Raw Deal for Aussies

:mad:Australians have been denied access to cruise deals offered on American cruise websites and this is now resulting in Aussies paying outrageous prices for most cruises. This policy is NOT a government edict but purely a restriction imposed by the cruise lines themselves. For example, we were intending to take a 31 day Princess cruise in November and to purchase this cruise through an Australian agent would have cost in excess of 100% (YES 100%) more than the deals offered in the USA. Needless to say we cancelled.

Most major cruise lines have now got ships operating out of Australia; Princess in particular, and they are making a killing. The average daily rate an Australian pays on these mostly old ships is exorbitant and Australians are being exploited either through ignorance and/or enforced marketing restrictions.

Hi Johncol,

Thanks for posting and welcome to Cruise Critic.

This board is all about the Ports of Call in Australia and NZ. You will get more mileage out of your topic if you post it on the P&O Australia board , which covers all cruising and cruise lines , in Au/NZ and is mainly for Au/NZ cruisers , or on the Princess board as well.

You are not alone in your thoughts, as it has been a very hot topic on the board at times.

:mad:Australians have been denied access to cruise deals offered on American cruise websites and this is now resulting in Aussies paying outrageous prices for most cruises. This policy is NOT a government edict but purely a restriction imposed by the cruise lines themselves. For example, we were intending to take a 31 day Princess cruise in November and to purchase this cruise through an Australian agent would have cost in excess of 100% (YES 100%) more than the deals offered in the USA. Needless to say we cancelled.

 

Most major cruise lines have now got ships operating out of Australia; Princess in particular, and they are making a killing. The average daily rate an Australian pays on these mostly old ships is exorbitant and Australians are being exploited either through ignorance and/or enforced marketing restrictions.

kia ora,

Yes, we also have struck this problem of price discrimination and raised it with Princess both direct and through our TA. While it would be nice to think that business ethics operate and all customers are valued the response was that basically it is their 'marketing decision'!!

Aquarians

Yes, we also have struck this problem of price discrimination and raised it with Princess both direct and through our TA. While it would be nice to think that business ethics operate and all customers are valued the response was that basically it is their 'marketing decision'!!Aquarians

Yes I agree. It all comes down to the cruise lines marketing decision,

and where they choose to sell each particular cruise.

We have American friends on Sapphire at the moment.

It was a cruise that we would have liked to do, but from NZ, kept being quoted top dollar. We knew what they were paying and were not prepared to pay the over top prices quoted here...... just so local agents, franchise holders and wholesalers could clip the ticket.

Its not always the cruise line's fault....

Its the number of hands your booking goes through,

before it gets to the cruise line.

It isn't any number of hands. the price is put on at the top and the major haul of profit comes off at the same spot. Your local TA is making a healthy commission, but I am sure would rather sell three times as many tickets at half the price.

If they didn't have local offices and just charged in USD, it wouldn't be an issue... though people would then complain when the exchange rate fell. This happened a few years' back when TA's and cruise operators copped it from pax when the final payment was much higher than at the time they booked.

So they have local offices, which set local pricing, and lock in exchange rates and also run local promotions. Sometimes this results in cheaper cruises locally and sometimes this results in dearer cruises locally.

While I'd prefer the ability to book directly overseas where I choose, it's the same in many industries - not just cruising - that that's restricted, and is understandable that it both improves service, efficiency and ensures that the local offices deal with the expected volumes instead of losing out and then losing money because they don't get the planned volume.

This thread has been copied over to the P&O Australia cruise line board. Check both this thread and the thread on the P&O Aus board for subsequent posts.

I find it very disappointing - considering the mess the US economy is and the not so messy state our's is!!! Doesn't make sense.

Guess we'll all just have to buy a cheap mortgagee repossession home in the US, and have that as our US base to get the cheap cruise prices!

OR....... could cruise with the companies that DON'T restrict US TA's from selling to OS clients....... (do they exist?)

