Nov 2013 Promotion - full fare credit for future cruise

[smtcan]

We did a B2B and applied the credit to an already booked Baltic cruise next month. I'm not sure that this was the original intent - I suspect they were hoping for new bookings to result from the promotion, bt it worked well for us.

 

Sheila

[A.stew12305]

My husband and I took advantage of the promotion and booked a 4 day coastal for our anniversary this past Jan, and applied it to a 7 day Alaska in May. We would take advantage of it again in a heartbeat given the opportunity!

[pablo222]

It has to be a $$$ maker somewhere along the line, or why do it?

 

Because once the ship sales, the empty cabin has zero value,

and generates zero onboard revenue.

 

If there were some 'intent' to attract new cruisers, the 'free-for-future-credit' would have been the initial price when the cruise was offered.

[victory2020]

This is my take on it, for whatever it my be worth. I think Princess did a horrible job of promoting these - I say that because I regularly shop for cruises out of LA & am particularly looking for shorter ones. These never came up in the searches I made because these seemed to be in a category all by themselves. They never showed up in Mexico or coastal searches. Even after I found out about them I would check various travel sites to find best price & when I knew to look for them they were hard to find.

Making them basically free gave them the advertising they needed- so I don't think there is any reason to offer the same promo again.

[Luckiest Dog]

Its not a money maker its a money loser.

 

It has to be a $$$ maker somewhere along the line, or why do it?

 

The decision was probably one of which loses less money. By offering 100% credit, Princess gets your taxes, gratuities, drinks, excursions etc as well as a commitment on a future cruise. They count on some ending up not using it as well. Filling the ship is always better than sailing half full even if half the passengers are only paying taxes, gratuity, bar, specialty restaurants, coffee card, excursions etc.

 

It is like playing blackjack with a 16 hand. It always loses more than it wins, but by hitting when the dealer show 17 or more and standing when the dealer has 16 and less, you lose less than playing any other way.

 

Mitigation.

[nsw104]

[

 

Here is my question...

 

 

 

and if you did were you able to group all the back to backs together on ONE future cruise for 2014???

 

If they offer it again, I plan to do 6 or 7 Back to Backs out of LA - great way to just enjoy three weeks (port charges only) and use the credit towards another cruise in 2015 IF we can group them all together....

 

Thanks,,, Michael

I booked 2 cruises for Oct.&Nov. using 3 credits from the promotion. I had to use the credits in the calender order they were earned(Oct.2013 credit first,Jan.16,2014 credit second & Jan.27,2014 credit last) Also I wasn't allowed to split credit amount from 1 cruise into 2 different future cruises, meaning if you used 2 credits to book new cruise and the cost of new cruise was less than value of your 2 credits, you lose the remaining $ if any. If you book only one cruise & use all your credits, this doesn't matter.

[victory2020]

Yes. I have credit from 2 separate cruises I am combining for one cruise this year.

[Luckiest Dog]

[

 

Here is my question...

 

 

 

and if you did were you able to group all the back to backs together on ONE future cruise for 2014???

 

If they offer it again, I plan to do 6 or 7 Back to Backs out of LA - great way to just enjoy three weeks (port charges only) and use the credit towards another cruise in 2015 IF we can group them all together....

 

Thanks,,, Michael

 

Based on the 2013 rules that is not possible.

"The FCC must be applied to a SINGLE future sailing departing before Dec. 31, 2014." See official rules below.

 

 

Get 100% of Your Fare Back as a Future Cruise Credit! Back by popular demand, just in time for the holidays! Book a 3 to 5 day Princess® Getaway cruise sailing roundtrip from Los Angeles or Ft. Lauderdale and receive 100% of your cruise fare as a credit toward a future Princess cruise!*

*Book a qualifying voyage by December 31, 2013 and 100% of the cruise fare will be available as a future cruise credit (FCC) that will be applicable to any 2013/2014 published future cruise that is 7 days or longer and can be combined with bookings not yet paid in full. Offer applies to Ruby Princess December 14, January 4, 9, 13, 18, 23, and 27 departures and Sapphire Princess January 5, 9, 13, 16, 20, 24, and 28 departures only. Once you have sailed on the qualifying voyage, an FCC will automatically be applied to the all qualifying passengers’ Captains Circle member numbers, including 3rd/4th berth passengers. The FCC must be applied to a single future sailing departing before December 31, 2014. Fares for other categories, sailings and cruisetours may vary. Oceanview stateroom may have an obstructed view. Fares are per person, non-air, cruise- or cruisetour-only, based on double occupancy and apply to the first two passengers in a stateroom. These fares do not apply to singles or third/fourth-berth passengers. Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses are subject to change and Princess reserves the right to collect any increases in effect at the time of sailing even if the fare has already been paid in full. Fare offer is capacity controlled and may not be combinable with any other public, group or past passenger discount. Fare offer is available to residents of the 50 United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the District of Columbia who are 21 years of age or older and receive this offer. Fares quoted in U.S. dollars. Please refer to the applicable Princess Cruises brochure or princess.com for terms, conditions and definitions that apply to all bookings. FCC Offer expires: December 31, 2013. Note: For assistance reserving a wheelchair accessible stateroom, please contact customer service at 1-800-774-6237.

[Luckiest Dog]

Based on the 2013 rules that is not possible.

"The FCC must be applied to a SINGLE future sailing departing before Dec. 31, 2014." See official rules below.

 

When re-reading the rules, it does appear you can combine multiple credits for a single 7 days or longer cruises not yet paid.

 

"Book a qualifying voyage by December 31, 2013 and 100% of the cruise fare will be available as a future cruise credit (FCC) that will be applicable to any 2013/2014 published future cruise that is 7 days or longer and can be combined with bookings not yet paid in full."

