drega99
-
Posts
91 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by drega99
-
-
Sailing on the Sky July 1st - booking was a deluxe balcony - bid $105 per pax for a mini suite and saw the change/upgrade within 48 hours - have not received any emails or confirmations from Princess. Also bid on the mini suite with perks for $250 per pax. We are content with the Mini-suite as we like the space - perks aren't as important as the space.
-
3
-
-
On 5/27/2023 at 10:35 PM, ceilidh1 said:
As someone that works for the agency having this sale, I can tell you 100% that we DO get group rates that are lower priced than cruiselines offer. This is because the group holds are taken out as soon as the cruise goes on sale. That price is locked in. The majority of times, the cruiseline rate goes up, but the locked in group rate doesn't - there are definitely exceptions, of course, (especially after final payment) when promos by the cruiseline mean they have lower pricing than the group rate. However, the agent is then free to use the promo rate and under no obligation to use the group rate. As an example, over Christmas I booked Ruby for myself and three additional cabins for friends. Since it was a holiday sailing, the cabins we were looking at were priced at $2200 pp on Princess site, with no OBC or packages included. Under my agency group rate, we got them for $1600 pp with Princess Plus (group rate was locked in while that was still included in the price - no longer the case) and $150 OBC per person. Neither my commission nor the agency commission paid for any of those "perks". Having said that, you have to shop around - not all agencies or agents are created equal and sometimes booking direct is the best way to go. I would never limit myself to one agent/agency, even though I'm an agent myself!
We are in the same "boat", literally!! LOL.
-
1 minute ago, warren buffet said:
how do you know the agency is not purchasing the on board credit with some of their commission? it could be that the cruise lines give an agency the option to buy onboard credits at say a 50 percent discount for their customers. i think it's not legal an anti trust violation to give lower prices to only a few agencies unless the agencies actually purchase the cruise upfront before selling it. which is a huge huge risk for the agency because we know prices go up and down unpredicably.
The travel companies buy/hold 50/100 cabins on each sailing and if unsold at a certain time prior to sailing the inventory goes back to the cruise lines inventory. They use the group points to purchase the onboard credits per cabin in the contract. Not uncommon at all. If the cruise line has a better rate which sometimes happens - you can transfer your booking into the group to get the onboard credit as well. But only through the contracted agency. This is in Canada by the way.
-
1 minute ago, warren buffet said:
i have never seen anyone show any actual evidence that a cruise line gives a lower price (thru a so called group rate) to 1 or a few agencies than others. that would probably be illegal. I think it is virtually always the agency giving back some of their commision. cruise line have before done things like priority boarding to a certain large agency. but not cash. i booked a carnival cruise with an advertised free gratuities sale. once i booked, if showed on my receipt carnival was not giving free gratuitites. my receipt showed the agency paid for my gratuties thru an american express card card. the last 4 credit card numbers of the large agency even showed on my receipt.
Actually, I know 100 percent that big companies get discounted group rates with additional onboard credits - Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean etc. This is due to the volume of sales they provide to the cruise companies.
-
On 5/24/2023 at 5:20 PM, Steelers36 said:
Was it from outside USA (wouldn't be Canada as our exchange rate is much worse than that).
I actually was looking at a Resident promo rate Canadian for November 2023 sailing and the PLUS did work out to $60 CAD per person per day.
-
58 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:
Just curious, as I keep hearing about cheaper TA rates on a variety of threads. If a travel agency offers a cheaper fare than advertised by PCL for the same cabin category, is that because the TA is discounting that cabin category using part of the commission they get from PCL? For example our TA discounts the PCL fare by 8% when we book it through them, or is it something else and the 8% booking perk we get from our TA is on top of the discounted fare?
Many travel companies, including the one doing this 3 day sale in June also have group rates that are definitely lower than Princess direct and also have onboard credits as well as the lower cost.
-
1
-
1
-
-
100 percent sure there is a 3 day sale June 8/9/10 with a big travel company.
-
1
-
-
6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:
Was it from outside USA (wouldn't be Canada as our exchange rate is much worse than that).
Its definitely in Canada.
-
On 1/12/2023 at 2:02 AM, LPG27 said:
I will be stopping at Gibraltar o May 8th from a Princess cruise. This thread has been very helpful. I am trying to get more information about getting around Gibraltar after I get off the ship. Sounds like taking the cable car is not a good option for us because of all the walking. I do want to take a rock tour of the key sites including the WW2 tunnels. How reliable are the vans, taxis by the cruise terminal. Are they always there? Would I be better off booking a tour in advance. There are some tours offered on TripAdvisor by Blands travel. Does anyone know anything abouts Blands? Would appreciate your advice.
