Move Over Offer

[moki'smommy]

They did "sweeten" the deal yesterday in a follow-up email. They dropped both the previous date restriction as well as the Caribbean limitation. If we were traveling alone, we would have snagged it!

This is not uncommon. If they don't get the number of cabins they need with the first offer, they improve the offer till their needs are met. Of course the risk in refusing the first offer is that if they do get the cabins they need, there is no "better" offer.

[Katjoy]

On 2 previous cruises to Alaska we booked direct through Princess. We live 40 minutes from the Seattle Pier. 2 days prior to our sail date my Princess Rep called to ask if we'd be willing to sale the day before (Saturday rather than Sunday). The 1st time this happened we were upgraded from a balcony to a mini suite. I did not think to ask for OBC. We accepted that deal. My husband said yikes he better get home to pack since we had less than 24 hours to have our son drive us to the pier. Our rep told me they were calling locals in the area since there was no airfare involved & it would be easier for us to make the switch.

 

The 2nd time it happened also for an Alaska cruise out of Seattle I was booked with my best friend. The same call came when we were booked for a Sunday sailing. Our Princess Rep asked again if we'd sail on Saturday (a day early) instead of Sunday. We were booked in a balcony cabin as well, but there were no Mini's or Suites available for the Saturday sailing. She gave us EACH $300 OBC and a Mid Ship Balcony. We accepted this offer, which was great since my friend was on a really tight budget. It made her 1st cruise experience more enjoyable having a great OBC.

[dog]

Do they ever offer refund to credit card for original fare paid or is it just OBC?

 

dog:)

[Alimariecruisin]

Do they ever offer refund to credit card for original fare paid or is it just OBC?

 

dog:)

 

 

On all my move over offers and acceptances it was REFUNDABLE on board credit which means they send you a check within 6 weeks after the cruise for any refundable obc remaining (that you did not use during the cruise).

[Jimbo]

We cruise ,mostly Royal Caribbean and they hardly ever over book and do this...............why does it seem since I have been on this board more often that is all I see is people on Princess ships getting mover over offers?

 

Is there something wrong with their IT system when reserving a cabin?

 

Jimbo:)

[moki'smommy]

Do they ever offer refund to credit card for original fare paid or is it just OBC?

 

dog:)

As above, it was held as refundable OBC until after the "free" cruise. About 3 weeks later, a check for the remaining balance arrived at my mailbox.

 

I don't think there is a problem with the reservation system. I think that they intentionally overbook the ship, knowing that some people will cancel. If they guess wrong as to the number of cancelations, they end up needing to move people. And they are happy to take people paying top dollar and move over people who have discounted bookings.

 

Another situation that we encountered was a group that wanted to book and had certain requirements for the cabins they wanted (being near each other, etc.) The ship was booked to the point that the block of cabins that this company wanted didn't exist, so Princess made it happen by offering "move down" offers to those of us who had the cabins they needed. Because of the existing bookings, they couldn't give us complimentary upgrades--we were in a midship balcony cabin; the minis and suites were already booked. By giving us our move down cabin free (and I met another person who got the same offer), Princess sold a large block of cabins at premium price. Guess it worked for them. While our cabin wasn't great, a free cruise was.

 

The other thing is that people who get move overs or move downs talk about them. The hundreds of people who never get the don't post "Well I've never gotten one," and if they do, the thread rapidly dies.

Edited February 17, 2018 by moki'smommy