What's your ideal price per day? (all in, "Princess Plus" taxes, fees, etc)

[CineGraphic]

Now that we have "Princess Plus", those of you who price things down to the per day cost, what's the number that you need to see before giving your TA the green light to book?

 

[neverbeenhere]

 Western Caribbean, Alaska, TA, Med ...?

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Plus doesn't add a lot of value for us. Likely book without it in "22 when we can sail.

Edited September 23, 2020 by neverbeenhere
Because we love you.

[CineGraphic]

15 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

 Western Caribbean, Alaska, TA, Med ...?

 

Doesn't matter.....feel free to include any pertinent factors, including itinerary, cabin type, etc.

[voljeep]

Caribbean getaways - 4-6-7 days - Cat BB

 

Our 5 day Thanksgiving cruise that was cancelled - we were at $ 131 pp pd - all in Princess Plus

 

Mid April 2021 - same setup - $ 167 , $ 180 for deluxe balcony on caribe deck

 

looking at some 2022 , Caribbean cruise 7 day - early Feb - $ 210+

 

pre Covid-19 - we could sail inside cabin, aft - about $ 100 pp pd with Best 2DG

 

our 2022 fly and cruises will be in the $250+ pp pd range , I'm sure

[jwattle]

Our 2022 14 day TA, Premium Deluxe Balcony, true aft, with Princess Plus is $250pp from Southampton on the Sky including taxes and fees. I'm very happy with that. Also getting shareholder and military OBC, plus from our TA.😊

Edited September 23, 2020 by jwattle

[skynight]

Our 2022 balcony cabin fare is roughly around the same amount pp/day as we have been paying the last few years. The plus promo adds around $40/pp/day to that fare of which $14.50 is gratuities. The other $26 is really for the beverage package, since we don't require the always on line internet.

[susancruzs]

I sail single, paying double, if I want a particular cruise itinerary I book it.  I've been cruising since 1982 and 35+ cruises, never once thought about it.  I'm about itinerary, in my 30's took my first 7 day cruises, immediately started booking longer cruises.  I thought there's got to be more to cruising then the Caribbean. 

 

Third cruise, 1984 got a passport, flew to England, took the Norway back to the states.  I was a little nervous to do this alone but once I did, I was sold.  Cruising is an ideal way to travel by yourself.  I wish the prices were what I paid in 80's, 90's to sail as a single, 10%-20% extra, or deals now and then with no supplement.

 

In fact, I look at Princess website, call my TA, tell her what I saw, she emails me back, books it.  Her price is always better than Princess.  I've always booked this way, all about itinerary, wanting to go.

Edited September 23, 2020 by susancruzs
addition

[Thrak]

We don't have a set "price per person per day" number. We've booked cruises that were good deals and others that were priced much higher but we wanted to take the cruise so we booked anyway.

[Tapi]

We still have a Mexican Riviera cruise on Royal Princess for February 2021 which I haven’t canceled but I’m very inclined to do so. Deluxe Balcony Stateroom for $75 pp/pd all taxes included. 
 

I have since booked a Caribbean cruise on MSC Seaside for the same dates because the price was too good to pass up. Bella Balcony with $200 OBC and cancel for any reason until 48 hours prior to sailing for $37 pp/pd all taxes included. 
 

I’d rather sail on Princess, but MSC’s pricing and offers are too tempting. 

[iancal]

We usually do late booking.  There is no set price for us.  It depends first on the itinerary.  Then it depends on what the pricing is amongst the competition pre final payment.  Then we set a buy price.  It is really a function of supply and demand, not to mention the time.   We pay more for a Med cruise than we do for a Carib. or Mexican cruise.  

 

The final dependent is what is the cost of other competing travel options.  We found Sept/Oct balcony prices in the Med to be high over the past two years...even the last minute prices. So we simply carried on with our land plans because we were getting a lot more value and enjoying it as much or more.

[maggie777]

We like to book early, usually balcony aft BD at $200 plus$40 pp.This seems to be the new norm. Our favourite is a Med cruise combined with a TA which brings the daily average down.

[Steelers36]

Don't have a per day target, but I do calculate that out on my master spreadsheet I use for every voyage. 

