Why cant Australians get the Princess 'Sip & Sail' promotion.

We are currently booked on our 2nd ever cruise. 22 Days Shanghai to Sydney on the Majestic Princess in 12 months time in a Club Mini Suite.

The problem I have is if I purchase the AIBP for 2 of us it will be AU$76.70per person, per day through the onboard reservations which is total of AU$3,374.82

The thing is if you go into the Princess website it says US$57.45 per person per day which under the current exchange rate is AU$73.44 per person per day.

Also on this cruise all onboard charges will be in Australian Dollars. So its not even dependent on the exchange rate as such and its set at AU$76.70

Now it also says on the Australian website in the beverages section:

Please note product offerings and prices may vary on the following ships:

Sea and Sun Princess - All voyages

Diamond, Emerald, and Golden Princess - Voyages departing from and returning to Australia and New Zealand will be $59.00 AUD per person per day.

So I'm really confused and if we were able to get the Sip & Sail promotion it would solve all my problems and a lot of money, or why we cant be paying the Aussie rate as we are sailing to an Aussie port using Australian Dollars.

The Following week after we disembark when it's sailing to and from Australian ports it will probably revert to AU$59 per person per day.

Thanks for listening to my rant :)

Sounds like an unfortunate thing indeed. I guess the reasoning is that, on Australia based cruises, the gratuities are included in the pricing and the prices are adjusted accordingly - drinks up to $14 rather than $10 for example. This cruise may be sailing to an Australian port but it isn't an Australian based cruise.

I think you will need to call Princess or, if you have a good TA, contact that person. See what can be done. The exchange rate is pretty unfortunate but really isn't under the control of Princess. It does seem odd though that the price is even higher than that which would be tied to the current exchange rate. Best of luck. You may have to forgo the AIBP though. I know we never pay for it and we don't have an exchange rate to worry about.

I think you will need to call Princess or, if you have a good TA, contact that person. See what can be done.

Sent an email to my TA before I posted :)

Sounds like an unfortunate thing indeed. I guess the reasoning is that, on Australia based cruises, the gratuities are included in the pricing and the prices are adjusted accordingly - drinks up to $14 rather than $10 for example. This cruise may be sailing to an Australian port but it isn't an Australian based cruise.

 

I think you will need to call Princess or, if you have a good TA, contact that person. See what can be done. The exchange rate is pretty unfortunate but really isn't under the control of Princess. It does seem odd though that the price is even higher than that which would be tied to the current exchange rate. Best of luck. You may have to forgo the AIBP though. I know we never pay for it and we don't have an exchange rate to worry about.

In the UK we never have gratuities included or the Sip N Sail so what is the excuse then. Have questioned Princess directly and all they say is different countries have different promotions, all we seem to get in the UK is measly amount of onboard credit which neither covers Sip N Sail or gratuities.

Because Princess thinks anyone not living in North America is a second class cruiser

Because Princess thinks anyone not living in North America is a second class cruiser

Or, through experience, Princess has found that Aussies and Brits drink more than those wussies from North America.

We are currently booked on our 2nd ever cruise. 22 Days Shanghai to Sydney on the Majestic Princess in 12 months time in a Club Mini Suite.

The problem I have is if I purchase the AIBP for 2 of us it will be AU$76.70per person, per day through the onboard reservations which is total of AU$3,374.82

The thing is if you go into the Princess website it says US$57.45 per person per day which under the current exchange rate is AU$73.44 per person per day.

Also on this cruise all onboard charges will be in Australian Dollars. So its not even dependent on the exchange rate as such and its set at AU$76.70

Now it also says on the Australian website in the beverages section:

Please note product offerings and prices may vary on the following ships:

Sea and Sun Princess - All voyages

Diamond, Emerald, and Golden Princess - Voyages departing from and returning to Australia and New Zealand will be $59.00 AUD per person per day.

