Not booking with Travel Agent again, will go Direct to RCI next time

Hi, this is probably a little rant so sorry it you dont like ranting.

We are new cruises only cruised for 2 and a half years.

We have only cruised RCI and we love it.

In the past we have booked direct with RCI and when the cruise got closer often prices would come down in higher categories, we just called RCI paid the difference and that was it we Changed to the new price/ category

I recently purchased a cruise from an Oz cruise agent and now the fares have come down for better rooms. They are stating that they will not be able to give the new fares as if we want to upgrade our rooms we can only do so at the pricing at the time when we booked.

So if we were in an inside room at 1000 per person and later on the balcony was 1200 per person we cant upgrade. If we called RCI this would be fine. If we want to upgrade to the balcony we have to pay the price of the balcony that it was on the date we first booked.

From now on we will book direct with RCI in case there is a price drop of rooms better than our original booking.

I am happy to accept this as I believe once bitten, twice shy. We went with this particular Oz cruise website because it was about 4% cheaper.

Rant over

we are cruising soon so we have that to look forward to

:)

Is it after final payment?

Sometimes there is restrictions on bookings. And its only for new bookings and you lose your deposit if its before final payment. You have to work out if your saving money or not.

Your could ask the agent to transfer the booking to the cruise line. I bet they won't though. But never hurts to ask.

Yes it was after the final payment, the cruise is over 2 months away.

That would be nice if they can transfer it to the cruiseline

I might try that

I just thought I would let others know incase they were not aware of it. From now on, all booking will be direct with RCI.

:)

Yes it was after the final payment, the cruise is over 2 months away.

 

That would be nice if they can transfer it to the cruiseline

 

I might try that

 

I just thought I would let others know incase they were not aware of it. From now on, all booking will be direct with RCI.

 

:)

Pretty hard to get price adjustments after final payment.

I recently purchased a cruise from an Oz cruise agent and now the fares have come down for better rooms. They are stating that they will not be able to give the new fares as if we want to upgrade our rooms we can only do so at the pricing at the time when we booked.

 

So if we were in an inside room at 1000 per person and later on the balcony was 1200 per person we cant upgrade. If we called RCI this would be fine.

Are you certain about that?

It sounds like 'new bookings only' which applies exactly the same to direct bookings as much as to TA bookings. Neither would let you upgrade at that price.

They may have booked a block of cabins at the special rate, hence your initial cheaper price, so for them to change that to a higher cabin, that may be what it would cost them to do that.

I have heard this sort of thing on other threads, and thought it strange at the time. But it does seem that you aren't the only one to get told this.

I would say that the local online TAs are best used as a booking service if you like that particular price, with whatever they are offering, and you don't intend to change. I think I have seen T&Cs along the lines of $25 to change things, and $100 to cancel etc. Also reduced deposits can come with earlier final payment times.

Your post is a very valid warning. Read all the terms and conditions (or ask when calling), but also be prepared that dealing direct with companies can be a frustrating exercise in dealing with overseas call centre staff that are very nice and agreeable, but when the email comes your invoice is wrong. Several times. Also their call centre hours from Aus can be very limited if you work 9-5 and are not keen on waiting in a queue for at times 45 minutes.

There is good and bad for both ways of booking. We have used them both, and while we are a bit leaning towards the direct booking, a good deal from the online bunch would be worth a look too. There will always be some that got a cheaper price, but there were also people booking direct at the same time as you that paid 4% more!

I am just comparing this cruise to my previous cruises.

on my previous cruises, several times we changed cabins when higher ones became available. On several occasions we were able to get a Junior Suite at a little more than the cost of the interior.

Im just saying that if you book a cabin for a particular price and see that a better cabin becomes available for a similar price you might be better off booking direct.

Are you certain about that?

 

It sounds like 'new bookings only' which applies exactly the same to direct bookings as much as to TA bookings. Neither would let you upgrade at that price.

I am just going on what we have done in the past. over the last 12 months we have upgraded 3 cruises from Inside to junior Suite and we are now Diamond.

the reason we did this was because Royal Caribbean allowed us to do so. They were happy because they were getting more revenue from us.

I am just going on what we have done in the past. over the last 12 months we have upgraded 3 cruises from Inside to junior Suite and we are now Diamond.

 

the reason we did this was because Royal Caribbean allowed us to do so. They were happy because they were getting more revenue from us.

Was this all after final payment date?

Was this all after final payment date?

Yeah, that would be my question also..?

In my experience, unless the cruise line is being extra extra nice, it is difficult to get these type of changes after final payment is received. Prior to that I find things can be quite flexible.

Next question (I don't know the answer my self), is would RCI help if you call them directly on a booking done by a TA? or would they refer you back to your TA?........I know from my experience's to date that Celebrity and Princess have been helpfull (except celebrity online that refers you back to your TA)....

Yes this was after final payment date. The reason they were so cheap was because they needed to fill the cruise I guess

Very interesting info. We have previously gone around Feb/March the last few years, and this is the first time we have been looking at prices before Christmas, and it looks like this is a good time to get some great deals. It is good info that you can pay for an upgrade after final payment.

The trips we have done generally have only seemed to go up in price as they got closer, like our Southern Aus cruise on Rhapsody next Feb, we got it during a sale of "Junior Suites at balcony prices" at the start of the year. Now you can only get inside cabins, and they are the same price we paid for our JS.

We will certainly be on the lookout for bargains at this time of year in future. :)

Yeah, that would be my question also..?

 

In my experience, unless the cruise line is being extra extra nice, it is difficult to get these type of changes after final payment is received. Prior to that I find things can be quite flexible.

 

Next question (I don't know the answer my self), is would RCI help if you call them directly on a booking done by a TA? or would they refer you back to your TA?........I know from my experience's to date that Celebrity and Princess have been helpfull (except celebrity online that refers you back to your TA)....

if you booked using a TA... RCI will not help you as they did not take the booking so any questions will have to come from the TA

I am just going on what we have done in the past. over the last 12 months we have upgraded 3 cruises from Inside to junior Suite and we are now Diamond.

 

the reason we did this was because Royal Caribbean allowed us to do so. They were happy because they were getting more revenue from us.

They do allow it, when the fare allows it.

But not all fares do. Each fare is different, so there's no absolute rule about timing. But the later it is, and the cheaper the fare it, the more likely it'll only be for new bookings only. In which case you won't be able to upgrade to that fare - but they still have other more open fares. Just like flights having multiple fare classes for the same seat on the plane.

Just try a different ta

Not all are bad

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Just try a different ta

Not all are bad

 

As above, this one may not have been either.

It sounds like 'new bookings only' which applies exactly the same to direct bookings as much as to TA bookings. Neither would let you upgrade at that price.

I'm positive this is what it would be. RCCL companies are the worst for it and others like Carnival have started doing it too. Not the TAs fault.

Yes I found that out with Carnival USA and Early Saver fares:D lol

With Early Saver fares Carnival guarantee the lowest possible fare up until 2 days before sailing "Unless" its for "New Bookings Only" or "State specific residents only" :D:D:D lol. Its all about wording and how a cruiseline define a fare V wording!

Just a heads up to everyone (feel free to start a new thread if you'd like to), even P&O's latest promo has the "new bookings only" clause in the T&C's. It seems the days of being able to take advantage of price drops may be coming to an end. Of course, some will try to blame TA's, but I can assure you this is the cruise lines making these rules.