Price reduction

[Mopsymillar]

Hi all, I'm very new to this. Have booked our first ever cruise. We will be on Emerald in May. I was so excited and have been trying to soak up as much information as I can from you guys. Unfortunately the excitement has gone entirely when I checked Princess website today to find that the cabin next to ours (same type) is now on sale for over £600 less than ours. Is it worth trying to do something about this or do I just have to put up with it. This has tainted my view of cruising before even setting foot on the ship! May be land based holidays from now on

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi all, I'm very new to this. Have booked our first ever cruise. We will be on Emerald in May. I was so excited and have been trying to soak up as much information as I can from you guys. Unfortunately the excitement has gone entirely when I checked Princess website today to find that the cabin next to ours (same type) is now on sale for over £600 less than ours. Is it worth trying to do something about this or do I just have to put up with it. This has tainted my view of cruising before even setting foot on the ship! May be land based holidays from now on

 

 

All you can do is call. Maybe they will give you some OBC to make up for it.

It happens all the time, even on my car.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[Coral]

On cruises that are not selling, they drop prices after final payment. This is very common.

 

You can check with who you booked with but many times the new price is for new bookings only. It is worth asking.

 

In the future, you can wait until the last minute to book a cruise. Certain land vacations and air is handled the same way. Prices can go up or down - sort of out of control.

[DarkCrystal]

Hi all, I'm very new to this. Have booked our first ever cruise. We will be on Emerald in May. I was so excited and have been trying to soak up as much information as I can from you guys. Unfortunately the excitement has gone entirely when I checked Princess website today to find that the cabin next to ours (same type) is now on sale for over £600 less than ours. Is it worth trying to do something about this or do I just have to put up with it. This has tainted my view of cruising before even setting foot on the ship! May be land based holidays from now on

 

I feel your pain. My cruise category is now over a $1000 cheaper than when I booked. I was told that if hadn't made the final payment you could always cancel and rebook at the lower price. If you have a TA, I would check with them, or someone here could probably give you a better answer than what I've come up with.

Don't let it spoil your enjoyment of the cruise though.

[Socceric9]

So, the fact that someone else is paying less ruined your excitement and tainted your view? Do you throw all your clothes out when they go on sale?

[Shogun]

Hi Welcome to cc

 

You are caught up the game to I buy early or wait,

 

If you booked with Princess UK and prices drops before final payment Princess will give you lower price.

 

If you book with a UK TA they might pass on all or some of saving, or none.

 

If you are at final payment date then your fare is locked, if big saving could cancel and rebook,

 

Nobody on a cruise pays then same amount, only question you need to answer is are you happy with your deal, do not worry about want others have paid,

 

just now there is a cruise I like, I have not booked, but the same cruise a few weeks later is now a few hundred pounds cheaper, but flights are now even cheaper, so package is looking good.

 

yours Shogun

[Lawingnutz]

If you paid for cancellation insurance then you're in good shape....cancel and rebook...most times they won't go through all that trouble, they just refund you the difference....I did it a few times....

[Mopsymillar]

Thank you for your responses.

Socceric9 - thanks for the lovely welcome to cruise critic - not! For your information I paid a lot for this holiday and it is probably a one off. We are not high earners and having a better price could have helped us with excursions etc.

[1965]

As everyone has stated, it happens all the time. We paid $2209 for our last cruise. The price dropped a few times and eventually to $1819. We were able to get it at that price, and a free upgrade from an inside to an OV. I felt we had made a good deal. I learned while on the cruise that a couple we were having lunch with got it for either $600 something, or $800 something, can't remember which. They had waited until very close to sailing to book. I was happy for them, but this was a wonderful cruise we really wanted to take. I was not willing to risk it selling out by waiting to book. I have a cruise booked for a year and a half from now. It's a little more than I want to pay, but I look for price drops every day. None yet. If it drops, I'll call and rebook if it isn't for new bookings only. And if I learn someone else got it for a better price than me, I'll congratulate them, and feel comfortable with my decision to book early. Have a wonderful cruise and don't look back. :) And I do understand about wanting to get the best possible price. We are retired public school teachers, and our travel budget is TIGHT. That's why I always book the cheapest cabin available. It gives us more money for another cruise or excursions. Don't give up on cruising for this one reason. It's a wonderful way to travel.

Edited February 27, 2016 by 1965

[Shogun]

Hi mospymillar,

 

When doing your budget remember daily hotel charge is per person added to your onboard account,

 

 

photos are expensive onboard so do not go crazy buying them,

 

watch the casino easy to carried away playing with your cruise card, use cash

 

if you want to gamble and control your spend,

 

spa is expensive and is not a must do,

 

as to excursions, join your roll call and share ships are always more expensive.

 

yours Shogun

[shredie]

Never ask someone on your airplane what they paid for their ticket. It's how the travel industry works.

[cruzsnooze]

It hurts when you feel you overpaid I share your opinion. We're not talking peanuts here when it's $1000. Call Princess and see if they will give you some on board credit to help out. The other thing you could try is to get an upgrade to the next category at no charge, you'll at least feel you got some value.

Edited February 27, 2016 by cruzsnooze

[1965]

And I do understand about wanting to pay as little as possible. We're retired public school teachers, and our travel budget is LIMITED. LOL. That's why I always book the cheapest cabin available. Gives us more money to spend on another cruise, or on excursions. Don't give up on cruising because of this one thing. It's a wonderful way to travel. :)

[cruzsnooze]

Never ask someone on your airplane what they paid for their ticket. It's how the travel industry works.

