Price drop after final payment

[krb1000]

Final payment for April transatlantic was yesterday 1/22. Today price dropped $250 per person. This drop comes after a $50 per person drop on 1/20...which our TA secured for us today. Has anyone here had any success in wrangling a refund/on board credit after final payment?

[The Fun Researcher]

Nothing wrong with trying. May as well give it a shot.

 

I've never tried to get any sort of refund/credit after final payment, primarily because I know going in that I'm very likely paying more than those that wait until the last minute.

 

I'm willing to pay that extra to guarantee that I have the exact stateroom that I want reserved for me, with no worries for us that way.

 

Dan

[jelayne]

There are a lot of us on SA cruises where the prices have dropped not by hundreds but by thousands right after after final payment-no refunds or OBC.

 

The best option for those of us who caught it early was to cancel, forfeiting our $900 deposit, and rebook at the lower rate. In our case even after the loss of the deposit we got a refund of $2,600. Our TA was able to rebook us in our original cabin.

 

Prices have since dropped more and a number of us have been offered upgrades - Conciegre -AQ, OV-Veranda, some have taken it but others, like us preferred the location/cabin we booked.

 

Point of this is It doesn't hurt to ask but don't get your hopes up for getting OBC or a refund.

[Mr. Click]

We had big price drops on our two cruises last year, Alaska on the Millennium in July, TA said too bad and Amsterdam to to Rome on the Silhouette in September, again the TA said too bad. The second cruise dropped over $2,000 per cabin. I mentioned to the TA, after they said too bad, that I have booked something like 6 cruises with them on Celebrity including one cousins cruise where we had 4 cabins and since all they could say was too bad, I would look for another TA for my upcoming cruises. Three days later we move upgraded, along with our friends who booked with the same TA on the same day as us from 1A to A1.....so you need to ask, be firm but be nice. If you booked with a TA then you need to deal with that TA and let them deal with Celebrity.

[fielddreamer]

Celebrity is famous for doing that . They did it on our cruise this last Dec. Dropped the price in Oct about $550 for our Cat. I called and they offered us a upgrade to Aqua class but on a Guarantee and I was not giving up my hump cabin on this cruise for a cabin I did know where it was located!

[snchpnz]

To those that have been offered upgrades were the upgrades free to offset the price drop or did you have to pay a fee? Also did you call to request the upgrade or was it randomly offered?

Edited January 24, 2017 by snchpnz

[Braveheart11]

That happened to me too.....big number, about 2k. Cash refund was off the table, but I was able to negotiate with a supervisor for an upgrade from Aqua class to S1 Sky Suite. Ok, that killed me, because now I have too book suites. A very wise supervisor.

[Jade13]

That happened to me too.....big number, about 2k. Cash refund was off the table, but I was able to negotiate with a supervisor for an upgrade from Aqua class to S1 Sky Suite. Ok, that killed me, because now I have too book suites. A very wise supervisor.

 

 

Was the Suite less than you had paid for AQU class?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cruise Raider]

I called when I noticed my cabin had gone way down since final payment. They said, absolutely no refunds or OBC and really believe my TA went to bat for me.

What you can do, especially if the sailing does not look like it is filling up quickly is to book the lower cabin category you are willing to sail in. I have had luck in upgrading to a better cabin once final payment date had passed.

I have heard from others that your upgrade choice needs to be at least $1 more that what you've already paid. Not sure how true that is or even how consistent that is either. I had booked a nice inside cabin on Celebrity once and my booking was directly through the cruiseline. I paid very little for the cruise but had no perks. I saw that the concierge cabins had gone down to the point that they were only $100 more pp than what I had paid for my inside cabin so made the upgrade. Happy, happy, happy!! While onboard, I met a couple that paid way more for their inside cabin than we had so they were not able to upgrade as the concierge cabins were less than what they paid. Now, a good TA might have worked their magic but they said they weren't able to get a better room category.

 

Also, be aware that oftentimes, those better prices may not include any perks that might have been applicable to your original pricing. I recently upgraded my room on an upcoming sailing and lost one of my 3 perks, because this was the promotion going on at the time of the upgrade. If I had upgraded to one of the really low priced guaranteed cabin categories, I would have lost all three of my perks.

[Braveheart11]

Was the Suite less than you had paid for AQU class?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

At the time of the negotiations the suite was worth more than what I paid for Aqua. The Supervisor was smart to give up soft dollars and retain a customer who as it turned out, now books Sky Suites. A solution to a customer service problem.....imagine that.

[jelayne]

To those that have been offered upgrades were the upgrades free to offset the price drop or did you have to pay a fee? Also did you call to request the upgrade or was it randomly offered?

 

The upgrade offer was free but when the prices drop by $3+k the upgraded category they offered was still selling for thousands less and as you can imagine most of the cabins offered were not in great locations. On our cruises no one has reported being offered a upgrade to a Suite.

