Price drop possible if no other rooms are available

[DonTreadOnMe]

I have tried to find an answer to my two questions, but have failed to be able to do so on this forum, or on Google.

 

My questions are these:

 

1) If there are no other rooms still available in the class I have booked and want to keep, would I be eligible for a price reduction before the final payment date?

 

2) If so, how/where would I find the new advertised price for the room I have booked?

 

I currently have an Interior Family stateroom booked FI category on Liberty next year for 4 of us, and there are only a few of those rooms on the ship IIRC. Hence, the likelihood of another being available to see a price change is not that likely.

 

I can obviously monitor the other room types and see if prices have changed in general...but more clear/easier options would be much better.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Edited January 26, 2016 by DonTreadOnMe

[Clarea]

... If there are no other rooms still available in the class I have booked and want to keep, would I be eligible for a price reduction before the final payment date?...

If there are no other staterooms available in your category, there won't be any price listed for that category, so no price drop possible.

[moopetguy]

But monitoring prices for higher category staterooms would be worthwhile, right? If they drop, OP might opt to upgrade if there's a small increase in price, or if they fall below the original booking price, then there is the opportunity to upgrade and...get a refund of the difference or equivalent OBC depending on how many days prior to sailing?

 

Somebody way more experienced than me can confirm :)

[Clarea]

But monitoring prices for higher category staterooms would be worthwhile, right? If they drop, OP might opt to upgrade if there's a small increase in price, or if they fall below the original booking price, then there is the opportunity to upgrade and...get a refund of the difference or equivalent OBC depending on how many days prior to sailing?

 

Somebody way more experienced than me can confirm :)

Correct, monitoring prices in other categories could be beneficial. Even after final payment date when no credit is possible for a price drop, an upgrade may be possible for free.

Edited January 26, 2016 by clarea

[John&LaLa]

If there are no other staterooms available in your category, there won't be any price listed for that category, so no price drop possible.

 

FWIW, I got a price drop on our Serenade RS for April 2017. Totally didn't expect it, I called our TA on the JS for the first leg, got it and the TA said she got one for the RS as well.

[Clarea]

FWIW, I got a price drop on our Serenade RS for April 2017. Totally didn't expect it, I called our TA on the JS for the first leg, got it and the TA said she got one for the RS as well.

Interesting, I'm stumped at how you could get a drop on the RS, since I assume there was only one of those.. Maybe one of our resident TAs could explain.

[DonTreadOnMe]

Are family rooms with minimum occupancy requirement normally posted as available rooms online?

 

I am not seeing any as I just search my and other sailings. I saw our room originally on RCCL website while onboard Navigator last week but have not seen another one on the website since. I would upgrade to an Oceanview Family room so I can watch for that, but only if they show up online I suppose...

[Ourusualbeach]

Interesting, I'm stumped at how you could get a drop on the RS, since I assume there was only one of those.. Maybe one of our resident TAs could explain.

 

The only way that I know of getting a price drop on a sold out cabin is that if Royal launches a new sale, example the 30/30 sale. When this happens they apply the new discounting across the board to all categories even the ones that are sold out.

 

Reductions based on a cruise not selling well will never apply to sold out cabin categories.

[Ourusualbeach]

Are family rooms with minimum occupancy requirement normally posted as available rooms online?

 

I am not seeing any as I just search my and other sailings. I saw our room originally on RCCL website while onboard Navigator last week but have not seen another one on the website since. I would upgrade to an Oceanview Family room so I can watch for that, but only if they show up online I suppose...

 

Any cabin with more than 4 occupancy will not normally be able to be seen on the website and you must call for pricing. Sometimes closer to sailing they reduce the occupancy requirements and they will appear on the website.

[John&LaLa]

Interesting, I'm stumped at how you could get a drop on the RS, since I assume there was only one of those.. Maybe one of our resident TAs could explain.

 

Yep only one, like I said, I really didn't expect it. It went down about $400, around 5% as I recall. Not sure if that is inline with the JS drop for the week before

[DonTreadOnMe]

Any cabin with more than 4 occupancy will not normally be able to be seen on the website and you must call for pricing. Sometimes closer to sailing they reduce the occupancy requirements and they will appear on the website.

