"Upgrading" cabin after final pymt

[FMZ]

Hi. We haven't cruised RCCL in a few years. We are currently booked HOTS 9/8. Family coming with us booked a boardwalk balcony. As of now the Oceanview balconies are around the same price. We called the online travel agency we used twice to "upgrade" them to OV balc and were told we could not bc the room was booked refundable and the price we see is non refundable. Hhmm I look on RCCL website and it states you can change from non to refundable one time and not the other way around. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm tempted to call them again and say just get RCCL on the line and let's ask them directly. Thank you 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, FMZ said:

Hi. We haven't cruised RCCL in a few years. We are currently booked HOTS 9/8. Family coming with us booked a boardwalk balcony. As of now the Oceanview balconies are around the same price. We called the online travel agency we used twice to "upgrade" them to OV balc and were told we could not bc the room was booked refundable and the price we see is non refundable. Hhmm I look on RCCL website and it states you can change from non to refundable one time and not the other way around. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm tempted to call them again and say just get RCCL on the line and let's ask them directly. Thank you 

Your travel agent is incorrect.

 

the only thing preventing you would be if it is part of a going going gone sale that is restricted to new bookings. 

[Clarea]

You can change from refundable to non-refundable before final payment date, but after final payment date, all deposits are non-refundable.

[goncruzn]

Will there be an increase in cost? If so, ask the agent to get on the phone with RCCL. The "resolutions" dept will sometimes make an exception. If there is a decrease in cost, you will still pay the higher amount. It's worth a try!

[ATC cruiser]

I just upgraded from an interior cabin to a junior suite for an October cruise on Enchantment, all I paid was the difference in price. 

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Your travel agent is incorrect.

 

the only thing preventing you would be if it is part of a going going gone sale that is restricted to new bookings. 

And another reason not to use a TA.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

And another reason not to use a TA.

 

Well, I'd say another reason to make sure one is using a good TA.

[cruisinfanatic]

4 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

And another reason not to use a TA.

So it would be better to book directly and get the same (often) incorrect information?

[cruisinfanatic]

3 hours ago, FMZ said:

Hi. We haven't cruised RCCL in a few years. We are currently booked HOTS 9/8. Family coming with us booked a boardwalk balcony. As of now the Oceanview balconies are around the same price. We called the online travel agency we used twice to "upgrade" them to OV balc and were told we could not bc the room was booked refundable and the price we see is non refundable. Hhmm I look on RCCL website and it states you can change from non to refundable one time and not the other way around. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm tempted to call them again and say just get RCCL on the line and let's ask them directly. Thank you 

Your TA is absolutely wrong. Have them call

One problem you may run into though is this cruise is listed in the going, going, gone sale

Edited July 30, 2019 by cruisinfanatic

[Ourusualbeach]

27 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

And another reason not to use a TA.

Go ahead, throw money away by booking directly with Royal.

[Minnie526]

I just did this about 3 weeks ago.  Had an interior room on HOTS for 9/1 and saw the price of an outside balcony room had come down and was only a couple hundred more.  I called and was told that since I originally had a refundable room they would not be able to do the upgrade.  She then put me on hold and talked to someone who said they would go ahead and upgrade me and I would now be in a nonrefundable and had to just pay the difference of under $300.00.

[mayleeman]

4 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Well, I'd say another reason to make sure one is using a good TA.

 

Well, that is the problem, isn't it? how to figure that out before you get stuck with the mistakes of a bad one. CC prohibits sharing this most basic info about cruising.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

Well, that is the problem, isn't it? how to figure that out before you get stuck with the mistakes of a bad one. CC prohibits sharing this most basic info about cruising.

 

We got our travel agent through word of mouth on a cruise. 

[ReneeFLL]

16 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Go ahead, throw money away by booking directly with Royal.

And how many times has someone lost out on something because they couldn't get in touch with their TA?

[robandana]

There are always pluses and minuses when using a TA, I have been with mine for over 50 cruises and always seem to get a better deal than the RC website or onboard....but I have heard some bad stories about some peoples experience with a TA.

[Cruise a holic]

22 hours ago, FMZ said:

Hi. We haven't cruised RCCL in a few years. We are currently booked HOTS 9/8. Family coming with us booked a boardwalk balcony. As of now the Oceanview balconies are around the same price. We called the online travel agency we used twice to "upgrade" them to OV balc and were told we could not bc the room was booked refundable and the price we see is non refundable. Hhmm I look on RCCL website and it states you can change from non to refundable one time and not the other way around. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm tempted to call them again and say just get RCCL on the line and let's ask them directly. Thank you 

That is why we never deal with a TA   They seem to have different rules- also a problem with the move up program- forgot what RCCL calls it-  They can keep their free dinners etc.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

And how many times has someone lost out on something because they couldn't get in touch with their TA?