 

So I'm really confused and if we were able to get the Sip & Sail promotion it would solve all my problems and a lot of money, or why we cant be paying the Aussie rate as we are sailing to an Aussie port using Australian Dollars.

The Following week after we disembark when it's sailing to and from Australian ports it will probably revert to AU$59 per person per day.

Thanks for listening to my rant :)

I have read many times that the amount posted on line for prepurchase is an error and a cliche in Princess's system in the Aussie system. And that if you wait to purchase the drink package once on board it is truly AU$59. Maybe a fellow Aussie can confirm this.

We are currently booked on our 2nd ever cruise. 22 Days Shanghai to Sydney on the Majestic Princess in 12 months time in a Club Mini Suite.

The problem I have is if I purchase the AIBP for 2 of us it will be AU$76.70per person, per day through the onboard reservations which is total of AU$3,374.82

Hi there,

We are also booked on this cruise.

The Sip n Sail has never been available for bookings in Australia.

Re the online price of the AIBP, the price is wrong, the systems converts the cost back to AUD.

If you purchase online the extra you have paid will be reimbursed onboard.

Stupid issue that has never been fixed.

I have done a few Princess cruises since the AIBP has been introduced in Australia and it is $59AUD onboard. I am on the Golden in 5 weeks so can confirm for you again.

Because Princess thinks anyone not living in North America is a second class cruiser

This is pretty spot on.

Australians have the twice as nice sale which is for our region. It is just a mistake that the website is showing adds for US customers instead of Australian when you are looking at it in Australia.

Because they drink too much :-)

Because they drink too much ;p

Or, through experience, Princess has found that Aussies and Brits drink more than those wussies from North America.

Sent from my VFD 900 using Tapatalk

Or, through experience, Princess has found that Aussies and Brits drink more than those wussies from North America.

The way round that is to be a Brit living in the US. :) I got the Sip +Sail promo when I booked my Oz Fiji cruise for next year.

Because they drink too much ;p

I think that's it. :whiskey-glass::beer-mug::wine-glass: ;).

Tony

The drinks package price for all cruises departing from and/or returning to an Australian port is $59.

That price should apply to the Shanghai to Sydney cruise as they changed it to include the repositioning cruises last year.

The online price is wrong so just buy it onboard if you want it.

BTW Sip and Sail isn't always the bargain you think it is. I booked a cruise through a US TA to get the S&S. A few months later the prices dropped so much that when I refared I saved thousands even taking into account the cost of losing the S&S.:*

The drinks package price for all cruises departing from and/or returning to an Australian port is $59.

 

That price should apply to the Shanghai to Sydney cruise as they changed it to include the repositioning cruises last year.

 

The online price is wrong so just buy it onboard if you want it.

 

BTW Sip and Sail isn't always the bargain you think it is. I booked a cruise through a US TA to get the S&S. A few months later the prices dropped so much that when I refared I saved thousands even taking into account the cost of losing the S&S.:*

Definitely true. I booked a Sip and Sail way last year and it was a deal. Same price as the previous year but with the AIBP included. I have another cruise booked and waited for the new Sip and Sail to come around. It came around and the price went through the roof! No way can I justify refaring to get the Sip and Sail. I would still come out way down. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I'm just glad I won on the two I booked last year. (I have another in March - booked under the same Sip and Sail last year - that is way more now as well. Glad I got it when I did.)

I appreciate everyone's input. It looks like my holiday budget is now about AU$800 better off.

Its also probably true that Princess knows us Aussies are going to buy the drinks package no matter what so no point giving it away for free ;p

When we were on Royal Caribbeans "Ovation of the Seas" last year on a similar cruise the bar staff told us the Aussie cruises sell more drinks packages than anywhere else in the world, and they have competitions amongst the ships to see which ship can sell the most AIBP for the month. The ships that come to Australia were the winners.