We used Blands Travel in August and did the full tour with the WWII tunnels, monkeys etc. The tour itself was great, however locating the meeting point was hard to locate and taxis were nonexistent, we ended walking the whole way. Again, discreet car garage location but in the end all was good.
-
On 8/25/2022 at 11:28 AM, TheHawk1 said:
Curious which port you left from? We are booked on the Florence/Pisa tour leaving from La Spezia and I understand it's a long drive to Florence. Just wondering about all the time spent in a van, before you actually get to the sightseeing part.
We docked in Livorno so I can't comment on La Spezia - but stioll highly recommend as we used them again in August with zero complaints.
-
I used them in May for Florence and Pisa as well and they were fantastic. We are doing a different Med cruise next week on the Regal Princess and have booked 2 more tours with them - Florence and Pisa again as well as Marseille. I have no concerns as they don't "confirm" with you until the minimum number has been met.
-
1
-
-
Hello,
Wondering if anyone has any feedback - good or bad on this tour company World Tours? They are based out of Naples and only offer tours/excursions in that area. They have some good pricing on private options but hoping for some input from previous customers.
Thanks.
-
Silhouette ports of embarkation and disembarkation are also incorrect as it doesn't sail from San Juan.
-
2 hours ago, hvbaskey said:
Actually, as a Canadian, I am not embarrassed. The dates may be incorrect - but at least they are notifying the public.
This is more than what Celebrity has done.The dates are incorrect and the ports of embarkation are incorrect.
-
2 hours ago, son3cruisers said:
Hoping everyone is healthy and doing ok.
This is from Canada’s official website and breaks down all flights and cruise ships confirmed with Covid 19. Still have yet to hear anything from Celebrity. They have 2 ships on the list.So as a Canadian I am actually embarrassed that this was published. Sail dates and embarkation/disembarkation ports are wrong for both Celebrity Summit and Silhouette.
-
We were contacted by our local health department that the Summit sailing prior to ours has a confirmed case. No specifics just to self isolate. Yes, I am pretty disheartened how Celebrity dealt with this. I went to senior officers and asked them about the lady in Waterloo and they adamantly denied. Three conversations from March 14-16 and repeatedly denied the news stories from our home province. 😲😲
-
1
-
-
The Miami news article states a man died prior to March 13 in Canada from the Summit which is why San Juan refused entry which is false. The only case at that point was still the one lady in Waterloo in her 60's. Yes, other cases came afterwards. I believe there are now 5 claiming to be from the Summit.
-
I have some concerns about that article as many inaccurate facts. The first case from the Summit in Canada was a lady in her 60s who is in self quarantine at her home. She did NOT die. The article mentions a man that has died. We had our second death in Ontario just yesterday March 18, 2020.
-
Everybody disembarked at Port Everglades, FL yesterday. The ship was likely passenger free by 1100am.
I was on the ship and no one was sick.
-
My family was planning to self isolate regardless, however knowing the facts about the supposed Summit case is paramount.
-
1
-
-
4 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:
I'm rereading that article you posted and the itinerary listed for that "second Summit passenger" matches the itinerary for the Silhouette passenger being discussed in another thread and listed in the chart you posted above.
Yes, he says it's the Summit but article is about the Silhouette.
-
7 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:
Forget the news article which may have not have printed the details correctly; refer to the PUBLIC OF HEALTH announcement.
So this shows one case from the Summit. Why is everyone stating there is 2 now from the Summit?
-
So I just read the CTV Kitchener news story posted on here and there are a TON of false details within the article. The Summit doesn't sail from Lauderdale, the islands listed are incorrect AND the cruise did NOT end on March 6. Clearly, that article is indeed questionable.
And again, why not mention the flights these people were on as sitting for hours in close proximity is far worse than being on a huge ship together.
-
I am currently ON the Summit and yes, we were denied to disembark in San Juan today. However, it is NOT confirmed that the last sailing was responsible for the Waterloo pt testing positive. She was on two airplanes, two airports twice....why is everyone automatically bashing the cruise line. Could she really be a single isolated case of a few thousand people onboard between crew and guests?? The cruise industry is in enough peril and this isn’t right. Celebrity is giving us 50% of our cruise fare back and a future discount of 50%. I think that’s more than fair. Along with free drink and wifi for two days. I have spoken to senior crew members who have said the info being reported is false or fake news. 😀
-
4
-
1
-
Dusk at Tivoli Gardens?
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea
Posted
Can anyone give an approximate time that it gets dark in Copenhagen in early July - we will be there July 4th and want to see Tivoli Gardens in the dark. We have to be back onboard for 930p. How far is the port from Tivoli - can we do this on our own by taxi?