Pricing structure re: Princess site

[4cats4me]

We are repeat cruisers on Princess, so today I decided to check pricing

for a cruise we want to go on on the Sapphire, 2/13/09. To my happy

surprise, the pricing is way lower than even the low-priced large

Internet travel sites. We are planning to take mom on this cruise.

She is also a many-time repeat Princess cruiser, so I pulled up her

profile on Princess.com, and to my surprise, the pricing for her would

be much higher. What gives?

We'll be paying for her so we were hoping to get that same excellent

fare. For us an inside would be $449 plus taxes. For her, $599 plus

taxes:confused:

 

Also, if we book using Princess.com, can we transfer the booking to our

TA when she gets back from her vacation? Her vacation starts today

and she won't be back for a little while.

[Pia1913]

We are repeat cruisers on Princess, so today I decided to check pricing

for a cruise we want to go on on the Sapphire, 2/13/09. To my happy

surprise, the pricing is way lower than even the low-priced large

Internet travel sites. We are planning to take mom on this cruise.

She is also a many-time repeat Princess cruiser, so I pulled up her

profile on Princess.com, and to my surprise, the pricing for her would

be much higher. What gives?

We'll be paying for her so we were hoping to get that same excellent

fare. For us an inside would be $449 plus taxes. For her, $599 plus

taxes:confused:

 

Also, if we book using Princess.com, can we transfer the booking to our

TA when she gets back from her vacation? Her vacation starts today

and she won't be back for a little while.

 

It happens. Even in same geographic location one person's price can be lower than the others. Call Princess and book with them and then turn over the booking to your TA. Of course your TA price should be discounted. Tell Princess you want your mother to get the same fare for the same catagory. They will comply.

 

P.S. I just looked at that cruise under my name. Since I don't know what cat you're looking at I can't compare. But if it's an outside not obstructed, my price is even higher than your mother's. The person that they can count on (the one who travels a lot) sometimes gets a higher quote.

[4cats4me]

The categories I was looking at was guaranteed inside: us: $449, mom,

$599; obstructed o/v, us: $479, ocean view and balcony for us, both

categories $599 pp, mini suite $849.

 

For her it was at least $150 per category higher.

 

when I clicked on an explanation of our "savings" it indicated that we

had some credit in the circle account. Well, all the credit we would

have would be the FCC's purchased while on board last month. surely

they wouldn't count that as a "discount" would they? I would hope not,

otherwise it's extremely misleading.

 

Errrr.

[cruze610]

Ive noticed something similar.

I am Elite, DW Platinum. Ive seen it where My price is the same as the regular price before I log in. then I check with DW's cc# and she is much less.

 

EXAMPLE

Regular price without logging in- $949.00

I log in with my # (ELITE)- $949.00

I log in with DW # (PLATINUM)- $799.00

 

 

What Gives?

[cruze610]

...

[4cats4me]

Okay, NOW I logged in under my husband's profile on My Princess and

he and i both get the same pricing structure. However, I am now seriously

wondering if Princess is "pretending" to give us a better deal using our

own FCC's that we already paid for. We have an additional FCC that we

forgot about, so he has 2 FCC's under his profile for a total of $200 "credit." I only have one FCC remaining in my profile for a total of $100

credit, plus of course there would be OBC or SBC or whatever it's called.

 

So we're quoted $449 inside, but mom [who has no FCC ] is quoted $599,

a difference of $150 per person: Each FCC is worth $100, plus credit

we would have earned of at least $25 pp for inside/$50 pp for outside

cabin???

 

Is this a bait and switch tactic by Princess perhaps?

What am I missing?

[mmceachn]

Okay, NOW I logged in under my husband's profile on My Princess and

he and i both get the same pricing structure. However, I am now seriously

wondering if Princess is "pretending" to give us a better deal using our

own FCC's that we already paid for. We have an additional FCC that we

forgot about, so he has 2 FCC's under his profile for a total of $200 "credit." I only have one FCC remaining in my profile for a total of $100

credit, plus of course there would be OBC or SBC or whatever it's called.

 

So we're quoted $449 inside, but mom [who has no FCC ] is quoted $599,

a difference of $150 per person: Each FCC is worth $100, plus credit

we would have earned of at least $25 pp for inside/$50 pp for outside

cabin???

