Past Passenger - Same Rate As A First Time Cruiser...Hmmm

[Sandytoes]

I am looking into several cruises, checking prices, and noticed that past passenger discount fares not offered on Princess site.

The rate I am seeing on the website is exactly the same rate as a first time cruiser.

How come I'm not seeing a lower rate after I sign in? Wouldn't you think that the fare would drop being I'm a "Passenger"?

[Clarkk W Griswald]

I've noticed that some cruises you get a better rate and some you don't. I guess it comes down to availability.

[bjboothman]

I've noticed as well on the Princess site that sometimes signing in gets me a better price, sometimes not.

[Tatka]

Agree... and the only line that really gives nice price-break to repeaters is NCL.

[spongerob]

I've rarely seen better rates on the Princess site when signed in compared to just 'lurking'. I almost always get better rates from my agent anyway.

[Sandytoes]

I, also, get better rates with a TA.

I usually bargain with the TA, telling them the lowest "Past Passenger Fare". Then, when they give me a price I know it's a good one since it's usually lower than Princess's and book with them.

But being the fare on Princess website is the same as a first time cruiser I have nothing to bargain with.

I see that others have experienced this as well.

[gonna go cruising]

I, also, get better rates with a TA.

I usually bargain with the TA, telling them the lowest "Past Passenger Fare". Then, when they give me a price I know it's a good one since it's usually lower than Princess's and book with them.

But being the fare on Princess website is the same as a first time cruiser I have nothing to bargain with.

I see that others have experienced this as well.

For my cruise in March, the past passenger fare is 899 balcony for all balcony cabins, 1099 I think it is for minis and so forth. It is one price for all categories so you get a ba for the same as a bg if that makes sense.

[WolfpackFan]

We are sailing in two weeks on the CB and were able to get a $100 per person lower rate by signing in and being a Captains Club member. This was for an inside cabin. Also, we often get emails from Princess with lower Captains Club rates.

[GottoCruise]

I don't understand Princess marketing :mad: when I sign in as an Elite my rate is HIGHER than when I sign in with my son's name - he HAS NEVER SAILED PRINCESS!

There is a $50 lower rate for the same cabin category - this is only on the one specific sailing I am watching!.....Can someone please explain that logic???

(I booked myself thru a T/A and did get the lower rate - but the pricing on the Princess web site for this cruise does not make sense to me!)

It's really annoying to have to check, and check and re-check..............and even then you cannot be certain of getting the best rate you are entitled to!

[Toto2Kansas]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to book direct with Princess. I have yet to find a rate on Princess website that comes anywhere near the price we pay through a discount TA. Why would anyone want to pay more for the privledge of booking direct? I mean, except for the fact that Princess will talk to you on the phone when you book direct with them, what other benefits are passengers receiving? Just to talk to them is not worth me paying anywhere from hundreds to a thousand dollars more.

Do people not realize that booking direct is NOT the least expensive way to book a cruise? There has got to be a reason for others wanting to book through Princess, just curious as to what they would be.

[aclay]

With ten Princess cruises already booked, I too don't book directly with Princess for price reasons. We used to use their great cruise search engine to find a particular sailing and then book elsewhere, but this doesn't work now if you are accessing the website outside the US and Canada - big shame.

My other point is that, after ten Princess cruises we have come to believe that Princess marketing is actually very clever.

Let me reveal our experiences:

Our first cruise was excellent and they treated us well (good price + upgrade).

Our second cruise experience was even better and they really treated us well (upgrade)

Our third and fourth and fifth were also excellent with small category upgrades.

However since our sixth cruise the prices have not been very competitive (ok other reasons have affected this as well) but we haven't had a single upgrade (in fact we end up getting the worst possible for that category -e.g. annoying folding Pullman beds when we don't need them).

But why is this clever marketing I here you asking?

- Princess know that your first cruise experience with them is very important- they will see beforehand that you have no Princess cruise history (or worse still you may be comparing with another different cruise line) so they will treat you very well.

- For your second cruise they will treat you 'stella' - upgrade if at all possible (as in the Original Poster's case above)- they are welcoming you back which is a big decision for you and if it pays off you will be 'hooked' on Princess.

This great service then tails off as Princess become more and more convinced that you are 'hooked' on them, i.e. they don't need to offer upgrades and special pricing because you'll come back again and again anyway..

Anyhow that's just our opinion.. Food for thought?

