Apparantly, a new policy regarding fare reductions
Just thought I would post what seems to be a change in policy.
I waited until the last minute to make my final payment on my July cruise on the Oosterdam. I did this so I wouldn't have to deal with refunds if the fare went down.
So. HAL's policy was if your fare is reduced after final payment, you could either upgrade, or get 50% in shipboard credit for the difference.
After final payment, I told my cruise consultant that if there is a further reduction, I would rather try to upgrade my inside cabin instead of getting credit for price reduction on my balcony cabin, and since I'm paying for it all, is this possible.
Then he gave me the bad news that the shipboard credit option is no longer available, and only upgrades would be possible. So, this was good for me, since it's what I wanted, but wouldn't be good if you already booked a suite and had nothing to upgrade to. Imagine paying full fare for a suite, and the couple next to you paid half as much, and you didn't even get shipboard credit.
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Tlingit who loves cruising in Alaska.
It happens to us all the time....... almost every cruise we take.
Time and time again, I read of people getting 'upsells' for $199 or $299 per person to go from lessor Suites to Deluxe Veranda Suites for a much lower price than we pay for our suites
We know there will be people who have paid thousands less than us, same as there are people on planes that have paid different prices.
We get the cruise we want, on the date we want, in the cabin we want and we pay for it.
Does it annoy me? Yes, sometimes.
But we make that 'informed choice'.
This news does not make me happy. We already have a deluxe suite. So no upgrade, unless they give us the PH. HaHa. Also we were told if we paid the balance for our cruise by the end of May we would receive a 3% discount. Which really is a big savings. But what if the fares drop more than that before final payment would have been due (Sept) and it's more than 3%.
I guess it's a chance you take to get the discount upfront.
Just thought I would post what seems to be a change in policy.
I waited until the last minute to make my final payment on my July cruise on the Oosterdam. I did this so I wouldn't have to deal with refunds if the fare went down.
So. HAL's policy was if your fare is reduced after final payment, you could either upgrade, or get 50% in shipboard credit for the difference.
After final payment, I told my cruise consultant that if there is a further reduction, I would rather try to upgrade my inside cabin instead of getting credit for price reduction on my balcony cabin, and since I'm paying for it all, is this possible.
Then he gave me the bad news that the shipboard credit option is no longer available, and only upgrades would be possible. So, this was good for me, since it's what I wanted, but wouldn't be good if you already booked a suite and had nothing to upgrade to. Imagine paying full fare for a suite, and the couple next to you paid half as much, and you didn't even get shipboard credit.
The scenario you have described happens millions of times every day, all over the world, on every flight and in every hotel.
Why do you find it so strange to happen on a cruise ship?
Apparantly, a new policy regarding fare reductions
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