Discrepancy on prices for Royal

[pcsunlover]

I wonder if it's just the luck of the draw that happens once in awhile to keep people interested in cruising with Princess. Although I think all it's doing is ticking people off and making some feel like they're getting ripped off. I know I would!

 

To offset our good fortune this time, I fully expect to have to pay an outrageous price for our next cruise in 2015. :rolleyes:

[Christine Frances]

Same thing going on over on the HAL boards http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1883293

[SOLIVITA LADY]

Jackie, which cabin did you choose? I just brought that one up (2/23) and getting prices of $1599. :eek: E730,31,32 &33.

 

Northender, we booked E714 which is considered a DE, Deluxe Balcony Aft. You have to make sure you log in to get the better pricing. I just went to the deck plans and the cabins you brought up are the Premium Deluxe Balcony at the very aft of the ship and those go for more money. However, the ones on deck 8 would be directly over the stage. My cabin is a couple of cabins down from the aft elevators/stairs and deck 8 is more desirable to me on this ship due to no central staircase. It just seems easier to get where we need to go.

 

Jackie

[Northender]

Jackie, Princess is "temporarily unavailable." Will check later or first thing tomorrow morning.:)

[weberman]

I spoke to my T/A at one of the very big online Princess Cruise sellers and asked him why the prices displayed on their webpage were so high. My T/A told me that Princess was cracking down on showing the lowest discounted prices on their website pricing page and that their price had to closely resemble the Princess website pricing. They were allowed to show OBCs.

 

He said that to get the low ball price, you had to get it directly from one of their T/As. The price he quoted was significantly less than their webpage price. This happened to me when I was booking my Royal Trans-Atlantic cruise. i booked with Princess and then got a substantial discount by transferring my booking as well as OBCs.

 

The February 23rd Royal cruise was also much less than the displayed price. I wonder if people realize this. :eek:

 

Have any of you, who book through online T/As have experienced this same thing? :confused:

 

Princess is one of the last remaining cruise lines to allow discounts below their website pricing. The other cruise lines do allow OBC's to be posted (I think). On other cruise lines the T/As make it up by giving good OBCs.

 

Just a point of information on cruise pricing which seems to be a point of contention. I always thought the earlier you booked, the better the price (also the airfare), unless it is low demand cruise and last minute bookings.

 

The price I paid for the Trans-Atlantic (which sold out in about a day) was much lower than the fares being quoted for for the small supply of cabins now available. Princess also snuck in another category of cabins (Premium Deluxe Balconies) which were not available last March when the bookings for the Tran-Atlantic opened. Profit, Profit, Profit but that is what they are in business for.

[caribill]

I spoke to my T/A at one of the very big online Princess Cruise sellers and asked him why the prices displayed on their webpage were so high. My T/A told me that Princess was cracking down on showing the lowest discounted prices on their website pricing page and that their price had to closely resemble the Princess website pricing. They were allowed to show OBCs.

 

 

 

Correct, it has been this way for about 18 months. Must get an actual quote to get a discount TA's pricing.

 

However, the theme of this thread is the different pricing that is obtained directly from the Princess web site, no TA involved.

[IECalCruiser]

...The price I paid for the Trans-Atlantic (which sold out in about a day) was much lower than the fares being quoted for for the small supply of cabins now available. Princess also snuck in another category of cabins (Premium Deluxe Balconies) which were not available last March when the bookings for the Tran-Atlantic opened. Profit, Profit, Profit but that is what they are in business for.

Actually, the Premium cabin category was created with the Fleet Recategorization announcement in March of 2012, just before the Royal went on sail. The premium categories end in numbers rather than letters and we booked a Cat D4 Premium Deluxe Balcony the day the TA went on sail. Many Caribe deck balconies on the Grand class ships became Cat B1 and B2 and the aft balconies all became Cat B4 after the fleet recategorization became effective on most ships earlier this year.

[WendyG]

And the cheapest balcony for that same 2/23 cruise on Royal shows 1299.00 here in California (and we are Elite). That is why I booked the Emerald instead earlier in the month for 10 days and not much more

for not the lowest category balcony.

 

Hi Gloria!

 

I peeked too as I was curious. 1299 here in Florida for a balcony on 2/23. I'm elite. Not much of a Florida resident rate but no airfare :D

I paid less for my mini-suite on the Royal during Thanksgiving week so I'm happy with my price! :)

 

For the OP - always check on cruise compete - you will get 3-8 quotes from various travel agents and it's the best way to compare prices!

