The fare went down. What did Seabourn do for you?

Got an email this morning proclaiming reduced fares on certain voyages. The one we are booked on, and which is of course fewer than 120 days out, went down $2000/couple. Seabourn will not honor the price drop, which is not surprising. They have offered a guaranteed upgrade or additional shipboard credit. Trying to get both. My agent is working on it, but it's not looking good. What has Seabourn done for you when the price went down just after the cancellation phase kicked in? Thanks for any advice, commiseration, etc. Linda

We were given a choice of an upgrade or on board credit,but not both.

When prices are lowered it is normally only the OB (Guarantee) suites which are reduced.

If you have booked a specific cabin grade and have been allocated a suite number it is unlikely that these will have been reduced although you can check on the Seabourn website for your particular trip.

If you have booked a guarantee Seabourn will normally honour the lower price and not expect you to take an upgrade or onboard credit.

Unfortunately, my V3 cabin area did not have a price drop, so no luck there....

When prices are lowered it is normally only the OB (Guarantee) suites which are reduced.

If you have booked a specific cabin grade and have been allocated a suite number it is unlikely that these will have been reduced although you can check on the Seabourn website for your particular trip.

If you have booked a guarantee Seabourn will normally honour the lower price and not expect you to take an upgrade or onboard credit.

That's what I would have hoped. I booked an OB, but they will not honor the lower price. They are offering a definite V3 or a V3 guarantee upgrade or $1000 credit. I'm thinking the credit is the better deal. Have always booked a guarantee and got a V3 or higher assignment anyway. Agent is trying. Each time she called, they offered a little more. So we haven't given up yet. Thanks for the info.

This is at least the second significant drop in fares since the beginning of the 120 penalty period. I can understand Seabourn wanting to fill the ship, but it is a little disheartening for those who booked well in advance at a significantly higher fare. Is this common practice for Seabourn? Perhaps it is common throughout the industry and I was't aware of it as we have always been on itineraries with other lines that have filled quickly.

We have twice received the lowered price, both between 90 and 120 days before sail date, definitely before final payment is due. You have to keep an eye on the your particular sailing and alert your travel agent.

Seabourn now has many berths to fill every week. The went from the little sisters and were called the Yachts of Seabourn, to much larger ships and many more berths and are now called Seabourn Cruiseline. It's not as easy to fill these larger ships as it was to fill the little sisters.

And so, as it gets closer and closer to sailing date, the marginal cruises get more and more price reductions.

Previously they only had to find 630 passengers a week to fill the triplets. Now they have to find 1,874 passengers a week for the 3 Odyssey class ships and the new Encore. (And when the Ovation sails in 2018, there will be another 600 berths to fill for a total of almost 2,500 berths. :eek:)

While 1,874 is still a lot less than a single ship on most mass market lines, it's a lot more people than they previously had to sign up for the weekly cruises. (NB: Most cruises are still 7-days).

Certain premium itineraries still carry a premium price; more competitive itineraries, a more competitive price. That's why HA is running the company. While still trying to be a premium, luxury line, they have to be aggressive in their marketing to fill those berths. Once the ship departs, the berths are worth $0.0.

We were given a choice of an upgrade or on board credit,but not both.

Which did you take?

We took the credit.We had the suite we wanted and did not want to gamble on where they would put us.

Using the credit was difficult and left some on the table.In the past we always left it to the crew but that option is no longer available.

We have twice received the lowered price, both between 90 and 120 days before sail date, definitely before final payment is due. You have to keep an eye on the your particular sailing and alert your travel agent.

Thanks to having a great TA we received the first reduction which was significant. For this later one we were offered a credit or upgrade. Since we are booked in an OB we are considering taking the upgrade so we can get something better than a V1 which I assume is all that will be left when the dust settles.

Thanks to having a great TA we received the first reduction which was significant. For this later one we were offered a credit or upgrade. Since we are booked in an OB we are considering taking the upgrade so we can get something better than a V1 which I assume is all that will be left when the dust settles.

Where are you going? I think there are only 2 V3's still available on our trip, so a V3 "guarantee" could lead to something better. Unless we take a lot of Seabourn shore excursions, a previous poster is correct that it would be difficult to use up the $1000 additional credit which is combinable with the $400 referral bonus. Decisions, decisions.

When this happened to is lady summer SB via out TA honoured both price drops. We were OB and are in UK so policies may differ.

Sorry last summer!

Where are you going? I think there are only 2 V3's still available on our trip, so a V3 "guarantee" could lead to something better. Unless we take a lot of Seabourn shore excursions, a previous poster is correct that it would be difficult to use up the $1000 additional credit which is combinable with the $400 referral bonus. Decisions, decisions.

We are doing the 21 day Northern Europe out of Lisbon. With the referral, shareholder credit, and now this we will have a healthy OBC, but figure between internet, spa access, etc. we will eat it up without too much difficulty. When fares initially dropped we were very lucky to get the reduction ( as it was just a couple of days past the start of the penalty period). We never would have been able to spend that credit. For us, even a V1 is fine. Location does not matter to us as the veranda suites are all the same inside. I would much prefer the $, unless Seabourn wants to upgrade us to a PH:).

We are doing the 21 day Northern Europe out of Lisbon. With the referral, shareholder credit, and now this we will have a healthy OBC, but figure between internet, spa access, etc. we will eat it up without too much difficulty. When fares initially dropped we were very lucky to get the reduction ( as it was just a couple of days past the start of the penalty period). We never would have been able to spend that credit. For us, even a V1 is fine. Location does not matter to us as the veranda suites are all the same inside. I would much prefer the $, unless Seabourn wants to upgrade us to a PH:).

We decided to take the OBC as well. We are doing Arabia and the Holy lands, and there are a few places that are pretty far from the ship (e.g., Petra) that we will be visiting. I think I'll enjoy the excursion more if I know that if we get delayed, the ship should wait.

We decided to take the OBC as well. We are doing Arabia and the Holy lands, and there are a few places that are pretty far from the ship (e.g., Petra) that we will be visiting. I think I'll enjoy the excursion more if I know that if we get delayed, the ship should wait.

Congrats on getting a nice credit!

Congrats on getting a nice credit!

Would rather have paid $2000 less up front! But the credit will help as some of the obsessing about whether to do a ship excursion vs. a private tour will be unnecessary. A price drop has never been an issue before, because we always booked last minute in the past. You live and learn. One thing we are sure of is that we will love every minute of our time on board and another wonderful, worry-free vacation/adventure awaits.