Financially penalised for booking and paying early! MSC Opera Cuba 2 Sep

Hi All

Just wanted to post a note of warning (yes, this is my first post on this forum as I'm new to cruising but I'm certainly not new to hotel and experience reviews as I pick up a lot of info from tripadvisor).

I booked a week-long cruise for two with MSC sailing from Havana (booking made in early May, sail on 2 September). We chose the cheapest cabin available - not quite the most basic option, but one up from basic, and paid £600 per person. I then paid the balance due 63 days before sailing.

The week after that magic 63 day period, the prices suddenly dropped, so much that I did a dummy booking and could book the cabin right beside ours for £200 less PER PERSON. That's a saving of 33% on what we paid. Because we were within that period, if we cancelled we'd lose £150 per person. So we would still be £100 better off for cancelling.

As you can imagine, I immediately contacted customer service. Hung on the phone for over half an hour, gave up, and tried again. I eventually spoke to someone who said there was nothing they would do for me. I proceeded to email customer service - same response. I emailed again asking for some sort of goodwill gesture that would make me feel a bit happier - again, they would do nothing.

I don't doubt that they are legally covered for that, but it really leaves such a sour taste in my mouth to know that the person staying beside me will have paid so much less than me. I feel that I was penalised for booking early. Perhaps I'm very naïve on booking, but I expect, like most things, that you get the best price when you book early, or else the company will match it (many hotels and airlines will do this). This is absolutely awful service from a huge cruise line, so I would urge you all to beware.

Oh - I have now twice asked for details on how to cancel but I wasn't sent any. I will continue to seek to do it.

Rant over - I'm sad this is my first experience of cruising. If I can help one other person booking to avoid my experience, then the rant will be worth it.

Hi, I'm sorry you've had this experience, but unfortunately it isn't unusual and is the same across the travel industry, not just with MSC. If the ship / hotel isn't filling they will discount to fill those empty spaces otherwise the profit is severely impacted. It's one of the perils of booking early, you're not guarenteed the best deal I'm afriad. When we booked our first cruise we paid the brochure price, nearly £1000 each for the week. As we've got more in to cruising we've got to know what we think the cruise is worth (we tend to aim for between £70-£100 per night for a balcony; you can get cheaper or pay much more) and book when those we feel the itinerary and price is right for us

Thanks for your reply - I feel so stupid for having jumped early. We've paid about £85 per night each for an internal room.

I can't quite understand though why MSC wouldn't do a price-match of some sort, or offer on-board credit. It really discourages people from booking early, and surely that's what they want.

Even Easyjet offer refunds when the price drops!

I had hoped for a lovely relaxing first cruise as I've heard from many people that they are amazing - sadly the experience is soured already.

Price drops happen every day, on every cruise line, on every airline, on every hotel. It is a gamble and a game. Unfortunately, you lost this. Many here on cc advise never to look back once you are booked and paid. Forget about it and move on and enjoy your cruise.:cool: If they did something for you, they would have to do it for everyone. It is a business.

I know I sound like a cry baby, but I've never had this experience with a holiday before, despite what you say about it happening all the time. I take ski holidays twice a year - it has never happened to me with ski holidays, and I've had money back from an airline when they dropped their price after I booked.

If I knew beforehand that it was likely to happen, I'd have held off. Just wanted to post this in case there's anyone in my position who hasn't cruised before.

Particularly dropping the price just after anyone who had booked would have had to pay the full balance, and when they would be entitled to less of a refund on cancellation. Just seems sneaky.

And if the price had gone up would you have sent cheque for difference!!!!!

Life happens..if you book early you probably get choice on airfares and you were happy with the price paid.

Sent from my ME371MG using Forums mobile app

I know I sound like a cry baby, but I've never had this experience with a holiday before, despite what you say about it happening all the time. I take ski holidays twice a year - it has never happened to me with ski holidays, and I've had money back from an airline when they dropped their price after I booked.

 

If I knew beforehand that it was likely to happen, I'd have held off. Just wanted to post this in case there's anyone in my position who hasn't cruised before.

