Princess Cruises Vacation Planner and 3 for Free Sale

Hi everyone! We’re newbie cruisers here (only been on one cruise before on RCI) and first time trying Princess Cruises. We’re looking at the March 17, 2019 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. I signed up for a Captain’s Circle Member account and the next day, I received a phone call followed by an email from a Princess Cruises Vacation Planner.

The Princess Cruises Vacation Planner told me about a 3 for Free sale. I searched these forums and it looks like this is supposed to be one of the better sales? My email said:

*****

Our 3 for Free, is back! With this offer, everyone in your stateroom enjoys:

FREE stateroom location upgrades

FREE gratuities

FREE onboard spending money

*****

Has anyone had any experience (positive or negative) experience using a vacation planner with Princess Cruises? I’m wondering if I should go with a TA or just book myself. Based on a quick search, another online Canadian travel agency has the same pricing as Princess Cruises. (I’m in Canada BTW, not sure if that changes anything.)

edit you post and remove the travel agency

edit you post and remove the travel agency

Done. Sorry, I didn't realize that was not allowed!

Hi everyone! We’re newbie cruisers here (only been on one cruise before on RCI) and first time trying Princess Cruises. We’re looking at the March 17, 2019 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. I signed up for a Captain’s Circle Member account and the next day, I received a phone call followed by an email from a Princess Cruises Vacation Planner.

 

The Princess Cruises Vacation Planner told me about a 3 for Free sale. I searched these forums and it looks like this is supposed to be one of the better sales? My email said:

 

*****

Our 3 for Free, is back! With this offer, everyone in your stateroom enjoys:

 

FREE stateroom location upgrades

FREE gratuities

FREE onboard spending money

 

*****

 

Has anyone had any experience (positive or negative) experience using a vacation planner with Princess Cruises? I’m wondering if I should go with a TA or just book myself. Based on a quick search, another online Canadian travel agency has the same pricing as Princess Cruises. (I’m in Canada BTW, not sure if that changes anything.)

Here is a recent thread on the sale.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2671144

Hi everyone! We’re newbie cruisers here (only been on one cruise before on RCI) and first time trying Princess Cruises. We’re looking at the March 17, 2019 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. I signed up for a Captain’s Circle Member account and the next day, I received a phone call followed by an email from a Princess Cruises Vacation Planner.

 

The Princess Cruises Vacation Planner told me about a 3 for Free sale. I searched these forums and it looks like this is supposed to be one of the better sales? My email said:

 

*****

Our 3 for Free, is back! With this offer, everyone in your stateroom enjoys:

 

FREE stateroom location upgrades

FREE gratuities

FREE onboard spending money

 

*****

 

Has anyone had any experience (positive or negative) experience using a vacation planner with Princess Cruises? I’m wondering if I should go with a TA or just book myself. Based on a quick search, another online Canadian travel agency has the same pricing as Princess Cruises. (I’m in Canada BTW, not sure if that changes anything.)

I have used a planner for my last 23 cruises with Princess. My current one ia great. He knows his apples . PVP's have ready access to specialist within the Princess company.

Mant TA's give you some OB credit or a perk of some kind. If you aren't going to get anything from a TA then I would book directly with Princess.

8% to 12% off the cruise fare plus OBC is a great perk. Thats what our TA does.

I have a great PVP - promos vary as to if they are the best deal for each person. We like our cocktails so we usually book during the "sip and sail" promo for the free beverage package however I received a call from my PVP about a 15 day cruise we have booked for October 2019 and by dropping the sip and sail and taking the free gratuities and OBC (we don't get an auto upgrade since we always book club class) we got to get our casino rate re-instated and saved money even when buying the PBP. A good PVP gets to know how you cruise and can look out for you

We booked our 2020 Hawaii cruise with our Princess Cruise Planner because of the '3 for free' promo. I'm glad I waited since the Sip N Sail promo wouldn't have been worth it to us. So we got the highest category balcony for the price of the lowest category, gratuities already paid and $400 on board credit (2 people in a cabin). Sounds sweet to me!

Your best bet is a good TA (not a Princess Vacation a Planner). A good TA will discount their prices any where from 8 to 12%. I am Canadian and I use a TA who can book in either American or Canadian funds. On my 28 Hawaii/Tahiti Cruise she discounted my fare by 12% less than Princess. A Princess Vacation Planner will only give you the same in line price that Princess advertise.

I used to book online but after receiving a call from my vacation planner I use him. Not only is he incredibly fast, he is considered a travel agent with Princess and does have some OBC and other benefits that he can pass on. This also allows me to control my booking.

Hi everyone! We’re newbie cruisers here (only been on one cruise before on RCI) and first time trying Princess Cruises. We’re looking at the March 17, 2019 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. I signed up for a Captain’s Circle Member account and the next day, I received a phone call followed by an email from a Princess Cruises Vacation Planner.

