Best Sale Ever solo booking switches to 40% off + 100 OBC

[PammyMouse]

Hi,

 

I am new to Princess and I am trying to make a solo booking on the website.  What lured me was the inclusion of drinks, wifi, gratuity, etc in the Best Sale Ever (BSE).  But when I use the booking tool, and switch to a single in the cabin it changes the offer to OBC and 40% off.  Is there a way to switch this?  Or do I already have this? It is a bit confusing.

 

Thanks,
PammyMouse

[Ombud]

Is Princess having the rate unicorn solo sale? Are you saying that the solo price for the cruise you are looking at is not double the regular price??? I want to book that!! Please let me know what date / area you're looking at

[seagunthera]

8 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Is Princess having the rate unicorn solo sale? Are you saying that the solo price for the cruise you are looking at is not double the regular price??? I want to book that!! Please let me know what date / area you're looking at

I grabbed an amazing mini-suite at this solo rate (2/19 to MR).  I also lost the drinks/wifi/etc., package that the OP spoke of but the price was so low that I couldn't pass it up!

[jpom18]

They've been having this sale for a bit now, I think it is only cruises this month and next and maybe March (Princess says Spring 2022 but I don't know what they classify as spring) and it expires on January 24th. 

 

I know the Caribbean I am on next week the solo rate is $400 more then the per person rate for 2, two people are $4000 each (CAD) and a solo is $4400 (Balcony).  It is for new booking only (so didn't help me)

 

As to the OP, I see the same thing, likely because of the sale they are not offering the BSE on solo rates.  When you consider that a normal cruise solo's basically pay for 2 full fares I guess Princess figures that the solo discount they are offering is far better then the BSE value.

 

It makes sense (sort of) when the standard per person fare for 2 is $4,000 standard, $5,200 for BSE, and $4,400 for a solo (without BSE).  Under normal conditions the solo would pay $10,000+ for the BSE.  No way that the Drinks, Grats, and Wi-FI would come out to the $5,600+ difference.

 

Keep in mind all my pricing is CAD. 

[seagunthera]

32 minutes ago, PammyMouse said:

Hi,

 

I am new to Princess and I am trying to make a solo booking on the website.  What lured me was the inclusion of drinks, wifi, gratuity, etc in the Best Sale Ever (BSE).  But when I use the booking tool, and switch to a single in the cabin it changes the offer to OBC and 40% off.  Is there a way to switch this?  Or do I already have this? It is a bit confusing.

 

Thanks,
PammyMouse

Following- if you figure out a way to switch it, please update! I booked yesterday and I have the option of paying for the gratuity on my personalizer so it was automatically added. 

[geoherb]

I was able to book a great rate for the Regal next month. It was actually $13 less expensive per person to book as a solo than double occupancy. The price only showed up when I signed in on the Princess website.

[cmecruise1962]

How much is the drink package for a 4 night cruise?  I have never sailed Princess...but might consider it at these prices!  🙂

[geoherb]

15 minutes ago, cmecruise1962 said:

How much is the drink package for a 4 night cruise?  I have never sailed Princess...but might consider it at these prices!  🙂

 

It depends. The usual cost for the Princess Plus fare is $40 per person per day. That includes up to 15 alcoholic drinks (up to a $12 price point), specialty coffees and teas, soda, unlimited internet for one device, and automatic gratuities for the crew. Sometimes, though, that price is not available with last-minute fares. 

 

The drink package on its own is $70.79 per person per day.

Edited January 20, 2022 by geoherb

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, jpom18 said:

As to the OP, I see the same thing, likely because of the sale they are not offering the BSE on solo rates.

FYI, the B.S.E. sales promotion (and all sales promotions) apply to both SAVER fares and PLUS fares.   In other words, the PLUS option always exists and is not the same as the B.S.E.

 

Yes, they may be discounting Solo rates more to attract bookings, but the extra discounting is applying only to the Saver rates.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, jpom18 said:

It makes sense (sort of) when the standard per person fare for 2 is $4,000 standard, $5,200 for BSE, and $4,400 for a solo (without BSE).  Under normal conditions the solo would pay $10,000+ for the BSE.

Translating, I am still having question with the numbers.  The $5,200 number is for the PLUS option and the $4,000 is for SAVER option - both under the current B.S.E. sales promotion.  I think that is what you were meaning, but you seem to be writing about cruises this Winter.  The B.S.E. promo does not apply to near-term cruises.  I took a look and the Caribbean promo for near-term cruises is called "Spring on Sale".  Again, this promo has both Saver and Plus fare classes.  However, it has been common practice for Princess on the late-date sales and deals, to give a bigger discount to the Saver fare class and less of a discount to the Plus fare class.

