Princess prices; much higher this year?

[generichandle]

I know Princess is now including the taxes etc in their pricing. But even so, it seems to me that sailing to areas I am interested in are WAY up this year.

 

For example, last year the Ocean P 'North Cape' inside was under 2K, this year it is $1500 higher. Last year the Pacific P 'Black Sea was under $100/day, this year it is far above that. Almost every Alaska sailing, even without taxes added in, is much higher than HAL, Celebrity, and even [God forbid] Norwegian. It seems pretty much across the board. What happened?

 

I was lucky to find a fantastic deal on the Black Sea with Celebrity. But I have been a big Princess fan and hate to 'cheat' on her.

 

Doug

[oratheeexplorer]

It seems that since Princess "recategorized" their cabins, everything is higher...I've noticed that too when looking at caribbean cruises for next winter...maybe someone else on here will have an explanation....hopefully Pam will see this and give us her opinion!

[kaerofan]

Yep, much higher than last year. Oh well, now I'm doing the river cruise I've always wanted to do - I just couldn't justify the price difference before but now they're much more comparable.

[JimmyVWine]

I think the prices last Spring/Summer were an anomaly. (Maybe a hangover from the Concordia?). It is natural to compare this year's prices to last year's, but I don't think such a short comparison window holds much legitimacy. Maybe we will see prices crash again this year like they did last year, but I wouldn't count on it. I don't look at it as as rise in prices so much as it is a return to more normal pricing. Dust off the price guides from 2011 and see how they compare to 2013. Maybe that will reveal something. I have no idea. I just remember the sale prices that came out in May-July of last year to be off the charts low.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I agree that they are much higher. For the Hawaii cruise I booked, I am paying (so far at least) 3 times more than the 4 previous cruises we took to Hawaii (and these include 2010, 2011 and 2012).

 

I am just hoping for price drops.

[Loonbeam]

Princess posted pretty decent occupancy numbers last year with even a few overbookings, so it makes sense they will increase prices (good old supply and demand) to see how they hold up. Given I expect some people to consider switching from Carnival who may be CCL stockholders, I expect demand to be fairly robust for a while..

[Mapu]

I think Princess often "tests the waters" when it comes to pricing. Frequently there will be price drops before final payments for current and new bookings. I have seen Alaska cruises drop $500 per person before final payment. The price point on the small ships has always been higher but when itineraries don't sell as quickly as expected there have been price drops as well.

The best protection is to have FCC which allow you to book with a reduced deposit and get onboard credit as well. Then all you need is to be vigilant or have a vigilant travel agent.

[Chesie]

Yep, much higher than last year. Oh well, now I'm doing the river cruise I've always wanted to do - I just couldn't justify the price difference before but now they're much more comparable.

 

By far, our rivercruise from Amsterdam to Budapest was the best vacation every. Enjoy!

[AKman2495]

It seems that since Princess "recategorized" their cabins, everything is higher...I've noticed that too when looking at caribbean cruises for next winter...maybe someone else on here will have an explanation....hopefully Pam will see this and give us her opinion!

 

I too have been looking to go to the Caribbean next winter and the prices are higher -but it looks like they are selling very well with about a year to go....

 

Also, the prices to Hawaii have gone up as well.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Yes...higher. For each of our recent and upcoming cruises I check prices pretty much daily and with rare exception they do not go down.

[Go-Bucks!]

I know Princess is now including the taxes etc in their pricing. But even so, it seems to me that sailing to areas I am interested in are WAY up this year.

 

All the better reason to use a travel agent who does lots of Princess bookings and can get you a much lower price. My agent beats the Princess price by 10-15% all the time. She's saved me thousands of dollars! Plus she gives OBC and gifts. :)

[love2cruisegal]

I too have been looking to go to the Caribbean next winter and the prices are higher -but it looks like they are selling very well with about a year to go..

 

 

We also have been looking at Caribbean for next winter. I printed off a couple we were interested in a couple weeks ago. Went on today and noticed the price dropped and was so excited. Then I noticed the prices no longer include fees and taxes. So that's why the priced drop, I guess!! When did Princess decide not to includes taxes and fees in the fares????? And why?

 

Anyone have any info?? Thanks.

[CruiseAdict218]

The higher prices was the only reason that put us off from going to British Isles or the Med, and well airfare prices too.

[bdjam]

So does the increase in price mean that the quality will come up a couple of notches? OK...stop laughing.

[srpilo]

So does the increase in price mean that the quality will come up a couple of notches? OK...stop laughing.

:):):)

 

 

 

Srpilo

[Ronnieslady]

All the better reason to use a travel agent who does lots of Princess bookings and can get you a much lower price. My agent beats the Princess price by 10-15% all the time. She's saved me thousands of dollars! Plus she gives OBC and gifts. :)

I used to get that much off the full suites we booked, but no more. Is this recent??? We always used the Club Warehouse Wholesale TA.

