Best Sale Ever Starts December 11th

[RMMariner]

7 hours ago, casofilia said:

I have been an advocate for paying the Gratuities/Daily Service Charge very actively in the past.   The more I sail with Princess the less I am happy with their attitude, those in high places not the ground floor staff who I find excellent.  At some point, it looks like it is getting closer every time I travel, I am going to switch sides and ask for the CHARGE to be removed so I can see to my own gratuities.

 

I also am a proponent of paying your gratuities, but on recent cruises, I have talked to so many people that I have pulled their auto gratuities that I felt like the only one still paying. I can see how you feel like you do, but remember that the money is (hopefully) getting to the crew. I will continue to pay mine, but I do understand your frustration.

 

I wish Princess would just make the gratuities into a hotel charge or something like that. 

 

As a Canadian, I qualify for most US pricing, but I do understand cruisers from the UK and Australia feeling like the system is unfair. 

[tonit964]

Instead of trying to refare, I'm just going to add on the beverage package and gratuities which leads me to wonder, if I can add the grats for $5 PP,PD, with this sale, does Princess put up the remaining amount for the crew?

[lstone19]

2 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

Instead of trying to refare, I'm just going to add on the beverage package and gratuities which leads me to wonder, if I can add the grats for $5 PP,PD, with this sale, does Princess put up the remaining amount for the crew?

Where are you getting $5 pp pd for gratuities? The add-on options are $25 pp pd for beverages and Internet, $30 for beverages and gratuities, and $40 for all three. Notice the $15 difference to add gratuities to the beverage and Internet add-on.

[tonit964]

47 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

Where are you getting $5 pp pd for gratuities? The add-on options are $25 pp pd for beverages and Internet, $30 for beverages and gratuities, and $40 for all three. Notice the $15 difference to add gratuities to the beverage and Internet add-on.

My math could be off but I would opt for the beverage package & grats, which would be $30 pp,pd as you stated.

 

So, $25 for the drink package and $5 for the grats is what it breaks out to. So I'm only paying $35 for the week for the grats, where normally it would cost me $101 for the week. I was just curious how the remainder is paid out to the staff.

[casofilia]

@RMMariner 

 

I can see how you feel like you do, but remember that the money is (hopefully) getting to the crew.

 

While Princess refuses to give a breakdown of where the Gratuities go then more and more people will assume that Princess is skimming off the top and will stop paying.

[CineGraphic]

15 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

So I'm only paying $35 for the week for the grats, where normally it would cost me $101 for the week. I was just curious how the remainder is paid out to the staff.

It's coming from the rest of your fare. We always book the 3 for free, so where do you think the gratuities come from in our case!?

[Bruin Steve]

It's all called "Marketing"...

Rule #1--There is no free lunch.

 

I've been dealing with this sort of marketing for a while now--since I also cruise on Celebrity--and they've been doing this awhile.  Actually, Princess sort of has too...

 

No cruise line is just throwing in free drinks or free internet or OBC "just to be nice".  It is all very, very calculated.  You take a cruise fare, then figure an approximate value for the freebies...and you increase that cruise fare to account for it.

 

Some of the logic for the cruise lines:

People get excited about getting something for free--or thinking they are getting something for free.

Drink packages:  People seem to love the idea of not having to pay more for every drink they order.  But they lose sight of the idea that, at $70 per day--as it is with my upcoming Royal Princess cruise--you and your spouse would each have to drink about 7 drinks a day in order to just "break even".  The cruise lines know that very few people really average that.  But say you did...then all you are really doing is "prepaying" your bar bill.  The cruise line will take that every day of the week--You are guaranteeing you'll buy 14 drinks a day between the two of you--and paying for them up front.  Then, most people never even collect on all 14.  And, the people who DO drink more than 7?  The cruise line doesn't mind all that much...because each drink they would otherwise charge $8-10 for really only cost them 50 cents or less.  Think about a bottle you buy at home, what it costs and how many drinks you get out of the bottle.  Now remember, Princess buys that stuff at large-volume wholesale prices.  Their profit margin is SO BIG that they wouldn't even mind discounting that package price a bit--if they could get more people to opt for it.  It's all good for them.  So, might as well throw it in on a booking deal.

