princess playing games with sip and sail promotion

Would you call the meals in the MDR "free" or would you say they were "included" in the fare?

 

Nothing is free if you've paid for it.

The point is, a poster said they had re-fared at same price and added Sip & Sail.

after head scratching I got TANSTAAFL :D

From wikipedia:

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (alternatively, "There is no such thing as a free lunch" or other variants) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing.

The acronyms TANSTAAFL, TINSTAAFL, and TNSTAAFL, are also used. Uses of the phrase dating back to the 1930s and 1940s have been found, but the phrase's first appearance is unknown. The "free lunch" in the saying refers to the nineteenth-century practice in American bars of offering a "free lunch" in order to entice drinking customers.

The phrase and the acronym are central to Robert Heinlein's 1966 science-fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which helped popularize it. The free-market economist Milton Friedman also popularized the phrase by using it as the title of a 1975 book, and it is used in economics literature to describe opportunity cost. Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".

TANSTAAFL, on the other hand, indicates an acknowledgement that in reality a person or a society cannot get "something for nothing". Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost to the person or to society as a whole, although that may be a hidden cost or an externality. For example, as Heinlein has one of his characters point out, a bar offering a free lunch will likely charge more for its drinks.

The point is, a poster said they had re-fared at same price and added Sip & Sail.

Most marketing professionals will tell you the most powerful incentives are those that convince the customer that they're getting something for nothing, ie, free. Promotions are a marketing ploy designed to make you think you're getting something for free that you've already paid for. Corporations will build the price of future promotions into the product and then offer the promotion as being "free", when in fact, you've already paid for it.

Here's another way to look at it. S&S offered a choice of the AIPB or $150 OBC on their seven day cruises. If you turn down the OBC, then you're paying $150 for the "free" beverage package. Probably a good deal for most people but it does bring into question Princess claims that their AIBP is "worth" or "valued" at $57 PP PD.

BTW, I re-fared at the same price while adding Sip & Sail too. I don't think that means S&S was free just like I don't think meals in the MDR are free.

I added the Sip and Sail to two of our already booked cruises. We are on the Royal, in one of the large obstructed balconies, with the little sofa, on the Lido deck, not counting the port taxes, we are paying $135.00 per person, per day. How is this not a steal?

There are also some ten day Mexico cruises on the Grand that work out to about $145.00 per person, per day. Now the Caribbean cruises, those are the expensive ones. The cheapest I could find was $185.00, per person, per day.

If you like the pricing book now. If you don't like the pricing, there will probably be another sale next month.;)

Most marketing professionals will tell you the most powerful incentives are those that convince the customer that they're getting something for nothing, ie, free. Promotions are a marketing ploy designed to make you think you're getting something for free that you've already paid for. Corporations will build the price of future promotions into the product and then offer the promotion as being "free", when in fact, you've already paid for it.

 

Here's another way to look at it. S&S offered a choice of the AIPB or $150 OBC on their seven day cruises. If you turn down the OBC, then you're paying $150 for the "free" beverage package. Probably a good deal for most people but it does bring into question Princess claims that their AIBP is "worth" or "valued" at $57 PP PD.

 

BTW, I re-fared at the same price while adding Sip & Sail too. I don't think that means S&S was free just like I don't think meals in the MDR are free.

I am enjoying this thought exercise, and not being pedantic. To your first point about 'incentives' manufacturers prefer 'Gift With Purchase' versus discounting a product, especially true with Cosmetics. The buyer gets a gift with an apparent value of say $10 but the cost to the seller is $3 - much better than 10% off a $60 item. If it would cost the buyer $10 to acquire that item, then he received $10 value.

To your example of $150 OBC - this is like the Cosmetic manufacturer saying they will give you $3 off if you refuse the gift, not the apparent $10 value. More likely they will give you nothing - does the item then cost $3 more? $10 more? or since the person valued the item at $60 before the promotion, the price has not changed.

The $150 OBC is cost to Princess $57 / day is apparent value to passenger.

I'm disappointed that prices keep rising, but that's just a fact of life. I would love to indulge and get more value from the beverage package, but for health reasons, I feel like I have to keep my drinking moderate. I do not get $57 a day value from it, but I love having it. I like being able to get the fresh brewed coffees at the International Cafe, and I'm experimenting with mocktails. I hope I'm correct in that I also believe that milk shakes are included.