 

The difference you listed is $1,200/pp which translates to $860 USD.  The typical difference for the PLUS is $40/pp/day.  This looks like $43/pp/day for 20 days of cruising.  No way the $40 works in the math.  So, it looks like you were writing about two 10-night B2B voyages and the Plus differential is $43/pp/day.  (It best to think in USD if comparing value of a Plus option since all your on-board costs for drinks, etc, will be in USD).

 

And I gather on top of the above, you are indicating there is only a 10% up-charge for a Solo booking under the Saver fare, whereas a Solo booking under Plus is being charged double. 

 

While a double up-charge is the typical "standard" thing Princess does, they do not charge the Solo person for double the Plus portion of the fare.  So, using your example in CAD, the $5,200 as Solo should be $5,200 + $4,000 = $9,200.  Compare that to $4,400 for the Solo Saver fare you mentioned.  Therefore, the up-charge for Plus option is $4,800.  So, still obviously a non-starter from a financial sense perspective.

 

Just wanted to clarify things.

[skynight]

2 hours ago, cmecruise1962 said:

How much is the drink package for a 4 night cruise?  I have never sailed Princess...but might consider it at these prices!  🙂

On it's own beverage package is $71/pp/day = $284. It's a per person purchase.

As part of the plus fare it's $40/pp/day. All cabin occupants have to have the plus fare.

Beverage packages and plus fares may not be available for short cruises. Not sure if the cut off is 3, 4, or 5 days. 

Note that since the plus fare $40 extra includes gratuities and wifi the real cost of the beverage package is around $20/pp/day.

Edited January 20, 2022 by skynight

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Translating, I am still having question with the numbers.  The $5,200 number is for the PLUS option and the $4,000 is for SAVER option - both under the current B.S.E. sales promotion.  I think that is what you were meaning, but you seem to be writing about cruises this Winter.  The B.S.E. promo does not apply to near-term cruises.  I took a look and the Caribbean promo for near-term cruises is called "Spring on Sale".  Again, this promo has both Saver and Plus fare classes.  However, it has been common practice for Princess on the late-date sales and deals, to give a bigger discount to the Saver fare class and less of a discount to the Plus fare class.

 

The difference you listed is $1,200/pp which translates to $860 USD.  The typical difference for the PLUS is $40/pp/day.  This looks like $43/pp/day for 20 days of cruising.  No way the $40 works in the math.  So, it looks like you were writing about two 10-night B2B voyages and the Plus differential is $43/pp/day.  (It best to think in USD if comparing value of a Plus option since all your on-board costs for drinks, etc, will be in USD).

 

And I gather on top of the above, you are indicating there is only a 10% up-charge for a Solo booking under the Saver fare, whereas a Solo booking under Plus is being charged double. 

 

While a double up-charge is the typical "standard" thing Princess does, they do not charge the Solo person for double the Plus portion of the fare.  So, using your example in CAD, the $5,200 as Solo should be $5,200 + $4,000 = $9,200.  Compare that to $4,400 for the Solo Saver fare you mentioned.  Therefore, the up-charge for Plus option is $4,800.  So, still obviously a non-starter from a financial sense perspective.

 

Just wanted to clarify things.

@jpom18, I see later I made a typo and math error.  Corrections below:

 

The $1,200 CAD difference is $960 USD which represents 24 night voyage at $40/day, so forget the notes about $43 per day.  Still must be some extended B2B of some sort.

 

Otherwise, the rest stands.

[judithzuz]

9 hours ago, Ombud said:

Is Princess having the rate unicorn solo sale? Are you saying that the solo price for the cruise you are looking at is not double the regular price??? I want to book that!! Please let me know what date / area you're looking at

Yes, they are. I was booked on the Transatlantic April 9 for $3100 but wanted to add the Northern European cruise on the 23rd. Cancelled my original booking and when all was said and done, the 25 days was less than the original 14 days. But yes, I lost the amenities. But that's ok. I don't drink that much and can pay out of pocket in advance for gratuities. ATT will cover the phone for $10 a day in the ports. I think this was a steal.3k for a balcony midship all to myself. Heaven!

[dog]

To OP. I know 2 other solo cruisers who booked last week and could not book the Plus package online. Told them to call and try to add it that way 

[PammyMouse]

I ended up booking for the 2/19 Caribbean Princess.  A certain online TA had a better interface and cleared it up.  To get the deal I had to pay twice the price, no thanks.  I can spring for a drink package and WiFi, which is mostly what I want.  I got an aft suite for an awesome price.

PM

[geoherb]

I was able to book an inside on the Regal for February 5 on Wednesday night. The cost for solo was actually less than the per person occupancy rate. Then yesterday the price for a balcony came down to be the same as the inside. And to make things better, Princess Plus was available for $40 per day. It was more than $90 a day on Wednesday night. Long story short, I was able to book a balcony cabin at the same price and add Princess Plus.