Sales must be bad

[caribill]

This summer cruises must be selling really slowly, princess have now split there 12 day med cruises into 6 days and selling them at 280usd. Never seen it this bad before

 

I doubt many from the USA will be willing to pay upwards of $1000 air roundtrip to sail on a $280 six-day cruise.

[generichandle]

I doubt many from the USA will be willing to pay upwards of $1000 air roundtrip to sail on a $280 six-day cruise.

 

Exactly. I want to go to North Cape at some point, but I certainly would never want to go for 5-6 days and pay what for me is a huge air bill. I want to 14 or more day cruise for my $1000+ airfare. I certainly will not be able to afford it very often, and have to see what I can while I am there.

 

Doug

[caribill]

I for one would love to do a TA...they should do them on a weekly basis.

 

 

The Princess TAs rarely sail full as there is not enough demand for them.

 

Our most recent TA had 309 people less than the nominal lower berth capacity. So, about 12% of the cabins were unsold.

 

There is no reason to schedule more of them when they cannot fill them up now, even at bargain basement pricing after final payment.

 

Also the one-way return airfare would likely cost more than the cruise itself.

[icat2000]

I doubt many from the USA will be willing to pay upwards of $1000 air roundtrip to sail on a $280 six-day cruise.

However, you could combine it with a bit of land based touring. Living in Australia factoring in the cost of an airfare is just the price you pay if you want to see the world.

[ONT-CA]

...If, for some reason, our cruise ends up sailing at less than 100% capacity, I will also not shed any tears. Less crowds and better service can only be the result.

 

I think we should understand that if a ship is sailing with a low passenger compliment that the staff, if nothing else will be adjusted downward accordingly. And that staff will likely not function at it's best when there are fewer passengers purchasing items that yield the 15% tip to say nothing of fewer additional offerings of service gratuities.

[icat2000]

I think we should understand that if a ship is sailing with a low passenger compliment that the staff, if nothing else will be adjusted downward accordingly. And that staff will likely not function at it's best when there are fewer passengers purchasing items that yield the 15% tip to say nothing of fewer additional offerings of service gratuities.

Well Princess can either offer me a free cruise and I can pay the service gratuities or Princess can offer to pay their staff the gratiuties for the the passengers they would be missing out on because the ship is not full.

 

Princess could offer more competitive pricing to regions outside the US of A and it might be able to full their ships up. Even the cruises that Princess have split in half I can't access the pricing they offer to the USA.

[smslms]

FYI, Princess doesn't sail out of Miami.

 

Isn't that what she said?

[caribill]

However, you could combine it with a bit of land based touring. Living in Australia factoring in the cost of an airfare is just the price you pay if you want to see the world.

 

I agree, but the point is if people will not book the 12 day cruise (with or without additional time on land), it makes even less sense to travel a long distance for a shorter cruise.

[caribill]

I think we should understand that if a ship is sailing with a low passenger compliment that the staff, if nothing else will be adjusted downward accordingly.

 

The number of staff will not be reduced just because the ship has less passengers on it for a sailing.

[Iamcruzin]

I agree, but the point is if people will not book the 12 day cruise (with or without additional time on land), it makes even less sense to travel a long distance for a shorter cruise.

I can probably swing at 10 day vacation. If it worked out that there would be a day or two before and after the cruise for traveling. However I can't do a 12 day because I would need time before and after the cruise for traveling and I can't take that much time off at one time. Those of us who still work have very limited choices for cruises that require a lot of travel to port.

[antsp]

They are selling a 7 day on the ruby, but no 5 day, this means that the cabin will be empty for nearly half the cruise, I can't believe they are doing this

[Love.II.Cruise]

The number of staff will not be reduced just because the ship has less passengers on it for a sailing.

 

Exactly.

[paddingtonbear]

Well Princess can either offer me a free cruise and I can pay the service gratuities or Princess can offer to pay their staff the gratiuties for the the passengers they would be missing out on because the ship is not full.

 

Princess could offer more competitive pricing to regions outside the US of A and it might be able to full their ships up. Even the cruises that Princess have split in half I can't access the pricing they offer to the USA.

 

You've got around this now though haven't you?

[april47]

I don't think that the 17 day TA/repositioning from Galveston next April is selling very well. When I lookd there are a lot of cabin choices. It has an almost non-existing RC and one-time TA's usually have a pretty active one by now. It is to Southampton and has 5 pretty good port days including Belgium, Paris and Lisbon. I am booked but hope they don't cancel. It being a repositioning I don't see how. I am checking frequently for price drops. None so far.

[Loonbeam]

If I'm thinking of the right ship, that was designed specifically for ocean crossings, which makes the fuel costs significantly less.

 

That said, see my next post :)

 

Cunard does TA's from NYC to London on a fairly regular basis...and while they may not care for my controlled onboard spending...those who would see a TA as a CTN..would drink and gamble up a storm...while the rest of us could get off in London and tour the sites...maybe a 2 day turnaround..and then get back on....

 

 

This is just my thought/suggestion...it is really not meant as a discussion springboard comment.

[Loonbeam]

Yeah I did a little research and apparently my perception of demand was WAY off.

