Free sip & sale not

[mmckm]

Just checked with Princess to see if our 28 day cruise would qualify for the free package with a free specialty dinner included. Yes it does the only catch is it would cost me over $2000 per person to get the package, by rebooking. That makes it cheaper to buy the package. I would save aprox. $500. I would never buy the package for a cruise that long as I don't think it would pay off. Creative pricing to make you think your getting a deal.

[hollon]

It worked out for us on our alaskan cruise for next year, no price increase and now 150.00 obc p/p and our third person gets the free soda pkg.

[cynbar]

I think this does vary from cruise to cruise, perhaps even cabin category to cabin category. We booked our British Isles cruise for last May under Sip&Sail, saved us $1400 for our 12 day cruise, and the prices only went up. It pays (pardon to pun) to look closely at priciing and see what is the best deal for you.

[sawtooth]

When I checked prices today on a 10 day cruise the cost had gone up by over $1000 per person. They are not giving anything away, although they are not in that business.

[mmckm]

All the sip and sale prices are inflated that I have checked. They inflate some prices before the sale is announced and it looks like it is free. So you paid more for your cruise then you should have and they bring out the package, which they new they were going to do and your price stays the same and you think you got a deal. These promos are planned a long time in advance, they don't give anything away.

[pompeii]

All the sip and sale prices are inflated that I have checked. They inflate some prices before the sale is announced and it looks like it is free. So you paid more for your cruise then you should have and they bring out the package, which they new they were going to do and your price stays the same and you think you got a deal. These promos are planned a long time in advance, they don't give anything away.

 

Our Japan and N. Pacific crossing went down $55 per person for our balcony cabin when we rebooked under Sip and Sail. Many people are reporting the same thing in the Sip and Sail thread, so it must really depend on your sailing. We were very pleased to pay $110 less for our cabin plus get $500 in OBC, in lieu of the drink package.

[EndersFoul]

All the sip and sale prices are inflated that I have checked. They inflate some prices before the sale is announced and it looks like it is free. So you paid more for your cruise then you should have and they bring out the package, which they new they were going to do and your price stays the same and you think you got a deal. These promos are planned a long time in advance, they don't give anything away.

 

Our May 2017 Alaska cruise balcony did not go up in price. We got the promotion and our cruise mates got the credit and kept the same cabin price. Sorry your cruise didn't work out to be a deal with this sale.

[e050377]

I just booked the British Isles cruise for next year I've been watching for 4 months. Price was the same. The perks pushed me to book!

[Cruise Junky]

I think the sip and sail had already been factored into the prices of the new releases so people are finding that their price didn't go up. Old bookings, not so much. Looking at Spring 2018, Princess is still $1,000 more than Celebrity for two people on their 10 day Caribbean Cruise..No thanks. I'll just sail Celebrity which already includes a drink package.

[traveling1969]

We had booked the Spring 2017 TA on Royal Princess when it first came out. Switched to RCCL Freedom. Heard about Sip and Sail coming back so re-priced

then (about 3 weeks ago) and price was up a lot from when we first booked. Checked it again yesterday and price was back to opening price but with Sip and Sail so re-booked on Royal. Great deal for us but as others have noted, some prices are up. Package for our cruise is worth $1915.90 so that's a BIG perk.

 

So across the board, some win, some lose, and some get rained out.;)

 

Harry

[georgiacat]

I was thinking that the "sale" price on the British Isles cruise I am interested in was the same price as prior to the sale. Do the British Isles cruise prices ever go down? The price for 2017 seems so much higher than 2016, but maybe they are trying to fill the ship this year.

[Tak8]

I booked a British Isles cruise in February. I was able to get the Sip and Sail yesterday without increasing my cruise fare. Like any promotion, good for some, not for all.

[Cruise Junky]

I was thinking that the "sale" price on the British Isles cruise I am interested in was the same price as prior to the sale. Do the British Isles cruise prices ever go down? The price for 2017 seems so much higher than 2016, but maybe they are trying to fill the ship this year.

 

Yes. They do. Friends of ours added it to their BI cruise last year. They gave it up because of a large price drop.

[mevj]

heard about sip and sail in this forum (thanks, cruisecritic community is fantastic)... checked current price for desired cruise & cabin pre sale, waited for sip and sail w/speciality dinning... check and booked exact same cruise/date/cabin for previously noted cost... winner....!

 

now looking for our opportunity and location to schedule another cruise w/this sail (hopefully a 15 day'er) - retirement is great :cool:

 

also, we've been using a discount warehouse big box store as our TA... so far, we've gotten every sale (free gratuities on panama canal and S&S on south pacific) along with over $500 cabin credit each time... who wouldn't do that deal...?

[moki'smommy]

It depends totally on the dates and the cruise you are selecting. As you can see from reading above, some people are getting great deals, others would see significant price increases to get the "Sip and Sale." I saw exactly the same situation with the "Red, White, and Blue" sale.

 

My philosophy--I always check the new prices when a sale comes out...and way too often otherwise. If there is a better situation than I already have, it might be worth rebooking or at least making a phone call. If not, I'm happy with what I've booked. If I'm thinking about booking something and a good deal becomes available, that could push me to put down the deposit.

