Price dropped over 50% after final payment

[Pacific Sandy]

Hi - Our Majestic Princess cruise dropped over 50% after final payment and our TA says Princess will not budge to refund the difference or upgrade us. This means, people can book an Owner’s Suite for the same price we paid for the cheapest Mini Suite. I am devastated to say the least and I actually don’t even want to go now. 😢

[JimmyVWine]

18 minutes ago, Pacific Sandy said:

Hi - Our Majestic Princess cruise dropped over 50% after final payment and our TA says Princess will not budge to refund the difference or upgrade us. This means, people can book an Owner’s Suite for the same price we paid for the cheapest Mini Suite. I am devastated to say the least and I actually don’t even want to go now. 😢

Do you know for a fact that there are any Owner’s Suites available to book? That would be rare. If there are, you can call to buy an upgrade or bid for an upgrade. But in the end, pricing is a combination of timing and certainty. In the future, you can gamble and try to get a great price for a last minute cruise. There are definitely bargains to be had that way. But you might not get the cabin you want, or even the cabin category you want. Lots of disappointment awaits those who wait. And even if you get an acceptable cabin at a great price, your savings may evaporate when you try to book a last minute flight to your departure port.
 

Bottom line is that most people value Itinerary, ship, cabin category and cabin location over saving a few hundred dollars. Hence, they book early to lock in “certainty” and don’t look back. I always look at booking a cruise the way I look at the price I pay for a car. It is not a game where I “win” only if I get a lower price than everyone else. I “win” if I get the product I want at a price that I think is fair. If others do “better” than me, I really, really don’t care. 

[gottagocit]

This is a very common practice for Princess and other cruise lines. It’s their way of trying to fill the ships before sailing and has been the practice for years. The closer to the sail date the more likely to add it to the list of last minute bargains. 
Go and enjoy your voyage and don’t let it ruin your vacation. 

[Coral]

It is a gamble. My May cruise has also gone down in price also.

 

It is one of those things that one would be jumping for joy if it had doubled in price and you booked it when it was low.

 

If you were happy with the price at final payment - go and have a good cruise. If you are interested in a suite - I would bid for a suite. 

[Ken the cruiser]

45 minutes ago, Pacific Sandy said:

Hi - Our Majestic Princess cruise dropped over 50% after final payment and our TA says Princess will not budge to refund the difference or upgrade us. This means, people can book an Owner’s Suite for the same price we paid for the cheapest Mini Suite. I am devastated to say the least and I actually don’t even want to go now. 😢

I’m confused. Even if they won’t refare your existing booking, why not just upgrade to the Owners Suite and pay the few extra $$$? I’ve never heard you weren’t allowed to upgrade to a better cabin after final payment, especially if it costs more.

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[JimmyVWine]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I’m confused. Even if they won’t refare your existing booking, why not just upgrade to the Owners Suite and pay the few extra $$$?

Assuming it is the 7/1 departure, I am not seeing the big price drop that the OP is referring to, and no OS is showing as available. 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Assuming it is the 7/1 departure, I am not seeing the big price drop that the OP is referring to, and no OS is showing as available. 

That’s fine. But if there was a VS or PH that was available, we’d pay the minimal charge to upgrade in a heartbeat. 

[Coral]

18 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I’m confused. Even if they won’t refare your existing booking, why not just upgrade to the Owners Suite and pay the few extra $$$? I’ve never heard you weren’t allowed to upgrade to a better cabin after final payment, especially if it costs more.

 

Sometimes the lowest prices are for new bookings only.

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That’s fine. But if there was a VS or PH that was available, we’d pay the minimal charge to upgrade in a heartbeat. 

Totally agree. But I am skeptical of the underlying premise. 

[startedwithamouse]

New bookings only is usually the small asterisk next to the fare. 

[Ken the cruiser]

If possible, would the OP @Pacific Sandy  please share with us which cruise is this?

[Pacific Sandy]

47 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If possible, would the OP @Pacific Sandy  please share with us which cruise is this?

Hi - It is April 30 on Majestic Princess. We paid $619 for a Mini Suite and they are now $299. 😢

[Pacific Sandy]

54 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Totally agree. But I am skeptical of the underlying premise. 

Hi - There are lots of full suites available. 

[Guest ldtr]

8 minutes ago, Pacific Sandy said:

Hi - It is April 30 on Majestic Princess. We paid $619 for a Mini Suite and they are now $299. 😢

That's funny when I check  the April 30 Majestic I see inside for 288, balcony 399, minisuite for 599 and full suite for 1599..

Edited April 2, 2023 by ldtr

[JimmyVWine]

25 minutes ago, Pacific Sandy said:

Hi - There are lots of full suites available. 

Just checked. Owner’s Suite for $1948. This is a 5 day cruise. No way were Mini Suites $1948 when you booked. 