 

Particularly dropping the price just after anyone who had booked would have had to pay the full balance, and when they would be entitled to less of a refund on cancellation. Just seems sneaky.

Again..it happens all the time. I book all of my cruises at least 1 year in advance...with the required deposit. I do not pay the balance until "Final Payment Date" and guess what? The price drops the day after "Final Payment Due" Do I get upset about it? No..it is business.

A lot of the problem is created by the "system" they seem to have in the US. Experienced cruisers seem to book several cruises or even a number of cabins at minimum cost - not sure why -maybe to try an get an upgrade for a fee or even a free upgrade. Just before final payment they then seem to have the option of cancelling their booking, doing an upgrade or changing to a different cruise with the same company. I dont hear of many UK cruise people doing this though some have started booking with a US TA so they can.

Spotting price drops and ringing up for a refund or upgrade seems to go on all the time - here they would be likely to just say yeh you can cancel and change but you will lose your deposit - ie more than you would gain.

This US ability to change or cancel near to the final date causes there to suddenly be a glut of unsold cabins

so what else can the company do but drop the price. I have heard tales of a cruise being booked out then

after final payment date incentives being offered for a late booking..

There is sometimes an incentive to booking early - choice of cabin - maybe reduced drinks package which

is not available when the basic price is reduced.

2 or three times a year Virgin Trains has a sale often this is just weeks after I have booked an advance fare

which is supposed to be the lowest available. Everytime I complain on their advance fares feedback and say they should give advice of the sale for a period beyond the current availability of advance fares. But never get any response

Hopefully someone can come back and explain the US cruise booking system and more detail on Price Drops

exchanges and upgrades.

In case your wondering here's the cancelllation policy on their website -- you would have lost 50% of your cruise price if you were going to cancel. This happens to everyone...I'd suggest forgetting about it and enjoy the vacation. Or see if a high category rooms is less in cost and upgrade?

CRUISE < 15 NIGHTS CRUISE > 15 NIGHTS89 days - 61 daysDeposit Non-Refundable109 days - 61daysDeposit Non-Refundable60 days to 46 days50% Penalty60 days to 46 days50% Penalty45 days - 16 days75% Penalty45 days - 31 days75% Penalty15 days until departure100% Penalty30 days until departure100% Penalty

Oh yes, I was fully informed of their policies, I did all my research (afterwards).

Would I have sent a cheque if the price had increased - no, as MSC will have had the benefit of having had my cash way in advance. That would be an incentive to book early - rather than a penalty, as has been applied here. By giving MSC my money in advance, I have tied up my cash for their benefit so they have also had an advantage. That's how "working capital" works.

The point on the USA cancellations is very interesting.

I guess it's the % here - I've paid 150% of what someone booking today would be paying. We paid that because there were no cheaper prices available but now it seems there are.

Sorry for all this moaning - I'm an accountant, continually chasing numbers and %s and value for money. I'm just sore I got caught out and I have learned my lesson on cruise booking anyway.

First world problems as they say!

Particularly dropping the price just after anyone who had booked would have had to pay the full balance, and when they would be entitled to less of a refund on cancellation. Just seems sneaky.

It's deliberate because if they allowed those who had booked and paid in full to cancel after a price drop, their revenues would suffer hugely. If you wait, you risk not getting the room you wanted or that a price may rise if the cruise is well booked. In 8 cruises, I have not seen any price drops after final payment. You were unlucky.

Hi IrishRosh,

You lost the first round but hopefully you will get a visit from "The Upgrade Fairy". :D

A lot of the problem is created by the "system" they seem to have in the US. Experienced cruisers seem to book several cruises or even a number of cabins at minimum cost - not sure why -maybe to try an get an upgrade for a fee or even a free upgrade. Just before final payment they then seem to have the option of cancelling their booking, doing an upgrade or changing to a different cruise with the same company.

Thanks for this explanation. I've never seen it before expressed in that way but it makes sense. I hope somebody who knows a bit more about the various different Cruise Lines will weigh in to fill in some blanks. It almost sounds like experienced Cruisers could deliberately book and thereby block out cabins, knowing that they can cancel without penalty just before final payment is due, and then wait a few days for those cabins to be made available at a lower price. If that's the case it makes a lot of sense that the cruise lines are beginning to take action to make it more difficult to get a good price with a refundable fare.