[chamima]

This is one of the most irritating thing about being Elite on Princess: my neighbor (same street, zip code and age group) who is Gold can almost always get better pricing for the same cruise than we can from the same TA.

 

 

I'm still around.

I meant to call Princess yesterday but life got in the way so will call later today. I want to call during normal business hours on the west coast so if I need to speak to a supervisor there will be one available.

 

And Jeannie, that was my thinking also. They think because we're Elite they've got us. The sad truth is that after a long cruise on Celebrity last year they don't really have us anymore.

We're tacking this cruise on the Royal onto a 14 day on Celebrity and were only doing it to see the Royal so may just cancel - we'll see.

 

And to everyone who said to try a TA. I usually book the cruise with Princess and then transfer to our TA when the cruise is closer.

[Pstcrik]

This is one of the most irritating thing about being Elite on Princess: my neighbor (same street, zip code and age group) who is Gold can almost always get better pricing for the same cruise than we can from the same TA.

 

The fact that you suggest that a Gold member quite often gets better pricing than Elite is not really that unusual. As Elite we believe that Princess gives us free laundry, free bar setup, and numerous other little benefits that other level members do not get, but I do not believe any of this is free if Elites are paying a higher cabin cost and we should not believe Princess pricing does not recoup Elite customer benefits.

[nyc12345]

I also think you should find a good TA with discounts. My friend just booked an awesome deal through my TA and he helped them set up the "Share the Savings" through Princess so another friend could get the same offer/promotion. Not sure why the promotion is targeted to certain passengers but I am sure Princess knows what they are trying to do...

[Northender]

Jackie, signed in and got $1429 + $95 taxpp for the same cabin on the other side.:D

 

Maine resident.

[chamima]

Make sure you are comparing Apples to Apples not Apples to Oranges. All balconies are not created the same. One pricing could be for a balcony on Deck 8 Aft and one could be for a Deluxe Balcony on Deck 8 Aft, or obstructed Balcony or obstructed Deluxe Balcony. So many categories that the pricing on the Royal is very confusing

 

We just booked this cruise (actually moved over from the Dec. 9th cruise) and have a Deluxe Balcony (not obstructed) aft on Deck 8. Hopefully it is far enough away from the stage in the lounge below which seems that the stage is centered in the rear of the lounge not on the side. Time will tell if the deck plans are correct or not. It shouldn't be a big problem anyway since we tend to stay up late.

 

Jackie

 

Jackie, which cabin did you choose? I just brought that one up (2/23) and getting prices of $1599. :eek: E730,31,32 &33.

 

 

 

I get $1529 (plus $95 tax) for that one (and all of the deluxe afts, which is what we have booked). That is exactly the same price as it was when I booked it back in April.

I do have to say that usually the prices on all of our other cruises have come down in June or July so I never worry about the price when we book. This is the first time the price has remained the same. It's strange also because the ship seems half empty. :confused:

EDIT: The price I quoted is for Premium deluxe. Regular deluxe are $1429 (also plus $95 tax)

[CQG67]

I have just went round and round with my ta on this. He even sent me the pricing sheet he got when booking with Princess. Some people on our Feb 2 cruise say they got an $899 rate .. I called Princess, and my ta and they say no such rate - for me anyway. I am also elite and sign in when I go to their website. I am told - don"t know how true this is - that there is different pricing for different parts of the country - and many of these special prices are for NEW bookings only. Our ta discounted our cruise more than $100 pp. it is frustrating though and annoying. Not sure what the answer is.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The fact that you suggest that a Gold member quite often gets better pricing than Elite is not really that unusual. As Elite we believe that Princess gives us free laundry, free bar setup, and numerous other little benefits that other level members do not get, but I do not believe any of this is free if Elites are paying a higher cabin cost and we should not believe Princess pricing does not recoup Elite customer benefits.

And this is part of the reason why I have to disagree when people say Princess has the best (not just some of the best, but the best) loyalty program benefits at sea. The reality is that on RC, we can get up to $250 off of the lowest cabin rate there is (per cabin, not per person). On Celebrity, we frequently get coupons for $$$ off cruises (Diamond and Elite, respectively). Yes, Princess does more once on board than the others do (assuming you're not a big drinker...if you are, then RC and Celebrity with their nightly open bar is still a great perk), but I believe we pay a penalty in our cruise fare to get those perks. But it's not often talked about, or even realized, until a thread like this comes up. But since our friend often asks us to price our cruises for her, we see it time and again.

