Price Guarantee: Royal Caribbean's New Price Drop Policy

[molly361]

If a cruise is listed as a Hot Deal is that the same as a Royal Sales Event or Exciting deal and not eligible if the price drops? Or would those cruises be eligible for a price drop credit if that should happen? Thanks

[Sue L]

Thankyou, is there an announcement on RCI's site somewhere?

 

I'm only asking because I see it only applies to bookings made in the US and Canada and I would like to know what RCI UK have to say about it? It also doesn't say if that would apply people who live in the UK who have booked with a US TA so I would like clarification.

 

No UK has their own separate policies.

[DC2OC]

Ah, Carnival does NOT give the drops AFTER final payment as of a few months ago, if it is available they will do some upgrades but no $$ of any kind.

 

I believe they do it on an early booking program if you book 5 months out and then its in the form of OBC ....Frank:)

[DC2OC]

I'm absolutely fine with this policy. It's clearly set-out and fair - in my opinion.

 

I voted indifferent.Nothing to like about,nothing that negative to get worked up about.It seems they are just hoping you spend the OBC which is fine with me.I can see the OBC policy changing in the future which I would have no problem with. ................Frank

[Sue L]

I believe they do it on an early booking program if you book 5 months out and then its in the form of OBC ....Frank:)

 

 

right but only if you take the early saver which is a NON-refundable deposit, someone clarified the program a couple posts after mine, but for regular bookings they do not anymore.

[DC2OC]

right but only if you take the early saver which is a NON-refundable deposit, someone clarified the program a couple posts after mine, but for regular bookings they do not anymore.

 

Seems that RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara may still have the best Price Protection policies.

[yogimax]

As long as the onboard credit is refundable it's a non-issue.

[Bakincakes]

If you can use the OBC to book excursions, I don't see an issue either.

 

Many people could use that price drop to pay for other things on their cruises. Excursions being one of them.

[marieps]

I'm OK with this also.

We cruised on Mariner in April and had $28 in OBC left over. We docked in LA on the 12th and the credit hit my RCI Visa card on the 14th!

[TwoTravelin]

If a cruise is listed as a Hot Deal is that the same as a Royal Sales Event or Exciting deal and not eligible if the price drops? Or would those cruises be eligible for a price drop credit if that should happen? Thanks

The policy stands as it has always been. Royal Sales Events are not protected, all other pricing is...Senior rates, regular price lowering, etc.

[molly361]

The policy stands as it has always been. Royal Sales Events are not protected, all other pricing is...Senior rates, regular price lowering, etc.

 

So a Royal Sales Event and a Hot deal are the same thing??

[pcur]

So a Royal Sales Event and a Hot deal are the same thing??

 

Royal Sales Event is the Tuesday specials for new bookings only. Hot Deals are the reduced prices they show on their web site when you check prices, and they are good for existing bookings as long as that HD price is shown. They are usually senior, residency, military reduced prices, but they might just be plain 'ole reduced because the cabins aren't selling.

 

However, I have found my price reductions come in plain, brown paper wrappers, so to speak. Just the everyday price that they happened to reduce with no bells, whistles, or bold red print. Always pays to check your prices every day.

 

As long as they refund the price drops before final payment date, I'm good with this. I've received some hefty reductions, and if I was to get one of those after final payment it might twist my shorts a little to wait 70+ days to get the money back, but the good trade-off is my TA gets her commission protected prior to final payment, so I'm happy to wait.

 

Our upcoming cruise, for instance, had a total of $1,300 reduction before final payment. I'd hate to wait 2+ months to get that back, and their is NO way we spend that much on board.

 

All-in-all it's a good policy.

[csk]

More than fair !!!!!!!!!

[Elizanessie]

Thankyou, is there an announcement on RCI's site somewhere?

 

I'm only asking because I see it only applies to bookings made in the US and Canada and I would like to know what RCI UK have to say about it? It also doesn't say if that would apply people who live in the UK who have booked with a US TA so I would like clarification.

 

 

When UK cruisers book in US their booking comes under US rules....just like when you book in UK you come under UK rules.

[TBSCruiser]

As long as they refund the price drops before final payment date, I'm good with this. I've received some hefty reductions, and if I was to get one of those after final payment it might twist my shorts a little to wait 70+ days to get the money back, but the good trade-off is my TA gets her commission protected prior to final payment, so I'm happy to wait.

 

All-in-all it's a good policy.

 

 

I am confused about your statement above about your TA commission protected if before final payment. If your price drops before or after final payment the TA's commission is NOT protected. It specifies that right in the FAQ's about this new policy. It is the same in that respect if you got a credit back to your card or OBC.

[Sabiney]

So, let me get this straight and read the fine print. If RCI lowers the price of a cruise, and if they say it is "for new bookings only," than you are out of luck? That being said, one would think they will just say "new bookings only" for all price decreases. Am I being a skeptic?

 

Hank

 

I've been confused over this for some time now. If you choose a cruise, select your cabin catagory, and then look at the fare you will see ALL rates are marked with an * which shows "For new reservations only." There was a reduction on our last cruise with no "Deals" or "Special Pricing" or "Tuesday Sale" marked and I was told that the reduction was not available because it was for new bookings only (marked with the notorious * on the web site). Still confused... :confused:

 

Pat

[farnamcoach]

:confused:Do we have to FIND the lower price or will we just get it if the price drops????

[Tucker in Texas]

If you can use the OBC to book excursions, I don't see an issue either.

 

Many people could use that price drop to pay for other things on their cruises. Excursions being one of them.

