Best sale ever offer code question

[aac1623]

We booked an Alaskan cruise back during the anniversary/ cyber sale in a D4 category room (deluxe aft balcony) on Royal through a big box retailer. I called today to add the BSE promo Best2DG, the lady called princess and said they cannot add it because that room category is sold out. Is this info correct? Should I call back? 

Edited February 2, 2020 by aac1623

[neverbeenhere]

Call back

[Buckeye10640]

22 minutes ago, aac1623 said:

We booked an Alaskan cruise back during the anniversary/ cyber sale in a D4 category room (deluxe aft balcony) on Royal through a big box retailer. I called today to add the BSE promo Best2DG, the lady called princess and said they cannot add it because that room category is sold out. Is this info correct? Should I call back? 

Not sure what promo code Best2DG is but Friday I contacted my 'Big Box Retailer' to add the drink package/internet pkg  to my Nov. Southern Carribean cruise for $25 per person per day.  It took a while on hold but we were successfil.  I do not know if my room category is sold out though. It wouldnt hurt to try again. 

[Astro Flyer]

Based on the BSE terms & conditions the offer is limited & based on what Princess said your category is sold out.

 

”Offer is capacity-controlled regardless of availability”.

 

Weekend reps are their least experienced so maybe call during weekday business hours to see if you get the same answer.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Astro Flyer

[azbirdmom]

Agree that you should try again tomorrow.  Here's the current codes by the way.

 

[jondfk]

I had a similar experience trying to add BEST3 to a January '21 sailing.  First rep said, "I can't refare because that category is sold out".  I called back a couple days later and asked to simply add the offer code to the booking - viola - your wish is granted.  New fare is $XXXX pp including drinks, wifi & grats.

 

So, it's definitely possible, but does take a bit of perseverance.

[voljeep]

make sure your TA knows its an ADD-ON and not a re-fare … educate them ...

[ceilidh1]

As others have said, you cannot refare to BSE if your category is sold out but you CAN add the code to your current fare. I just did it for one of my clients who is in a sold out category.

[aac1623]

Thanks everyone! I might have confused her with my wording as I asked a few different questions so I will try again this week and clarify add on! I just wanted to make sure I didn’t assume wrong! 

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

make sure your TA knows its an ADD-ON and not a re-fare … educate them ...

 

I believe that is the key.

[ceilidh1]

I would also add that you should go on to Princess.com and do a mock booking for your cruise and see if a non sold out category booked with BSE would work out at a better rate. Obviously, if you love your current room then that's not an option but if you would be happy in either a higher/lower category and can get it for a better price than adding the code then you can refare that way.

[azbirdmom]

This document has the instructions that your travel agent can follow to quickly add the package to your cruise.  Unless you have a casino discount, it should be fairly easy for them to add it.

PC_Best_Sale_Ever_Retro_Guidelines_FINAL updated.pdf

[Crystabel]

I’m confused about these coupon codes. Is the information only available to TAs, and then they spread the word on CC? Are they on The Princess web site somewhere? 

[voljeep]

yes, NOT on Princess website

 

we are very fortunate here on CC to have some very knowledgeable TA's who share valuable information provided to them,

such as upcoming sales, and in this case, the various special codes to either re-fare or ADD-ON the BSE... this has saved a lot of posters, including me, a lot of money 🤑

Edited February 3, 2020 by voljeep

[nini]

HOWEVER...… Do your math and find out if it REALLY will save you some cash.

We also booked a cruise/ cyber sale, most likely through your Box Store as well.

We do not drink that much and after I CAREFULLY did the math, the bottom line

was basically the same. AND, we can spend our generous OBC the way we would like,

not just on drinks. I should also mention that we are Platinum so WiFi in the BSE

package is not needed, as we can get enough WiFi already.

[rachel_95762]

Are there cruise date limitations that this applies to?  Will these codes work for a Feb 2020 cruise?

[Cruise Raider]

21 minutes ago, rachel_95762 said:

Are there cruise date limitations that this applies to?  Will these codes work for a Feb 2020 cruise?

 

I think the begin date is for cruises in April 2020 and beyond.  

[nini]

I know our TA said that this BSE sale goes through the end of the month.

[Elitein85days]

5 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

This document has the instructions that your travel agent can follow to quickly add the package to your cruise.  Unless you have a casino discount, it should be fairly easy for them to add it.

