Sip and Sail promo coming June 13th

[jenf22]

8 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

I am waiting on a quote from the '3 day sale' people.  So far I am not impressed....after I submitted the request in writing I got a phone call asking for all the info I had already provided and the person seemed very confused.  They also wanted me to provide them info on existing bookings which I declined to do.  I ask them to simply provide me a quote and I would then decide if it was a better deal than I could get elsewhere.  I got the feeling the 'free' items result in a higher base fare.  

Exactly the same experience for me.  When she called she asked what cruise I was interested in.  It was on the form I submitted.  Then she sent me an email asking what I was currently booked at.  I responded last night and haven't heard back since (I was going to decline as well, but was curious as to what they were going to do with that info).  No matter what they come back with, I'm sticking with my "big box" TA and will just see what the future Princess sales bring.

[amypete]

I just booked thru them and I might add, as I experience last year, they were wonderful! Georgette was a peach. 🙂 She reviewed everything in detail and it is a refundable deposit. She did have to put me on hold for awhile to get all the right codes and all but was able to apply all as stated above as benefits. 

 

And now off (next year) to visit the capitals of Europe! 

Edited June 7, 2019 by amypete

[jagoffee]

6 hours ago, janetz said:

Free drink package?

Check those balcony prices now and then again on June 13th. 😎

It sure is sometimes.  I was able to add the drink package to my booking during the Sip and Sail last year with no increase in price.  Your recommendation is a great one as that is not always true.

[terry&mike]

Each of the offices are individually owned by a franchise partner, so your experience will be all over the board from great to meh to bad, depending on the office, how it is managed, and the people working from that office. The reason some folks refer to it as big box is that it is a huge online presence also. 

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, terry&mike said:

Each of the offices are individually owned by a franchise partner, so your experience will be all over the board from great to meh to bad, depending on the office, how it is managed, and the people working from that office. The reason some folks refer to it as big box is that it is a huge online presence also. 

This. When I first heard about their 3-day Sale, I found and emailed the local storefront to ask "Are you going to have an Event?" I don't remember if I mentioned I was already booked but might switch if assured we could keep our cabins plural. Doesn't matter because (1) no response to my email, and (2) the more I think of it, the less I am interested. 

 

I will use my spreadsheet to see if the total deal is advantageous for one or both of our cabins, but if so, I will make the arrangements with my PVP!

[happy cruzer]

Love the reduced deposit and other perks with 3 day sale vs. Princess.  If you book less than a balcony and are happy with the Classic Coffee and Soda package ( you know the one that everyone hates the new pricing of 🙂 ), the Princess sale may be best.

 

Everyone is different.

[WAussieSFO]

I've had great phone and email service from my local office. Transferred an existing booking to them and they were able to add the perks to that booking.

 

I also got a quote for another cruise, it does appear that I can book it direct with Princess a little cheaper which I will continue to do and then transfer before the 60 day deadline. As I would normally go with an obstructed ocean view on the cruise that was quoted, I was told that if booked during the 3-day event, paid gratuities, coupon book and obc would apply, just no premium beverage package.

[Paula_MacFan]

I reported earlier I wasn't impressed with the 3 day sale people, but they came through in the end.  It took a few phone calls but we were able to transfer 2 cruises, free gratuities and free premium beverage package on both, with some OBC as well, with comparable fares.  Overall I am happy and it was worth jumping through a few hoops to get it all done.  

 

And yes I am aware that each office is independently owned so it probably varies widely on the level of service provided.  

[dreaminofcruisin]

56 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

I reported earlier I wasn't impressed with the 3 day sale people, but they came through in the end.  It took a few phone calls but we were able to transfer 2 cruises, free gratuities and free premium beverage package on both, with some OBC as well, with comparable fares.  Overall I am happy and it was worth jumping through a few hoops to get it all done.  

 

And yes I am aware that each office is independently owned so it probably varies widely on the level of service provided.  

This is my 2nd time booking this sale through an agent of this agency. She always tries to get all my information way ahead of time because she is working very long hours during this sale, so the more she is ready for it, the easier it is. That may be why sometimes they are difficult to get hold of. Also, as another poster noted....YMMV, since people are people...just as when you call Princess you might get a good agent or a not-so-good one. 

 

Also, I had booked this cruise under the previous sale and had her cancel and book me again. The price is exactly the same as I had under the other perks. So....the drink package is 'free' ---right now. I have seen the prices go down after this sale....but I also have seen them go up. It all depends on how the cruise is selling.

[Paula_MacFan]

18 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

This is my 2nd time booking this sale through an agent of this agency. She always tries to get all my information way ahead of time because she is working very long hours during this sale, so the more she is ready for it, the easier it is. That may be why sometimes they are difficult to get hold of. Also, as another poster noted....YMMV, since people are people...just as when you call Princess you might get a good agent or a not-so-good one. 

 

Also, I had booked this cruise under the previous sale and had her cancel and book me again. The price is exactly the same as I had under the other perks. So....the drink package is 'free' ---right now. I have seen the prices go down after this sale....but I also have seen them go up. It all depends on how the cruise is selling.

The number of phone calls wasn't me trying to get a hold of the TA, it was him calling me back several times to verify information we had already discussed.  As I said, it was a bit frustrating but worth it in the end to save the $$.

[partybarbie]

This is how I look at it.  I can book an inside cabin for $100 per person, per day (with no extra perks).  I booked my balcony cabin for $142 per person, per day, with pre-paid gratuities and a pre-paid beverage package.  If I subtract 14.50 (the daily gratuity amount) from additional $42 per day that I'm paying for a balcony, my drink package is costing me  $27.50 per day.  I'm pretty sure I can drink that much per day, and then my balcony is free.  

 

Or I can wait for the price to go down and hope that I can still get a room.  I like that everything is pre-paid up front.  On my last sip and sail cruise, we received an OBC refund of $100.  It's nice to get off the ship without a bill. 

[jimmieg]

Booked the 3 Day sake today with Bev's and Grats. There was only one of the premium corner mini's with big balcony avail for the 21 day I wanted on new Enchanted next summer.

Odd thing was the rate for this promo was $130/pp more than "list price." Agent said this was a big point of contention with agents.

But she was conscientious, fare fully refundable until final next May, can watch for better promo's and my room is locked in.

BTW, unless Princess is holding back inventory, most categories are GTE only already.

Edited June 8, 2019 by jimmieg
Clarification

[polmcs]

17 hours ago, janetz said:

Free drink package?

Check those balcony prices now and then again on June 13th. 😎

 

I checked the 3 day sale website and the S+S fare they quoted is exactly the same price as my current reservation that I booked at launch day that obviously didn’t include S+S. I’ll wait till Princess launch S+S and then call my big box TA to switch to that promo. Their cabin credit exceed what I would save on free grats by using the 3 day sale TA.

 

I also priced up a few backup cruises and the 3 day sale site with S+S is still coming in at the same fare as the current Princess fare prior to S+S

Edited June 8, 2019 by polmcs

[rocklinmom]

The main thing with Sip and Sail is if you will utilize the drink package (I think it's up to 15 drinks a day?) value-wise vs. any other perks.  We currently have the May Sale promo (OBC and gratuities) but since my brothers-in-law had a sizeable bar bill last time they could benefit from S & S.  It will depend on the fares on the 13th.  I'm hoping the fares stay the same, then they can decide which is more valuable to them. 

[CRUZBUDS]

We are looking at this agency's 3-Day sail for an Alaska cruise next summer.  

 

If the cruise rate doesn't change before the S&S sail begins and our normal big box agency keeps there OBC offer.,  We'll save about $400 by waiting and booking with them, even factoring the pre-paid gratuities  

 

We're tempted to book now and cancel if the S&S is a better deal.  Would we have trouble with this?  The 3-Day booking has a refundable deposit.  

 

I think we can safely assume the $750 in on board coupons is mostly, if not completely, worthless.  Anyone have any experience  with it?

Edited June 8, 2019 by CRUZBUDS

[Paula_MacFan]

1 hour ago, CRUZBUDS said:

 

I think we can safely assume the $750 in on board coupons is mostly, if not completely, worthless.  Anyone have any experience  with it?

I haven't personally used the coupon book (just got one with my booking yesterday) but there are many posts here on CC that say other than a buy one get one free first night specialty dining, there isn't much value.  Who knows what specific coupons will be included.  

[LoriPhil]

Drat - just checked the OneSource link on the Princess site, and it doesn't look like either of our cruises (12 Day Pacific Princess Alaska May 2020, 10 Day Sky Princess Southern Caribbean) are on the S&S list.  Grrrr - I'll still check though... you never know!

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, LoriPhil said:

Drat - just checked the OneSource link on the Princess site, and it doesn't look like either of our cruises (12 Day Pacific Princess Alaska May 2020, 10 Day Sky Princess Southern Caribbean) are on the S&S list.  Grrrr - I'll still check though... you never know!

10 day SKY on 11/15/20 ????  bummer ..

[happy cruzer]

yes the sale is ending today.  If you wait for Princess Sip and Sale you will miss the included gratuities.....  Search Princess 3 day sale.....

[Thrak]

On 6/7/2019 at 8:02 AM, Paula_MacFan said:

 I got the feeling the 'free' items result in a higher base fare.  

 

We did end up with a slightly higher base fare. I wasn't happy about that but we did get the small OBC on each cruise (booked a B2B2B in late 2020) and the other perks. The beverage package would have been $4,686 and the gratuities would have been $957.

 

On 6/7/2019 at 9:24 AM, jagoffee said:

It sure is sometimes.  I was able to add the drink package to my booking during the Sip and Sail last year with no increase in price.  Your recommendation is a great one as that is not always true.

 

I love it that some folks have been able to do that. In our case, the cruises this fall went up significantly. One had the cabin go up by $1k the day the Sip and Sail came out. We also had a cabin go up incredibly the day the 3 For Free came out. It really didn't work out for us at all on those upcoming fall cruises but I'm still very happy for the ones who were able to add the promo with no increase in fare.

[Thrak]

22 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

And yes I am aware that each office is independently owned so it probably varies widely on the level of service provided.  

 

We went into the local office (I never knew there was one here) and it was a so-so experience. In the end we got the cruises and the single cabin for all 3 of them but they seemed to have issues using the Polar site. I know I can book Princess cruises faster and more efficiently than the folks at that office. Apparently they have never heard of opening multiple windows or using multiple monitors. It really makes things a lot easier when trying to get a single cabin when putting together something like a B2B2B. They had to deal with one cruise at a time and, by the time they got to the end the cabin we wanted was no longer available for all cruises. We did finally get it done and had the cabin marked "no upgrade" so they will hopefully not mess with having the same cabin for all three cruises.

[kywildcatfanone]

They are.  I checked out the one online and it wasn't a better fare than the one I have already booked for December.  I already have one booked with free gratuities, and my fare was better and more OBC.  Not every promo is equal.

[nukesubsailor]

A month ago I booked a future cruise with no cruise line promotions or travel agent discounts.  When this 3 day sale began, I asked the agency for a quote on the exact thing I had booked.  The price was $1,574 higher than what I had booked it at.  Even subtracting the cost of two premium beverage packages and the gratuities, the price was still $366 higher.  The coupon book, unless it is different from what I have seen in the past, does not have enough value to us to make up for the higher fare.  So I will keep what I booked.

[happy cruzer]

12 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

They are.  I checked out the one online and it wasn't a better fare than the one I have already booked for December.  I already have one booked with free gratuities, and my fare was better and more OBC.  Not every promo is equal.

As posted earlier, what is seen online is often not what is really offered, if you are interested in the PBP with gratuities is better to contact the agency either online or by phone.  Most of the cruises that are covered are in 2020 and 2021.

 

Happy you have a deal you like!  Win!

Edited June 8, 2019 by happy cruzer

[mnocket]

On 6/7/2019 at 9:12 AM, jenf22 said:

Exactly the same experience for me.  When she called she asked what cruise I was interested in.  It was on the form I submitted.  Then she sent me an email asking what I was currently booked at.  I responded last night and haven't heard back since (I was going to decline as well, but was curious as to what they were going to do with that info).  No matter what they come back with, I'm sticking with my "big box" TA and will just see what the future Princess sales bring.

 

Here's the thing.  You can deal with this TA either through their central office (call center, website, web form, etc.) or can deal with one of their many nationwide franchise locations.  ALWAYS deal with a franchise location.  These are small business that value your business and will give you far better service.  I just looked one up on google.  They are located in CA and I'm in CO.  Distance hasn't  been a problem.  The difference between the two is that in one case you are dealing with a call center employee and in the other you are dealing with a small business owner whose livelihood depends on happy customers.

Edited June 8, 2019 by mnocket