OBC?  They love it.  They really don't discount it much when throwing it in on these sales.  And, so, you've basically just prepaid that amount and now they are guaranteed that you spend it on the ship--and they profit from everything you buy.  And, mostly, they hope you use it in the casino--because that's a sure winner for them.

Gratuities:  They are really just having you prepay these under the guise of it being a perk.  Assuming we're paying them anyway, it doesn't matter much.

Internet?  That doesn't really cost them much of anything, so it's profit anyway.

 

So, after all that, what is the pricing?  Probably, the total bump in price is equal to any gratuities, at least 80% of any OBC given, and at least 60% of the drink package.  To the consumer, assuming they were going to buy ALL of that anyway, it looks like a nice discount.  If you only drink 3-4 drinks a day max, don't really waste that much time on the internet during your cruise, or have little you want to use the OBC on, then it may not be worth it.

 

As to whether or not the sale saves you anything, again, it depends a lot on what you really need...and also keep in mind that prices ALWAYS fluctuate.  ANY current deal may be better--or worse--than whatever you booked it at.

But, whatever it is, it's not because the cruise line suddenly decided to become overly generous.  No, they are just marketing--trying to book more cruises, trying to sell (and, remember, they are selling them, not giving them away) more drink packages and more internet packages...and more stuff on the ship...and trying to get more people to prepay their gratuities.

 

There is a good chance it all works for you...and a good chance it doesn't really work for you.

 

But, remember:  There is no free lunch.

[tonit964]

11 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

It's coming from the rest of your fare. We always book the 3 for free, so where do you think the gratuities come from in our case!?

No intentions of turning this into a tipping thread but if its built into the fare, then who does the tips that are added on go to?

[MamaFej]

56 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

It's all called "Marketing"...

Rule #1--There is no free lunch.

...

But, remember:  There is no free lunch.

I agree whole-heartedly. I have taught my kids to avoid the word "free" and instead use the word "included." Businesses exist to earn profits. All the different marketing gimmicks are designed to appeal to different subsets of the population to lead to more profit. When something is touted as "free" it's really included in the overall price. 

 

I book a cruise and inclusions based on a price I am willing to pay. That said, I do watch the promotions and play the re-faring game. When taking advantage of a new promotion increases my perceived value (as values for various inclusions are different for different people) I do so. When it doesn't, I don't. 

 

Huge thanks to the OP and to those who posted the TA site information! It looks like this sale, with the add-ons will increase our perceived value on two upcoming cruises!

 

Yes, it would be simpler for the consumer if there was one price that didn't change, but then what would all the algorithm programmers and marketers do for a living?😜

[iuac1]

Okay! As I understand this complicated discussion it sounds like if I have already booked my cruise I can now add on the free Bev. package and the free gratuities for $30 a day per person. I just need to contact my TA and they can add this to my cruise. I hope that is true because I would like to have those options included on my cruise. Thanks for any help you can give.

[azbirdmom]

13 hours ago, casofilia said:

I see we are being discriminated against yet AGAIN.

 

 and is only available to residents of 50 United States or D.C., Canada, and Puerto Rico. 

 

13 hours ago, datone said:

Yes we are - we never get anything like this.   Starting to get sick of it and thinking of jumping ship to another company.  Though I am seriously considering having my own sale on my next cruise - free gratuities? - yes please - just don't pay them!

 

Actually it will be available December 13th at 9 AM for those in Australia based on what I found out on the web.  Check with your travel advisor or Princess as they will likely have the details.

