Price drop after full payment?

[Fish7]

I booked our cruise to the Mediterranean in July directly through Celebrity and paid our down payment. Then I learned (new to cruising) sometimes travel agents can offer additional offers, or onboard credits if the full payment hasn't been completed yet. Prior to completing the full payment, I ended up transferring the booking to a travel agent, so they are technical handling our cruise booking, even though I originally booked directly through Celebrity.

 

The full payment was due (and paid) at the end of March so it has been paid in full now. 

 

Last week, I noticed a price drop for our cruise. I called the travel agent to ask for a credit for the price difference. The person  I spoke with opened a ticket to issue the credit, but I never heard back. I had to call back a few times to get an update before ultimately speaking with a supervisor that told me once the fare has been paid in full, they aren't able to offer any credits.

 

Has anyone received a refund, credit, or Celebrity On-Board credit after full payment has been made and noticed a price drop?

 

Can a travel agent give a credit, or would that need to go through Celebrity, even if the booking is through a travel agent?

 

Or...is this a lost cause, and something I should let go 🙂

 

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[Alakegirl]

It’s always worth asking the question, and occasionally there have been some reports here on this board of people who received some onboard credit when there was a price drop, but just as often it is a lost cause. It doesn’t matter that you started the booking with Celebrity, because now it belongs to your Travel agent. And by the way, it is against Cruise Critic rules to list your travel agent’s name here, so expect your post to be altered 

[Fish7]

Thanks Alakegirl! I'll try Celebrity and see if I have any luck.

 

Didn't know listing the travel agent was against the rules. I tried to edit after you pointed that out, but it must be too late to edit.

[cruisestitch]

Once you transfer your booking to a travel agency, Celebrity will no longer discuss it with you.

[cruiserchuck]

I am not sure if this is still the case, but pre-Covid, you could upgrade after final payment, as long as your new cabin category is was priced higher than you paid for your old cabin category.  We were once able to move from an Aqua class cabin to a Suite for only about $200 per person when there was a price decrease following final payment.  

[Boatharbour]

3 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

I am not sure if this is still the case, but pre-Covid, you could upgrade after final payment, as long as your new cabin category is was priced higher than you paid for your old cabin category.  We were once able to move from an Aqua class cabin to a Suite for only about $200 per person when there was a price decrease following final payment.  

We made final payment this month for our July cruise. We haven’t had any price drops but I tried to upgrade this week from a SV to a sunset sky suite. The cost of the upgrade was going to be over A$11000!
 

The Celebrity rep explained that the high cost was due to penalties imposed for changing our booking after final payment. We’ll try our luck with a move up bid instead which starts at A$1200 pp but will be more than happy in the SV if that doesn’t work out. 

[smtcan]

I asked about upgrading to Balcony when the price went down after final payment.  We could have done it for $300 pp, but would have lost $400 OBC, so it didn't make sense.  We bid $200 pp when we were offered a chance to move up and were successful, so we thought it was a win.  We kept our OBC.

[jelayne]

After final payment no compensation for a price drop.  Conversely if the price of your cabin category increases after final payment. ( or even before) you are not asked to pay the higher price.

[cruisin lady ca]

There is a policy regarding price adjustments after final payment - 

this is an excerpt:

”

For a request submitted after the due date of final payment AND the booking is within 48 hours from creation, the following applies:

Request for a Lower Cruise Fare

Celebrity will apply an onboard credit to the booking in the amount of 100% of the difference in price.

Request to Add or Change an Added Value Offer

Celebrity will 1) apply an Added Value Offer to booking and 2) go to prevailing eligible cruise fare”

 

The entire policy can be found here:https://www.celebritycruises.com/company/customer-support/best-price-guarantee

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by cruisin lady ca

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 hours ago, jelayne said:

After final payment no compensation for a price drop.  Conversely if the price of your cabin category increases after final payment. ( or even before) you are not asked to pay the higher price.

100% agree with this. But I will say that I have read a thread over the last 12 months where on more than one circumstance a group of passengers were asked to pay more for a booking due to an error made on Celebrity’s part. The passengers could either cough up the extra money or opt for a refund. It turns out that somewhere in the fine print, Celebrity allows themselves the option to raise prices if it’s deemed that an error has occurred. I remember people remarking that there’s not much stopping Celebrity from claiming “error” anytime they choose. Albeit, I think it’s rare, there is precedence for them asking for more money after the fact. 

[mayleeman]

55 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

100% agree with this. But I will say that I have read a thread over the last 12 months where on more than one circumstance a group of passengers were asked to pay more for a booking due to an error made on Celebrity’s part. The passengers could either cough up the extra money or opt for a refund. It turns out that somewhere in the fine print, Celebrity allows themselves the option to raise prices if it’s deemed that an error has occurred. I remember people remarking that there’s not much stopping Celebrity from claiming “error” anytime they choose. Albeit, I think it’s rare, there is precedence for them asking for more money after the fact. 

 

Those were for bookings more than a year or two away that had been priced incorrectly. One CC member provided a chart showing how aberrant the prices were. Another had posted a warning to others to hurry because the prices were obviously too low to be true. And they were contacted within days by Celebrity about the problem,  nowhere near final payment.

 

The cruise clause at issue reserved Celebrity's right to correct errors. No one was asked to pay more just because cabin prices varied as they normally do.. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by mayleeman

[jagoffee]

19 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

We made final payment this month for our July cruise. We haven’t had any price drops but I tried to upgrade this week from a SV to a sunset sky suite. The cost of the upgrade was going to be over A$11000!
 

The Celebrity rep explained that the high cost was due to penalties imposed for changing our booking after final payment. We’ll try our luck with a move up bid instead which starts at A$1200 pp but will be more than happy in the SV if that doesn’t work out. 

Doesn’t sound right to me.  I suggest you check the Celebrity pricing on line for a new Sky Suite booking. Then calculate the difference between what you paid for your existing booking and the price for the Sky Suite.  Armed with that information I suggest you call Celebrity and try again.  There should not be any penalties when buying an upgrade.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

 

Those were for bookings more than a year or two away that had been priced incorrectly. One CC member provided a chart showing how aberrant the prices were. Another had posted a warning to others to hurry because the prices were obviously too low to be true. And they were contacted within days by Celebrity about the problem,  nowhere near final payment.

 

The cruise clause at issue reserved Celebrity's right to correct errors. No one was asked to pay more just because cabin prices varied as they normally do.. 

thanks for refreshing my memory on this situation!!  Yes, I remember there was an error at issue. 

[cruisegirlppp]

Prior to our last cruise I noticed a price drop on our fully paid cruise (booked directly with Celebrity).  I  called and requested to be upgraded to Concierge (which was now priced at what I paid for a balcony). Agent was very pleasant and the upgrade was made without any fuss. 

[sanger727]

I've never been successful with getting a refund or credit due to a price drop after final payment. They don't owe you that, some people may have been successful but it's not a standard policy. I have been offered an upgrade for the difference before post final payment. In my case, it changed the perks so we opted to stay with our room. 

[FeelingCruisy]

Precovid, anytime, before or after final payment, our TA was able to upgrade.  We will never get any refund but always the possibility to upgrade

[jelayne]

17 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

100% agree with this. But I will say that I have read a thread over the last 12 months where on more than one circumstance a group of passengers were asked to pay more for a booking due to an error made on Celebrity’s part. The passengers could either cough up the extra money or opt for a refund. It turns out that somewhere in the fine print, Celebrity allows themselves the option to raise prices if it’s deemed that an error has occurred. I remember people remarking that there’s not much stopping Celebrity from claiming “error” anytime they choose. Albeit, I think it’s rare, there is precedence for them asking for more money after the fact. 

That’s a bit different as it was a noticeable pricing error.

We have a ton of cruises, like you, and on most of our booking the price has gone up and we have not had to pay more.  Every price drop before final payment was honored 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

17 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

100% agree with this. But I will say that I have read a thread over the last 12 months where on more than one circumstance a group of passengers were asked to pay more for a booking due to an error made on Celebrity’s part. The passengers could either cough up the extra money or opt for a refund. It turns out that somewhere in the fine print, Celebrity allows themselves the option to raise prices if it’s deemed that an error has occurred. I remember people remarking that there’s not much stopping Celebrity from claiming “error” anytime they choose. Albeit, I think it’s rare, there is precedence for them asking for more money after the fact. 

I was one of those folks. Told them I was happy with the price I agreed to and they confirmed. Booking is still active and haven't heard from them since. I'm sure many people caved and took the refund or agreed to pay more for their room.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

That’s a bit different as it was a noticeable pricing error.

We have a ton of cruises, like you, and on most of our booking the price has gone up and we have not had to pay more.  Every price drop before final payment was honored 

Agreed!  I only raised the point because while some people may have had an inkling that there was some sort of pricing error...too good to be true...others may not have realized it and might have genuinely thought that was how cruises were priced.  They were in for a surprise when the true fare was presented.  I remember a few months ago someone posted about a sale on an Alaska sailing on the Edge for May, 2024.  I looked at the pricing and sure enough, it was great!  Cheaper than any of the sailings before or after that particular week.  I booked a MC Sky Suite (largely due to your comments about them...so thank you 😊) and the all in price was $2500 pp.  I wondered if this was the actual price or if there was an error and we would get an adjustment later.  I guess my point is, one may think the price is real only to find out later that a mistake was made and a new price is offered.  I'm hoping our booking was the real deal as I just can't fathom why the sailings before and after are significantly more in price.

[dilbertsdaddy]

I was able to get AX to reduce the fare after booking but before final payment.

 

Now I've made my final payment and cruise has been reduced substantially and also with higher OBC.  Any chance AX can get get me additional OBC for the difference or is it a waste of time?

[Hrhbob]

Georgia_Peaches….I am in exactly the same position as you. I too read the post about that Alaska cruise some months ago and jumped on a MC Sky Suite as you did for around $5k, much, much less than the cruise before or after. Is it too good to be true and will we be asked for more $$ due to an X mistake? If so, I will fight like heck to keep what we have as I suspect you and others in our situation will. We shall see what happens at final payment. See you on board😁

[wrk2cruise]

5 hours ago, dilbertsdaddy said:

I was able to get AX to reduce the fare after booking but before final payment.

 

Now I've made my final payment and cruise has been reduced substantially and also with higher OBC.  Any chance AX can get get me additional OBC for the difference or is it a waste of time?

 

Waste of time.  There are no price adjustments after final payment.   As others have stated, if a higher category room is now available for close to what you paid and it's something you would be interested in call and see if you can get upgraded.

Edited May 27, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[graveytrain]

What happens if one pays in full before the final payment due date and then notices a drop?  It is 7 days before final payment is due but my TA made final payment today. When I checked pricing, a few minutes ago, there is a few hundred dollars difference. Do you think I could receive on board credit for this amount? 

[wrk2cruise]

1 minute ago, graveytrain said:

What happens if one pays in full before the final payment due date and then notices a drop?  It is 7 days before final payment is due but my TA made final payment today. When I checked pricing, a few minutes ago, there is a few hundred dollars difference. Do you think I could receive on board credit for this amount? 

You should be able to get the difference refunded.  There is no penalty until the actual final payment date passes.

[graveytrain]

Thanks for the information!