Costa huge Price drop after final payment

[drsel]

my Cruise had a 32% price drop due to this coronavirus, but when I called Costa they said they cannot reimburse the difference in the form of onboard credit or anything else. There will be no benefit whatsoever. The new price is only for fresh, last minute bookings

 

I heard that other cruise lines,( including the parent company Carnival) give onboard credit to compensate the difference.

 

Is this true that other Cruise lines do so but Costa doesn't?

 

[tenpin]

This is not only down to the virus.

Every cruise has price fluctuation's I often see cruises drop or indeed increase in price when checking on line. 

 

Usually book early or late for best prices.

[ighten]

Some will give you  credit some wont - as far as I can tell it basically depends on your custom , your spend on board combined with the experience of the person your talking with ..

 

But this is normal (not quite sure why your positive its virus related) - cruises need to fill the ship rather like an aircraft needs to fill its seats so prices will fluctuate depending on how the booking algorithm is set up - you either take the risk on last minutes (it may sell out or it may in fact go up in price)  or settle and are happy with the price.. 

[gerryuk]

Are you sure this is due to the virus, though? I have 3 costa cruises booked for this year and have just checked the prices on their website, the price is the same as when I originally booked Abu Dhabi to Savona in March. I have 2 trans atlantics booked later in the year and the price has risen since I booked.

 

[drsel]

5 hours ago, ighten said:

Some will give you  credit some wont - as far as I can tell it basically depends on your custom , your spend on board combined with the experience of the person your talking with .

I agree It may not be the virus.

But what do you mean by ''depends on your custom, your spend on board, combined with the experience of the person your talking with'' ?

Arent the rules the same for all passengers & all price drops in Costa? How will the call centre know my onboard spend in advance? Or are my past onboard spends going to influence their decision?

Do they have the authority to either upgrade my cabin or give me a bigger cabin or some token onboard credit?

 

''experience of the person your talking with''  And will they upgrade me if i am extremely polite with the call centre agent ?

Edited February 5, 2020 by drsel

[maryann2]

I agree this is nothing to do with the virus but normal cruise line reduction in price after final payment.

 

As far as I know no cruise line gives OBC after final payment except Carnival which has an Early Saver rate which you can book with.  Restrictive non refundable rate.

[tenpin]

17 hours ago, drsel said:

I agree It may not be the virus.

But what do you mean by ''depends on your custom, your spend on board, combined with the experience of the person your talking with'' ?

Arent the rules the same for all passengers & all price drops in Costa? How will the call centre know my onboard spend in advance? Or are my past onboard spends going to influence their decision?

Do they have the authority to either upgrade my cabin or give me a bigger cabin or some token onboard credit?

 

''experience of the person your talking with''  And will they upgrade me if i am extremely polite with the call centre agent ?

Costa only needs to input your name on their computer to see your past cruises and spend with them, when starting any booking. OBC is not freely given with Costa but often if you booked while on a cruise via on board consultant you may get offered it or drinks package up-grade. Cabin up-grades are rare now due to the introduction of the new Club rules.

 

[G.M.T.]

A lot could depend on the ship, route and where the cruise was booked.

 

When you book a cruise and are happy with the price and so accept the T&C you then enter into a contract, after final payment has been made then you have fulfilled your part of the contract.

 

Costa is under no obligation to give you anything back, there may give you OBC, upgrade, drinks package, if the ship is full or partly empty but entirely at their discretion. Not normal for Costa.

 

Some cruise lines in USA may try to accommodate you, but again at their discretion. In the EU, consumers have much more protection than in US the same goes the cruise line. When you buy a new coat or computer and several weeks later the price drops do you try to get a refund?

 

Carnival Corp is the parent / holding company of both Costa and Carnival Cruise Line

(so sister companies).

 

I don't think it interest Costa how much one  has sailed with them in the past, they have no loyalty to their customer base, Costa knows there is always the next cruise generation waiting to board.

 

Try you luck with Costa and let us know how you get on.

[drsel]

A lot could depend on the ship, route and where the cruise was booked.
 
