Princess Air Fare Notice

I received this today thought that I would pass this along....

... Emergency notification from Princess. Due to the volatility of air prices please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and are not guaranteed until final payment has been received by Princess Cruises. :confused:

I wondered how long that would take. We had air for our TA next April for $1000. I knew it wouldn't last at that price.

I received this today thought that I would pass this along....

 

... Emergency notification from Princess. Due to the volatility of air prices please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and are not guaranteed until final payment has been received by Princess Cruises. :confused:

Sounds fare enough. :)

I was forewarned and have already paid in full for an April 2009 cruise with Princess air to Bangkok. That Princess air was priced a year ago. :D

If I had Princess Air, I would seriously consider paying my final payment soon. Who really knows how high that the air fare might go! Scary......:eek:.

I also have paid, in full, which I normally would not do until 2 weeks prior to Final payment, (we are not sailing until Feb, 09)....you just never know how hard it will hit, but it seems that the Travel Industry will get hit hard, I fear.......

Really can't blame anyone, except for the times..

Alexis....:confused:

I have this feeling this will blow up into the fuel surcharge thing again, with prices set at booking being changed later.

I would bet that the Princess "Extend your Stay" pricing is also not set until final full payment has been received.

Do you suppose they will also "lower" the quoted price if the fare actually goes down?

BIGGUY,

Sure they will, when pigs fly.

JIM

maybe princess are in need of a few extra £/$ just now so are using this as a way to worry people into paying early !

how come this has not been sent to every passenger who have booked with them?

When/where did you get the notice? I looked at my cruise personalizer last night, and there's no notice there.

I just called Princess and they verified the fact that the air prices are subject to change before final payment. This is disturbing to me inasmuch as it had not been stated at the time of booking & does not appear in our documents, especially since we paid the custom air fees. Also, I have seen lower pricing on our cabin since booking, but when I requested a reduction in our price, Princess indicated that that price was not available with the lesser air price I had. I do believe that their pricing policies should be stated clearly at booking, especially when they are charging a nonrefundable custom air fee!

When/where did you get the notice?

I'm having a problem with the new policy by Princess affecting bookings made prior to this notification. Even as of today, information on their internet booking page contradicts changing the air fare. I have copied it and pasted it below. This wording states pretty clearly that cruise fare and air fare are subject to change until booked and implies once booked it will not change. It does not seem to me that it is legal to change the rules on previously booked cruises??

"Air transportation, Transfers and Vacation Protection Plans are optional and can be edited or deleted during the booking process.

†Cruise Fare and Air Fare are subject to change until this cruise is actually booked. Fuel supplement is included in above fares.

‡Government Taxes and Fees are subject to change."

I'm most interested in comments from others on this subject. Shirley

I'm having a problem with the new policy by Princess affecting bookings made prior to this notification. It does not seem to me that it is legal to change the rules on previously booked cruises??

†Cruise Fare and Air Fare are subject to change until this cruise is actually booked.

 

I'm most interested in comments from others on this subject. Shirley

Unless you are "PAID IN FULL", as the wording states above, 'Air Fare are subject to change until booking is completed". I GUESS PRINCESS SAY'S, THAT WHEN YOU PUT A DEPOSIT DOWN, IT IS NOT ACTUALLY BOOKED, it is like Princess is putting your booking on hold. You have to pay in full to get that air fare price locked in. It is just like when you hold a ticket on a air line, it can go up in price until you actually purchase your seat.

At least that is the way I see it. :confused:

I just spoke with a Princess rep on the phone & he told me to call the TA tomorrow & pay in full for the air portion to lock in the price. Full payment for our cruise isn't until July 8th, but he said we could pay the air in full now...hope he is right. Thanks to the OP for the heads up!

Jan

I just spoke with a Princess rep on the phone & he told me to call the TA tomorrow & pay in full for the air portion to lock in the price. Full payment for our cruise isn't until July 8th, but he said we could pay the air in full now...hope he is right. Thanks to the OP for the heads up!

 

Jan

Here I thought that it might be for the entire booking...Thanks for that update. I will be looking forward to your reply regarding just paying the airfare part.

This seems to be the a very fair way to handle these fluctuating Air Fare prices... Alexis...:rolleyes:

The Cruise Fare paragraph from the Princess Passage Contract - quote from the Princess website - I highlighted the area in question for this board.

"Cruise Fare" means the amount payable by You to Carrier for Your Cruise. It covers the Cruise, scheduled meals and accommodations while on board, air programs and/or other travel components that Carrier may add to Your Cruise Fare and charge to Your stateroom account and/or credit card. Carrier may also impose a fuel supplement. The Cruise Fare does not include beer, wine, spirits, sodas or other bottled beverages, or charges for other incidental items, activities, excursions or personal services during the Cruise, or any Government Fees and Taxes for which a separate charge may be imposed. Carrier may collect any fare increase or fuel supplement in effect at the time of sailing, even if the fare has already been paid in full.

what the reservations agent from princess told you was incorrect. air prices is subject to change if you havent paid the booking in FULL. so both the cruise and air both have to be paid in full. trust me i work for princess. they actually brought us in small groups to tell us that we HAVE to use the word volatility. it unfortunate but its just cause air prices are fluctuating princess has to pass these price adjustments along

I just wanted to clarify that this air notice is NOT a new policy. It is just being reiterated because the airline industry is a lot less stable lately than it was previously. Princess books flights for passengers as a convenience service, so when the airline industry is a bit out of sync than that instability is being passed on through pricing fluctuations to any airline passengers, including those booked through Princess. Also be aware that many airlines are starting to charge baggage handling fees as well. Another clarification, you must pay complete final payment to lock in your pricing for air.

I just wanted to clarify that this air notice is NOT a new policy. It is just being reiterated because the airline industry is a lot less stable lately than it was previously. Princess books flights for passengers as a convenience service, so when the airline industry is a bit out of sync than that instability is being passed on through pricing fluctuations to any airline passengers, including those booked through Princess. Also be aware that many airlines are starting to charge baggage handling fees as well. Another clarification, you must pay complete final payment to lock in your pricing for air.

you are right, entire amount must be paid in full.

Jan

A question for those of you that fly alot ( I do not unless there are no other options) If you book a flight for say Dec 2009 is that price you pay locked in by the airline or do they also have "subject to change " clause. Can you even book flights that far in advance? It would seem to me that while you can "book" air for into 2010 if you book it through princess, we all know that the air achedule is not done by princess untill after the 75 day mark anyway, so they are not really booking you that far in advance in any case, you are just contracting to have it booked for you automatically when they do book it after final payment date. Kind of like buying stock.....keep your fingers coseed.

Usually you can book airfares approx. 330 days out and once you pay for the ticket, it is yours and usually non refundable. The airlines are adding items such as charges for checked bags that might boost the price when you go to check in but the price you paid for the ticket "locks" the price. If the price should go down, you might get a credit for a future flight from the airline. As to Princess, we have a cruise coming up in January and we used Princess to book our flights to New Zealand returning from Sydney. We opted for the $75pp "deviation" option and will be flying in a day early and we have seat assignments and flight numbers. Not sure I want to spring for the entire coast of this trip quite yet so we are just keeping our fingers crossed the things will somehow stabilize a bit between now and October when the final payment is due.

49er

Sounds fare enough. :)

Very punny! :)

Got our TA to check today with Princess and she was told that our price was protected as we had booked prior to June, even though our cruise is April 09. Whew!