I really do think it sux though :(

:eek:Wow... I had no idea that was the case. I guess I just assumed that anyone with internet access could get the same deals, in their own currencies of course. Sorry Princess and the other lines are doing that, the policy really stinks.

Maybe they also take into consideration the airfare from the U.S is 2 to 3 thousand $$$ and we have to add that to the price of the cruise???

Maybe they also take into consideration the airfare from the U.S is 2 to 3 thousand $$$ and we have to add that to the price of the cruise???

You can get economy return flights to Australia for around $800. Even premium economy is less than $3000. I do the trip home from the US twice a year and have never paid anywhere near $3000.

Jo

Maybe they also take into consideration the airfare from the U.S is 2 to 3 thousand $$$ and we have to add that to the price of the cruise???

No because we Aussies also can not book -say an Alaskan cruise- at the cheaper price offered to US passengers either. We have to book all trips through a local TA or the internet reverts to a 'local AUS dollar site' if you try and book online.

If that isn't completely correct for all cruise lines please anyone let me know which companies allow booking through foreign websites. I'd love to know how to get the cheaper deals then I could travel more often!

I find it very disappointing - considering the mess the US economy is and the not so messy state our's is!!! Doesn't make sense.

 

Guess we'll all just have to buy a cheap mortgagee repossession home in the US, and have that as our US base to get the cheap cruise prices!

 

OR....... could cruise with the companies that DON'T restrict US TA's from selling to OS clients....... (do they exist?)

 

I really do think it sux though :(

From one Queenslander to another- I totally agree and wish there was some way around it :(

If you are willing to book your cruise online, without the help of a TA, you should be able to get US prices.

Find a US online based cruise travel agent and proceed to book the cruise. When asked for your address, enter the address of friends or family you might have in the US or Canada. If you don’t, there are many US postal address or mail forwarding services available online. We have booked a couple of cruises online using the Canadian postal address of family members and it worked very well for us.

You will find that some cruise websites where you’d like to book from recognise you as being from Australia (they do this by reading your IP address). The easiest thing to do is to find another cruise website that won’t (and there are some). Hope this helps.

From another Queenslander, I agree with you all and really sympathise with you all. To be honest, I can't believe how high prices are for everything back home :eek:

You can get economy return flights to Australia for around $800. Even premium economy is less than $3000. I do the trip home from the US twice a year and have never paid anywhere near $3000.

 

Jo

I just paid more than that on United going in Febuary. The prices seem a little higher that time of year. This is from San Diego. I couldn't wait until last minute to see if they would drop. They seemed to be going up everytime I looked :eek:

You can get economy return flights to Australia for around $800. Even premium economy is less than $3000. I do the trip home from the US twice a year and have never paid anywhere near $3000.

 

Jo

Jo, I have a question for you (off the subject) since you travel back and forth alot. Can you tell me how long it takes to go from terminal t2 (domestic) to t1 (international). I have looked high and low for the answer so maybe you can help me with this as I think I may be cutting it too close and may have to change my domestic flight. So sorry to go off the subject on this thread.

Jo, I have a question for you (off the subject) since you travel back and forth alot. Can you tell me how long it takes to go from terminal t2 (domestic) to t1 (international). I have looked high and low for the answer so maybe you can help me with this as I think I may be cutting it too close and may have to change my domestic flight. So sorry to go off the subject on this thread.

Call Qantas they should tell you what a legal connection is-It takes longer than it should I will give you that so whatever Qantas says try to add a little cushion.

As to the internet sites, they totally filter Aussie internet addresses. I cannot access my account with Princess ( and IIRC Royal Caribbean) when I am in OZ. This is a real hassle as it means a long distance phone call to take care of business when three minutes online in the Rocks for free should do it!

If you are willing to book your cruise online, without the help of a TA, you should be able to get US prices.

 

Find a US online based cruise travel agent and proceed to book the cruise. When asked for your address, enter the address of friends or family you might have in the US or Canada. If you don’t, there are many US postal address or mail forwarding services available online. We have booked a couple of cruises online using the Canadian postal address of family members and it worked very well for us.

