Do Transatlantic sailings ever go on sale?

[emeraldlake]

Looking to book Transatlantic in April 2017 but not included in current "Come Back New" sale. Do Transatlantic sailings ever have special promotions?

[riclop]

All cruises on Princess are VERY high.

[Astro Flyer]

After the first of the year & definitely after final payment each year I see great deals for April TA cruises.

 

Being retired we can wait for such great deals & would've booked one again this April but already had another cruise booked. The total per person cost (cruise fare, taxes/fees and roundtrip airfare from LAX to FLL and back from Europe) for a 14 day TA cruise in an inside cabin was under $1,300.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[baldercash]

I just checked and the April 22nd Trans Atlantic on Royal is $649 for an inside and $1,149 for a veranda.

An inside price on Regal is $559.00 and May 31st on Pacific has an inside at $1,599 down from $5,129 broucher price who would ever pay that original price for an inside no wonder it is on sale. A veranda is $2,499 down from $5,987 These are USD prices.

 

If you don't care on the cabin or the class it can be worth it to wait or have a TA who can get a better deal then the cruise lines price.

All cruise lines are mucking with pricing you just don't know if the high asking price at release will be a deal or to wait.

 

We booked an X Mardi Gras cruise for Feb 2017 out of FL three days in port of NOLA at dock during Fat Tuesday and I had a tough time convincing friends to buy in at the release.

Four couples got large aft cabins on the stern in Concierge class for $2,500pp with drink package, pre paid gratuities and $200.00 on board credit a year ago.

Two couples said they would wait for a better price we just had a get together the other night and an inside is $5,219pp CDN for an inside! The other couples will likely not be cruising as the ship is pretty much sold out and the price is making them gag.

 

A year ago I booked a RC TA from South Hampton to F.L. while on board it was pricey at the time for what I thought a TA should cost but apparently demand is high out of S.H.. Once home I transferred it to my TA who knocked off $1,000, down to a reasonable $1,400 for a balcony with some OB credit. Not expecting a drop on that one.

Edited April 3, 2016 by baldercash

[skynight]

Yes, they are included in promos, but it is just a little too soon for the April 2017 sailings. You have a few options. Wait and keep watching for a promo on the cruise you like, or book now to secure your cabin, and then re-book when the promo comes along.

[Jadn13]

Looking to book Transatlantic in April 2017 but not included in current "Come Back New" sale. Do Transatlantic sailings ever have special promotions?

 

They do go on sale!

You can always book and keep watching for a price drop and just call to get the new price (as long as it isn't for new bookings only)

We always book early to get our cabin choice and then just call to get the price drops when we see them.

[flamomo]

If you keep Future Cruise Credits in your account to serve as booking deposits, you can always go ahead and book a TA that appeals to you once they are offered, and then monitor the price frequently for decreases. If it doesn't happen before final payment, and you don't want to pay the fare you booked at because you feel it's too high, just cancel!! And you will not lose any $$.

 

Sometimes that plan pays off ... I have a TA from FLL to Southampton, coupled with British Isles cruise, coming up soon. When first booked our balcony cabin price was over $5000 apiece. Then there was a sale, and our fare went down by $800 each. I called Princess and get our booking re-fared at the lower price. Plus we got free gratuities thrown in!! Then Princess had an Air sale, and the flights back from London we had booked at a good price were reduced by over $200 per person!! So I went online on EZAIR and rebooked them at the lower price ...... same flights AND seats as the original ones I had booked.

[Keith1010]

They can go on sale but in the end like all other cruises it depends on how well they are selling.

 

Keith

[redtogo]

Looking to book Transatlantic in April 2017 but not included in current "Come Back New" sale. Do Transatlantic sailings ever have special promotions?

 

Transatlantic cruises go on sale, but price can change from one day to the next. We have a Transatlantic that stops in Bermuda before crossing the Atlantic. It is 18 days. We got it for $1,899 p/p for a balcony. Today, the price is up to $2,549.

 

Sometimes the price includes extra perks like specialty dining or shore excursion credit (Usually a $100 per person credit) is given. We always weigh the factors: add the added perks to the price we paid to see if it is truly a special and to see if we are paying for these extras in the cruise sale price. The few times that I have calculated it, the price is fairly much the same.

 

In our case, on this cruise that we have booked, having those perks, it would be $1899 + $25 (spec dining) + $100 (shore ex) + $300 for a "free" balcony upgrade = $2324 per person. So, it still is a good deal compared to the current $2,549 price.

 

This is just an example.