When you book a cruise and are happy with the price and so accept the T&C you then enter into a contract, after final payment has been made then you have fulfilled your part of the contract.
 
Costa is under no obligation to give you anything back, there may give you OBC, upgrade, drinks package, if the ship is full or partly empty but entirely at their discretion. Not normal for Costa.
 
Some cruise lines in USA may try to accommodate you, but again at their discretion. In the EU, consumers have much more protection than in US the same goes the cruise line. When you buy a new coat or computer and several weeks later the price drops do you try to get a refund?
 
Carnival Corp is the parent / holding company of both Costa and Carnival Cruise Line
(so sister companies).
 
I don't think it interest Costa how much one  has sailed with them in the past, they have no loyalty to their customer base, Costa knows there is always the next cruise generation waiting to board.
 
Try you luck with Costa and let us know how you get on.

Thanks Ron and Tenpin, you are the Costa experts.
I tried my luck, being extremely polite and everything; but I got nothing.
Apparently I booked at a special offer last minute rate so there is no question of any OBC or cabin upgrade or anything else for that matter.

[drsel]

Now I realise that both Norwegian and Costa crash their prices big time last minute, so that's the best time to book!
Norwegian Jade is going really cheap right now for 3 Cruises in Feb around Hong Kong and Singapore.
So also is Royal Caribbean Jewel around Dubai.

[d9704011]

4 minutes ago, drsel said:

Now I realise that both Norwegian and Costa crash their prices big time last minute, so that's the best time to book!
Norwegian Jade is going really cheap right now for 3 Cruises in Feb around Hong Kong and Singapore.
So also is Royal Caribbean Jewel around Dubai.

‘Best time to book’?  I think that’s open to debate.  I book well ahead of time to get the cabin type and location I want and make arrangements for flights/travel and hotels.  Those items are often quite expensive and I include them in the overall cost of the cruise vacation.  Leaving them too long may very well wipe out any cruise price-drop savings let alone having to settle on a cabin I may not want.

[elnorte]

On 2/4/2020 at 12:42 PM, drsel said:

 

my Cruise had a 32% price drop due to this coronavirus, but when I called Costa they said they cannot reimburse the difference in the form of onboard credit or anything else. There will be no benefit whatsoever. The new price is only for fresh, last minute bookings

 

I heard that other cruise lines,( including the parent company Carnival) give onboard credit to compensate the difference.

 

Is this true that other Cruise lines do so but Costa doesn't?

 

 

I´m not an expert, but maybe you could check the cabin categories that are higher than the one you already gave final payment upon. Check if they reduced prices on those categories and maybe you could end up paying that difference if it´s reasonable to you to get a better cabin deal. Because as far as I know you are able to upgrade (by paying a difference) to a nicer cabin even after you gave final payment. For instance at Costa Mediterranea, I understand that if you have a balcony cabin you can choose to eat at the nicer restaurant.

[drsel]

Were U on the Mediterranea in Jan 2020? They CANCELLED a port due to huge waves, but didnt refund anything for a cancelled port

 

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by drsel

[Deborahw58]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

Were U on the Mediterranea in Jan 2020? They CANCELLED a port due to huge waves, but didnt refund anything for a cancelled port

 

 

Several years ago we were on a Fred Olson cruise in the Caribbean. There was a problem with the engines and we missed two ports one of which we really wanted to visit. In fact we booked the cruise to visit it. We weren't offered any compensation. Never went with Fred Olson again. 

[Pebbels]

1 hour ago, Deborahw58 said:

Several years ago we were on a Fred Olson cruise in the Caribbean. There was a problem with the engines and we missed two ports one of which we really wanted to visit. In fact we booked the cruise to visit it. We weren't offered any compensation. Never went with Fred Olson again. 

Do they normally compensate a missed port?

We missed a port (was supposed to be a overnight visit ,so actaually missed two days) due to bad weather two years ago on MSC Divina. 

[elnorte]

It is my understanding that if your ship misses a port, you have to go to Guest Services to ask for those port taxes back, they will not give them back to you automatically.