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

I'm sorry and, yes, it totally stinks. However it is rather common for prices to drop after final payment in order to sell unsold cabins. GENERALLY speaking, however, if you work through a TA and the drop is significant there can be an opportunity for some goodwill in terms of an upgrade. I have a lot of flexibility as I live in FL so have a wide choice of ports that I can drive to so I can wait until 60 days out in many cases to book. But even then prices will continue to drop.... Argh.... so I have learned (the hard way) to book when the price is right for me and then not to look again at the prices! A cruise ship does not want to sail with unsold cabins and unlike air, when last minute travelers expect to be gouged, just the opposite will happen.

It is a bummer. I also find it frustrating when I see Florida resident discounts or Canadian discounts, or when I realize that a huge portion of the population has access to the interline discount. Half of the people on the ship are paying half of what I did!!

You are letting an industry policy effect your cruise. Don't let it. It's an industry wide policy. After final payment, price either increases or decreases. It's all about supply and demand for whatever cabin catagory is selling or not.

As others have pointed out, this is the norm in the industry. Its a trade-off. When you book early you have your choice of cabins. We book when the cabin we want is available and the price is fair to us. Booking late may net you a better price, but fewer cabin options. We sail regularly on various lines and none of them allow you to price match after final payment anymore. Believe me, there will always be someone on board who paid more than you and someone who paid less.

Let's say that, having booked and paid and entered into a contract with MSC you...

...did a dummy booking and could book the cabin right beside ours for £200...

My guess is that you wouldn't, because you have a contract with MSC. You can hold that up and say "'this is what we agreed' - you can change what price you charge future buyers, but you can't change MY price."

The nature of a contract is that both parties get to hold each other to it - it's not a one-way thing.

It's a shame that you made the error of assuming that MSC operates on the same business model as EasyJet, but now you know for the future that different industries and companies have different business models.

I think it's a shame that you've 'soured' your

...lovely relaxing first cruise.

by persuading yourself that you've been 'Financially penalised' somehow. The fact is, you're going to get exactly what you paid for, at the price you agreed to pay. If you didn't think that was a fair price.... you didn't have to pay it.

I recommend that you use the site I'm going to link here. (However, I suspect that CruiseCritic are going to block this link, so if it doesn't work, try Googling 'Cruise price drop alerts done right'.) It will help demonstrate how cruise prices go down as well as up... and hopefully help you pay the lowest possible price next time.

Please try and forget what everyone else paid, and get on with enjoying your cruise.

Thanks for this explanation. I've never seen it before expressed in that way but it makes sense. I hope somebody who knows a bit more about the various different Cruise Lines will weigh in to fill in some blanks. It almost sounds like experienced Cruisers could deliberately book and thereby block out cabins, knowing that they can cancel without penalty just before final payment is due, and then wait a few days for those cabins to be made available at a lower price. If that's the case it makes a lot of sense that the cruise lines are beginning to take action to make it more difficult to get a good price with a refundable fare.

 

 

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

This is probably why Royal has gone to non refundable deposits with change fees

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

No, you have not been penalized for booking early. You booked and paid a price that you considered fair at the time.

Not all cruise lines allow the price drop game. It is common for some entry level lines to allow this, but they obviously allow for the penny pinching in their calculation of the money that will be available for them to spend on the passenger per diem outlay.

It does make a difference in the quality of what is offered on the cruise.

Welcome to the mysterious (and frustrating) world of cruise pricing. Since you are in the UK....you have different "rules" then we have here in North America....partially because of certain "consumer laws" of your wonderful European Union :).

But consider that cruise lines (until recently) have played a pretty regular game with pricing. Prior to having to make your final payment, it is usually possible to get a cruise "repriced" if the pricing or promotions present a better deal. But once you make your final payment and get inside the final payment period, most cruise lines will no longer do price adjustments. This is the time when cruise lines will sometimes offer some amazing deals...in order to sell their remaining inventory. Those of us who have a lot of flexibility (regarding cruise dates, lines, ships, etc) will often wait until inside this final payment period and book some of the bargains. But the downside is that if you want a particular cruise....it is possible there will be no "good deals" and, in fact...the price could even increase...or the ship sell out before you book.

