Rate Adjustments

[portiemom]

I'm new to cruising - have only done one and am booked for a second this year. I've always read on here to book early and then watch for price drops. Seems like great advice. I just found out that the price dropped $70 pp for our category of stateroom on the Crown Princess to Alaska. So I thought, "Great, CC really pays off!" Then, I contacted our TA. She said to fill out a form they have online. I went to look at it and when I read the Terms and Conditions I found out that if I pursue getting a rate adjustment I will possibly forfeit my stateroom. It says that they can upgrade me or change the location of my stateroom and I will have no recourse. I chose an aft-facing room and I want to keep it. I do get Princess' angle on this - they might like to move me to a room category that isn't selling as well. For example, there are plenty of mini-suites available, but none aft-facing. We have a Premium Balcony.

 

Is that the norm for rate adjustments? Is it just my TA? Would I have been better served to just book directly with Princess? Or should I go ahead because it's highly unlikely they will change my room?:confused:

 

BTW, final payment isn't due until the end of May.

[cb at sea]

If the new price is for a "guaranteed" booking, they can and probably will, change your room. GTY bookings are cheaper because THEY choose your cabin. If you want a specific cabin, then book it, and don't look back!!!

 

That said, with a GTY booking, you will get AT LEAST the category you booked, but it could be anywhere on the ship. Sometimes, you'll get a better category....but that's rare.

[portiemom]

This is not a guarantee. We did that for the first cruise and it worked out for us. We booked an ocean view guarantee and were upgraded to a balcony.

 

My questions are only concerning getting a credit for a price drop noted on the Princess website. I've read about people getting a price drop before final payment. But did you have to be willing to possibly give up the cabin you originally booked? Because that's what my TA seems to be indicating. They will only get the price drop for me if I am willing to have my stateroom moved or upgraded. Seems out of line, but maybe that is a legitimate trade-off? Looking to hear from others who have done this.

[CantanaLobo]

... Then, I contacted our TA. She said to fill out a form they have online. ...

I don't recall an online form when I booked with Princess - I just called in about the price drop. I'd ask the TA if it's a TA form. The "possibly forfeit" sounds like typical weasel to cover any eventuality from any cruise line they might deal with.

 

BTW, for Princess, if you do not want Princess to upgrade you to a "better" cabin, you need to make sure your TA marks your reservation "Do Not Upgrade". Otherwise the upgrade fairy computer will think you will be pleased as punch with an upgrade to one of those dolphin mini-suites. One (and only) time Princess upgraded us from a mini to a full suite. I didn't get any notification. I just happened to notice the cabin number changed online. The TA might have gotten notification and never mentioned it - we were so busy doing the happy dance I never asked. But if I'd wanted to get our old cabin back, it might have been sold by the time I noticed.

 

TA vs direct with cruise line is the subject of a number of threads. There are pluses and minuses for either. One thing is that some TAs charge for changes/cancellations. Those fees by a TA should be determined before booking in order to avoid unpleasant surprises later.

[portiemom]

BTW, for Princess, if you do not want Princess to upgrade you to a "better" cabin, you need to make sure your TA marks your reservation "Do Not Upgrade". Otherwise the upgrade fairy computer will think you will be pleased as punch with an upgrade to one of those dolphin mini-suites.

 

Thanks for the heads up on this!! That in itself warranted a call to Princess. I thought I talked to my TA about that when I booked, but my memory is not always the best.:rolleyes: Spoke with DH and we really don't want the dolphin mini-suite. I'd like to have the tub-shower combo, but DH says that's not enough to trade-off against the uncovered balcony and losing the wake view.

 

So I called Princess and they said yes we are marked No Upgrade.:) They also said yes we are eligible for the price drop and all it takes is a call from the TA. Got on the phone with them. (The TA who booked this for me has laryngitis so she is out of the office. Therefore I spoke with someone else.) They said the chance of losing my cabin would apply only if I was past final payment, which I'm not, so I should not be at risk. She also said they don't just call. Their policy is that I have to fill out the form. So I went ahead and did that. My fingers are crossed that all goes well here.

 

I will give kudos to my TA for holding this cabin for me in the first place, as it was the only one left on Caribe deck. Similar cabins on the Baja deck are slightly smaller and most are marked "obstructed view". At the time we were discussing several different cabins and she went out of her way to hold that one when she saw it was the only one like it left. I was at work and couldn't get in touch with her until I got home that afternoon and I was happy that we got that one.

 

But on the other hand it would have been so much easier to handle all of this price adjustment business directly with Princess. <sigh>