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Princess VIP Cruise Comp question

MarinerBoy

By MarinerBoy,
in Princess Cruises

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MarinerBoy

MarinerBoy

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Got a flyer asking us to book a free balcony with VIP benefits on a selected listing of cruises. All sorts of options from 5 day to 15 day. We selected a 15 day Hawaii cruise in December. Why in the world would Princess offer such luxury cruises free? I understand we play a lot in the casino but what idiot is going to select a 5 day cruise when a 15 day Hawaii cruise which is by far the most expensive and hard to find cruise esp in Dec is free? Incredible.

 

On top of this free comp we get VIP benefits for the whole 15 days and the best part is by accepting this free trip we also qualify for another free VIP Ultimate trip later in 2021 or 2022.

 

So, 2 free cruises worth up to 3k usd pp each, wow! Princess just handed us 12k worth of cruises for free? Why?

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suekel

suekel

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We did the same thing.  I wasn't planning on booking another cruise but my husband said do it!  We get back from a TA the week before.  I've had free cruises before but not a VIP.  I'm curious to see how it goes.  See you on board!  

 

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azbirdmom Great Review Rare

azbirdmom

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1 hour ago, MarinerBoy said:

So, 2 free cruises worth up to 3k usd pp each, wow! Princess just handed us 12k worth of cruises for free? Why?

 

Because they expect that the casino will extract far more than the value of the cruise from you.  They do the same thing in Vegas and other gaming oriented enterprises.  Sometimes you will win but the odds are always with the house.  And if you are entertained and can afford the casino spend, then it's worth it.

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MarinerBoy

MarinerBoy

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When called to book i had to pay $235 in taxes + $200 per person non refundable deposit which gets converted to ship credit. This is a total of $400 ship credits coming back to us, so we only pay $235 each for 15 days to Hawaii in December, unreal value.

 

I called to confirm this was true and the call center lady said the "casino" is paying the balance of the fare, so somehow the casino has its own bankroll and budget, and the casino has power to pay off your debt.. why? Incredible, imagine this guys, out of the blue a 15 day all expenses paid cruise to Hawaii.. just like that, wow!

 

And they will throw in a second cruise free called VIP ULTIMATE, who in the world is making these marketing decisions.. 2 free cruises for 2, worth over $10,000+ in value just to have fun in the casino, drink free drinks, relax, go out to eat.. what a life!

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caribill

caribill

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6 hours ago, MarinerBoy said:

Got a flyer asking us to book a free balcony with VIP benefits on a selected listing of cruises. All sorts of options from 5 day to 15 day. ch, wow! Princess just handed us 12k worth of cruises for free? Why?

 

What are the VIP benefits?

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franktown

franktown

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The way the casino looks at it is on a fifteen day cruise you have a lot more time to gamble especially with many sea days like the Hawaii cruise.  They might lose money on you but they will make it up on others.  They are not in the business of losing money.  

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Sprocket

Sprocket

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I called and tried to book this cruise and there is no one there taking calls right now.  I ended up calling the main Princess line and was given the email address and got an automatic response saying someone would contact me in December that it goes by order of emails received.

 

The cabin I want is available to upgrade to, just afraid we'll lose it by having to wait.

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Jadn13

Jadn13

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4 minutes ago, Sprocket said:

I called and tried to book this cruise and there is no one there taking calls right now.  I ended up calling the main Princess line and was given the email address and got an automatic response saying someone would contact me in December that it goes by order of emails received.

 

The cabin I want is available to upgrade to, just afraid we'll lose it by having to wait.

They are ridiculously busy, i suggest calling when they open, it’s the only way we have been able to book the last few weeks. Plan to be on hold for at least 30mins.

I tried sending an email but never received a response. 

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Sprocket

Sprocket

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Thanks for the reply, after calling the casino line for days I gave up and called the 1-800# and was told they can only be reached by email.  I just get the message that they are closed.  For now at least, its frustrating but we are living in complicated times.

 

Really hope someone gets back to me.

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Roger88

Roger88

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I wonder how new Casino rules with Covid will be applied on practise . I wonder if we will be able to have the same experience in the casino like before. Right now I cant imagine tons of people gathering by the poker table 

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MarinerBoy

MarinerBoy

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6 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

We just booked a few of these as well.


Quick  Tip-   Always  read the fine print because some offers are valid on up to 3 bookings. 🚢

 

 

Our flyer said up to 3 offers but that's a misprint. There is no way Princess will give away 3 free cruises think about it. 

 

We just paid the taxes + fees and got our confirmation of booking! Imagine I can do this 2 more times, is that true 3 free cruises?

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MarinerBoy

MarinerBoy

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3 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

Here's 2 interesting posts about the VIP sailings from the casino board:

 

175797644_ScreenShot2020-11-29at10_55_01AM.png.69b652eab103f6034805fc89ea80245e.png

 

This is quite interesting, which forum is this posted at, link? Also the topic in discussion on this screen shot is the Ultimate VIP cruise the "end game" cruise but you still need to qualify for that cruise by going on up to 3 free cruises. 

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Jadn13

Jadn13

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1 hour ago, MarinerBoy said:

 

Our flyer said up to 3 offers but that's a misprint. There is no way Princess will give away 3 free cruises think about it. 

 

We just paid the taxes + fees and got our confirmation of booking! Imagine I can do this 2 more times, is that true 3 free cruises?

Not a misprint.

Sometimes its’s only the cabin that you can book up to 3 and not all the amenities but yes true

Edited by Jadn13
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trbarton "Live from...." Rare

trbarton

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FYI..Since these offers/cruises are be done through the company that controls the casino’s on the cruise ship they are taking care of the costs. This is strictly through this casino company & not through Princess. 
 

I have contacted before, the company that runs the casino’s on most of the cruise ship’s, & was told that I didn’t qualify. 
 

Tom

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Jadn13

Jadn13

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28 minutes ago, leck57 said:

But MarinerBoy...weren't you the person questioning people "wasting" their money by booking suites? So you get this offer because of the amount of money you spend in the casino?


It must be through a tier system. I don’t play that much and mostly get offered comped interior cabins sometimes window and balcony but mostly interior. 

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Jadn13

Jadn13

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6 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Through September 2021, currently. (I believe)

November 

 

6 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Through September 2021, currently. (I believe)

November 1, 2021 the 7 day sailings (US) CDC regulation expires 

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Daniel A

Daniel A

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7 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Through September 2021, currently. (I believe)

 

1 hour ago, Jadn13 said:

November 

 

November 1, 2021 the 7 day sailings (US) CDC regulation expires 

Thanks for your responses.  My reading of framework is that cruise operators may not offer to sail cruises of more  than 7 days and that the prohibition on making offers expires November 1, 2021.  In other words, the framework specifically prohibits sailing more than 7 days until November 1, but they also added a prohibition on even making offers to sail more than 7 days until after November 1.

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