Upgrades/Price Drops

[dawn.glenn@ns.sympatico.c]

Hello,

Have seen a lot of posts about people getting their cabins upgraded and also about the price of their trips dropping. We opted for an Alaskan Cruisetour from Aug 26, 2013 - Sept 7, 2013 on the Sapphire Princess. The price is the same now as it was the day we booked it many many months ago and absolutely no sign of the upgrade fairy. This is our first cruise...perhaps that makes a difference in regards to upgrades? We booked this cruise ourselves directly through Princess...however I did some shopping around at local travel agents and they were offering the exact same price as Princess. All they were doing was looking on the website and telling me what it said. I figured I could do that myself...so we did. So, in general I guess I'm just wondering how all these upgrades and price drops work - how does one get in on it?

[AKman2495]

Hello,

Have seen a lot of posts about people getting their cabins upgraded and also about the price of their trips dropping. We opted for an Alaskan Cruisetour from Aug 26, 2013 - Sept 7, 2013 on the Sapphire Princess. The price is the same now as it was the day we booked it many many months ago and absolutely no sign of the upgrade fairy. This is our first cruise...perhaps that makes a difference in regards to upgrades? We booked this cruise ourselves directly through Princess...however I did some shopping around at local travel agents and they were offering the exact same price as Princess. All they were doing was looking on the website and telling me what it said. I figured I could do that myself...so we did. So, in general I guess I'm just wondering how all these upgrades and price drops work - how does one get in on it?

 

I really just depends on the cruise and how it is selling.

 

I'm booked on a 14 day Caribbean cruise this winter and the price dropped $400 for an inside.

 

I'm booked on a 4 day cruise this fall. I booked the cruise last year at a great price. Then they changed the description of the cruise to a "Cruise for Veterans" and raised the price. Since then, the prices have dropped to about where they were when I booked.

 

Keep in mind too that some price drops are for selected cabins and not all cabins may get discounted.

[paul929207]

You have seen posts from the few who have gotten an upgrade. Many of those were within the same type cabin, just to a little better location. Most people do not get an upgrade.

[mustgo]

Hello,

Have seen a lot of posts about people getting their cabins upgraded and also about the price of their trips dropping. We opted for an Alaskan Cruisetour from Aug 26, 2013 - Sept 7, 2013 on the Sapphire Princess. The price is the same now as it was the day we booked it many many months ago and absolutely no sign of the upgrade fairy. This is our first cruise...perhaps that makes a difference in regards to upgrades? We booked this cruise ourselves directly through Princess...however I did some shopping around at local travel agents and they were offering the exact same price as Princess. All they were doing was looking on the website and telling me what it said. I figured I could do that myself...so we did. So, in general I guess I'm just wondering how all these upgrades and price drops work - how does one get in on it?

 

Sometimes there are lower price offers for past passengers. Sign up for email specials to get in on these for your next cruise, check prices every day and respond fast when you see one. I recently upgraded from an inside to a balcony and got a $130 refund even tho it was past final payment date. I just got lucky.

[nyc12345]

Maybe it's harder for cruisetour to get price drop.

 

But you can find TA that will save you lots of money. I always save at least 10% for my Princess cruises.

[vent1020]

I'd sign up for your roll call. I had heard about if the price dropped you could get a "refund" so to speak. I was checking the price of my cruise all the time and it never dropped. I stopped doing it.

 

I had signed up for the roll call for that cruise and TWICE now someone had mentioned the price of the cruise dropping. TWICE I have gotten not only a refund, but also OBC. WOO HOO. :D

 

I don't know if it always happens on roll calls, but maybe you might get a heads up on there when the price drops if you aren't checking yourself every day.

[geoherb]

Since it is past the final payment date, you might not get anything even if you did find a price drop. This year there doesn't seem to have been as many price drops for Alaskan cruise tours as there were last year. We went a year ago for a great price. I booked it after the final payment date.

[kylea_s]

Cruise tours are different. We had a guy on our Greek Island cruise last spring who had booked one in conjunction with our cruise. Even though the stateroom type price dropped considerably, he couldnt get his cabin discounted because it was priced within the cruisetour and all of the cabins included in the cruisetour were sold out. Hope that makes some sense.

