Princess Sale

[clueless2]

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.

 

Interesting. My TA WAS able to refare me to the Veterans' Day Sale price for a cruise we had booked months ago. We had originally booked using future cruise credits as the deposit. Those were still used as the deposit, we kept the FCC on board credits AND we got the $100 OBC that was part of the sale. The only downside was the deposits are now unrefundable. Still have the same booking number.

[Cruisin' Chick]

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?

 

They were discussing fares for the coastals, so not much of a hijack.

[SuzyQ214]

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

 

 

This is an interesting way to do it. I guess I always kind of do it the opposite in that it's the Travel Agents who offer the lower fares and have perks like OBC or bottle of wine.

 

I always buy Travel Insurance, so I knew that even if I had to cancel it would be due to a medical reason or a related covered reason, and I'd get the non-refundable deposit back. This particular TA (and it's the first time I've used them) doesn't charge any fee for the first price reduction request. So, I thought I'd be fine if the price went down after my initial deposit and before final payment.

 

Twice in the past I've had fares go down (Princess & Carnival) and there was no problem getting the new lower fare. The Princess one actually did end up re-booking and I was given a new booking #. The Carnival one was able to re-fare with the same booking #.

 

It's hard to tell if in this case it's just the TA who doesn't want to give up some commission or if it's really Princess who isn't allowing to re-fare under the same booking #.

[5326jan]

This is an interesting way to do it. I guess I always kind of do it the opposite in that it's the Travel Agents who offer the lower fares and have perks like OBC or bottle of wine.

 

I always buy Travel Insurance, so I knew that even if I had to cancel it would be due to a medical reason or a related covered reason, and I'd get the non-refundable deposit back. This particular TA (and it's the first time I've used them) doesn't charge any fee for the first price reduction request. So, I thought I'd be fine if the price went down after my initial deposit and before final payment.

 

Twice in the past I've had fares go down (Princess & Carnival) and there was no problem getting the new lower fare. The Princess one actually did end up re-booking and I was given a new booking #. The Carnival one was able to re-fare with the same booking #.

 

It's hard to tell if in this case it's just the TA who doesn't want to give up some commission or if it's really Princess who isn't allowing to re-fare under the same booking #.

 

 

The last time I let the TA negotiate for me, it went badly. The price was 2500 on Princess, but the agent priced it at 2100. When Princess dropped the price to 2200, I expected the TA to go down too. Instead he moved the price from 2100 to 2200! He said, "if you want Princess's reduction you've got it!" He was so nasty that I wrote Princess and asked that he be removed from booking and Princess should take it back, as I had lost faith in his ability. The next thing I knew, he had CANCELLED our cruise! :eek: I discovered it right away and was able to re-book through Princess. I asked Princess if a TA had the right to cancel someone's booking and they said "yes"! The client has given them authority to manage the booking. So, that's my long, sad story about why I don't totally trust TA's to look out for us. :mad::(:rolleyes:

[caribill]

Interesting. My TA WAS able to refare me to the Veterans' Day Sale price for a cruise we had booked months ago. We had originally booked using future cruise credits as the deposit. Those were still used as the deposit, we kept the FCC on board credits AND we got the $100 OBC that was part of the sale. The only downside was the deposits are now unrefundable. Still have the same booking number.

 

The difference is that SuzyQ214 booked during a sale which had the deposit being unrefundable and your original booking did not have that restriction.

[caribill]

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.

 

Some of those benefits and discounts come from the TA having booked group space on the cruise. If you wait too long to do the xfer of the booking to the TA, the group space may have all been sold and you may not get as good benefits as if you had xferred the booking earlier.

 

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. We have never had to send a letter to Princess to xfer the booking to a TA. We send an e-mail to the TA who then takes care of the xfer.

 

 

 

see above in red

[awinte2]

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.

 

 

Made the mistake of changing to get on board credit and used my Princess Cruise Consultant who did not tell me I would lose my assigned stateroom and be put into an assigned room by princess.

 

I only noticed the change of stateroom when I went onto MY Princess to make sure everything was in order and it showed I did not have a room.

 

I called and got major run a round, insisted on speaking to a Manager and 40 minutes later asked for my room back only to be told it was already booked by someone else.

 

I ended up having to go back to my original booking and they gave me a room close to where I was. But it was not without a major conflict and I stated that had my Princess Conslultant advised me I would lose my room I would never had made the change for a minimal on board credit.

 

My consultant did advise that I would lose my deposit and I have no idea what I was thinking at the time to make the change for a mininmal OBC.

 

So everyone please make sure if you make any changes that you check to make sure you are getting exactly what you are paying for.

 

Arlene

[clueless2]

The difference is that SuzyQ214 booked during a sale which had the deposit being unrefundable and your original booking did not have that restriction.

 

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

[SuzyQ214]

I guess it makes sense, technically, but it seems sad that Princess would re-fare some people and not others. I'm not looking to cancel the cruise and get my deposit refunded.

 

The sale price that I have in question is still showing on Princess.com. It is actually a Past Guest fare and wasn't really part of the Veteran's Day sale. As a Past Guest myself you'd hope that there would be some consideration.

 

Yikes, regarding 5326jan and awinte2's experiences! When did the world of booking cruises become so complicated and unpleasant?

[shepp]

I always buy Travel Insurance, so I knew that even if I had to cancel it would be due to a medical reason or a related covered reason, and I'd get the non-refundable deposit back.

 

It's worth noting that, according to the fine print, Princess Vacation Protection (which otherwise offers the coverage I want, including 100% cancel-for-any-reason reimbursement) will not make good on those non-refundable deposits.

[YaddaBest]

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.

 

It all depends how popular the cruise is and where you are going. I believe the more you cruise the longer the cruise you prefer. I booked this 19 day transatlantic in January and got the last cabin...this was an Oct 9th cruise. When final payment came decided to switch to the Dec 2nd 20 day transatlantic and got an upgraded outside quite a bit cheaper than the inside on the Oct sailing. Now...I have seen my cruise dropped again and almost 30%. So I have this transatlantic and booked round trip flight and picked a date that is two days after Princess has three ships ending their transatlantics. I can fly from to Venice for my flight home for a minimal cost. I will just wait till fianl payment and see which one looks best.

 

The balcony is same as I paid for my outsider cabin. There are places I like to go but I will just wait for the deal after final payment and take my chances. Just realize when its a great cruise and price and go...because you want to and are satisfied with the price. If it goes down another hundred dollars its better than losing a cruise you love.