Price drop within a few days of final payment

[Caz L.]

I'm a little miffed about something that happened to us just now. We booked a cruise with RCI literally days ago and was asked for full payment the very next day. We had been keeping a close eye on the pricing of this particular itinerary and it seemed like it had been fluctuating a bit, and so when it came down to a price that we thought would stay, we bought. And within days, it dropped another whopping $600! So, we phoned them up to see if they'd do anything but wow, the reluctance to extend any sort of courtesy was quite astounding. We usually don't run into any issue with RCI but this was the first time I've felt legitimately stood up or, dare I, cheated by them! It all happened literally within a few days and they wouldn't do anything about it. Policies be damned! I will take ANY adjustment at this point. I wouldn't argue over $200, but $600?!

 

Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any advice or tips on how to get over this hurdle?

[RD64]

You purchased a cruise at a price that you thought was acceptable. Why do you feel RCI owes you something?

[Love being Mimi]

I would feel the same way.  When you called they said no?  I would call back and go up the chain.  Good luck

[Merion_Mom]

Doesn't matter when you booked.

 

Before final payment date:  money back.

 

After final payment date:  no money back.

 

Simple.

 

 

[Caz L.]

1 minute ago, Love being Mimi said:

I would feel the same way.  When you called they said no?  I would call back and go up the chain.  Good luck

Yeah, we did. We called and tried to explain. The person on the phone appeared sympathetic as they did admit that it was a large discrepancy. But it was also presented to us in a pretty black & white manner in the end. Again, quite surprising as they were usually quite empathetic towards these things. We're told their policies have changed (for the worse, I suppose). 😞

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, Caz L. said:

Yeah, we did. We called and tried to explain. The person on the phone appeared sympathetic as they did admit that it was a large discrepancy. But it was also presented to us in a pretty black & white manner in the end. Again, quite surprising as they were usually quite empathetic towards these things. We're told their policies have changed (for the worse, I suppose). 😞

 

The policy has not changed.  This has been the policy for a very very very long time.  There was some laxness in the policy during the slow re-start of cruising, but that has ended.

[HicksRA]

Have you looked to see if you can upgrade to a higher level category at an equally reduced price?  

[twangster]

On March 1, 2022 the policy changed.  The Best Price Guarantee that came with Cruise with Confidence stopped for cruises booked after March 1, 2022 because CWC stopped for cruises booked after March 1, 2022.  

 

If you booked this cruise prior to March 1, 2022 then after final payment due date the price dropped you would have been issued OBC for the price adjustment.  Once CWC ended for new cruises booked after March 1,2022 the Best Price Guarantee reverted to the old best price guarantee that says you have 24 hours to find a better price after booking.  

 

So for a cruise that was recently booked (after Mar. 1, 2022) once final payment due date has passed there is no price adjustment available.  They are correct.  

[Caz L.]

12 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Have you looked to see if you can upgrade to a higher level category at an equally reduced price?  

Yes, this is a grand suggestion! We did go through that option. The person on the phone got really excited and told us it was possible but then later apologised because he "saw the wrong price" and realised they couldn't offer us anything after all. 😞

[firefly333]

I have been thinking there will be more deals offered after final payment date. Maybe for future bookings it's best to wait to book past final payment. I actually was expecting this as ships arent full. I saw some crazy good prices for my sept liberty last weekend. Buyer beware. 

[Caz L.]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I have been thinking there will be more deals offered after final payment date. Maybe for future bookings it's best to wait to book past final payment. I actually was expecting this as ships arent full. I saw some crazy good prices for my sept liberty last weekend. Buyer beware. 

Yes, that's a good thought, for sure! I also suspect the ship won't be full. Argh - did this exact situation happen to you too then? We've definitely got some really good last minute deals before, so maybe stick to the old strategy going forward! 🙂

[Caz L.]

8 minutes ago, twangster said:

On March 1, 2022 the policy changed.  The Best Price Guarantee that came with Cruise with Confidence stopped for cruises booked after March 1, 2022 because CWC stopped for cruises booked after March 1, 2022.  

 

If you booked this cruise prior to March 1, 2022 then after final payment due date the price dropped you would have been issued OBC for the price adjustment.  Once CWC ended for new cruises booked after March 1,2022 the Best Price Guarantee reverted to the old best price guarantee that says you have 24 hours to find a better price after booking.  

 

So for a cruise that was recently booked (after Mar. 1, 2022) once final payment due date has passed there is no price adjustment available.  They are correct.  

Yes, we were told of this change. Still sad. 😞 

But thanks for taking the time to share. 🙂

[barbeyg]

If you have time before your sailing, watch the pricing on higher categories. If those come down, you can always call and ask to be moved. 

[Caz L.]

1 hour ago, barbeyg said:

If you have time before your sailing, watch the pricing on higher categories. If those come down, you can always call and ask to be moved. 

