Why doesn't Princess just do this?

[Bruin Steve]

Okay...here's the scenario:

 

We're on the Golden Princess just prior to Thanksgiving...It's just a 3 night LA to Ensenada and back cruise.

Last year, we took the same, exact cruise...

Last year, the cruise completely sold out EXCEPT for a number of Suites...

We noticed, when on the ship , that these remained unoccupied (our cabin last year was very near the midship run of suites on the Caribe deck...and they had no name tags on the door and we never saw anyone go in or out...

 

This year, with a little over three weeks to go before the cruise, ALL cabins are apparently booked--with the exception of 25 Suites. I've been monitoring the bookings all along and, for most of the past several months, the number of suites available held steady around 30 while the other categories steadily sold out...

 

About a week ago, it was reported on our roll call that Princess started offering "upsells" to suites with some people booked in minisuites...and a couple of folks took those upsells...and, correspondingly, we noticed the number of available suites go down slightly to 25 while a couple of minisuites and balconies appeared as again available, then quickly got snatched up...

 

This process seems to have again stalled a bit...and the available suites has again plateaued at 25...I'm guessing that, no matter how nice a suite may be, it's a little hard to get someone to pay well over $2,000 for a three night cruise just to have a larger cabin and a butler...

 

Maybe they're going to keep trying the upsells--where they offer folks in minisuites the opportunity to move up to suites for an extra $400 or so...but, it's apparently not working all that well...and certainly didn't last year...

 

OTOH, it seems they might not have anywhere close to that much trouble selling balconies or minisuites for this one. They do show, at first glance, minisuites and balconies available...but, when trying to choose a cabin, they show only one area of the ship for each, and then, only "cabin will be assigned at sailing"...

 

I am guessing that the marketing plan is that if they can book some balconies or minisuites at this point, they can always upgrade someone to one of the open suites to make room for the assignment...maybe they are even thinking some potential passenger will assume that, if they book this unassigned cabin now that THEY will get the upgrade since no balconies or minisuites are currently available...

 

And, I guess, they are still HOPING that some people will just go ahead and book the suites at full price.

 

But, if it works out like last year, those suites may just go unbooked...Suites and unknown cabins are a harder sell than offering someone a discernable balcony or minisuite...

 

And, of course, Princess is better off filling all these cabins rather than letting any, even suites, go unbooked at sailing. Filled cabins mean more revenue for the bars, the shore excursions, more tips for the crew, more sales in the gift shops, revenue in the casino, etc.

 

So, as they get so very close to sail date, why don't they just do this?

 

Take a look at your passenger list and find the most frequent customers currently booked into those minisuites and balconies and just UPGRADE them into those suites? Maybe hold 2-5 of them for sale until the last few days...but you're not going to sell 25 of them in the final three weeks...

 

Then, that would open up maybe about 20 balcony and minisuites for sale to the general public at very reasonable prices. My theory is that there are a lot of folks out there who don't want to book anything until just before...that never plan more than a couple of weeks ahead...and that are just turned off when they see prices of $1,059 plus $65 in fees per person for a three night getaway...

 

What would have happened is that you would make some of your most loyal customers feel very appreciated...and...you would fill up the entre ship...foregoing those suite price premiums, but getting all of the collateral income from casino, bars, shorexes, tips, shops, specialty restaurants that comes with an extra 20-25 bookings...

 

What do you guys think?

[Pam in CA]

Princess wasn't able to even literally give away these short cruises last year and it seems as though that's still the case. Full suites rarely go on sale. Yield Management tends to upgrade passengers and then sell the lower categories.

[shredie]

I got one of those upsell to suite offers on my recent balcony on the Golden for one of the short cruises. I liked my balcony, so I didn't take them up on it. On the sailing itself then there seemed to be full suites on my deck (Caribe.) I agree that if suites are going empty, they could improve the situation by upgrading and reselling the lower categories.

[lovevacadays]

I got one of those upsell to suite offers on my recent balcony on the Golden for one of the short cruises. I liked my balcony, so I didn't take them up on it. On the sailing itself then there seemed to be full suites on my deck (Caribe.) I agree that if suites are going empty, they could improve the situation by upgrading and reselling the lower categories.

 

Do you mind sharing what the upsell price was?

[atdahop]

Do you mind sharing what the upsell price was?

