$1 , yes, $1 deposit reminder 1 day only - 2/14

[voljeep]

Just got an email, and it wasn't from Princess...:cool:

[fishywood]

While on the subject of the end of the Anniversary Sale: if you are going to book Alaska you may have noticed that the free gratuities (for Alaska 2018 only) has disappeared from the website, even though it was advertised as expiring 02/14 along with the other benefits of the Anniversary Sale for all regions ($100 deposit, OBC and Specialty Dining). I called my PVP yesterday and while she was off (on a Monday of a sale week(!)) the person at the PVP help desk managed to add the gratuities and fare one of the two legs at a good deal less than 100% single supplement. That leg actually showed only the OBC as benefit due to the reduced fare, the (outstanding) rep had to manually find the promo codes that added the Specialty dinner and the gratuities but did not put the single rate back to 200%.

 

So for Alaska I suggest using your agent or phoning Princess as booking online you may not get every benefit. And maybe just not waiting until tomorrow for your best cabin selection (I had to take guarantees for both segments). Is simply deferring an additional $99 to final payment date worth dealing with the madness of a one-day sale? Not to me...

[Thrak]

I understand that many people love the $1 deposits but... We always book using FCD. I like the free OBC we get that way. It seems to be a much better deal than a smaller deposit.

[that]

Isn't it possible to credit the booking at a later time with the OBC from the FCD?

Thus the best of both worlds?

[fishywood]

Isn't it possible to credit the booking at a later time with the OBC from the FCD?

Thus the best of both worlds?

 

Even if they could get the OBC there is no way to retroactively apply the cost of the FCD to an existing booking. It functions exclusively as the initial deposit.

[grizzle-bizzle]

if you are going to book Alaska you may have noticed that the free gratuities (for Alaska 2018 only) has disappeared from the website, even though it was advertised as expiring 02/14 along with the other benefits of the Anniversary Sale for all regions ($100 deposit, OBC and Specialty Dining).

 

I just booked one of these. I got the obc and the dining vouchers but I didn't know about the gratuity. Do you know of something I could point them to if I called? Also not sure how exactly how free gratuities work or what they cover.

[moki'smommy]

I didn't get the $1 deposit, but in the fine print of my booking it says "complimentary grats."

[fishywood]

I just booked one of these. I got the obc and the dining vouchers but I didn't know about the gratuity. Do you know of something I could point them to if I called? Also not sure how exactly how free gratuities work or what they cover.

 

I didn't get the $1 deposit' date=' but in the fine print of my booking it says "complimentary grats."[/quote']

 

Yes at the bottom of the booking summary of both legs of my Alaska B2B it does say "complimentary grats". If you don't see it you can check in your cruise personalizer under Payments & Credits if then clicking "optional gratuity prepayment" shows they are already paid.

 

The rep who booked my cruises did know all the details of the Anniversary Sale--including complimentary grats for Alaska sailings--though since other promos apparently have loaded into their system she at first thought that some sailings had exceeded their capacity for the perks that should be good through Wednesday. But she quickly went into let-me-check mode and was able to assemble all the perks for both voyages (OBC, Specialty Dining and Grats): even though only one of the two booking confirmations says "Anniversary Sale" all three of those perks show in my personalizer for both cruises. So at the end of the day I was happy even without the $1 deposit--its only one more billing cycle on my credit card until final payment anyway.

 

Also one more warning: while both cruises were not showing free grats when test booking online, one of them also showed the free specialty dining was for balcony and above cabins only. The rep said it did not show on her end for my inside guarantee until after she ran the booking all the way through--they when she closed and reopened the screen after getting a booking number to place the cabin on hold for me it was there.

[luckyinpa]

this is not working for me..says normal 200 deposit. what gives

[CanICruiseSoonPlease]

I understand that many people love the $1 deposits but... We always book using FCD. I like the free OBC we get that way. It seems to be a much better deal than a smaller deposit.

 

 

I agree 100%. Will only use the $1 deposit deal if I don't have a FCD in the bank. Why lose the OBC? I think it's actually a loss. Great promo tho.