 

Although you're correct, usually the price doesn't vary by a thousand dollars unless you're in business or first class.

[Socceric9]

Thank you for your responses.

Socceric9 - thanks for the lovely welcome to cruise critic - not! For your information I paid a lot for this holiday and it is probably a one off. We are not high earners and having a better price could have helped us with excursions etc.

 

Essentially what you're saying is, Princess should either sell all the cabins the same price or leave them empty in the interest of not offending you. It would be one thing if you said you have contacted Princess/ your travel agent and they won't do a thing about it, but you haven't even attempted that yet. From my experience, and as many other have mentioned.. They will upgrade or offer onboard credit in these situations. You just need to firmly ask. However, you had the benefit of 1. Having a better selection of cabins and 2. Not running the risk of the ship selling out and not being able to go at all. You weigh all these risks and how they matter to you prior to booking in the future. This happens to an overwhelming majority of all cruises. Sorry if my analogy angered you, but thought maybe that would shed some light to you on your argument.

[1965]

I seem to have done a sort of double post. I can't find a way to delete the 2nd one. My apologies. :(

[shredie]

Although you're correct, usually the price doesn't vary by a thousand dollars unless you're in business or first class.

 

I guess if $1000 is the threshold for over payment, then you are indeed correct. But some people would be angry to find they had paid $5 more for their airline ticket. I have seen it happen. Buying travel is not like buying a loaf of bread. Supply and demand can make the price change from one day to the next. You are buying all sorts of intangibles, like gambling to get the best location or booking before everything sells out. I know I would probably be peeved if I found I had paid more for something than my neighbor did, but if I bought the location I wanted and got it because I booked early, then I would have to weigh the advantages of that with the disadvantage of a higher price.

[magandy]

Thank you for your responses.

Socceric9 - thanks for the lovely welcome to cruise critic - not! For your information I paid a lot for this holiday and it is probably a one off. We are not high earners and having a better price could have helped us with excursions etc.

 

We book direct with Princess and have had a price drop just last year after final payment.

 

Telephoned our Cruise Rep at Southampton and received a double upgrade from balcony to mini suite + $200 obc.

 

So whether or not you have booked Direct or with a TA it's always worth a phone call.

[Costascruise]

Hello Mopsy

We too are cruising in May on the emerald.

We saw a huge drop in price a couple if weeks ago, coupled with on board credit and a bottle of champagne, neither of which we had in our booking deal.

We had already paid the final balance.

I went to our travel agent, and although we had to pay £50 per person as a cancelation charge, we could rebook the holiday with the new price and new deal, saving a considerable sum and getting a better cabin grade.

We did the same for our July cruise on the Royal (we haven't paid the final balance for that one yet so we don't have a cancelation charge).

In all we have saved hundreds of pounds, have extra on board credit and champagne!

So it is definitely worth a try and you lose nothing by having a go.

Since our original booking last October I have made 3 changes, each time to get a better deal. A big thank you to Princess for being so flexible.

Don't be put off by people saying there's no chance of changing your booking fortunes as I've realised, listening to lots of people's experiences on CC, that things change all the time. So have a go!! And good luck!

[fishin' musician]

These posts always leave me scratching my head. The purchaser deems the cruise to be a fair deal, plunks down their cash and looks forward with great anticipation to a great holiday! Suddenly all the joy and anticipation is gone simply because someone else pays less??? How many people in this world have the resources to even consider such a frivolous expenditure? :confused: :rolleyes: :(

[Shogun]

Hi there

 

It depends in part in how it was sold, you walk past a TAs window and it says best price guaranteed so you pay up, you walk past same window month latter and you see a lower price, are you happy with the price you paid or do you feel cheated.

 

yours Shogun

[Luvmyrotti]

These posts always leave me scratching my head. The purchaser deems the cruise to be a fair deal' date=' plunks down their cash and looks forward with great anticipation to a great holiday! Suddenly all the joy and anticipation is gone simply because someone else pays less??? How many people in this world have the resources to even consider such a frivolous expenditure? :confused: :rolleyes: :([/quote']

 

Great response! I totally agree.

[Luvmyrotti]

Thank you for your responses.

Socceric9 - thanks for the lovely welcome to cruise critic - not! For your information I paid a lot for this holiday and it is probably a one off. We are not high earners and having a better price could have helped us with excursions etc.

 

But don't you realize travel fares are a crap shoot? You'd be perfectly happy if it had gone the other way and those booking fares after you were paying more than you, correct? So why is this any different?

 

Get some perspective. Realize that the market drives price and availability or lack thereof, will dictate pricing.

 

Move forward and enjoy your vacation.

[Luvs2Crooze]

If you have not paid your final payment they should be able to do something. It happened to us last year. They did lower the cost but lost some Obc. Other people in our group who did not get any Obc on original booking gained some.

[Mopsymillar]

Thanks everyone. I suppose I just. feel a little silly for be so naive. To those of you who seem to think I'm just a winger -sorry to have bothered you. To everyone else- your suggestions have been greatly appreciated.

I called Princess UK today and was connected to a very nice young lady who told me they'd had lots of calls about this. She then went on to 're-book us into the same cabin at £750 less than we had originally paid !

That is excellent customer service. Still can't quite believe it !