[Lunenburg]

On 2/6/2020 at 9:34 AM, d9704011 said:

‘Best time to book’?  I think that’s open to debate.  I book well ahead of time to get the cabin type and location I want and make arrangements for flights/travel and hotels.  Those items are often quite expensive and I include them in the overall cost of the cruise vacation.  Leaving them too long may very well wipe out any cruise price-drop savings let alone having to settle on a cabin I may not want.

On our repositioning cruise recently from Italy to Buenos Aires, there were several couples who had booked guaranteed inside cabins and were very unhappy. They ended up on Deck 2 below the restaurant and had almost constant noise  - one couple tried sleeping in the theatre because they could not get any rest but were kicked out by security.

Another couple did not even get two beds - just a single and a sofa. Another couple also complained of constant noise with waves hitting the outside walls and cook staff rolling trolleys or something till after midnight and then starting again before 4.00am.  They all spent a lot of time at Guest Services trying to get a cabin that they could sleep in with limited success.

I agree paying a little more to get what you want is worth it.

[tenpin]

You need to read the T & C's about missed POC.

Do you really want to dock in a storm or when it is deemed dangerous.

They do not miss out ports for fun but because there is some danger in either docking or other circumstances, yes it is hard if you particully booked to visit a certain port, but would you rather be safe or not.?

As for the post above look before you book at location of cabins easy enough to do on this site.

Edited February 8, 2020 by tenpin

[Deborahw58]

We missed two ports due to problems with the engines. The cruise just before ours had a major leak from the pool and the guests were offered 50% off their next cruise. We didn't get anything. 

[gerryuk]

This has just appeared on the Cost Cruises UK website...……..

 

Important information for the protection of our guests’ and crew’s health.

Dear guest, following the heightening of global alert level declared by the World Health Organization, Costa Cruises has further strengthened precautionary measures for its whole fleet, in order to guarantee maximum safety for guests and crew.

If you have traveled to, from or through continental China during the 14 days preceding your embarkation, or if you are having any sickness symptoms or fever higher than 37,8° C (100,4° F),  we will not be able to let on board our ships.

 

Should you need further information, please contact your travel agent or call 0800.3890622

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, gerryuk said:

This has just appeared on the Cost Cruises UK website...……..

 

Important information for the protection of our guests’ and crew’s health.

Dear guest, following the heightening of global alert level declared by the World Health Organization, Costa Cruises has further strengthened precautionary measures for its whole fleet, in order to guarantee maximum safety for guests and crew.

If you have traveled to, from or through continental China during the 14 days preceding your embarkation, or if you are having any sickness symptoms or fever higher than 37,8° C (100,4° F),  we will not be able to let on board our ships.

 

Should you need further information, please contact your travel agent or call 0800.3890622

Thanks for the info.  Has zero to do with the purpose of this thread.

[drsel]

21 hours ago, elnorte said:

It is my understanding that if your ship misses a port, you have to go to Guest Services to ask for those port taxes back, they will not give them back to you automatically.

on Carnival, when we missed a port, we were automatically given the credit of port fees in our onboard account

Edited February 8, 2020 by drsel

[drsel]

On 2/7/2020 at 5:48 PM, Deborahw58 said:

Several years ago we were on a Fred Olson cruise in the Caribbean. There was a problem with the engines and we missed two ports one of which we really wanted to visit. In fact we booked the cruise to visit it. We weren't offered any compensation. Never went with Fred Olson again. 

Fred olsen is crazy overpriced.

I don't know why anyone ever books it

[Lunenburg]

7 hours ago, tenpin said:

 

As for the post above look before you book at location of cabins easy enough to do on this site.

The problem comes if you book a guaranteed inside cabin, you have no idea where it will be.  One of these couples was told by their agent - how bad could it be?  They found out. 

[tenpin]

Well that is something I would never do regardless of the price, just not worth it. Fancy being under the buffet for a cruise the noise is constant until early morning then starts up again a few hours later.

You are going on holiday the few pounds you save booking a Guaranteed cabin or selecting one is peanuts compared to a week without much sleep.