Reservation and repricing question

[Swisster]

Hello all,

Forgive me to ask this, but I am somewhat new-ish to cruising.

I am looking at making a reservation for a South America Antarctica cruise for the 25/26 season. I am aware that is still a good bit away.

I have a budget that I would like to stay in, and with that budget it would get a Ocean View Room. However, what I ultimatley hope for is to get a balcony room, however, that is like $2k more than my budget. This is where repricing comes in. I am new to this, so forgive me if this has been talked into the ground before.

 

What route do I go, make the reservation for Oceanview room that is within my budget. Watch the cruise over this coming year plus and if a balcony room drops in price into my budget range, then cancel the oceanview room and book the balcony room.

 

or

 

Do I reserve now the balcony room, which is $2k more, and keeping my fingers crossed that the price will drop enough between now and when final payment is due that the price will come down into my budget. The Cruise consultant said that I can always downgrade to a oceanview if needed as balconies will sell out before ocean views.

 

Help me out, what is the best way for setting myself up for success with this reservation?

 

Thank you for your input!

[SCX22]

A third option would be to book the Oceanview now and participate in bid to upgrade, in which you bid for a upgrade to a higher category, such as a balcony, after final payment has passed.  If you choose this option and your bid is accepted, you'll be upgraded to a balcony, but you won't have a choice in balcony cabin assignment.  It's not guaranteed that your bid will be accepted.

 

Not sure how your TA knows balconies will sell out first.  What if you book a balcony and in the end Oceanview sells out and there are no Oceanview cabins to downgrade to?  Are you still willing to pay extra $2K extra for a Balcony in this situation or would you cancel the cruise all together?  If you really want to follow your budget, I would book an Oceanview and watch the Balcony fares fluctuate.

[buckeye7]

I don’t know about the cruise you’re taking, but I’ve seen ocean views sell out before balconies. The cruise we are taking in July sold out of ocean view a long time ago and still has balconies available. 

[Reina del Mar]

Not sure where you are from. Maybe worth speaking to the travel agent you are thinking of using, or even Princess..but their answers change depending on the agent you speak to.

In USA it seems passengers are able to re fare pretty easily before final payment….although more recently some have said it is not quite so easy these days.

 

In UK, we are allowed just one change to our bookings, at an admin fee of £100.

[wallyj]

@Swisster, make sure if you do put a deposit on a cruise, the deposit is Refundable. Some fares and promotions might come with the catch of a non refundable deposit.

[skynight]

This is a tough question. Fares may go up or down. Princess only offers three Antarctica sailing dates, all RT Buenos Aires. One is in December 2025, a holiday cruise, and two are in January 2026. Most likely there will be high demand for these cruises.  Unless you live in Buenos Aires you will also have to factor in the flight cost. These costs will not be certain until 330 days from the return flight. 

I would book a cabin that is within my current budget and watch future fares. I would also use a T.A. They can watch with you. Often times TAs offer either lower fares or some additional onboard credits, OBC.

As you are new here is some additional information. If you own a minimum of 100 shares of Carnival Corporation shares you can apply for the Shareholder OBC benefit. For this cruise it would be $250/cabin. US/Canada military veterans can register for the Princess Military Benefit. This is an individual benefit for qualified veterans. This cruise it would be $250/qualified person. I believe that this benefit is also available to UK veterans. 

[JamieLogical]

If it were me, I would book the Ocean View and keep an eye on prices up until final payment. If you are unable to secure a Balcony within your budget by final payment, then I would put in a bid to upgrade once bidding becomes available.

[NavyVeteran]

@Swisster, please state what country your are from. The answer is much different for US and Canadian cruisers and for UK and many other countries. US cruisers can usually book with refundable deposits and can either reprice or cancel and rebook before final payment. It's not the same for UK cruisers.

 

If you are from the US, book what you can afford now. If the balcony price comes down before final payment, then you can either reprice or cancel and rebook at that time. Don't book a stateroom or price you would not be happy with. Even if oceanviews don't sell out, you may find that the price for an ocean view has gone up when you decide to reprice or rebook.

 

If you don't get what you want before final payment, you can submit a bid for a balcony after final payment. Bid only what you are willing to pay.

[Swisster]

@NavyVeteran I am located in US. Thank you ALL for your input and information. I went ahead and secured what I can afford, an OceanView. And I will reprice, and/or cancel and upgrade for a balcony if/when specials come around and prices drop. - How much does one have to bid for an upgrade to a balcony? Any pointers regarding the bidding process on cruises?

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, Swisster said:

How much does one have to bid for an upgrade to a balcony?

Not everyone has the same minimum bid amount.  It depends on the fare you paid and the length of the cruise.  It also depends on how many balcony cabins are available and the amount of the other bids you're bid is up against.  If there are still a lot of balcony cabins left, more likely than not the minimum bid will be accepted.  If there are few balcony cabins left, higher bids are more likely to win.  (I personally, don't bid to upgrade, but have deduced this info from my friends experiences.)

 

You should also look at the prices of balconies after final payment.  If there are still balconies available, you can upgrade from oceanview and pay the difference outright.  If you can afford to do this, you're guaranteed the balcony without having to wait for the 3rd party bid operator to respond to your bid.

 

You really have to be privy on the fares after final payment. Sometimes it's cheaper to upgrade outright instead of bidding.  You can cancel your bid all the way until it's accepted or denied.

[NWA395]

We also debated between B2B in a balcony and realized we could do B2B2B, from LA for 53 nights (Nov16, 24 to Jan 8, 25) in an ocean view for about the same money.  The OBC for each leg isn't bad either.

[cruzsnooze]

Book what you can afford. There will be extra's you'll spend on the trip that need to be budgeted for too. Souvineirs, drinks, shore excursions, maybe a photo or two or a specialty dining so don't cut it  short that you can't enjoy it all. I never saw a cruise worth going going into debt for. Of course you should watch to see if the fare goes down and refare if possible. 

[Ombud]

@Swisster welcome to Cruise Critic! I see you're new from PNW. First: if this is on a royal class ship I'd book an obstructed balcony and refare once the price drops. If on a Grand class ship id book a Caribe deck and also refare once the price drops. I would not book plus or Premier at this point as South American cruises often come with a lot of OBC that can be used to defray part of the plus costs onboard. 

 

My reason:

obstructed balconies on royal class are less expensive

Caribe deck on grand class ships are significantly larger

Edited Friday at 03:43 AM by Ombud

[Cruisintimer]

Agree with JAMIELOGICAL'S reply, sound advice in my opinion.  Enjoy the cruise!  I see you are a Navy Veteran, if you haven't already send proof of same to Princess to get onboard credit for your service.  It is a nice benefit Princess offers. 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 05:34 AM by Cruisintimer