 

Once you get to 21 cruises, you do start to get the Captains Circle OBC (starting at $25 per cabin, maxing out at $100 per cabin), but that still isn't enough to level a playing field that can be off by several hundred dollars to start with.

 

ETA: it's not a TA thing, either. The same TA cannot equalize cruise fares if different (Gold and Elite) Captains Circle numbers are entered on the booking. They may be able to get lower pricing than another TA or Princess, but the Gold member will still have lower pricing than the Elite member.

[chamima]

i live in Sterling Heights also. This is so strange that I am seeing these prices and you aren't. Just booked the 3/30/14 Royal Princess cruise with a mid-aft regular balcony on Baja deck for $1079 per person (total was $2348 for 2 of us). I could have booked the same cabin on the 2/23/14 cruise for the same price.

 

I will probably transfer the booking to my usual online agent later to get the OBC they offer.

 

 

 

Just off the phone with Princess and it was what I expected. :(

She insisted you must have some kind of promo code. Then she tried to tell me the "regional " price difference excuse. When I said you booked on line with Princess.com and lived about 5 miles from me she kept insisting that at the end of your booking there would have been a promo code. She told me to get that code then submit a request in writing to Princess that they give us that code also. (With no guarantee that they would)

Unfortunately I think Jeannie is correct and our Elite "benefits" are built into our cruise price.

I won't cancel the cruise yet but when final payment gets closer and I need to book our airfare for either just the Celebrity cruise or this one also, if there isn't a reduction in our cruise price, I'll cancel then. :(

[SOLIVITA LADY]

Jackie, signed in and got $1429 + $95 taxpp for the same cabin on the other side.:D

 

Maine resident.

 

Northender, it may be that that category balcony (DE) Deluxe Balcony has gone up from when I booked it last week but my price including the $95 tax that I got from my TA is significantly lower than that with her discount. It might be that if I tried to book the same cabin today it would be more but she still gave me a good price. If you would like to e-mail me to "discuss" my e-mail is: rflynn6@cfl.rr.com

 

We are Florida residents so maybe that played into the pricing and are also Elite (this is our first cruise as Elite). Who knows but since the Princess website was unavailable yesterday they may have been updating the pricing (and not to our advantage it seems).

 

Jackie

[pcsunlover]

Just off the phone with Princess and it was what I expected. :(

She insisted you must have some kind of promo code. Then she tried to tell me the "regional " price difference excuse. When I said you booked on line with Princess.com and lived about 5 miles from me she kept insisting that at the end of your booking there would have been a promo code. She told me to get that code then submit a request in writing to Princess that they give us that code also. (With no guarantee that they would)

Unfortunately I think Jeannie is correct and our Elite "benefits" are built into our cruise price.

I won't cancel the cruise yet but when final payment gets closer and I need to book our airfare for either just the Celebrity cruise or this one also, if there isn't a reduction in our cruise price, I'll cancel then. :(

 

I assure you I did not enter in any type of promo code. I just went to the Princess site. As soon as I logged in with my I.D. and password, I saw the changes in the prices in red. I just went to my cruise personalizer and the only thing I see that may matter is there is something at the bottom of my booking that says: The fare you booked qualifies for our "Share the Savings" program which apparently allows us to invite 2 friends to book with us at the same rate. We have cruised with others in the past, but our last couple of cruises have just been the 2 of us. Maybe they offered this to us as an incentive to get more people to join us?

 

I did not do anything special other than logging in. I do receive mailers and emails from Princess from time to time, but there was nothing this time that prompted me to refer to anything I may have received.

[mamaboss]

Hi Gloria!

 

I peeked too as I was curious. 1299 here in Florida for a balcony on 2/23. I'm elite. Not much of a Florida resident rate but no airfare :D

I paid less for my mini-suite on the Royal during Thanksgiving week so I'm happy with my price! :)

 

For the OP - always check on cruise compete - you will get 3-8 quotes from various travel agents and it's the best way to compare prices!

 

Wendy, have you used that site before? I read your post and checked it out. A couple quotes were 200.00 each person less than my TA is giving me. Makes me question them. Appreciate your info.

