Come on Royal fair go

[MicCanberra]

That is actually very good and timely advice. We mentioned last cruise about our nice upgrade, and another couple in the Diamond Lounge never stopped whining about it. Mind you they booked the accessible cabin more than 12 months out and bragged how they just ticked the disabled box. So yes, we might leave talking about prices alone. :)

 

I have heard some very heated disputes between fellow passengers over who paid the least or who got ripped off, etc.:(

Edited October 4, 2014 by MicCanberra

[MicCanberra]

Yes, we most certainly do.:D

I didn't say that's what we, do, I was only responding to the comment.:)

We like to partay when we can.:D

As many have said, any day on a cruise, is better than being at work.

 

Cheers

 

Yes definitely, the best day at work is still worse than the worst day on holidays.:D

[goodycruising]

Chester32 That seems to be the way it is working now, you have to pay the difference at the old price. It sounds weird to me, but several seem to be told that. I wonder if you had booked direct would you be able to upgrade, or is the recent lower price another sale?

Edited October 4, 2014 by goodycruising

[The_Big_M]

Chester32 That seems to be the way it is working now, you have to pay the difference at the old price. It sounds weird to me, but several seem to be told that. I wonder if you had booked direct would you be able to upgrade, or is the recent lower price another sale?

 

Not necessarily old price, but certain prices are 'new bookings only' or have other conditions. You can only upgrade to prices that you are permitted to, so just like you can't book to a senior price if not a senior, you can't upgrade to a 'new bookings only' price.

 

When you upgrade, you can only upgrade to the current price, so if the current price has changed from the original you could not upgrade to that old price.

[cruisin-m]

I have heard some very heated disputes between fellow passengers over who paid the least or who got ripped off, etc.:(

 

I've seen this too, talking prices leaves one person or the other feeling disappointed, so I now steer clear of talking prices. If I get explicitly asked and know I got a really good deal I normally just state a run of the mill fare so that they either think I paid the same as them or that they scored a bargain and feel good about it! :D :p

 

I hate those people that go around bragging non stop all the time about how unbelievably cheap they got the cruise for when I've paid double what they have, and they tell you how ripped off you were lol :rolleyes:

 

I've learnt now to just be happy with the fare when you book, then if it goes up or down or had added OBC etc I can't be disappointed, because at that point in time I was happy with it and I still feel it is good value! :)

[goodycruising]

I think that is a good plan. Although at the moment we are having to refer to our booking documents due in order to remember when to pay and what we owe, so I will probably plead forgetfulness. I think my mind is trying to blank out the $ spent :D

[chester32]

Chester32 That seems to be the way it is working now, you have to pay the difference at the old price. It sounds weird to me, but several seem to be told that. I wonder if you had booked direct would you be able to upgrade, or is the recent lower price another sale?

 

Goodycruising that is what they are saying to upgrade I have to pay the price when I originally booked which was when the bogoho sale was on, so what I am trying to say is sale is finished, current prices are sale free no gimmicks that is the price

So basically if you booked during the sale you are penalised for thinking you are getting a better price , just book outside of sales and RCI will give you a better price seems very close to fraudulent to me

But once again I want to stress that it is not all about the $ it is more about been taking for a ride by RCI so I guess just don't book early or during a sale and RCI will reward you

[MicCanberra]

I've seen this too, talking prices leaves one person or the other feeling disappointed, so I now steer clear of talking prices. If I get explicitly asked and know I got a really good deal I normally just state a run of the mill fare so that they either think I paid the same as them or that they scored a bargain and feel good about it! :D :p

 

I hate those people that go around bragging non stop all the time about how unbelievably cheap they got the cruise for when I've paid double what they have, and they tell you how ripped off you were lol :rolleyes:

 

I've learnt now to just be happy with the fare when you book, then if it goes up or down or had added OBC etc I can't be disappointed, because at that point in time I was happy with it and I still feel it is good value! :)

I think that is the best attitude to have.:D

[The_Big_M]