 

Donna

[nukesubsailor]

Hello,

Have seen a lot of posts about people getting their cabins upgraded and also about the price of their trips dropping. We opted for an Alaskan Cruisetour from Aug 26, 2013 - Sept 7, 2013 on the Sapphire Princess. The price is the same now as it was the day we booked it many many months ago and absolutely no sign of the upgrade fairy. This is our first cruise...perhaps that makes a difference in regards to upgrades? We booked this cruise ourselves directly through Princess...however I did some shopping around at local travel agents and they were offering the exact same price as Princess. All they were doing was looking on the website and telling me what it said. I figured I could do that myself...so we did. So, in general I guess I'm just wondering how all these upgrades and price drops work - how does one get in on it?

 

I have taken 16 Princess cruises. I always book early----at least a year in advance and I always specify which cabin I want. I have been offered an upgrade only once and I declined it.

I periodically check prices on cruises I have booked as does my travel agent. About a third of the time there have been price reductions for my type and category of cabin. About a third of the time the price goes up.

From reading many posts on Cruise Critic forums and cruise roll calls, I get the impression that upgrades are offered so that a cheaper cabin can be made available for last minute sales. An upgrade to a bigger cabin may not always be a good thing. Always check the location on the deck plans for that ship before accepting the offered upgrade.

[Nan_Sea]

We got a move over on our first Princess cruise. Upgraded from inside to balcony and the equivalent of one passage in ship board credit. Love that fairy.

[Suzy'Q]

We booked this cruise ourselves directly through Princess...however I did some shopping around at local travel agents and they were offering the exact same price as Princess. All they were doing was looking on the website and telling me what it said. I figured I could do that myself...so we did.

 

I've never been quoted a better price from a local travel agent compared to booking directly through Princess. I've found nice discounts from high volume online agencies. And you can't see the better price by looking at their website, you have to request a quote.

[JimmyVWine]

1. It is too late for you to see a price drop on your cruise.

 

2. Cruise Tours do not drop in price the way "cruise only" prices do.

 

3. Price drops depend on when you booked. You may have booked at a particularly low point, so no further discounts applied. If you booked far in advance, there is a distinct possibility that the Princess sales in March and/or May may have lowered the rate for your cruise. If that happened, it would have been up to you to check periodically (daily??) to see if the fare dropped. If it did, you could call to get re-fared. It never happens automatically.

 

4. We booked our August cruise back in March during a sale. I found lower rates twice. Once in April and once in May. Both times I called and got a lower fare, and one of those times, I got extra On Board Credit. But since May, the price has remained stagnant and even gone up a few times, (and then down, and then up...etc.).

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

Upgrades are few and far between. I don't plan on upgrades so I book the cabin I know I would be happy with and that is it. I think a lot of people (especially first timers) expect an upgrade because they are newbies. But don't plan on an upgrade.

[WEGL81]

I'd sign up for your roll call. I had heard about if the price dropped you could get a "refund" so to speak. I was checking the price of my cruise all the time and it never dropped. I stopped doing it.

 

I had signed up for the roll call for that cruise and TWICE now someone had mentioned the price of the cruise dropping. TWICE I have gotten not only a refund, but also OBC. WOO HOO. :D

 

I don't know if it always happens on roll calls, but maybe you might get a heads up on there when the price drops if you aren't checking yourself every day.

 

I agree with the one poster who indicated it is too late for your cruise. For future reference, looking at the roll call for your cruise is good advice. I am sailing on the Aug 10 cruisetour and the price did indeed drop significantly from what I originally paid. I picked this up only by following the roll call thread. Once I read someone indicate that they picked up the same cruisetour on sale, I looked into the sale. Since we had already made final payment, Princess would not directly refund the price difference (despite their guarantee). However, we ended up canceling and re-booking at the new rate and received an upgrade at the same time. With an upgrade to a mini-suite from balcony and considering the 10% cancellation fee we had to pay, we still netted a positive $2k.

 

Bottom line is pay attention and be assertive. You won't get an upgrade by being passive, but if you pay attention and make the effort to call Princess, they will work with you if there is a significant price drop.

[dorisis]

i just checked the prices on our December Emerald cruise and prices went up in all categories. Glad I booked early. I rarely see prices go down on the cruises I book early.