[Zooguy]

What I'm waiting for and wondering about is:

 

What happens when Sip and Sale ends? Will the cruise fare drop dramatically? If so we'll have a chance to rebook at a substantially lower price.

[mmckm]

If your cruise price didn't go up after switching to the sip & sale you paid to much for your cruise to start with. They inflate the prices before they advertise the sip and sale. Then you think your getting a deal. Just because you didn't have to pay more doesn't mean you got a deal. These cruise prices will drop more then the sip and sale will cost as it gets closer the the cruise.

[moki'smommy]

If your cruise price didn't go up after switching to the sip & sale you paid to much for your cruise to start with. They inflate the prices before they advertise the sip and sale. Then you think your getting a deal. Just because you didn't have to pay more doesn't mean you got a deal. These cruise prices will drop more then the sip and sale will cost as it gets closer the the cruise.

 

Sometimes.....

[BarbaraP]

heard about sip and sail in this forum (thanks, cruisecritic community is fantastic)... checked current price for desired cruise & cabin pre sale, waited for sip and sail w/speciality dinning... check and booked exact same cruise/date/cabin for previously noted cost... winner....!

 

now looking for our opportunity and location to schedule another cruise w/this sail (hopefully a 15 day'er) - retirement is great :cool:

 

also, we've been using a discount warehouse big box store as our TA... so far, we've gotten every sale (free gratuities on panama canal and S&S on south pacific) along with over $500 cabin credit each time... who wouldn't do that deal...?

 

When you use the big box store can you get Princess Travel Insurance?

[cruzsnooze]

When you use the big box store can you get Princess Travel Insurance?

 

Yes you can. Sometimes the big box store gives you a credit at their store not an OBC which worked for me. You can book your cruise with insurance and then transfer the booking to a TA.

[msmoger]

If your cruise price didn't go up after switching to the sip & sale you paid to much for your cruise to start with. They inflate the prices before they advertise the sip and sale. Then you think your getting a deal. Just because you didn't have to pay more doesn't mean you got a deal. These cruise prices will drop more then the sip and sale will cost as it gets closer the the cruise.

 

This argument seems to have merit.

 

We booked the Regal September 2017 Transatlantic a while back with our TA. She does a lot of volume with Princess and as a result provides significant discounts.

 

When I inquired yesterday about switching to the Sip n Sail promotion I was told her price would increase by $179 per pax. However, the drink package would cost us $1576 for the two of us. Considering this is a TA with lots of sea days it was a no brainer that we would easily spend more on drinks than $358 ($179 X 2) if we went a la carte.

 

But the clincher is her new price is still significantly less than the Princess website price. I'm very happy. :D

[paul929207]

If your cruise price didn't go up after switching to the sip & sale you paid to much for your cruise to start with. They inflate the prices before they advertise the sip and sale. Then you think your getting a deal. Just because you didn't have to pay more doesn't mean you got a deal. These cruise prices will drop more then the sip and sale will cost as it gets closer the the cruise.

Unless you booked early, before the pre-Sip and Sail increase.

[partybarbie]

As a long time Princess cruiser (over 25 years) I think there are a couple of good deals on the current "Sip and Sail", but the majority are way over priced.

 

For example, this past April, I was able to secure a nice balcony cabin, on a 10-Day Mex Riv cruise out of San Pedro, for $999.00 per person. If I were to buy an AIBP, at about $560.00 per person, this gives me a total of $1559.00 per person. Under the current "sale" the same cabin is going for $1699.00 per person. How is this a sale?

 

The only way to determine if one is getting a good deal or not is to look at the price per day. In the $1699.00 per person, per day example, the price equals about $170.00 per day. I then subtract the amount of the AIBP, or $56.00 per day, equaling $114.00 per day for the balcony. Now, I think that $114.00 per day is a good price for a balcony, but only if you were planning on buying a drink package anyway. If you don't drink that much, or don't normally buy a drink package, it's not a very good deal at $170.00 per day.

 

Just my opinion...

[partybarbie]

This argument seems to have merit.

 

We booked the Regal September 2017 Transatlantic a while back with our TA. She does a lot of volume with Princess and as a result provides significant discounts.

 

When I inquired yesterday about switching to the Sip n Sail promotion I was told her price would increase by $179 per pax. However, the drink package would cost us $1576 for the two of us. Considering this is a TA with lots of sea days it was a no brainer that we would easily spend more on drinks than $358 ($179 X 2) if we went a la carte.

 

But the clincher is her new price is still significantly less than the Princess website price. I'm very happy. :D

 

I actually thought that the TA cruises seemed to be pretty good deals. There was a 14-day TA in April that made me take a second look. ;)

[Thrak]

We booked a 28 day for October 2017. I just checked pricing on the same cruise in October of this year. Logged in I get a price $100 per person more than the price we paid for next year and the one this year doesn't have the AIBP included.

 

Granted, the one for this year may well drop in price closer to sailing in order to fill the ship - although it's mostly booked already.

 

In our case it seems we are paying $100 per person less than the current pricing and also getting the AIBP.