It's getting harder and harder to get "deals" and so I have accepted that I have to cruise less often. Our 14 day Grand Asia cruise in January 2019 was the same price before the sip and sale as it was during the sip and sale, so to me, it was a great added value. I'm not too happy about the price I had to pay, but it's a cruise I wanted to take, so I booked it and I realize I will not be able to cruise as often as I could when there were more "deals" to be found. I'm open to other cruise lines, and have found some great deals with them. So the Princess plan to intentionally add value instead of lowering price has cost them my loyalty.

some of the posts on here have confused me. I booked a cruise on the regal for my wife and i for January 2018 a month ago which had some promotions but no drink package. i paid 1078 each before tax. the sip and sail special has free drinks but is 1518. are you guys saying that if i call my travel agent they will give us the free drink package and keep the 1078 original price with its other promotions.

Tommy47, if you rebook during the Sip and Sale to get the beverage package, I believe you will have to pay the price that is listed during the Sip and Sale. For some cruises, prices seem to have gone up during the Sip and Sale. But from what I've read here, most people seem to say that the price of their cruise did not go up during the Sip and Sale, so they were able to have the beverage package added to their booking without any extra charge. My price didn't go up, so I got the beverage package added without any extra charge. Unfortunately it seems that the price of your cruise did go up. You could check each day; you never know if the price of your cruise might go down before Sip and Sale ends. Doesn't hurt to check.

When I booked my last 3 cruises there were no promos going on. But when a promo eventually came up, the cruise fare was always much higher than my original price, making the promo not a deal.

So I just tried to get the Sip & Sail added to my May, 2018 cruise and my TA said it's not included! Other cruises in that month are eligible; I'm really getting sick of never being able to get in on a promo. :mad:

my wife and I have been on princess many times over the years. we have gone on the regal the last 2 years in January each time. I booked last month during the memorial day special another regal cruise for January again 2018. we really like this ship. I paid 1078.00 each before taxes- port charges for a bb category balcony that I could pick our room. I booked through a reputable agent and received a total of 275.00 back in total credit. now im looking at this firecracker sale which is good for cruises from the summer of 2018-2019. now if I would want to book another regal cruise for January of 2019 with the same type room it would be like 500.00 more each. I would get about the same back in credit as my 2018 booking but now I would get the free alchohol package for both of us. so the bottom line is your not getting any deal here. princess is trying to make this sound so good but most people don't realize your not getting a deal here. we also love celebrity and they have also been playing this game.

Nothing new here. All cruise lines use the same pricing strategy. When they add perks the price goes up. Take the perks away and the price goes down. We hardly ever book this far out. Since we are retired and can travel almost any time we usually get a better deal on the Flash Sales.

some of the posts on here have confused me. I booked a cruise on the regal for my wife and i for January 2018 a month ago which had some promotions but no drink package. i paid 1078 each before tax. the sip and sail special has free drinks but is 1518. are you guys saying that if i call my travel agent they will give us the free drink package and keep the 1078 original price with its other promotions.

I don't think your January 2018 is eligible for this Sip and Sale. Summer 2018 - Spring 2019 only. I booked my January 2018 cruise under last years Sip and Sale promo.

We added the Sip and Sail to two of our cruises and the price didn't change. For us, this is a great promo.

Sorry it didn't work out for you. And, prices do continue to be high, in general because the economy is good and there is more demand. There are still deals to be found. You just need to invest some time.

In Addition..

Not a day goes by that there's not a post about booking early and then waiting for the price drops and re-fares down stream..

Well guess what? Try and re-fare your Sip&Sail in couple of months when you spot a drop, and see what Princess or your TA tells you, re-fare yes, keeping the AIBP nope...

 

So IMO Keith is right, because how much the AIBP will actually cost is what the price difference will be on final payment day, and a great percentage of these cruises being quoted here on this thread will definitely be cheaper on that final payment date next year without the AIBP

 

Sorry to rain on the party

Srpilo

When we booked our 2018 cruise we knew the cost and were willing to pay it. The Sip&Sail promotion was announced and we rebooked at same fare and TA benefits plus Sip&Sail, so we figure we are ahead of the game. Should the fare be reduced in the future, we'll review the fare difference, any included/excluded benefits and make a decision on what to do at that time. Pretty simple really and no need to pull out our umbrella.

The cruise I booked during last year's Sip N Sale was the price it was released at. After Sip N Sale, the price NEVER reduced...it only went up! All balconies were sold out by last fall...so even if you wanted to book a balcony you couldn't at any price. Final payment is coming up, so in theory, there 'might' be some balconies available, but since they have been so scarce for the last year, I doubt they will be a good price. For me...this was a GREAT deal! I could have booked after Sip N Sail, but I would have paid MORE. I am sure it can vary depending on the cruise and this one is very popular. Part of the reason it sold out the balconies might be related to the Sip N Sail....but it doesn't really matter. If I want to go on this cruise, that is the price I will need to pay and I might as well do it during the Sip N Sail if I can plan that far ahead. :cool:

Nothing new here. All cruise lines use the same pricing strategy. When they add perks the price goes up. Take the perks away and the price goes down...

