Change of Booking Questions RCI

[Sand$!]

Hi - I know the booking agreements are different per country and what I wanted to do is not allowed for Australian booking but just wondered if it is worth looking at further.

 

I have a booking on a transatlantic out of Sao Paulo Brazil to Barcelona in April (my first cruise) the pricing has dropped through the floor compared to when we booked seven months ago. I am not expecting to get a price match like the Americans can but was trying to upgrade to a better room and pay a fair bit more - they will not let me, they say I have to cancel and lose the 25% on the first booking and rebook again at the better price. Basically this is not really worth it and I will stick with my original booking.

 

Just wondered if anyone ever had any luck - or if they may try and upsell later on nearer the cruise time

 

Thanks

[The_Big_M]

I believe someone posted last week that they had upgraded after final payment through an Australian booking with RCL, which is something you can't do in the US. So to answer your question, yes it can happen. Also, others have reported upgrades being offered but that is usually much closer to sailing.

 

It possibly relates to the nature of the fare; some promotions are not combinable and some are for new bookings only.

[MicCanberra]

Call the Crown & Anchor Host and see if they can do anything for you.

[Sand$!]

The Travel Agent is following up in the hope we can do something but as I said not going to fret too much. I will take the advice and maybe call C&A nearer the time if nothing can be done now.

 

Thank you for your responses

 

If I ever cruise again I will know a heck of a lot more than I do now - mainly thanks to all you great people on Cruise Critic - at the time of booking because it was at the point of forming my around the world trip I wanted to keep the itinerary lower cost end while first booking until items fell into place a bit more.

 

Now I have scoped most of the budget I found a little left over :) to possibly upgrade some activities or accommodation. I understand the restrictions on cruises just found it a little disappointing not to be able to upgrade on the cruise - but hey no worries I have some other places I can spend a little more :) and I am sure I can live without a Grand Suite :rolleyes:

 

I have every intention of enjoying this trip experience and am super excited about doing a different travel experience for the first time. I will never regret anything

[MicCanberra]

The Travel Agent is following up in the hope we can do something but as I said not going to fret too much. I will take the advice and maybe call C&A nearer the time if nothing can be done now.

 

Thank you for your responses

 

If I ever cruise again I will know a heck of a lot more than I do now - mainly thanks to all you great people on Cruise Critic - at the time of booking because it was at the point of forming my around the world trip I wanted to keep the itinerary lower cost end while first booking until items fell into place a bit more.

 

Now I have scoped most of the budget I found a little left over :) to possibly upgrade some activities or accommodation. I understand the restrictions on cruises just found it a little disappointing not to be able to upgrade on the cruise - but hey no worries I have some other places I can spend a little more :) and I am sure I can live without a Grand Suite :rolleyes:

 

I have every intention of enjoying this trip experience and am super excited about doing a different travel experience for the first time. I will never regret anything

 

Great attitude, I wish you luck.:D

[Big Kev]

The Travel Agent is following up in the hope we can do something but as I said not going to fret too much. I will take the advice and maybe call C&A nearer the time if nothing can be done now.

 

Thank you for your responses

 

If I ever cruise again I will know a heck of a lot more than I do now - mainly thanks to all you great people on Cruise Critic - at the time of booking because it was at the point of forming my around the world trip I wanted to keep the itinerary lower cost end while first booking until items fell into place a bit more.

 

Now I have scoped most of the budget I found a little left over :) to possibly upgrade some activities or accommodation. I understand the restrictions on cruises just found it a little disappointing not to be able to upgrade on the cruise - but hey no worries I have some other places I can spend a little more :) and I am sure I can live without a Grand Suite :rolleyes:

 

I have every intention of enjoying this trip experience and am super excited about doing a different travel experience for the first time. I will never regret anything

 

 

Sad, but true. C and A wont be able to help you. :(

 

Once an agent has your reservation, they hold ownership/control, and any changes have to be initiated by them.

 

I also (cynically) suspect that the agent has sold you now, and dosn't want to do any more work for you :rolleyes:

 

We have upgraded cabins on many cruises, mainly due to price reductions, and also after final payment.. Have never had a problem doing so.

 

Hope you get a good outcome. You will enjoy your time anyway .

 

 

S and P

 

.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Big Kev

[The_Big_M]

Call the Crown & Anchor Host and see if they can do anything for you.