Not nearly as many as those that have saved money with a TA.

 

Do what suits you best but not using a TA to save money or get perks solely based on a hypothetical price drop and then hypothetically not being able to get a hold of the TA doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

[Snit13]

20 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

So it would be better to book directly and get the same (often) incorrect information?

Been booking with same CVP since 2008 and have never received incorrect information of any kind.  She finds the best cabin, best price and offers excellent service to me.

[Snit13]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Not nearly as many as those that have saved money with a TA.

 

Do what suits you best but not using a TA to save money or get perks solely based on a hypothetical price drop and then hypothetically not being able to get a hold of the TA doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

What perks can you offer me that would guarantee me you would be available to assist 24/7?  Have tried TA 2 times and both were local not big box and not happy with either.  I'll bet TA's "Have a Life" and thus may not be available like CVP's are.  Why is it when I look at sites of the Big Agencies on line I see the same price as I see with the cruise line?  Does the discount come into play after you call them to book?  I know agencies book blocks of cabins but why are the prices on their sites same as I see on Royal or Celebrity?  Confused.

[Ourusualbeach]

14 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

What perks can you offer me that would guarantee me you would be available to assist 24/7?  Have tried TA 2 times and both were local not big box and not happy with either.  I'll bet TA's "Have a Life" and thus may not be available like CVP's are.  Why is it when I look at sites of the Big Agencies on line I see the same price as I see with the cruise line?  Does the discount come into play after you call them to book?  I know agencies book blocks of cabins but why are the prices on their sites same as I see on Royal or Celebrity?  Confused.

Like others have said there are varying levels of TA’s.  Some great, sone good and some not so good.  When you find a great one you will be glad you did. 

 

Different agencies offer different perks.  On line ones tend to provide OBC but then issues like you mentioned come into play.  Bricks and mortar companies especially companies that have both a huge on line presence as well as bricks and mortar stores tend to offer more group rates.  Group rates are not allowed to be posted on line (although a few companies do) which is why working with an agent is beneficial as they can see all the group rates.  

 

It is is definitely worth spending some time looking as there are huge savings to be had especially if you are booking 9 - 18 months out.  I have very seldom seen prices drop prior to final payment to levels that have been lower than group rates which negates any issues with price drops.  Even booking the day itineraries were released last year there were savings of a couple hundred per cabin over Royals launch rates.

[molly361]

It certainly would be nice if the agencies could advertise their actual group space prices.  If I did not happen to know my new TA from on here I would not have been able to book a few group priced sailings that are saving me a lot of money over Royal's online prices.  I guess you have to call each big box place and ask what sailings that they have group space on

Edited July 31, 2019 by molly361

[johnjen]

7 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

And how many times has someone lost out on something because they couldn't get in touch with their TA?

Ka-Ching! On our first cruise (Grandeur) we lost a $300 PD because the TA decided to go on vacation and no one would touch "her" booking. No more TA's for us....the common misconception is, if you use a TA, you save money rather than book direct. That is not so.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Ka-Ching! On our first cruise (Grandeur) we lost a $300 PD because the TA decided to go on vacation and no one would touch "her" booking. No more TA's for us....the common misconception is, if you use a TA, you save money rather than book direct. That is not so.

 

You chose the wrong TA.  Ours works for a large agency, and when she is unavailable, someone else that that agency can help.

[Cruise a holic]

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Like others have said there are varying levels of TA’s.  Some great, sone good and some not so good.  When you find a great one you will be glad you did. 

 

Different agencies offer different perks.  On line ones tend to provide OBC but then issues like you mentioned come into play.  Bricks and mortar companies especially companies that have both a huge on line presence as well as bricks and mortar stores tend to offer more group rates.  Group rates are not allowed to be posted on line (although a few companies do) which is why working with an agent is beneficial as they can see all the group rates.  

 

It is is definitely worth spending some time looking as there are huge savings to be had especially if you are booking 9 - 18 months out.  I have very seldom seen prices drop prior to final payment to levels that have been lower than group rates which negates any issues with price drops.  Even booking the day itineraries were released last year there were savings of a couple hundred per cabin over Royals launch rates.

My nephew books with a Big Box store TA.  He was told that they were not eligible for the Move up program.  While they will discount his cruise, before final payment if he notices the price drop on the cruise line website, not to be eligible for the move up program is a big deal.  Have gotten suites for a great bargain with that program. 

 

Keep the dinners and store credit- IMO

[ONECRUISER]

5 hours ago, Snit13 said:

Been booking with same CVP since 2008 and have never received incorrect information of any kind.  She finds the best cabin, best price and offers excellent service to me.

Same here, Used same PVC for 7yrs myself