New cruisers - Check your cruise fare price regularly

[Ken the cruiser]

When we first started cruising back in 2012, we never knew we could refare/rebook a cruise IF the price went down prior to the final payment date, especially if it had a refundable deposit. I know, who knew!! Once we finally did, thanks to what we later learned on Cruise Critic, we were able to periodically save some $$$ by just asking for our original cruise fare to be repriced at the lower advertised fare on the cruise line's website. At first, we would ask our cruise line POC to do it. Then as we switched over to a travel agent, we then asked them to do it.

 

Fast forward to today. I realize the cruise fares have continued to rise, especially over the last 6 months or so. But I'm starting to see some downward turns on a few of our 2023 Princess bookings over the last few weeks. You may want to do the same, even if the last time you checked on your particular cabin category it was sold out. Just as suggestion. 

[LACruiser88]

We usually have 4 to 6 cruises booked up to 2 years in advance.  I check prices weekly and you would not believe how much we have saved by re-faring or re-booking (well, maybe you would)!

[cruisingrob21]

It's true - checking regularly can save you lots of money - or give you the "credit" for your very own initiated upgrade.  Just remember to be kind and patient with the TA's that may seem reluctant to help you save money - it's usually a lower commission for them for more work.  Some TA's can do it online in the cruise line portal, others have to call in to Princess.

[JoRoy218]

I found one booked cruise for this year with a decreased fare. Just got onto “live Chat” on Princess site, she took care of it in 5 min.

Also, check EZAir flights, they can drop as well. Found that last year! 

[ontheweb]

But when changing to a lower price, be wary of what could happen. For instance, if you have a low deposit and the new offer comes with a higher one, you must pay the difference in the deposit or you will lose the cruise. Also, if the original offer comes with OBC or other perks, they could be lost if the new lower priced offer does not come with them.

[LACruiser88]

18 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But when changing to a lower price, be wary of what could happen. For instance, if you have a low deposit and the new offer comes with a higher one, you must pay the difference in the deposit or you will lose the cruise. Also, if the original offer comes with OBC or other perks, they could be lost if the new lower priced offer does not come with them.

All of the above have to be measured in to determine if a cruise is lower in price.

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But when changing to a lower price, be wary of what could happen. For instance, if you have a low deposit and the new offer comes with a higher one, you must pay the difference in the deposit or you will lose the cruise. Also, if the original offer comes with OBC or other perks, they could be lost if the new lower priced offer does not come with them.

Good points! That's why it's always smart to read the fine print as well as do the math before making the decision to refare your cruise, especially if you received some unique incentives (e.g., $1 deposit) when you first booked your cruise that may not be applicable during the current offering.

[JoRoy218]

25 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But when changing to a lower price, be wary of what could happen. For instance, if you have a low deposit and the new offer comes with a higher one, you must pay the difference in the deposit or you will lose the cruise. Also, if the original offer comes with OBC or other perks, they could be lost if the new lower priced offer does not come with them.

Absolutely, thanks for adding that! 

[jwattle]

The other "caution" is refare versus rebooking.

Example: refare is where they just lower the fare of your current booking and everything stays put.

For a rebooking, they cancel your current booking and do a whole new one at the new rate; thus all old incentives (OBC, etc..) go away; also, if you'd booked EZ Air, it would be cancelled, and you'd have to rebook at a potentially devastatingly higher price.