[spongerob]

There's probably some truth in what you are yodeling at us from the Bernese Oberland, Aclay. I also think that real upgrades, i.e. from one configuration to the next, have become a little more rare due to the recovery of the cruise industry during the last couple of years and the strength of the economy in general. The single biggest factor that affects upgrades is that there have to be cabins available to upgrade into.

[WolfpackFan]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to book direct with Princess.

 

It's very simple for us - we've yet to find a TA that is worth a hoot. Everyone we've tried has had one problem or another and I'm tired of messing with them. I always found that I knew more from browsing the various MB's than our TA's knew anyway. As far as price, we got $399 for an inside cabin on the CB in three weeks by booking directly on the Princess website. If a TA could beat that price, I still wouldn't use them. It was just so much easier to book it directly on the website and a week later the travel documents showed up in the mail. No middle person to have to deal with. We didn't have to call and wait for return calls that never are returned or email for a quote and be ignored totally like happened with one TA. Or find that our cruise had been cancelled before our TA had any idea this had happened and she still doubted the information. Or in our last case, telling our TA something in confidence to find out later she had told some friends of ours what we told her. From now on we just plan on booking directly and to heck with the TA's. And if it cost a little bit more, so what.

[WarEagle76]

Do people not realize that booking direct is NOT the least expensive way to book a cruise?

 

Not necessarily true for all cruises/cruise lines. On occasion have done as good as or better than any TA could offer by booking directly. It will also be interesting in the coming years to see if the cruise industry mimics the airline industry by marketing more directly to the customer leaving the TA out of the process.

[Toto2Kansas]

Not sure how the last two posters use a TA, but I do it just for the discount. I always know which cruise I want to book, and the cabin category and date. Why would I pay more for booking direct with Princess then I can get through my TA? I don't need handholding, or walking me through anything, just save me those $$$$$$$$ by discounting Princess rates.

I can't even remember the last time my TA needed to contact Princess with a question on our behalf. To me, a TA is just a place to save money and get the cruise booked, and I could never see why anyone would want to spend more for the same cruise and same cabin. Only exception being someone that does not have a lot of experience cruising. Then they would definitely have a lot of questions, and usually a discount TA is not the place to go for that type of info.

Maybe you all have done the TA game before, but we found out you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your Princess or Princess that is going to save you enough in a year to book an extra cruise.

[clotheshorse11]

I've found that if you call Princess directly you can sometimes get a better rate because they have regional fares available. For example, I tried that two weeks ago and was able to get an outside cabin for the same price as an inside. Its worth a try. I monitor the fares regularly through the princess website and one or more of the large on line vendors. It certainly has paid off for me. best of luck:)

[Sandytoes]

It's not that I book directly with Princess.

It's the fact that after signing in (Captain Circle) you would think the price would drop for past passengers. But it hasn't on the cruise ship/dates I want.

The rates are the same either way. What good is it being a "Past Passenger" if it doesn't save you money?

I think loyalty deserves rate reductions on all cruises.

 

I first check out the going rate for that particular cruise than I start searching online for the best rate. After they give me an amount I tell them that Princess is offering -such in such - Can you Beat this now? I found that booking with a TA can save me hundreds.

[junglejane]

I'm sailing on the 3/24/07 Diamond Princess Mexican Riviera cruise. For that cruise, the website price for our category BD balcony cabin drops by $300 pp when you sign in. I booked through a local TA and her pricing is basically the same as the website pricing. Of course, I didn't ask her for a price for a first time cruiser. But it appears to me that I saved $300 pp for being a past passenger. I assume Princess discounts only when it needs to in order to sell out the cruise.

[gonna go cruising]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to book direct with Princess. I have yet to find a rate on Princess website that comes anywhere near the price we pay through a discount TA. Why would anyone want to pay more for the privledge of booking direct? I mean, except for the fact that Princess will talk to you on the phone when you book direct with them, what other benefits are passengers receiving? Just to talk to them is not worth me paying anywhere from hundreds to a thousand dollars more.

Do people not realize that booking direct is NOT the least expensive way to book a cruise? There has got to be a reason for others wanting to book through Princess, just curious as to what they would be.

My reason is simple. I want to be able to manipulate my own booking and not have to count on an agent being available to do it for me. When I see a cabin open up and want to change to it, I want it then before it disappears. Same way with the rate changes. I watch them and get them as soon as I find them, not when my agent finds time to get back to me and the opportunity has passed. Just works best for me.