That's a really cool idea, actually! Thanks for this suggestion! 
Hope you've got a fun cruise planned soon! 🙂

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, Caz L. said:

it seemed like it had been fluctuating a bit,

Welcome to CC.

 

The trend pre-COVID seems to be returning in that when that happens (price fluctuations) there might be drops inside final and perhaps even more closer to sailing. While looking at a cruise, don't just monitor the prices, also monitor inventory (at a site other than RCI). If there's lots of inventory, price will likely fall inside final. Even now, look at inventory in categories above what you booked - that will determine any price drops.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Biker19

[Caz L.]

9 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC.

 

The trend pre-COVID seems to be returning in that when that happens (price fluctuations) there might be drops inside final and perhaps even more closer to sailing. While looking at a cruise, don't just monitor the prices, also monitor inventory (at a site other than RCI). If there's lots of inventory, price will likely fall inside final. Even now, look at inventory in categories above what you booked - that will determine any price drops.

That's a really good tip, Biker! Thank you for the helpful answer! I will look up how to do that.  

Edited August 11, 2022 by Caz L.

[Love being Mimi]

I hope something works out for you.  When do you sail.

[Caz L.]

1 hour ago, Love being Mimi said:

I hope something works out for you.  When do you sail.

Thank you so much, Mimi! October. 🙂

Hope you have something fun booked this year too!

[Love being Mimi]

27 minutes ago, Caz L. said:

Thank you so much, Mimi! October. 🙂

Hope you have something fun booked this year too!

We are going Sept 25th,  on Liberty of the Sea

[fweegy]

On 8/10/2022 at 4:22 PM, Merion_Mom said:

Doesn't matter when you booked.

 

Before final payment date:  money back.

 

After final payment date:  no money back.

 

Simple.

 

 

Boy, are you wrong. Our May cruise dropped in price and when I called about it, not only had I made final payment, it was also after final payment due date. RC gave me the reduced price and they put it on my OBC to the tune of $2217.00. Simple.

[fweegy]

On 8/10/2022 at 4:09 PM, Caz L. said:

I'm a little miffed about something that happened to us just now. We booked a cruise with RCI literally days ago and was asked for full payment the very next day. We had been keeping a close eye on the pricing of this particular itinerary and it seemed like it had been fluctuating a bit, and so when it came down to a price that we thought would stay, we bought. And within days, it dropped another whopping $600! So, we phoned them up to see if they'd do anything but wow, the reluctance to extend any sort of courtesy was quite astounding. We usually don't run into any issue with RCI but this was the first time I've felt legitimately stood up or, dare I, cheated by them! It all happened literally within a few days and they wouldn't do anything about it. Policies be damned! I will take ANY adjustment at this point. I wouldn't argue over $200, but $600?!

 

Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any advice or tips on how to get over this hurdle?

Keep trying and keep asking for a higher supervisor. Our May cruise dropped in price and when I called about it, not only had I made final payment, it was also after final payment due date. RC gave me the reduced price and they put it on my OBC to the tune of $2217.00. Something else you can do....go to the RC pages on Facebook and Twitter and voice your displeasure publicly. I can promise you RC will get back to you and want to speak to you in private message. These companies hate dirty laundry being aired in public forums on social media. It has worked every time for me with airlines, cable companies, etc......

[Caz L.]

38 minutes ago, fweegy said:

Keep trying and keep asking for a higher supervisor. Our May cruise dropped in price and when I called about it, not only had I made final payment, it was also after final payment due date. RC gave me the reduced price and they put it on my OBC to the tune of $2217.00. Something else you can do....go to the RC pages on Facebook and Twitter and voice your displeasure publicly. I can promise you RC will get back to you and want to speak to you in private message. These companies hate dirty laundry being aired in public forums on social media. It has worked every time for me with airlines, cable companies, etc......

That's lucky! Glad you got to adjust your payment, and hope you enjoyed the cruise! 🙂 

There was some policy change in March that makes it harder for you to do price adjustments now. They narrowed the window to 48 hours of booking date (is what we were told on the phone). 😞 

[George C]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:36 PM, HicksRA said:

Have you looked to see if you can upgrade to a higher level category at an equally reduced price?  

We had a grand suite on oasis, price kept going down, I kept calling and getting new price , then the owners suite was cheaper than my original grand suite and we got the owners suite.

[hal2008]

It seems moral of the story is that if you are not hung up on particular sailing then it is best to wait until it is 2-3 weeks remaining (but monitor inventory)

 

If you live near a homeport and have flexibility then for a sailing with huge inventory, you can even get cruise fare that is less than port taxes!! 

 

Inventory status is the key

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, fweegy said:

Our May cruise dropped in price and when I called about it, not only had I made final payment, it was also after final payment due date.

That won't work after next month.