 

You will find that some cruise websites where you’d like to book from recognise you as being from Australia (they do this by reading your IP address). The easiest thing to do is to find another cruise website that won’t (and there are some). Hope this helps.

I'd be fine booking online & tried to do so but kept getting the 'can't book without a USA address'. If you can get past that isn't there a problem when they ask for your passport number etc? This cruise I am booked on for 3/12 I did all the ground work, booked my flights/accommodation/excursion/insurance everything else pre cruise & the agent just took my money & gave it to the cruise line minus their commission! No work at all on their side! Easy money for them :(

If you can get past that isn't there a problem when they ask for your passport number etc? :(

The passport thing is no problem. One can be an Australian citizen with an Australian passport and be a US resident. There is no way the travel agent can know you're not actually there if you book online.

And yes, it's very easy money for them! :(

Jo, I have a question for you (off the subject) since you travel back and forth alot. Can you tell me how long it takes to go from terminal t2 (domestic) to t1 (international). I have looked high and low for the answer so maybe you can help me with this as I think I may be cutting it too close and may have to change my domestic flight. So sorry to go off the subject on this thread.

I'm guessing you are talking about Sydney airport? I normally fly into Brisbane but have flown through Sydney when we lived in Perth. I fly Qantas so just hopped on their bus to transfer between terminals. We used to took the midnight flight from Perth which got in about 7 and then took the 10.30(?) flight to the US. Sometimes the line for the bus was long and takes ages. I'd give yourself at least 3 hrs between connections. Getting through immigration and security can also take a while.

I'm not sure how long it would take if you had to go by road.

As for booking in the US. My husband and I have green cards and are permanent residents, and still use our Aussie passports. I think you might run into trouble doing the online check in. If I remember correctly, there is a question about residency status if using a non-US passport. Not sure if they would do anything about your booking if you had a problem when you got that far.

Jo

True if you paid with cash or check(que) if you paid with cc they don't get paid untill thirty days or so before the cruise. :-)

I think you might run into trouble doing the online check in. If I remember correctly, there is a question about residency status if using a non-US passport. Not sure if they would do anything about your booking if you had a problem when you got that far.

 

Jo

Haven't been asked that question checking in with NCL this year and with Princess last year. Not sure about other cruiselines but even then, I doubt they could do anything. People do move. I could live in the US at the time of booking and live in Australia by the time I checked in ;)

Anyways, just hoping they don't get smart :D

I'm guessing you are talking about Sydney airport? I normally fly into Brisbane but have flown through Sydney when we lived in Perth. I fly Qantas so just hopped on their bus to transfer between terminals. We used to took the midnight flight from Perth which got in about 7 and then took the 10.30(?) flight to the US. Sometimes the line for the bus was long and takes ages. I'd give yourself at least 3 hrs between connections. Getting through immigration and security can also take a while.

 

I'm not sure how long it would take if you had to go by road.

 

 

Jo

Thanks Jo. Yes I am flying into Sydney and even though I spent eons planning I didn't think about the airport layout. It was after booking that I checked out a map of the airport. I have 2 hrs. I could take the early, early flight and that would give me 6hrs (the only other option) and I really don't want to spend all that time at the airport. I was wondering if I can walk there fast or even take a cab if I can't get on the bus. Do you know exactly how far it is between terminals?

Thanks Jo. Yes I am flying into Sydney and even though I spent eons planning I didn't think about the airport layout. It was after booking that I checked out a map of the airport. I have 2 hrs. I could take the early, early flight and that would give me 6hrs (the only other option) and I really don't want to spend all that time at the airport. I was wondering if I can walk there fast or even take a cab if I can't get on the bus. Do you know exactly how far it is between terminals?

Taking the shuttle provided keeps you "inside" the airport and you go through a shorter line to get through emmigration and security so it would not be advantageous to take a cab what you saved in time on the ride would be eaten up in line elsewhere. The shuttle process is rather painless my only trouble was with the customs guy who didn't like the way we filled our forms so to the back of the line we went.:(