 

Is this a bait and switch tactic by Princess perhaps?

What am I missing?

 

i doubt that they are trying to trick you. It appears that you got a special offer because you have a future cruise credit. Your mother didn't get the offer because she does not. I just booked a similar deal on the Crown, and also found the best price with Princess after I logged in. The future cruise credit wasn't applied until I called in and spoke to a custoner service rep.

 

I also found the language on the Princess booking website a little confusing, but the csr cleared everything up for me.

It's too bad that the FCC's arent transferrable.

[rdsqrl]

The existence of an FCC in your account may or may not be getting you a better price (who knows how Princess's targeted pricing works? Just be glad you were targeted!), but it is definitely not being subtracted in advance from the cruise fare, if that's your concern. I may be misunderstanding you, in which case I apologize, but I think you were worried they were already deducting the $100 per person FCC and that's why your fare showed up as lower than your FCC-less mom. That is most assuredly not the case.

One way you might work the lower fare for you as opposed to your mother is to book one of you in with her; that way, both cabins get the low fare and you can switch the people around once onboard.

[sunsetbeachgal]

There has been much discussion on these boards lately about these "random offers" to repeat cruisers...we travel with the same group of friends who also happen to be neighbors on Princess soemwhat frequently, and have experienced differences in pricing that are quite substantial. Yes, it is very annoying.

 

Great suggestion from poster above to split up to book and get the lower price-put yourself in one cabin and husband in other. Then you can switch on board.

[robgvic]

The best advice is to call Princess and see what they say. I have yet to find that Princess gives me a worse price than an online when I am looking at past passenger rates.

[victravellers]

Ok, just as a curiosity, I thought I would look up the prices of this same cruise here is Australia, through Princess.

Now, if someone wants to prove to me we do not get gouged from Australia I am listening.

Here are our prices

 

Inside $1031 AUD -$950 USD

OV $1351 AUD-$1245 USD

Balcony $1541 AUD-$1420 USD

Mini Suite $1801 AUD-$1660 USD

These prices do include taxes.

I know, I know we do have "other" options but still.

[4cats4me]

The existence of an FCC in your account may or may not be getting you a better price (who knows how Princess's targeted pricing works? Just be glad you were targeted!), but it is definitely not being subtracted in advance from the cruise fare, if that's your concern. I may be misunderstanding you, in which case I apologize, but I think you were worried they were already deducting the $100 per person FCC and that's why your fare showed up as lower than your FCC-less mom. That is most assuredly not the case.

 

One way you might work the lower fare for you as opposed to your mother is to book one of you in with her; that way, both cabins get the low fare and you can switch the people around once onboard.

 

You cleared it up for me -- yes, for a brief while I was starting to think

my beloved Princess might be trying to pull a fast one LOL

But I realized I was wrong, because for the week earlier, the same inside

cabin dropped to $349 pp plus taxes, so my math was flawed.

Thanks to everyone for their Princess discount stories.

Thanks to the poster who suggested booking one cabin with my mom,

and booking my husband in the other cabin.

 

I guess I ought to grab a couple cabins because these great prices

might disappear quickly :eek: No rhyme no reasoning with these price

structures. Weird.

 

So, can I book on the Internet and then call Princess directly to get

the FCC applied later??

[Iamcruzin]

You cleared it up for me -- yes, for a brief while I was starting to think

my beloved Princess might be trying to pull a fast one LOL

But I realized I was wrong, because for the week earlier, the same inside

cabin dropped to $349 pp plus taxes, so my math was flawed.

Thanks to everyone for their Princess discount stories.

Thanks to the poster who suggested booking one cabin with my mom,

and booking my husband in the other cabin.

 

I guess I ought to grab a couple cabins because these great prices

might disappear quickly :eek: No rhyme no reasoning with these price

structures. Weird.

 

So, can I book on the Internet and then call Princess directly to get

the FCC applied later??

