Best Price

[jeansaussie1]

Hello Princess Cruisers,

It’s early but I’m already planning for 2013 Alaska Southbound with 3 days in Denali.

I’m a Carnival girl and like to think I’ve gotten their pricing policies down to a science. Princess seems to operate so differently.

Here is what I’ve learned so far, please correct if wrong and let me know what information I’m missing to get the best price.

1. Booking through a TA is the best option because they may have prices lower than the Princess website and also may offer OBC or free gifts or upgrades.

2. The price is the price. Before final payment I may be able to get an upgrade for a fare difference but it is not guaranteed.

3. After final payment I have the cabin I have, no changes.

Please let me know any other booking tips for a first time Princess cruises.

Thank you!

[Working 2 Cruise]

Hello Princess Cruisers,

It’s early but I’m already planning for 2013 Alaska Southbound with 3 days in Denali.

I’m a Carnival girl and like to think I’ve gotten their pricing policies down to a science. Princess seems to operate so differently.

Here is what I’ve learned so far, please correct if wrong and let me know what information I’m missing to get the best price.

1. Booking through a TA is the best option because they may have prices lower than the Princess website and also may offer OBC or free gifts or upgrades.

2. The price is the price. Before final payment I may be able to get an upgrade for a fare difference but it is not guaranteed.

3. After final payment I have the cabin I have, no changes.

Please let me know any other booking tips for a first time Princess cruises.

Thank you!

 

1. Booking through a TA would probably be a little less expensive and may have inducements to book with them, i.e., onboard credit or wine, etc.

2. If the fare goes down before final payment, you should be able to always get the reduction, unless it is a flash sale. After final payment, I was able to get the fare reduction through my TA, which surprised me quite a bit. (another point for booking with a TA).

3. If you (or your TA) mark your booking "no upgrade," then you will get to keep the cabin you have. If it is not marked that way, there is a chance you could get upgraded to a better (according to Princess) location. I have always booked guarantees and have never regretted it, so far. Book what you will be happy with.

 

Have a great cruise! I will be sailing with Carnival in April and know next to nothing about Carnival, except for the dancing waiters!

[Pam in CA]

You have most of it. Find a TA that specializes in Princess bookings and is a high volume booker. "High volume" is many per day. I had a TA who is now deceased that booked 40/day. They get group rates, sometimes rebate part of their commission, and offer perks such as OBC, a bottle of wine, dinner in a specialty restaurant, etc. Savings can be quite substantial, depending on the cruise, category and when you book.

 

Once you make final payment, pricing for passengers already booked don't usually change. If cabins remain unsold, Princess will offer a "Flash sale" for new bookings only. Since you'd be in the penalty period, you'd have to pay the penalty and rebook, which usually isn't worth it. Many Princess cruises sell out months, if not a year, in advance so you can gamble that there will be a Flash sale but don't count on it.

[srpilo]

Hello Princess Cruisers,

It’s early but I’m already planning for 2013 Alaska Southbound with 3 days in Denali.

I’m a Carnival girl and like to think I’ve gotten their pricing policies down to a science. Princess seems to operate so differently.

Here is what I’ve learned so far, please correct if wrong and let me know what information I’m missing to get the best price.

1. Booking through a TA is the best option because they may have prices lower than the Princess website and also may offer OBC or free gifts or upgrades.

2. The price is the price. Before final payment I may be able to get an upgrade for a fare difference but it is not guaranteed.

3. After final payment I have the cabin I have, no changes.

Please let me know any other booking tips for a first time Princess cruises.

Thank you!

 

Sounds about right...

 

 

Welcome to Princess :)

Srpilo

[caribill]

Hello Princess Cruisers,

It’s early but I’m already planning for 2013 Alaska Southbound with 3 days in Denali.

1. Booking through a TA is the best option because they may have prices lower than the Princess website and also may offer OBC or free gifts or upgrades.

 

TAs cannot advertise different prices than what is offered on the Princess web site, but they can respond to a request for pricing with a lower price (and amenities) if they wish.

 

In other words, to find out if a TA has a lower price, you will need to contact them. You cannot go by what pricing you see on the internet.

 

Also, not all TAs do discount the price. You may have to search a little bit to find one who does.

[flamomo]

If you should choose to book directly with Princess, it is possible to have your fare lowered if Princess posts a lower fare for what you have booked, as long as it is before final payment and is nor a flash sale, which usually specifies new bookings only.

 

I have booked directly with Princess for all but my very first cruise, because I choose to not have to go through a 3rd party for answers to questions or getting a concern resolved. I have had my bookings refared downward on some cruises, even for a couple of cruises I was able to to get it reduced twice for the same cruise, just by calling and asking after seeing a lower price on the Princess site.