[chamima]

I assure you I did not enter in any type of promo code. I just went to the Princess site. As soon as I logged in with my I.D. and password, I saw the changes in the prices in red. I just went to my cruise personalizer and the only thing I see that may matter is there is something at the bottom of my booking that says: The fare you booked qualifies for our "Share the Savings" program which apparently allows us to invite 2 friends to book with us at the same rate. We have cruised with others in the past, but our last couple of cruises have just been the 2 of us. Maybe they offered this to us as an incentive to get more people to join us?

 

I did not do anything special other than logging in. I do receive mailers and emails from Princess from time to time, but there was nothing this time that prompted me to refer to anything I may have received.

 

 

I knew you didn't have a promo code and told her that. She kept insisting you did. I also told her about the price being crossed out and the lower price in red (when I log into Princess I get that same price decrease or sale or whatever you want to call it for some cruises we have no interest in)

In the last week or two we've probably received between 10 and 20 mailers and emails about sales for more cruises that we also have no interest in.

 

As far as us not getting the lower price because we're Elite and them making up the cost of our benefits - $300/pp is an awful lot of dry cleaning for a one week cruise. The value of all of our "benefits" together probably doesn't total $100 .

This whole thing has really left a bad taste.

Celebrity is looking better and better. They may not let our TA discount and they may not combine benefits but their prices are the same for everyone.

[pcsunlover]

I knew you didn't have a promo code and told her that. She kept insisting you did. I also told her about the price being crossed out and the lower price in red (when I log into Princess I get that same price decrease or sale or whatever you want to call it for some cruises we have no interest in)

In the last week or two we've probably received between 10 and 20 mailers and emails about sales for more cruises that we also have no interest in.

 

As far as us not getting the lower price because we're Elite and them making up the cost of our benefits - $300/pp is an awful lot of dry cleaning for a one week cruise. The value of all of our "benefits" together probably doesn't total $100 .

This whole thing has really left a bad taste.

Celebrity is looking better and better. They may not let our TA discount and they may not combine benefits but their prices are the same for everyone.

 

I agree. I can understand price incentives for people who are from areas outside of driving distance to ports (like us) to encourage them to choose a cruise vacation, but it is ridiculous that people from the same state can't get the same rates.

 

I wish you luck and hope the price drops for you to enjoy the Royal!

[Loonbeam]

That's a false assumption. ALL of the lines use micro-targeting. The only difference is how much and how its broken down..

 

Celebrity is looking better and better. They may not let our TA discount and they may not combine benefits but their prices are the same for everyone.

[John99]

Another cruiser from Michigan (Sterling Heights). Princess Elite status.

 

After reading this tread it made me very curious about what I would find on pricing for a balcony on the 2/23 Royal. I logged in and found the following:

 

Aft Balcony

Upper Deck $1019

Mid Decks $1039

Lower Deck $1019

 

Mid Ships Balcony

Upper Deck $1079

Mid Decks $1099

Lower Deck $959

 

Forward Balcony

Upper Deck $999

Mid Decks $1019

Lower Deck $999

 

Tomorrow I will call my TA to see what kind of pricing I obtain. I'll see what happens.

 

As stated above, Princess is targeting certain groups with different pricing policies.

 

John

[pcsunlover]

Another cruiser from Michigan (Sterling Heights). Princess Elite status.

 

After reading this tread it made me very curious about what I would find on pricing for a balcony on the 2/23 Royal. I logged in and found the following:

 

Aft Balcony

Upper Deck $1019

Mid Decks $1039

Lower Deck $1019

 

Mid Ships Balcony

Upper Deck $1079

Mid Decks $1099

Lower Deck $959

 

Forward Balcony

Upper Deck $999

Mid Decks $1019

Lower Deck $999

 

Tomorrow I will call my TA to see what kind of pricing I obtain. I'll see what happens.

 

As stated above, Princess is targeting certain groups with different pricing policies.

 

John

 

I'm from Sterling Hts. also, and those are exactly the prices I see too.

[Northender]

Northender, it may be that that category balcony (DE) Deluxe Balcony has gone up from when I booked it last week but my price including the $95 tax that I got from my TA is significantly lower than that with her discount. It might be that if I tried to book the same cabin today it would be more but she still gave me a good price. If you would like to e-mail me to "discuss" my e-mail is: rflynn6@cfl.rr.com

 

We are Florida residents so maybe that played into the pricing and are also Elite (this is our first cruise as Elite). Who knows but since the Princess website was unavailable yesterday they may have been updating the pricing (and not to our advantage it seems).

 

Jackie

 

Thanks, Jackie. I was just finding it interesting that the prices could be different in one part of the country than another.:confused: