Princess hates foreign customers?

[sailing Dutch Peter]

I am a bit puzzled by Princess. We wanted to book a cruise to Hawaii for San Francisco, when we found out that the going rate for an Ocenview stateroom was about 1.000 $. However, travel agents are not allowed to book us since we are not US residents, and we, as Europeans are charged a hefty 1.350 euro for the same cruise (about 1.700 USD).

Of course we are not stupid enough to pay that amount, when others can book the same cruise for 1.000 USD....so no Hawaii cruise for us....

can somebody explain this policy tot us? Or do Americans just want us to stay in Europe.....??

[Cauzneffct]

I think its obvious that whenever a company offers a product or a sale to one set of customers and not to another, it is due to pure, white-hot hatred for those who it gleefully deprives of said product or sale.

[CI66774]

I think you can do a search and read the multiple threads on this issue. Europeans have greater consumer protections in place - a cost that, you, the European consumer, must bear. I'm sure there are many other pricing reasons for the difference. I live in Colorado and always (it seems) pay a higher price than someone who lives in Florida. I'm not in the military, etc., so I don't receive those discounts either. You did the right thing. If the price is too high then don't buy it.

[icat2000]

Its their draconian region pricing policy. Same thing happens with Australians on certain cruises. I wish they would just offer the same pricing for every one.

[aquilegia]

I'm never sure what this extra European consumer protection for passengers is that supposedly must cost the cruise lines the difference between US and European prices. The cruise lines always check if UK cruisers at least have their own insurance in place.

 

However, I don't really follow the OP's argument either. On any cruise, you will find people who've paid numerous different prices for the same product. I decide how much I can afford to pay for a particular cruise I want and I pay it. I don't go checking what it would have cost a US resident, it's hardly relevant. The OP may think it's stupid of me to pay the asking price when US residents pay less. I don't think it's any more stupid than deliberately depriving yourself of an experience you want (if you can afford it) because other people are paying less for it. It's a US line, you play by their rules.

[COMBOY]

I am a bit puzzled by Princess. We wanted to book a cruise to Hawaii for San Francisco, when we found out that the going rate for an Ocenview stateroom was about 1.000 $. However, travel agents are not allowed to book us since we are not US residents, and we, as Europeans are charged a hefty 1.350 euro for the same cruise (about 1.700 USD).

Of course we are not stupid enough to pay that amount, when others can book the same cruise for 1.000 USD....so no Hawaii cruise for us....

can somebody explain this policy tot us? Or do Americans just want us to stay in Europe.....??

 

No, Princess doesn't hate foreign customers, but on the whole they figure that Europeans will pay more to cruise. It's a very complex pricing system and different markets are priced differently based many factors like supply and demand as well as consumer laws, etc. Cruisecritic wrote a whole article about the international pricing system for Australian, but I think it can be applied to anyone outside of the US market. I hope this explains it.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1119

[Potstech]

It all boils down to what a Disney rep said one time when asked why they are way more expensive then other cruise lines. He said that people pay for it and their ships all seem to leave full. Why change? It also goes to the old saying if you think it is too expensive it probably is so do not buy it. Consumer choice

Edited December 26, 2013 by Potstech

[Durham lad]

As a relatively new cruiser in the UK (3rd cruise in May 2014) I find that if I visit the relevant cruise line web site, I see the price of the same cruise varying almost weekly so it is well worth keeping up to date right until final payment is due, in my case Princess has now reduced the cost of my cruise in May by £200 pp.

 

My original price was substantially less than brochure price to begin with.

 

PS Hope that makes sense :)

[Loonbeam]

There is definitely a factor of profit making, but there are also a lot of other things to consider. Exchange rates are just one of them, there are also different items that are considered taxable in different countries/regions, different items that are commissionable, different regulatory issues, etc.

 

In terms of things like coverage, EU regulations allow for less exclusions from insurance policies and more things the lines themselves need to cover in terms of delays (similar to airlines). This is priced in. Operating costs for offices etc are higher in Europe, this is priced in, etc. Agencies (including Princess UK) have to pay into the system that protects against carriers going bankrupt - ATOL applies since they package airfare). Priced in.

 

It's not hate, its business and it all depends on the way a given agency is structured.

[SuitCaseBears]

I'm never sure what this extra European consumer protection for passengers is that supposedly must cost the cruise lines the difference between US and European prices. The cruise lines always check if UK cruisers at least have their own insurance in place.

 

I'm not sure of the specific cruise line issues, but I have clients who have analyzed the costs of doing business in the US vs. various other countries and in the EU the cost to do business is higher because of (for example) increased website regulations requiring additional personnel or higher priced automated systems; increased cost of heavier regulation of cancellations and returns; increased costs of extra personnel just to read all of the increased regulations; increased labor costs due to high payroll taxes etc.

 

Sometimes the increased costs are worth it if the market is large enough, sometime they aren't.

 

It's the same with California - it's heavily regulated, but companies generally don't want to ignore California because it's also a very large market. But some products are more expensive in California.

