing it for 20 years and knows that the only thing NCL will do is offer an upgrade if anything.

 

To add to what other's are saying but totally unrelated at this point - I'd initially booked the cruise thru an NCL agent. However, later I found that this cruise travel company was offering $250 of OBC of their own with the same price as NCL. I transferred my reservation to this cruise travel company to get the extra OBC. So I feel there are pros and cons to both - booking directly thru NCL or thru a TA

As you can see from others posting here, your TA is not telling you the exact truth. NCL can and does ofter offer either and upgrade or partial OBC in these situations. Your TA should be talking to NCL on your behalf. There is no excuse, they are getting paid to represent you. Insist they call. Of course if they tell you they did, you have no way of knowing. We always book direct so we control our booking and are not at the mercy of the TA. Good luck!! And to paraphrase, a good PCC is much better than a poor TA!!!

I'll wait to see if the prices for the mini suite drops and then call my TA to see if she can get me the upgrade. Will update this post if I do get an upgrade. Thank you all.

It's a balcony and not a suite. I paid $4,800 for the 4 of us and now it's $4,300.

Before we demonize the TA, we should look at the price drop. If I am reading this correctly, the drop is $125 per person (not $500) although it might be a little more for the first two pax, and a little less for the 3/4 pax. While it is $500 out of the OP's pocket, it's not quite the same as a $500 price drop.

How many days is the cruise, and what is the actual drop per passenger? Perhaps you can move Pax 3 and 4 into their own cabin?

Maddle

Before we demonize the TA, we should look at the price drop. If I am reading this correctly, the drop is $125 per person (not $500) although it might be a little more for the first two pax, and a little less for the 3/4 pax. While it is $500 out of the OP's pocket, it's not quite the same as a $500 price drop.

 

How many days is the cruise, and what is the actual drop per passenger? Perhaps you can move Pax 3 and 4 into their own cabin?

 

Maddle

My 2 boys are 9 and 10 and don't want to move them into their own cabin. The cruise is a 7 day cruise from July 13th - July 20th.

Wow , that is a prime time cruise . Sure to sell out then No adjustments ,Game over. ;)

I'm on the Sun to Alaska in late August. I noticed the same thing you did with respect to price drops. I called online TA who I booked with originally. He called NCL and I was able to upgrade my Oceanview from Deck 4 (porthole) to Deck 7 (picture windows) at no charge. Not a huge improvement, but worth the minimal effort.

I'm on the Sun to Alaska in late August. I noticed the same thing you did with respect to price drops. I called online TA who I booked with originally. He called NCL and I was able to upgrade my Oceanview from Deck 4 (porthole) to Deck 7 (picture windows) at no charge. Not a huge improvement, but worth the minimal effort.

Was the price of picture window room same as what you paid initially for ocean view ? The impression I'm getting is that you are able to upgrade to a room at that room's current price .