 

Shredie....We were on the same Golden cruise in October. We got the upsale offer. It was $199 per person. We did not take it. There is no dinner first night for the specialty restaurants and I did not think that the 3 breakfasts in Sabatinis was worth the difference in price. We stayed with our mini. On a longer cruise I probably would have taken the upsale.

[Loonbeam]

There's a marketing concept called 'expectation setting for perceived value'. The idea is that if you continually discount or give something away, people come to expect it at that rate and thus it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

If people know by waiting they can get a decent chance at suites at mini-suite pricing, the default behavior becomes to book a mini and hope, as opposed to booking the suite. This throws off yield management. Instead, upsells maintain the illusion of added value.

 

Sometimes it makes sense to sail with a suite empty in order to maintain the price point on other voyages.

[fishywood]

Why doesn't Princess just do this? Because more than enough of us are willing to pay for the upsell!

 

Two years ago we booked Grand Princess on a last minute deal inside guarantee--we would have booked oceanview guarantee but they were sold out on this promo by the time I called. A few days later I get an e-mail offering upsell to a BA balcony guarantee for exactly half the difference in price it was going for the day I booked. After talking it over with my cabinmate we decided to pass. As soon as the window for the offer expired we get our cabin assignment--inside cabin of course.

 

So will I more strongly consider any upsell offer once I book my next cruise? Absolutely--no more sitting around waiting for the upgrade wizard now that Princess has me (and the rest of us) programmed to leap at that upsell witch.

Edited October 30, 2014 by fishywood

[mysaddlebred000]

We have been on numerous cruises where ph suites around us were empty. Haven't really noticed when we were in aft suites since they aren't right next to each other.

[nukesubsailor]

"This process seems to have again stalled a bit...and the available suites has again plateaued at 25...I'm guessing that, no matter how nice a suite may be, it's a little hard to get someone to pay well over $2,000 for a three night cruise just to have a larger cabin and a butler..."

 

I have sailed in a full suite on 6 different ships. I would like to know where my butler was as I never saw him or her on any of those cruises. The Princess website page that lists the perks of a full suite do not mention a butler. Have I missed something???

[taxatty]

"This process seems to have again stalled a bit...and the available suites has again plateaued at 25...I'm guessing that, no matter how nice a suite may be, it's a little hard to get someone to pay well over $2,000 for a three night cruise just to have a larger cabin and a butler..."

 

I have sailed in a full suite on 6 different ships. I would like to know where my butler was as I never saw him or her on any of those cruises. The Princess website page that lists the perks of a full suite do not mention a butler. Have I missed something???

No butlers here.

[cb at sea]

If you want a suite...book it!

[Bruin Steve]

Why doesn't Princess just do this? Because more than enough of us are willing to pay for the upsell!

 

Two years ago we booked Grand Princess on a last minute deal inside guarantee--we would have booked oceanview guarantee but they were sold out on this promo by the time I called. A few days later I get an e-mail offering upsell to a BA balcony guarantee for exactly half the difference in price it was going for the day I booked. After talking it over with my cabinmate we decided to pass. As soon as the window for the offer expired we get our cabin assignment--inside cabin of course.

 

So will I more strongly consider any upsell offer once I book my next cruise? Absolutely--no more sitting around waiting for the upgrade wizard now that Princess has me (and the rest of us) programmed to leap at that upsell witch.

 

But...what we saw last year--same cruise--and are now seeing this year is that people aren't willing to pay for the upsell.

 

We are not talking about people dreaming of getting upgraded to a suite on inside prices. Balconies are all sold...the inside and OVs aren't getting upgraded anywhere...

 

We're talking about folks in Minisuites on a three night cruise. Even paying a few hundred dollars extra to move from a minisuite to a full suite for three nights isn't enough of a deal to close the upsell. If it were a 14 night Med cruise, totally different story. But, three nights to Ensenada and back, we're using our cabin mostly to sleep and change clothes. Heck, I might have even gone with an inside on this one if the price differentials moving up weren't so minimal. It's just the price differential suite to minisuite was around $700 per person. They offer an upsell at half or even a quarter of this and it's still a hard sell.

 

I've cruised in suites before, so, it's not like I'm going to jump at it just to have the experience. At the prices these have been going for, I can book another one for less than the price of the upsell.