 

That is what I thought. Odd that it did show up last week when we booked it considering it is for next January. I would never even thought to chk the price on it otherwise since they are normally @ the same price as two rooms or more. In this case it was $300 cheaper to do the one room.

 

I guess I can just call and bug them every few days to check price and see if any Outside Family become avail.

[spookwife]

Are family rooms with minimum occupancy requirement normally posted as available rooms online?

 

I am not seeing any as I just search my and other sailings. I saw our room originally on RCCL website while onboard Navigator last week but have not seen another one on the website since. I would upgrade to an Oceanview Family room so I can watch for that, but only if they show up online I suppose...

 

 

not until after final payment for the cruise has passed.

[Ourusualbeach]

not until after final payment for the cruise has passed.

 

Not necessarily after final payment. I have seen them a year out. It doesn't alepways make sense but then again it's Royal.

[moopetguy]

Since you can't make a booking with more than 4 people online, and some of the "family" staterooms/suites that can accommodate more than 4 might not even be listed online, how can one know if they're getting a good deal, except through hard-earned experience over time? Researching and comparing prices would be pretty difficult.

 

While normally, we can check prices on the web site for up to 4 people (every day, multiple times per day if desired), I don't think RCI would take too kindly to the same person calling every single day to make the same inquiry :) (Not to mention it being time-consuming over the phone)

 

For that matter, how does pricing work when you have 5, 6, 7, etc. people in your party? I know that the 3rd and 4th guests have a reduced rate. But if you have a suite with say, 4 adults and between 2-4 kids, who pays the "full" price and who pays the "reduced" price (assuming no discounts like the infamous BOGOHO)?

[Ourusualbeach]

Since you can't make a booking with more than 4 people online, and some of the "family" staterooms/suites that can accommodate more than 4 might not even be listed online, how can one know if they're getting a good deal, except through hard-earned experience over time? Researching and comparing prices would be pretty difficult.

 

While normally, we can check prices on the web site for up to 4 people (every day, multiple times per day if desired), I don't think RCI would take too kindly to the same person calling every single day to make the same inquiry :) (Not to mention it being time-consuming over the phone)

 

For that matter, how does pricing work when you have 5, 6, 7, etc. people in your party? I know that the 3rd and 4th guests have a reduced rate. But if you have a suite with say, 4 adults and between 2-4 kids, who pays the "full" price and who pays the "reduced" price (assuming no discounts like the infamous BOGOHO)?

 

If I was in that situation I would compare the price of one cabin for 5 vs 2 cabins and make my decision based on that.

[foxgoodrich]

If you're looking for a 5+ person accommodation (family cabin/suite), you'll have to call to get the prices. The first two people in the group will pay the rate for pax 1 & 2. Then all the others pay the same reduced rate as pax 3 & 4. So if your group was in a RFS and you had 4 adults and 4 kids, that's 8 people - two will pay the full rate, and six will pay the reduced rate.

 

What you want to watch for is any kind of a 'Kids Sail Free' promotion. When that happens, pax 1 & 2 pay the normal rate plus port charges/tax, and all the subsequent passengers pay only the port charges/tax. (and they don't actually have to be kids - just additional people) But you'll have to call either RC or your TA to price and book since you're a group of 5.

 

We used that Kids Sail Free promotion on a 2 Bedroom/2 Bathroom Suite for 2 couples. We fudged a bit as we booked a 'phantom' 5th passenger in order to get the suite for the 4 of us. Since it was Kids Sail Free, our phantom paid $195 in port charges (it was an Alaska cruise on Jewel.) The plan was to have the phantom drop out after RC reduced the minimum occupancy on our suite and get those charges refunded. Alas, they never reduced the occupancy requirement! (Oh well - it was just an extra $49 apiece for the 4 of us.) So we went to the pier to check in and our poor phantom friend did not make it.

 

And a week after the cruise, Royal refunded the phantom's port charges/tax. (Please note that no refund of any fare would happen with a last minute cancellation - only port charges/tax.)

