"Price Drop" - Can someone please explain?

[Col1874]

What exactly is the story around a 'Price Drop' ? :confused:

 

I've done a search on the forum and not found anything (ok perhaps im blind?)

 

Do you get on board credit or something if the price of your cruise drops after you've booked it or something ???

 

Im confused!

[jmezmom]

If the price for your specific category on your specific sailing has gone down you can get the difference taken off your unpaid balance or refunded to your credit card.

 

If the price drop is after final payment is made you will get that amount as an OBC which is refundable if you don't use it all.

 

Price drops are not good on Tuesday sales and WOW sales.

 

This is a brief description....hang tight....the price drop experts will weigh in shortly:D

[dmdicato]

If you recheck the advertised price for your cruise on the Royal Caribbean website daily and it's less than you originally reserved orice for that particular cabin, call them and they'll either reduce the cost owed (if done before final payment) or issue a credit on your credit card (if done after final payment). We reserved back in January and have since had two price drops on our July cruise.

[tmoore4075]

Yeah just check the RC website every day. That's what I do. Sometimes a few times a day. Make sure when you search that you check select your state because sometimes there are resident rates for certain states.

 

Last year we were going on AOS in February and in December I checked and say a resident rate and for a total of $140 more I went from a promenade view room to a balcony room.

 

Then this past November on Majesty the price went down plus a resident discount for my state a few days later and since I still would have paid a decent amount more to upgrade I took the on board credit for over $200 total from the two price drops.

 

If it happens to you, you'll get this nice warm feeling. :)

[MrsPete]

Examples always make sense:

 

Let's say you book a D1 balcony cabin for $1000/person.

 

You keep checking the website, and they drop the price to $800/person.

You call in, ask for a price match, and your price is dropped to $800. If you still owe money on your cruise, your total will go down. If you've already paid in full, you'll receive OBC (on board credit) for that amount.

 

The price drop must be on YOUR CATEGORY. If they drop the price on E1 balcony cabins, you can change your room number, but you can only get a drop on your exact cagtegory.

[Col1874]

Ok thats cleared that up :)

 

Thanks people :D

[livylotte]

I presume you booked in the UK? Please note that UK cruisers who book the UK do not have the same T&C's as those booking in the States.

 

UK TA's do not have to pass on price drops . If you booked with a TA you will need to call them and ask if they will pass on the drop - some do, although they are not obliged to and some have never heard of price drops so you may have to explain how it works to them.

 

If you booked direct with RCI it should be easier. As long as your cabin is in the same price category and the new lower price isn't part of a price promotion then your cruise price will adjusted. You do need to call them - it is not done automatically.

 

... also editing to say that changing anything on your booking (ie price drops, switching cabins) will incur an admin fee of £35 per person. The first change is free and then you are charged after that.

[kc320]

The OP is in Scotland..not sure if price drops work the same for them as US bookings or not...I believe I've read on here that UK bookings are only allowed 1 free change & then there is a charge...?:confused:

[TheWog]

What exactly is the story around a 'Price Drop' ? :confused:

 

I've done a search on the forum and not found anything (ok perhaps im blind?)

 

Do you get on board credit or something if the price of your cruise drops after you've booked it or something ???

 

Im confused!

 

Just did this Monday. Booked our cruise in October. Checked online Monday (did a sample reservation for same room category, number of people, etc.). Price had dropped over $600. emailed my TA. She confirmed. She called RCI. They dropped the price to the new price. Reduced my total due at final payment. If you do this after final payment it will appear as an OBC. Good luck.

[uktraveller]

Col,

As Livylotte posted above, the Terms and Conditions are different in the UK and after one "free" alteration to your booking you will have to pay an amendment fee of £35pp for each subsequent change.:(

If you booked through a Travel Agent then you will have received a discount off your booking (usually around 10%) which is paid from the commission they will earn on the value of your booking. As a result, a lot of them do not like to give, and often claim no knowledge of, price drops. If the value of your booking goes down so does their commission.

This is the reason we always book direct with RCCL online. We "only" get the 5% discount but they will honour all price drops, no quibbles, unless it is a special promotion.

Having said that, some TAs will honour price drops. We had a cruise booked through an online cruise agency who initially said "no", but with persistence we did get most of a significant drop...they kept some of it to compensate for the lost commission.

Hope I haven't complicated things too much!

Keep watching those prices.

[Stevesan]

Lawdy, BOTH the cruise lines AND the travel agencies put the screws to UK cruisers?

Up with that I would not put!

 

U.S. TAs also lose part of their commission when honoring a price drop, but I've NEVER heard of one refusing, or even hesitating, to pass it on 100%!!!

 

My TA yesterday passed on a price reduction and was happy to do it. She even congratulated me for being vigilant:

 

Good eye, on catching the new Why Not promotion!

I've attached the updated invoice for you.

Just keep in touch!

 

UKer's need to rise up in revolution ageinst these revolting practices! :eek:

[pmama]

Do RCI rates normally go down as the dates get closer?

[MrsPete]

Do RCI rates normally go down as the dates get closer?

That question is hard to answer.

 

Typically some categories decrease in price -- the categories that aren't selling as well. You're unlikely to get price drops on categories that are small in numbers (i.e., Royal Family Suite). And you may see a decrease in one category and not another; so inside rooms might remain at full price, while oceanviews go on sale.

 

Off-season cruises are more likely to see price drops, the reason being obvious: they sell faster, and RC doesn't NEED to cut their price. Ditto for holiday cruises; RC won't cut anything that they can sell at full price.