[Astro Flyer]

Booking early & waiting for price reductions is a good way to get a cabin of our choice. Waiting until after final payment may result in a less desirable cabin location however we have always been able to get a cabin in a more stable location to help with my wife's motion sickness tendency.

 

One consideration when booking during a sale is that sometimes the deposit is non refundable & non transferable. If using a $100 FCD the loss isn't that great but it would be with a standard larger deposit. It's just another factor we use when determining the best strategy for our cruise.

[FritzG]

We've already had one price drop for our Baltic/TA on the Regal in August/September, and we're watching the fares.

 

We usually take a westbound ta every fall, and I think we've had a price drop every time. We book fairly early.

 

Our best price drop was on the Ruby Eastbound TA in the spring of 2010. The economy was pretty bad that year, and we had 4 price drops. We sailed in a Baja BA balcony cabin for about $1000 per person.

[paul929207]

It will all depend on how the cruise is selling. If it is selling well, the only price change will be up.

 

At the investor conference call for Carnival Corp, the officers said that for the first quarter of 2016, booking are ahead of last year and at higher prices.

[LynnTTT]

We have been on 4 transatlantics, but not with Princess. Generally the prices do go down , sometimes drastically. I think the best time to book is usually about two months ahead.

However, we are going on a Princess TA, leaving this month. We booked it in mid-March (six weeks out) and I kept looking at it, expecting to see it go down. But it went up $100 the next week and now is almost $800 than when we booked it!

On Transatlantics, you can't be too fussy about specific cabins, decks etc if you want the best deals \The best thing is to look at several internet sites, check them daily and then jump when you think it's a good deal. We've paid as low as $499 for an inside going to or from Barcelona.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Transatlantic cruises go on sale, but price can change from one day to the next. We have a Transatlantic that stops in Bermuda before crossing the Atlantic. It is 18 days. We got it for $1,899 p/p for a balcony. Today, the price is up to $2,549.

 

Sometimes the price includes extra perks like specialty dining or shore excursion credit (Usually a $100 per person credit) is given. We always weigh the factors: add the added perks to the price we paid to see if it is truly a special and to see if we are paying for these extras in the cruise sale price. The few times that I have calculated it, the price is fairly much the same.

 

In our case, on this cruise that we have booked, having those perks, it would be $1899 + $25 (spec dining) + $100 (shore ex) + $300 for a "free" balcony upgrade = $2324 per person. So, it still is a good deal compared to the current $2,549 price.

 

This is just an example.

 

If this on the Caribbean Princess - Just checked the price and the ship starts in Houston and sails three days to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The price for an balcony cabin boarding in Houston (21 nights) is $750.00 pp cheaper than boarding in Ft. Lauderdale (18 nights). Not sure what the pricing rational they are using maybe Princess feels Houston is harder to get too???

 

Take care,

Vinnie

[kendon]

Last summer I paid $599/each for a NY to Southampton one way crossing, sheltered balcony on Cunard's QM2. Great price of course! We sailed in August and booked in early June.

[idahospud]

We are on the Emerald Princess right now, 14 night Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton. For an inside cabin we paid $508 each, includes taxes and port fees, and are getting $225 each onboard credit. (Part of that is from future cruise credit, other from Princess promotion.) We booked this cruise in February this year, less than two months out from the sailing date. So the answer is YES!

Edited April 6, 2016 by idahospud

[blkspy]

There will be a Mothers Day week sale which will include Transatlantic sailings. If you deposit now, you'll lock in a cabin.....then be positioned to take advantage of the coming sale. The deposit was only $100 per....not sure if it has gone up if you have no FCC's.

[caribill]

If this on the Caribbean Princess - Just checked the price and the ship starts in Houston and sails three days to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The price for an balcony cabin boarding in Houston (21 nights) is $750.00 pp cheaper than boarding in Ft. Lauderdale (18 nights). Not sure what the pricing rational they are using maybe Princess feels Houston is harder to get too???

 

 

Here is the logic behind that.

 

Price depends on supply and demand.

 

What you and I see as a single cruise with two embarkation options, Princess sees as two different cruises. (Actually, it is treated as four different cruises, as they also sell it combined with the following British Isles cruise, thus having a 33 day cruise from Houston and a 30 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale.)

 

Cabins were allocated for the trans-Atlantic segment among the four ways it could be purchased. If a cabin was allocated for Fort Lauderdale to Southampton on the 18 day itinerary, it was not available for purchase on any of the other three ways the TA is being sold.

 

In other words, a cabin available for FLL to Southampton cannot be sold for Houston to Southampton, even though it would be vacant on the way to FLL anyway.

