Current Sale a good deal?

[pchen0]

Hello fellow Princess Cruise experts,

 

I am looking to book Princess for the first time (I have been a loyal RCCL Diamond member) and I am wondering if their current sale: 40% off cruises is a good deal? I have seen their 3 for Free sale in the past and don't know if current deal is good or should I wait?

 

Also, does Princess match price drops before final payment is due?

 

Thank you!

[Sea Hag]

You can always book under the current promotion and then refare later on if it's advantageous. They're very nice about that, and this way you can nail down a cabin of your choice now.

[paul929207]

We book early and watch for sales that provide a better deal for us.

[moki'smommy]

Well, the big question is 40% off what? And what are various perks worth TO YOU, not what Princess lists the value. Princess will price match, but you will lose any associated perks. Basically, you can't double dip.

 

OK, the previous sale had a higher price for what I booked, but it wasn't 40% higher. It also had comp gratuities, some OBC for the first two passengers, and a specialty dining. The grats and OBC are a higher value than the current sale price (subtract them from the price paid, and I get a lower number than the current price) on one cruise. On my other booking, the difference is $12,

 

There is nothing wrong with booking at the current price and planning to re-evaluate and re-fare if a better offer comes out provided the booking has refundable deposits.

[Micahs Grandad]

We like the free grats especially when it comes with obc. 40% is nice but since you do not know off of what not necessarily a good deal for you

[moki'smommy]

We like the free grats especially when it comes with obc. 40% is nice but since you do not know off of what not necessarily a good deal for you

Exactly--I calculate the price of the cruise as well as the price of the perks to determine what is the best deal. Some perks have different value to different people. For instance, I drink very little--I'd rather have a lower cost than a "free" beverage package, and I find that the OBC that can be exchanged for the beverage package is often a trivial amount. For example, the beverage package costs $68 per day, but the "trade" may be $200 in OBC. I typically see the cruise fares increase when packages like "Sip and Sail" are offered.

 

The comp grats has a more fixed value...so is more meaningful to me.

[Kamloops50]

Hello fellow Princess Cruise experts,

 

I am looking to book Princess for the first time (I have been a loyal RCCL Diamond member) and I am wondering if their current sale: 40% off cruises is a good deal? I have seen their 3 for Free sale in the past and don't know if current deal is good or should I wait?

 

Also, does Princess match price drops before final payment is due?

 

Thank you!

 

The current 40% off promotion for cruises in Summer 2018.

[Lucky TGO]

We book early and watch for sales that provide a better deal for us.

 

Ditto!! :)

Tony

[moki'smommy]

The current 40% off promotion for cruises in Summer 2018.

Again, the question is 40% off what? The price the week before the promotion (this is definitely not accurate.) The opening day price? The price quoted in the book? Some phony number made up by a bean counter?

[Thrak]

On a recent cruise we booked about 1.5 years in advance under the Sip and Sail promo. People told me that I "paid for it" meaning they felt Princess surely must have raised the price in order to offer me "free" drinks. In reality I watched as the price went up and up. At one point my cabin was going for $1,100 per person more than we paid. 40% off of that wouldn't be a deal to me. After final payment the cabin went down to about $200 per person less than we paid but it had zero perks. Going by a percentage reduction doesn't tell me much.

[Ngamtns706]

Again' date=' the question is 40% off what? The price the week before the promotion (this is definitely not accurate.) The opening day price? The price quoted in the book? Some phony number made up by a bean counter?[/quote']

 

Here’s what Princess calculates it off of:

 

Up to 40% off is based on a discount off applicable Launch Fares on a space-available basis at time of booking on select categories and sailings. Launch Fares are offering fares and may not have been in effect for the past 90 days or resulted in actual sales in all categories. Intermediate discounts may have been taken and fares may remain at discounted levels after this promotion.

[caribill]

Different sales often apply to cruises at different periods of time.

 

In other words, the "Sip n' sail" promotion and the later "three for free" promotions may not cover the same cruises.

 

So if the current sale price (including any offered perks) is acceptable to you, book it. As others pointed out, if you live in the USA or Canada, if a future sale would be a better value with its pricing and perks, you can switch to it if cabins of the same type (such as IA or BC or whatever you booked) are available at the time of the sale.

[nbsjcruiser]

Hello fellow Princess Cruise experts,

 

I am looking to book Princess for the first time (I have been a loyal RCCL Diamond member) and I am wondering if their current sale: 40% off cruises is a good deal? I have seen their 3 for Free sale in the past and don't know if current deal is good or should I wait?

 

Also, does Princess match price drops before final payment is due?

 

Thank you!

 

Their sales are competitive, lets put it that way. Booking on Princess is the same as on RCI. If you see a price you like, book it and hold the price. If it drops you can call in and get the lower price. As far as I know Princess doesn't have non-refundable fares like RCI. We are Diamond on RCI as well and have been slowly switching to Princess. Two of our last 3 have been on Princess and our next 2 are on Princess. We find the food better on Princess as well as the service. You'll like Princess I bet.

[Kamloops50]

Their sales are competitive, lets put it that way. Booking on Princess is the same as on RCI. If you see a price you like, book it and hold the price. If it drops you can call in and get the lower price. As far as I know Princess doesn't have non-refundable fares like RCI. We are Diamond on RCI as well and have been slowly switching to Princess. Two of our last 3 have been on Princess and our next 2 are on Princess. We find the food better on Princess as well as the service. You'll like Princess I bet.

 

Princess does have specials with non refundable deposits. I never book a non refundable deposit.

[nbsjcruiser]

Princess does have specials with non refundable deposits. I never book a non refundable deposit.

 

Thanks for the clarification. We booked one non-refundable fare on RCI for a cruise to Cuba but I didn't like the paperwork they asked me to fill out (they wanted me to lie) so I called the next day and cancelled and surprisingly got my deposit back.