 

You can use OBC for excursions. However, many, like myself, book excursions and pay-for dining reservations prior to the cruise to make sure you get them and avoid standing in a long excursion line onboard and they are charged immediately to your card.

 

We have gotten every price reduction that we have caught even though the "new" prices on their web site have the (*) and that refers to the paragraph that contains it is good on "new reservations only." However, we have never booked WOW or Hot Deals and fully understand they need to be new bookings.

 

I do wonder about the commissions being protected. Our TA has offered us a "customer appreciation" rebate after completing a cruise rather than wine or OBC. When he has booked us, he has said it would be "x" amount of dollars. However, being the el cheapo I am, I have gotten the booking price lowered considerably on several cruises. When I got one trans-Atlantic down to something like $449 total each--keep in mind commission is paid only on the basic fare, not all the taxes and fees--he was forthright and told me he could no longer "appreciate" me monetarily as his commission had dropped considerably. He even sent me a copy of his paperwork from RCI which showed his commission to be around $60 for the two of us. I had no problem with this as he had chased several reductions and moved our cabin two times to a more desirable location within the category we had booked.

 

As for their new policy, trust me, it will be back in some form down the road. As long as they refund unused OBC in credit card credit, it's o.k. by me. With the non-combining of benefits, I probably won't have any anyway (taking Diamond balcony discount) and, if I did (booking an inside steerage) tips would eat it up.

 

Tucker in Texas

[TBSCruiser]

I've been confused over this for some time now. If you choose a cruise, select your cabin catagory, and then look at the fare you will see ALL rates are marked with an * which shows "For new reservations only." There was a reduction on our last cruise with no "Deals" or "Special Pricing" or "Tuesday Sale" marked and I was told that the reduction was not available because it was for new bookings only (marked with the notorious * on the web site). Still confused... :confused:

 

Pat

 

they have never enforced the * on just regular fares, just on Tuesday Sales events and the Wow sales, all others like senior, residency, military, etc they will give you the new price.

 

:confused:Do we have to FIND the lower price or will we just get it if the price drops????

 

You have to search your self, it is not automatically done

[mommabean]

:confused:Do we have to FIND the lower price or will we just get it if the price drops????

 

You must find it yourself and then make the call requesting the reduction. I suspect very few people do this since most cruisers aren't cruise critic members. We are a bunch of know it alls. :rolleyes: ;)

 

My last cruise started out at over $2000 a person. We ended up paying $919 a person with 3 or 4 calls by me to get the reduction each time it dropped. I was never met with even the tiniest bit of resistence. Reductions were promptly made with a new invoice being immediately emailed to me.

[Sabiney]

they have never enforced the * on just regular fares, just on Tuesday Sales events and the Wow sales, all others like senior, residency, military, etc they will give you the new price.

 

 

Never say never... :) The reduction was posted on our cabin catagory for a couple of weeks. Was not denoted as either a Tuesday Sale, or Wow Sale, or Special Sale, only that little ole * that is on all RC available catagories. I even asked if it was a special sale and was directed back to that darn * on their web site. After a couple of calls I gave up. Just figured it to be more of their new policy since I've never had any problems in the past. :) Still had an absolute BLAST even without my discount.

 

Pat

[TBSCruiser]

they have never enforced the * on just regular fares, just on Tuesday Sales events and the Wow sales, all others like senior, residency, military, etc they will give you the new price.

 

 

Never say never... :) The reduction was posted on our cabin catagory for a couple of weeks. Was not denoted as either a Tuesday Sale, or Wow Sale, or Special Sale, only that little ole * that is on all RC available catagories. I even asked if it was a special sale and was directed back to that darn * on their web site. After a couple of calls I gave up. Just figured it to be more of their new policy since I've never had any problems in the past. :) Still had an absolute BLAST even without my discount.

 

Pat

 

well not sure why they wouldn't honor your, but everyone of the price drops I have gotten in the last several months (6 of them) have had the same little * on the website and I have gotten every single one, no questions asked.

 

I am lucky enough to have a TA who searches and calls me with the good news. The best so far is $540 per person on my October cruise.

[pcur]

I am confused about your statement above about your TA commission protected if before final payment. If your price drops before or after final payment the TA's commission is NOT protected. It specifies that right in the FAQ's about this new policy. It is the same in that respect if you got a credit back to your card or OBC.

 

I got it from Ladylouwho's post above:

 

"Well sure, plus this new program is more beneficial to TA's. They collect the commission on the higher fare because essentially the fare is not lowered, the customer just gets OBC"

 

I hope this is correct, because I like the fact that the TA's don't get dinged for this policy.

[TBSCruiser]

I got it from Ladylouwho's post above:

 

"Well sure, plus this new program is more beneficial to TA's. They collect the commission on the higher fare because essentially the fare is not lowered, the customer just gets OBC"

 

I hope this is correct, because I like the fact that the TA's don't get dinged for this policy.

 

No, Ladylouwho is incorrect go and read the FAQ's that someone posted. Commission is NOT protected which it wouldn't be the old way either so nothing changes in that respect for the TA's. My TA doens't mind and she searches for me because she knows I am a loyal long time customer and I send tons of people her way.

 

Edited to add just found the statement, this is from the FAQ"s about the new policy change

 

"Travel Agent commission will not be protected on reductions in cruise fare that result in

an onboard credit or refund. "

[pcur]

No, Ladylouwho is incorrect go and read the FAQ's that someone posted. Commission is NOT protected which it wouldn't be the old way either so nothing changes in that respect for the TA's. My TA doens't mind and she searches for me because she knows I am a loyal long time customer and I send tons of people her way.

 

Sigh....that's too bad. My TA is the same way, but I was hoping this would be a win-win for both of us! :D