Father's Day Sale Questions

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

We have a quote for the Golden Princess RT Hawaii for 10/24/12. Our TA told us the deposit was non-refundable, which would be okay with us since we will be using FCC's.

 

However, when I look at the restrictions on-line it says the special OBC ($100) is not combinable with other OBC. Do you think this means we would not be eligible for FCC OBC, Shareholder OBC, and Loyalty OBC at these prices? I asked our TA but she only said the deposit was non-refundable and non-transferable.

 

What do you think?

[Astro Flyer]

We have a quote for the Golden Princess RT Hawaii for 10/24/12. Our TA told us the deposit was non-refundable, which would be okay with us since we will be using FCC's.

 

However, when I look at the restrictions on-line it says the special OBC ($100) is not combinable with other OBC. Do you think this means we would not be eligible for FCC OBC, Shareholder OBC, and Loyalty OBC at these prices? I asked our TA but she only said the deposit was non-refundable and non-transferable.

 

What do you think?

I've booked other recent 'non-refundable, non-transferable' sales & have received the sale's OBC plus FCC, shareholder OBC & military OBC. :)

 

Princess wouldn't waive our previous 'non-refundable' booking when the Father's Day 'non-refundable' sale began with a lower price. So we're stuck with the higher price unless we want to loose our deposit & to rebook. However since that wouldn't save us much money after loosing our FCC $100 deposit & receiving less OBC so we're keeping our original booking.

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks for telling about your recent experience. The restrictions are confusing.

[PunkiC]

My position is to never book during a sale. The prices almost always remain the same (or even go down) after the sale and you will still retain all of your freedom to cancel without losing any money.

 

For instance, we were going to book a December 5 Hawaii trip while on a cruise, during the Mother's Day Sale, but when we learned of all of the restrictions, including the non-refundable desposit, we decided to wait until we got home. When we got home, after the sale was over, the prices were still the same so we booked with no restrictions.

 

Now, during the Father's Day Sale, the prices for the same cruise have dropped another $100, but we are going to hold off and see what happens. Worse case scenario is that we are stuck with the price at which we originally booked and we can live with that. Best case is that the prices will continue to go down, in which case we will rebook, but not during a sale.

 

If, however, it is a popular cruise, you had better grab it when you can get it. For instance, our October California Coastal is totally sold out so we know there won't be any price reductions there, but we can still cancel and get our money back until the final payment day.

 

Sometimes it's a crapshoot, but that's part of the fun.

[Cruise Junky]

I booked under the sale. Saved a ton and I got the FCC OBC as well as the $100 princess was offering

[Pia1913]

According to this sale, one of my cruises went down. I spoke to my TA yesterday and she got me the reduction. However, in order to get the big $50 OBC that could go with it, I would have to cancel and rebook. Not worth the bother. I would hate my chosen cabin to be in the system for even a split second.

[iluvcruzin]

I booked with the Father's Day promo. I will recieve OBC for the sale, FC, my TA tossed some in, and stockholder benefits. Sure it's a risk for the non-refundable deposit but the savings for my particular sailing is worth it.

[pamwinn]

This doesn't mean that you are stuck with the price and can't get a lower fare even without cancelling and rebooking does it? And would my FCC OBC stay on the booking?

[PunkiC]

This doesn't mean that you are stuck with the price and can't get a lower fare even without cancelling and rebooking does it? And would my FCC OBC stay on the booking?

 

That was the impression I got when we were going to book at the FCC desk.

 

On the Mother's Day Sale my agent told me that it was restricted to only one military credit per cabin, which overall would have meant we would have lost a $250 military credit in exchange for a $100 OBC. No brainer there.

 

Just checked the fine print for the Fathers Day Sale and it reads: "Offer is not transferable, is not combinable with other select offers or other onboard credits and applies to legal residents of the United States or Canada who are 21 years or older."

