Is this a new promotion from Princess for Alaska cruise / cruisetours?

[voljeep]

came in the mail today - May 2019-___________ ( brochure is outside, but whenever sns ends )

 

balcony or higher

 

1) sip n sail - 1st 2 in cabin

2) soda and more for 3 & 4

3) specialty dinner for all

4) grats for all

5) $ 50 pp for land part of cruisetour to be used at lodges

[moki'smommy]

Looks like it. We got all but the beverages this year, with a little more OBC...needed to book cruise only, not land and sea. Ours was not limited to balcony or higher....was available to all categories.

[fishywood]

Sounds like a combination of elements of the Anniversary Sale (as referenced in the first reply) and Sip & Sail for those who book a cruise tour.

 

I assume that with the free PBP this is for balcony and above cabins only. Perhaps a disproportionate number of the Alaska land/sea bookings so far for 2019 are for inside and oceanview. So Princess will throw this at the wall and see if it sticks with more balcony sales.

[voljeep]

all benefits - except the $50 land tour credit - available for cruises and cruisetours

 

interior and OV get grats and cruisetour cash if applicable

[PandaBear62]

If I've already booked is it something I can change to?

[Wishing on a star]

I got an email with, at the very least, added specialty dinner on top of the current Sun Drenched Deals...

But, have not been able to pull up anything that shows this???

[voljeep]

OK, I just did a mock booking for a June 2019 - 15 day Alaska cruise tour - tour first

 

I had to go all the way thru choosing a room and getting ready to put in persona info - before I got a line on the booking to click view special offers...

 

that's when they all showed up , not just sipnsail

 

sip n sail

grats

specialty dinner

50 each cruise tour cash

 

 

no Princess OBC when on the ship

[Tedferg]

Perhaps a disproportionate number of the Alaska land/sea bookings so far for 2019 are for inside and ocean view.

 

Are you suggesting that balcony is not so attractive for Alaska ? We are considering Alaska for 2019 and so this could be useful input. Thanks in advance.

[John99]

If we do not take the Sip+Sale promo what does Princess offer as far as OBC.

My wife had open heart surgery (plus post surgery medication) so the drink package does not interest us.

John

[fishywood]

Are you suggesting that balcony is not so attractive for Alaska ? We are considering Alaska for 2019 and so this could be useful input. Thanks in advance.

 

I was only implying that many who book the cruisetours to Alaska absorb the high cost of the land tour (and meals and other incidentals not included) by booking an inexpensive cabin for the cruise portion.

[Tedferg]

I was only implying that many who book the cruisetours to Alaska absorb the high cost of the land tour (and meals and other incidentals not included) by booking an inexpensive cabin for the cruise portion.

 

 

Ah OK - our first cruise was to Alaska in 2007 and we were upgraded to balcony - 8 cruises since and we have always had balcony. Your comment made me wonder about O/V versus balcony, perhaps not using balcony so much in colder weather.

[PandaBear62]

I'm looking at the balcony offer with the sip and sail. We have an inside cabin booked for the cruise tour. A balcony would be $3000 more for the two of us. The beverage package would be $966 for the two of us. We do drink and there are three days on the ship (at sea, Glacier Bay and College Fjord) plus the day we board. . So if we don't get the package, it's safe to assume we'll spend $400-$500 over the week. But that's still a $2000-$2500 price difference!

 

We do have the money to spend. I'm frugal on vacations, but not cheap. I'm just not convinced a balcony is worth it. I've stayed in a mini suite, as well as inside cabins, so know an inside cabin won't bother me. Is the view really going to make a significant difference in our trip?

[caribill]

I'm just not convinced a balcony is worth it. I've stayed in a mini suite, as well as inside cabins, so know an inside cabin won't bother me. Is the view really going to make a significant difference in our trip?

 

Depends. Is this view below from a balcony worth it?

 

[Wishing on a star]

I LOVE having a balcony!

But, due to budget, for Alaska we booked a nice OV. This was a nicer OV cabin with the large window, almost like a balcony... not the ones with the small window above the bed. (have to do your homework)

We sailed early in the season. When the ship is underway, it was very windy and chilly and sometimes wet!!!

When one is at the glaciers, many people are out on the decks for that experience.

 

We were very happy with our OV cabin at the price-point on this Alaska cruise.

But, if sitting out on your own private balcony while in front of the glaciers during glacier viewing is one of those amazing bucket-list things... Then, yes, for many, the cost of that balcony could be worth it!!!

One of these things that might be personal priority!

[satxdiver]

Depends. Is this view below from a balcony worth it?

 

 

The sunlight in AK in the summer is much longer than in the lower 48. To be able to walk out onto our balcony at any time and see the scenery is absolutely worth it as is not having to deal with a crowded sun deck.

[tolman50]

came in the mail today - May 2019-___________ ( brochure is outside, but whenever sns ends )

 

balcony or higher

 

1) sip n sail - 1st 2 in cabin

2) soda and more for 3 & 4

3) specialty dinner for all

4) grats for all

5) $ 50 pp for land part of cruisetour to be used at lodges

 

I received an e mail with this promo. Called my TA to get it and Princess said they have no record of it. They were going to check with the promo dept. and get back to me. It's been a week have not heard anything yet.

[Tedferg]

I got quotes from TA for several May 2019 Alaska itineraries and, as you probably know, TA puts a hold on a cabin. Princess site shows these as bookings and when I look at Trip Summary PBP, Gratuity, Specialty all show. Alternatively if I click 'View Offers', only the PBP shows up.

