Rebooking (settle an argument)

So our cruise is six weeks out today and the fares are lower now, even a mini suite is lower.

My friend called Princess and tried to get rebooked at a cheaper fare or upgraded to a mini and Princess said "no it's too late" I'm not surprised, but he is mad as hell and says he'll never book Princess again.

He also said Carnival would do it. Is this true? I have never cruised with them before would they actually do this?

So our cruise is six weeks out today and the fares are lower now, even a mini suite is lower.

 

My friend called Princess and tried to get rebooked at a cheaper fare or upgraded to a mini and Princess said "no it's too late" I'm not surprised, but he is mad as hell and says he'll never book Princess again.

 

He also said Carnival would do it. Is this true? I have never cruised with them before would they actually do this?

I don't know about Carnival but have had some success with upgrading on Princess after final payment date. I have had them tell me that these better prices are for new bookings only, too. Once, I was booked in an oceanview and the balcony cabins went down to the same price as what I paid. I called to ask how much I would lose to cancel (after final payment date) and rebook. They finally just gave it to me without having to go through all that.

It must be a last minute sale called a Flash Fare that's for new bookings only to sell off unsold staterooms. It sucks to not be able to take advantage of the fare reduction, but have your friend look at it from the perspective of at least you get to go! If you had waited until now to book, sure you may have saved some money, but the cruise may have sold out leaving you without a cruise! It's a risk booking early, but it ensures you get the cruise you want.

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So our cruise is six weeks out today and the fares are lower now, even a mini suite is lower.

 

My friend called Princess and tried to get rebooked at a cheaper fare or upgraded to a mini and Princess said "no it's too late" I'm not surprised, but he is mad as hell and says he'll never book Princess again.

 

He also said Carnival would do it. Is this true? I have never cruised with them before would they actually do this?

Carnival will reprice a fare if it goes down only if a guest booked the Early Saver Fare, which has its own set of conditions..

Read the fine print. Princess says you may apply for a lower fair anytime before making your final payment. They probably don't care if he ever sail Princess again.

Here's what he can do don't spend any money while on the cruise that will fix them and he will have that $$$$$$ to take a Carnival cruise. What do you think good idea?? :rolleyes: :D

Tony

They've always made it pretty clear that they'll let you refare up to final payment date.

Last year we paid a couple of weeks early, price dropped, took a while but got a nice little cheque.

Here's what he can do don't spend any money while on the cruise that will fix them and he will have that $$$$$$ to take a Carnival cruise. What do you think good idea?? :rolleyes: :D

Tony

Probably a fine idea. In reality, I would suggest that after all of this time in business Princess probably has a good handle on what constitutes good customer service and where the line is crossed into a situation of customer abuse of Princess' policies. The rules and stipulations of the Princess policies are spelled out in the booking conditions and in the contract for passage after the booking is made. If any of this is going to be a make-or-break then, well, don't accept the contract. BTW, any leeway given by Princess after the fact should be looked upon as a nice gesture, but, not something to be counted on. No animosity towards the OP's friend, just not a lot of sympathy either.

You guys are kinda missing the point. My question is not if Princess is right or wrong. It's would Carnival do it differently?

Princess is right. No different than anything else, air fare, hotels, in the travel industry.

The upside is, you book and pay more and you pick your cabin. If you wait until 4 days before sailing, the price may be great but you have your choice of one cabin.

I played this game for our Crown cruise sailing Oct 20. I waited and watched the fares, the email special deals, and when the price hit my goal I booked the cabin. July 28. Caribe deck forward, balcony, $4,100 pax. FWIW, forwrd seems to be the least popular. Today, 4 days out, there are 6 cabins available decks A, B, C forward. Yes we have been forward before (twice) and works fine for us. Means a bit longer stroll to the MDR, so we can therefore have a second dessert!!

Tom

I will try an edit for the 3rd time. This site can drive one to drink. Carnival - I do not know nor do I care. Now for the reply I worked so long on-

Princess is right. No different than anything else, air fare, hotels, in the travel industry.

The upside is, you book and pay more and you pick your cabin. If you wait until 4 days before sailing, the price may be great but you have your choice of one cabin.

I played this game for our Crown cruise sailing Oct 20. I waited and watched the fares, the email special deals, and when the price hit my goal I booked the cabin. July 28. Caribe deck forward, balcony, $4,100 pax. FWIW, forwrd seems to be the least popular. Today, 4 days out, there are 6 cabins available decks A, B, C forward. Yes we have been forward before (twice) and works fine for us. Means a bit longer stroll to the MDR, so we can therefore have a second dessert!!

Tom

You guys are kinda missing the point. My question is not if Princess is right or wrong. It's would Carnival do it differently?

And I answered you. Carnival has an Early Saver Fare that allows difference in fares to be refunded as OBC up until almost final payment - it has its own set of quite strict conditions. Otherwise, faring and conditions is like Princess.....

Sometimes calling back to someone else will get a slightly different answer in that they'll allow an uprade if he pays the difference in fare...but no line I've sailed allows a free upgrade after final payment just because the higher category cabin happens to be higher, nor does any line give a refund or OBC of the fare difference after final payment. Has it happened for people sometimes? Sure, exceptions happen rarely, if they get an exceptionally friendly customer service agent or they make such a stink the line allows it but it's rare and not standard practice....

So, yeah, he's correct with regards to one specific strict fate type on Carnival, but it doesn't apply to all fare types...