[pamwinn]

What I mean is, let's say I booked at 999 on the mothers day sale using an FCC for the down payment. So I get my OBC from the FCC. IF the fare drops to 799 before final payment, can I get the price drop and retain the OBC from my Future Cruise Deposit?

[Woobstr112G]

Personally, I never book a sale price. I just trust my T/A who always gets me a great price much better than I've ever found with Princess. Besides, the itineraries I sail are popular and usually fill up fast.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks for all of your replies. I didn't consider that the price may still be lower after the sale. We usually book very early and just watch the prices until final payment is due. There seems to be lots of space available on the RT Hawaii cruises, so I am still thinking. . .

[Pia1913]

What I mean is, let's say I booked at 999 on the mothers day sale using an FCC for the down payment. So I get my OBC from the FCC. IF the fare drops to 799 before final payment, can I get the price drop and retain the OBC from my Future Cruise Deposit?

 

Absolutely, positively. You retain all your OBC and just get the lower price. My price was lowered yesterday, but my TA credit, FCC credit, shareholder, military and loyalty all stay intact. Only difference is I get to pay less. :D

[Pia1913]

Thanks for all of your replies. I didn't consider that the price may still be lower after the sale. We usually book very early and just watch the prices until final payment is due. There seems to be lots of space available on the RT Hawaii cruises, so I am still thinking. . .

 

That's exactly what I got lowered yesterday; Hawaii cruise in October.

[Cruise Junky]

Personally, I never book a sale price. I just trust my T/A who always gets me a great price much better than I've ever found with Princess. Besides, the itineraries I sail are popular and usually fill up fast.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Don't we have the same TA? She couldn't touch my price on Ruby with a barge poll until this sale. And we tried. She did reduce it by a further $100 when we booked but we needed the sale to save the $2,000

[Astro Flyer]

All recent 'sale' promotions that I've read have the 'nonrefundable, nontransferable' restriction.

 

We have a previous 'sale' booking with this restriction & my TA attempted to get the lower Father's Day sale price which has the same restriction. To do this we would have to lose our $100 FCC deposit & to rebook with the current 'sale'. That would have resulted in a very small price reduction because Princess was not going to waive losing our previous deposit.

 

My experience has been that to get a 'non-sale' price reduction even for a cruise booked during a 'sale' with the 'nonrefundable, nontransferable' deposit it's not a problem to get the lower 'non-sale' price.

 

However to get a price reduction on a 'sale' price booking with this restriction requires canceling the previous booking and losing the deposit before rebooking under the new 'sale' price with another 'nonrefundable, nontransferable' deposit.

[Cruise Junky]

All recent 'sale' promotions that I've read have the 'nonrefundable, nontransferable' restriction.

 

We have a previous 'sale' booking with this restriction & my TA attempted to get the lower Father's Day sale price which has the same restriction. To do this we would have to lose our $100 FCC deposit & to rebook with the current 'sale'. That would have resulted in a very small price reduction because Princess was not going to waive losing our previous deposit.

 

My experience has been that to get a 'non-sale' price reduction even for a cruise booked during a 'sale' with the 'nonrefundable, nontransferable' deposit it's not a problem to get the lower 'non-sale' price.

 

However to get a price reduction on a 'sale' price booking with this restriction requires canceling the previous booking and losing the deposit before rebooking under the new 'sale' price with another 'nonrefundable, nontransferable' deposit.

 

Dare you to say that fast three times :)

 

I think taking advantage of these sales is so dependent on the conditions you booked in the first place, the savings and how much of a risk are you going to take with that non-refundable deposit. If it's all for $100 then probably not worth it. But everyone's conditions are different and should be looked at individually before deciding if jumping on one of these sales is worth it or not.

[Astro Flyer]

Dare you to say that fast three times :)

 

I think taking advantage of these sales is so dependent on the conditions you booked in the first place, the savings and how much of a risk are you going to take with that non-refundable deposit. If it's all for $100 then probably not worth it. But everyone's conditions are different and should be looked at individually before deciding if jumping on one of these sales is worth it or not.

