Understanding pricing - TA vs Princess

[kywildcatfanone]

Hi,

 

I have read several threads on CC where people book through TA's and if the price drops before final payment you call and get the reduction. Who determines the price in that scenario?

 

For example, if Princess has a price of $1600/per person on a given cruise and cabin category, and a TA has the same one for $1400/per person and maybe even a $100 on-board credit, and Princess drops the price two weeks later to $1500/per person, will the TA use the former price from Princess and give you a discount, or how does that work?

 

I'm thinking that if I book through Princess, I will have a simpler way to guage price drops. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Mike

[cantstopcruising]

Hi,

 

I have read several threads on CC where people book through TA's and if the price drops before final payment you call and get the reduction. Who determines the price in that scenario?

 

For example, if Princess has a price of $1600/per person on a given cruise and cabin category, and a TA has the same one for $1400/per person and maybe even a $100 on-board credit, and Princess drops the price two weeks later to $1500/per person, will the TA use the former price from Princess and give you a discount, or how does that work?

 

I'm thinking that if I book through Princess, I will have a simpler way to guage price drops. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Mike

If they drop from 1600 to 1500 and you paid 1400 there is no change if they drop below 1400 then you should be able to get the new price as long as you have not made final payment. Sometimes the new rate is for new bookings only in which case you don't get that price unless your far enough out where you don't get penilized for canceling your original booking and rebooking for the better price. The cruise lines know when to drop prices as to where you cannot take advantage of the new price

[johnmik1]

Last week I booked a repo cruise from Europe with my TA at 1/2 the Princess website price!

[Pam in CA]

I have read several threads on CC where people book through TA's and if the price drops before final payment you call and get the reduction. Who determines the price in that scenario?

 

For example, if Princess has a price of $1600/per person on a given cruise and cabin category, and a TA has the same one for $1400/per person and maybe even a $100 on-board credit, and Princess drops the price two weeks later to $1500/per person, will the TA use the former price from Princess and give you a discount, or how does that work?

 

I'm thinking that if I book through Princess, I will have a simpler way to guage price drops. Any advice would be appreciated.

Mike, it's actually a bit more complicated than that. A good TA will get you a much better price than Princess to start with (a lot lower than the $200 difference you're quoting.) If pricing drops, chances are very good that your price is still lower than the Princess price. Unless it's a flash promotion for new bookings, often a TA will be able to lower the price even further. For my cruise in July, my TA got me a price that was about $800 less than the Princess price; in January, she was able to get it re-fared so it was over $2,300 less than her original price. Keep in mind that this is as a single paying 200% so think of it as a cabin cost. For my January cruise, she got it re-fared down $1,100 (again as a single in a cabin paying 200%). Sometimes she can get my booking re-fared, sometimes she can't; it depends on the cruise and the timing of the re-fare.

[Captain Canuck]

we got an email from princess on our upcoming holy land cruise...called to get a quote..shazam the sale price was no longer available...contacted our ta and they got us the deal....now princess has a brochure out with similar pricing for this ship all year....but I would check with our ta who can likely match or do better...the ta also responds a lot faster than princess

[kywildcatfanone]

Mike, it's actually a bit more complicated than that. A good TA will get you a much better price than Princess to start with (a lot lower than the $200 difference you're quoting.) If pricing drops, chances are very good that your price is still lower than the Princess price. Unless it's a flash promotion for new bookings, often a TA will be able to lower the price even further. For my cruise in July, my TA got me a price that was about $800 less than the Princess price; in January, she was able to get it re-fared so it was over $2,300 less than her original price. Keep in mind that this is as a single paying 200% so think of it as a cabin cost. For my January cruise, she got it re-fared down $1,100 (again as a single in a cabin paying 200%). Sometimes she can get my booking re-fared, sometimes she can't; it depends on the cruise and the timing of the re-fare.

 

Pam, thanks. Let me see if I am following right. Right now I am looking at a cruise next year, 7 days. On Princess.com, the inside cabin cost is $1069/pp. On a online TA site, they have it at $944/pp plus a $50 cabin credit, so I guess technically, the price is $919/pp. Princess would have to drop their price to below $944/919/pp for the TA to discount further, correct?

Is the Princess.com price the "official" price you use when looking at pricing to go back to your TA with? I know some cruises have different pricing for when you are logged in and when you are not.

