Sip and Sail promo coming June 13th

[cjmayes51]

I booked a 28 day Hawaii-Tahiti cruise on the STAR for March 2021 on the first day it opened in May, I got our preferred Caribe balcony and a nice discount from out TA- Very happy. When S&S came out I checked to see what the cost would be to add it, turned out to be $600 a person for 28 days or $1200 total, based on a $70 cost per day from Princess vs a $20.41 pp cost now for the promotion we are very happy!  Charlie

[CTOM]

So I had a 2020 cruise booked without a drink package.  When I saw the Sip n Sail promo, I called my TA.  She said they cannot simply apply the SnS to my existing reservation.  Instead, they have to cancel it and re-book.   I was prepared for this, since a lot of folks here on Cruitse Critic said that's how they do it.

But... the price of my suite has gone up $400 per person since we booked.

So if I rebook with SnS, it's an extra $800.   If I leave my current reservation and just add the drink package, it's about $900.

Either way, it's a lot of extra money for a "free" promo.

Dumb question, but I'm new to cruises.... Might the prices drop before SnS ends?  Any tips?   Thank you!

 

[memoak]

Prices often go up during promos. Who ever told you it was a free promo. ?

[skynight]

15 minutes ago, CTOM said:

So I had a 2020 cruise booked without a drink package.  When I saw the Sip n Sail promo, I called my TA.  She said they cannot simply apply the SnS to my existing reservation.  Instead, they have to cancel it and re-book.   I was prepared for this, since a lot of folks here on Cruitse Critic said that's how they do it.

But... the price of my suite has gone up $400 per person since we booked.

So if I rebook with SnS, it's an extra $800.   If I leave my current reservation and just add the drink package, it's about $900.

Either way, it's a lot of extra money for a "free" promo.

Dumb question, but I'm new to cruises.... Might the prices drop before SnS ends?  Any tips?   Thank you!

 

Sip & Sail ends July 16th. Answer, slim to none chance price will drop. There will be another promo following, always seems to be. Maybe it will be better for you. For us we have found the 3 for free promo a better deal. We do not drink that much. Our beverage charges average less than $20/day for two people.

[CTOM]

2 minutes ago, skynight said:

Sip & Sail ends July 16th. Answer, slim to none chance price will drop. There will be another promo following, always seems to be. Maybe it will be better for you. For us we have found the 3 for free promo a better deal. We do not drink that much. Our beverage charges average less than $20/day for two people.

 

Thank you.  Good to know.   We also don't drink too much, and I'll keep my eyes open for 3 for Free.

[Vineyard View]

On 6/8/2019 at 5:29 PM, pms4104 said:

Seems Sip 'N' Sail represents a different value for each of us, depending on our individual priorities.  Likely also true for other Princess promos.

 

It's been a couple of years since we did our first 2 Sip 'N' Sail cruises.  And, we opted for the $250pp OBC in lieu of the beverage package.  In, addition, Princess provided a free specialty dinner.  Those options are now gone.

 

Then, in May 2017 we booked our Feb 2019 Baja and Sea of Cortez cruise, launch fare but no perks.  We added Sip'N' Sail when it was offered in June 2017.  By the time 3 For Free came around end-Summer 2017, we kept the beverage package because the cruise fares kept going up and up and, at one point, the fares were nearly double our launch fare.  Never dropped.  Onboard we never even put a dent in our allocated beverages ... never drank enough to make the pkg worth our while.  But, because this itinerary is offered only 2 or 3 times a year, Princess had no need to keep fares low to fill the ship.

 

So, for our upcoming Feb 2020 month-long cruise, we booked the launch fare in May  2018, again with no perks.  We added Sip'N'Sail when Princess offered that promo and did not change the fares.  Better than nothing, and it was not a port-intensive cruise.  When 3 for Free rolled around in Aug 2017, our fare had dropped by $1000pp ... so we refared and took that promo.  Over time, the fare went up to some $800pp over our launch fare, and is currently more than $1500pp above our locked-in fare.  So, even tho this cruise is listed in the new SNS promo, we're not giving up our lowered fare, free grats, and significant OBC for a beverage pkg with minimal value for us.

