Trying to book cruise through Princess USA site

[TOMCAT22]

Hi

I am trying to book a Princess cruise via their USA website as its miles cheaper than ethe UK site.Now I know Princess don't like you doing this but I have a Canadian address so I should be ok.

 

Problem is when I access their USA website it detects I'm in UK and redirects me to UK website which is no good.

 

I have tried using an American proxy server and I can see the prices using this method but it errors when I try to book as I think it detects the proxy.

 

Has anyone ever managed to do this? I know you can book via TA with a Canadian address but Princess are offering $200 onboard credit whereas the TA are not.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[RickEk]

Hi

I am trying to book a Princess cruise via their USA website as its miles cheaper than ethe UK site.Now I know Princess don't like you doing this but I have a Canadian address so I should be ok.

 

Problem is when I access their USA website it detects I'm in UK and redirects me to UK website which is no good.

 

I have tried using an American proxy server and I can see the prices using this method but it errors when I try to book as I think it detects the proxy.

 

Has anyone ever managed to do this? I know you can book via TA with a Canadian address but Princess are offering $200 onboard credit whereas the TA are not.

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Hmmmmm... well, if you have a valid Canadian address, call the US call center at 800-PRINCESS.

[TOMCAT22]

Hmmmmm... well, if you have a valid Canadian address, call the US call center at 800-PRINCESS.

 

I would prefer to do it online if possible,that way there will be no awkward questions....

[lexdisic]

Hi

I am trying to book a Princess cruise via their USA website as its miles cheaper than ethe UK site.Now I know Princess don't like you doing this but I have a Canadian address so I should be ok.

 

Problem is when I access their USA website it detects I'm in UK and redirects me to UK website which is no good.

 

I have tried using an American proxy server and I can see the prices using this method but it errors when I try to book as I think it detects the proxy.

 

Has anyone ever managed to do this? I know you can book via TA with a Canadian address but Princess are offering $200 onboard credit whereas the TA are not.

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Hi

I use the App "Zenmate" which works very well at disguising my location. It can be found at the Google App store (free download). Switch it on - set it to the location you wish to appear to be and away you go. Remember to switch it off after you have finished.

[TOMCAT22]

Hi

I use the App "Zenmate" which works very well at disguising my location. It can be found at the Google App store (free download). Switch it on - set it to the location you wish to appear to be and away you go. Remember to switch it off after you have finished.

 

Thanks for the reply,I will give that a try.

[cdngrl]

interesting. I might try the app just so I can see u.s. prices. although I'm still able to calculate 10% in my head.

 

as our dollar drops, it would be nice to see what the u.s price is...or I can call princess.

 

with a Canadian address, I don't think there would be any 'awkward' questions.

[Coral]

I would contact a TA in the US. You will save money off of Princess's US site if you have a discount TA and Travel Agents give the same OBC as Princess (plus possible additional benefits).

 

Travel agents won't care if you have the Canadian address.

[TOMCAT22]

I would contact a TA in the US. You will save money off of Princess's US site if you have a discount TA and Travel Agents give the same OBC as Princess (plus possible additional benefits).

 

Travel agents won't care if you have the Canadian address.

 

Thanks for the reply but I have looked at several TA's including a couple I normally use but they are not offering the generous OBC that Princess are which is why I wanted to book via Princess.

 

I know it's really unusual for the cruise line to be cheaper than a TA but it seems to be the case in this instance....strange..:)

[Corfe Mixture]

Very difficult to do. I am booked on a cruise this Christmas and am arriving in the US one week early. I asked Princess UK to put a note on my cruise booking to call me if another cruise, which sails a week earlier and which was being heavily discounted in the US became available at discounted prices to UK residents.

 

A couple of weeks ago I crossed to France on Brittany Ferries and they offer complimentary internet access on the ferries, which if you go to the princess website takes you to the US site, but I didn't try to make a booking.

 

Yesterday had a very nice phone call from gentleman in Princess at Southampton who had access to the note on my Christmas booking and tried to help, but without success. He advised me that the UK price will not be discounted, as they would not get many takers because the air price would stop people from taking it up. I pointed out that they were effectively turning away a willing client.

 

He agreed that didn't make sense for clients like myself who were simply arriving early for another cruise but was 100% sure that I would not see the UK on line price coming down below £549 even though the US prices are already below $500 and the ship is still less than 20% booked. They couldn't even offer a partial solution by selling one category and giving me a guaranteed upgrade.

 

He confirmed that US travel agents, Zone A, are instructed not to take bookings from UK citizens who are in Zone B, unless they are established clients, for a number of reasons, including the fact that, as a company which also operates in the UK, the lack of ABTA cover for UK clients booking through the US could be a legal minefield.

