Princess cruises American deals vs Australian deals

[subaru94]

Can anyone explain to me why we don't get the special deals they get in America.  We are going on a cruise in Alaska in May, and other couples have been offered free gratitudes, upgrades etc. cheaper than us here?  Are we not important enough??????

[Ombud]

I'm in California and I've not been offered 3-for-free (free gratuities / upgrade / OBC) recently.  The last deal was $1 deposit + 100 OBC

Edited February 21, 2019 by Ombud

[getting older slowly]

I think the bottom line... Princess keep the three regions different... the US, the UK and Australia....

 

and in some of US market they do a lot more short cruises... and need to offer sweeteners to fill the ship...

 

In Australia we don't have a 12 month season... and more longer cruises.... due to places are further away......

and a lot are sold out months in advance... so no sweetener need adding...... it is all about the $$$$$

 

Cheers Don

[leck57]

3 hours ago, subaru94 said:

Can anyone explain to me why we don't get the special deals they get in America.  We are going on a cruise in Alaska in May, and other couples have been offered free gratitudes, upgrades etc. cheaper than us here?  Are we not important enough??????

 

I've mentioned that on here a few times. Celebrity seem to give us decent deals but for Princess, many countries such as us and the UK appear to subsidise US passengers. Good luck to my friends in the US but it more than irritates me.

[paul929207]

I am not sure what laws and traditions of the countries might affect the fares. Since gratuities are not part of the Australian culture, it would seem reasonable for the fares to be higher to cover salaries, etc. For the staff

[leck57]

8 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

I am not sure what laws and traditions of the countries might affect the fares. Since gratuities are not part of the Australian culture, it would seem reasonable for the fares to be higher to cover salaries, etc. For the staff

 

That's a good point Paul however my overseas cruises have gratuities which I always pay as do most of my Aust friends when they cruise. That aside we never get offered free grats for cruises outside of Aust, nor get the OBC offers that you guys get, among other things.

However I'll keep cruising!

[DDG 41]

Simple Answer, They discriminate and no one has taken them up on these unfair practices.

Also no, different fare structures, laws and regulations should not effect deals.

[Obsi]

Probably for the same reason we also pay more for digital downloads (music, movies and games) when they are digital so the old argument of "it costs more to ship them to Australia" doesn't apply.... the delightful "Australia tax".

But I agree it's likely just because they can.  If/when they start having trouble booking all their cabins, then prices might drop, but while they fill their ships there is no reason to drop prices or offer anything as incentives.

I'm very jealous when I look at US cruise pricing and hear what deals they get, but it is what it is...

[westcoaster]

1 hour ago, Obsi said:

Probably for the same reason we also pay more for digital downloads (music, movies and games) when they are digital so the old argument of "it costs more to ship them to Australia" doesn't apply.... the delightful "Australia tax".

 

I think part of it is that smaller population countries just don't have as much competition as larger countries like the U.S. so prices often tend to be higher.  As a Canadian, we sometimes find that prices and selection  for some things aren't as good as in the U.S. market next door, so I feel your pain. 

 

I'm thankful that for cruises at least, Canadians can access all the same pricing and promotions as in the U.S.  We in North America definitely seem to get the best deals overall, although I've occasionally seen prices for some cruises that were lower in the U.K. or Australia than they were in North America.  

 

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by westcoaster

[Grburkart]

The marketing guru’s at Princess seem to have it down pat. I would be willing to bet that any ship, be it Australia or otherwise, sail with a full load of passengers. They know who and where to collect the money from. 

 

Glenn

[OzKiwiJJ]

21 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

 

In Australia we don't have a 12 month season... and more longer cruises.... due to places are further away......

and a lot are sold out months in advance... so no sweetener need adding...... it is all about the $$$$$

 

 

 

We do actually have a 12 month season ... or we used to, before Princess shunted Dawn to P&O. Now Princess has cut back on Top End, Queensland. PNG, and South Pacific itineraries during our winter, just when it's perfect to do those itineraries.