 

In May this year, when Princess released new itineraries, we booked a Fall 2020 sailing, again launch fare with no perks.  This is another itinerary not offered but once or twice a year, so the fares may hold at or above the launch amount.  In any event, we plan to add the Sip'N'Sail promo mostly because we believe our cabin category will be sold out (not many of them on the ship) by the time 3 for Free comes out ... so we wouldn't be able to change out the promos.  The bev pkg, tho of limited value to us, would be better than no perks at all.  Hopefully, we'll be pleasantly surprised and be able to trade it out for 3 for Free's grats and OBC.

 

So, I do monitor the prices and promos ... and, as best as possible, we try to maximize what is of value to us.         

You do have this all well orchestrated. My question is how do you know what and when launch fairs are announced?  Thank you

[CruiseVA]

Rarely is it cheaper to re-book for the Sip and Sail, especially if you booked for a good promo earlier. I found that a Med Cruise I booked way out ended up being about $100 more per person... Otherwise, by the time I removed the promo credit I had it was more to re-book than to simply purchase the packer (which I wouldn't do anyways).

 

[pms4104]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

You do have this all well orchestrated. My question is how do you know what and when launch fairs are announced?  Thank you

Very often CC members will initiate a thread alerting us of when Princess will release new itineraries.  And some people here seem to have an inside track and will post links to pdf docs with details of those new releases. 

 

Not all destination regions are released at the same time, so just watching these Princess boards for such threads should guide you.  Except for mid-May opening of carib, Panama Canal, west coast and Mexico I'm not sure of Princess' typical release schedule.  Hopefully someone can chime in on other regions.

Edited June 29, 2019 by pms4104

[Vineyard View]

Thank you pms4104. There was mention of Sea of Cortez on the West Coast, and I was actually searching for and not finding one - so I guess I will just keep more in touch with the Princess Boards. 

[pms4104]

7 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you pms4104. There was mention of Sea of Cortez on the West Coast, and I was actually searching for and not finding one - so I guess I will just keep more in touch with the Princess Boards. 

On the Princess website, search for Mexico 10-nt sailings ... there are some 8 or 9 sailings roundtrip LA thru Apr 2021 for Baja/Sea of Cortez.  Some have Sip 'n' Sail, and the fares look to be at or near launch fare.  At least one is under Sun Drenched deals ... I think that promo may be non-refundable deposit, but I didn't read the terms.

 

These are released mid-May, and the next release in 2020 likely will go thru Spring 2022.   Our experience with mini suites:  we booked way far out, and the prices for minis just kept going up and up.

[Vineyard View]

3 hours ago, pms4104 said:

On the Princess website, search for Mexico 10-nt sailings ... there are some 8 or 9 sailings roundtrip LA thru Apr 2021 for Baja/Sea of Cortez.  Some have Sip 'n' Sail, and the fares look to be at or near launch fare.  At least one is under Sun Drenched deals ... I think that promo may be non-refundable deposit, but I didn't read the terms.

 

These are released mid-May, and the next release in 2020 likely will go thru Spring 2022.   Our experience with mini suites:  we booked way far out, and the prices for minis just kept going up and up.

Thank you again. I was looking at California Coast and simply missed the Mexico separate section. I am still on the fence between Aft balcony and mini-suite. I have an aft on hold for RT SFO to Vancouver. 

[pms4104]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you again. I was looking at California Coast and simply missed the Mexico separate section. I am still on the fence between Aft balcony and mini-suite. I have an aft on hold for RT SFO to Vancouver. 

Glad my info was helpful to you.

 

Except on the Coral and the Royal Class ships, we try for Emerald deck minis ... the last half dozen on each side of the ship are the only fully covered minis.  I can't speak to the Aft balconies.

Edited June 29, 2019 by pms4104

[Vineyard View]

Thanks again. We are looking forward to this easy itinerary- and good info about the Emerald deck!

[Thrak]

We booked with the "whatever box" TA for this as previously posted. However, while Princess definitely shows the booking and all of the perks (we actually got extra OBC not shown by Princess...) we don't have an electronic copy of the booking or the benefits. Like I said, Princess shows "most" of the benefits but there is a substantial amount of OBC not shown. It does show on our physical printout but we want it as an electronic copy as well.

 

I am getting "peeved". We booked with a local, physical, branch of this "agency". We have hard copy printouts of the terms of the booking. Princess shows most of this information. However.... We have always gotten an electronic copy of the booking and perks in the past. This is the first time we have booked with this, supposedly, "X"cellent TA.