 

He did however try to help and suggested an unofficial route to access US prices via an on line TA, but that didn't work because I encountered a pull down menu for citizenship where USA and Canada were the only options.

 

Called him back and he didn't have any other suggestions other than to point out that if I had friends or relatives in the US, I could use their address and, unofficially, he was sure it wouldn't cause any problems at check in as checking home address is genuine is not something which they do at check in.

 

I have given up trying and am now planing to go down to Key West.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Corfe Mixture

[Coral]

Thanks for the reply but I have looked at several TA's including a couple I normally use but they are not offering the generous OBC that Princess are which is why I wanted to book via Princess.

 

I know it's really unusual for the cruise line to be cheaper than a TA but it seems to be the case in this instance....strange..:)

 

I doubt that is the case. I am guessing that the TAs are not checking your Captain Circle number, etc... There is a contract between TAs and Princess that Princess will not undercut them. So the TAs you are checking with are probably just quoting a price and not checking your Capt Circle number (or you are not providing them yours) for the best price which is what Princess does when you login.

[geocruiser]

Clear your cookies out of the computer. That might help. If you log in to Princess your address might be link to your log in. Change your address to your Canadian address in your Princess account. Then try again.

[Putterdude]

Obviously Tomcat22 is a seasoned cruiser and knows his way around, however something does seem to be amiss here. I know with a Canadian address a Canadian TA would have no trouble booking him.

[Coral]

Obviously Tomcat22 is a seasoned cruiser and knows his way around, however something does seem to be amiss here. I know with a Canadian address a Canadian TA would have no trouble booking him.

 

Princess will not undercut agents. They would revolt. It would be ugly.

[TOMCAT22]

Obviously Tomcat22 is a seasoned cruiser and knows his way around, however something does seem to be amiss here. I know with a Canadian address a Canadian TA would have no trouble booking him.

 

Looking at my post I don't think I have made myself clear,I have a valid Canadian address but I am not a Canadian resident or citizen.

 

One of the other posters suggested a proxy switcher program which is for Android but I have found a similar program called Netshade for IOS which enables me to access Princess USA site so I will try a booking over the weekend.

 

Really can't understand Princess's logic in massively different prices between countries.I want to cruise on Princess and will be spending lots of money onboard and will be buying a balcony or above normally.In addition I am a solo cruiser so will be paying double the price but only consuming 1 lot of food etc so it's win win for Princess as far as I can see!!

[O2Bcrusin]

Tomcat, More info please. What sailing are you referring to? I do agree with Coral. TA's get the same obc that Princess offers and sometimes more if they have a group sailing with extra amenities. Never would they get less. Call Princess and ask. Perhaps they can clarify for you.

 

 

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[kenzie]

I have done exactly what you are wanting to achieve, I booked through my established American TA and they obtained the $200OBC plus gave me an additional OBC from them. As long as you have an established relationship with a TA they should take your booking. Any booking with Princess with obtain the current Offer (did it just last week).

Good Luck, it is a real shame we have to go to such lengths to obtain fair passenger rates!

[maz48]

Kenzie, once you actually have your booking, can Princess cancel if they find out you are from the UK? Or are there any other problems that could happen along the way?

[antsp]

I am in the UK and have booked all my Princess cruises through us agents never had a problem, but I always use a usa address

[maz48]

Do you own a house over there or ask a friend if you can use their address? Sorry if that is asking too much, just don't answer if so. We have lots of US friends but no address we can call our own sadly;) My husband so wants to try booking the USA way and I get a bit worried about it.:rolleyes:

 

It really shouldn't have to be that we need to try this to get better prices.

[hawkeyetlse]

Kenzie, once you actually have your booking, can Princess cancel if they find out you are from the UK? Or are there any other problems that could happen along the way?

The contract allows them to cancel for any reason at all, and I have heard of some lines cracking down (or threatening to crack down) on bookings with bogus addresses. If you are taking a cruise in the US, they will find out eventually, because they will want to see your green card at check-in (since you supposedly reside in the US). At that point you can simply say, oh no, my permanent address is bla-bla-bla, outside the US, and I'm here on a tourist visa. There's not much they can do about it then and there (I doubt you will be denied boarding or that they will recalculate your fare), but they may flag the discrepancy and take a closer look at you the next time you try to book a fare reserved for US/Can residents.

 

I think they would first go after TAs that take such bookings, since they are bigger targets and bound by additional contractual terms.

