AIBP promotion

[lbfluffy]

When we booked several months ago we got the free beverage package and pre paid gratuities. I have not seen an offer for the free drink package since. How often do they offer that? Thanks.

[Pam in CA]

They offer it with special promotions. I don't know of a current promotion offering these amenities. There's no set schedule for promotions but when there are, they could be very different. Keep in mind that when they do offer promotions with either the AIBP or pre-paid gratuities, or both, these promotions are based on availability and are not for all categories on every sailing. They are often for just a few sailings and even then, some categories.

 

Best bet is to have your TA alert you of an upcoming promotion. Sometimes, TAs offer promotions not available if you book directly with Princess.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Pam in CA

[Working 2 Cruise]

As previously stated on a previous thread, the odds of this particular promotion happening before your cruise are extremely low.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Working 2 Cruise

[crows nest club]

We have one in the UK at the moment for next year's cruises from Southampton. This is for bookings made before 31May 2016. Howrver, the current prices are at least £700 p.p higher than we have paid for this year. We did notice that the same has happened before so really for us it is best to wait and see for price drops. We could never drink the amountil of alcohol to make the AIBP worthwhile .

[lbfluffy]

My husband likes the idea of the AIBP especially on our 10 day Alaska cruise. It's our 30th wedding anniversary and I know he finds it a great deal. I personally would rather just buy him the package for one, but he's hoping I'll let lose and have a few with him. This is our big splurge cruise. I was hoping to find this package again for a Panama cruise.

[floridalover5623]

I've been keeping track of the cruise with these so-called freebies & if you compare the prices with & without them you'll see that they're usually a gimmick to get people to book thinking they're getting something extra.

Whenever I see these deals I check with my TA and find that they can provide the same cruise with these freebies or the same trip for a lower price.

Which do you prefer?

I always take the cash and buy whatever I want.

[cynbar]

I've been keeping track of the cruise with these so-called freebies & if you compare the prices with & without them you'll see that they're usually a gimmick to get people to book thinking they're getting something extra.

Whenever I see these deals I check with my TA and find that they can provide the same cruise with these freebies or the same trip for a lower price.

Which do you prefer?

I always take the cash and buy whatever I want.

 

Not always. We booked our upcoming British Isles cruise way back in September with the AIBP promo, price was competitive and went up quite a bit in the months after the promo ended. But, don't forget that a good deal is in the eye of the beholder. Cruise prices are all over the place and often hard to understand. If you think you got a good deal, you did. Plus, the AIBP is worth more to some cruisers than others. If you drink a few cocktails plus specialty coffees, soft drinks, bottled water and so on, then it's worth getting. Plus, there is a nice luxury associated with having no slips to sign, and being able to try things you might not otherwise order.

[mmckm]

I've been keeping track of the cruise with these so-called freebies & if you compare the prices with & without them you'll see that they're usually a gimmick to get people to book thinking they're getting something extra.

Whenever I see these deals I check with my TA and find that they can provide the same cruise with these freebies or the same trip for a lower price.

Which do you prefer?

I always take the cash and buy whatever I want.

 

Nothing is really free. Your paying for it somehow. It seems the base cruise fare on these promotions is higher. Also like was said previous that its limited. I checked out some cruises when they had the promotion on and couldn't get it because it was not offered on the cruises i was looking at. The cruises I was looking at were cheaper though and it was cheaper to buy the package then get it for free on a comparison between the 2 prices. Celebrity does offer a package or you get it with a suite. I have never cruised them but found their prices are higher for a similar cruise and buying the package ended up cheaper on Princess.

[Pam in CA]

Nothing is really free. Your paying for it somehow. It seems the base cruise fare on these promotions is higher. Also like was said previous that its limited. I checked out some cruises when they had the promotion on and couldn't get it because it was not offered on the cruises i was looking at. The cruises I was looking at were cheaper though and it was cheaper to buy the package then get it for free on a comparison between the 2 prices.

Always follow the money. Decades ago, a boss had a big sign in his office: "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Absolutely true. Even if there's a promotion with the AIBP for your cruise, chances are it's for X number of cabins and X number of categories. It won't be offered to every passenger. In other words, you still may not be able to get it.

[Tedferg]

Last Oct we were on Grand Med cruise - we had $200 OBC and one free specialty dining per couple. Princess offered AIBP we rebooked and lost OBC and Specialty restaurant = $300. Fare went DOWN $100 plus we got AIBP ~ $1300. That was an easy decision :)

[cruisequeen4ever]

Though Celebrity offers it almost all the time, it's very rare for Princess. I only remember it being offered once to Americans. I think it would be awesome but not if the cruise price is raised to offset the promo of the AIBP.

 

 

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[Tedferg]

Last Oct we were on Grand Med cruise - we had $200 OBC and one free specialty dining per couple. Princess offered AIBP we rebooked and lost OBC and Specialty restaurant = $300. Fare went DOWN $100 plus we got AIBP ~ $1300. That was an easy decision :)

 

Loss of OBC plus Specialty was $250 not $300 - we were better off than I realized :D

[cruiser113]

We have the beverage package on our 14 day cruise in November ...I have followed the cruise prices and they have been more than what we booked for balcony thus far and the current offer with on board credit is still $300 more p/p to get the same in OBC...thnk we have a great deal

[jawhoffman]

Princess did well by me. The day after I booked an Alaska cruise last summer for May 2016, a new promotion started that offered the AIBP. I called Princess and explained the situation. They checked, said I qualified for it and added AIBP to my cruise personalizer. I did not have to rebook nor pay a higher fare. Needless to say I was happy!! I'm excited to have it when we set sail in a couple of months!

[easyboy]

Whenever I see these deals I check with my TA and find that they can provide the same cruise with these freebies or the same trip for a lower price.

Which do you prefer?

I always take the cash and buy whatever I want.

Same here.

[Sonoran_cruiser]

To the best of my knowledge (and for the US market), Princess has only had a "free beverage package" deal once in the last 2 years, and that offer only ran for 2 weeks and had capacity limitations.

 

Phrased another way - Princess isn't exactly generous with giving promotions to their clients. (ie - has anyone exactly found their "free coupon booklet" to be useful?)

[lbfluffy]

What I liked about this plan was that it included the gratuities on the alcohol. When checking the freebie package on NCL they charge an additional 15 percentage to the cruise. Now I'm sure we will give tips in cash sometimes, but I felt NCL was not near as generous. Of course NCL has the free drink package quite a bit.