 

On June 5th we booked. On June 10th my wife requested (via email) an electronic copy of the booking. Nothing. Crickets. On June 25th I followed up with another request. Crickets... I am getting PEEVED. I will have to call them on Monday (July 1st) and get snotty. WHY will they not give us an electronic copy for our records or even acknowledge our requests? When we went in and booked the "listed" agent was the husband but he seemed totally incompetent and his wife did all the work. The only contact email is for the husband. Hmmmmmmmm... I will call on Monday and try to get this stuff straightened out. This is the only time we have ever booked with this "X"cellent agency and the only time we have ever had an issue such as this. Sadly, our regular (and freaking GREAT) TA couldn't possibly have offered us free gratuities and free beverage package. Otherwise there is no way we would have booked with someone else.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Thrak

[2 cruises a year]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

We booked with the "whatever box" TA for this as previously posted. However, while Princess definitely shows the booking and all of the perks (we actually got extra OBC not shown by Princess...) we don't have an electronic copy of the booking or the benefits. Like I said, Princess shows "most" of the benefits but there is a substantial amount of OBC not shown. It does show on our physical printout but we want it as an electronic copy as well.

 

I am getting "peeved". We booked with a local, physical, branch of this "agency". We have hard copy printouts of the terms of the booking. Princess shows most of this information. However.... We have always gotten an electronic copy of the booking and perks in the past. This is the first time we have booked with this, supposedly, "X"cellent TA.

 

On June 5th we booked. On June 10th my wife requested (via email) an electronic copy of the booking. Nothing. Crickets. On June 25th I followed up with another request. Crickets... I am getting PEEVED. I will have to call them on Monday (July 1st) and get snotty. WHY will they not give us an electronic copy for our records or even acknowledge our requests? When we went in and booked the "listed" agent was the husband but he seemed totally incompetent and his wife did all the work. The only contact email is for the husband. Hmmmmmmmm... I will call on Monday and try to get this stuff straightened out. This is the only time we have ever booked with this "X"cellent agency and the only time we have ever had an issue such as this. Sadly, our regular (and freaking GREAT) TA couldn't possibly have offered us free gratuities and free beverage package. Otherwise there is no way we would have booked with someone else.

Hmmm, hopefully not another example of "if it seems too good to be true...".

Probably not though, they seem to be very popular.

[erber]

It is my understanding that not all TA obc shows up on the cruise personalizer. We just booked with a large online TA for a cruise next summer to Norway and Iceland. TA deal included free gratuities and some obc (in addition to 2 nights in a hotel in Copenhagen and also transfer to the ship to board). On my cruise personalizer I see the free gratuities that the TA is paying for but not the obc. In the Travel Summary it specifically states that purchased or gifted obc won't show up until we are on board. So I am assuming the obc the TA is giving us won't be available until we are onboard (so we cannot use it now for excursions...but we have another plan....to use part of it for internet when we exchange our free minutes nd the rest of it to book one more excursion once on board).

[happy cruzer]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

We booked with the "whatever box" TA for this as previously posted. However, while Princess definitely shows the booking and all of the perks (we actually got extra OBC not shown by Princess...) we don't have an electronic copy of the booking or the benefits. Like I said, Princess shows "most" of the benefits but there is a substantial amount of OBC not shown. It does show on our physical printout but we want it as an electronic copy as well.

 

I am getting "peeved". We booked with a local, physical, branch of this "agency". We have hard copy printouts of the terms of the booking. Princess shows most of this information. However.... We have always gotten an electronic copy of the booking and perks in the past. This is the first time we have booked with this, supposedly, "X"cellent TA.

 

On June 5th we booked. On June 10th my wife requested (via email) an electronic copy of the booking. Nothing. Crickets. On June 25th I followed up with another request. Crickets... I am getting PEEVED. I will have to call them on Monday (July 1st) and get snotty. WHY will they not give us an electronic copy for our records or even acknowledge our requests? When we went in and booked the "listed" agent was the husband but he seemed totally incompetent and his wife did all the work. The only contact email is for the husband. Hmmmmmmmm... I will call on Monday and try to get this stuff straightened out. This is the only time we have ever booked with this "X"cellent agency and the only time we have ever had an issue such as this. Sadly, our regular (and freaking GREAT) TA couldn't possibly have offered us free gratuities and free beverage package. Otherwise there is no way we would have booked with someone else.

