Royal Caribbean---DONT BUY EARLY

[SnappyNappi]

I book early for many of the same reasons that others have shared... Desired sail date, stateroom category and location, dining times, etc. I do check for price drops, prior to and after final payment. However, the ONLY reason I check is to see if I can upgrade at little or no additional cost... If it is possible to get a little more for what I paid, that's a bonus. Sometimes I can upgrade, sometimes i have gotten a price drop prior to final payment date, sometimes I find that the price has risen on our cruise significantly, and sometimes the last minute deal is just better than what I paid... It is, what it is. Either way, I am happy with what I paid for what I booked - or I wouldn't have booked it. I am always looking forward to my next cruise and being on vacation.

Edited October 15, 2015 by SnappyNappi

[cruisenfever]

Mostly good responses and thanks for the feedback. I was disappointed with RCCL's lack of attempt to do anything...not even a discount coupon to a specialty restaurant. After all, they held my $4k for 5 months before the sailing which is what you'd think they would try to incentivize (if you're familiar with TVM you'll understand). Like conandrob240 noted, I'd be fine with paying a little more for a price guarantee and be done with it. BTW, the only reason I saw the price drop after the fact was because my brother in law got interested in getting on the same cruise and I did the research for him. AND...I was looking at a 7 day Western Mediterranean cruise on Harmony in 2016 for which I ALMOST made the deposit until I realized it was better not to. In any case, because I have travel flexibility, I wont make the same mistake again.

Anyone have thoughts on other cruise lines? I've only cruised RCCL thus far but am willing to give others a shot at my yearly cruise business. Thanks.

That was your choice to pay your cruise off before RCI's final payment date. Effective May 17, 2010, there is no price reduction after final payment.

[TheInnocentAge]

That was your choice to pay your cruise off before RCI's final payment date. Effective May 17, 2010, there is no price reduction after final payment.

 

It doesn't matter if you pay it off before the final due date, you can still get a price reduction as long as the actual due date hasn't passed.

[SteadyBetty]

AMEN.

 

Every cruise to date had the best prices (and cabin choices) when booking early (tracked every one during the full time between booking and departures to validate it as well).

 

 

Double Amen. I am a choosy (and over-organized) traveler. I book travel early (flights, cruises, hotels, entertainment) to get the best possible room, cabin, seat, rate I desire.

[Biker19]

They have a "sticky" for that:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1195482

 

That is a 5 year old thread like all the other threads and has 350 posts - not really a FAQ in the normal sense. This pricing issue has a new thread virtually every day here - a real FAQ would have that as the first post and the FAQ would be limited to about 20 entries on 1-2 pages. Not that some posters would read and not post, but it might cut down on that.

[davy jones]

.

We are happy to hear you had such a great time on your first cruise vacation with us! Please accept our apologies for your disappointment with seeing price drops after your final payment date. Regrettably, this is one of the issues with supply and demand. Many guests make reservations without knowing if they will keep them or not. This drives price up. Once the final payment date arrives, guests cancel before they incur any penalty. This drives price down right after the final payment date. This does not happen on every sailing, but it does happen. Unfortunately, after the final payment date, our only option is to offer an upgrade, depending on availability. After reviewing your reservation, we see this option has already been offered. We are unable to adjust prices or offer onboard credit after the final payment date. Again, please accept our apologies for any disappointment. Rest assured that we have forwarded your comments to the appropriate department for an internal review.

 

Didn't Royal say that they were eliminating price drops after final payment several months back?

[conandrob240]

That was your choice to pay your cruise off before RCI's final payment date. Effective May 17, 2010, there is no price reduction after final payment.

 

This is completely irrelevant. The refund ability/price adjustment is available until the cruise lines final payment due date regardless of when OP paid it.

 

I wish the policy would change. I'd even be willing to pay a small fee to lock in an option of OBC given for price drop difference up until sailing. If so many cruises don't drop in price (which many seem to believe), then this fee would be a money maker for the cruise lines.

Edited October 15, 2015 by conandrob240

[Clarea]

Didn't Royal say that they were eliminating price drops after final payment several months back?

I believe they said something like they were not going to do any "last minute" price drops, but they also had wiggle room in the terminology.

[BDsquared]

It really is a conundrum - we have booked early and we have booked last minute. If we are traveling with others, we book early so that we can have a good choice of staterooms together. If it is just our family, we have found some AMAZING specials after final payment.

 

I do understand your frustration - It's hard when you see a price drop and can't take advantage of it. I just have to say to myself, "I wouldn't have gotten that awesome cabin if I would have waited until after final payment". :o

[Biker19]

Didn't Royal say that they were eliminating price drops after final payment several months back?

 

The announcement was that it only applied to Caribbean sailings and only 30 days out for a 7 day cruise. And then it mentioned DEEP discounts, not the run of the mill price adjustments (which seem to be even more frequent now - mainly due to all the promos).

[johnjen]

Final Payment Date isn't referring to the date that you pay off your balance, it refers to the date that balance is due (usually 60 or 75 days before sail date).

 

Thanks for clearing that up. It's been awhile since we've cruised, feel like I'm re-learning the ropes!

[Paul65]

To the OP - yes, there is some risk that you'll miss out on a last-minute deal by booking early, but in general, doing so is not a bad strategy. In the case of my next cruise, I booked almost a year in advance. Prices currently are about 20% higher than when I booked, though I can't directly compare the price of the cabin I reserved, since that cabin category is sold out.

 

And this is not an isolated case. Prices have only gone up over time for most of the cruises I've taken. I can only think of one case in which prices dropped significantly close to sailing time, and I remember thinking it would be nice to get that fare. On the other hand, the selection of cabins available at that time for the low fare was pretty limited.