 

And I'm not suggesting Princess hand these out randomly to make everyone expect it as standard. Just throw them in the direction of their most loyal customers.

 

I've been on over 35 cruises and I've learned to never book a low category cabin and expect an upgrade. If you want a balcony, book a balcony...if you want a suite, book a suite. If you EVER get lucky and get an upgrade, consider it as having won the Lotto...you just got very lucky. If I ever get that lucky, I'm still not going to start booking lower categories and expecting major upgrades...

[searoses]

Ncl.....butlers.....highly over rated....

[Bruin Steve]

No butlers here.

 

Sorry...I get confused at times...I've cruised on seven different cruise lines...we've had butlers for our suites on Celebrity and on Oceania...Heck, on Oceania, when we cruised in an Oceania a Suite on Marina, we had a butler and an assistant butler.

 

Not even having a butler makes the upsell even LESS of a deal!

[fishywood]

It is absolutely true that the upsell has less value and incentive on a shorter cruise. Thus it makes even less business sense for Princess to expend the full complement of suite benefits when (as you propose) 75% of the suite passengers would be the beneficiaries of free upgrades--no matter how deserving they may be. And on those short getaways, an even higher percentage of passengers than usual are last minute bookers at steep discounts--or now taking advantage of the 100% FCC they received from last year's promotion.

 

I guess when I reach the 35 cruise milestone I'll suddenly change from "if you want a suite, book a suite" to "why doesn't Princess just [upgrade everyone for free]" as well. 'Till then...

Edited October 30, 2014 by fishywood

[Bruin Steve]

I guess when I reach the 35 cruise milestone I'll suddenly change from "if you want a suite, book a suite" to "why doesn't Princess just [upgrade everyone for free]" as well. 'Till then...

 

Again, NOT suggesting they just "upgrade EVERYONE for free"...

Just suggesting they fill those final 25 empty cabins by upgrading a very few loyal customers to free up 25 more marketable cabins in order to boost the overall revenue on the cruise...

 

I'm not even asking for an upgrade myself...My cabin booking is marked "NO UPGRADES"...I booked the cabin(s) I want and I am happy. And, though I have cruised a lot, most is on lines other than Princess. I still book the cabin I want.

 

I am only suggesting they upgrade a very few people just to fill the last remaining cabins. My belief is that it is good PR with the best customers while opening up some opportunity for, possibly, some new customers at a more entry level position...and adding collateral revenue.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

 

I've noticed many apparently unsold suites on some of my cruises, too. I've wondered if it is like empty prime seats at concerts and ball games--they are sometimes held open in case any VIPs and their entourages decide to attend at the last minute. Perhaps the cruise lines would prefer to hold these open for execs/VIPs rather than upgrade paying pax?

[shredie]

Shredie....We were on the same Golden cruise in October. We got the upsale offer. It was $199 per person. We did not take it. There is no dinner first night for the specialty restaurants and I did not think that the 3 breakfasts in Sabatinis was worth the difference in price. We stayed with our mini. On a longer cruise I probably would have taken the upsale.

 

I think that's what it was for our 4-day. I didn't want to give up my aft balcony on Caribe, so we said no.

[Loonbeam]

Use frequent fliers for an example. How many of them do you see demanding an upgrade because they are 'Chairman' or 'Platinum'. Once you start doing that people will come to expect it as their due...

 

Again, NOT suggesting they just "upgrade EVERYONE for free"...

Just suggesting they fill those final 25 empty cabins by upgrading a very few loyal customers to free up 25 more marketable cabins in order to boost the overall revenue on the cruise...

 

I'm not even asking for an upgrade myself...My cabin booking is marked "NO UPGRADES"...I booked the cabin(s) I want and I am happy. And, though I have cruised a lot, most is on lines other than Princess. I still book the cabin I want.

 

I am only suggesting they upgrade a very few people just to fill the last remaining cabins. My belief is that it is good PR with the best customers while opening up some opportunity for, possibly, some new customers at a more entry level position...and adding collateral revenue.

[pablo222]

I have sailed in a full suite on 6 different ships. I would like to know where my butler was as I never saw him or her on any of those cruises. The Princess website page that lists the perks of a full suite do not mention a butler. Have I missed something???

 

The only thing you are missing is a time machine.

 

You need to go back 10+ years to find a butler on Princess.

