I'm really confused by the Sale Offering

OK .... here's how this promotion affected our April '17 21 day Panama Canal cruise (2 persons), originally booked in June: Unexpected reduced fare $408 X 2 = $816.00. Free gratuities, mini-suite rate 21 X $24 = $504.00. Specialty DR credit $25 X 2 = $50.00 , Free bottle of wine (suites & mini-suites) estimated at $30.00. Grand total for this promo is a reduced cost of $1350.00. Needless to say, we are quite happy to participate in the promo ! As we were already MA, stateroom class upgrade did not apply.

Incidentally, since our cruise was booked and charged in CAD$, the promo is credited in USD, the auto gratuities would have been charged at $302.40 X 2 = $704.80 CAD - OUCH !!!

...VTX-Al

What surprises me is that they are not giving any onboard credits or lower price for elite etc. No loyalty credits for anyone on any cruises right now. What is up with this? I always got lower prices when I checked in. I called on it and they said they are not offering anything. I don't think that people that have been loyal to Princess are going to like this!

The current FCC promo says in the fine print that it cannot be combined with the Captain Circle's Launch Savings. When we had our cruise rerated for the FCC promo yesterday, our price went up the equivalent of the CCLS discount, but we ended up saving almost $500, including the specialty dinner for two.

The way the math worked out was that the estimated S&S daily credit was much larger than the total of the gratuity savings, specialty dining voucher, cat upgrade and fare reduction combined. This was quite a deal considering those two voyages were a combined 25 days.

I didn't realize that the S&S goes on your folio as a credit each day?? :eek: Are you sure that's how it works? If so, I think our TA"s should have informed us of that! Of course an $1100/pp (S&S)credit is better than a $241 (gratuity) credit!!!!

what is travelzoo?

what is travelzoo?

Not sure if it can be discussed on this site due to the rules, so you might try Googling it.

I booked a 2016 baltic cruise under the sip n sail. I called TA today because the price dropped $520 overall which is great. I didn't know you lose and go with whatever promo is currently available. Yeah we lose the drinks package but we're just fine with coffee cards and paying for the individual cocktails. However I'm now able to get a more mid ship cabin, free grats which we have to pay anyways plus dinner worth $50. Crown Grill is worth a visit! That's like $800 savings, money we def would have paid. Plus the $745 OBC ($200 from Princess FCC). :-D

I agree with Colo Cruiser and are staying with the Sip & Sail. If you don't drink then the 3 For Free is better, but even at a minimum of $80 per day for beverages including specialty coffees, soda, gelato (sp?) then the S&S works out better. We did math with our Princess Travel Consultant and it worked out better to keep our original booking than rebooking with the new program - plus we keep our favorite cabin on the Regal Princess.

Our mission on the Baltic and then the TA back to NY is to break the bank on the S&S and then check into the Betty Ford Clinic.

i agree with colo cruiser and are staying with the sip & sail. If you don't drink then the 3 for free is better, but even at a minimum of $80 per day for beverages including specialty coffees, soda, gelato (sp?) then the s&s works out better. We did math with our princess travel consultant and it worked out better to keep our original booking than rebooking with the new program - plus we keep our favorite cabin on the regal princess.

 

Our mission on the baltic and then the ta back to ny is to break the bank on the s&s and then check into the betty ford clinic.

lol!

It's merely my experience but currently the Princess early booking prices are too expensive for me to book well in advance.

 

Most of my regular cruising has been in the last 6-7 years and I nearly always booked over a year in advance & as early as 21 months. Those prices were reasonable & I'd hope for price reductions before sailing. Now prices of cruises we check are much too high for me to book well in advance.

 

I agree with you that their goal is to encourage early booking but with considerably higher fares I won't be doing it. Princess (and all of CCL) may hope to retrain us but that's not happening with me unless those early booking fares return to a more reasonable level.

 

For the first time in many years we had no cruises booked until we recently found a reasonably priced cruise 60 days before sailing.

 

This is merely my experience & I understand that others will have different experiences & opinions.