Judy

[moopetguy]

If you're looking for a 5+ person accommodation (family cabin/suite), you'll have to call to get the prices. The first two people in the group will pay the rate for pax 1 & 2. Then all the others pay the same reduced rate as pax 3 & 4. So if your group was in a RFS and you had 4 adults and 4 kids, that's 8 people - two will pay the full rate, and six will pay the reduced rate.

 

What you want to watch for is any kind of a 'Kids Sail Free' promotion. When that happens, pax 1 & 2 pay the normal rate plus port charges/tax, and all the subsequent passengers pay only the port charges/tax. (and they don't actually have to be kids - just additional people) But you'll have to call either RC or your TA to price and book since you're a group of 5.

 

We used that Kids Sail Free promotion on a 2 Bedroom/2 Bathroom Suite for 2 couples. We fudged a bit as we booked a 'phantom' 5th passenger in order to get the suite for the 4 of us. Since it was Kids Sail Free, our phantom paid $195 in port charges (it was an Alaska cruise on Jewel.) The plan was to have the phantom drop out after RC reduced the minimum occupancy on our suite and get those charges refunded. Alas, they never reduced the occupancy requirement! (Oh well - it was just an extra $49 apiece for the 4 of us.) So we went to the pier to check in and our poor phantom friend did not make it.

 

And a week after the cruise, Royal refunded the phantom's port charges/tax. (Please note that no refund of any fare would happen with a last minute cancellation - only port charges/tax.)

Judy

 

Thank you for the helpful and detailed explanation!

 

I was lucky to book Oasis during their "kids sail free" promo in 2014 (and I did know that it was good for any age, not just "kids"). Probably unlikely but would love to see that again even though we're only a family of 3 at the moment (our friends who are a family of 4 want to go on a cruise with us during fall 2017, so I'm eagerly awaiting the release of those itineraries in a month's time).

[AussieCruiser2332]

We were lucky enough to snag a family interior on LOS for a family of 4 last June - I suppose it was an issue with life boat capacity which made it available online for 4 people. We never looked for price drops because, as has been stated, the price isn't advertised online and with so few FI cabins it is unlikely they aren't in demand. Having said that we were very happy with the cabin and would try and book again if we could. The space was amazing for the 4 of us, and we never felt cramped. The kids slept in the small room off to one side which kept the living room space free at all times. The large walk in wardrobe was big enough for all our luggage and belongings. From a space perspective I wouldn't give up a family interior for an outside cabin (unless it was the family outside), and would seriously consider keeping a family interior over a balcony (depending on the sailing ports).

Hope you enjoy the room.

[foxgoodrich]

Well Duh!:o I hadn't thought about lifeboat capacity as a factor in dropping those occupancy requirements on cabins accommodating 5 or more. That makes a lot of sense, especially if those cabins pop up as available for booking before the final payment date.

 

I do think that they raise the rates for pax 1 and 2 when they run a Kids Sail Free promotion, so it may not always be as good a deal as it seems, but it's always worth considering if you have a group of 3 or more.

 

We didn't get any price drops on our family suite booking, though our TA called and checked several times. I figure it's always worth checking!

 

Judy

[DonTreadOnMe]

We were lucky enough to snag a family interior on LOS for a family of 4 last June - I suppose it was an issue with life boat capacity which made it available online for 4 people. We never looked for price drops because, as has been stated, the price isn't advertised online and with so few FI cabins it is unlikely they aren't in demand. Having said that we were very happy with the cabin and would try and book again if we could. The space was amazing for the 4 of us, and we never felt cramped. The kids slept in the small room off to one side which kept the living room space free at all times. The large walk in wardrobe was big enough for all our luggage and belongings. From a space perspective I wouldn't give up a family interior for an outside cabin (unless it was the family outside), and would seriously consider keeping a family interior over a balcony (depending on the sailing ports).

Hope you enjoy the room.

 

Yeah, we won't. We would only switch if two rooms became cheaper, or if an outside family view or other comparably large room of a higher category became available at a like price.

Edited January 27, 2016 by DonTreadOnMe