Rci question and rant

[wulber]

Can anyone tell me if there are different booking terms between the usa and uk RCI.
I keep reading about people mostly from the usa being able to get upgrades after final payment from one category to another for either free or by adding the difference but when I phone I keep getting told I have to pay a lot more for the upgrade as the prices shown are for new customers.
Even when the price was £200pp cheaper for the category above than I paid for our lower category I still had no joy.
I don't know why they tell you to book early for the best price then when they reduce them they won't honour it.
Think i'll take my chances in future and wait till the last minute.
or book with another company that don't offer any these so called insentives
Rant over!

[Ray66]

This is the same with Cunard and some other cruise lines.

If there is a price drop those in the US can ask their agent to either adjust their booking be upgraded or ask for OBC.

Also in the US you can get your deposit back if you cancel your cruise before final payment date.

It doesn't seem fair to treat UK (and the rest of Europe and Australia) customers differently than US ones but apparently it's because of laws in the US.

[wulber]

yes i know we should all be treated the same.

[LeeGrant]

In the UK we can get a reduction on the cruise fare even after final payment.

As long as the new fare is not just for new customers.

You can always book with a US agent if you wish - or indeed with a european agent. In fact whilst they could block you from buying from the USA it would be against the law to prevent you buying from Europe. Bear in mind that you currently get 1.22 Euros to the pound.

[SwissDave]

Also take into account the extra protection you get when booking with a UK agent - such as the ABTA bonding, airline delay compensation rules etc. These potentially cost the Companies money so they need to recoup that somehow. Booking with a US agent would mean you lose some of those protections - such as if the agent or cruiseline went bust - you are on your own, but if airfare is booked in UK/EU you still get the air compensation protection.

If you book the whole lot as a package in the UK then there are certain guarantees about getting you home.

[Elizanessie]

I think that one day ..maybe sooner than we like...RCCL UK will not do price drops at all. I have come to this conclusion because so many UK Cruisers are not getting price drops nowadays. RCCL UK are getting more strict about giving them.

If this does happen then more and more UK Cruisers will book with US TAs.

I always book my flights myself in the UK although I can book with RCCL's Choice Air for my flights because I book with a US TA.

[wulber]

LeeGrant i was told no price drops after final payment.
There always seems to be a for new reservations only after final payment when you try to upgrade for a reasonable price.

[Ray66]

Originally Posted by LeeGrant

In the UK we can get a reduction on the cruise fare even after final payment.

That depends on which line you cruise with. You certainly can't do it in the UK with Cunard. In fact you can't even do it before final payment with them.

Last year our cruise had a big price drop before final payment and we had to cancel, lose our deposit and re-book to make a saving.

[LeeGrant]

Sorry, was talking about RCI as that was the line mentioned.

[unclewilson2]

You can always book with a US agent if you wish - or indeed with a european agent. In fact whilst they could block you from buying from the USA it would be against the law to prevent you buying from Europe. Bear in mind that you currently get 1.22 Euros to the pound.[img]http://www.******.info/hjk[/img]

[drewlin]

Hi Liz we use to book with a US online TA but they will not take our bookings (only Carnival and NCL allowed) now due to the cruise lines including RCI so how do you manage it?

[Elizanessie]

Originally Posted by drewlin

Hi Liz we use to book with a US online TA but they will not take our bookings (only Carnival and NCL allowed) now due to the cruise lines including RCI so how do you manage it?

Hi

I know the US TA company you are referring to (which of course we won't name).
There are loads of US TAs that will take bookings from UK Cruisers that cruise with Royal Caribbean and other cruiselines.
Best bet is to do a search online ...sorry can't post more info.

[babs135]

Originally Posted by Host Elizanessie

Hi

I know the US TA company you are referring to (which of course we won't name).
There are loads of US TAs that will take bookings from UK Cruisers that cruise with Royal Caribbean and other cruiselines.
Best bet is to do a search online ...sorry can't post more info.

That's interesting to know. I thought we couldn't book through the US at all. Regarding price drops; our cruise last October with Celebrity dropped £100 pp before the final payment but we couldn't get our TA to budge. To rub salt into the wound the price then dropped a further £200 pp ! It didn't spoil the cruise, but it did irritate us that late bookers saved £300 each on the trip. (That could have been the deposit on another cruise)