cary999

We are considering a Princess out of LA/San Pedro harbor. About a $6000 (balcony) "list" price. It has come down some in cost. BUT my sister in the Midwest USA got an email from Princess offering a fare about $1,000 less than we have seen or been emailed by Princess. We called Princess and asked for the same deal as offered to my sister. They said NO. Only applies to her (and other selected customers). Why don't they like me as well as my sister? (We have both sailed Princess several times).

regards - tom

jacketwatch

They do have regional discounts. I think most cruise

cary999

Thanks JW, it makes some sense to offer where they could do airfare deals and pre-cruise packages. (We always do our own).

So, last evening (about 5:30pm, July 29) we called Princess and the agent would not offer my sisters deal. Called back this morning they DID. Go figure? Only problem is that for my sisters offer the cabins are far aft (back). And we really want a cabin in middle 3rd of ship.

So will wait closer to cruise time (a month before?) and see what deals they offer. Would expect 25% off "list".

regards - tom
ps - any web site where I can get history of that cruise bookings, that is, have they sailed at capacity and when do they fill ship? It is a large ship, the Sapphire.

jacketwatch

Don't know of any websites for those stats.

As for prices you can't predict really and waiting is a gamble. If the cruise begins to fill then dont expect prices to slip. Last yr. we got a great price on our Med cruise but prices fell after the Concordia accident so unpredictable factors can cause price change.

I would book now at a good rate and then keep checking prices until final payment is due. A TA booking can be of use as this person can rebook easily for you at a lower rate if there is price drop. Mine did just that in less than five mins. and got us a much better cabin too. Just stay on your toes and good luck!

cary999

Thanks JW
Such passenger load information on sailing is probably held in close. Final payment on that cruise is due Aug 5. I'll probably call them Aug 6 and see what is available. I know that waiting is a gamble, the cabin class you'd accept may be full.

They do keep reducing prices until I think 2 weeks before the cruise. FWIW here is a recent email showing discounts for cruises for the next three weeks. (But ours in in Oct).
http://tinyurl.com/n8vag5b

regards - tom

cary999

Ooops, that above link shows cruises out to Dec, but the "deals" are on for next three weeks.

regards - tom

jacketwatch

I think it's a gamble especially if you want a certain cabin location but that's up to you if you R willing to take that gamble. We prefer to get a cabin with a balcony amidships so we book early and then keep an eye on prices.

Best of luck, Larr

1965

We booked the Emerald for Sept. 10. Booked over a year in advance of sailing. We paid in full pretty soon after booking because our air was allowed to go up if taxes or something like that goes up. We have gotten several price reductions in the form of onboard credit. Our TA got us a $1400 credit back to our credit card a few months ago when the fare dropped again. We always book the cheapest cabin available. We have gotten a cabin upgrade without any action on our part. This will be our 12th cruise, only 2nd with Princess. But the methods to their madness seem pretty much the same industry wide. If the itinerary and price are to our liking, we book and often get reduced fare, onboard credit, and/or cabin upgrade if we stay vigilant, while counting the days until we sail.

Sally_Parker

DS and DIL crusied Princess once and received an offer for a 7 day cruise for $399. My price is much higher and I have cruised more than them. It seems that the price is higher on the destination you wanted to go and the price is lower to places that you have been to or places not on your wish list.
The more often you look at the same cruise, the price doesn't go down. You don't check it for a few months and go back and the price suddenly dropped! They must be tracking what you are looking at and set discount offers. If they know you are very interested at a certain cruise, why would they drop the price if they think you are going to book?

cary999

Thanks S_P.
I hadn't thought about Princess tracking me (I do have a Captains Circle Number, CCN, with them). And if I call them they know who I am and could add the call to their tracking. (neither way has nothing to do with "cookies").

So I'm NOT going to investigate that cruise prices either online nor call. Until say maybe mid Sept (cruise is in mid Oct) or, I (or my sister!!!) get another email with better deals on that cruise.

Published (on P site) cruise prices do go down from say a year ahead to three months ahead. For almost all cruises.

Thanks again for your reply, most interesting.

regards - tom
ps - Wait, I could visit the P site "incognito" by using a proxy server. Such as available from - www.domainbig.info. The proxy server uses a different IP address than your real one. So for the site you go to, you are new to them. (Unless of course you login). Yeah, that's the ticket!!!

cary999

FWIW, using that proxy server, and others, got me essentially nowhere on Princess site. Only to P home page.

regards - tom

Sally_Parker

As soon as you log in, they know who you are. If you are not logged-in, you get newbie prices. Not going to win there.

We were on a Baltic cruise last year. So far, I have been offered 12 days Baltic cruise for $699. I paid almost $2000 last year. It is enticing to return but within a year? I wanted to go to Australia, the price is holding at $1500.

My friends wanted to go to Baltic but the lowest offered to them was $1299. I called and ask if they can have my rate and the aanswer was no. But, if I am going, I can invite them and they will have same rate as me.

So I booked on the Baltic cruise with the $699 offer, sent invite to my friends who are not eligible for the rate on their own. They booked and confirmed at my rate. I canceled my Baltic cruise before the cancelation penalty kicked in and move my booking to another cruise with the deposit credit.

I think we beat the system. They are on their way to the Baltic later this month and I am heading out to Barcelona in October. If only somoone will send me an invite to Australia for less.

cary999

I'm looking ONLY for cruises out of Long Beach/San Pedro harbor. (Live nearby in Orange County). I have flown to/from many cruises. But I have this deep hatred of flying since my last flight to Africa in 2012 on British Airways. Don't get me started !!

regards - tom

rz62nz

We were told that if cruise price dropped prior to our final payment, that we would get the lower price. Prices dropped a few days before our final payment, but they would not honor the price drop. Said it applied to 45 out of the 50 states and we live in Missouri, one of the five states excluded from the discount.??? Our travel agent said Princess is notorious for fine print promotions and it often leaves the travel agents to fade the heat when the public gets the shaft. At this point our Alaskan Anniversary cruise is taking on water. Beware of the fine print that Princess puts in their promotions. Might want to just consider a different cruise line to avoid a bait and switch. The four other cruise lines we have cruised have never pulled anything like this.

cary999

Thanks rz62n. Sounds like what I'm seeing from Princess, and from reading above replies. I thought Princess perhaps had a bit more class than that.
UPDATE -
Kay got an email the other day offering further discounts on the cruise. I did not get the email and neither did my sister. Again, go figure. Anyway, we (Kay and I) made a booking. The original "MSRP" of $6,000 has come down to $3,200.

regards - tom

starry_nite

I also noticed that my cruise price had dropped $400 after I made my final pymt and Princess refused to refund $$ or offer further onboard credit....and I've got Elite status with them...

Oh well....I'll just enjoy my cruise anyway! But may consider trying a different cruise line next year!

jacketwatch

I think most cruise lines wont adjust the cost after final payment is made but I am surprised they did not offer at least a token of OBC.

I had heard that Princess charges a lot more to citizens of the UK and Australia. One day I decided to check this out myself so I called to book two cabins, one for us and the other for our Aussie "friends" and was told they have to book it themsleves through a preferred TA in their region! So apparently this is true. I called a few other cruise lines, RCI was one and I don't recall the others and they do not have this policy, only Princess. Last yr. on the Equinox we met some Aussies and got to talking about this and he said this is why they won't sail with Princess.