[rocklinmom]

I'm confused...the Anniversary Sale, which ends today (the 14th), never included free gratuities on the Alaska 2018 cruises. I know because I'm booked on one. The free gratuities were from the 3 for Free sale back in the fall. The Anniversary Sale includes OBC and specialty dinner. How were you able to get free gratuities as well if they aren't part of the sale?

[Lady Arwen]

this is not working for me..says normal 200 deposit. what gives

Not all cruises are included in this promo. The cruises that qualify have a banner across the top indicating the $1.00 is available for that cruise.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I'm trying to book cruises that have the banner for the $1 deposit But when you get to the end page it asks for $100 per person.

[Lilly'sMom]

I'm trying to book cruises that have the banner for the $1 deposit But when you get to the end page it asks for $100 per person.

 

I ended up calling about that. They said they are trying to fix the problem. I just made the reservation on the phone...

[fishywood]

I'm confused...the Anniversary Sale, which ends today (the 14th), never included free gratuities on the Alaska 2018 cruises. I know because I'm booked on one. The free gratuities were from the 3 for Free sale back in the fall. The Anniversary Sale includes OBC and specialty dinner. How were you able to get free gratuities as well if they aren't part of the sale?

 

 

Experience the Great Land's most iconic sights with this exclusive email offer and discover why we're the #1 cruise line in Alaska. Book during our Anniversary Sale to see nature’s marvels with up to $400 in onboard spending money‡, free specialty dining††, and free gratuities‡‡!

 

From e-mail I received on January 19. Headlined Anniversary Sale expiring February 14. (Sorry I cannot provide a full screenshot at the moment).

 

And up until this past weekend if you started a booking online for any 2018 Alaska cruise and clicked on "View Offers" , free gratuities was clearly shown.

[rocklinmom]

Wow, I didn't get that email offer. Thanks for clarifying!

[Host CJSKIDS]

I ended up calling about that. They said they are trying to fix the problem. I just made the reservation on the phone...

 

Thank you!

[voljeep]

System 'may' be fixed...tried this morning - $100 deposit pp

 

tried again after I got the Princess email - $100 deposit pp

 

Logged in to my account - $ 1 pp - booked

 

 

probably about 50/50 will actually go, but with $75ppOBC, specialty dinner, $ 1 deposit, it was a no-brainer

 

we'll see

[WVBill]

Even if they could get the OBC there is no way to retroactively apply the cost of the FCD to an existing booking. It functions exclusively as the initial deposit.

 

When 3 for free came out last year I had no FCDs but was booked on a Hawaii cruise that sailed 5 days later. I grabbed the cabin I wanted on a cruise for this summer and booked it with the $100 deposit as soon as 3 for free came out. On the Hawaii cruise 6 days later, I went to the Future Cruise office and bought FCDs and told the lady I wanted to apply one to the 3FF cruise I had booked. She refunded the $100 deposit to my CC and applied the FCD instead.

 

Observation for the tecchies out there - the user interface for the booking program that they use on the ship is like an OLD mainframe computer - just green dot-matrix letters on a screen computer terminal. Makes sense, though - uses much less bandwidth and can actually be faster than http.

[sailingskyward]

Just called Princess to ask about the $1 deposit offer - after noticing on several OTA websites the cruise fare was $300 cheaper, I asked if I could have a fare like that - the Princess agent said the $1 deposit offer does not apply to Princess Saver fares, which have non-refundable deposits.

 

So the choice was either pay the $300 higher rate but get $300 OBC plus $1 deposit, or book Princess Saver fare for $300 but the deposit is higher and is non-refundable.

[voljeep]

what is a 'Princess Savers' rate and how do you get it?

[sailingskyward]

@voljeep - I don't know much about the Princess Saver rate, but it is widely available on various online travel/cruise websites. Apparently these fares have non-refundable deposits and do not receive the Promotional OBC.

[MJSailors]

Just a note. The $1 deposits applied to cruises for 2018.

I checked Princess.com today because we are thinking about a 2019 Alaskan cruise.

No sale or offers for those cruises-yet.

[riclop]

Thanks for the reminder.

[BigWaveDave87]

I was online before 5:45 pm PST and was looking at the cruises that had the $1 deposits when I had to change sites to report on a earthquake we just had at 5:48 pm PST on the USGS site. Returnd to Princess a little after 6:00 and the deal was removed???? Am I not seeing it?

 

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