Booking Through Princess?

[MarinaDCA]

I have a question.... I wonder if I did the foolish thing by booking directly through princess rather than a TA or internet agency?

 

Are there advantages to booking through princess? If I find a much better price can I transfer the reservation and keep my cabin?

 

I wonder if I got taken :)

 

Thanks for any opinions. At this point, I feel like I got a good enough price and am excited for our first cruise... but I have a feeling I will be hooked, so wonder what is best service wise and financially.

[chipmaster]

I have a question.... I wonder if I did the foolish thing by booking directly through princess rather than a TA or internet agency?

 

Are there advantages to booking through princess? If I find a much better price can I transfer the reservation and keep my cabin?

 

I wonder if I got taken :)

 

Thanks for any opinions. At this point, I feel like I got a good enough price and am excited for our first cruise... but I have a feeling I will be hooked, so wonder what is best service wise and financially.

 

I view cruise pricing like airline tickets. They could go up after you buy and they could go down. You decide to buy when the price is right. Personally after I do check prices prior to final payment. As before then you can still cancel / rebook or get reduction depending on who you book with.

 

BTW there are many reputable options beside Princess to get better pricing early on. I've found as you get closer to sail dates similar pricing did appear on the princess sites. I'm assume because the didn't sell the category out.

 

Don't fret... just do some internet searching and see what is out there. All options are open till you pay.

 

Happy reasearching

[spunkie4]

when we first started cruising, we booked directly with the cruise line. since then, we have discovered a wonderful travel agent. She handles all our travel now, that includes air, hotels, cruises, etc.

 

don't fret over the price you received by booking directly with Princess. this is your first cruise. Enjoy it.

 

Shirley

[MarinaDCA]

I am sure we will love it :) I love the very idea of getting away at all!!

 

I feel OK about what we paid... but see we could have paid less. But I am not stressing the $$ for booking too much, as we've already planned for the expense. However, I probably do need to go with an agent in the future.... I think :)

[GranJean]

Hi,

.,. from Princess to your chosen travel agent pretty much anytime before your final payment. We have done this a several of times. We like to book early to be sure of the cabin / category we want. If I find a better deal (some of the bid sites or discount agencies) I move my reservation to the best deal I can find. Usually it ends up with my final payment being lower or a large on board credit. There is a procedure to do this in coordination with the travel agent and usually requires writing a letter to the cruise line informing them that you want your reservation moved to the agent at his or her agency.

That said, I don't think we will move our reservations for our next two cruises (both made with the cruise line). Too many agencies are going out of business (three that we have used in the past are no more) and I don't want to get stuck having our final payment locked in a bankruptcy proceeding.

[mek]

I booked the Crown a couple of weeks ago for November at a very low price that the on-line agencies were advertising, When I called them, they told me all cabins at the low price were gone, but when I went to the Princess site, they were still available, so I booked directly with Princess and got the low price and a great cabin location.

[flamomo]

I always book directly with Princess, often while onboard another cruise. After booking,

I monitor the fares on the Princess website frequently (at least 3-4 times a week), and pretty often the fares will go down, at least temporarily. When that happens, I just make a quick call to Princess and request the decreased fare. They have never refused, so long as it is before final payment. A few times I have gotten more than one reduction.

So far, for our r/t LA-Hawaii cruise in March, I have gotten our fares reduced twice, by a total of almost $400 apiece.

If you enjoy your cruise and feel you would like to cruise again with Princess, see the Future Cruise Consultant onboard and purchase a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) or 2 for $100 apiece. It's good for up to 4 years, and when you book your next cruise, you use that for your deposit, instead of having to come up with several hundred $$s for it. When you use a FCC for the deposit, you will get onboard credit applied to your shipboard account, the amount depends on the length of the cruise.

[Layla]

We always book with an on-line agency. We save hundreds of dollars over the cruise line price. It's very easy to transfer your booking from the cruise line to an agency. Many folks book with the cruise line to ensure the sailing and cabin they want, then shop around and transfer to the agency with the lowest price. You can always transfer back to the cruise line (before final payment) if you become unhappy with the agency.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

I have always booked with an online agency in the past. I have a cruise in March booked directly with Princess for the very same price as ALL the online agencies that I have checked. Peace of mind is a good thing as others have mentioned...but the same price is wonderful:)

 

Jan in Mi

 

P.S. The price has gone down $100 pp already & Princess is a dream to work with.

[City_Woman]

We have booked directly with the cruise line for some time now. For us it's about price point. If it's a good price (compared to what we've paid in the past) we book it. We also like being able to talk to Princess about our booking and pay direct online when it's due. Finally, we love the price of the Princess insurance. The cost through Princess saves us some $.

 

I could go through an agent here in Ontario, Canada but in the past I have found that the deposit is non-refundable (even before final payment). Not so with Princess.

 

You have to do what makes sense for you.

 

Judy

[sunluva7]

I booked with a brick & Mortar cruise agency for our first cruise, and after that with an on-line agency, where I always get a better rate. If they don't show the cabin I want on their booking engine, I just give them the cabin numbers I'm interested in, and almost always I land the cabin I want. It helps that I book earlier rather than later.:)

[sunsetbeachgal]

Just booked our Panama Canal cruise with Princess-at a lower price than I can find with any on-line agency, and as usual very easy to deal with. As other have said, you can always turn your booking over to a TA before final payment and maybe they will include some on-board credit!