Hopefully some good news re pricing For Aussies

[Deb_in_Aussie]

Last weekend was the P&O/Princess Partnership Summit that P&O/Princess hold for their top 200 agencies. Alan Buckelew Princess CEO was in attendance and I had the opportunity to have a one on one sit down with him over the issue of pricing and policies US vs AUS.

 

Much to my amazement (and I am sure to all of you as well!) he was unaware of some of the problems we were having and the discrepancy in pricing issues.

 

I left the meeting with the understanding that these issues were going to be addressed and that the goal was to have the prices as equal as possible around the globe. So.... let's see how it all goes.

 

Cheers,

Debra

[Colo Cruiser]

Great news!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

That is very good news,

both for cruise passengers and travel agents .

Many thanks for reporting Debra.

[caribill]

Did he say anything about making the cruises available there the same time they are available in the USA?

[Murrumbeena]

Thanks for the info :)

[victravellers]

Thats great news Deb

 

Fingers crossed on a positive outcome.

 

Linda

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

He obviously doesn't read the CC Boards then :eek:

 

But good news if changes come about :D

[Kinkacruiser]

Perhaps it is the case that the major cruisleines read our posts at CC. I know there is a well-visited post about this on the P&O Australia board.

Here's to a good outcome for the disadvantaged downunders ;)

[Coral]

That is great news! I hope he makes something happen!

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Yahoo! It might be the sceptic in me but why doesn't the head of the corporation know what is going on? Are Princess Australia doing all this without Corporate knowledge? :eek::mad:

[Raison]

That is good news, certainly hope it is followed through!!

[Pean]

Great to hear. Thanks Deb

[NSWP]

Last weekend was the P&O/Princess Partnership Summit that P&O/Princess hold for their top 200 agencies. Alan Buckelew Princess CEO was in attendance and I had the opportunity to have a one on one sit down with him over the issue of pricing and policies US vs AUS.

 

Much to my amazement (and I am sure to all of you as well!) he was unaware of some of the problems we were having and the discrepancy in pricing issues.

 

I left the meeting with the understanding that these issues were going to be addressed and that the goal was to have the prices as equal as possible around the globe. So.... let's see how it all goes.

 

Cheers,

Debra

We hold our breath, but then I am a pessimist.

[Shoalwater]

Why do you assume he will make the Australian "rules" like those in North America? His statement can also be taken to mean he'll make the N.A. rules like those in AUS!

[diecastaussie]

This is indeed good news - IF he follows through and genuinely wants to restore the "level playing field".

Cynical me, says that he will not want to interfere with a situation that must be reaping HUGE dollars for Princess in a time when the markets else where are struggling.

Although, any CEO worth his salt should be well aware of what the opposition (RCL, Celebrity etc.) is upto in the Australian market and therefore adjusting existing marketing strategies and policies to ensure the continuation of Princess's market dominance.

[Deb_in_Aussie]

Yahoo! It might be the sceptic in me but why doesn't the head of the corporation know what is going on? Are Princess Australia doing all this without Corporate knowledge? :eek::mad:

 

 

My understanding is that the pricing in Australia is actually determined by the Sydney office. The Sydney office has the right to sell at the same prices as the US office.The LA office advises Sydney how much revenue they expect from this market and leave is it up to the Sydney office to price the product appropriately for the Australian market.

 

One major problem has been that the Sydney office does not update the exchange rate often enough. Which, when the dollar is rising contributes to the price discrepancies. Another problem has been that in the US there is a significant price discount when an agency takes out a group allocation. FYI - When a fare is advertised with onboard credits or some other onboard amenity it will almost always be because the agency has a group allocation. For a typical 2 week cruise it is not unusual for the group fare to be as much as $500 USD pp less than the normal fares. However here in Australia we do not get any discount if we take out a group allocation. This was something the CEO was not aware of as we are entitled to have them, but for some reason the Sydney office never offered this to us. (And I asked many times!)

 

The reality is the main concern of the Sydney office is to focus all their efforts on keeping the ships we have here full at good yields because if they don't, the LA office will take the ships away from us. So in the scheme of things the Princess International product has not been something the Sydney office gives much priority to. However as Australia is the fastest growing cruise market in the world the LA office wants Sydney to start pushing the International product more, which is why I am inclined to believe things will change. LA wants to see growth happen here and now they understand what has been going on.

 

There is a belief that not many Aussies travel on the Princess International product. And I said oh yes they do - they have just been booking via the US! And I told them if we get the same pricing and deals here I think they will be amazed to discover how many Aussies travel on the Princess International product.

 

I will keep battling for us folk down under, I don't want to have to break the rules to get my clients the best deals. And if you wonder why they do not want Aussie's booking in the US it has nothing to do with price issues. They realize that every country has different visa requirements and consumer protection laws. So to insure that people get the correct and relevant information they believe they should book with an agent in their own country that will be able to advise them properly.