 

There's no way I could say that fast 3 times. :eek: ;) :p

 

Yes, so many things for each of us the evaluate before deciding what's best for each of us. The addition of the 'non-refundable, non-transferable' deposit has added another factor for us to consider when deciding whether to book a 'sale' price which is more difficult to change.

 

I keep looking for a perfect cruise pricing 'crystal ball' but haven't found one yet! :p

[Tina G]

We just canceled our booking for the Baltic on the 8/30 sailing and re-booked on a MUCH cheaper identical itinerary in July. Princess insisted on keeping both our on-board cruise deposit AND our CCs, but this was not disclosed by our TA when we booked. The TA is making good on the penalties. (I LOVE my travel agency!) United Airlines was very cooperative when we rescheduled our flights, too.

Princess is getting greedy. I also noticed that they have revised the terms of those on-board future bookings. We will get about half the credits next time we book. HAL is starting to look good to us.

[cbreit]

We just got upgraded to a mini suite with no price increase for our Thanksgiving cruise!!

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks for your comments. It seems like there are lots of scenarios depending on your particular situation. Sometimes if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

 

Decisions, decisions

[PunkiC]

I finally broke down and called Princess for complete clarification of the rules. I got a great agent who did a great deal of checking and this is what I learned:

 

1. All OBCs will apply (military, shareholders, etc.) except those offered by travel agents for group cruises or their special promotions.

 

2. You can take advantage of price reductions up until final payment.

 

3. Even if you book with a $100 FCC, if you cancel you will be responsible for whatever the full deposit would have been if you had not used the FCC. So that could be up to $600 pp. YIKES!

 

So I guess that if you are 100% sure that you want to take a cruise, and don't have to cancel, the sales might be a good thing.

[Astro Flyer]

I finally broke down and called Princess for complete clarification of the rules. I got a great agent who did a great deal of checking and this is what I learned:

 

1. All OBCs will apply (military, shareholders, etc.) except those offered by travel agents for group cruises or their special promotions. That confirms what I've experienced.

 

2. You can take advantage of price reductions up until final payment. My experience has been that I could only get a 'non-sale' price reduction however not a 'sale' reduction without losing my previous deposit...could this be what the agent meant?

 

3. Even if you book with a $100 FCC, if you cancel you will be responsible for whatever the full deposit would have been if you had not used the FCC. So that could be up to $600 pp. YIKES! YIKES! :eek: That's something new to me! :eek:

 

So I guess that if you are 100% sure that you want to take a cruise, and don't have to cancel, the sales might be a good thing.

Thanks for the info from the Princess agent & wonder if what they told you is 100% accurate? :confused:

 

For point #3, that would be terrible & I don't understand how we can use a $100 FCC deposit & if cancelling they would penalize us with a full deposit amount. I don't understand how they would do this since they would only have the $100 FCC.

 

Shortly after Princess added the non-refundable restriction we wanted to cancel & rebook and my TA got Princess to waive losing my deposit. For the current sale they wouldn't waive it but instead my TA got them to give us a nice upgrade to a cabin costing the same as what we had previously paid. :)

 

I'm certainly not doubting what the Princess agent told you but I'd follow up with a TA or another Princess agent if booking directly to confirm that the info was completely accurate...or not. :confused:

[Cruise Junky]

The terms of the sale do say that you'd be responsible for the Brochure Deposit amount so it does make total sense that it would be more than just the FCC. Whether they actually enforce that, I have no idea.

[Astro Flyer]

The terms of the sale do say that you'd be responsible for the Brochure Deposit amount so it does make total sense that it would be more than just the FCC. Whether they actually enforce that, I have no idea.

WOW! :eek: Thanks for that info & that makes it highly unlikely that I'll be cancelling & rebooking any time in the future because the 'sale' savings may not be close to a lost full deposit. :eek: