Royal got me again on a price drop

[SteadyBetty]

Job well done, OP. You've successfully stirred the pot. ;)

[papaflamingo]

I paid for my cruise in full for a 12 day cruise but the official due date has not passed yet and I noticed that I would save $60 bucks for my cabin if I ordered it today. If I called RC would they make up the difference for me? I also ordered the premium drink package for two people when they had a sale for 52 dollars a day after gratuities pp, which is now the deluxe and was wondering if you guys think Id lose out on that deal by asking to change my order? $60 isnt the end of the earth but it would be nice to have that extra spending money.

 

Look at it this way. When you take advantage of a lower price, you are effectively "cancelling" your cruise and "rebooking." RCCL doesn't make you go through that effort, they just apply the new rate. However, and this is VERY important, your new rate is applied based on the "rate rules." So if the rate goes down, but the discounted drink package is no longer part of the rate deal, you lose the drink package. Same with OBC or any other incentive. So you always have to look at "bottom line." Rate, plus or minus incentives. Here's my example:

I booked HAL next July. I booked at a $1999 per person rate. Then they offered an Explore 4 deal, but the rate went up to $2299. So for $300 per person we'd get free drink package, free gratuities, a free specialty dinner, and $200 credit to Internet. So, after adding the value of each of the "free" items, it was a no brainer to pay the extra cost. Then the rates again dropped to $2099 and the Explore 4 was still applicable. You ALWAYS have to figure the REAL bottom line.

Edited October 3, 2016 by papaflamingo

[marti315]

RCL has one of the best 100% refund cancel / change policies at 90 days for most of the sailings. Try to call an airline even 25 hours after you book the ticket and ask for any sort of price drop refund. Revenue forecasting is super challenging and rcl needs to keep their policies firm in order to make money.

 

I should call my broker and ask for a price match on that stock I bought that went down... :)

 

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[Big_G]

If it makes you feel better, Pinnacle Members have to follow the same rules as everyone else..

 

Emerald, wow. Keep fighting the good fight :confused:

 

What's up with the # :confused:

 

###

 

#emeraldlivesmatter ;)

[cruisinfanatic]

RCL has one of the best 100% refund cancel / change policies at 90 days for most of the sailings. Try to call an airline even 25 hours after you book the ticket and ask for any sort of price drop refund. Revenue forecasting is super challenging and rcl needs to keep their policies firm in order to make money.

 

I should call my broker and ask for a price match on that stock I bought that went down... :)

 

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one of the best how? All cruise lines have basically the same policy. You can't compare to airlines

[molly361]

It's about to happen to me as well. Final payment on our OA cruise is tomorrow and I have a feeling prices are going to drop after that.

 

All that said I am probably NOT cancelling as I like my cabin choice and don't want to stress about will it or will it not drop. I imagine I could save a couple of hundred dollars if I can wait it out.:rolleyes:

[marti315]

one of the best how? All cruise lines have basically the same policy. You can't compare to airlines

 

Why cant you compare to airlines? What makes the revenue model for a cruise ship any different? I would love to hear an argument as to why Airlines / Trains have no refund policy 24 hours after booking and Royal gives you up to 90 days for a full cancel. If i was complaining i would complain about Airlines as they are notorious for overbooking flights (selling more seats than they have) hoping people do not show up, and when they all show up they kick people off.

[cruisinfanatic]

Why cant you compare to airlines? What makes the revenue model for a cruise ship any different? I would love to hear an argument as to why Airlines / Trains have no refund policy 24 hours after booking and Royal gives you up to 90 days for a full cancel. If i was complaining i would complain about Airlines as they are notorious for overbooking flights (selling more seats than they have) hoping people do not show up, and when they all show up they kick people off.

I think you just want to argue

[marti315]

I think you just want to argue

 

Yes with the fact that RCL has a policy, a well documented policy, a policy we all agree to when we book and yet somehow based on the subject line "Royal Got me Again" you feel they took advantage of you. Its a bad way to start your vacation, as others have said, you got the room you wanted for the price you thought was fair and agreed to all the terms. Enjoy it, maybe next time wait until 60 days out to see if you get what you want at a better price.