 

I withdraw my suggestion of more TAs :)

 

The Princess TAs rarely sail full as there is not enough demand for them.

 

Our most recent TA had 309 people less than the nominal lower berth capacity. So, about 12% of the cabins were unsold.

 

There is no reason to schedule more of them when they cannot fill them up now, even at bargain basement pricing after final payment.

 

Also the one-way return airfare would likely cost more than the cruise itself.

[L454S]

Have to chime in. DW and I started looking at a 14 day TA cruise to Rome, cruise price was cheap, but the airfare was the killer. Just not enough bang for the buck..........Airfare alone would pay for a cruise with domestic airfare. Don't think Princess can do a lot about this problem though.

[icat2000]

You've got around this now though haven't you?

No I haven't. I know where you pointed me to but I read a disclaimer on that site that they couldn't sell bookings on the following lines to yada yada yada.

[april47]

After my Crown Princess TA, Galveston-Southampton, I'm taking the inaugeral cruise of the NCL Breakaway out of Southampton to New York and then Amtrak home. No flying for me.

[Astro Flyer]

Have to chime in. DW and I started looking at a 14 day TA cruise to Rome, cruise price was cheap, but the airfare was the killer. Just not enough bang for the buck..........Airfare alone would pay for a cruise with domestic airfare. Don't think Princess can do a lot about this problem though.

I received a late March email for great pricing on many repositioning cruises including several TAs. For the cruises to Europe some of the best airfares I could find were through Princess. However they were still much more expensive than a flight to FL & a drive home at the end of our Panama Canal cruise

[Infi]

They are selling a 7 day on the ruby, but no 5 day, this means that the cabin will be empty for nearly half the cruise, I can't believe they are doing this

 

Better to have the cabin occupied for at least half the cruise, than to sit empty for the whole cruise.

[lovevacadays]

Wow, very interesting that they are doing this. I agree with others that the airfare costs, etc might make the European cruises not as attractive.

 

The email I received last night from Princess had some unbelievable prices for the Med and Alaska...while I am tempted, we have done both fairly recently and when you add up airline costs, fees, tours, etc, well it adds up!

 

IMHO, Princess needs more itineraries in North America during the summer...Bermuda, Caribbean, etc. We did a Royal Caribbean cruise in May to the Caribbean and the ship was filled, and there were many repeat cruisers... Yes, I know folks will say Princess makes more with the ships in other parts of the world, but with all of the emails coming, maybe things have changed. Perhaps the worldwide economy is catching up.... And DH and I want to do a Bermuda cruise this summer...and looks like again we will be back on Royal Caribbean since Princess does not go there. I am two cruises from attaining Elite status...I would much rather sail Princess, but their options from late Spring through mid Fall are SO limited!!!

 

I agree. I wish Princess would come up with more North America cruises and not dispatch all their ships to Alaska or Europe

 

I noticed this too about a week ago while checking prices for our upcoming cruise. The 12 day cruise before ours was also being sold as a 6 day option from Athens to Venice. The one after ours is being sold as another 6 day segment from Rome to Athens. Strangely, our sailing on 6/17 has not been segmented. Looks like Princess is trying to entice Europeans with these shorter jaunts and fill up the ship as much as they can.

 

As odd as it is to see Princess do this, I can't say I'm very surprised after watching this cruise. The price for our cruise was incredibly discounted to being with and featured on a few of the Princess mailers this spring. It has dropped like a stone after final payment, bottoming out at $499 for an inside, $999 for a balcony. That's a steal for 12 days. And, according to Princess, they still have a ton of cabins available. Even with 9 days left to go and these new 6 day cruises, I still doubt our ship will sail full.

 

Wow. That is amazing pricing!

 

I do suspect that the sales of Med cruises has had an effect on the pricing. This has certainly been to my benefit so far. I would have never predicted that my original BG GTY booking in January would turn into a mini suite and a price reduction of $1300. This certainly must have to do with supply and demand but this makes me a happy, happy person.

 

If, for some reason, our cruise ends up sailing at less than 100% capacity, I will also not shed any tears. Less crowds and better service can only be the result.

 

Good for you. That's a great that you got a minisuite at such a great price.

Enjoy your cruise.

[ONT-CA]

The number of staff will not be reduced just because the ship has less passengers on it for a sailing.

 

Then what will they have the surplus labour do? Remake made beds?

[rdsqrl]

Then what will they have the surplus labour do? Remake made beds?

As anyone who has ever been a manager can attest, there is always work that can be done. I certainly don't do housekeeping (not even in my own house; that's what the maid service is for!), but I imagine it's a great time to deep clean cabins, to organize supplies, to inventory. .

 

Do you really imagine they send the crew home for a vacation in the middle of their contract?

[kendon]

Have to agree. We are very loyal Princess cruisers having sailed with them 24 times but we want to do 2 cruises that Princess does not do. So for a Bermuda cruise and Bahamas cruise to Nassau and Key West we are going on Celebrity. Really wish Princess would of offered these routes but sometimes a change is good I guess.

 

Totally agree. I want to book with Princess for summer Bermuda and Caribbean cruises as I'm off in the summer, but they just don't exist. Currently researching other lines.