I will try an edit for the 3rd time. This site can drive one to drink. Carnival - I do not know nor do I care. Now for the reply I worked so long on-

 

Princess is right. No different than anything else, air fare, hotels, in the travel industry.

 

The upside is, you book and pay more and you pick your cabin. If you wait until 4 days before sailing, the price may be great but you have your choice of one cabin.

 

I played this game for our Crown cruise sailing Oct 20. I waited and watched the fares, the email special deals, and when the price hit my goal I booked the cabin. July 28. Caribe deck forward, balcony, $4,100 pax. FWIW, forwrd seems to be the least popular. Today, 4 days out, there are 6 cabins available decks A, B, C forward. Yes we have been forward before (twice) and works fine for us. Means a bit longer stroll to the MDR, so we can therefore have a second dessert!!

Tom

Sorry you had so much trouble but all your effort is in vain because you didn't answer my question. :)

You guys are kinda missing the point. My question is not if Princess is right or wrong. It's would Carnival do it differently?

This is the Princess board. You will have a lot better luck asking about what Carnival would do on the Carnival board.

...But as other responses have been trying to explain, Carnival does have certain fare classes that meet price drops even after final payment, even on fares marked 'new bookings only'. Sorry if that doesn't come close enough to an adequate answer for you.

I think it is a very rare occurrence that Princess will refare or offer incentives after final payment...

Call again !!!

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Call again !!!

 

For what? To hear the sound of your own voice getting aggravated again?

If the current fare is marked "new bookings only" that's what it means. No refund, no OBC, no upgrade. Princess in 100% intractable on this.

You guys are kinda missing the point. My question is not if Princess is right or wrong. It's would Carnival do it differently?

If that is the actual question, then, ask on the Carnival board. If they (Carnival) would, then maybe Carnival is the cruise line for them, or you, if that is why you ask. No offense meant here. Just trying to give the best answer that is available for the situation.

Don't know about Carnival but we have sailed with Royal Caribbean and have managed to get cabin upgrades (ocean view to balcony, and balcony to mini suite) on 2 or 3 occasions AFTER final payment if the price of the upgraded cabin dropped to the price we originally paid for the lower cabin category.

Once we had to pay $20 per person for balcony to Mini suite upgrade. If you didn't book directly your travel agent will need to make the request on your behalf, and not all are willing to do so.

One thing to watch out for is if you get them to agree to an upgraded cabin it may mean losing some of your original booking perks like OBC or free gratuities. So make sure you check this.

Carnival is the same as Princess on this. There is only ONE fare that Carnival has that would allow him to get the reduced fare AFTER final payment, and that is the Early Saver rate. Early Saver is also a VERY RESTRICTED fare - there are a lot of strict conditions attached to it, including non-refundable deposits.

So our cruise is six weeks out today and the fares are lower now, even a mini suite is lower.

 

My friend called Princess and tried to get rebooked at a cheaper fare or upgraded to a mini and Princess said "no it's too late" I'm not surprised, but he is mad as hell and says he'll never book Princess again.

 

He also said Carnival would do it. Is this true? I have never cruised with them before would they actually do this?

I would try again at Princess, maybe with a different person, as we just repriced a cruise after final payment and within a month of sailing and had no problem at all.

You guys are kinda missing the point. My question is not if Princess is right or wrong. It's would Carnival do it differently?

Well, as a person who was interested in your question, I think folks did answer your question. Certainly I read the answers as saying.

Yes - if you book with Carnival on an Early Saver Basis.

No - if you book with Carnival on any other basis.

That, to me, seemed to be a pretty definitive answer to my understanding of the question - would Carnival do it differently?

So our cruise is six weeks out today and the fares are lower now, even a mini suite is lower.

 

My friend called Princess and tried to get rebooked at a cheaper fare or upgraded to a mini and Princess said "no it's too late" I'm not surprised, but he is mad as hell and says he'll never book Princess again.

 

He also said Carnival would do it. Is this true? I have never cruised with them before would they actually do this?

Perhaps. Carnival has an Early Savers Program which might allow this. I just checked a carnival cruise on on that cruise there were four different fares available one of which was the Early Savers Program. Now whether this would have applied to your situation is unclear.

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2705/~/early-saver-and-early-saver-last-call-promotions

Please notice that you must have made the reservation up to five months prior to the cruise date. It must be a cabin 4A or above.

The fare is not reduced to the new lower amount but instead you are issued a non-refundable ship board credit.

All cancellations that occur prior to the final payment due date will receive a non-refundable and non-transferable future cruise credit in US dollars in the amount of the deposit less a $50 pp service fee. Future cruise credit must be used on a sailing within 24 months from the date of cancellation.

Princess on the other hand would issue a full refund (most situations) up until final payment date and a proportional refund after final payment for cancellations. This does not depend upon cabin class.

So, yes, Carnival, depending upon what fare class you booked under might issue a ship board credit (not a fare reduction) but Princess has much better terms should you want to cancel the cruise.

You guys are kinda missing the point. My question is not if Princess is right or wrong. It's would Carnival do it differently?

Suggest you ask your question on the Carnival board. Most people on this site would not be aware of Carnival billing policies.

Did I miss something? I thought as of Friday, CCL owned Princess Cruise so wouldn't that be a CCL policy? GOSH! I'm getting further behind.

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, not the one ahead.