[cruisinfanatic]

Yes with the fact that RCL has a policy, a well documented policy, a policy we all agree to when we book and yet somehow based on the subject line "Royal Got me Again" you feel they took advantage of you. Its a bad way to start your vacation, as others have said, you got the room you wanted for the price you thought was fair and agreed to all the terms. Enjoy it, maybe next time wait until 60 days out to see if you get what you want at a better price.

lecture the op, not me

[ramja96]

You got the cruise you wanted, in the stateroom of your choice, for the price you wanted, otherwise you wouldn't have booked, right? To book a cruise with the assumption that you'll get a better deal later and get a discount is a gamble. So, tell me, if you go to the casino and put $20 on RED and it comes up BLACK - do you expect the casino to give you some sort of compensation for your loss? No! Game over, you lose. How is this any different?

[Baseball fan]

I tend to watch pricing even after final payment. Yes, it's no fun when my cabin price drops and the cabins above me don't drop (or are sold out). However I've been lucky in a few cases to upgrade to better cabins (balcony to JS to GS). I know I cannot get money back but I like the possibility of a better cabin.

 

 

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[angogl]

It's just like when you book a flight and the price goes down, the airlines don't compensate you so why would you expect a cruise line to do it? I've upgraded before when the price went down, it's part of the fun to me. I watch a cruise and then book when I feel like it's a good price, then I check it as it gets closer and wallah, I get a better cabin for no more money! :p

[kidlessatsea]

Perhaps you could try Carnival. They allow credit for price drops up to 48 hours before the cruise...although if you ever want to change/cancel your reservation, you lose your entire deposit. Whereas with Royal, you lose nothing until after final payment.

 

It's all about cruise line preference.

[Nado44]

I normally book cruises well in advance and once they are listed as pricing is usually the lowest they'll ever be. Only on one or two occasions have I booked at the going rate at whatever time.

 

I'm also doing something I haven't done before:

 

For a specific November 2016 cruise, I've already booked airfare but am going to wait until possibly the very last minute to pounce/book a cabin as I think pricing will come down as the set sail date approaches. Or it may not. It's a gamble but one I'm willing to take.

[Flamencacha]

The problem I find with RCI is that after the final payment date they make it very difficult to upgrade to a higher class of cabins, especially if it's a guaranty at a very good price, as they insist most of the time these are for new bookings only. We've had this situation a few times in the past.

 

I noticed just under 2 weeks ago that a X Gty was available for this month's Brilliance TA as part of the Going, Going, Gone sale. I knew this was for new bookings only so I waited until Saturday, that week the GGG sale went from Monday to Friday and saw that it was still available so I called our travel agent to upgrade our OV cabin to this. RCI told her that the X Gty offering was still part of that promotion which had been extended for the weekend thus wasn't available as an upgrade to us with a current booking. This I found unusual as that promotion was suppose to have ended.

 

Come the following Monday RCI is now offering an E3 Gty at a different slightly higher price so I try to upgrade again. Again they insist that it is part of that week's GGG sale although this sailing isn't listed as part of that sale. Our TA even spoke to someone in resolutions about this and got the same response.

 

I told my TA if that's the way RCI wanted to play this game I would be booking our cruises from now on with Princess, as we have Capt's Circle status with that cruise line or with other cruise lines and not with RCI. MSC status match program came to mind. By the way we are C&A D+ and over the last two years have done 9 cruises with RCI. As my signature below shows we typically do 4 to 6 cruises per year. Our TA again spoke to RCI and found someone who was sympathetic with our situation and allow us to upgrade. Our TA said it was our C&A status and the fact we were willing to pay for the upgrade that convinced RCI to allow this to happen.

 

Currently, almost two weeks later, that E3 Gty is still available at the same price we paid. Also there are only D1 balconies available which was the case when we upgraded. One of those D1s is what we were assigned the day following us upgrading. :D

 

 

 

I booked an inside on RCI sisters X. I was hoping to upgrade. I tried, got for new bookings only thing. The worst part was when all the newbies were bragging about their new bookings in balconies, for less than I paid for my inside. So three bookings later, if it's not a special SOLO sale, or a last minute bargain, I don't book. I have one more for to complete over the holidays, the rest will be after final payment bookings. When you are already paying double for a cabin you don't worry so much about air fare for one.

 

I was a novice, now I know. I wouldn't be upset over 100, unless my cruise was only 300 to start with.

 

I am just happy to be able to cruise.

 

 

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[Biker19]

For a specific November 2016 cruise, I've already booked airfare but am going to wait until possibly the very last minute to pounce/book a cabin as I think pricing will come down as the set sail date approaches. Or it may not. It's a gamble but one I'm willing to take.

 

RCI has been pretty good at not dropping prices inside of 30 days, so you don't have much time left. It's all about the inventory (which you can check on the RCI's UK site).

[lv2bcruzin]

This does indeed suck.

Edited October 3, 2016 by lv2bcruzin