[Colo Cruiser]

When re-reading the rules, it does appear you can combine multiple credits for a single 7 days or longer cruises not yet paid.

 

"Book a qualifying voyage by December 31, 2013 and 100% of the cruise fare will be available as a future cruise credit (FCC) that will be applicable to any 2013/2014 published future cruise that is 7 days or longer and can be combined with bookings not yet paid in full."

 

 

Are you talking to yourself? :eek:

[caribill]

nsw104[/b];43558935]Based on the 2013 rules that is not possible.

"The FCC must be applied to a SINGLE future sailing departing before Dec. 31, 2014."

 

What that means is that all of each FCC must go to a single future sailing. You cannot divide the credit among two or more future cruises.

 

Multiple FCCs can be fully applied to a single future sailing.

[SeymourKopath]

It has to be a $$$ maker somewhere along the line, or why do it?

 

Because it was the only way to fill those short cruises.

Ah! The old, "We lose money on every sale, but we make it up in volume" strategy. LOL! :D

[caribill]

Ah! The old, "We lose money on every sale, but we make it up in volume" strategy. LOL! :D

 

The hope was that even if $$$ was not made on the short cruises the first season, that new cruisers would be attracted to Princess and that would result in new customers for the future and thus a loss leader now would lead to profits in the future.

[reney313]

I just returned yesterday from the Island Princess sailing to Alaska. I'm not sure if there was a new promotion onboard or not, but we booked a short 5 day sailing for February which included 33% off the lowest published rate (past passenger, sale rate, etc), some minor OBC, and only $3 per person deposit. They called it a triple play promotion. It is only good onboard and for sailings 3-5 days on the West Coast and S. Florida from November-March (I think those were the months, I might be off a little bit there).

 

I'm not sure if that will replace the promotion that they had last year or not. I'm also not sure if they have always had that promotion. If not, maybe it is a pre-cursor to try and ramp up bookings on the shorter sailings and hopefully they won't have to do the other. Is anyone aware if this is new?

[Thrak]

I just returned yesterday from the Island Princess sailing to Alaska. I'm not sure if there was a new promotion onboard or not, but we booked a short 5 day sailing for February which included 33% off the lowest published rate (past passenger, sale rate, etc), some minor OBC, and only $3 per person deposit. They called it a triple play promotion. It is only good onboard and for sailings 3-5 days on the West Coast and S. Florida from November-March (I think those were the months, I might be off a little bit there).

 

I'm not sure if that will replace the promotion that they had last year or not. I'm also not sure if they have always had that promotion. If not, maybe it is a pre-cursor to try and ramp up bookings on the shorter sailings and hopefully they won't have to do the other. Is anyone aware if this is new?

 

Were any of those west coast sailings out of SF or were they all out of LA?

[Working 2 Cruise]

Were any of those west coast sailings out of SF or were they all out of LA?

 

I don't think they are any getaway cruises from SF....

[reney313]

I don't think they are any getaway cruises from SF....

 

I believe the only West Coast getaway cruises were LA.

 

For Florida, it was only FLL.

 

I can't remember if Houston getaways were included or not.

[Thrak]

It figures... We couldn't do any of the "free" cruises last year because they were all out of LA.

 

Princess does that just to taunt me. :rolleyes:

[caribill]

I believe the only West Coast getaway cruises were LA.

 

For Florida, it was only FLL.

 

I can't remember if Houston getaways were included or not.

 

There were no Houston getaways.

 

The first cruise out of Houston last fall was four days, but it was labeled as a cruise to honor veterans and did not sell very well. All the remaining cruises were 7 days until the ship left at the end of the season.

[bigenna]

It figures... We couldn't do any of the "free" cruises last year because they were all out of LA.

 

Princess does that just to taunt me. :rolleyes:

 

Some people might think we are crazy but we flew from Vancouver to LA, took the cruise, then flew back home.

Four days in aft Vista suite and all the perks that come with it made for a lovely getaway. And the $1200 P/P credit we get to use on our cruise this year will be even nicer.

[Iamcruzin]

I don't think there was any intent -- other than desperation

to fill poorly selling cruises.

Yes I have to agree. When those short cruises first came out I was shocked at the price. If they wanted to compete the other lines they should have been more competitive in pricing from the beginning. When the price drop didn't fill the ships they turned to the give away promo.

[Iamcruzin]

It has to be a $$$ maker somewhere along the line, or why do it?

Whenever a company has to give something away or reduce price it's not a money maker. All it does is reduce inventory and create cash flow. These short sailings were not booking. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and by offering this fire sale it filled the ship with the hope that there would be on board spending and it promoted future sales. I wonder how many elites with military OBC, Stock holder OBC, Princess Visa OBC and Travel agent OBC took advantage of this deal? The one good thing about the deal is that it helped to fill future cruises and anyone who didn't take advantage of using the credit actually saved Princess money.

[jamminjim]

My wife and I went on 3 btb out of San Pedro in January. We then use those on our trip to Hawaii in April.

[Harley0711]

My wife and I went on 3 btb out of San Pedro in January. We then use those on our trip to Hawaii in April.

 

To understand you,,, you were able to 'Combine' all three BTB's and put ALL that money towards ONE cruise?

 

This is what I would Like to do IF they have the promotion again... Plan to do enough to bring the wife up to 'Elite status' She really wants the free laundry, LOL.. expensive way to get free laundry, lol

 

If we can do this, I am sure I would get really tired of Mexico by the end... we are retired and would just sit back and relax and eat/drink.

 

Now to see if they do it again this year

[Working 2 Cruise]

I hate to say it, but I really think that ship has sailed... pun intended. I would love to see this promo return but I doubt it.

 

I may take advantage of the deal offered to reney313 instead if they still have it in November.