princess playing games with sip and sail promotion

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.

First, my TA has told me that Princess is known for jacking up prices when they announce a new sale. But in this case, aren't you comparing the price for a 2018 cruise against a 2019 cruise? It is clear that all cruise lines are raising prices every year now that the economy is booming again. The real comparison here would be the same 2019 cruise before this new sale vs. now. You might still be right, but I don't think that's the comparison you have made. :confused:

On the other hand, our April 2018 transatlantic did not increase one nickel, so I called and refared. Same cabin, same price, free booze.

So, it just depends on which cruise you choose. To me it's not amazing that they would raise some of the fares a bit when they include something of significant value. It's just marketing.

Jim

Of course it's no deal. I have said this all along. Nothing is for free.

If you pay for your cruise at an increased/inflated price to begin with and there is not a free AIBP on the cruise and then all of a sudden they have the sale and add it without raising the price you are still paying for the AIBP. IMO

Of course it's no deal. I have said this all along. Nothing is for free.

If you pay for your cruise at an increased/inflated price to begin with and there is not a free AIBP on the cruise and then all of a sudden they have the sale and add it without raising the price you are still paying for the AIBP. IMO

Keith, you are such a buzz killer. Let me think I got free booze, OK? Free booze, free booze, free booze!

Jim

same here with the free booze, we booked out 6/18 cruise a couple months ago and when the sale came up our TA got it added with no additional increase in price. we were going anyways so something for free is something for free.

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

Keith, you are such a buzz killer. Let me think I got free booze, OK? Free booze, free booze, free booze!

 

Jim

Just think Jim after a few of those free drinks you won't know a thing. :D

Of course it's no deal. I have said this all along. Nothing is for free. If you pay for your cruise at an increased/inflated price to begin with and there is not a free AIBP on the cruise and then all of a sudden they have the sale and add it without raising the price you are still paying for the AIBP. IMO

Wait. I paid a certain price yesterday without AIBP. Today I pay the same price and get AIBP. Did you miss the "same price" part? To quibble about whether it's "free" or not is really pedantic. More stuff for the same price makes that stuff free to me. And if you want to continue this discussion onboard, I'll buy you a drink -- provided you also have AIBP ;p

Of course it's no deal. I have said this all along. Nothing is for free.

If you pay for your cruise at an increased/inflated price to begin with and there is not a free AIBP on the cruise and then all of a sudden they have the sale and add it without raising the price you are still paying for the AIBP. IMO

Just for discussion, I don't follow your logic. If you pay $100 and then they say $100 now includes ice cream, clearly the ice cream is free. If you maintain that the price should be $80 and so ice cream is not free, then I would agree. Conversely you might say wait until after Sip & Sale and then it will be cheaper to pay for cruise and add AIBP, once again I would agree.

-jazzbeau- we have gone on a lot of cruises with many lines and I do realize that every year there is a slight increase in the cost but this increase is a lot higher. its actually 880.00 total more for both of us in 2019 over what we paid for 2018. the bottom line here is that most cruise lines have been giving these free drinking packages over the past few years and are now going to star really raising their prices. the drink packages are valued over 400.00 each so I guess your paying for the drink package now. these cruise lines started to realize that they were losing to much money because of many people were sneaking their booze on the ship.

Wait. I paid a certain price yesterday without AIBP. Today I pay the same price and get AIBP. Did you miss the "same price" part? To quibble about whether it's "free" or not is really pedantic. More stuff for the same price makes that stuff free to me. And if you want to continue this discussion onboard, I'll buy you a drink -- provided you also have AIBP ;p

I understand what you are saying.

I just feel the prices have been inflated for the last year anyway as well as pre AIBP package and as noted by tommy47 some cruises actually increase in price when the AIBP is added.

We have had this promo several times in the past and it's gone both ways.

If one is happy with their original cruise purchase price then it's a win win for sure.

Princess will get their $$ for the "free" packages one way or another.

Yes drinks are on me. Oh yeah if there is a limit I may have to rethink that. :o

I understand what you are saying.

I just feel the prices have been inflated for the last year anyway as well as pre AIBP package and as noted by tommy47 some cruises actually increase in price when the AIBP is added.

We have had this promo several times in the past and it's gone both ways.

If one is happy with their original cruise purchase price then it's a win win for sure.

Princess will get their $$ for the "free" packages one way or another.

Yes drinks are on me. Oh yeah if there is a limit I may have to rethink that. :o

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

Sip and Sale in No Deal

Booked my Sept 2018 cruise this past March. Rebooked/refared it last week with S&S promo. Same price, same cabin, now with AIBP. It's a deal for us.

BTW, you can't compare cruise fares in 2017 v. 2018 v. 2019. IMO you can only compare the before & after prices on the exact cruise you are looking/already booked and make a determination whether if it's a "deal."

