Booking 5 or more cabins

[tere247]

Does Princess offer anything when you book 5 or more cabins?

 

[capriccio]

Here a thread on the topic of group rates on Princess:

 

 

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, tere247 said:

Does Princess offer anything when you book 5 or more cabins?

 

 

STOP! If any of the folks in the group have never cruised with Princess and haven't yet booked a room please use the "refer a friend" option with Princess. For each person you refer who books a cruise both you and they will receive $25 OBC. Not a lot but it does add up and it's crazy to throw it away.

 

My wife referred her former employer to Princess and failed to do the "refer a friend" thing. She lost out on $150 in OBC and so did her employer. D'Oh! (Yes, I mentioned it once. No, I didn't mention it again. I only look that stupid.)

[myjillian]

7 hours ago, tere247 said:

Does Princess offer anything when you book 5 or more cabins?

 

Call in your reservation and ask for the group department.  They will set up a group with you and if you book 8 cabins or more you will get a free berth.  I've done this in the past and divided the free berth money between the others that booked and it made the cabins less expensive.  You may also get a wine party or any number of things....if, however you are the one doing all of the work in promoting the cruise then you deserve to keep the free berth for yourself. 

I knew of a person who did this every year.  He had a printing business and would advertise a cruise using his portable sign in front of the business.  Each year he would book about 40 people using a travel agent in Fla.  He had the free wine perk but had everything delivered to his cabin and he would distribute the bottles himself at dinner time.  Everyone thought he was so generous.  He also had people give him the cash for the cruise and plane fare and would put everything on his credit card so he would get the perks.   The price for the cruise was always cheaper than the local travel agency because of the Fla agency prices.  His wife and him always sailed in a suite ( RCL)

Well, when we moved here my neighbor tried to have us book this cruise .  She went on and on about what a deal it was...and the guy gave free wine etc.  I informed her how everything worked and how he wasn't paying for the wine...you should be getting one in each cabin etc. and how he was racking up the pts on his credit card etc.  Well, it turned out that the owner of the print shop was her brother-in-law and each year she felt he was screwing his family members etc...because everyone thought how generous he was in giving everyone a bottle of wine.😄She never realized that her sister and brother-in-law were really sailing for free etc.  I never realized that I let the cat out of the bag...this guy had been doing a cruise a year for the past 6 years....she told everybody and nobody ever booked with him again.  

Now ,he had a good thing going and if he explained to the people about the perks they could get with the group booking...price , wine etc then I feel that everyone would still be doing it.  Everyone had a good time...everyone looked forward to it etc.  It's just that his sister-in-law felt screwed.

So, if you look into the group booking...decide how you will present it ahead of time😉

[paul929207]

You could also consider a TA specializing in cruises. with 5 cabins, you should get a nice discount  or some good perks.

[tere247]

Thanks all for your reply. I'm trying to get family and it seems I may not get that 5th cabin after all. Work obligations is keeping #5 from booking. At least they'll all get the $25 refer a friend obc. And hopefully we'll all go away with new and happy memories, anxious to set sail together again in the future.

[skynight]

Work with a T.A. to set up a group cruise even if you only have 4 cabins. Make sure you use the refer a friend program. You can find information on the Princess web site.

[SmilesYourWay]

I used refer a friend with my brother once. Then totally forgot about it a few years later when I went on a cruise with my parents. 😯

[DrivesLikeMario]

You have to have 8 cabins sold with double occupancy.  The 16th person's cruise fare ONLY is then free.  That person still has to pay taxes.  You should get some GAP points depending on the sailing to use for whatever you want - a small OBC or whatever.  You'd still do a lot better to use a TA and get some of their commission back as a discount or OBC.

[myjillian]

6 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

You have to have 8 cabins sold with double occupancy.  The 16th person's cruise fare ONLY is then free.  That person still has to pay taxes.  You should get some GAP points depending on the sailing to use for whatever you want - a small OBC or whatever.  You'd still do a lot better to use a TA and get some of their commission back as a discount or OBC.

Would a TA want to give away commission ?...I can see if it is a large corporate group etc...but does a TA make enough commission for just a...say family get-to-gether?

[MCC retired]

4 hours ago, myjillian said:

Would a TA want to give away commission ?...I can see if it is a large corporate group etc...but does a TA make enough commission for just a...say family get-to-gether?

 Yes, certainly . One sale , 5 cabins . 

TA can take the responsibility of answering questions and above all, chasing down payments from those who think this group cruise is great until it comes time to collect $$$.

[capriccio]

I called Princess yesterday for the first time in ages to book a Tahiti cruise and noticed that one of the phone menu choices was "calling to reserve 5 or more cabins."  That wasn't my issue so I didn't pursue it but it seems that for some reason 5 is a magic number and inquiries are passed on to different customer service staff.

[myjillian]

26 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

 Yes, certainly . One sale , 5 cabins . 

TA can take the responsibility of answering questions and above all, chasing down payments from those who think this group cruise is great until it comes time to collect $$$.

Isn't that interesting.  I would have thought that if a group got together they would be responsible and not need a "strong arm" LOL to cinch the deal.  Little did I know.😉

[myjillian]

26 minutes ago, capriccio said:

I called Princess yesterday for the first time in ages to book a Tahiti cruise and noticed that one of the phone menu choices was "calling to reserve 5 or more cabins."  That wasn't my issue so I didn't pursue it but it seems that for some reason 5 is a magic number and inquiries are passed on to different customer service staff.

I always thought it was 5 also.

[MCC retired]

23 minutes ago, myjillian said:

Isn't that interesting.  I would have thought that if a group got together they would be responsible and not need a "strong arm" LOL to cinch the deal.  Little did I know.😉

17+ years as a TA booking only cruises , these small family/friends Groups do have situations where some back out @ Final or 

drag their feet with their Deposits.

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by MCC retired

[myjillian]

50 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

17+ years as a TA booking only cruises , these small family/friends Groups do have situations where some back out @ Final or 

drag their feet with their Deposits.

 

 

 

 

51 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

17+ years as a TA booking only cruises , these small family/friends Groups do have situations where some back out @ Final or 

drag their feet with their Deposits.

 

 

 

Oh, thank you.  I had no idea that TA's could be on CC.  This information is good to know🤗

[DrivesLikeMario]

8 hours ago, myjillian said:

Would a TA want to give away commission ?...I can see if it is a large corporate group etc...but does a TA make enough commission for just a...say family get-to-gether?

Absolutely!  Most independent TAs give part of their commission back in the form of a discount or OBC.  It's sometimes a lot of work for the TAs depending on how organized the group is, but if you find a good TA that is very responsive to your questions, calls and emails, then they will usually discount too.  We can't recommend them here but word-of-mouth referrals are usually best. 

[tere247]

I called Princess and asked about the magic number 5 cabins. I was told you would get group fares.