Considering Princess after HAL

We are 3 star HAL Mariners and have enjoyed our cruises. From what I read on CruiseCritic, I'm sure we will also enjoy a cruise on Princess. We are considering a 7-day Pacific Coastal from Los Angeles next March. A co-worker told me that cabins are usually available for $500-600 each after final payment.

We have always been able to re-price our HAL cruises if the price drops. Sometimes we've just received a more expensive cabin, and sometimes we've actually received onboard credit for the difference.

Does Princess also honor reduced rates? We've always worked with a TA, but am wondering if it would be beneficial to work with a Princess consultant with regard to upgrades, etc. (Yes, I know upgrades are NOT guaranteed). It seems I do most of the work in planning, my TA just calls HAL but at this point I don't want to "drop her" for my HAL trips, but might want to try it without a TA for this Princess trip.

Hopefully I'm not asking a bunch of questions which have already been answered.

Thanks.

 

We have always been able to re-price our HAL cruises if the price drops. Sometimes we've just received a more expensive cabin, and sometimes we've actually received onboard credit for the difference.

 

Does Princess also honor reduced rates? We've always worked with a TA, but am wondering if it would be beneficial to work with a Princess consultant with regard to upgrades, etc. (Yes, I know upgrades are NOT guaranteed). It seems I do most of the work in planning, my TA just calls HAL but at this point I don't want to "drop her" for my HAL trips, but might want to try it without a TA for this Princess trip.

 

Hopefully I'm not asking a bunch of questions which have already been answered.

 

 

Thanks.

I've always been able to get price drops when I've booked direct with Princess. I've not heard that working with a Princess consultant provides any advantage when it comes to upgrades. One of the advantages to Princess is they usually allow combining discounts, ie, stockholder, military, when other cruise lines don't.

You would do better looking for a TA who discounts, 8-12% discounts are not uncommon for both Princess and HAL It is against the terms of this website to mention specific travel agents so you'll have to do your own research. Web searches won't help. You'll have to contact the TA directly to see what's possible.

 

Does Princess also honor reduced rates?

Up until final payment deadline, Princess will honor reduced rates that are not marked for new bookings only.

Of course, to get the new rates with a new promotion, you may lose amenities that were a part of your original booking (OBC, specialty restaurant dinner, etc.) that are not a part of the reduced rate offer.

After final payment the lower prices are almost always for new bookings only. Sometimes a call to your TA (or Princess if booked directly) can result in getting the benefit of the new pricing via OBC or a higher category cabin. Sometimes.

What the others have said. :)

We came to PCL from HAL when they stopped most of the cruises leaving from San Diego. We are now Platinum with PCL and are enjoying it.

PCL balcony cabins are a bit smaller than HAL, no bathtub, and HAL has those awesome beds, but I think you will be happy.

Patti

I booked a coastal after final payment this past spring. I waited until it came out as a flash sale to some big online sites. Princess never showed that price on their website, so I couldn't have booked it with a PCC, through the Princess site or through my regular TA. I have to say my regular TA may have been able to see flash sale prices, but she wasn't interested in watching it for me so I booked with an online agency when I saw it. Once it gets to flash sale price it's unlikely that the price will drop more and there usually isn't any OBC with it. Flash sales are for new bookings only. OTOH, I did get my FCC, shareholder and loyalty OBC when I booked. Waiting for flash sales after final payment is nerve wracking for me. Sometimes you get the deal and sometimes it doesn't happen. I wanted a flash sale for Alaska last summer and it never came through. Good luck.

We are also 3 star mariners on HAL and have booked our first PCL cruise in a good number of years on the Royal for B2Bs departing for the Caribbean on 9/21. For the past few years we have booked Neptune suites on HAL. We are very concerned that we will be disappointed in the balcony on our Penthouse Suite on the Royal. We have also greatly enjoyed the Pinnacle Grill on HAL as well as the Tamirand asian restaurant and the Neptune Lounge for suite passengers. We understand that there are more specialty restaurant offerings on the Royal, but we are wondering if we can expect the same quality we have experienced with HAL. We expect that probably some things will exceed our expectations and some will be disappointing. However, we expect to fully enjoy an excellent cruise on the Royal

What the others have said. :)

 

We came to PCL from HAL when they stopped most of the cruises leaving from San Diego. We are now Platinum with PCL and are enjoying it.

PCL balcony cabins are a bit smaller than HAL, no bathtub, and HAL has those awesome beds, but I think you will be happy.

 

Patti

We book a Mini-Suite on Princess to get the things like are in a verandah cabin on HAL! ;)

No problem with HAL ... but, have to admit we enjoy Princess LOTS more. :)

LuLu