 

[azbirdmom]

19 minutes ago, iuac1 said:

Okay! As I understand this complicated discussion it sounds like if I have already booked my cruise I can now add on the free Bev. package and the free gratuities for $30 a day per person. I just need to contact my TA and they can add this to my cruise. I hope that is true because I would like to have those options included on my cruise. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

Yes you can add perks to your cruise by speaking with your TA or Princess on or after December 11th.  But you can't choose which package you want, it depends on the the promo you booked under per the chart below.  Another caveat - this is for sailings April 2020 and after.

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by azbirdmom

[lstone19]

4 hours ago, tonit964 said:

My math could be off but I would opt for the beverage package & grats, which would be $30 pp,pd as you stated.

 

So, $25 for the drink package and $5 for the grats is what it breaks out to. So I'm only paying $35 for the week for the grats, where normally it would cost me $101 for the week. I was just curious how the remainder is paid out to the staff.

 

But the beverage package is not $25 pp pd. What's being offered for $25 pp pd is Beverages plus Internet. The $30 pp pd with gratuities does not have Internet. All three are $40 pp pd. It's pretty easy to reverse engineer the pricing into its components:

Internet: $10 pp pd

Gratuities: $15 pp pd

Beverages: $15 pp pd

Those amounts will sum to the three add-ons they're offering. The only real surprise is that they're essentially offering the beverage package for $15 pp pd provided you also buy one of the other amenities.

[Daniel A]

29 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

 

But the beverage package is not $25 pp pd. What's being offered for $25 pp pd is Beverages plus Internet. The $30 pp pd with gratuities does not have Internet. All three are $40 pp pd. It's pretty easy to reverse engineer the pricing into its components:

Internet: $10 pp pd

Gratuities: $15 pp pd

Beverages: $15 pp pd

Those amounts will sum to the three add-ons they're offering. The only real surprise is that they're essentially offering the beverage package for $15 pp pd provided you also buy one of the other amenities.

Even if the beverage package was $25/day if you had a pre dinner cocktail, a glass of wine with dinner and a couple of coffees at IC each day, you are probably doing better than breaking even.  It's a pretty good deal.

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 But you can't choose which package you want, it depends on the the promo you booked under per the chart below.  Another caveat - this is for sailings April 2020 and after.

 

 

I think you are incorrect, the example you posted are just examples - a cheat sheet for a TA. See the top of that page:

 

See first paragraph "---- for a modest upcharge using Offer Codes below" and then the last sentence "---- recommended upsell Offer Codes"

[billco]

I’ll say it again. The biggest factor in my decision not to add amenities to my Cyber Sale booking is the amount of OBC I already have. A factor not to rebook will be the $800 airfare discount and the $400 OBC compared to the Best Ever Sale. We’ll see when the pricing is available. Not that complicated.

[azbirdmom]

30 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

 

I think you are incorrect, the example you posted are just examples - a cheat sheet for a TA. See the top of that page:

 

See first paragraph "---- for a modest upcharge using Offer Codes below" and then the last sentence "---- recommended upsell Offer Codes"

 

Well it is a little confusing and we will have to wait and see what codes will be accepted on Tuesday.  I would love to pay $30 PP per day for drinks and gratuities instead of $40 with wifi on our future bookings.  We can get by on our internet minutes or purchase one unlimited plan on day 1 with the Platinum / Elite discount and do better.  I hope you are right!

[Tedferg]

8 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Well it is a little confusing and we will have to wait and see what codes will be accepted on Tuesday.  I would love to pay $30 PP per day for drinks and gratuities instead of $40 with wifi on our future bookings.  We can get by on our internet minutes or purchase one unlimited plan on day 1 with the Platinum / Elite discount and do better.  I hope you are right!

Exactly, me too - I have read and reread the wonderful link you posted, hoping my reading is correct 🙂

 

[Scotmay]

We already have gratuities and would only need (?) PBP and wifi, but don't actually know if we would actually use both of these enough?  It is still $700 more for a 2 week cruise, and even more for us, as we are Canadian. It's quite the marketing ploy though. 

