Please make me feel better with your after final payment price drop stories...

The price on our June cruise just dropped by about $300. I'm happy with the price I paid and I know that's part of the deal when booking a cruise, but $300 is still tough to swallow.

I've already talked to my TA about an upgrade, OBC, etc. and it's a no-go.

Can anyone else commiserate? What's the worst after final payment price drop you've had to endure?

$600 on international airfare for two. The rebooking fee made it a wash so I just had to accept it ... still bothers me!

$600 on international airfare for two. The rebooking fee made it a wash so I just had to accept it ... still bothers me!

Ouch! I can see why.

I always TRY to look at it as I got the best deal at the time with the information I had leaving it late sometimes means you don't get the room or seat you want in the words of the old Chinese proverb you just have to suck it up

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I always TRY to look at it as I got the best deal at the time with the information I had leaving it late sometimes means you don't get the room or seat you want in the words of the old Chinese proverb you just have to suck it up

That's a good way to look at it. Fortunately, I thought I got a good price when I booked, but who doesn't want to pay the lowest price possible? My husband can't understand why I bother to look, but I can't seem to help myself!

That's a good way to look at it. Fortunately, I thought I got a good price when I booked, but who doesn't want to pay the lowest price possible? My husband can't understand why I bother to look, but I can't seem to help myself!

I've trained myself to not look after final payment. But if you must look .... do a mock booking and see which cabins are available. I have found they are usually ones under the pool or above / below a nightclub, etc. If there are only "Guarantees" left just be aware that they could be anywhere on the ship that cabin class, or one NCL deems equal or higher is located.

And price out air fare if bought today. Many times the increase in air fare is more than the savings on the cruise.

And price out air fare if bought today. Many times the increase in air fare is more than the savings on the cruise.

Fortunately, we're in driving distance of Hamburg and Copenhagen, so we don't have that variable.

I don't understand the whole price drop thing. Happens daily on airfare but for some reason people accept that more than they do for cruise price drops.

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Happens daily on airfare but for some reason people accept that more than they do for cruise price drops.

Most will probably agree that it sucks with airfare, too. Case in point, the first reply on this thread.

I'm happy with the price I paid ...

You (by booking earlier) had the choice of stateroom. People booking now have to take what they can get. It's less now because NCL just wants to put bodies in the empty staterooms.

If the price went up $300, would that make your cruise any better?

If the price drops $300, would that make your cruise any worse?

Enjoy your cruise. Don't worry that someone in the same stateroom category paid less....or more.

I don't understand the whole price drop thing. Happens daily on airfare but for some reason people accept that more than they do for cruise price drops.

 

This! I've never once looked at the cost of airfare after I've booked. When I buy a new car, I don't keep checking at the dealership to see if I could have gotten a better deal if I'd waited. And, I don't check cruise fares after final payment. I don't understand why people do that if they can't get OBC or an upgrade. Some report being able to do that, but most say there was no compensation.

I'll share a story--not about an after-final-payment price drop, but about what happens when you book late and get that great price. When we went on our first Alaska cruise, we didn't know if we'd be able to go until 3 weeks before the cruise so we waited to book. When we booked it, there was only one balcony left on the entire ship! We booked it, and believe me, I would have paid a LOT to be in a cabin that wasn't underneath the Lido galley. At 3:30-4:00 every morning there was a huge racket of banging pans and all kinds of noise. It was not a very restful cruise. Did we pay less than others in the same category? Undoubtedly. But, we paid for the monetary savings with sleepless nights! Ever since that experience I've made sure to book far enough in advance to have a cabin that is not below or above a public area or galley. To me, that's the biggest benefit of booking early.

Most will probably agree that it sucks with airfare, too. Case in point, the first reply on this thread.

I disagree. Most people are more used to airlines prices fluctuating but they do not grasp the concept that it happens as well with cruises. You hear far more people complain about price drops on cruises than you do about airfare.

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No reason to feel bad OP. You win some and lose some. It will all even itself out in the end.

After getting anxious about bidding, I canceled all my bids and just upgraded to the category we wanted, then watched as it dropped $200 and then another $200 in price. $400 in total since Havens haven't sold much for our cruise that leaves in less than 2 weeks. Since they no longer offer OBC within 30 sailing days, we just upgraded from H9 to H5, which also dropped in price. Now the H5 dropped another $200, and H7 is now the same price we paid to originally upgrade to the Haven. I told my husband wouldn't it be great if the H4 came down to that price. Outside of credits, one can only upgrade to a point 🤣

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my may cruise dropped quite a bit. My PCC was able to move me from a forward balcony room on deck 10 to a mid ship mini suite on deck 11 at no charge.