[RDC1]

No, Princess doesn't hate foreign customers, but on the whole they figure that Europeans will pay more to cruise. It's a very complex pricing system and different markets are priced differently based many factors like supply and demand as well as consumer laws, etc. Cruisecritic wrote a whole article about the international pricing system for Australian, but I think it can be applied to anyone outside of the US market. I hope this explains it.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1119

 

Don't forget agreements with travel agent groups in each country as well. Some of the restrictions come from those agreements.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I do know that there were many British passengers on my last Hawaiian cruise. The cruise we were on exactly two years before that (same ship and same itinerary) had many Brits also booked, but unfortunately many of them were caught at the airport in bad weather, and by the time they got to LAX, the bad weather we were having (several straight days of rain) caused them to be even more delayed and they never got on board, even though the Captain waited several hours before sailing. The ones I've talked to on board had made their own flight arrangements and got here (Vegas or LA) before the heavy snowfall.

[SwissDave]

Prices for the same product are different all over the world. Coke or Pepsi is a different price in NL to the UK to France, to Germany, to USA.

 

The only way prices could be the same is if everyone in the world earned exactly the same amount of money, lived in exactly the same type of house, paid exactly the same amount of tax.

[princessprincej]

You will find many late deals on US departures which will not be advertised in Europe. Princess will pay travel agents to sell these cruises, why advertise to Europe when the take up will be low because of expensive flights etc. I guarantee you there will be prices for cruises sailing from Europe this summer which will be cheaper for Europeans and not for Americans for the same reason

[dorisis]

Is Princess the only cruise line that charges Europeans more than Americans and Canadians???

[Hlitner]

Why the cruise lines (and this is most of the mass market lines) follow this pricing practice is still somewhat of a mystery. But we have a good Aussie friend who routinely cruises on HAL (he has over 500 days on that line) and simply refuses to pay the Aussie prices. So, when he books, he uses the Canadian address of a good friend and also uses this address for other HAL related issues. The fact that he carries an Australian Passport has never been an issue, and even if it was questioned he could simply say that he is an Aussie living in Canada.

 

I should add that HAL does have a tough policy and will not let US TAs do bookings for Aussies (and we think Europeans).

 

Hank

[Loonbeam]

No, but they do possibly have some of the bigger variances. It has to do with the way they are set up multinationally. Effectively, Princess UK is pretty much only an independent resale agent, which adds some regulations and removes some abilities to take advantage of pricing. It's way more complicated than that, but that about sums it up.

 

Is Princess the only cruise line that charges Europeans more than Americans and Canadians???

[sayaguru]

I find this statement from the article quoted quite strange.

 

"Consumers need to be wary of booking cruises on U.S. sites as the shipping lines reserve the right to deny boarding at check-in if they find that travellers are not U.S. residents who booked with a U.S. agent at the U.S. market rate."

When you book your Email address and passport are sent to Princess (and I assume yoiur address) so how can they deny boarding? So unless you lied about being a US citizen there can be no problem

 

Some American and Canadian sites are not allowed to book passengers on Princess and HAL if they are not residing un USA (except if they have booked with HAL or Princess previously (before the ruling I guess). This was what I was told when I tried to book.

Other cruiselines have no such restrictions.

 

I have booked through a Canadian website a few times because the prices are better (than Australia) even when you factor in the gratuity difference. When cruising in Australia and booking though an Australian site the gratuity is included in the fare (they don't trust us to pay it):eek:.

 

Obviously everyone wants to get the best fare possible. Before the internet there was not the easy option of comparing. It's not a new thing, it's just that we now know about it.

Edited December 28, 2013 by sayaguru

[caribill]

When you book your Email address and passport are sent to Princess (and I assume yoiur address) so how can they deny boarding? So unless you lied about being a US citizen there can be no problem

 

 

Princess does not require you to be a US citizen to book with a US agent. They require that you live in the USA or Canada.

 

So a passport could be from any country and you still be living in the USA.

 

And if your e-mail address is at google.com, yahoo.com, etc., it in no way indicates where you reside.

 

For what it is worth, I have never seen a post on Cruise Critic about anyone actually being denied boarding because of where they had booked.

[sayaguru]

Princess does not require you to be a US citizen to book with a US agent. They require that you live in the USA or Canada.

 

So a passport could be from any country and you still be living in the USA.

 

And if your e-mail address is at google.com, yahoo.com, etc., it in no way indicates where you reside.

 

For what it is worth, I have never seen a post on Cruise Critic about anyone actually being denied boarding because of where they had booked.

 

Yes my mistake. I meant lying about living in the US. The agents state you can't book if not residing in the US so unless you lied about that there is no problem.

[antsp]

How does Princess know where you live , or own a property, if you used an address in florida of a rental villa as an example what would they know, you will be ok. We are in the UK and have never booked any Princess cruise here, the saving have varied over the years but i have never ever even been close to having a problem. If cruises from the UK want to pay more then carry on booking in the UK

[Astro Flyer]

Or do Americans just want us to stay in Europe.....??

I have in-laws who live in the Netherlands & get better airfare prices than I can get from the US...do the Dutch want us to stay in America? :rolleyes:

[wilfros]

I have in-laws who live in the Netherlands & get better airfare prices than I can get from the US...do the Dutch want us to stay in America? :rolleyes:

 

YES!!! :eek:

[Loonbeam]

Most likely, they won't. That said, if anything goes wrong, like an insurance claim, you are not going to want that to be routed via your US address and Princess may get copies. Or if the mail from Florida gets returned.

 

Theoretically they could ask for proof of residency if they suspect something (like a utility bill). I doubt they bother, but they could.

 

How does Princess know where you live , or own a property, if you used an address in florida of a rental villa as an example what would they know, you will be ok. We are in the UK and have never booked any Princess cruise here, the saving have varied over the years but i have never ever even been close to having a problem. If cruises from the UK want to pay more then carry on booking in the UK