[Corfe Mixture]

As a paying suite passenger, I think I would be very unhappy to discover that we were the only couple in 25 to have paid for our suite. It is not a question of money but of value. Imagine going to a restaurant and sharing a table with someone who is paying less than half the price you pay for the same meal?

 

This Christmas we are going on Ocean and we are arriving a few days early. Knowing the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is heavily discounted we thought about taking a five day on Caribbean Princess and held back waiting for the prices to move. Sure enough they did, but only for US/Canadian customers. Balconies are now on offer, to US/Canadian citizens only at $349pp and mini-suites from $394pp. However, if I want to book the lowest grade of balcony cabin today, it will cost me £549pp ($875) with no OBC etc.

 

Most people on the cruise will be US/Canadian citizens and, as the cruise was very lightly booked, most will be getting these deals. As a result, my dinner companions, would almost certainly have paid less than half the price I would have paid and so, whilst I am happy for those people, , I did feel that I knowing I was paying twice what everyone else was paying for the same service would detract from my enjoyment of the cruise.

 

My solution was to decide against booking the cruise, rent a car and instead book a very nice hotel down in Key West.

 

I probably won't save much, if anything at all on the $1750 I would have had to have paid for the cruise, but I will not have to cope with the knowledge that I am paying twice the market rate.

 

And that is the point. - were Princess to offer vacant suites as upgrades for loyalty, and it became known that they do this, then they would establish a perceived market rate and they would, in all probability, find that those equally loyal clients who are currently prepared to pay the full price for a suite, would instead book the most expensive mini-suite and hope to be at the heads of the list of Elites offered an upgrade.

[maggie.1008]

Butlers on all Celebrity suites, even the smallest ones.

[Bruin Steve]

As a paying suite passenger, I think I would be very unhappy to discover that we were the only couple in 25 to have paid for our suite. It is not a question of money but of value. Imagine going to a restaurant and sharing a table with someone who is paying less than half the price you pay for the same meal?...

 

But the truth is that it happens all the time...Not only cruise fares, but airline fares, restaurants and more...

 

Cruise prices fluctuate all the time...

Plus they do give out special deals to certain classes of people...

Often repeat customers do get discounted rates...

Also "Seniors", military personnel, folks in the travel business...

There are often different prices depending on where you live...which may vary even state to state...

Some cruise lines "comp" cabins for heavy gamblers...

Everyone on your cruise is NOT paying the same price for the same category cabin...

Even those "upsells" discount the price to those offered the upsell...

 

Airlines aren't much different...

 

Many restaurants offer coupons or two-for-one deals...The folks at the next table may be getting their meal for half of what you are paying for yours...

 

Businesses have sales...sometimes you miss the sale and some other guy hits it and he pays much less for the same item...

 

Life isn't fair...

 

Business realities often require businesses to offer deals to some people...just in order to squeeze the most money out of their stock...

 

If you can't deal with that reality, you probably won't ever buy anything.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

But the truth is that it happens all the time...Not only cruise fares, but airline fares, restaurants and more...

 

You are so right! I try never to have the "what did you pay?" conversation, as no good generally comes of it ;).

 

I had been thinking to myself what a great deal I got on the Golden recently after final payment (a balcony for what insides had been selling for). Then, one day while waiting for the elevators, a fellow passenger blurted out that she got her cabin for free through some casino deal...

[Corfe Mixture]

But the truth is that it happens all the time...Not only cruise fares, but airline fares, restaurants

 

Business realities often require businesses to offer deals to some people...just in order to squeeze the most money out of their stock...

 

Absolutely, marginal revenue from a product which has a clear sell by date is a very important factor in profit management.

 

However, if one has to discount perhaps 90% of the 'units' available for sale, there is a high risk of losing the full price, high margin sales on the other 10%.

 

The key thing is the level of discounts. If you can generate additional revenue from upselling whilst alienating very few clients, then it is good business.

BUT

if, as was being suggested, they are given as free upgrades, as a reward for loyalty, then you only have to lose one full fare customer for it to become a bad business decision.

 

All businesses have defined and published loyalty programmes, the benefits of which are widely promulgated, but unnecessarily giving away lots of free upgrades to premium products, just because they have not been sold, is very different to offering them to additional clients at a last minute discounted price, and is not good marketing practice as it potentially undermines the sale of the premium product whilst offering no compensating revenue benefits.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Corfe Mixture