 

So as the inventory for cabins allocated from FLL goes down, the price goes up. If a number of cabins are still available from Houston, the price from Houston will not go up and they cannot be sold from FLL no matter what the demand is from FLL.

 

Anyway, that is the explanation. Whether or not it is a good business practice is a different question.

 

By the way, this way of considering this as four different cruises for the TA on has other consequences.

 

Normally, if you and a friend want to have your traditional dining at the same table, you can have your booking numbers linked and you will be assigned to the same table.

 

However, since this is treated as four different cruises by Princess, if you board in Fort Lauderdale for the 30 day single booking including the BI segment, your booking number cannot be linked with a friend who booked from Fort Lauderdale for the 18 day segment.

 

The Princess computers consider this as different as if you were sailing on the Caribbean Princess and your friend was on the Emerald Princess.

Edited April 6, 2016 by caribill

[Times Prince]

Transatlantic cruises go on sale, but price can change from one day to the next. We have a Transatlantic that stops in Bermuda before crossing the Atlantic. It is 18 days. We got it for $1,899 p/p for a balcony. Today, the price is up to $2,549.

 

Sometimes the price includes extra perks like specialty dining or shore excursion credit (Usually a $100 per person credit) is given. We always weigh the factors: add the added perks to the price we paid to see if it is truly a special and to see if we are paying for these extras in the cruise sale price. The few times that I have calculated it, the price is fairly much the same.

 

In our case, on this cruise that we have booked, having those perks, it would be $1899 + $25 (spec dining) + $100 (shore ex) + $300 for a "free" balcony upgrade = $2324 per person. So, it still is a good deal compared to the current $2,549 price.

 

This is just an example.

Great example for comparing bottom line pricing.

 

We took the Caribbean Princess Transatlantic in 2015, and originally booked it with a deal that included Princess paid gratuities for the 17 day cruise. I kept a spreadsheet going so I could compare prices, and it wasn't until around Final Payment time when a different, much lower cabin price actually beat that deal - by a mere $25, which would probably lose us a Caribe deck cabin in a great location. It wasn't worth us making the change.

 

The "cabin price" dropped several times between original booking and Final Payment, but the whole deal might not be worth changing - or it might, depending on where your priorities are.

 

Watch out for those "balcony for the price of an oceanview" deals - I've seen many where the OV price is raised to the balcony normal pricing, and what is later changed is the OV price to a normal range. Just observe the price increases between categories to see if this is a true deal or not.

[Skai]

Unless they are a lesser offered unique itinerary (Ie. including the Faroe islands, Iceland et al) or on a very newly released ship, TA cruises can be some of the.....actually.....absolutely..the cheapest cruises available most any year(from a ppd perspective).

 

Take a look at current prices for Apr. sailings on all mainstream lines, and one will easily see that.

 

After diligently following industry-wide cruise pricings over the last few years, my advice is: find a TA itinerary that looks good to you and purchase airfare ahead of time when the prices are right. It may seem odd to do this w/out having a cruise booked, but just be patient until around final payment date is due, and then watch prices plummet -- Often as low as starting @ $40 pp per night for an inside...sometimes offered @ prices even lower than that.

 

Rarely do TA cruises ever sell out, until cruiselines drop prices to @cost/ almost 'give away' prices in order to fill the ship.

 

A sale might provide for benefits such as paid gratuities or some bonus OBC, but the savings from being patient and waiting for maximum price-drop will usually provide for the very best price.

[CI66774]

OP - yep, they do. Usually after final payment is due, though. If you don't care about cabin location, etc., wait until six weeks before sailing to book. However, sometimes the fares increase. Just keep checking!

[geoherb]

After reading Caribill's explanation, I wonder if you could book the cruise from Houston and then conveniently miss the ship and be allowed on in Fort Lauderdale.

[Astro Flyer]

After reading Caribill's explanation, I wonder if you could book the cruise from Houston and then conveniently miss the ship and be allowed on in Fort Lauderdale.

 

In early December 2012 on a TA from Venice it was optional to end the cruise at either FLL or Galveston. Initially cruising to Galveston cost slightly more however after final payment it was the same price to end the cruise in FLL or to sail 3 extra nights to Galveston.

 

If they're still doing it that way then it might be possible to book from either port. On our cruise some passengers on the East Coast preferred to end in FLL on 12/19 but we continued until 12/22 to fly to LAX from Houston.

 

I don't know if it's possible to "conveniently miss the ship" in Houston & to board instead at FLL but if it was me I'd contact Princess directly before booking to ask if boarding in FLL is an option & not based on anything posted here. ;)

Edited April 6, 2016 by Astro Flyer