 

Overall, I'm trying to figure out if I book through a TA and watch prices, where does the price have to drop from a TA's perspective to drop my price, so I know where to keep an eye out?

 

If that is the case, there is no harm in booking at the higher fare and watching and changing before 75 days out and final payment is made. If the fare drops because of flash promotions after that time, it just happens and you have to be satisfied with your price/cabin.

 

Mike

[Genessa]

Pam, thanks. Let me see if I am following right. Right now I am looking at a cruise next year, 7 days. On Princess.com, the inside cabin cost is $1069/pp. On a online TA site, they have it at $944/pp plus a $50 cabin credit, so I guess technically, the price is $919/pp. Princess would have to drop their price to below $944/919/pp for the TA to discount further, correct?

Is the Princess.com price the "official" price you use when looking at pricing to go back to your TA with? I know some cruises have different pricing for when you are logged in and when you are not.

 

Overall, I'm trying to figure out if I book through a TA and watch prices, where does the price have to drop from a TA's perspective to drop my price, so I know where to keep an eye out?

 

If that is the case, there is no harm in booking at the higher fare and watching and changing before 75 days out and final payment is made. If the fare drops because of flash promotions after that time, it just happens and you have to be satisfied with your price/cabin.

 

Mike

 

Mike,

 

I'm not as knowledgeable as Pam, but I'm hoping maybe I can clarify a little.

From your price difference between Princess and on-line TA, unless it is just one of those cruises - you are not looking at an on-line TA who can or does offer the bigger discounts.

One way to check for that is if you are a member of AAA call them and ask for a quote for same category room. If the quote is the $944 you are getting a standard discount.

 

I could be wrong, but I don't think Pam, or anyone else, subtracts the on-board credit from the price of the cruise when they are talking about discounts. It's usually always listed separately. So, if you say your price was $800 less, it is not including on board credits, it is $800 less. Obviously, if the PRincess price is $1069, you're not getting anyone to sell you a cruise that is $800 less, though.

 

We usually book balcony cabins and our ta gets us huge discounts, at least 10% less than we can find from ANY other TA. We used to get quotes from 5 or six sources and Princess was always higher, and all but our TA would be identical, lower than Princess, but higher than our TA. And, we usually get on board credit on top of that.

 

As for tracking reductions and regular reductions:

we have a cruise to Hawaii booked. We got a great price from TA. Princess had price reductions. I sent e-mail to TA, she responded with a reduced fare. It is $895 pp less than Princess' reduced fares and is about $125 - $150, don't have all papers in front of me, less than our original booked fare - and we have on board credits from her and from Princess (future cruise credit).

 

Some cruises though even my TA can't get super discounts. And, like Pam said, sometimes there are the flash fares, etc. What we do is check in here periodically, check prices after we get a flyer from Princess. Book at a fare that we can live with and are willing to pay and accept any reduction as a bonus.

[kywildcatfanone]

Mike,

 

I'm not as knowledgeable as Pam, but I'm hoping maybe I can clarify a little.

From your price difference between Princess and on-line TA, unless it is just one of those cruises - you are not looking at an on-line TA who can or does offer the bigger discounts.

One way to check for that is if you are a member of AAA call them and ask for a quote for same category room. If the quote is the $944 you are getting a standard discount.

 

I could be wrong, but I don't think Pam, or anyone else, subtracts the on-board credit from the price of the cruise when they are talking about discounts. It's usually always listed separately. So, if you say your price was $800 less, it is not including on board credits, it is $800 less. Obviously, if the PRincess price is $1069, you're not getting anyone to sell you a cruise that is $800 less, though.

 

We usually book balcony cabins and our ta gets us huge discounts, at least 10% less than we can find from ANY other TA. We used to get quotes from 5 or six sources and Princess was always higher, and all but our TA would be identical, lower than Princess, but higher than our TA. And, we usually get on board credit on top of that.

 

As for tracking reductions and regular reductions:

we have a cruise to Hawaii booked. We got a great price from TA. Princess had price reductions. I sent e-mail to TA, she responded with a reduced fare. It is $895 pp less than Princess' reduced fares and is about $125 - $150, don't have all papers in front of me, less than our original booked fare - and we have on board credits from her and from Princess (future cruise credit).

 

Some cruises though even my TA can't get super discounts. And, like Pam said, sometimes there are the flash fares, etc. What we do is check in here periodically, check prices after we get a flyer from Princess. Book at a fare that we can live with and are willing to pay and accept any reduction as a bonus.