I've seen this too, talking prices leaves one person or the other feeling disappointed, so I now steer clear of talking prices. If I get explicitly asked and know I got a really good deal I normally just state a run of the mill fare so that they either think I paid the same as them or that they scored a bargain and feel good about it! :D :p

 

I hate those people that go around bragging non stop all the time about how unbelievably cheap they got the cruise for when I've paid double what they have, and they tell you how ripped off you were lol :rolleyes:

 

I've learnt now to just be happy with the fare when you book, then if it goes up or down or had added OBC etc I can't be disappointed, because at that point in time I was happy with it and I still feel it is good value! :)

 

I'm similar though, just try to keep it general like "an alright price" or "a good deal" or something which is entirely subjective. ;-)

 

Sometimes, some keep pushing though...

[goodycruising]

Goodycruising that is what they are saying to upgrade I have to pay the price when I originally booked which was when the bogoho sale was on, so what I am trying to say is sale is finished, current prices are sale free no gimmicks that is the price

So basically if you booked during the sale you are penalised for thinking you are getting a better price , just book outside of sales and RCI will give you a better price seems very close to fraudulent to me

But once again I want to stress that it is not all about the $ it is more about been taking for a ride by RCI so I guess just don't book early or during a sale and RCI will reward you

 

What penalties would there be to cancel your original booking and go elsewhere or direct? I find this new trend very baffling, and can not get my head around it. So you booked during a sale, and now the prices are cheaper, but they want you to pay the price that was applicable during the sale for the dearer cabin. I know a few people have stated they are being told this is the way it has to happen, but I just can't see it. If the price of the original booking was some sort of group special, then maybe some penalty clause should apply, but going by the way you have explained it (which is more clear to me, as I couldn't get the situation properly from other posts) I would be tempted to go further with this. It depends on how far you feel like you want to push it.

 

We have a trip booked for 2016 (direct), so way outside the final payment. Upon booking it was on sale. Then by the time they mucked our invoice up and we had to ring to get it fixed, there was a new sale (only a few days later), and they at first fixed our invoice as it should have been, but could not give us the new price. We then decided next day to ring and ask for an upgrade, and our new invoice is for the current special price. Does this differ from yours as you are after the final payment, or is this the difference between a TA and direct? Or were we just lucky they mucked us around and gave us the upgrade at the new price even though it was a sale?

 

I don't want to bang on and upset people by going on about differing prices, but if a TA has different rules, I want to know before I book. I understand changing bookings can make perks like OBC and drinks change or be lost, but if you are restricted from getting the cruise upgraded to a higher price cabin at the difference between your old price and the new price, well that does sound verging on fraudulent.

Edited October 5, 2014 by goodycruising

[chester32]

Hi Goodycruising

It is not worth while cancelling but getting the upgrade is not what I am on about , to explain I starting with a booking for 2 in an oceanview room in a non sale period for $3090.00 for 2 .A month or so later they had the BOGOHO sale I rang my TA to see if I could pay to upgrade to an E2 balcony cabin which was selling for $3980.00 , the TA said I could but would have to pay the price at the original booking date which was $4207.00,so it was $227.00 more than the advertised sale price but we were fine with that . We went ahead and booked the E2 cabin (which I should have in the first place ) because I just don't like not being a balcony cabin. So that brings us to the present, the sale has finished my E2 cabin is now selling for $3942.00 and a D1 is selling for $4318.00 which is $111.00 more than what I payed for my E2 cabin fine with that too. But when the TA told me that I would have to pay $1500.00 extra because that is what the price was when we booked the E2 Cabin in the sale period and there was nothing he could do because it was RCI rules ,so there is no way I would pay a total of $5707.00 for 2 for a nine night cruise ?

So I am not whinging because I cant get an upgrade we are happy with what we have got would be nice to have the larger cabin but that's not going to happen

It is the utter contempt the way RCI treat us and there so called SALES , I just do not understand how RCI advertise 50% of second passenger then when the sale finishes the price drops by $1400.00,and also the prices above included our Emerald balcony discounts

One more thing Go SOUTHS

[The_Big_M]

Still sounds like a 'new bookings only' price. The upgradeable fare is the one offered.

