Next Sale

[fishin' musician]

I helped my BIL/SIL book the Royal, Alaska NB back in October and I advised them of this sale.  They gave up $125 each OBC for $25 each OBC.  They gained a drink pkg, wifi, and got $728 knocked off their fare (balcony room E425).

[avonlady6390]

The obc added to the bse is available on this year's new England/Canada cruises when I called princess to add it to my booking she did say it was a resident perk since I live in florida that's how I got it.

[pink845]

I actually like the $2.00 or $1.00 fully refundable deposit sales.    Unless, you are a big drinker Best Ever Sale is of no use to me.  I did take advantage of it on the Sky last December as I had a large Future Cruise Credit with Princess and had a chance to splurge because of it with a Suite ) but after a couple of days of drinking whatever I wanted, the thrill diminished. You know you always want what you normally cant have and when you have it, well meh.     My husband travels with his own internet connection through his business, so we do not need Princess internet which the Best Ever Sale seems to offer (which is usually slow anyhow). 

 

Also, I got an excellent deal for our two cruises booked for next January 2021 where Princess was offering $750 per cabin (we have balconies obstructed on Royal Princess which basically brings our fare down to $2000 total for our balconies.).  That was a good one for us and I have yet seen a special advertised where I could bring those fares down even lower but I remain on watch!

[Iamcruzin]

On 2/17/2020 at 2:32 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

I feel like the BSE was a "trial run" for a new pricing scheme for Princess, as you mentioned, more akin to Celebrity's pricing structure.

When Celebrity started out offering the perks in2013 it was a good sale. Now the cruises are way over priced with the included extras. It forced me to book on Royal Caribbean. Even with purchasing a deluxe drink package and refreshment package the cost per day was less expensive than Celebrity's bundled plan for a similar cruise.  I would have also had to up grade to Celebrity's deluxe drink package in order to get the brands I drink.

[PoohUnderstands]

On 2/17/2020 at 12:20 PM, Bwana Tom said:

The Best Sale Ever is only a good sale if you planned on purchasing the very expensive drink package anyway. If you don't drink at all or only drink moderately you would likely be better waiting for another sale to come down the pike. That is what I am doing.

Tom

If deposit is deductible, I suggest you go ahead and book your cruise now.  This way you hopefully can still get the room you want.  You can always rebook if a better sale comes along(even if you have to change your room).  I must book like two years out because I will cruise only in this order( I have spoiled myself I am afraid!): 1-a window Suite(WS, S7), a forward CC mini(M6) or finally a Midship CC mini(M1).  Then I look out for refaring or rebooking as long as my category is available, which is not long.  But I have found that the best fare prices are very early even if you don't get all the perks then.  So I loved this B.S.E. sale as even though my category stateroom was sold out, I could add on some perks at a good price.  I also use EZair and book at 300 day mark as that is usually the best time to get the flights you want at the best prices.  But I have refared(flexible) several times on my cruises to get even better pricing and it is so easy to do.

 

So if you are planning on booking an inside, OV, or balcony, I would do now and then keep an eye out for different sales that come along and see if they save you money.

 

Pooh

[crystalspin]

On 2/17/2020 at 11:20 AM, Bwana Tom said:

The Best Sale Ever is only a good sale if you planned on purchasing the very expensive drink package anyway. If you don't drink at all or only drink moderately you would likely be better waiting for another sale to come down the pike. That is what I am doing.

Tom

The BSE was/is great INSTEAD of the pricey PBP. After deducting the HSC, I am getting the PBP for ~$15pppd. That is one espresso drink and one "boat drink" OR one nice wine with dinner. I was NOT planning on purchasing the very expensive drink package (for five people), but I was looking at coffee cards, wine packages, and/or paying corkage for a LOT of wine for our 14-day cruise. The BSE saves me all that (deduct the cost of those things and BSE has a positive value!).

 

I not only added on the partially code for my existing fare, I booked two more Princess fares under the full BSE. The Internet is frosting on the cake!