 

Genessa,

 

What you say makes sense. I think it also make a difference which category you are booking. There is a huge price difference between a suite and a low inside cabin, and I think I get confused when people talk about saving $1000 by using a TA vs Princess, when I know that can't be an inside cabin.

I just want to make sure if I book at a higher price than I am used to, I know where to look if the price drops and be able to get a TA to adjust accordingly.

 

Mike

[Joe Pflanz]

It is always smart to compare the Princess direct pricing with the TA's. However, do not compare the price on Princess.com....it is often wrong, and will nto necessarily get you the best Princess direct price. There are regional promo's and specials that a call direct to princess can get you.

 

Most often you see prices from agents that say "from" and it least a "lead in" price. That is a published price for a specific cruise from the cruiseline. TA's are prohibited from advertising pricing below the published prices. But that does nto stop them from discounting....The TA price is the same agency to agency, on a identical sailing. However the Agency is free to either add or subtract from the published price. The Agencies make their money fromteh commissions, and the agency commissions is based onthe volume of business they do with the line. Some agencies get 8-10% commission and others ar 16% or higher. And then the agency can also qualify for commission overrides,, which are additional percentages. An agecy often discount the fares by throwing in some of their commissions.

 

Now remember that not the total price is commissionable. A relatively high % of your cost is considered Non-commissionable.

 

Another way for an agency to beat the direct pricing is for them to book Group space and get a group discounted price. They do this on a routine basis, even if they have no group booked for the sailing. Eventually the cruise lines will recall the set aside cabins. Even if only a cabin are two are sold, they will still get the group pricing....however they may not get any amenities that a true group would get. If the agency is able to sell a sufficient amount of individuals into the group, they can then take the GAP points to add to their commission, or provide trinkets to the customers, or a little of each.

 

My take is it is always best to conotact a reputable agent, who can then check with the booking engine to get you a true quote. Polar is the Princess booking engine. I have seen differences from the web site pricing to actual Polar pricing to be as much as $1000 at times.

 

The other advantage is a good agent will be checking for price reductions...If you book direct, you will need to do that yourself.

 

Hope this helped explain how it works.

 

Joe

[kywildcatfanone]

It is always smart to compare the Princess direct pricing with the TA's. However, do not compare the price on Princess.com....it is often wrong, and will nto necessarily get you the best Princess direct price. There are regional promo's and specials that a call direct to princess can get you.

 

Most often you see prices from agents that say "from" and it least a "lead in" price. That is a published price for a specific cruise from the cruiseline. TA's are prohibited from advertising pricing below the published prices. But that does nto stop them from discounting....The TA price is the same agency to agency, on a identical sailing. However the Agency is free to either add or subtract from the published price. The Agencies make their money fromteh commissions, and the agency commissions is based onthe volume of business they do with the line. Some agencies get 8-10% commission and others ar 16% or higher. And then the agency can also qualify for commission overrides,, which are additional percentages. An agecy often discount the fares by throwing in some of their commissions.

 

Now remember that not the total price is commissionable. A relatively high % of your cost is considered Non-commissionable.

 

Another way for an agency to beat the direct pricing is for them to book Group space and get a group discounted price. They do this on a routine basis, even if they have no group booked for the sailing. Eventually the cruise lines will recall the set aside cabins. Even if only a cabin are two are sold, they will still get the group pricing....however they may not get any amenities that a true group would get. If the agency is able to sell a sufficient amount of individuals into the group, they can then take the GAP points to add to their commission, or provide trinkets to the customers, or a little of each.

 

My take is it is always best to conotact a reputable agent, who can then check with the booking engine to get you a true quote. Polar is the Princess booking engine. I have seen differences from the web site pricing to actual Polar pricing to be as much as $1000 at times.

 

The other advantage is a good agent will be checking for price reductions...If you book direct, you will need to do that yourself.

 

Hope this helped explain how it works.

 

Joe

 

Joe,

 

This does help, thank you.

Are you saying that logging in with past passenger info on princess.com isn't the right place to verify the price of the cruise? Do I call the 800-princess number to check, and use that as the baseline?

For instance, if I book the cruise I mentioned earlier now, with a TA, and paid, let's say $900/pp, and I saw that princess.com dropped the price to $699/pp, you would still have me call 800-princess and get a price from them before calling the TA and asking for the reduction?

 

Thanks again for the informative response.