[jules815]

Will Celebrity ever call with upsell offers when it gets closer to the cruise date?

 

I am watching our 4/1 sailing on Reflection like a hawk. Since our final payment date, the price for an S1 Sky Suite (what we have) has gone UP $600.

[Braveheart11]

My upgrade was not offered free. In fact nothing was even mentioned to me at all. I discovered the price decrease and was very proactive with Celebrity in finding a satisfactory solution for both parties. The key was asking for a supervisor who had the authority to make decisions. I ultimately was very satisfied with the disposition.

[Fish Lover]

Celebrity is famous for doing that . They did it on our cruise this last Dec. Dropped the price in Oct about $550 for our Cat. I called and they offered us a upgrade to Aqua class but on a Guarantee and I was not giving up my hump cabin on this cruise for a cabin I did know where it was located!

 

You make it sound as though Celebrity is doing something sneaky or wrong. Once final payment is due, then any cabins they have left need to drop in price to make people consider last minute bookings. That's also why upgrades are being offered. It's better for them to offer the upgrade to booked passengers and then try and seller the lower priced cabins. This is used by all the cruise lines as a strategy to try and fill the ship.

 

You pay more by booking early, but then you also get 1) the cabin to you want, 2)the dates you want and can plan in advance around, and 3)an extended period to pay the cruise off.

[Mr. Click]

Our upgrade was free and we kept all of our perks. We originally had two cabins side by side on the slant and were looking forward to the big open balcony we could create with our friends. When they, the TA, called me and offered the upgrade I mentioned our friends in the same situation and our cabin location. TA asked me to hold on and came back with upgrades for both of us, well located cabins 4 doors apart so we went for it. We loved dining in Blu so now when ever I am looking, I keep hearing "how much more is BLU??"....so yes, it was good marketing on Celebrity's part. Oh, we did keep our perks.

[jonsmum]

Last Nov I was alerted via an ad on Facebook of all things that prices had dropped for our upcoming cruise. This was only about 3 weeks out from sailing I think. We managed to upgrade from AQ to a Sky Suite AND got a very healthy rebate as well!! No issues whatsoever - our TA said it was the first time she'd ever paid someone to upgrade!

[Lastdance]

I am also on the 4/22 TA. I changed cabins many times because I wanted a S 1 corner aft. I was only able to secure a 100 drop, but keep looking just in case. I love my suite and location is very important to me. On another cruise, I was able to go from a C2 on the slant of the hump to an S1 for 150 pp...now I am hooked in S1 corner afts...yes a good ploy by Celebrity!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums[/url

Edited January 24, 2017 by Lastdance

[mafig]

I just wish the cruise lines would not do it right after final payment (like with the OP, the very next day!). That's when it stings the most.:(:(

[lj77346]

We booked a SA cruise where the price dropped $1400 per person. We contacted our TA and were upgraded to a higher category room, but that cabin with the lowered price was still more than we originally paid. We had to be proactive to get the upgrade, Celebrity was not just offering upgrades to those who booked at higher prices. As another person responded, we could have cancelled our reservation, paid the penalty and rebooked the same room and would have had some money back. However, we were happy to get an upgrade from an inside room to a veranda for an Antarctic cruise.

[cynbar]

Will Celebrity ever call with upsell offers when it gets closer to the cruise date?

 

I am watching our 4/1 sailing on Reflection like a hawk. Since our final payment date, the price for an S1 Sky Suite (what we have) has gone UP $600.

 

Yes it does happen. Celebrity called us and offered us a higher suite for only a small amount more than we had already paid.

[Julma]

My cruise dropped 1600 after final payment. I booked a corner family balcony on the Infinity, directly with Celebrity. All incentives that I received were still being offered. I called and explained, if I was made to rebook all I would lose was my $900 deposit and that several outside travel agencies had offered me that in OBC (which was true). I was offered several upgrades that i was not interested in. I was satisfied with the final result. I know they can't do that for everyone, but in my case, the numbers made sense.

[BuckeyeMan]

Yes it does happen. Celebrity called us and offered us a higher suite for only a small amount more than we had already paid.

 

Will Celebrity call you offering an upsell if you have booked through a TA or does it have to come through the TA?

[Fish Lover]

I just wish the cruise lines would not do it right after final payment (like with the OP, the very next day!). That's when it stings the most.:(:(

 

But that's the whole point. You always have the option of waiting until final payment was due and then booking at a cheaper price, if available. I'm next booked on one of the 2017 New England cruises. They are practically sold out. I doubt there will be any special deals on those sailings. So, you take your chances that way. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

[Lastdance]

I have booked when cruises first come out...and the price never went lower than I paid hours after release!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums