Princess' three day "sale"? yeah, right

[Tazzycat]

I wanted to buy a cruise Tuesday night, when the price of an inside cabin was $599, but the Princess rep asked me to wait until Wednesday (July 20) for the three-day sale, because the price would be better. I waited, and the price went UP TO $799. Whose idea of a sale is that? Pfft.:mad:

[Toto2Kansas]

Wait until the 'SALE?' is over, the price will probably drop back down to where it was before. lol

[suzyed]

I waited for the sale days too...and it turned out my itinerary was not one included in the sale...:rolleyes:

[Pam in CA]

I waited for the sale days too...and it turned out my itinerary was not one included in the sale...:rolleyes:

Yeah. Not every cruise nor every category is on sale. This is why using a good TA specializing in Princess can make a difference. :)

[Tazzycat]

Pam,

How do I go about locating a TA who specializes in a certain cruiseline, in this case, Princess? I didn't know TA's did that. If it's just by asking the TA, "Do you specialize in Princess?" they could give me a dishonest answer to get my business, and I would not know the difference. If Princess recommends specific TA's over others, is that really fair? Please explain it to me, I am naive, I guess.

 

I am getting the cruise I want for a good price, way below the listed price, by choosing a TA outside of Princess, plus OBC, which I love getting. I love cruising! Here I come, Caribbean Princess for Christmas!

[Toto2Kansas]

The best way to find a good discount TA that specializes in a particular cruise line is to ask other passengers on your next sailing. Most are very happy to share their TA's name and contact info. ;)

[Pam in CA]

Pam,

How do I go about locating a TA who specializes in a certain cruiseline, in this case, Princess? I didn't know TA's did that. If it's just by asking the TA, "Do you specialize in Princess?" they could give me a dishonest answer to get my business, and I would not know the difference. If Princess recommends specific TA's over others, is that really fair? Please explain it to me, I am naive, I guess.

 

I am getting the cruise I want for a good price, way below the listed price, by choosing a TA outside of Princess, plus OBC, which I love getting. I love cruising! Here I come, Caribbean Princess for Christmas!

Getting a good price that you're comfortable with, and a TA you like, are the most important things. To answer your question, it would be reasonable to ask a TA how many Princess cruises they book a week. If it's single digits, they don't specialize and won't know as much as one that does 50. A TA I knew who has since passed away booked as many as 40 a DAY.

 

The best way to find a good discount TA that specializes in a particular cruise line is to ask other passengers on your next sailing. Most are very happy to share their TA's name and contact info. ;)

I agree. You can do a Google search for "discount Princess cruises" but you kind of take your chances. Word of mouth is probably the best way to get a recommendation. If you are evaluating a TA, check to make sure they don't charge additional fees for booking changes, cancelations, etc. Read the fine print and get everything in writing, including quotes or any perks or OBC a TA might use to get you to book. If you do call or email for a quote, tell them to NOT book you until they receive authorization from you. Some have been known to look up your account and use an FCC to "hold" a cabin for you. It will expire if you haven't actually booked but more than one person has posted on CC very upset that a TA has held a cabin and they think they've been booked and are liable for the payment.

[MCC retired]

You can locate a TA that has achieved Princess Commodore status (Commodore Certified Travel Agency), on the Princess website Travel Agent Search.:)

Commodore status is achieved by lots of Princess online training product which must be refreshed every year to maintain.:)

Of course a referaral from a trusted source may be a better way to find a good TA.;)

Interview your TA before booking . There are far too many inexperienced TA's and TA wannabee's. :eek:

[Tazzycat]

Thank you for your responses! I love Cruise Critic!

[pablo222]

Commodore status is achieved by lots of Princess online training product which must be refreshed every year to maintain.:)

:eek:

But, as was noted in another recent thread, there are 'Commodores'

who have never actually been on a princess cruise.

 

Additionally, in my opinion, it's wildly easy to game any

online 'test'.

[Toto2Kansas]

But, as was noted in another recent thread, there are 'Commodores'

who have never actually been on a princess cruise.

 

Additionally, in my opinion, it's wildly easy to game any

online 'test'.

 

One thing I have never looked for when attempting to find a good TA is if they have, or don't have, Commodore status with Princess. ;)

[cruise pup]

I got just as good a deal on my sailing which I booked before the sale and it turns out this sailing is not on sale anyway. I only gave $100. deposit since I purchased a future cruise deposit on board my last cruise. I'm getting a total of $100. obc for booking an outside cabin which includes the obc I get with the future cruise deposit (I should also be getting another $100 obc as a shareholder benefit but that's another story). These so-called sales usually don't amount to anything. However, at least no one from Princess called to pester me. This morning I get a call from a guy with NCL (who is running a 3-day sale too) claiming to be my personal cruise consultant. I told him that was news to me since I don't have one and I always book with my travel agent. That shut him up.

[MichCook]

I got just as good a deal on my sailing which I booked before the sale and it turns out this sailing is not on sale anyway. I only gave $100. deposit since I purchased a future cruise deposit on board my last cruise. I'm getting a total of $100. obc for booking an outside cabin which includes the obc I get with the future cruise deposit (I should also be getting another $100 obc as a shareholder benefit but that's another story). These so-called sales usually don't amount to anything. However, at least no one from Princess called to pester me. This morning I get a call from a guy with NCL (who is running a 3-day sale too) claiming to be my personal cruise consultant. I told him that was news to me since I don't have one and I always book with my travel agent. That shut him up.