 

The poster said it's their first cruise so that's unlikely to be much help.

 

I think in Australia it's combined anyway, in which case it would be the same contact centre.

[Sparky74]

One lesson I learnt from the Cruise Critic forum is if you don't like the answer you get from RCL, try asking again!

 

Back in 2011/12 I tried to change my booking for a balcony cabin on a 7 night cruise to Tasmania to a Juniour Suite on a 14 night cruise from Sydney to Singapore. (The cruises were on different ships at the same time so we couldn't do both.:()

 

Anyway I rang RCI, spent 40 minutes on hold and then learnt that I'd have to cancel my existing booking and loose my deposit. :eek:

 

The following day I phoned again, waited another 40 minutes or so on hold but this time they were happy to transfer my booking. :D

 

However, the OP has used a Travel Agent and it is my understanding that this means that all changes to the booking must be made through the TA and that RCI won't talk directly to the customer :( and I would be surprised if a TA would be prepared to ring RCI multiple times to get the answer the customer wants.

[MicCanberra]

I suppose some pressure on the TA my be required then, perhaps they are interested in the higher commission with an upgrade in cabin. You never know.

[Sand$!]

Travel Agent, emailed - still a work in progress :)

 

Really not sweating this but if anyone is going to come through it will be my TA for my TA !!! :p I have travelled a few times around the world and usually have a demanding itinerary for them to link up.

 

As I said first cruise for us and just wanted an idea from the more experienced if my request was very wrong, it seems not and I should try a bit harder but not at the cost of stressing it.

 

I will, based on now reading cruise critic, if I take another cruise consider making the booking direct with the company (after reading the small print!)

 

I will also know a lot more from my first experience and know what I would like to book - that was the real issue I had, I do not have a clue what being on a massive cruise liner is all about, so I planned on the skinny end of the budget and got a room with a view only to start.

 

My more pressing plans now :) are waiting for the dining bookings to open up for the transatlantic crossing so I can plan dining for speciality restaurants and Chefs table - a hard life!

 

I am sailing on Rhapsody and if you have any advice on dining let me know, apparently the reviews say it is not as good as when it was sailing out of Australia but then I will not be able to tell!!

 

Thanks again for the input - I will let you know the outcome either way

 

cheers

[woodyren]

I believe someone posted last week that they had upgraded after final payment through an Australian booking with RCL, which is something you can't do in the US. So to answer your question, yes it can happen. Also, others have reported upgrades being offered but that is usually much closer to sailing.

 

It possibly relates to the nature of the fare; some promotions are not combinable and some are for new bookings only.

 

Not going to help the OP but for future reference you can definitely upgrade after final payment if you book through a USA TA or direct with RCL in the USA. You can almost always also change gty cabins within category once allocated.

 

The only proviso is that the upgraded cabin has to be more expensive than your current booking. Before our dollar tanked I booked all of our cruises in the USA. I started at inside and worked my way up the ladder as prices dropped after finals. On 8 different cruise legs I ended up with 7 balconies and 1 JS for very little extra cash than my original booking. In each case my original booking dropped in price at least once and most quite a few times.

 

I did cancel a few others for full refund before finals that did not drop though.

 

Tied up some money in deposits but save me a packet.

Edited February 9, 2016 by woodyren

[MicCanberra]

Cheers, I look forward to the news/outcome.:D

[aussielozzie18]

My friend recently tried to do a paid upgrade on RCI for an Australian cruise. They had booked an inside and decided they would like to spend a bit more to upgrade to oceanview. They approached their travel agent who said yep shouldnt be a prob but will come back to you with the cost. The TA was surprised to get the same advice that you received which was the only way to change cabins was to cancel their original booking and rebook. He made several attempts on their behalf but RCI werent budging. This was their 6th cruise with RCI. They decided just to keep their original booking.

[The_Big_M]

Not going to help the OP but for future reference you can definitely upgrade after final payment if you book through a USA TA or direct with RCL in the USA. You can almost always also change gty cabins within category once allocated.

 

The only proviso is that the upgraded cabin has to be more expensive than your current booking.

 

Sorry, I was a little brief (and hence misleading) in my comment.

 

The scenario as I recall was as you described, where the fare had not gone up, it was after final payment, and they still got the upgrade. Was a bit surprised to hear that myself.