[lovestocruise@yahoo.com]

I recieved the same promo in the mail and booked it..someone else on one of th e Princess forums was checking into it and the rep at Princess couldn't find it either so I have the girl the promo number..she tried again with Princess who then told her it was for Elite passengers..maybe it was maybe it wasn't i don't know, but I was able to book it

[Thrak]

Wowie Zowie! Just checked this out. Looks like any category of cabin gets $200 each OBC, Free Gratuities, Free Specialty Dining, and $50 each land cash. I'm guessing we need to book this. We did a connoisseur cruise tour previously that took us to Denali and McKinley lodges. Now we need to book a 15 day connoisseur cruise tour that takes us to Kenai and Copper River lodges. With perks like that I don't mind not having a balcony for the Sip and Sail. With $200 OBC apiece on a 7 day cruise I can certainly buy my own drinks.

 

It's only a 7 day cruise so it does me no good toward Elite. We would be making Elite on days after our cruise November 2019 and this extra 7 days won't change that. Poop. I was actually looking at a B2B coastal/Mexican Riviera that would have had us as Elite on the TA next November but my wife really (really) wants to do the Alaska connoisseur tour instead so I'm thinking that's what will happen instead of the B2B. :*

 

Thanks for reviving this thread. Like others, I didn't see these perks until I did a mock booking and clicked the link to "view special offers". Gotta love Cruise Critic. :D

[CATGUY7]

The sunlight in AK in the summer is much longer than in the lower 48. To be able to walk out onto our balcony at any time and see the scenery is absolutely worth it as is not having to deal with a crowded sun deck.

Absolutely agree.

[Thrak]

Well... There you go. Just booked. 15 day connoisseur cruise tour. Visits both Copper River and Kenai (2 brutal travel days. Ouch) $200 OBC each. Free gratuities. Free specialty dining. $50 each Cruisetour Cash (land money voucher). Used our last FCDs. Now we have 4 cruises booked. Will need to purchase more FCD on our cruise this November.

 

We've actually visited Copper River Lodge but it was last year when we did a 7 week camping trip. It was a day of drizzling rain and we just left camp for a while and headed over to check out the lodge. Had Irish Coffee. Then we had lunch. Then we had more Irish Coffee while sitting on the couch near the big fireplace. We read and enjoyed the fire for maybe an hour and a half. It was quite relaxing and beat a rainy day in camp. It will be nice to actually stay there this time.

 

The typical excursions are included in Fairbanks and at Denali Lodge but any excursions at Copper River or Kenai will have to be booked separately. Not a problem. We've visited Kenai park (again, during the 7 week camping trip) but will definitely be looking for a nice excursion at Copper River Lodge. It's going to be a great trip. Now to go find the Roll Call. :D

[boltnut55]

Are you suggesting that balcony is not so attractive for Alaska ? We are considering Alaska for 2019 and so this could be useful input. Thanks in advance.

 

 

I'd say if it's affordable for you to do it, definitely do it. We are the Oceanview, obstructed view people :')

 

Depends. Is this view below from a balcony worth it?

 

 

Thanks for sharing this. <3

[Thrak]

Are you suggesting that balcony is not so attractive for Alaska ? We are considering Alaska for 2019 and so this could be useful input. Thanks in advance.

 

Our very first cruise was a 10 day SF/Alaska round trip. It took my wife years to get me to cruise as I was absolutely convinced I would hate everything about it. We booked an inside cabin, way forward, way high up, on Sea Princess. The cabin was so small I had to go outside to change my mind. For reference, the average inside cabin on a Grand Class ship is 160 square feet. Our inside cabin on Sea Princess was 135 square feet. SMALL. That cruise hooked me for life. The very best viewing for Alaska is on the public decks. Not a private balcony. The public decks. You get viewing on all sides. You get viewing from multiple levels. A balcony is great - don't get me wrong. However, a balcony has one view from one level and one side of the ship. I can cruise Alaska without a balcony and not have an issue at all. Yes, I love balcony cabins but I certainly don't need one in order to have a fantastic Alaskan cruise.

 

We did a 7 week camping trip last year that went all the way to Fairbanks, AK. We visited the Princess Copper River Lodge (for drinks and lunch on a rainy day while on the camping trip). It was great and we saw a lot of Alaskan scenery. We have cruised Alaska twice. Our first ever cruise in an inside cabin. The second time we booked a 13 connoisseur cruise tour and booked an inside but took an upsell to a window mini suite. (Who even knew those existed???) We just booked a 15 day connoisseur cruise tour and again booked an inside cabin. Seriously. We found that any cabin was great for cruising Alaska. We spent most of our "viewing" time on a public deck anyway.

 

Note: Full disclosure. Yes, the scenery from the window mini suite was awesome. We did see stuff we would have missed with an inside cabin and a balcony would have been cool. However, have you ever priced the dang connoisseur cruise tours? We're lucky to be able to cruise at all. We can go on deck for Glacier Bay and the other cool stuff. Most of the other scenery we don't have to see from the ship. Like I said, we did a 7 week land trip that gave us magnificent Alaska scenery. :D However, don't let anybody tell you that you "need" or "must have" a balcony for a great Alaska cruise. They are wrong even though they firmly believe they are right. Don't let yourself miss a fantastic cruise and a fantastic Alaska cruise experience just because you can't book a balcony cabin. (Heck there are a number of folks here on CC who never sail at all unless they have a full suite!)

[Bubbs33]

Booked our first cruise a few weeks ago through travel agent. Balcony, PBP, free gratuities, coupon book, low refundable deposit, 50 OBC. Feeling like we got a good setup for Alaskan cruise. Oh and then got $100 each military program OBC.

Can't wait.

[Marvie227]

Is this offer from princess? Does anyone know if this is still good? I booked a balcony with the landmark sale but this would be a better deal.