 

However, it is up to me to monitor the fares on the Princess website, which I do daily for every cruise I have booked.

[caribill]

If you should choose to book directly with Princess, it is possible to have your fare lowered if Princess posts a lower fare for what you have booked, as long as it is before final payment and is nor a flash sale, which usually specifies new bookings only.

 

However, it is up to me to monitor the fares on the Princess website, which I do daily for every cruise I have booked.

 

And if you book with a TA, you can just call the TA who will secure the lower fare for you. It will still be up to you to monitor the fares on the Princess website.

[flamomo]

And if you book with a TA, you can just call the TA who will secure the lower fare for you. It will still be up to you to monitor the fares on the Princess website.

 

Yeah ..... but I get to omit the steps of calling the TA, and then wait to hear back from the TA to let me know if they were successful!!!

Works for me!

[chaserred]

1. Booking through a TA would probably be a little less expensive and may have inducements to book with them, i.e., onboard credit or wine, etc.

2. If the fare goes down before final payment, you should be able to always get the reduction, unless it is a flash sale. After final payment, I was able to get the fare reduction through my TA, which surprised me quite a bit. (another point for booking with a TA).

3. If you (or your TA) mark your booking "no upgrade," then you will get to keep the cabin you have. If it is not marked that way, there is a chance you could get upgraded to a better (according to Princess) location. I have always booked guarantees and have never regretted it, so far. Book what you will be happy with.

 

Have a great cruise! I will be sailing with Carnival in April and know next to nothing about Carnival, except for the dancing waiters!

 

I asked this on another thread but haven't heard back yet: if you have not marked your booking "no upgrade" and get upgraded to another location, can you refuse the upgrade, or must you take it?

[katisdale]

I book my cruises "no upgrade". Therefore I am called (only got a call once) before a change is made. Otherwise I happily stay in the room I reserved.

I use a "high volume" TA and only request a decrease if the price on Princess' website is lower than my booked price. For example, say I spent $700 per person for a cruise. If the Princess price was $850 when I booked I wouldn't call for a decrease unless the price at Princess went below $700. I have gotten a few further deductions but look for what I consider a decent price to start with. I tend not to check after final payment.

[pmd98052]

Where is the best place to look for high quality TA's that monitor fares and proactively let you know? I'm not happy with the large online agency we used this time around. I see lots of mentions of them and I know direct links can't be posted but I'm not sure of the best way to research this outside of random Bing searches....

[caribill]

Where is the best place to look for high quality TA's that monitor fares and proactively let you know? I'm not happy with the large online agency we used this time around. I see lots of mentions of them and I know direct links can't be posted but I'm not sure of the best way to research this outside of random Bing searches....

 

Speak to passengers on your next cruise.

[caribill]

I asked this on another thread but haven't heard back yet: if you have not marked your booking "no upgrade" and get upgraded to another location, can you refuse the upgrade, or must you take it?

 

If there is another vacant cabin you would prefer in the category you were assigned, you can ask for a reassignment.

 

If you are a GTY, you can request to be put back into the GTY pool.

 

If you had a specific cabin, it may no longer be available if you do not like the the new location assigned.

[chaserred]

Thanks Caribill, that makes sense.

[Stevesan]

I asked this on another thread but haven't heard back yet: if you have not marked your booking "no upgrade" and get upgraded to another location, can you refuse the upgrade, or must you take it?

 

Princess policy is to notify you in advance of an upgrade. However, if there's no reply within two days the upgrade will be effected.

Some folks complain they weren't notified. They may have booked thru a TA who wasn't timely in passing on the proposal.

[caribill]

Princess policy is to notify you in advance of an upgrade. However, if there's no reply within two days the upgrade will be effected.

Some folks complain they weren't notified. They may have booked thru a TA who wasn't timely in passing on the proposal.

 

The advance notification is only if you had marked a booking "do not upgrade" but Princess still wants to make the offfer.

 

If your booking is not marked "do not upgrade", you will be notified after the new assignment has been made, not before.

[Stevesan]

The advance notification is only if you had marked a booking "do not upgrade" but Princess still wants to make the offfer.

 

If your booking is not marked "do not upgrade", you will be notified after the new assignment has been made, not before.

 

Not according to Princess management.

[paul929207]

A couple of years ago, we took a cruise from San Juan. We were at the airport waiting for the transfer to the ship. We started talking to the couple next to us. Come to find out we both were assigned the same cabin. I figured it was because we got upgraded a couple of days back. I guessed they were upgraded out of the cabin and did not know it. That turned out to be the case. So they were never notified until check in.