[2 cruises a year]

7 hours ago, tonit964 said:

No intentions of turning this into a tipping thread but if its built into the fare, then who does the tips that are added on go to?

From the flyer mentioned earlier:  Gratuities are paid on behalf of the guest.  So yes, they are actually paid.

General Terms (applicable to all portions of the Offer) – ONLY available if all guests in a stateroom elect to participate in the Offer. Offer expires February 29, 2020 and is only available to residents of 50 United States or D.C., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Offer and its parts are non-transferable, is not redeemable for cash at any point, and may not be combined with other offers or other onboard credits. Offer’s Drinks, Wi-Fi, and Gratuities are only available on board the ship (not applicable to land portions), may only
be used on a single voyage, and expire at the end of such voyage. Offer available on select voyages sailing starting March 26, 2020. If one guest in a stateroom elects not to avail itself of the Offer, the Offer may not be available for other guests in the same stateroom. Offer is only available on cruises indicated as “Best. Sale. Ever.” Cruises at capacity will be excluded. Visit princess.com for full terms, inclusions and restrictions. *Fares are per guest and apply to minimum lead-in categories on a space-available
basis at time of booking. Fares are non-air, cruise- or cruisetour-only, based on double occupancy and apply to the first two guests in a stateroom. Fares and other values quoted in U.S. dollars. Please refer to princess.com for terms, conditions and definitions that apply to all bookings. †Premier Beverage Package is valid only for guests in a stateroom who are 21 years or older. Guests who are under 21 years of age at the time of sailing can still book the Best. Sale. Ever. pricing, but will only receive the Premier Coffee & Soda Package and will not receive any refund or otherwise for the alcohol portion of the Offer. A daily limit on alcoholic beverages will apply. ‡‡Wi-Fi included for one device per guest. Wi-Fi details will be delivered to guests prior to sailing or in the stateroom. All Internet usage subject to Princess Cruises’ standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidth may be blocked and offerings subject to change with or without notice. ‡Gratuities valid on select items only and are included in U.S. dollar amounts. Amount of gratuities paid on behalf of guest may vary based on stateroom type. This amount is paid on the behalf of each guest. Gratuities do not include gratuities added to bar charges, dining room wine accounts, or Lotus Spa services. Offer valid: December 11, 2019 – February 29, 2020 on select cruises sailing starting on March 26, 2020. Call Princess Cruises at 1.800.PRINCESS, your Cruise Vacation Planner, or your travel advisor with any questions about the offer. Changes or refunds may not be permitted. Deposit of $100 per guest is refundable. Full Suites require a $200 refundable deposit per guest. Cruises under 6 days require a $50 refundable deposit per guest. Deposits are
required for guests 1 and 2 only. Reference promotion code: NZ*. Note: For assistance reserving a wheelchair-accessible stateroom, please call 1.800.774.6237. ©2019, Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. Ships of Bermudan and British registry.

[victory2020]

If you refare /rebook do you loose your air? The air I booked is higher now, other lines are the same price but I prefer AA.

[Tedferg]

36 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

If you refare /rebook do you loose your air? The air I booked is higher now, other lines are the same price but I prefer AA.

I hate to be a broken record but if you look at 'Retro Guidelines' on the link provided, Princess goes out of their way to show no need to refare - just add amenities. This is very unusual hence the confusion.

[tonit964]

6 hours ago, lstone19 said:

 

But the beverage package is not $25 pp pd. What's being offered for $25 pp pd is Beverages plus Internet. The $30 pp pd with gratuities does not have Internet. All three are $40 pp pd. It's pretty easy to reverse engineer the pricing into its components:

Internet: $10 pp pd

Gratuities: $15 pp pd

Beverages: $15 pp pd

Those amounts will sum to the three add-ons they're offering. The only real surprise is that they're essentially offering the beverage package for $15 pp pd provided you also buy one of the other amenities.

