"Come Back New" promo - how good?

[5Stringer]

As a long-time Celebrity Cruiser I'm looking at my first Caribbean cruise next February with Princess.

I'm used to the perks with X (1,2,3 promo etc) with pre-paid gratuities, beverage package ... and was wondering how this "Come Back New" promo looks for you seasoned Princess cruisers.

Is this a pretty decent promo compared to past Princess offerings?

Another question, the OBC looks appealing- can it be applied to paying the gratuities?

Thanks,

[Musky Ike]

As a long-time Celebrity Cruiser I'm looking at my first Caribbean cruise next February with Princess.

I'm used to the perks with X (1,2,3 promo etc) with pre-paid gratuities, beverage package ... and was wondering how this "Come Back New" promo looks for you seasoned Princess cruisers.

Is this a pretty decent promo compared to past Princess offerings?

Another question, the OBC looks appealing- can it be applied to paying the gratuities?

Thanks,

 

Not much of a sale in my opinion, but yes, if past experience holds OBC would be on your shipboard account and apply against the auto gratuity.

[JF - retired RRT]

On Princess anything that is applied to your on board account (gratuities, drinks, specialty restaurant, excursions, etc.) is subtracted from your OBC until you run out of OBC:(, then it is charged to your credit card.

 

Don't forget...if you have any veterans in your cabin, send in a copy of the DD214 (or whatever you get in Canada, just noticed where you are from) and get refundable OBC. A great program from Princess.:D

Edited March 18, 2016 by JF - retired RRT

[greenie082756]

I was wondering if the FCC credits are used would we get the extra credits when we use them?

 

This is what I read on the promotion:

Offer is not transferable and may not be combinable with other select offers or other onboard credits.

 

So, I'm hoping since this is a 15 day cruise (Hawaii), we should get my DH's military benefit, stock credit,our FCC for each of us and $300 from the "Come back new" offer. Am I dreaming??

 

Thanks for any responses. :)

Edited March 18, 2016 by greenie082756

[anthonyy7]

yes, you can stack up the OBC (FCC, Military, promo OBC) and you can use OBC for anything while on board. If you want to compare X to Princess, first compare the cruise fare then the perks.

[nukesubsailor]

I was wondering if the FCC credits are used would we get the extra credits when we use them?

 

This is what I read on the promotion:

Offer is not transferable and may not be combinable with other select offers or other onboard credits.

 

So, I'm hoping since this is a 15 day cruise (Hawaii), we should get my DH's military benefit, our FCC for each of us and $300 from the "Come back new" offer. Am I dreaming??

 

Thanks for any responses. :)

 

It has been my experience that the Military Benefit, Shareholder, and Future Cruise onboard credits are always honored even if you get additional credit from a sales promotion. What they mean about "may not be combinable" pertains to one sales promotion being combined with another sales promotions.

[shepp]

On Princess anything that is applied to your on board account (gratuities, drinks, specialty restaurant, excursions, etc.) is subtracted from your OBC until you run out of OBC:(, then it is charged to your credit card.

 

Just to be accurate, though, you can't burn off casino charges to promotional OBCs. At least that's what I've been told, having never tried it.

 

In the old days, you could actually get refunds on excess OBCs in your account. Now it's Use Them or Lose Them and the casino dealie closes off a much-beloved loophole.

Edited March 18, 2016 by shepp

[shepp]

Whoopsie. Dupe.

Edited March 18, 2016 by shepp

[whatcruiseisnext]

Just yesterday stacked several different kinds of OBC's on a 14 day cruise we booked for an OBC total for the 2 of us of $1185. Very happy!

Edited March 18, 2016 by whatcruiseisnext

[greenie082756]

Thanks for the answers!! Looks like if we take the Come back New offer we would have $950 OBC. That's pretty good.

 

Now I've got to figure out if I want to wait for the promotion to be over and book about 2 months before sailing to hopefully save about $600 on the fare.

 

However, doing that there is a good chance of not getting a decent cabin..

 

Decisions, decisions. :confused:

[deise17311]

As a long-time Celebrity Cruiser I'm looking at my first Caribbean cruise next February with Princess.