A phone call will hopefully fix this.  Maybe should have done that before getting frustrated?  If the email is hubby's and agent is the wife, that is probably the problem.  Glad you have hard copy. Hope it works out.

[Thrak]

On 6/30/2019 at 1:22 AM, 2 cruises a year said:

Hmmm, hopefully not another example of "if it seems too good to be true...".

Probably not though, they seem to be very popular.

 

I finally called the TA today. I spoke with the woman of the team (husband and wife) who is very professional and she was appalled we hadn't received any answer to our queries regarding electronic copies of our booking. The email is in her husband's name and we weren't particularly impressed with him when we booked the cruises. His wife seemed to be the one who had a clue and he seemed kind of "extra" even though things are in his name. I had electronic copies of the bookings almost immediately as well as a follow up phone call from her husband apologizing. I was horrified when he said he "hadn't checked his mail in a while". WHAT? How can one run an agency that way? I have the feeling his wife probably ripped him a new one and he will be more on the ball from now on. She really was appalled and apologetic.

[ceilidh1]

35 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

I finally called the TA today. I spoke with the woman of the team (husband and wife) who is very professional and she was appalled we hadn't received any answer to our queries regarding electronic copies of our booking. The email is in her husband's name and we weren't particularly impressed with him when we booked the cruises. His wife seemed to be the one who had a clue and he seemed kind of "extra" even though things are in his name. I had electronic copies of the bookings almost immediately as well as a follow up phone call from her husband apologizing. I was horrified when he said he "hadn't checked his mail in a while". WHAT? How can one run an agency that way? I have the feeling his wife probably ripped him a new one and he will be more on the ball from now on. She really was appalled and apologetic.

Like you, I had never booked with this agency before and decided to give them a try for last year's sip n sail. I must say, I was very impressed with the professionalism and communication from the rep that I dealt with. She was very detailed in emailing exactly what my booking included even though, like you, I didn't see all of the OBC listed. We did have issues with the drink package onboard, but this was the fault of the ship - NOT the TA. In fact, she was the one that sorted the whole thing out and afterwards went to bat for me with Princess and got me some freebies on my next sailing with them! As a result, I have booked again with her for this year's sip n sail.

[Coral]

43 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

I finally called the TA today. I spoke with the woman of the team (husband and wife) who is very professional and she was appalled we hadn't received any answer to our queries regarding electronic copies of our booking. The email is in her husband's name and we weren't particularly impressed with him when we booked the cruises. His wife seemed to be the one who had a clue and he seemed kind of "extra" even though things are in his name. I had electronic copies of the bookings almost immediately as well as a follow up phone call from her husband apologizing. I was horrified when he said he "hadn't checked his mail in a while". WHAT? How can one run an agency that way? I have the feeling his wife probably ripped him a new one and he will be more on the ball from now on. She really was appalled and apologetic.

No amount of money (discount, amenities) will have me book with an incompetent agent. Not worth the savings.

[Thrak]

4 minutes ago, Coral said:

No amount of money (discount, amenities) will have me book with an incompetent agent. Not worth the savings.

The wife seemed quite competent and, despite some headaches from Princess as cabins were being booked, got us the same Caribe balcony for all 3 cruises. She just needs to take over the whole agency and put her husband out to pasture. 

 

We ended up with free gratuities, free beverage package, and additional OBC. 

[Coral]

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

The wife seemed quite competent and, despite some headaches from Princess as cabins were being booked, got us the same Caribe balcony for all 3 cruises. She just needs to take over the whole agency and put her husband out to pasture. 

 

We ended up with free gratuities, free beverage package, and additional OBC. 

I am familiar with the promo. I just won't leave a TA I know who will take care of me to save some $$$. I know I can depend on my TA which means the world to me. The next time you call - you may get the husband.

[Thrak]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I am familiar with the promo. I just won't leave a TA I know who will take care of me to save some $$$. I know I can depend on my TA which means the world to me. The next time you call - you may get the husband.

 

We were pretty hesitant to deviate from our normal TA but there is simply no way he could match the perks on this one. He knocks cash off the front end but I don't think he could match the free gratuities plus the free OBC they tossed in. I don't know that we would go this route again though as he is really a great TA and one I know we could count on if there was an issue. Money isn't everything... We will likely just make this a one time deal.