Edited September 22, 2014 by hawkeyetlse

[Mrs Moho]

The contract allows them to cancel for any reason at all, and I have heard of some lines cracking down (or threatening to crack down) on bookings with bogus addresses. If you are taking a cruise in the US, they will find out eventually, because they will want to see your green card at check-in (since you supposedly reside in the US). At that point you can simply say, oh no, my permanent address is bla-bla-bla, outside the US, and I'm here on a tourist visa. There's not much they can do about it then and there (I doubt you will be denied boarding or that they will recalculate your fare), but they may flag the discrepancy and take a closer look at you the next time you try to book a fare reserved for US/Can residents.

 

I think they would first go after TAs that take such bookings, since they are bigger targets and bound by additional contractual terms.

 

With the greatest of respect but why should it be reserved for US/Can residents only?

 

I know this is a topic that has been been brought up time after time but if Princess 'played fair' with ALL their customers I'm sure there would not be endless phone calls to ask why we can't have the same rates. I rang to ask why the cruise I was about to book, was being offered on the US site as pay one fare and get 2nd passenger fare half price. I was told quite sternly, that Princess UK operates completely different from Princess US and couldn't compete with them, bearing in mind our 1 fare was the price of the 1 and half price combined. Yet they're all under the Carnival umbrella and we all travel on the same ship

 

Someone has just put on our roll call that the cruise is selling for $199 and OBC, I looked on Princess and the same cruise was selling for £413 around $700 and no OBC. Then they wonder why there is so much bad feeling.

 

I wonder what would happen if we were in the US on holiday and saw a cruise that we wanted to go on, what price would we be charged. :rolleyes:

Edited September 22, 2014 by Mrs Moho

[antsp]

Do you own a house over there or ask a friend if you can use their address? Sorry if that is asking too much, just don't answer if so. We have lots of US friends but no address we can call our own sadly;) My husband so wants to try booking the USA way and I get a bit worried about it.:rolleyes:

 

It really shouldn't have to be that we need to try this to get better prices.

 

Just use a aunts address There never any trouble don't listen to the scare stories on cc. You don't need a green card or anything to have a us address, it could be your holiday home.

[Ethel5]

Why is it that those from the UK insist on paying USA prices? When I go to the UK, I don't insist on paying US prices for gas, hotels etc. Trying to beat the system is shady at best, if not outright illegal.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Ethel5

[RDC1]

With the greatest of respect but why should it be reserved for US/Can residents only?

 

I know this is a topic that has been been brought up time after time but if Princess 'played fair' with ALL their customers I'm sure there would not be endless phone calls to ask why we can't have the same rates. I rang to ask why the cruise I was about to book, was being offered on the US site as pay one fare and get 2nd passenger fare half price. I was told quite sternly, that Princess UK operates completely different from Princess US and couldn't compete with them, bearing in mind our 1 fare was the price of the 1 and half price combined. Yet they're all under the Carnival umbrella and we all travel on the same ship

 

Someone has just put on our roll call that the cruise is selling for $199 and OBC, I looked on Princess and the same cruise was selling for £413 around $700 and no OBC. Then they wonder why there is so much bad feeling.

 

I wonder what would happen if we were in the US on holiday and saw a cruise that we wanted to go on, what price would we be charged. :rolleyes:

 

Since cruise lines have a presence in different countries (i.e. a corporate presence) which is bound by different regulations, tax structures, currency, etc. It makes sense that there are different pricing structures.

 

Pricing structures are designed to yield equivalent revenue at the back end, after all of the differences in costs and risks are accounted for. Note that I used the word risks. This means having to allow for currency changes, cancellation risks, etc.

 

There is also a competitive aspect to a pricing model. That means how it is priced compared to other alternatives. The last time I was in the UK for example, the cost of things were higher than in the US by a factor equivalent to the exchange rate between dollar and pound. An item that cost 1 dollar in the US cost 1 pound in the UK (about 60 -65% higher. This was pretty much across the board. So if one was including competition (land vacations for example) the pricing model would indicate higher prices as well. Now this could apply to items sold through that national entity such as Princess UK vs Princess US, it could also apply to cruises conducted in that market to reflect higher local costs and competition with land based vacations.

 

Now the cruise lines set the rules based upon the contracts with various entities and regulations. If they didn't try and force you through the national entity then they would probably be in violation of some contract or regulation. If you do go through that entity then you run into how the pricing models are constructed based upon costs, risks and competition. If you find away around it, then you are no longer covered under any protections that your country might require/provide that the local entity must abide by.

Edited September 22, 2014 by RDC1

[pablo222]

With the greatest of respect but why should it be reserved for US/Can residents only?

 

Even within the US, there might be a regional fare that is only

available to residents of specific states.