It seems this price guarantee is for USA only?

[eastender]

According to Terry Thorton (company's CCO), "a Princess cruise vacation is the best value in travel, but with continuing increases in consumer demand" their new pricing approach would always reward guests who lock in their Princess vacations well in advance.

“Gone are the days of last-minute deep discounts close to departure dates. The best time to secure a spot on a 2024 or 2025 Princess cruise is right now.”

To underscore its commitment to providing the most competitive pricing in the industry, Princess is introducing the Best Price Guarantee. Princess is so confident that its new pricing structure offers the best value that the brand will match any lower price found for the same cruise and stateroom category. Further, if a guest is unsure of the departure date, Princess Promotions will allow them to secure today’s pricing for a future vacation without locking in the specific dates or itinerary.

 

UK bookers, we booked Regal, 7th August sailing, £5,500. Now sale price is £3,500. We're told if we rebook, we'll lose £750 deposit. UK bookers are screwed again!

[disgirl]

If you booked a refundable deposit rate, can't you cancel and rebook the lower fare?

[JF - retired RRT]

3 minutes ago, disgirl said:

If you booked a refundable deposit rate, can't you cancel and rebook the lower fare?

In the UK, they lose the deposit.

[JF - retired RRT]

15 minutes ago, eastender said:

UK bookers, we booked Regal, 7th August sailing, £5,500. Now sale price is £3,500. We're told if we rebook, we'll lose £750 deposit. UK bookers are screwed again!

You'd still be £1250 ahead.

[eastender]

Believe that must be a USA option.

[disgirl]

Dang.  That sucks that they dont get the option for refundable deposits!

Thanks for the info - I am unfamiliar with UK rules.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

I have no real knowledge of the UK requirements...but is it possible that this is due to some UK government regulation?

[sarahuk]

Hi,

We are from UK. We have a cruise booked for August 2025. The price recently went down . I was told previously by a Princess rep that I was allowed one change to a booking without losing my deposit. There is a charge of £100 to do this but the price reduction was a lot more.

[eastender]

Indeed, it does 'suck', not an expression we use in the UK! 🤔

I'll be very wary of booking with Princess in the future!

 

[BobandLizM]

1 hour ago, sarahuk said:

Hi,

We are from UK. We have a cruise booked for August 2025. The price recently went down . I was told previously by a Princess rep that I was allowed one change to a booking without losing my deposit. There is a charge of £100 to do this but the price reduction was a lot more.

Agreed, cancelled and rebooked with Princess rep before with a £100 charge but saved over £1000.  I think another time I did the same and also lost the Future cruise credit (£75) that was the deposit.  The FCD purchased on board are a good way to keep the deposit to the minimum, just in case it is lost.

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I have no real knowledge of the UK requirements...but is it possible that this is due to some UK government regulation?

Not a government regulation, but likely a way for the cruise line to offset the increased risk the cruise lines have due to the consumer protection laws such as the PTR. Basically purchase under UK laws and terms you get better consumer protections, purchase under US laws you have less protections but more flexibility.

 

More consumer protections usually comes with increased costs in one form or another.

 

In the end it all comes down to $. With pricing in the US where one can choose refundable or not, we can see how the cruise line values refundable.

[EDVM96]

3 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

In the UK, they lose the deposit.

Same in the rest of Europe. But you have one week to decide to prepay the blocked booking or not.

On the other hand, final payment is not earlier than 30 days before the cruise here.
I don't know if its a german or EU regulation tho.

Edited December 28, 2023 by EDVM96