Princess' three day "sale"? yeah, right

[dog]

In my case the past passenger rate was $300 per couple lower than 3 day sale rate. No obc with past pass. Rate but was able to use FCC for deposit & that is refundable before final payment. Also got exact cabin I wanted. Only looked at this cruise out of curiosity re: sale.

[Ann262]

I think these sales are just price leaders to get people on the site and shopping. Yes, they probably are offering some reduced fares but the ojective is to get customers looking. It is marketing and pretty much every retail business does it.

 

I want to go where I want to go. I will not book a cruise going somewhere I don't want to go just because it is a "good deal" but I might see something I like and start thinking about it..

[chisoxfan]

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.

 

In my case I didn't think that the 'sale' price was the same as the past cruiser price (past cruiser was 100 per passenger less while OBC was 50 cabin I believe). I was also using cruise credits as a deposit so I have no idea how that would work (assume that they would be refunded).

 

That said my point was that I hope that Princess isn't becoming like X with confusing and conflicting rules (my experience) regarding credits and what is and isn't allowed. Also am wondering if they are testing the water with a non-refundable deposit required to get certain prices. This would truly be onerous.

At the end of the day as a consumer I just want to have some clear guidelines as to what pricing and OBC rules apply so that I can make a simple and intelligent (hopefully) decision.

[lovevacadays]

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.:)

 

Wow!!! That is absolutely fabulous:D

[BosoxI]

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 maTHW Nintain.:)

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:

 

The trusted source route is the best IMO. I called each of the four Commodores in my town and not a one of them new what she was talking about which I could have tolerated had any of them offered a discount. They didn't, so back I went to my tried and true agent on the other coast. You're certainly right: lots of pretenders out there.

[Bright1]

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.:)

Any chance you're on the hawaii/tahiti cruise on 2/18/12. We're on it & haven't found a Roll Call here yet.

 

Irene

[jnc411]

We were already booked for a cruise 11-11 and so when I saw a mention of the 3 day Princess sale I called in to see if the price drop would help me, Nope , my rate was still lower than the 3 day sale rate, but it did not hurt to ask .. If I see a possible price drop before final payment I always check it out , after final payment I know there is no change happening for our booking.

Cori

[Seabreeze8]

My TA indicated that the 3-day sales are usually a marketing strategy and doesn't usually amount to anything. I've checked a few times and the pricing is either the same or higher. Still waiting for a good sale...:D

[Times Prince]

marketing strategy or good deal - doesn't matter. Checked a cruise today that we were interested in - Dec 4 - and found the bottom two balcony categories wait listed. Those good prices are gone on that cruise. :(

[PookyCat]

I am really enjoying this thread. I used to book our cruises myaelf but then I found a great TA. Ever since she has done wonders with getting me deals. She even got us in with a tour group for our Baltics cruise - saved us $600 on a better category cabin and got us lots of perks.

Any time I see a "deal" that I'm interested in, she manages to match or beat it.

 

Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk

[johnfas]

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:

 

You could have canceled or gotten a refund if the price went down. Until final payment.... nothing is lost.

We have an excellent TA, but I could not tell you who as they would kick me off the board. Sorry!

[TracieABD]

Even with a good TA, I continuously check the pricing. I am only dedicated to following one cruise. She is dedicated to following hundreds!

[4realrod]

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!

 

If a TA specializes in Princess they will have done the online training and receive commodore status as will their agency. This means they are constantly staying up to date with Princess to maintain their status. The Princess site should list commodore agencys in your area.