 

I calculate our net cruise fare, after TA discount, plus taxes, and then I always add on Grats and then list all our credits (free Grats if get them, Princess OBC, TA OBC, FCD OBC, Shareholder OBC, Crown Grill covers, etc).  The net-net bottom line gives me a price per person, per day.  

 

It is an important number for me, because a future promotion price may have a lower cruise fare, but taking it can mean sacrificing some credits ("goodies"), so I look to the net-net bottom line to see if re-faring is worthwhile.

 

We book Insides - unless a similar pricing deal happens for a Balcony. 

 

I booked B2B's on SKY for Winter 2021, back in October 2019.  My net-net was never as good until middish July this year.  And now in Sep, the pricing for the first cruise is now net-net $11/pp/day (~$220) less, so I am going to re-fare that one. 

 

When booked was ~$111 net-net and now ~$100 net-net.  Thing is, everyone is going to be different, depending on if use a TA that discounts, versus one that doesn't, versus Princess that also doesn't, and depending on what credits they can qualify for (for example, many Princess customers get the military OBC and we don't).

 

I have not ever booked S&S promo, nor done the new P+ promo (don't drink enough, even at reduced cost).

 

[caribill]

For just the basic fare

 

Least I have paid in last 8 years: $33.27/day/person.

 

Highest I have paid in the last 8 years: $192.07/day/person

[pcur]

On 9/23/2020 at 1:26 PM, CineGraphic said:

Now that we have "Princess Plus", those of you who price things down to the per day cost, what's the number that you need to see before giving your TA the green light to book?

 

 

I added up all the nights we have booked right now on 6 cruises.  I got 10% off one for paying in full early, and that's factored into the total.  The cruises run anywhere from 3 nights to 28 nights, CA Coastal, Mexico, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Caribbean.

 

Subtracting out the $95 / day for  Princess Plus, it's $183 / night average for two people in an ocean view;  3 RCCL and 3 Princess.

Edited September 25, 2020 by pcur

[Tak8]

I've never done it per day for a cruise.  Sometimes I do it for a particular type of cabin.  Like how much more per day would I pay to move up to category X.

 

 

[Schonert]

On 9/23/2020 at 4:26 PM, CineGraphic said:

Now that we have "Princess Plus", those of you who price things down to the per day cost, what's the number that you need to see before giving your TA the green light to book?

 

I booked the Princess Plus, but is is not really a deal, it is costing us $1500 CAD more for two weeks.  Taking into account we would only get one internet, Tips, not drink a lot (we would get two coffee cards) , even if we bought 10 bottles of wine, it is still $700 more for the extra booze and pop.  

[Cruise Raider]

Before all the perks included in the Princess Best package  (please note that I am not calling them free perks as they usually add on around $40 a day pp), my price point was $100 - $125 a day pp, depending on the itinerary ... the lower end being an obstructed OV and the top of the range for a balcony.  We will go higher for a special occasion, bucket list itinerary or upgraded cabin type every so often. 

Once they added the Princess Best, though, I feel $150 a day pp for the lowest room category type (obstructed OV) we usually book is more than fair.  And, if I can also get a balcony or better for that price, I'm usually all over it if it fits in our schedule.  

We've splurged on a full suite a couple of times and all I can say is 'Wow'!  Well worth the extra $100 a day but, only when the budget allowed.  I must say, I find the Princess Best package to be a great deal for us.  We use the beverage package, the unlimited wi-fi and everyone uses the included tips.  We can lives without it but, why would we.  

 

[cruzsnooze]

I look for $300 PP PD in a suite. If it's more then that I go to Azamara and see what they have because they run about $300 PP PD for a balcony which is more inclusive so a better value and better ships and food.

[caribill]

10 hours ago, pcur said:

 

I added up all the nights we have booked right now on 6 cruises.  I got 10% off one for paying in full early, and that's factored into the total.  The cruises run anywhere from 3 nights to 28 nights, CA Coastal, Mexico, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Caribbean.

 

Subtracting out the $95 / day for  Princess Plus, it's $183 / night average for two people in an ocean view;  3 RCCL and 3 Princess.