I'm used to the perks with X (1,2,3 promo etc) with pre-paid gratuities, beverage package ... and was wondering how this "Come Back New" promo looks for you seasoned Princess cruisers.

Is this a pretty decent promo compared to past Princess offerings?

Another question, the OBC looks appealing- can it be applied to paying the gratuities?

Thanks,

 

I'm also Elite on Celebrity - outside agents can discount (on Princess) on top of the sale - find a good online agency and they will provide lots of perks for you on top of the sale - I usually save upwards of 14%...

[riclop]

As a long-time Celebrity Cruiser I'm looking at my first Caribbean cruise next February with Princess.

I'm used to the perks with X (1,2,3 promo etc) with pre-paid gratuities, beverage package ... and was wondering how this "Come Back New" promo looks for you seasoned Princess cruisers.

Is this a pretty decent promo compared to past Princess offerings?

Another question, the OBC looks appealing- can it be applied to paying the gratuities?

Thanks,

 

Yes you can pay your grats.

[caribill]

Not much of a sale in my opinion.

 

Princess (as well as RCCL and other cruise lines) is trying to maintain pricing and thus entices people to book with different included amenities while not lowering significantly the basic price for the cruise.

 

So the value of the sale depends on how much the amenities are worth to you. At various times promotions have involved one or more of the following:

o free gratuities

o free AIBP

o free specialty dining one evening

o extra OBC

o free upgrades within a cabin type

o reduced airfare with EZAir

 

So you need to look at the value of the offered amenities and decide if those are amenities you would like and what they are worth as they effectively lower the cost of the cruise.

 

If, for example, the offer is a free AIBP, it is not worth much to someone who would never purchase that on a ship and that person would probably want to wait for a better "sale" which had amenities included that he/she would like.

[easyboy]

Another question, the OBC looks appealing- can it be applied to paying the gratuities?

Thanks,

Yes.

[5Stringer]

Thanks everyone. I did find I was able to stack a few OBC's for what I feel is pretty reasonable. Thanks for your input.

[4cats4me]

As a long-time Celebrity Cruiser I'm looking at my first Caribbean cruise next February with Princess.

 

I'm used to the perks with X (1,2,3 promo etc) with pre-paid gratuities, beverage package ... and was wondering how this "Come Back New" promo looks for you seasoned Princess cruisers.

 

Is this a pretty decent promo compared to past Princess offerings?

 

Another question, the OBC looks appealing- can it be applied to paying the gratuities?

 

Thanks,

 

 

Celebrity is my other favorite cruiseline, but since the advent of 1,2,3 and the huge price increases, we returned to Princess a couple years ago. The short answer to your question for a cruise next fe /Mar is yes, it is a fair deal. For comparison, I will share with you pricing

Last year we booked the regal for a March cruise one month in advance Guarantee obstructed view balcony, upgraded (free) to deluxe balcony. Cost: approx $900 pp, including taxes. No onboard credits

 

Booked Regal for this year 5 months in advance : deluxe balcony guarantee total $999 pp, $75 OBC

 

Booked under the current Princess Promo for next March, Regal,

We chose our cabin, deluxe balcony, total $2,300 but we get $300 OBC, and most likely there will be a price drop, but if the price drops too low then the OBC also gets reduced.

 

In the end, it all comes out the same

 

we also book with Future Cruise Credits and get additional OBC which is not reflected above

 

 

 

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Edited March 20, 2016 by 4cats4me

[4cats4me]

I was wondering if the FCC credits are used would we get the extra credits when we use them?

 

 

 

This is what I read on the promotion:

 

Offer is not transferable and may not be combinable with other select offers or other onboard credits.

 

 

 

So, I'm hoping since this is a 15 day cruise (Hawaii), we should get my DH's military benefit, stock credit,our FCC for each of us and $300 from the "Come back new" offer. Am I dreaming??

 

 

 

Thanks for any responses. :)

 

 

We booked one during the twice as nice sale a couple weeks ago and stacked their OBC with our FCC credit for a total of $500 OBC for a 10-day MEXICO

My friend booked the Hawaii 14-day under the promo and got all the offered OBC as well as another $200 OBC for veterans.

 

 

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