 

 

I just tried to book the same cruise. Before I logged on to my account the price for the inside cabin was $449 as soon as I logged on the price dropped to $349. I attempted to book it and the explanation of price stated that the price reflected any credits that I had in my circle account. I have $200 in FCC's. I think the $349.00 is really $449.00 minus the $100 from the FCC's that they are using as my deposit to book. I hope I am wrong. When you call Princess to find out can you post the results?

[4cats4me]

I just tried to book the same cruise. Before I logged on to my account the price for the inside cabin was $449 as soon as I logged on the price dropped to $349. I attempted to book it and the explanation of price stated that the price reflected any credits that I had in my circle account. I have $200 in FCC's. I think the $349.00 is really $449.00 minus the $100 from the FCC's that they are using as my deposit to book. I hope I am wrong. When you call Princess to find out can you post the results?

 

Nope, it's not really $449 minus the $100 for the FCC.

 

Is that the one departing 2/13 because

that's the quote $349 inside we got for 2/6/10. :confused:

 

We're going on 2/13 though, not 2/6.

 

Well, just so everyone knows, I did a "dummy" booking to see what the

ultimate result would be, and at the end Princess was asking for $280

deposit for the 2 of us for a BD balcony cabin. therefore, that means

the FCC had nothing to do with it because otherwise it would have asked

for a $200 deposit, and of course, there's nowhere that lets me

get my shipboard credit. Of course, maybe I could transfer my Princess

booking to my TA and then I could get my OBC or SBC...

heck ... I've learned something new today.

Even if I don't use the FCC or get the shipboard credits, I guess I really

don't care since the Princess site gave us such a low quote compared

to everywhere else, I really don't need to use the FCC this time around

[caribill]

 

So, can I book on the Internet and then call Princess directly to get

the FCC applied later??

 

Call Princess directly and book on the phone. Easier to make sure it is done correctly--that you get the desired pricing and that your FCC is applied.

 

If you wish, you can later have the booking assigned to your travel agent.

[4cats4me]

Call Princess directly and book on the phone. Easier to make sure it is done correctly--that you get the desired pricing and that your FCC is applied.

 

If you wish, you can later have the booking assigned to your travel agent.

 

 

You can sure tell I've never booked directly with Princess before, can't 'ya? LOL I guess I've heard so many stories about the unknowledgeable

Princess people that I've not a lot of confidence, so figured booking

via a search engine might work better, but if all of you experienced

cruisers have booked directly with their agents before, then they must

be doing something right.

Are they open on Sundays?

[sunsetbeachgal]

When I book directly with Princess (which I sometimes do) I do it over the phone (1-800-PRINCESS)-yes, they are open Sundays. Most of the agents are pretty helpful and they can explain the FCC procedure to you.

 

Good luck!

[Pia1913]

You can sure tell I've never booked directly with Princess before, can't 'ya? LOL I guess I've heard so many stories about the unknowledgeable

Princess people that I've not a lot of confidence, so figured booking

via a search engine might work better, but if all of you experienced

cruisers have booked directly with their agents before, then they must

be doing something right.

Are they open on Sundays?

 

You cannot do the FCC on a web site. Call Princess. They open at 7:00 AM PST.

[Iamcruzin]

Nope, it's not really $449 minus the $100 for the FCC.

 

Is that the one departing 2/13 because

that's the quote $349 inside we got for 2/6/10. :confused:

 

We're going on 2/13 though, not 2/6.

 

Well, just so everyone knows, I did a "dummy" booking to see what the

ultimate result would be, and at the end Princess was asking for $280

deposit for the 2 of us for a BD balcony cabin. therefore, that means

the FCC had nothing to do with it because otherwise it would have asked

for a $200 deposit, and of course, there's nowhere that lets me

get my shipboard credit. Of course, maybe I could transfer my Princess

booking to my TA and then I could get my OBC or SBC...

heck ... I've learned something new today.

Even if I don't use the FCC or get the shipboard credits, I guess I really

don't care since the Princess site gave us such a low quote compared

to everywhere else, I really don't need to use the FCC this time around

 

 

When I go to the Princess site before I sign in the price for 2/6 inside is $499 and the price for 2/13 inside is $599 . The past passenger discount is $50 off which brings it to $449 & $549. They did not ask me for an additional deposit but my wife and I both have Fcc's. The FCC's as deposit would bring it to $349 and $449. I think the $280.00 deposit is for your mother. The only reason I say this is when I tried to book as a family it asked for an additional deposit of $560 for my sons because they don't have Fcc's which come to $280 each.