They were always 10-15% less,for full suites, but no more. Agency said they were no longer able to discount off Princess prices. Princess has put a stop to this. This was the same story with over 10 large TA's I called. One TA offered to give me $100.00 off big deal. On a cruise that is over $10,000.00 that is nothing. The TAs never buy blocks of full suites, that I have known for years. I tried large TA's & small TA's, internet ones large & small, & car club TA's also. They all said the same thing, which Princess denies:eek:

 

With your TA still giving that much discount, from what Princess charges, which is great, are you booking Full Suites???? If you are you better hold on to that TA, maybe they are giving you the price that it would be if they are taking the cruise

[Cruise Junky]

I used to get that much off the full suites we booked, but no more. Is this recent??? We always used the Club Warehouse Wholesale TA.

They were always 10-15% less,for full suites, but no more. Agency said they were no longer able to discount off Princess prices. Princess has put a stop to this. This was the same story with over 10 large TA's I called. One TA offered to give me $100.00 off big deal. On a cruise that is over $10,000.00 that is nothing. The TAs never buy blocks of full suites, that I have known for years. I tried large TA's & small TA's, internet ones large & small, & car club TA's also. They all said the same thing, which Princess denies:eek:

 

With your TA still giving that much discount, from what Princess charges, which is great, are you booking Full Suites???? If you are you better hold on to that TA, maybe they are giving you the price that it would be if they are taking the cruise

 

Those TAs are totally feeding you a line. Princess allows discounting, they just can't advertise the discounted price. Either they're lying or didn't understand the rule change.

[Go-Bucks!]

Those TAs are totally feeding you a line. Princess allows discounting, they just can't advertise the discounted price. Either they're lying or didn't understand the rule change.

 

That`s exactly right! Yes, I have booked 2 cruises in the past year and I always get 10-15% less than Princess` price plus other goodies. My great TA isn`t with a large agency.

[Cruise Junky]

Even with discounts I'm finding we're gravitating more towards land trips. For us they're a better value unless we get a killer last minute deal on a cruise. Both our upcoming Hawaii trip and our Christmas Market trip are half of what a similar cruise would be and offer more flexibility.

[tequilasunrise]

So does the increase in price mean that the quality will come up a couple of notches? OK...stop laughing.

 

Yeah that's my problem with the increased fares. I don't mind high quality with high fares. I don't mind cost cutting with lower fares. But I DO mind cost cutting with higher fares. I will probably do more land based trips if it doesn't come down.

[atlantic cruiser]

I have noticed substantial increases in prices as well. I, however had noticed a definite shift in quality on the fall on the Star Princess, so much so that I do have decided to take a step back and vacation on land for a while.I have noticed that Celebrity's 123 promotion seems to have been widely discounted, many of their dates for Euope are completely sold out. Last year you could get a balcony for 10-12 nights for $899.00. What gives? Has economy improved that much. These increases are not slight but significant amounts yet seem to be selling. I did a l4 night Alaska on Princess last year for $849.00 rt.Vancouver, that sailing now is in the $2,300 range. Would love to know what is the very sudden change behind this pricing.

[Ronnieslady]

That`s exactly right! Yes, I have booked 2 cruises in the past year and I always get 10-15% less than Princess` price plus other goodies. My great TA isn`t with a large agency.

Was that for Full Suites????? I am still asking.:) Does anyone know. Thanks

[O2Bcrusin]

Those TAs are totally feeding you a line. Princess allows discounting, they just can't advertise the discounted price. Either they're lying or didn't understand the rule change.

 

Not true. Just checked with Princess. The only way a TA can discount is if they take it out of their commission or if they have groups booked.

[itzmered]

Pricing is significantly higher than it was over the last three years. That is why we have chosen to sail with HAL and NCL instead even though we prefer princess. I can't justify paying so much more for basically the same experience.

 

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk 2

[caribill]

Those TAs are totally feeding you a line. Princess allows discounting, they just can't advertise the discounted price. Either they're lying or didn't understand the rule change.

 

Not true. Just checked with Princess. The only way a TA can discount is if they take it out of their commission or if they have groups booked.

 

Is true.

 

Princess allows discounting just as you were told, by taking it out of their commission or giving back to the passengers some/all of the group discount.

 

Other cruise lines do not allow travel agents to do this and also restrict what type of onboard gifts they can provide.

 

What changed last year is that travel agents must now advertise the same price that Princess does and can only show the discounted price when a quote is provided.

 

Supposed reason for that is passengers were getting confused by different pricing. (I was never confused. Lower was always a better price than higher.)

 

Real reason -- TAs who did not discount were losing business to TAs who advertised lower prices.