Price drop..not happy at all !

[Clarea]

I'm in the UK and have been on a couple of RC cruises. When we book with a TA we are told the price of the cruise and that is what we pay. The price does not change.

Is it different in the US? Does anyone know if we are able to book direc tly with a US TA? From reading these boards we seem to have to pay a lot more for the same cruise if booking in the UK. any suggestions/advice welcome.

I have read here of people in Europe booking with a US travel agent.

[BecciBoo]

Yep, the only strategy these days is:

1. stay loyal

2. BOOK EARLY

3. look for TA perks and if they justify transferring, go for it.

At least it's simple, used to be complicated but lucritive, not anymore. RCCL has their hands tied, but you cannot blame them.

Have a great cruise:cool:

[MS52]

Ripoff? Not really.

 

Here's a newsflash. RCI is in business to make a profit. After final payment, they have a better idea of total sales for that sailing (since you can cancel without penalty before final payment).

 

When they see what the vacancies are, they may or may not lower the price. The ship WILL sail full in almost all cases. The cabins will be sold at whatever the market will bear.

 

Sometimes we book early if we really want to go or want a certain cabin, other times we'll take a gamble and play the waiting game for a better price. We don't always win though ~ if we won the last game, I would be getting on a ship in about 1/2 hour in Baltimore. :(

 

But this is all a moot point. Your problem is with your TA who obviously does not have your best interests at heart, losing you a OBC and not being in touch. Enjoy your cruise in any case. You booked a cabin that you were happy with at the time. Don't let a hiccup ruin the trip.

[Youalleverybody]

I feel your pain! I, too, am frustrated by a non-responsive travel agent. Right before Christmas, I noticed enough of a price drop on our paid in full cruise that would have enabled us to upgrade to outside staterooms. I even told her two connecting staterooms that appeared to be available. She never followed through, and now the price is back up.

 

Our cruise is less than three weeks away, and I'm going to go and have a fabulous time, and be thankful that I'm even able to go.

 

I have learned my lesson. I will book directly with RCCL next time, or do WAY more research before choosing a TA.

 

In any case, just want to offer the OP some empathy. These things happen. They suck. But it won't ruin my trip. We are blessed to have this opportunity to cruise.

[Mapleleafforever]

There isn't really anything a TA can do that you can't do yourself. Maybe next time book directly with RCI?

[Granny DI]

Booking cruises yourself is fine unless something goes wrong. I've used the same travel agent for at least 10 years. I've had a lot of things go wrong and she took care of everything.... death in the family, critical illness in the family, ship not doing what it promised etc. She always gets the best deal for me. I research on line and tell her what I want... she goes from there. If I have a problem on the ship a simple email to her takes care of the problem! I have found that the ship's crew normally follow the "company line", so it sometimes takes nudging from outside the ship to get problems solved. I can contact her 24/7.