 

Mike

[Joe Pflanz]

Once you have booked with a TA, you should always continue dealing with them, unless you are unsatisfied. Then you can actually have Princess, move your booking to another agency and agent.

 

Let me say I have never seen the Web pricing to be lower than that in Polar.....so if you log in properly and they have your information correct, and you see a lower price, you should notify your agent and let them check with Princess.

 

I know of cases where people see a certain price, and call their agent, and when the agent contacts Princess, they actually get even a lower price or better deal.

 

What you have to remember, is once you make your final paymnet, all bets are off. The pricing you will see on Princess.com will only apply to new bookings. And as a previous poster said, they really know when and how to discount so it will not be worth your time and effort to cancel and pay the cancellation fees and rebook. But often it will be darn close.

 

Again I hope this helps, but if not ask again

 

Joe

 

Not htat it matters to the people, but remember calling to get lower pricing, you are actually not just saving yourself some money, but you are taking money out of the agency coffers and the agents commission. You have to think why would an agent or agency want to find cheaper prices for you , once you book....they do a lot more work, and get less money for it. What the good ones are counting on is follow on business and recommendations for new clients.

[Pia1913]

Joe,

 

This does help, thank you.

Are you saying that logging in with past passenger info on princess.com isn't the right place to verify the price of the cruise? Do I call the 800-princess number to check, and use that as the baseline?

For instance, if I book the cruise I mentioned earlier now, with a TA, and paid, let's say $900/pp, and I saw that princess.com dropped the price to $699/pp, you would still have me call 800-princess and get a price from them before calling the TA and asking for the reduction?

 

Thanks again for the informative response.

 

Mike

 

Bottom line Mike is......what's the hurry giving it to a TA? Book what you want and follow the Princess pricing. I do this all the time and very rarely to I start with a TA/ I end with one, yes, but do my own monitoring until I'm ready to turn it over.

 

I also just booked 2 cabins for June 6, 2010 and yes, those prices are high. But I will bide my time and watch them come down. And come down they will. Eventually. The good pricing I need from a TA comes after I'm satisfied that Princess isn't going to go much lower and of course before final payment.

[Joe Pflanz]

While I agree that Pia's approach works in todays economy, over the past 30 years of cruising I have seen more times that the pricing goes up rather than down as the time approaches.

[Pia1913]

While I agree that Pia's approach works in todays economy, over the past 30 years of cruising I have seen more times that the pricing goes up rather than down as the time approaches.

 

But Joe, you always have your original pricing even if it goes up. And that's the pricing the TA bases it on, which is why they want your booking number when you speak to them.

[Joe Pflanz]

all I am saying is that in many cases it is a lot of work to keep checking for price reductions, when in fact the prices are going up. A good TA will not mind you doing the ground work for them... A super TA would have already beat you to the punch

 

No TA would mind you doing all of the work up front, and turning the booking over to them at the end so they can collect a commission for doing nothing.

[Toto2Kansas]

all I am saying is that in many cases it is a lot of work to keep checking for price reductions, when in fact the prices are going up. A good TA will not mind you doing the ground work for them... A super TA would have already beat you to the punch

 

No TA would mind you doing all of the work up front, and turning the booking over to them at the end so they can collect a commission for doing nothing.

 

To us, the savings is worth the effort. And I have used a lot of TA's in the past, and I can't remember any that notified me that the price had dropped, and we have honestly used some of the best in the business IMHO. So, booking with Princess or through a TA, I still feel it is up to the passenger to find the price drops. ;);)

[scmexico]

I have a couple of online sites that I use to validate pricing. I found that far out pricing is better at princess.com but as the date grows nearer Princess prices go up.

 

My question is what is the benefit of using a live TA vs booking online with a TA?

 

How can I access polar?

[Pia1913]

To us, the savings is worth the effort. And I have used a lot of TA's in the past, and I can't remember any that notified me that the price had dropped, and we have honestly used some of the best in the business IMHO. So, booking with Princess or through a TA, I still feel it is up to the passenger to find the price drops. ;);)

 

Exactly. I don't feel like I'm doing their work. I feel that I'm taking care of me. Besides which, no TA, no matter how great they are, can possibly monitor every single booking. Unless of course they have very few bookings. :rolleyes:

[kywildcatfanone]

Bottom line Mike is......what's the hurry giving it to a TA? Book what you want and follow the Princess pricing. I do this all the time and very rarely to I start with a TA/ I end with one, yes, but do my own monitoring until I'm ready to turn it over.