 

BTW Sip and Sail isn't always the bargain you think it is. I booked a cruise through a US TA to get the S&S. A few months later the prices dropped so much that when I refared I saved thousands even taking into account the cost of losing the S&S.:*

The sip & sail can be a real bargain depending on what you are looking for. I was watching a 14d NZ cruise on the Golden which was a touch over $800pp aud cheaper for an penthouse suite (after taxes, gratuities and exchange rates). So I guess saving $800 and having the aibp thrown in would make it worthwhile.

It's not like suites go on sale down under either so a price drop is highly unlikely.

But we will most likely never see those sales offered down here, just enjoy the company of those sailing next to you who did [emoji6]

The Sip and Sail exercise was actually very interesting. The cruise is our upcoming 21 night Med cruise.

Initially I booked in AUD and at the time thought the price was fair, and I expected to buy the drinks package for the cruise so added the cost of that into the base cost of the cruise for two of us.

Then I got the opportunity to book through a US TA under the Sip and Sail. By doing so I saved around AU $2500 on that base price. I was a happy camper.

Six months later I noticed a massive price drop in the AU prices, so contacted the US TA to see if there were similar drops in the US price. There was and the TA was able to refare it. Although I lost the Sip and Sail, after adding in the cost of buying the drinks package again I still saved another AU $2500. So now I'm an even happier camper and looking forward to the cruise. Actually I'm hoping Royal will have the wine packages available and if they do we won't get the drinks package as the wine package will give us access to better wines and will actually save more money overall. :D

The cabin is a regular balcony cabin so those savings are quite significant, I thought.

I have the opportunity to book with a US TA including getting the Sip and Sail package which would have saved me AU$2,478 (2 x $59 x 21Nights) but after reading my Australian TA's small print on the contract I'd have AU$300 cancellation fee per person = AU$900. (3 of Us)

Now you probably thinking that AU$2,478 - AU$900 = is still AU$1,578 in savings, and you probably right. But they were unable to Transfer my booking from Australia to the US which means We would loose our Club Mini Suite as they are currently wait listed.

I probably would have changed from a Club Mini Suite to a Mini Suite but we have 4 other couples all with Club Mini Suites and I would hate to see them raising their glasses and smiling at us in the MDR from The Club section :(

So I'm just going to suck it up, pay for the beverage package (Now that its only AU$59pd )and enjoy my holiday :)

Bummer! Sometimes you just can't win. But $300pp to cancel this far out? Wow, that's steep! :eek:

Ah well, I'm sure you'll have a great cruise anyway.

Just booked the Melbourne to Singapore Cruise via TA in the UK the AIDP is listed in my cruise Planner as £47.20 per day so for 15 days Thats £708.00, or for the two of us £1416.00 per couple. As the cruise is in AUD we are going to wait and pay on board which should give a saving of £330.54 not to be sniffed at. Thanks for all your input on here.

Definitely true. I booked a Sip and Sail way last year and it was a deal. Same price as the previous year but with the AIBP included. I have another cruise booked and waited for the new Sip and Sail to come around. It came around and the price went through the roof! No way can I justify refaring to get the Sip and Sail. I would still come out way down. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I'm just glad I won on the two I booked last year. (I have another in March - booked under the same Sip and Sail last year - that is way more now as well. Glad I got it when I did.)

I had been keeping an eye on the April 18 Oz-Fiji cruise for a few months for our 20th anniversary vacation. I had heard that there was going to be another sip + sail event in late June so decided if they offered S+S around the same price, then I was in. It was offered on our cruise at the same price that I'd been tracking, so we pulled the trigger.

As you stated, some you win, some you lose. We're doing an LA to Mexico cruise this thanksgiving when no s+s was offered and fares for thanksgiving 2019 were tracking just slightly higher than we'd paid for 18, so again I thought I'd wait and see what happened, s+s was announced and the 2019 fares went up around $300 each, so not much of a sale.

Because Princess thinks anyone not living in North America is a second class cruiser

An issue not unique to Princess I'm afraid