PC_Best_Sale_Ever_Retro_Guidelines_FINAL updated.pdf 329.96 kB · 19 downloads

Any luck getting this added to a casino rate cruise? I’ve called a couple times and they say it can’t be added without deleting the casino discount code. 

[ceilidh1]

BSE is slated to go to Feb 29th. I wouldn't be surprised if it is extended, given its popularity and the fact that so many other lines are doing this "all included" fare type. It is valid on bookings sailing April 2020 and beyond - I believe 3 days and over.

 

I cannot stress enough to you - do the math! The price of BSE compared to the price of non-BSE can often be significantly more and may not be as good a deal as it seems. The additional is PER PERSON so if you are travelling with kids, you are paying the same price for added perks as you would for an adult (kids get the soda/coffee package as well as the unlimited internet). This might not be necessary - only you can decide if it is worth it! Also, bear in mind that Princess always has non-refundable deposits available and this rate is usually less than the advertised refundable deposit rate. You would need to call Princess or your TA and ask what the price difference would be.

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, Elitein85days said:

Any luck getting this added to a casino rate cruise? I’ve called a couple times and they say it can’t be added without deleting the casino discount code. 

 

I failed initially but recently my TA called again on two future cruises we have booked.  She succeeded in getting all three perks added to one of the two cruises.  On this one we had no perks as we booked on the first day it was offered and our casino discount remained intact after the BSE perks were added.  On the other one she did not succeed.  That one was booked under the Landmark sale which gives us $500 OBC each.  According to Princess, we have "too many perks" already and they would not give us the package unless we gave up the OBC we got as part of the booking promo or eliminated the casino discount.  This is consistent with what others have reported hearing recently when they have tried to add the BSE amenities to a previously booked cruise with a casino discount.  By the way refaring isn't an option for cruise #2 for a variety of reasons but it can be for others as there is no problem having a casino discount applied to a new cruise booked with a casino discount.

Edited February 3, 2020 by azbirdmom

[SusieKIslandGirl]

I called my big box travel agent today and was successful adding the drinks and gratuities to 2 cruises-our May Alaska cruise that is past final payment and a Hawaii cruise for April 2021. She did say that I would have to get the full package because one of the cruises didn't have wi-fi already included but when I checked my personalizer (while on hold) we did have wi-fi so was able to get the $30 price. I figured with gratuities being nearly $15 per day that leaves $15 which just one drink and a special coffee plus a bottle of water for shore excursions will more than cover the cost. After that any beverage I want to try (who knows, I may find a new favorite) will be on the house.

[aac1623]

26 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

I called my big box travel agent today and was successful adding the drinks and gratuities to 2 cruises-our May Alaska cruise that is past final payment and a Hawaii cruise for April 2021. She did say that I would have to get the full package because one of the cruises didn't have wi-fi already included but when I checked my personalizer (while on hold) we did have wi-fi so was able to get the $30 price. I figured with gratuities being nearly $15 per day that leaves $15 which just one drink and a special coffee plus a bottle of water for shore excursions will more than cover the cost. After that any beverage I want to try (who knows, I may find a new favorite) will be on the house.

I also called back today and was successful after clarifying multiple times it was an ADD ON offer lol. I don’t think our cruise has WiFi (it’s not in the personalizer that I can see) but they didn’t say anything and added the $30 pp package (drinks and gratuities) originally we had the soda package, 1 Coffee card, 3 cases of water (DH drinks a TON of water!) so it’s only costing us a few bucks more. We probably would have bought more water so I’m sure we’re saving money!! 

[ToyFoxFan]

We are sailing on the Feb15 th  2020 cruise . I called Princess and asked to add on the offer. She told me my cruise was not eligible because it was the come back new offer and the sale didn't start till after March 26. Any help or advice?? TIA

[dockman]

Will Princess be properly staffed with bar and wait staff to handle the influx of drink orders that will likely expand greatly with all the people who have the Best Sale booze package?  I can envision some very long lines as people who normally don't utilize some of these services drink more booze and coffee to "get their moneys worth".

 

Will you be allowed to order more than one drink at a time to avoid having to wait for a second drink?  Will there be additional staff circulating in the show room where it can already be a fairly long wait sometimes to get a drink. What about staffing in speciality coffee areas?   Will they have extra staff taking and delivering drinks in the MDR or Lido restaurants where it can already be a wait to get served?

 

With recent staff cutbacks where will they pull extra staff from to assist with increased drink demand?  

 

Let's hope that marketing is actually coordinating with onboard services that have to actually deliver the promised product.