Booked with costco, PIF, can I upgrade our room?

[bumbershoot]

We have a panoramic oceanview booked soon on Vision of the Seas. Totally interested in that.

But now I'm seeing really decent prices on rooms with balconies. Even jr suites.

I called Costco Travel the other day (I booked this cruise through them) and they quoted me something hundreds higher than what I was seeing on rccl.com. I didn't ask her anything; she sounded a little confused and I was out of time for that call.

But I wonder if I should call back? Anyone know of the combo of Costco, Royal, being paid in full (and just a month away), and possibly changing level of stateroom? Is it possible? Will there be fees? I'm talking an upgrade, not a downgrade.

Thanks for any thoughts and knowledge!!!

 

[ronandannette]

We have a panoramic oceanview booked soon on Vision of the Seas. Totally interested in that.

But now I'm seeing really decent prices on rooms with balconies. Even jr suites.

I called Costco Travel the other day (I booked this cruise through them) and they quoted me something hundreds higher than what I was seeing on rccl.com. I didn't ask her anything; she sounded a little confused and I was out of time for that call.

But I wonder if I should call back? Anyone know of the combo of Costco, Royal, being paid in full (and just a month away), and possibly changing level of stateroom? Is it possible? Will there be fees? I'm talking an upgrade, not a downgrade.

Thanks for any thoughts and knowledge!!!

I've never used Costco - do they have a website where you can book on-line? If so, that's where I'd look for price-drops before calling. Sometimes agencies DON'T have the same prices as RCCL but in my experience they're usually less, not more.

I do know for sure that RCCL will allow a category upgrade after a price drop. We just traded a Promenade-view straight across for D2 balcony on the Liberty when the prices finally came down 8 days after final payment. I always book through Travelocity and they didn't bat an eyelash at the request. They just put me on hold for a few minutes while they found me a balcony in my price range and confirmed the arrangements with the cruise line. (Travelocity's pricing at the time was within a few dollars of those on the RCCL site. I would have actually preferred keeping my Promenade and receiving OBC for the price drop, but alas, that request was declined. )

I also know that if you book through an agency RCCL will not allow any direct changes to your booking either by phone or via the website. Any help you get will have to come from Costco. Maybe try taking a screen shot of the prices you're seeing and go in and talk to someone. It seems fairly odd that they would appear stymied by the concept of price-drops and category upgrades.

 

[bumbershoot]

I did price it it on the site before calling and then again last night. (Now they even have guarantee prices) Costco doesn't seem to be using the same sale as RCCL so it's not as low as through RCCL but it's still much lower than the jr suite had been!

But the price the employee gave me was hundreds more than it should have been, according to costco travel's site. Alas my local costco doesn't have a travel desk.

I'll try again!

 

[ronandannette]

I did price it it on the site before calling and then again last night. (Now they even have guarantee prices) Costco doesn't seem to be using the same sale as RCCL so it's not as low as through RCCL but it's still much lower than the jr suite had been!

But the price the employee gave me was hundreds more than it should have been, according to costco travel's site. Alas my local costco doesn't have a travel desk.

I'll try again!

That right there is weird! I'm totally unfamiliar with Costco for travel though...do you book on-line or through a call centre? Does your booking have any sort of "agent" associated with it (a warm body of any kind somewhere)? Is there perhaps somebody you could e-mail a screen shot to and connect the dots for them? ie: This is what I already paid and this is what I now want; please change my room category and bill me the difference (if any).

It sounds like a bit of a pain, but I'd persist if the deal is good enough. Question: Is there a particular reason you use Costco? Great deal, incentives, reward points or whatnot? Personally I always use Travelocity mainly for the ease in shopping, comparing and choosing exactly what I want and their reliable service in instances like this. (I'd change in a hot minute if another source was substantially cheaper though. : Goodvibes)

 

[bumbershoot]

With DCL, Costco has really good Costco giftcards that they send once you're back. In the case of Royal, they had a nice OBC.

We were up in a different city today and I meant to stop in at their Costco b/c I *think* they have an in-person travel center, but things took too long with my mother in law (getting a new cellphone takes ages) and we had to get back home. Maybe on Friday. This ship doesn't seem to be getting filled!

I've booked online once with Costco, and booked by phone the other b/c...I don't know,something was confusing me or something like that. Not sure. There's no ONE person to talk to, but there are *people* to talk to.

There are a lot of people on the DCL board that really like Costco for cruises, because of that giftcard you get when you get back.

 

[ronandannette]

With DCL, Costco has really good Costco giftcards that they send once you're back. In the case of Royal, they had a nice OBC.

We were up in a different city today and I meant to stop in at their Costco b/c I *think* they have an in-person travel center, but things took too long with my mother in law (getting a new cellphone takes ages) and we had to get back home. Maybe on Friday. This ship doesn't seem to be getting filled!

I've booked online once with Costco, and booked by phone the other b/c...I don't know,something was confusing me or something like that. Not sure. There's no ONE person to talk to, but there are *people* to talk to.

There are a lot of people on the DCL board that really like Costco for cruises, because of that giftcard you get when you get back.

This is definitely "shoulder" season. Our Liberty sailing (Nov. 8) has TONS more cabins available today than there were to choose from when I originally booked in July. Years ago RCCL (and most other cruise lines) used to honour price-drops right up until departure either as upgrades, OBC or straight-up refunds. Those were good times! (Carnival still offers something like a best-price guarantee but it's a separate fare category and you pay a premium for it going in.)

 

[drb116]

I did price it it on the site before calling and then again last night. (Now they even have guarantee prices) Costco doesn't seem to be using the same sale as RCCL so it's not as low as through RCCL but it's still much lower than the jr suite had been!

But the price the employee gave me was hundreds more than it should have been, according to costco travel's site. Alas my local costco doesn't have a travel desk.

I'll try again!

This can happen from time to time, especially if you have status on Royal Caribbean. We recently got a $200 credit for something, but it was not showing up on Costco's side until we actually booked it. Even after we booked it, it still showed the higher amount on Costco's site, and the cruise line had a different balance. Costco eventually reconciled it, but they had to call RCCL to figure it out.

If you see a difference in price, tell the agent you are seeing something different on royalcaribbean.com. They should then call RCCL and find out why the prices are different.