 

If this is the case. When you call Princess, book you and your mother in the same room . You use your $100 Fcc as deposit and you should only have to put $100 on a credit card as deposit for your mother. If they tell you that you can't do that ask them to speak to their supervisor. I booked a cruise for the family and only had to put $100 deposit for each child because I booked one in a room with me and the other in another room with my wife. At first they were going to charge me what ever the % deposit was at the time for each child. I explained to them that I was told by the FCC Rep to book a child and and adult in each room so we would only have to pay the additional $100 for each and they would also get the OBC. The booking agent checked with her supervisor and it went through.

 

Please report back after you speak with Princess.

[Hflors]

Thanks OP for starting this thread. I am "new" haven't sailed with Princess since about 95 and I have a cruise booked. Its a back to back and I wanted a BA cabin on both legs of this trip. I got the BA for the second leg and when I got a quote from my favorite ta for the first leg, it was more than we could afford so I went with a lower cabin guarantee. The problem is we would need to pack up and change cabins in the middle of the cruise. Well last night I was fooling around looking at the first leg of this cruise and just for fun I clicked on the BA cat. and the cabin I wanted. Well when I went thru the pricing (after logging in) The price dropped by $1100.00! The price for a BA was lower than the BD or BF. So I clicked out and went back to the e-mail from the ta and found that online Princess price was $500.00 lower than even my ta quoted. When all is said and done it is about $600.00 more than the outside Cat D guarantee. Well you bet you I clicked on the "Buy the cabin button" and put down my deposit in a flash before they changed their minds.

 

So now I have two cabins booked on the same ship and the same date until tomorrow when the TA opens and if they can't discount I am going to cancel the Cat D and just keep the booking for the time being.

 

I have been sitting here since last night and thinking about this. I was sure I was going to get a call from Princess telling me that there had been a mistake about the pricing and then I saw this thread.

 

OP thanks for starting this thread!

[Iamcruzin]

So I think my theory is wrong. I just tried to book a different cruise and the price only dropped $50 after I signed in and it didnt drop $100 after I booked. DW told me that we received an exclusive offer in the mail in the last week or so and she remembers seeing Mexico for $349. She didn't look at the dates and she didn't save it long enough for me to see it. I guess she was afraid that I might want to book it. It's a good thing that I have friends on CC to keep me informed. You should be able to use your Fcc if it wasn't applied yet. It is your money in your account.

[Pia1913]

Thanks OP for starting this thread. I am "new" haven't sailed with Princess since about 95 and I have a cruise booked. Its a back to back and I wanted a BA cabin on both legs of this trip. I got the BA for the second leg and when I got a quote from my favorite ta for the first leg, it was more than we could afford so I went with a lower cabin guarantee. The problem is we would need to pack up and change cabins in the middle of the cruise. Well last night I was fooling around looking at the first leg of this cruise and just for fun I clicked on the BA cat. and the cabin I wanted. Well when I went thru the pricing (after logging in) The price dropped by $1100.00! The price for a BA was lower than the BD or BF. So I clicked out and went back to the e-mail from the ta and found that online Princess price was $500.00 lower than even my ta quoted. When all is said and done it is about $600.00 more than the outside Cat D guarantee. Well you bet you I clicked on the "Buy the cabin button" and put down my deposit in a flash before they changed their minds.

 

So now I have two cabins booked on the same ship and the same date until tomorrow when the TA opens and if they can't discount I am going to cancel the Cat D and just keep the booking for the time being.

 

I have been sitting here since last night and thinking about this. I was sure I was going to get a call from Princess telling me that there had been a mistake about the pricing and then I saw this thread.

 

OP thanks for starting this thread!

 

Whatever price you just paid for the balcony should be further discounted by the TA. If they don't, look for another TA. In any event, you have your balcony and the D will be cancelled. Hopefully you are not dealing with a TA who charges a fee for cancellation. If so, another reason to look for a new TA. Since these are two separate cruises, you could in fact be using two different TA's.