Deal/No Deal, does it really matter. We were booking the 2019 Super Bowl Cruise regardless. The price may go down or it may not. We wanted to book and get the room we wanted so we got the sip + sail, steakhouse voucher, and $100 per person, refundable, deposit. We also got OBC from travel agent and military OBC from Princess. We are Happy Cruisers! :cool:

We've booked five cruises under Sip and Sail promotions over the past couple of years. Three of those are still pending; the other two we ended up refaring under a different sale, as the net value was more advantageous to us. (We don't value the S&S anywhere near the $57 or so pp per day that they sell it at. Our drinking costs have been pretty stable over the years and we know what it will average out to per day)

A couple of years or so ago Princess came out and said that they would intentionally not drop prices so dramatically in their sales and would instead start offering 'value added' promotions in place of lower prices, hence Sip and Sail, Three for Free, etc. Explanation was something about not diluting the value of the cruise...a marketing person can explain it better I am sure. But the upshot is you may not see actual price drops as much as you will see added benefits in lieu of cash in your pocket. Sometimes you will. And sometimes you may see a price increase along with a specific promotion. You just have to do the math for your own situation and spending habits and decide if the net price is something you feel is reasonable.

We've booked five cruises under Sip and Sail promotions over the past couple of years. Three of those are still pending; the other two we ended up refaring under a different sale, as the net value was more advantageous to us. (We don't value the S&S anywhere near the $57 or so pp per day that they sell it at. Our drinking costs have been pretty stable over the years and we know what it will average out to per day)

 

A couple of years or so ago Princess came out and said that they would intentionally not drop prices so dramatically in their sales and would instead start offering 'value added' promotions in place of lower prices, hence Sip and Sail, Three for Free, etc. Explanation was something about not diluting the value of the cruise...a marketing person can explain it better I am sure. But the upshot is you may not see actual price drops as much as you will see added benefits in lieu of cash in your pocket. Sometimes you will. And sometimes you may see a price increase along with a specific promotion. You just have to do the math for your own situation and spending habits and decide if the net price is something you feel is reasonable.

Like you, we also don't value the Sip+Sail at $57 a day. Princess does give you the option of $150 per passenger in OBC, for a 7 day cruise.

Like you, we also don't value the Sip+Sail at $57 a day. Princess does give you the option of $150 per passenger in OBC, for a 7 day cruise.

Just for discussion, I don't follow your logic. If you pay $100 and then they say $100 now includes ice cream, clearly the ice cream is free. If you maintain that the price should be $80 and so ice cream is not free, then I would agree. Conversely you might say wait until after Sip & Sale and then it will be cheaper to pay for cruise and add AIBP, once again I would agree.

It depends. The cruise line knew that they would be offering various promotions when they set the initial prices. The cruise line included the price of the planned promotions when they established the initial prices. The ice cream only appears to be free. You're paying for it one way or the other. As a wise man once said; "TANSTAAFL".

One of the nicer things about Holland is the ability to price a cruise with and without the promotion and book the choice that is best for you.

It depends. The cruise line knew that they would be offering various promotions when they set the initial prices. The cruise line included the price of the planned promotions when they established the initial prices. The ice cream only appears to be free. You're paying for it one way or the other. As a wise man once said; "TANSTAAFL".

 

One of the nicer things about Holland is the ability to price a cruise with and without the promotion and book the choice that is best for you.

So do you "on principle" refuse to accept the ice cream because it isn't really free? That'll show them!

So do you "on principle" refuse to accept the ice cream because it isn't really free? That'll show them!

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.

Sip and Sale in No Deal

I disagree. We looked at Carnival and Princess for Mex Riv. The price difference was about $800 more for a balcony and inside on Princess. We decided to book Princess when the $1 sale came along. Shortly after booking the total cruise price went up $100. Then a few weeks later they added sip n sale. I got the promo (an $800 value) , kept my cheaper rate and the $1 deposit. I have never received $800 in rate drops. And in the end, the cruise bottom line will cost the same as Carnival. I also have never seen Princess be as cheap as Carnival during holiday travel. So I think this is a great rate.

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Wait. I paid a certain price yesterday without AIBP. Today I pay the same price and get AIBP. Did you miss the "same price" part? To quibble about whether it's "free" or not is really pedantic. More stuff for the same price makes that stuff free to me. And if you want to continue this discussion onboard, I'll buy you a drink -- provided you also have AIBP ;p

Agree with you Host.

My TA just re-fared 3 of our cruises (all suites) for Sip and Sail , same price, except we got 400 +400 +500 or 1300 obc total since we don't drink. Seems like a discount to me.

It depends. The cruise line knew that they would be offering various promotions when they set the initial prices. The cruise line included the price of the planned promotions when they established the initial prices. The ice cream only appears to be free. You're paying for it one way or the other. As a wise man once said; "TANSTAAFL".

 

One of the nicer things about Holland is the ability to price a cruise with and without the promotion and book the choice that is best for you.

after head scratching I got TANSTAAFL :D