It may seem that way based on certain cruises, but that isn't really what happens. The prices for every cruise are adjusted regularly based on how well THAT cruise is selling. Then 'sales' are announced which sometimes only apply to cruises that aren't selling well but sometimes apply to all cruises in a give time period or area of the world. Therefore sometimes a poor-selling cruise will have a price cut plus a sale. Other times a good-selling cruise will have a price hike coincidental with a new sale being announced, or will be carved out as 'not applicable' for the sale. But it is definitely not true [based on my observation of prices on cruises I am interested in or have booked] that 'all cruise lines' raise prices when they add perks.

Demand for cruises are predicted higher and that is why future cruises fares are higher. It has nothing to do with Sip n Sail.

It starts with Launch fares.

Sip n Sail comes along and most fares do not increase.

Other promotions come along and most fares drop. Many people refare if it makes economical sense.

It's not rocket science, I guess some people are blaming the Sip n Sail but the bottom line is that cruising is getting more expensive because the economy is better and demand is up.

The prices are ridiculous. I will say, though, that prices didn't seem to rise after S&S was added, but they were ridiculous to begin with. Nearly $2700 for a "regular" balcony cabin on a 7-day Caribbean cruise during "low season" (the first week of December)? I don't think so. There is nothing at all free about S&S.

The price on our cabin did NOT go up for the Sip & Sale Promo. :)

It's quite likely that all new releases had the price of the sip and sail already factored into the price upon release.

Separate but related topic. We had Sip & Sail on recent Baltic cruise. The Sea Pass cards do not have a sticker now and twice we were charged for drinks. Same thing happened to our travelling friends. Easily corrected at Passenger Services, however we did check our account balance every few days.

The prices are ridiculous. I will say, though, that prices didn't seem to rise after S&S was added, but they were ridiculous to begin with. Nearly $2700 for a "regular" balcony cabin on a 7-day Caribbean cruise during "low season" (the first week of December)? I don't think so. There is nothing at all free about S&S.

Wow! $2700? I guess we got a good deal. Less than $2,000 total for the two of us, aft cabin C753, B4 category with S&S for next cruise 7-day Mexican Riviera.

my wife and I have been on princess many times over the years. we have gone on the regal the last 2 years in January each time. I booked last month during the memorial day special another regal cruise for January again 2018. we really like this ship. I paid 1078.00 each before taxes- port charges for a bb category balcony that I could pick our room. I booked through a reputable agent and received a total of 275.00 back in total credit. now im looking at this firecracker sale which is good for cruises from the summer of 2018-2019. now if I would want to book another regal cruise for January of 2019 with the same type room it would be like 500.00 more each. I would get about the same back in credit as my 2018 booking but now I would get the free alchohol package for both of us. so the bottom line is your not getting any deal here. princess is trying to make this sound so good but most people don't realize your not getting a deal here. we also love celebrity and they have also been playing this game.

We booked a month or so ago and are paying $999 pp for a deluxe obstructed balcony cabin plus taxes of course, for a 7 day on the Royal out of California. I was able to add Sip and Sail at no additional cost. $999 pp is a price we would expect to pay without a promo.

We are taking the OBC instead of the booze, so for a 7 day cruise we are getting $300 in lieu of .... with the additional OBC from TA and the FCD , $(450 total) not bad for 7 days.

In our case, we got a good deal.

However, I priced many other sailings for this promo, and there weren't too many great deals, IMHO.

I guess it is all about knowing your prices.

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Wow! $2700? I guess we got a good deal. Less than $2,000 total for the two of us, aft cabin C753, B4 category with S&S for next cruise 7-day Mexican Riviera.

That is a good deal.

The sip and sail deal is not for all sailing. We are booked to Hawaii on March 2018 when I called to add the sip and sail I was told it is not for this sailing. So the Hawaii sailing has NO promotions at all at this time. Prices didn't change. We received free updates that no longer exist plus no drinking package also deposits is none refundable.

Our cruise is 15 nights and we have balcony very disappointed

We booked a month or so ago and are paying $999 pp for a deluxe obstructed balcony cabin plus taxes of course, for a 7 day on the Royal out of California. I was able to add Sip and Sail at no additional cost. $999 pp is a price we would expect to pay without a promo.

We are taking the OBC instead of the booze, so for a 7 day cruise we are getting $300 in lieu of .... with the additional OBC from TA and the FCD , $(450 total) not bad for 7 days.

In our case, we got a good deal.

However, I priced many other sailings for this promo, and there weren't too many great deals, IMHO.

I guess it is all about knowing your prices.

 

 

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About the only "deals" I'm seeing are on the West Coast. Unfortunately, the dates/itineraries don't work for me.