 

We've gotten two calls from Princess employees saying they were our Princess cruise consultants. We thanked them, but said we were booked through 2013.

[janina]

We just saved $700.00 per cabin and received a $50.00 obc for our february booking of two mini suites. TA rebooked it to get the sale price.:)

[MCC retired]

pablo222:

 

I'm sure that your comments about some Princess Commodores have never been on a Princess cruise , may be true . But how many can pass up the final step in becoming a true Princess Commodore .Your Graduation Cruise .

Following countless hours of online training, (which you snub, but as a former TA , I can attest to ) Commodores receive a complementry Princess cruise (Inside cabin of course) . During the cruise , additional testing . Also treated to Elite Status onboard any Princess ship ,while their status is maintained by yearly refresher training..

Just how many Princess Commodore TA's can pass this up and never sail Princess?:rolleyes:

 

All major cruise lines have these type training programs but I found Princess one of the toughest but most rewarding.:)

[geoherb]

I did not do any pricing before the current three-day sale, so I don't know if the cruise I'm thinking about booking is currently a better price or not. But it doesn't matter, since I'm not going to book yet. The nonrefundable deposit is what has kept me from booking under the terms of the three-day sale.

[LEtue]

I did not do any pricing before the current three-day sale, so I don't know if the cruise I'm thinking about booking is currently a better price or not. But it doesn't matter, since I'm not going to book yet. The nonrefundable deposit is what has kept me from booking under the terms of the three-day sale.

 

Kept me from booking too....along with the price increase. I have a wonderful TA but it didn't matter this time.

 

I really think I'm going to wait until after final payments are due in December to book my February cruise now. Pricing is just too high and my cabin location is not that important.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The 3-Day Sales are a joke. As a TA, I rarely tell my clients about them because the prices seem to always go up for the sale. It's very aggravating. Once you're used to the way Princess does things, you learn to monitor the pricing yourself at all different times - before sales, during sales, after sales, at night, in the early AM, on Sundays, you name it. :rolleyes:

[DrivesLikeMario]

pablo222:

 

I'm sure that your comments about some Princess Commodores have never been on a Princess cruise , may be true . But how many can pass up the final step in becoming a true Princess Commodore .Your Graduation Cruise .

Following countless hours of online training, (which you snub, but as a former TA , I can attest to ) Commodores receive a complementry Princess cruise (Inside cabin of course) . During the cruise , additional testing . Also treated to Elite Status onboard any Princess ship ,while their status is maintained by yearly refresher training..

Just how many Princess Commodore TA's can pass this up and never sail Princess?:rolleyes:

 

All major cruise lines have these type training programs but I found Princess one of the toughest but most rewarding.:)

 

Thank you and very well said. And, there's 8 Refresher Courses that have to be completed every year to maintain your status. And that's just ONE cruise line - imagine doing it for multiple ones. Like you said, it's a time-consuming, but rewarding experience. ;)

[Cat_Lover3]

After seeing this here I checked the Princess site. It showed a reduced fare for our cruise in February to Hawaii. I called my TA and she contacted Princess and got us the reduced fare on the same cabin we had. Saved almost $400. She has always been very good about checking on things with Princess for me.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Prices go up and down

[cathi]

That's what a good TA will do. Key here was you called her. Most TA's can't check every booking every day to see if there has been a price drop. Just don't have that kind of time but they will certainly get you the price drop if at all possible.

It can be very hard to find a really good TA but it is certainly worth the effort. Ask all your friends and co-workers who they use. Somebody to actually talk to in person is often way better than trying to find the best deal on-line. Just trying to figure out if you got the "best" deal is time consuming!!!

[janina]

After seeing this here I checked the Princess site. It showed a reduced fare for our cruise in February to Hawaii. I called my TA and she contacted Princess and got us the reduced fare on the same cabin we had. Saved almost $400. She has always been very good about checking on things with Princess for me.

Great news!!:):)

[chisoxfan]

I had just reserved a cruise and when I saw the three day 'sale' looked up the cruise I was on. The pricing was what I had booked under a previous passenger discount fare. The web page also showed the cruise was covered under the three day sale (fifty buck credit). I asked my AMEX agent about it and she called Princess who said the credit couldn't be offered with the past cruiser fare (I questioned this since the website clearly showed both). I didn' really care because of the small amount of credit and limitations on deposit refunds but I truly hope that Princess doesn't become like X who are restrictive and unclear about discount and multiple credit sharing .

[caribill]

I had just reserved a cruise and when I saw the three day 'sale' looked up the cruise I was on. The pricing was what I had booked under a previous passenger discount fare. The web page also showed the cruise was covered under the three day sale (fifty buck credit). I asked my AMEX agent about it and she called Princess who said the credit couldn't be offered with the past cruiser fare (I questioned this since the website clearly showed both). I didn' really care because of the small amount of credit and limitations on deposit refunds but I truly hope that Princess doesn't become like X who are restrictive and unclear about discount and multiple credit sharing .

 

Probably true that the OBC could not be offered with the past cruiser fare.

 

The sale fare with the OBC just coincidentally was the same fare as the past cruiser fare.

 

You should have been offered the option of cancelling the past cruiser reservation and switching to the sale price with the OBC. Then you could have decided if the OBC was worth having the deposit being non-refundable.