Princess Sale

[dinosaurdem]

After almost 20 cruises I have just had a new experience. I am booked on a 32 day cruise on the Diamond in the Spring. I saw a sale which would save me $600 and decided to take advantage of it. Princess says that if I elect the change my deposit becomes non-refundable and no further change is possible. Is this a new way that Princess will lock in rates. If so, it certainly will discourage early booking. Never had this happen with another cruise line.

[GweninTX]

Yes!

[TracieABD]

I had a similar experience recently. But it saved enough money, upgraded the room from a BF to an AE and gave my OBC, so it was worth the risk. BTW, it was the lowest price for the cruise, so I think we made the right call...:)

[Waynetor]

Princess will often offer sales that sound good but buried in the fine print is the fact deposits are non-refundable. This includes FCC deposits. Sometimes these ales are quite good, other ties there is not much difference in price. Always important to read the sale conditions.

[Paula_MacFan]

I had the same thing happen on a recent booking. Our TA alerted us to a lower fare and OBC, but to get it we had to go to the 'non-refundable/transferable' deposit. We were ok with that to get the better deal. Then the price dropped AGAIN, and our TA rebooked us at the new lower rate, to which Princess automatically refunded our deposit and then re-charged our credit card. So much for the 'non-refundable/transferable' part.

[PunkiC]

I have pretty much decided that I am going to wait until the last minute before I book cruises in the future.

 

I just don't like being restricted either by plans or rules.

[cvpends]

Do the prices on California Coastals ever go down? I never seem to see it on sale!

[Pam in CA]

Do the prices on California Coastals ever go down? I never seem to see it on sale!

No. Supply and demand. Demand is high and these cruises often sell out. If they're selling well or sold out, no sale or bargain. As a matter of fact, prices can certainly go up.

[shepp]

After almost 20 cruises I have just had a new experience. I am booked on a 32 day cruise on the Diamond in the Spring. I saw a sale which would save me $600 and decided to take advantage of it. Princess says that if I elect the change my deposit becomes non-refundable and no further change is possible. Is this a new way that Princess will lock in rates. If so, it certainly will discourage early booking. Never had this happen with another cruise line.

 

Been going on for a year or two, as far as I recall.

 

The sale price on my upcoming Hawaiian sailing is as low as I can recall ever seeing for an inside on that itinerary, so I'm thinking of dropping the dime, figuring fares are unlikely to drop further. A CS rep did tell me that if I buy Platinum Vacation Protection and subsequently cancel, I should be able to get the FCC I'd used back in the form of a credit on another cruise (though without, I'm betting, an OBC attached).

[shepp]

A CS rep did tell me that if I buy Platinum Vacation Protection and subsequently cancel, I should be able to get the FCC I'd used back in the form of a credit on another cruise (though without, I'm betting, an OBC attached).

 

Just correcting myself: I looked at the terms of Princess Vacation Protection: the deposit is utterly non-refundable under the terms of the contract.

 

Yet another example of the info provided by a CS rep being...well...unreliable.

[WendyG]

Do the prices on California Coastals ever go down? I never seem to see it on sale!

 

There was a great sale on my California Coastal cruise on the Sapphire this coming April....my TA actually emailed me while I was on the Diamond in Alaska in June, I bought the FCC that day and the next day she booked the Sapphire for me. :) Haven't seen the price as good since!

[caribill]

There was a great sale on my California Coastal cruise on the Sapphire this coming April....my TA actually emailed me while I was on the Diamond in Alaska in June, I bought the FCC that day and the next day she booked the Sapphire for me. :) Haven't seen the price as good since!

 

If in that situation again, book it on the ship the day you get the FCC and have it assigned to your TA. You will get the pricing and perks your TA offers without the risk of the price disappearing before the next day.

[PRINCESSTHE BEST]

No. Supply and demand. Demand is high and these cruises often sell out. If they're selling well or sold out, no sale or bargain. As a matter of fact, prices can certainly go up.

 

I certainly wish they would do more California Coastals for a longer period. To travel from the UK for a short cruise is too expensive (flight wise).:(

[dinosaurdem]

I appreciate the comments on pricing. They are enlightening. When I talked to a Princess rep. she was simply rude. By the way, how did California coastals hijack this thread?

[cvpends]

For those interested in california coastal sales, mine went on sale. For $120, I was able to upgrade from a CC to a BB!

 

Sent from my SGH-T589 using Tapatalk 2

[windsor26]

Perhaps this is why we never get offered sales in Australia as ALWAYS are deposits are non refundable that is a perk that we would very much appreciate but we have to insure from the day we book to get our deposit back

[RLK33853]

Please don’t make decisions based on our experience, but we have found Princess to be very accommodating when you wish to make changes. A number of times we have found price reductions and Princess have let us make the change without any penalty. You may lose your OBC if the new price doesn’t include them, but we have never had a problem in making the change.

 

The non-refundable may only be a problem if you wish to cancel altogether. This last time is a perfect example. We had booked a 14 day Hawaiian for next March. Several months later, we saw a $400 price drop and our travel agent changed our booking – albeit with a warning from Princess that our FCC deposit now became non-refundable. We were good with that. Lately, friends we have cruised with in the past asked us to change to BTB Caribbean cruises rather than the Hawaiian. We had our travel agent check with Princess to see what we would lose, and they changed the cruise without question. Leads us to believe that the non-refundable part only applies if you cancel altogether.