Consider that its not much different then buying an automobile. You go to the dealer and negotiate a price. A few weeks later, that dealer has a huge sale....and sells your type of car at a much lower price. What can you do? Or assume you purchase airline tickets on Brit Air to fly round trip to NYC. A few days after you purchase your tickets, Brit Air drops the fare by 10%. What can you do? Just remember that Life is Good.

Hank

I guess it's the % here - I've paid 150% of what someone booking today would be paying. We paid that because there were no cheaper prices available but now it seems there are.

 

Sorry for all this moaning - I'm an accountant, continually chasing numbers and %s and value for money. I'm just sore I got caught out and I have learned my lesson on cruise booking anyway.

If it makes you feel better (it shouldn't), there are more people on the ship who paid more than you than there are who paid less than you. When the price increased after you booked, did you feel better? Those people paid the higher price but the smart ones don't care if there is a "fire sale" right before the cruise as MSC tries to fill the last few empty staterooms.

By booking early, you had the choice of stateroom while people booking now have a limited choice in (likely) less desirable locations.

You were happy with the price when you booked and that's all that matters.

Hi All

 

 

 

Just wanted to post a note of warning (yes, this is my first post on this forum as I'm new to cruising but I'm certainly not new to hotel and experience reviews as I pick up a lot of info from tripadvisor).

 

I booked a week-long cruise for two with MSC sailing from Havana (booking made in early May, sail on 2 September). We chose the cheapest cabin available - not quite the most basic option, but one up from basic, and paid £600 per person. I then paid the balance due 63 days before sailing.

 

 

 

The week after that magic 63 day period, the prices suddenly dropped, so much that I did a dummy booking and could book the cabin right beside ours for £200 less PER PERSON. That's a saving of 33% on what we paid. Because we were within that period, if we cancelled we'd lose £150 per person. So we would still be £100 better off for cancelling.

 

 

 

As you can imagine, I immediately contacted customer service. Hung on the phone for over half an hour, gave up, and tried again. I eventually spoke to someone who said there was nothing they would do for me. I proceeded to email customer service - same response. I emailed again asking for some sort of goodwill gesture that would make me feel a bit happier - again, they would do nothing.

 

 

 

I don't doubt that they are legally covered for that, but it really leaves such a sour taste in my mouth to know that the person staying beside me will have paid so much less than me. I feel that I was penalised for booking early. Perhaps I'm very naïve on booking, but I expect, like most things, that you get the best price when you book early, or else the company will match it (many hotels and airlines will do this). This is absolutely awful service from a huge cruise line, so I would urge you all to beware.

 

 

 

Oh - I have now twice asked for details on how to cancel but I wasn't sent any. I will continue to seek to do it.

 

 

 

Rant over - I'm sad this is my first experience of cruising. If I can help one other person booking to avoid my experience, then the rant will be worth it.

Last minute sales are famous for their good prices and all cruise lines do it.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It's no different than airlines...

My upcoming xmas cruise flight was $450 (1 stop over) from Toronto to Orlando -- same flight 2 months later is over $1000. I wish I booked then. Now the best I'm looking at is around $800. I'm holding out but if the price goes up, I'm screwed, if prove goes down I'm happy.

Will it ruin my vacation? It will probably dampen my spending habits a bit but hey, I'm on vacation....

As an accountant -- do you even think cancelling the cruise, losing the majority of your payment is going to teach the cruise line a lesson? Doubt it but, hey if it makes you feel better, it might open up a room for a better price for someone else....

I'm sorry you've had this experience. The only reason I look back at rates is so that I can see how much and when rates drop. We'll be retired soon and then able to pick up cruises after price drops. If you were happy with your original purchase, then you got a good deal. And remember, the geography of where you live give you options for experiences and prices I could not access because of the logistics of me traveling from US (if that makes sense).