[Happiest when cruising]

9 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Just checked. Owner’s Suite for $1948. This is a 5 day cruise. No way were Mini Suites $1948 when you booked. 

This is what I see, in Canada right now. 

 

I guess maybe they had a casino rate or something. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Happiest when cruising

[wen_c82]

I think Op maybe referring to targeted casino discount rate offered for this sailing. There is also a large online agency is listing this cruise at lower price than Princess website. First time I’ve this  difference for any Princess cruise

Edited April 2, 2023 by wen_c82
Edited to add

[sunviking90]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

That's funny when I check  the April 30 Majestic I see inside for 288, balcony 399, minisuite for 599 and full suite for 1599..

There are cheap rates on most of the April repositioning coastals right now. They don’t show on the website for some reason. My CVP had the prices on her social media page and we finally booked through her last week. We were waiting as we’ve done a lot of these and they always go cheap last minute. It’s a gamble. Sometimes we’ve paid too much too.

[GoDucksNation]

Just logged in and totally see mini for $299

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, Pacific Sandy said:

Hi - Our Majestic Princess cruise dropped over 50% after final payment and our TA says Princess will not budge to refund the difference or upgrade us. This means, people can book an Owner’s Suite for the same price we paid for the cheapest Mini Suite. I am devastated to say the least and I actually don’t even want to go now. 😢

I wouldn’t worry about it.
 

I see my cruise for this summer has dropped too and it’s past final payment so the cancellation cost is higher than the saving I’d make by rebooking now. Annoying but I see it that I have booked early to secure my booking, book some excursions that are now sold out, book the dining time I want and get the cabin I want, people who book late do not get the luxury of these things. Also getting a better price for booking late is a gamble that may or may not pay off as I have seen cruises sell out or go up in price the closer it is to departure.

 

I booked last minute for a cruise last October last year and we got a good price but we ended up with a cabin in an unfavourable position, having to pay a little more for an upgraded room so we could get a half decent cabin position, we missed out on a great excursion that was sold out, we missed out on the arrival time we wanted and most of all we had stress trying to sort a vacation, transfers, flights, hotels etc. at the last minute. I absolutely would have preferred to pay more and not have the last minute stress.

The other thing to think is the cheap prices are likely for cabins in unfavourable positions or guaranteed cabins. They are probably also for the last few remaining cabins.
 

Also if you are a savvy person, which it sounds like you are if you are checking up on current prices etc., then chances are the majority of people on the cruise will have paid more than you even if there are a handful, of people that will have snapped up this last minute deal.

 

I say go for it and enjoy the fact that you have everything sorted and booked for a great cruise! 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, ldtr said:

That's funny when I check  the April 30 Majestic I see inside for 288, balcony 399, minisuite for 599 and full suite for 1599..

Just checked and I get those same rates.

[wallyj]

1 hour ago, GoDucksNation said:

Just logged in and totally see mini for $299

I am pretty sure these are special ‘casino’ rates as my cousin was getting these same exact fares (interiors starting @$59)showing when I go check this ‘fast deal’ at that big online last minute 90 day ticker ‘site’. It will also have notation ‘Captain circle fare’. I was so excited thinking this was a special fare for all past passengers. When I called, they said oh it for passenger ‘xxx’ because his profile has my email address for this agency as we booked a cruise with this agency in the past, but used my email for both passengers.

 

when I login to Princess, , I get the same higher fares as posted in post #16, with interior starting @ $309.

 

So, the only people that can book at the ‘low’ fares are people who are eligible for this special ‘casino’ fare.

 

 

[Traveler1977]

This is very common with all cruise lines. They don’t want to sail with empty cabins.  Cruise lines would rather discount any remaining cabins to fill up the ship and hope these additional passengers drop more money in the casino or on alcohol.  Go and enjoy your cruise. It’s  probably something you’re been planning for a long time.  Don’t let this common cruise line practice diminish your enjoyment. 

[Tapi]

Well, I just checked the online TA that I use and it is listing mini suite category MF for $299. Most expensive suite listed is an owners suite S2 for $774. It’s not a casino rate and it doesn’t specify that it’s for “new bookings only” either but it does say “special deal”. 
 

I wonder if they could honor the price if the OP calls “wanting to upgrade” out of pocket. Let’s say that the OP calls the TA and says that they see an S2 for $774 and wants to pay the $75 difference to upgrade.  I wonder if they’ll accept it, or if they’ll tell them that the $774 doesn’t apply for people already booked in which case they could tell them what rate does apply if they want to upgrade. 

 

I’ve had the experience where they say that the listed rate is for new bookings only, but I’ve never had them say that I can’t upgrade at all, even if I’m willing to pay the difference. 

[Coral]

Sometimes drop and go rates are only offered through agents. So they would be lower than going direct to Princess.