 

I will be in Vancouver for another cruise conference in early June so will be doing a follow up when I am there.

 

Cheers,

Debra

[happycruiser3]

:)

 

 

Thank you Debra for all your efforts in trying to get a fair deal for

Australians.

 

It is galling when we hear what our Nth. American and Canadian friends

pay for the same category of cabin.

 

They are amazed that we cruise so much considering the prices we pay.

 

Keep up the fight.

 

Best wishes,

Richard and Trish :):)

[Miss Jolly]

Thank you Debra for voicing our concerns. Could you also mention the delay in our availabily as well as our non-refundable and larger deposits and set cruise prices please? I also noticed on Sun Princess (Sydney to Brisbane) a few weeks ago, that the shops on board were charging at least twice the price for items in comparison to what we paid for identical items on Diamond Princess Bangkok to Alaska last year. Australian cruisers are really given the raw deal - they even give us their older ships - apart from when Diamond Princess comes down here.

[kuldalai]

Debra is this something that the ACCC could also look at as IIRC Australian law requires that all customers must be offered the same price except where it can be clearly demonstrated that economies of scale can justify a lower price to a specific customer . So Princess Aus may well be in breach of ACCC law in selling Princess Cruises (outside of Australia) at higher prices (allowing for currency exchange) than customers pay for the same cruise in the USA or Europe.

[diecastaussie]

Debra is this something that the ACCC could also look at as IIRC Australian law requires that all customers must be offered the same price except where it can be clearly demonstrated that economies of scale can justify a lower price to a specific customer . So Princess Aus may well be in breach of ACCC law in selling Princess Cruises (outside of Australia) at higher prices (allowing for currency exchange) than customers pay for the same cruise in the USA or Europe.

 

 

I lodged a complaint with the ACCC about the blatant discrepancies in pricing between the official US Princess site and the official Australian website.

 

The ACCC response was that as it has no jurisdiction over a US based company it was powerless to act. It also pointed out that its purview was the Australian market and in its opinion Princess Australia was not interfering with or attempting to manipulate the prices charged by Australian travel agents.

 

I also queried DFAT regarding the pricing discrepancies under the terms of the Australia American Free Trade Agreement and was told that the discrepancies were the result of a commercial decision by a private company (Princess) and not related to any government policy or guideline which was what the Agreement was designed to focus upon.

 

So I don't think that we can expect help from any government body in this instance.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Thank you Debra for following this through. Something has to break or Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are going to have to start stocking Aussie beers and wines overseas. There will be a mass exodus.

 

I like travelling on Princess and don't want to stop, but I WILL jump ship if things don't change.

[wishful thinking]

Thank you Debra for following this through. Something has to break or Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are going to have to start stocking Aussie beers and wines overseas. There will be a mass exodus.

 

I like travelling on Princess and don't want to stop' date=' but I WILL jump ship if things don't change[/i'].

 

We like Princess too so hope things change here in the UK as well.

[Tedirene]

Thank you Debra for following this through. Something has to break or Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are going to have to start stocking Aussie beers and wines overseas. There will be a mass exodus.

 

I like travelling on Princess and don't want to stop' date=' but I WILL jump ship if things don't change.[/quote']

 

I'm with you. We love cruising with Princess but will definitely consider our options.

 

Thanks Deb. Good luck in Vancouver.

[moyaroo]

:)

 

 

Thank you Debra for all your efforts in trying to get a fair deal for

Australians.

 

It is galling when we hear what our Nth. American and Canadian friends

pay for the same category of cabin.

 

They are amazed that we cruise so much considering the prices we pay.

 

Keep up the fight.

 

Best wishes,

Richard and Trish :):)

Sounds great Two things

 

First. It is not surprising that Buckalew would be in the dark as to the problem. Pricing of cruises is not a CEO function. Review of revenue is.

 

Second. All of the cruise lines offer a variety of regional specials so price to price is hard to determine. Historically those of us in Florida being the most likely to cruise have gotten the best prices.

[Deb_in_Aussie]

Sounds great Two things

 

First. It is not surprising that Buckalew would be in the dark as to the problem. Pricing of cruises is not a CEO function. Review of revenue is.

 

Second. All of the cruise lines offer a variety of regional specials so price to price is hard to determine. Historically those of us in Florida being the most likely to cruise have gotten the best prices.

 

There will always be tactical offers in select markets and that is unlikely to ever change, but it does honestly sound like we are going to see our pricing improve on the whole.

 

Of course even if they start giving us group rates, agents still need to apply for them and as there are far fewer travel agents in Australia selling cruises there is unlikely to be the range of cruises available at group fares as there will be in the US.

 

Cheers,

Debra