First booking on Cunard - price drop day after booking

[mat5664]

A few days ago, I booked 2 balcony cabins for a 12 night cruise in December for my 82 year old mother and I. My mother is an experienced cruiser but had never been on Cunard and wanted to try them whilst she can (she used to cruise every year with my late father). I on the other hand have not been on many cruises and am not used to the vagaries of cruise bookings.

 

Anyway, as I have now found Cunard is fairly expensive and with the single supplement/premium it adds up. I needed to book the Cunard fare to make sure we had confirmed cabins nearby each other.

 

I phoned up Cunard for a quote and whilst I was going to think about it, the agent suggested I pay a deposit straight away 'as prices could go up' in the next few days. Which is what I did. (My mistake).

 

The next day the price for each cabin went down by £150.

 

£300 given what we paid may not seem so much but this was a real stretch in the first place and it really was only a few hours after the agent suggested I paid as prices could go up.

 

So I called Cunard. At first they suggested that prices go up and down and that was it - there was nothing to be done. Then when I explained how the call went they said they would listen to the tapes and if it was exactly as I said they would see what they could do. When I agreed to that, the line went quiet for a while and then the lady came back and said that as a one off act of goodwill they would credit the difference in on board credit.

 

So all's well that ends well and it was worth a call. I appreciate they didn't have to do anything under the terms but on the other hand the original agent also shouldn't have incorrectly suggested that prices were only going one way in the next few days and I should pay a deposit immediately.

[Host Hattie]

Interesting, thanks for posting.

I hope you and your Mother have a wonderful trip.

[Adammara]

We booked a short cruise on QV earlier this week, today they emailed us an offer of 5% off selected cruises, including the one we had just booked. No where near as bad as last years 45% reduction though!

[LB_NJ]

Interesting, in the US if you have a cancellable fair and the price drops you can usually get the difference back if it is before final payment date.

[mat5664]

Interesting, in the US if you have a cancellable fair and the price drops you can usually get the difference back if it is before final payment date.

 

Not in the UK. T&Ca are clear - also if you cancel however far out before final payment you lose your deposit.