I dont know if it will help or not but we booked our November cruise over a year ago. The price went up and up and up and almost doubled and then...there were no more. So if I had waited until after final payment date to see if the prices would drop, I would not have a room in a category I wanted and in a place I wanted and we still have 190 days to go. So..When I see things like the price drop and there are still rooms available I just remind myself that I could be without a room. It is pretty much luck of the drawl I think.

When prices drop right before the cruise starts I like the idea because it means we could get upgrade offers or could sail with a less than full ship, either one a plus. I just retired and am renewing my passport in a few weeks, and being a bus ride away from NYC I can't wait to be available for last minute price drops.

My balcony dropped about $300 pp and they are now offering OBC for $300 on that cabin class. I called today and they gave me $150 in OBC. I'll take it!

Our story is we were booked in an Aft Facing Penthouse on Pearl. Shortly (within days) after final payment the price dropped almost 50%. I called AARP EXPEDIA and asked them to contact NCL about it. NCL was very accommodating. What they gave us was 50% of the difference in a future cruise credit. Worked out fine as far as we were concerned since they could have told us to pack sand.

I have always managed to benefit from price drops, even after final payment. It's usually as simple as asking. All they can do is say no and I would be totally prepared to accept a no but so far I haven't had to.

BTW I monitor prices on just about any purchase I make where an adjustment might be possible. I price match in stores and take advantage of price protection offered by my credit cards. I don't obsess but if I think about it, I check.

Fortunately, we're in driving distance of Hamburg and Copenhagen, so we don't have that variable.

If your schedule is very flexible you should be able to snag some great deals on cruises then. You just can't start with the expectation that you will be able to cruise when you want to and still get the last minute deals ... they only lower prices if they have to!

It's a bit more difficult to calculate the pricing now with the continuing specials; if you drink and can't take advantage of the "free for $100" drink package on NCL you have to add your drink cost into the fare. So there are a lot of variables, and I think as passengers get more sophisticated I think the cruise pricing will as well. I think you would call their pricing right now "demand pricing".

I suspect at some point there will be published fares and then the fare specifically for returning customers, and those fares will vary widely from passenger to passenger. If you spent $2,000 in the casino on your last cruise you'll get a bigger discount than the passenger who doesn't spend much on board. People who remove the service fees will have a cruise that costs $100 more to compensate for it. Customers that have cruised once will have a larger discount for their second cruise to get them back on board, and those that cruise 3 times a year like clockwork but rarely spend much on board will have smaller discounts..

BTW I monitor prices on just about any purchase I make where an adjustment might be possible. I price match in stores and take advantage of price protection offered by my credit cards. I don't obsess but if I think about it, I check.

I never thought of this. Does price protection apply to cruise rates?

It's a bit more difficult to calculate the pricing now with the continuing specials; if you drink and can't take advantage of the "free for $100" drink package on NCL you have to add your drink cost into the fare.

You bring up a good point about the specials. I booked when I did because I thought that if they ended up dropping the price further, they might pull the beverage package promo, which would've been a dealbreaker.

This is the first time I ever booked and had the price drop further, so I'll consider myself lucky and enjoy the cruise.

I appreciate everyone sharing :)

The price on our June cruise just dropped by about $300. I'm happy with the price I paid and I know that's part of the deal when booking a cruise, but $300 is still tough to swallow.

 

I've already talked to my TA about an upgrade, OBC, etc. and it's a no-go.

 

Can anyone else commiserate? What's the worst after final payment price drop you've had to endure?

If you where happy with the price, then why would you still monitor prices? I am willing to bet that in the past you have been able to negotiate better deals when the price drops because the info on CC is wonderful. Upgrades , OBC, maybe a specialty package. You received more than want you orginally paid for. You WON! I too have used this method. But we can't win them all:(. Just be thankful that you know how the system works, know in the past you got extra and you get to play the same game on your next cruise. When you always win, that first loss is always hard to swallow. Use this as a learning experience. After all, the way I see it is the only way I can succeed in the future is to have failure in the past and admit that I may have made a mistake. Take responsibility. And I still make many mistakes because I am just to anxious to take that certain cruise (booking to early). Admit that there might be a flaw in your system so you can continue to make better deals in the future:confused:.

Hey you are still taking the cruise you want to take, at the price you though was good to begin with. So keep monitoring those prices. Maybe there is still time to get more.

I am willing to bet that in the past you have been able to negotiate better deals when the price drops...

If you'd read my last post, you'd know that's a losing bet.