My current promo includes internet & OBC. I'll be adding on Beverage package and Grats so, $30 pp pd is worth it to me and I'm not going to overthink this anymore and just enjoy this sale and cruise in April.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, tonit964 said:

My current promo includes internet & OBC. I'll be adding on Beverage package and Grats so, $30 pp pd is worth it to me and I'm not going to overthink this anymore and just enjoy this sale and cruise in April.

It is a great deal because grats are $14.50/day for regular cabins, so the drink package is $15.50 out of the $30 and not hard to spend that each day - even port days.  Unfortunately, our current bookings already have free grats.  Too bad I cannot buy the beverage package singly for $15!!  LOL.

 

Beverage plus Internet is $25/day. The internet is really only worth $3.20pp/day on two of our bookings and $2/pp/day on the other (I am considering fact that personally we pay a discounted price and share the plan). 

 

That means $22 - $23/pp/day for drinks.  Don't really spend that much, considering port days.  Bringing on wine runs me about $10/pp/day, but depends if I can bring enough for a long cruise.  I am getting my head around it and might try this package for one of us at least.  It is a big number for a longer cruise for sure to pay.

 

Actually, why not book it while it lasts and worry about it later at final payment?  I imagine it is cancellable.

 

[yogi_6977]

5 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

From the flyer mentioned earlier:  Gratuities are paid on behalf of the guest.  So yes, they are actually paid.

General Terms (applicable to all portions of the Offer) – ONLY available if all guests in a stateroom elect to participate in the Offer. Offer expires February 29, 2020 and is only available to residents of 50 United States or D.C., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Offer and its parts are non-transferable, is not redeemable for cash at any point, and may not be combined with other offers or other onboard credits. Offer’s Drinks, Wi-Fi, and Gratuities are only available on board the ship (not applicable to land portions), may only
be used on a single voyage, and expire at the end of such voyage. Offer available on select voyages sailing starting March 26, 2020. If one guest in a stateroom elects not to avail itself of the Offer, the Offer may not be available for other guests in the same stateroom. Offer is only available on cruises indicated as “Best. Sale. Ever.” Cruises at capacity will be excluded. Visit princess.com for full terms, inclusions and restrictions. *Fares are per guest and apply to minimum lead-in categories on a space-available
basis at time of booking. Fares are non-air, cruise- or cruisetour-only, based on double occupancy and apply to the first two guests in a stateroom. Fares and other values quoted in U.S. dollars. Please refer to princess.com for terms, conditions and definitions that apply to all bookings. †Premier Beverage Package is valid only for guests in a stateroom who are 21 years or older. Guests who are under 21 years of age at the time of sailing can still book the Best. Sale. Ever. pricing, but will only receive the Premier Coffee & Soda Package and will not receive any refund or otherwise for the alcohol portion of the Offer. A daily limit on alcoholic beverages will apply. ‡‡Wi-Fi included for one device per guest. Wi-Fi details will be delivered to guests prior to sailing or in the stateroom. All Internet usage subject to Princess Cruises’ standard policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage. Applications that use high bandwidth may be blocked and offerings subject to change with or without notice. ‡Gratuities valid on select items only and are included in U.S. dollar amounts. Amount of gratuities paid on behalf of guest may vary based on stateroom type. This amount is paid on the behalf of each guest. Gratuities do not include gratuities added to bar charges, dining room wine accounts, or Lotus Spa services. Offer valid: December 11, 2019 – February 29, 2020 on select cruises sailing starting on March 26, 2020. Call Princess Cruises at 1.800.PRINCESS, your Cruise Vacation Planner, or your travel advisor with any questions about the offer. Changes or refunds may not be permitted. Deposit of $100 per guest is refundable. Full Suites require a $200 refundable deposit per guest. Cruises under 6 days require a $50 refundable deposit per guest. Deposits are
required for guests 1 and 2 only. Reference promotion code: NZ*. Note: For assistance reserving a wheelchair-accessible stateroom, please call 1.800.774.6237. ©2019, Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. Ships of Bermudan and British registry.