"Sale" prices just went up?

[Cally717]

I have been waiting, deciding on the Dec 19 sailing from LA to Hawaii. Intending to book it as soon as one personal detail is confirmed. I got an email from Princess today telling me about "huge savings" for National Cruise Week Sale....but when I checked on the website, the Dec 4 sailing has gone down by $100, and the Dec 19 sailing has gone UP by $100.

So disappointed. I wasn't expecting the Christmas sailing prices to go down (hoping but not expecting it) but it never occurred to me the price would go UP. I know $100 isn't a big deal in the entire scheme of life, but I'm just a little frustrated.

Are price increases common?

 

 

 

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[Coral]

They can change several times in a day, similar to airline prices.

 

As the ship fills up, prices go up.

[susiesan]

I checked today for prices on my Emerald cruise Jan. 18. prices are higher than what I am paying now, even with the prepaid gratuities and OBC factored in.

[JimmyVWine]

I just "re-fared" and paid $100 more per person for the first two people, and no extra for the third person. But when you add in the pre-paid gratuities, that is a savings of $52. (Base fare increased by $200, but $252 of gratuities are now included, ($12 per person x 7 days x 3 people)). AND, all of us got $25 in OBC for an additional savings of $75. So I am ahead $127. Since gratuities are free for all passengers in the cabin, the more people in the cabin, the higher the savings.

Edited October 2, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[Coral]

I would book soon for any Christmas sailing. If you use a TA who discounts, you can save money and hopefully that off sets the price increase a little.

[Pam in CA]

Christmas and holiday sailings almost always go up, not down. I'd book ASAP. Same thing for airlines: book ASAP as those prices will also skyrocket for holiday flights.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Pam in CA

[TWA4Ever]

We're thrilled with the "sale." Even though my fare remained stable, got $50 more OBC and prepaid gratuities. Don't think the fare will ever be reduced, but just put $218 back in my pocket. Ya gotta love it!

[Rosefloater]

Our end-of-January cruise on the Golden also went about $100 for the cabin and the OBC went down. Not a sale.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Rosefloater

[geordiebing]

Our end-of-January cruise on the Golden also went about $100 for the cabin and the OBC went down. Not a sale.

 

I feel conned. When I booked my end of Jan cruise I booked an inside cabin.

Princess phoned me and told me about the three free offers and if I paid another

£600 (for 2} that would give me a good balcony deal.

Now I see they have upped the OBC for an inside to $200 per person, which means I have paid £600 more and lost $300OBC just for a balcony I didn't really need.

I stateroom to us is just for sleeping in

[JimmyVWine]

Now I see they have upped the OBC for an inside to $200 per person,...

 

Are you certain about that? The promotion that I see says: "...AND FREE onboard spending money* of up to $200 for your entire stateroom when you book a balcony, mini-suite or suite!"

 

The OBC is not "per person", it is "per stateroom", and inside cabins are not included. Unless you are seeing a different promotion, which I suppose is always possible.

[geordiebing]

It is $200 per person . I am in UK if that makes a difference

[SOLIVITA LADY]

We're thrilled with the "sale." Even though my fare remained stable, got $50 more OBC and prepaid gratuities. Don't think the fare will ever be reduced, but just put $218 back in my pocket. Ya gotta love it!

 

The same happened to us for an Easter sailing. We booked two rooms, a balcony and an inside. Got free gratuities for both rooms, $50 extra OBC for the balcony and this was after we got a $1,100 reduction about 3 weeks ago on the total cost of the two rooms. I'd say we are very happy with all Princess allows us as it is combinable with military, stockholders, FCC an TA OBC. We will have the grandkids with us so no problems spending the OBC.

 

Thank you Princess and also our great travel agent.

 

Jackie

 

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[JimmyVWine]

I am in UK if that makes a difference

 

It often does. Princess, (as well as a lot of mass marketing websites) are advertising the "30% off, Free gratuities, and up to $200 OBC per stateroom" promotion right now. I haven't seen anything on this side of the pond that is offering $200 per person. So you are likely getting a different promotion.

[geordiebing]

I have heard Cruises prices are different in America as they are in Australia too

[RetiredNTraveling]

Like they say, "It's cheap at twice the price!" Really? :confused:

[Thrak]

I feel conned. When I booked my end of Jan cruise I booked an inside cabin.

Princess phoned me and told me about the three free offers and if I paid another

£600 (for 2} that would give me a good balcony deal.

Now I see they have upped the OBC for an inside to $200 per person, which means I have paid £600 more and lost $300OBC just for a balcony I didn't really need.

I stateroom to us is just for sleeping in

 

Have you tried calling back, cancelling your balcony room, and rebooking an inside cabin? It may be possible...

 

Of course it may also be the case that the "great deal" on the inside cabin is limited to what's left and is only 2 cabins all the way forward on a top deck.

[geoherb]

I have been tracking prices on different New Year's cruises, including four Princess ones, since mid August. The prices have been up and down. Princess and Celebrity seem to play around with prices more than HAL does. I always recommend booking if the price is right for you if you have your heart set on one particular cruise. In my case, with 14 different cruises as possibilities, I can afford to wait. The final payment dates for most of these cruises is mid October. We might end up not taking a cruise as well.

[rockdoctor]

After cruising for 9 years, IMHO it's barely worth it to closely follow cruise fares MOST of the time. Prices go down and lose OBC. Prices go up gain OBC. Out of 15 cruises, we've saved enough to rebook 4 times. But it does keep me off the streets!

[JimmyVWine]

After cruising for 9 years, IMHO it's barely worth it to closely follow cruise fares MOST of the time. Prices go down and lose OBC. Prices go up gain OBC. Out of 15 cruises, we've saved enough to rebook 4 times. But it does keep me off the streets!

 

I hear you. But my experience is more like:

 

I see a cruise that I want to take. The price is higher than I want to pay. So I pass. Or wait. Then the price drops a bit. The cruise is still more than I want to pay, but the cabin I want is available, and it is just a bit more than I was hoping to pay, so I bite. Then there is a sale and I re-fare my cruise, and the new price is right in line with what I was hoping to pay in the first place. So even if I only save $200, that $200 very often bridges the gap between "just a bit more than I want to pay" and "pretty much what I was hoping to pay."

[FawnRiver]

I just checked our cruise for January on the Grand. The price went up a little, the OBC went down a bit, but this deal includes prepaid gratuities. After a quick crunch of numbers, it works out to pretty much the same amount in the end.

Price savings will also depend on what categories of rooms they are trying to fill up. Odds are, your category isn't lacking in interest so there's no need to drop the price.

 

 

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[Fat Bottom Gurl]

I checked today on my cruise and there was a huge sale including pre-paid grats. So between my sister and I, we save a grand. SWEET!