 

As people become more aware of the offers, I think the lines are cracking down more, so there are more fares graded as new bookings only. This is stated in the terms as well. In the same way some lines have cracked down as people book in different territories.

 

As for the way pricing gets jacked up for the BOGOHO and other offers, I'm not a fan of that either. I believe it also breaks ACCC law. But companies break a lot of laws knowing that it costs to challenge them about it, and enforcement - especially under this current federal government which has cut back on enforcement staff - is prioritised so they can continue until they are challenged... which may not ever happen.

[keagle]

I still maintain that it is best just to pick a cruise with a cabin and price you are happy with, or within your budget at the start, and then not bother looking at any of the so called 'specials' that any of the cruise lines offer. If you are happy with the arrangements that you pick first up, then there is less heart ache later.

The BOGOHO was a farce anyway, the end price of the sale is always that close to original that it is not worth the effort.

[goodycruising]

So you didn't actually get the sale price during the sale. If you paid the non sale price, you should be able to upgrade to the D1 from the price you have paid, to the price that the higher category is now.

 

I am not convinced this is a RCI issue. I think this sounds like a TA issue. I could be wrong, but it doesn't make sense to be going from a price point that you never received in the first place. I know it is difficult to get to the bottom of this when the RCI people will not talk if you are booked with an agent. I know the rules are different here in Aus, but you should be able to get the current price on your cabin upgrade to D2. I would be very tempted to cancel the TA and book direct. But I could be wrong. The fees might not be worth it.

 

I just looked at the terms and conditions of an OZ TA we have used in the early days, and actually booking and cancelling is a very expensive exercise through them, wow! They want 10% over and above the cruise line's penalty. We prefer to pay our $800 deposit and then if we cancel before about 6 months out we get a full refund.

 

Yes, I agree with your original point that the price drops after a sale are morally wrong, but supply and demand do make the whole price thing a very weird roller coaster. It does put a dampener on the experience. We have found our bookings with Celebrity (for OCT/Nov) to be much more consistently priced. Both bookings have hardly changed since we booked, one of the trips was booked last March. The Celebrity prices are starting to be much more attractive also, particularly compared to Radiance which is our favourite RCI ship, and apparently has become too popular!

 

I am sure you will enjoy the trip when you cruise, but your booking experience sounds very wrong, and if that is the way RCI rules are, then yes, they are going to end up with people waiting until very close to the sail date to book. I am certainly happy with the price we got in the January sale "JS for balcony price", as the insides are running for nearly the same price on our trip next Feb, as it is nearly sold out.

 

Best of luck with Souths!

Edited October 5, 2014 by goodycruising

[chester32]

Thanks Goodycruising its been a long time between drinks for South's just hope its a good game

As for our upcoming cruise the issues will certainly not effect us at all , it will be our first time on Radiance but so far our favourite is the Solstice beautiful ship so I will be comparing it to Radiance but will still enjoy regardless of the differences but I suspect that I will be with Celebrity next time (I realise there are Under RCI) I am sure you will love the Solstice

[bazzaw]

I can think of a number of appropriate pithy sayings here

 

"Buyer beware!" "A fool and his money are soon parted!" "I've got it - you want it -- let's talk!"

 

Can anybody kindly tell me exactly how much a half Kg of Margarine costs?? Every time I buy a tub of it, I see it in the shops on the very next day at a cheaper price. Should we go back to the good old days when everything was a regulated or fixed price??

 

Buy this cruise and get FREE airfares!!! :)) -- come on in - said the spider to the fly!!!

 

Barry

[MicCanberra]

I can think of a number of appropriate pithy sayings here

 

"Buyer beware!" "A fool and his money are soon parted!" "I've got it - you want it -- let's talk!"

 

Can anybody kindly tell me exactly how much a half Kg of Margarine costs?? Every time I buy a tub of it, I see it in the shops on the very next day at a cheaper price. Should we go back to the good old days when everything was a regulated or fixed price??

 

Buy this cruise and get FREE airfares!!! :)) -- come on in - said the spider to the fly!!!

 

Barry

Lol, this is what happens when you surf the web.:D