This 100% mirrors my experience also, so much so that I actually laugh at some of the prices when they're released. :)

In fact starting in 2013 when this Princess trend started I simply went back to HAL & Celebrity for several cruises who's pricing structure's still reward early bookings, and during this time have only booked Princess close in to departure when their "realistic" market competitive prices seem to appear

I simply refuse to commit to a expensive trip with all that entails, air fare, hotels, etc, with unrealistic inflated cruise pricing, and then have to HOPE the real competitive cruise price shows up down the road and I can get refared, when during the same time period other lines are offering similar itineraries at significantly lower pricing . I want to know what my best price is as soon as possible in the process, and not play this continuous final price quessing game that Princess has been playing recently with their pricing .

Just my 2 cents .. YMMV

Srpilo

I agree with you that their goal is to encourage early booking but with considerably higher fares I won't be doing it. Princess (and all of CCL) may hope to retrain us but that's not happening with me unless those early booking fares return to a more reasonable level.

I don't do "training". In order to be taught, you first have to trust your teacher, and Carnival marketing is definitely not that. They will always be up to their hoops & tricks, but it is a free market, and I know what the competition is doing and will act in my own best interest.

Reading all the CC posts it seems that in the USA you get different sales & promotions all the time - even if these are not always beneficial. Maybe you could send some of these to the UK so at least we get a choice. We generally get one promotion at a time for specific cruises (currently Alaska & Christmas). These last for 3 months and then we get new deals for different destinations. If we are lucky there may be one price drop and /or some OBC - have never been offered free specialty restaurants, beverage packages, gratuities on any of our cruises so far. I have tried to book via a TA in the USA but have been told that this is not possible. Bookings in the UK are generally done direct with Princess so no additional benefits there either. Oh well - back to work tomorrow to earn my own OBC !!

Reading all the CC posts it seems that in the USA you get different sales & promotions all the time - even if these are not always beneficial. Maybe you could send some of these to the UK so at least we get a choice. We generally get one promotion at a time for specific cruises (currently Alaska & Christmas). These last for 3 months and then we get new deals for different destinations. If we are lucky there may be one price drop and /or some OBC - have never been offered free specialty restaurants, beverage packages, gratuities on any of our cruises so far. I have tried to book via a TA in the USA but have been told that this is not possible. Bookings in the UK are generally done direct with Princess so no additional benefits there either. Oh well - back to work tomorrow to earn my own OBC !!

Although it may not have applied to your cruises, some UK bookings for cruises out of England were offered free AIBP packages months before the same were offered in the USA.

There were a number of posts asking why UK passengers could get that benefit, but not those in the USA.

The way the math worked out was that the estimated S&S daily credit was much larger than the total of the gratuity savings, specialty dining voucher, cat upgrade and fare reduction combined. This was quite a deal considering those two voyages were a combined 25 days.

 

I didn't realize that the S&S goes on your folio as a credit each day?? :eek: Are you sure that's how it works? If so, I think our TA"s should have informed us of that! Of course an $1100/pp (S&S)credit is better than a $241 (gratuity) credit!!!!

I also didn't think you got a credit for the daily cost of the package. If that were the case, why would they offer the alternative of an OBC of $200 per person?

I don't believe it shows up that way. But even if they do show the daily credit, it would be offset by the daily charge for package.

I also didn't think you got a credit for the daily cost of the package. If that were the case, why would they offer the alternative of an OBC of $200 per person?

Right! But someone stated that it was a better deal for them, rather than the free gratuities, because of the "daily credit".

I took advantage of 3 for Free for an upcoming 28 day cruise. Sip and Sail didn't work for me because of the cabin category I booked, plus I don't drink alcohol, coffee or soda. With 3 for Free I got a lower cabin price, gratuities and specialty restaurant meal. This worked for me. Now, I'll be watching for the next deal that may make it a better price for me. I'm over a year away from my cruise, so I'm sure there will be other offers.

By the way, I didn't take advantage of the upgrade because I have one of the best obstructed OV's booked already and they wouldn't upgrade me to the unobstructed OV.

Princess has now updated their pricing for the cruise tour that I have booked for June 2016. After a careful check I find that I can re-book with included gratuities and a "free" specialty meal for an additional $648. Think I will pass on this "sale".