 

The Princess Cruises Vacation Planner told me about a 3 for Free sale. I searched these forums and it looks like this is supposed to be one of the better sales? My email said:

 

*****

Our 3 for Free, is back! With this offer, everyone in your stateroom enjoys:

 

FREE stateroom location upgrades

FREE gratuities

FREE onboard spending money

 

*****

 

Has anyone had any experience (positive or negative) experience using a vacation planner with Princess Cruises? I’m wondering if I should go with a TA or just book myself. Based on a quick search, another online Canadian travel agency has the same pricing as Princess Cruises. (I’m in Canada BTW, not sure if that changes anything.)

I have already booked 3 for free which starts with the summer 2019. The March 17, 2019 cruise you are looking out in the spring is not eligible for the 3 for free. It is offers the " sun drenched" deals.I don't use the Sun Drenched because their deposit is NON-REFUNDABLE. There is another sale coming up and maybe it will have a refundable deposit. I considered this cruise but not under this program.I will look for the next program after "Sun Drenched " or wait until the final payments are due and see if some rooms are available because final payments weren't made and the rooms bounced back. Or just look for another cruise.

Good luck and be sure to read the fine print about the deals.

Sali

As has been covered in previous threads, 3 For Free may be a great deal...or not. I made three bookings previous to the sale. When my TA and I looked at the bottom line, only one of the three was worth re-faring: I would have lost money by re-faring the others. On two of the cruises, it seemed that the "free upgrade" didn't mean the higher categories cost what the lowest category had, but that the cheaper categories had all had their fares raised to match the most expensive.

"My" cruise planner never returned my phone call. My next call was to a TA. A Princess vacation planner will give you exactly the same deal you can get from Princess by booking on your own on line. He/she may or may not know anything about the ships, what deals might be available, etc. Some are better than others, I guess.

A TA will often give you a discount on the cruise fare or OBC. They typically give better service.

As to 3 for free, it really depends. Princess has a whole series of "deals" that seem to come out at regular intervals. If you need an accessible cabin, you don't get the cabin upgrade on the 3 for free. Depending on the prices, the gratuities and OBC may be worthwhile, but not if Princess has increased the fares to cover this. It is rather the same with "Sip and Sail." If you don't drink alcohol, this is unlikely to be worthwhile. If you would buy this package, getting it for "free" may be a good thing. You really need to watch the various specials and the current costs with and without the specials to determine if it is worthwhile for you.

There are great TAs, good TAs, and horrible TAs. If you look for a TA make sure they don't charge a fee for changes or cancellations. Those are definitely not good TAs.

I always book direct with Princess so I have full control of my booking. Shortly before final payment I transfer the booking to my TA who give me a discount off of the price of the cruise. He gets a commission for doing almost nothing. I get control of my cruise and a discount off of the price. We both come out ahead.

There is a "big box" TA that will give you crazy good OBC but is really more of a "ticket seller" than a real TA. You won't be notified of upsell offers, price drops, etc.

Thanks for the responses everyone! It was really helpful! You are right, the "3 for Free" sale doesn't cover my March 17, 2019 sailing. :( I'll have to look around for a good TA here, that seems to be the best way to book a cruise! :)

8% to 12% off the cruise fare plus OBC is a great perk. Thats what our TA does.

Boy, I wish I could know who yours is!

Pooh

We’re looking at the March 17, 2019 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. I signed up for a Captain’s Circle Member account and the next day, I received a phone call followed by an email from a Princess Cruises Vacation Planner.

 

The Princess Cruises Vacation Planner told me about a 3 for Free sale.

Thanks for the responses everyone! It was really helpful! You are right, the "3 for Free" sale doesn't cover my March 17, 2019 sailing.

Did the Princess Vacation Planner know that you were looking at the March cruise? If so, he/she should have known the "3 for Free" would not apply and told you that.

If you decide to not go with a TA, be sure to use a Princess Vacation Planner and don't book directly on the web site. If you use their planner, they can work a better deal if prices change or a different sale occurs. Going directly to the web site can be a big hassle to make a change.

We use Princess Planners and have always had a good experience. They are knowledgeable and friendly. Good luck either way!!

Did the Princess Vacation Planner know that you were looking at the March cruise? If so, he/she should have known the "3 for Free" would not apply and told you that.

She didn't know my dates when she sent the initial email with the "3 for Free" promo. I emailed her back last night asking her about the promo and told her my date and that's when she told me it doesn't apply.

Do PVPs help with cruises already booked through Princess.com, or do you have to book from the start with them?

Do PVPs help with cruises already booked through Princess.com, or do you have to book from the start with them?

Do PVPs help with cruises already booked through Princess.com, or do you have to book from the start with them?

They aren’t supposed to. But most will you. They can’t cancel the booking.