[CaribbeanCrush]

I book early because I'm fussy about stateroom selection, we really love the aft balconies on the pre-Oasis class ships. We book the room we want at a price we can live with if the price doesn't change, and frequently check for price drops. Then we can shop air fares well ahead of the cruise. It works for us.

 

-- Kevin

We like to book early for that reason too. We haven't ever experienced a price drop on our specific cabin category, but I think getting the cabin that we really want might out weigh the price difference for us.

[knittinggirl]

We try to book right after a cruise posts on RoyalCaribbean.com. And we check for price drops. But most of the time, the price goes up! We don't pay anything but the deposit (which we use open bookings) until right before the final payment date. Once they get your money, we lose our negotiating strength.

 

Usually with price drops after final payment, they'll upgrade us to better category for the same price. But not always on Celebrity, they told us the lower price was for new bookings only. But that could have been our poor TA too. Not long after that, I phoned the agency and she was gone.

[ryano]

The downside is that the deposit is non-refundable, and I believe there is a cost to change ship or sail date. I'd welcome something similar on Royal.

 

50.00 per change is what was explained to me. That also includes changing a name on the reservation. :)

 

I booked Early Saver but during a 50.00 pp deposit sale. If I cancel, Im out 100.00

[cruisenfever]

It doesn't matter if you pay it off before the final due date, you can still get a price reduction as long as the actual due date hasn't passed.

Correct, price reductions are honored up until RCI's final payment date.

This is completely irrelevant. The refund ability/price adjustment is available until the cruise lines final payment due date regardless of when OP paid it.

 

I wish the policy would change. I'd even be willing to pay a small fee to lock in an option of OBC given for price drop difference up until sailing. If so many cruises don't drop in price (which many seem to believe), then this fee would be a money maker for the cruise lines.

I respectfully disagree. It is completely relevant because the OP is looking for a reward from RCI because they paid off their cruise early which was their choice. When they paid off their cruise they should have inquired with RCI about the price reduction policy.

 

In the OP's first post it was stated..... "I gave them the entire fare 5 months before sailing and the day after the 75 day window for 100% cancellation refund, the price dropped 16% which equated to about $430 for us. After two calls and this email response, it was clear that they werent going to even try to ease the pain".

Edited October 15, 2015 by cruisenfever

[wingman2014]

If the money is right, we book early to get the cabin we want and have lots

of time to plan and look forward to !

That's worth allot to me ! IF the price go's down so be it, we WILL have great time regardless !! :cool:

[ThommoK]

Hi y'all! (No, not from Missouri!)

 

I'm also very likely attending this cruise! Cannot wait!!!

 

Tuomo

[Desert Cruizers]

I book our cruises as soon as they open and watch for price drops. This way we get our room of choice so rarely find the need to move and prices are generally at their lowest when you book early. Only once did we get a price drop and this was due to a Residents Drop. I will pay our cruises off within 1 to 2 months of final but never 5 months.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[roquejo]

I find it quite amusing that I find many newbies just register in cruise critic just to post something negative.

[vlynn]

50.00 per change is what was explained to me. That also includes changing a name on the reservation. :)

 

I booked Early Saver but during a 50.00 pp deposit sale. If I cancel, Im out 100.00

 

That's correct. The deposit is non-refundable but you don't "lose" it all. They take 50$ and the remaining deposit is given to you as a future cruise credit that you have 2 years to use. So if you pay a 500$ deposit and cancel. You lose 100$ (50$ pp) and the remaining 400$ is a future cruise credit.

 

We book this way all the time. Love it! :D

[SilkySal]

Hi y'all! (No, not from Missouri!)

 

I'm also very likely attending this cruise! Cannot wait!!!

 

Tuomo

 

Welcome to CC but I don't think you are in the right place!:o This is a discussion thread. I believe you may be wanting to find your roll call thread for your specific cruise.:rolleyes: So, tell us what week you are cruising and on what ship, and we will try to help you get to your roll call to meet your fellow cruisers!;)

[crusinthrough]

Correct, price reductions are honored up until RCI's final payment date.

 

I respectfully disagree. It is completely relevant because the OP is looking for a reward from RCI because they paid off their cruise early which was their choice. When they paid off their cruise they should have inquired with RCI about the price reduction policy.

 

In the OP's first post it was stated..... "I gave them the entire fare 5 months before sailing and the day after the 75 day window for 100% cancellation refund, the price dropped 16% which equated to about $430 for us. After two calls and this email response, it was clear that they werent going to even try to ease the pain".

 

 

I read it as the OP is looking for compensation because the fare went down by $430. Not sure why the OP mentioned the cruise being paid 5 months in advance.

 

That being said, I'm unsure why people get upset when the price drops after final payment and there is no refund. As other have said the same is true for airlines and major retailers. If the price goes up after final payment should RC send you an invoice to cover the new price?

 

It's not a bad idea to wait until after final payment but you risk cabin selection and the price can be more not less. In addition, if needed, airfare can be more expensive. So what you save on the cruise fare you pass on to the airline.

[aloha43]

I meant to say BOOK early in the header.......

 

 

 

I booked our cruise the moment it came available.

 

I got the wonderful room that I wanted, mid hump. JS.

 

I got great discounts for the first 2 months after booking.

 

We paid $2093 for 2, mid hump, 1 week, Freedom of the Seas.

 

Now it is $3800 for 2, same room, same location, same ship. ALMOST DOUBLE.

 

Two months after booking, the price went sky high and never went back down.

 

Booking early was DEFINITELY the way to go......especially if you want a certain room.

Edited October 15, 2015 by aloha43
header

[ryano]

 

That being said, I'm unsure why people get upset when the price drops after final payment and there is no refund. .

 

5 1/2 years later after the policy change, Im unsure too.