 

The cost of getting Princess Plus is $40/day per person. $95/day/person is what Princess charges for the three benefits if purchased individually.

[pcur]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The cost of getting Princess Plus is $40/day per person. $95/day/person is what Princess charges for the three benefits if purchased individually.

 

Didn't know that; I just remembered the figure $95.  So, my average per day is more like $255. 

 

This is what I pay out at the front end.  When I figure my actual total cruise costs, I factor in the cash card I get when I get home, daily savings from at-home expenses, credits I get from my points credit card that can be converted to cash, and the added cash to my annual rebate for the travel purchase.

 

I recently researched alternative cruises, because 3 of our 6 currently booked cruises are potentially on the chopping block for one of several reasons.  When I used to work as a project manager, we called this kind of spreadsheet a "Monte Carlo" study:  apply the same set of factors to different scenarios to see the costs.  It's a "what-if" spreadsheet.  I have 13 scenarios with 6 different cruises.  The net out-of-pocket runs from + $5,696 to -$6,124 after factoring in all the post-cruise benefits.  My husband and I jokingly call it "waiting for the fairy dust to settle".  That's what I really look at, not the daily cost of the cruise.

Edited September 26, 2020 by pcur

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, pcur said:

daily savings from at-home expenses,

interesting - never really factored that in ... but on b2b2b 20+ day cruises, I guess there could be some savings there

 

less food cost

maybe utilities

suspend internet / cable if available ?

 

thanks

 

stay safe 

stay hydrated

 

[pcur]

7 minutes ago, voljeep said:

interesting - never really factored that in ... but on b2b2b 20+ day cruises, I guess there could be some savings there

 

less food cost

maybe utilities

suspend internet / cable if available ?

 

thanks

 

stay safe 

stay hydrated

 

 

Food, utilities, cable (if your provider has a vacation suspend option, but most require 30 days), car insurance if coverage set to garage-only, gasoline.  I have an average daily amount that I use.

 

I've used the cable TV suspension twice, and it was $25 a month.  I think car insurance has a minimum time like the cable provider.

Edited September 26, 2020 by pcur

[roxievegas]

We had a cancelled cruise on the Grand Princess to Alaska 14 day round trip out of LA

It was a interior, then they upgraded us to a OV - then cancelled the cruise

but we would have paid $123.20 per person per day - this included the princess insurance, port tax, comp gratuities, $400 OBC and $425 gambling in casino.

 

We currently have two cruises - same itinerary one Princess, one Celebrity.  7 night round trip out of LA - Calif coastal in 2021

 

Princess is a casino offer, free interior, but we paid for an upgrade to Balcony.  $75.21 per person per day.  Includes free gratuities, Free beverage package, free Wifi, $300 OBC and $1000 casino gambling money, insurance and port taxes.

 

Celebrity (booked over two years ago) $162.35 per person per day.  free gratuities, beverage package, $300, port taxes, no insurance and only $140 gambling.  

 

As you can see we are paying double for the Celebrity cruise and getting no Wfi, no insurance and less gambling money.

We will probably cancel the Celebrity, but for now we are on a wait and see.  We love Celebrity and wish they would run more ships out of LA or San Diego - our ports.

 

We will not do interior rooms again.  We will book a balcony, could careless if there is a full view, just want the capability of walking outside onto the balcony and getting fresh air with out going up on the decks.  With that I figure we will have to pay at least $150 per person per day depending on where we are going and what is included.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 9/23/2020 at 4:26 PM, CineGraphic said:

Now that we have "Princess Plus", those of you who price things down to the per day cost, what's the number that you need to see before giving your TA the green light to book?

 

Under $100 pp pd cruise only. Most all of our cruises are below $85 pp pd. Only exception are new ships that are usually higher. That is for ocean View cabins. We are booked on the Crown Princess for 4/2/2022 a 14 night cruise that will stop at 7 ports. That cruise for our OV Ocean View cabin Empress deck is $64.00 pp pd. In addition I will receive $250.00 Stock OBC $250.00 Military OBC and $60.00 from my TA for additional OBC. An unbelievable low $330.00 for the Port and Tax for 7 ports. Now that is a super price.

[waltd]

I'm always looking for something close to $100 a day per person.