3 for Free Fares Increasing?

[dstables]

I have always thought it’s best to book early to get the cabin you want and watch the prices and refare when the price goes down. I knew going in that this 28 day Hawaii/Tahiti Cruise is a bit of a different animal and that it’s very popular and would book up. We booked this cruise as soon as it was released by Princess and I waited for the 3 for free sale to come. When the sale first was started it was a good few hundred less than the original release fare plus we got prepaid gratitudes for 28 days and an OBC. But I have never seen the price of a cabin increase so much during a sale so it really reaffirms to me that booking early is best. As I said this cruise has gone up 988.00 per person from when the sale first started. Also with the savings we get from out TA our price that we booked on the first day of the sale is $1443.00 per person less than the current Princess price. Now we are Canadians and our fares are in Canadian funds so with our exchange rate we would see a larger price increase than American pricing would see when fares go up. I do think the popularity of this cruise is probably what’s driving up the price. We have two cruises for this winter booked under last year’s 3 for free sale and the price for these cruises have not changed much since that sale. 

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, dstables said:

I have always thought it’s best to book early to get the cabin you want and watch the prices and refare when the price goes down. I knew going in that this 28 day Hawaii/Tahiti Cruise is a bit of a different animal and that it’s very popular and would book up. We booked this cruise as soon as it was released by Princess and I waited for the 3 for free sale to come. When the sale first was started it was a good few hundred less than the original release fare plus we got prepaid gratitudes for 28 days and an OBC. But I have never seen the price of a cabin increase so much during a sale so it really reaffirms to me that booking early is best. As I said this cruise has gone up 988.00 per person from when the sale first started. Also with the savings we get from out TA our price that we booked on the first day of the sale is $1443.00 per person less than the current Princess price. Now we are Canadians and our fares are in Canadian funds so with our exchange rate we would see a larger price increase than American pricing would see when fares go up. I do think the popularity of this cruise is probably what’s driving up the price. We have two cruises for this winter booked under last year’s 3 for free sale and the price for these cruises have not changed much since that sale. 

 

We booked the 28 day Hawaii/Tahiti cruise last year the first day (almost the first minute) the Sip and Sail came out. The price didn't go up at all. Then we watched it go up and up and up and up and up... It was freaking awesome! We had hoped to relive that experience this year with our Northern Lights cruise but, it seemed that the second the promo came into being, the price jumped $1k. Ah, well. I was really (really!) disappointed but things change.

[voljeep]

10 hours ago, Thrak said:

We have a 15 day connoisseur cruise tour booked for next May. The price showing under the 3 for Free is almost exactly the same. We're booked at $3,539 (inside) and it's now showing $3,550. The big difference though is the perks.

 

The 3 for Free would give me $100 OBC ($50 each) and Free Gratuities. The booking I have gives us $400 OBC ($200 each) Free Gratuities, Free Specialty Dining, and $100 Land Credit ($50 each). Somehow the 3 for Free just isn't "quite" as good. (What was really odd is that the cruise we booked didn't show a Sale banner of any kind. The perks showed up at one of the next-to-last stages of the booking. I know there must be some "name" for the promo but I'm darned if I know what it is!)

I remember that I got a mailout from Princess showing that, and when I went to the website - no promotion showed up about that, so I went thru the complete mock booking, and sure enough the perks didn't show up until the booking was almost complete

 

I posted that here, and I think you may have seen that...anyway - have a great cruise tour

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 9:40 PM, dstables said:

Has anyone else noticed that some of the fares under the 3 for Free Sale have increased since the sale begin?  We booked the 28 day Hawaii/Tahiti Cruise on the Emerald sailing February 1, 2020 and we booked as soon as the sale started. I have been watching the price and I have seen the price go up three times since the sale started. It’s now $988.00 per person more today for our cabin then when we booked. I don’t think I have notice Princess increasing their price while a sale is on. 

yes, indeed. I booked a 2019 cruise, logged off, logged on as my parents right away to make a reservation for them for the same cruise - and bam, the price was $200 more per person and has stayed at that higher level for 2+ weeks now.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

16 hours ago, jennybenny said:

 I stop looking at fares after final payment.  It would depress me if they went down.  🙂 

I don't stop looking at fares after the final payment. When the prices went down, I called and got an upgrade. On Princess - inside to a balcony, and on NCL - inside to OV. Not too bad.

[voljeep]

exactly - never hurts to make a call, and you might get lucky if the right Princess rep answers the call..

[Happy2cruise]

Our December 2019  cruise under the 3 for Free went down a substantial amount but our October 2019 did not.

[Love2cruise77]

For us, the price of the room went down with the 3 for free promo, plus we got prepaid tips and upgraded cabin.  The price hasn't gone up since we first re-fared it under this promotion.

[Thrak]

5 hours ago, voljeep said:

I remember that I got a mailout from Princess showing that, and when I went to the website - no promotion showed up about that, so I went thru the complete mock booking, and sure enough the perks didn't show up until the booking was almost complete

 

I posted that here, and I think you may have seen that...anyway - have a great cruise tour

 

I know that someone posted about it and that's why I even checked with a mock booking. If it was you then THANK YOU so much.

[rocklinmom]

Our fare for June 2019 British Isles cruise went down $110pp today.  Saves us a few hundred dollars 🙂

It pays to keep checking because you never know. 

[crystalspin]

On 10/29/2018 at 10:19 PM, crystalspin said:

We're on the same sailing as the OP -- just checked yesterday and the fare appears to be a few hundred more apiece, but I thought maybe that was the savings for the "free upgrade" where you get charged the lowest price in the category for a potential higher cabin. I didn't take a screenshot of the booking listing, but I do know there was a discrepancy between the rate that was shown and what we paid. Not $988! I wish!!!

Careful what you wish! Checked again today and the difference is US$1480 (higher) for the two of us in an obstructed oceanview. With both fares having $200 OBC and included gratuities.

 

There is no "free three" as I guess the Obst.OV is the lowest of its category -- does that mean that others are getting a "better" OV for the price of obstructed? (Hush, this is my secret: I'd rather have a minimally obstructed view that I can walk up to than a clear one with the bed pushed together in front of it!)