[highheel girl]

Do the prices on California Coastals ever go down? I never seem to see it on sale!

 

Its on sale now Sapphire March 30th cruise, just received a flyer (imagine this) and it has great prices $979/balcony/outside (free balcony upgrade) $679 inside.

[cricketgal]

I had a similar experience recently. But it saved enough money, upgraded the room from a BF to an AE and gave my OBC, so it was worth the risk. BTW, it was the lowest price for the cruise, so I think we made the right call...:)

Also had a similar experience but got a great aft facing cabin for lots less money, so I was OK taking the risk. Not sure if any other cruise lines do this or not as this was the first time in 11 cruises that I changed something after booking.

[TracieABD]

Also had a similar experience but got a great aft facing cabin for lots less money, so I was OK taking the risk. Not sure if any other cruise lines do this or not as this was the first time in 11 cruises that I changed something after booking.

 

I worked out well for us. Now the cruise is completely sold out, with final payment due on Friday (so there may be some shift). I am very pleased with how we did!

[cvpends]

Its on sale now Sapphire March 30th cruise, just received a flyer (imagine this) and it has great prices $979/balcony/outside (free balcony upgrade) $679 inside.

 

Come join our roll call :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1607660

[SuzyQ214]

I booked a cruise in August under the "Relaxation Sale" for this coming March. I noticed this weekend that my cruise has gone down considerably under the current "Veteran's Day Sale" (almost $500/cabin).

 

Note that all of these "sales" seem to require non-refundable deposits (see the full Terms & Conditions footnotes on Princess.com).

 

I called my TA who thought she'd be able to re-book me, but later sent me an e-mail saying that Princess wouldn't allow it unless I cancelled and re-booked. My deposit was $550/cabin, so I'd actually end up losing money.

 

I called Princess to verify if this was the case but was told that since I went through a TA they couldn't discuss any financials with me. Princess couldn't even verify for me if I had a refundable or non-refundable deposit.

 

I called my TA back to see if there was anything else that could be done, i.e. OBC or cabin upgrade. She put me on hold to call Princess back, and came back and said there was nothing that could be done.

[5326jan]

I booked a cruise in August under the "Relaxation Sale" for this coming March. I noticed this weekend that my cruise has gone down considerably under the current "Veteran's Day Sale" (almost $500/cabin).

 

Note that all of these "sales" seem to require non-refundable deposits (see the full Terms & Conditions footnotes on Princess.com).

 

I called my TA who thought she'd be able to re-book me, but later sent me an e-mail saying that Princess wouldn't allow it unless I cancelled and re-booked. My deposit was $550/cabin, so I'd actually end up losing money.

 

I called Princess to verify if this was the case but was told that since I went through a TA they couldn't discuss any financials with me. Princess couldn't even verify for me if I had a refundable or non-refundable deposit.

 

I called my TA back to see if there was anything else that could be done, i.e. OBC or cabin upgrade. She put me on hold to call Princess back, and came back and said there was nothing that could be done.

 

This is one reason I like to book myself and then turn over to a TA about the time of final payment when all options close. I've saved about $1500/pp for the next cruise by keeping close track of sales and price reductions. We use FCC for deposits, so the risk of booking non-refundables is never more than $100/pp. I know that a good TA can do this, but can he/she do it for every single client? I'm not sure. :) I had a very bad experience with a TA, so I'm gun shy. :mad:

[SuzyQ214]

When you say you book it yourself, do you mean that you book it yourself directly with Princess (either on the phone or on the Princess website)?

 

Then why do you turn it over to a TA about the time of final payment? What is the advantage of that, versus just leaving the reservation the way it is?

 

How do you turn it over, just tell Princess you want the booking turned over to such-in-such travel agency?

[5326jan]

When you say you book it yourself, do you mean that you book it yourself directly with Princess (either on the phone or on the Princess website)?

 

Then why do you turn it over to a TA about the time of final payment? What is the advantage of that, versus just leaving the reservation the way it is?

 

How do you turn it over, just tell Princess you want the booking turned over to such-in-such travel agency?

 

Yes, I book with Princess directly. I find the sailing we want, the cabin we would like to have and call Princess to book. The reason to switch to a TA before final payment is to get further discounts that Princess allows TAs to give clients. TAs will frequently give % off fare, plus additional benefits such as OBC, wine or dinner in specialty restaurant.

 

To switch over, you have to send a letter to Princess authorizing the TA to "take over" your booking. Include the TA's information, your booking information, sign and fax to Princess. (Once the TA gets it, you don't have access to it yourself and must go through them.) I always get trip insurance, just in case we have to cancel. Be sure to check with TA, as some of them charge a penalty to cancel and some charge fees. We won't work with a TA that does either.

 

As I see it, everyone is a winner. The TA gets commission, we get additional discounts and benefits and Princess doesn't lose anything more than they were willing to lose in the first place. The upside is that none of it happens until 75 days out, so up til then I can manage our booking. :D