Past Passenger rates are higher not lower

[Loreni]

I noticed that for several upcoming sailings the past passenger rates on the Princess website are higher not lower than the standard rate  when I login ...about 30% higher in one case.   May I decline this rate and receive the standard rate.  I seems odd to punish past passengers.  Has anyone seen this before? 

[neverbeenhere]

I've never seen 30% before. Of course, you can get the non-past passenger rate. Call your travel agent or Princess. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, neverbeenhere said:

I've never seen 30% before. Of course, you can get the non-past passenger rate. Call your travel agent or Princess. 

No, unfortunately you can’t. Even if you try to book without using a Captains Circle number, if you use the full name and birthdate on your passport, Princess recognizes that you are a past passenger. I suppose you could deny that you are one and the same person, and it is mere coincidence that you have the same personal information, but, if successful, you would not be credited for the cruise with your existing Captains Circle number. 

 

This is the seldom mentioned “Elite Penalty”, or, in this case, it might be the “Platinum Penalty” or some other loyalty level penalty. It’s sneaky. 

[neverbeenhere]

You may be correct, but I think that we have done it. Not on a cruise rate that was specifically noted as newbie only, but after finding a returnee higher rate on Princess. 

[Cruise Raider]

I'd call in and talk to a representative down at Princess.  I've sailed on them over 2 dozen times and never been charged extra because I am a past passenger.  They have many different rates and will find you the best one.  

 

[Deesquared]

Does that higher rate come with different perks? It looks like sometimes the rate may go up, but the dollar amount of the perks such as OBC or free grats cancels out the increase.

[RMMariner]

I have seen it before, and there were no perks to offset the reduced cost for the new passenger. I never tried, but I assumed Princess would honour the lower rate if you phoned in.

[Colo Cruiser]

It's been showing up that way for years.

Punishment for being a loyal customer.  

[Denmal]

3 hours ago, Loreni said:

I noticed that for several upcoming sailings the past passenger rates on the Princess website are higher not lower than the standard rate  when I login ...about 30% higher in one case.   May I decline this rate and receive the standard rate.  I seems odd to punish past passengers.  Has anyone seen this before? 

I have never seen this...Can you tell us which cruises specifically so we can try it

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, Loreni said:

I noticed that for several upcoming sailings the past passenger rates on the Princess website are higher not lower than the standard rate  when I login ...about 30% higher in one case.   May I decline this rate and receive the standard rate.  I seems odd to punish past passengers.  Has anyone seen this before? 

 

2 minutes ago, Denmal said:

I have never seen this...Can you tell us which cruises specifically so we can try it

Lorent, please give the ship and date of one of the cruises reflecting this difference.  I would also like to understand it.

 

Thank you in advance.

[getting older slowly]

I have often seen this with car insurance and some other promotions, to get newbie in...  which I agreed is bad news...

like my insurance would have been $130 cheaper...

 

One must remember, they are in the business for making money.....To be honest it my princess cruise cost a little more because I have sailed with them a few times,   I would pay it,,, as not many lines come into our home port.... and I like the product..

 

But it is not good

 

Cheers Don

[Nebr.cruiser]

I've seen this a few times recently.  It seems crazy to me and really turns me off, even though the difference wasn't much.

[regnig]

Could the difference in rates the OP is seeing be linked to some kind of locality discount?  I do know that at one time I sometimes would get 2 different rates depending on whose CC number I used, mine or DH's.  There were also several others here on Cruise Critic who had the same situation.  It made no sense of any kind! 

[crawford]

10 hours ago, jagoffee said:

 

Lorent, please give the ship and date of one of the cruises reflecting this difference.  I would also like to understand it.

 

Thank you in advance.

Same here. Would love to see an example(s). Thanks.

[PekingeseLady]

My next cruise 4/23/2019 Ruby Princess. It is 999 for a inside then when I log in its 1249 with benefits that make it the same price.  I check daily for a price decrease, I picked it up a month ago for 899.

[thinfool]

18 minutes ago, PekingeseLady said:

My next cruise 4/23/2019 Ruby Princess. It is 999 for a inside then when I log in its 1249 with benefits that make it the same price.  I check daily for a price decrease, I picked it up a month ago for 899.

Thats the new itinerary from LA to Alaska...I would think that the higher price would indicate that it is selling well.  Cruise pricing seems to use algorithms that are similar to the airlines, changing often, sometimes within minutes.

[Loreni]

In one case it was March 2019 28-day round trip Tahiti from LA and the rates were especially different for 3rd and 4th passengers.

 

in the other case it wasn’t. 12- day April 2019 round trip to Alaska from LA. 

[Colo Cruiser]

9 hours ago, regnig said:

Could the difference in rates the OP is seeing be linked to some kind of locality discount?  I do know that at one time I sometimes would get 2 different rates depending on whose CC number I used, mine or DH's.  There were also several others here on Cruise Critic who had the same situation.  It made no sense of any kind! 

Yes most of the pricing is based on region.

[jagoffee]

On 2/1/2019 at 4:39 PM, Loreni said:

I noticed that for several upcoming sailings the past passenger rates on the Princess website are higher not lower than the standard rate  when I login ...about 30% higher in one case.   May I decline this rate and receive the standard rate.  I seems odd to punish past passengers.  Has anyone seen this before? 

 

20 hours ago, Loreni said:

In one case it was March 2019 28-day round trip Tahiti from LA and the rates were especially different for 3rd and 4th passengers.

 

in the other case it wasn’t. 12- day April 2019 round trip to Alaska from LA. 

Loren, I get the same price on the 28 day cruise whether I am signed in or not.  I checked the Oceanview and Mini suites, since the Balcony cabins are sold out.

 

Do you still see the difference?

[ar1950]

We were able to get the better price the first time that we notice this happening 3 or so years ago.  We called Princess and the agent did something and got us the better price.  I doubt that Princess will let that happen again.

[intel]

On 2/2/2019 at 11:08 PM, PekingeseLady said:

My next cruise 4/23/2019 Ruby Princess. It is 999 for a inside then when I log in its 1249 with benefits that make it the same price.  I check daily for a price decrease, I picked it up a month ago for 899.

Australian price for above AU$2309 and no reduction for (elite) PP. + $100 OBC. You can see why we don't tip auto. When allowing for the currency difference (AU$1 = US$0.72475) what a rip off for us.

[Colo Cruiser]

9 minutes ago, intel said:

Australian price for above AU$2309 and no reduction for (elite) PP. + $100 OBC. You can see why we don't tip auto. When allowing for the currency difference (AU$1 = US$0.72475) what a rip off for us.

Great!  So the crew get punished. 

[thinfool]

1 hour ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Great!  So the crew get punished. 

 

No, Australian fares include the gratuities that US customers are used to seeing as an addon.

[Gayl4b]

On 2/2/2019 at 5:08 AM, PekingeseLady said:

My next cruise 4/23/2019 Ruby Princess. It is 999 for a inside then when I log in its 1249 with benefits that make it the same price.  I check daily for a price decrease, I picked it up a month ago for 899.

I always book with my Princess planner. So I went in and took a look at the itinerary you're talking about. It's 999 before I sign in and 999 after I signed in, there is no difference for me in price or benefits. In fact I've never seen a difference.  Could this be because I book directly with princess?

 

Edited:  Just tried again and the only weird thing that I notice is that it's 1398pp for 2 persons on an outside cabin. But instead of 2798 for solo, its 2698.  Must be a glitch but I have seen the solo supplement go down b4

Edited February 3, 2019 by Gayl4b

[PekingeseLady]

I only book direct.