 

I also just booked 2 cabins for June 6, 2010 and yes, those prices are high. But I will bide my time and watch them come down. And come down they will. Eventually. The good pricing I need from a TA comes after I'm satisfied that Princess isn't going to go much lower and of course before final payment.

 

Pia,

 

Thank you. So do you always find a TA who will beat the best price you find on princess.com? If so, and you move the booking, do you get anything extra like on-board credit? Also, remember for me anyway, that we, in our current state of life, are booking inside cabins, so I'm sure the lower the booking price, the lower the commission to the TA, on-board credit, etc.., right?

 

Mike

[Joe Pflanz]

can access Polar....

 

I am in total agreement.....the big on line agencies, usually have less custoemr service...and of course could not check every day or every hour...

 

And of course, no one has a better interest in saving than the client themselves. I have talked ot some agencies that openly state they spend more of their time workig on already booked cruises working on further discounts than they do booking new business. And not always by their own volition, but only because they were called by the client.

 

The majority of the time, the client has them looking into price changes that they just do not qualify for. But if the agent presents a good story to the cruiseline, sometimes accomodations are had, and sometimes it is in the form of a upgrade or a room credit.

 

But usually even a client can not check every hour of every day. Most agents know intuitively when the major cruiselines tend to make their price changes...Again it is not in their interest to get you a reduced fare thereby reducing their comission. And in previous economies the early bookers were almost guaranteed to have the best price over late bookers.

 

Even Princess is not going to automatically notify every passenger of a price reduction that they may be qualified for. If you catch it ine, if you do not fine.

 

Heck someone could probably make a business out of doing just that checking.

 

I am not sure how you qualify those superb agents, as there are so many that you have absolutely no knowledge of, so to say they are the best in the business is a very subjective rating. To me the best are those that take care of me and my business, gettign me the best possible deal, and looking after my interest. I do not expect them to spend more time and effort on saving me money than they are making on the deal.

 

Just as every agent is not the best inthe industry, not every client is worth the effort they expect either.

 

As I said i fully think your agents are glad you personally check and do a lot of ground work. I am not in disagreement at all. I do the same thing.

 

But the bottom line, is an agent will always be able to provide you better pricing than the Cruiseline....Now whether or not they do is another subject.

[Pia1913]

Pia,

 

Thank you. So do you always find a TA who will beat the best price you find on princess.com? If so, and you move the booking, do you get anything extra like on-board credit? Also, remember for me anyway, that we, in our current state of life, are booking inside cabins, so I'm sure the lower the booking price, the lower the commission to the TA, on-board credit, etc.., right?

 

Mike

 

Re: highlighted above - yes, MIke, always. There is also some sort of amenity from the TA whether it be a photo, wine, canapes, in addition to cash in the form of OBC. Cash is always better. There have been times when the pricing was so low that all the TA could absorb was the amount of taxes/govt. fees.

 

What you said makes sense about inside vs. others. We never book insides, but we don't always book balconies either.

[Joe Pflanz]

I am traveling with a small group where we have been called 4 times with price reductions prior to final payment. So it does happen.....And yes some agents may have a select group of clientele

[HKM]

Johnmik1 Which cruise did you book?

[cruisenovice]

Bottom line Mike is......what's the hurry giving it to a TA? Book what you want and follow the Princess pricing. I do this all the time and very rarely to I start with a TA/ I end with one, yes, but do my own monitoring until I'm ready to turn it over.

 

I also just booked 2 cabins for June 6, 2010 and yes, those prices are high. But I will bide my time and watch them come down. And come down they will. Eventually. The good pricing I need from a TA comes after I'm satisfied that Princess isn't going to go much lower and of course before final payment.

 

Pia -

Thanks for your insight. It reminds me that I'm still learning. Maybe I could convince you to share other tips from your experience. I believe I'll be on the Coral when you are in September. Libations are on me. I appreciate your willingness to help others with advice on the boards.

Cruisenovice

[kruisey]

Seemed a very honest type who said 'Of course if the price goes down then my commission goes down also'.....Im I supposed to feel guilty ?

Personally I feel if a TA has bought a block of cabins on a certain sailing thats when you get the very best price with a TA.I always ask and know if they don't maybe a will get a couple of hundred off only. One cannot sqeeze water out of a stone . The TA has to make commission its Him/Hers living.