Have any UK residents ever booked direct through the USA?

[antsp]

just shop around and you will find a agent, there is not a chance on earth of being denied boarding at the port , as long as your cruise is paid you have your docs and passport you will get on, i think some TAs are to lazy to bother with foreign bookings, i have booked us every time ,including just last week for princess in oct

[antsp]

bump

[Ms Jo UK]

OK I have just booked a Tahitian Princess cruise with a US TA. I have also checked my reservation number in the Princess system and everthing appears to be ok. I have also been assured 3 times that I will not be denied boarding.

 

TA is happy to book non US residents.

 

Jo

[ourlol]

I chose, in the end, to send an email to Princess in the UK. In brief, it detailed the conversation I had had with the reservations consultant (see earlier post) when I had been told that so long as I had a US address, there was nothing to stop me booking via the US. I basically asked for written confirmation that this was indeed the case.

 

This is the response I have just received. It doesn't, of course, answer the questions raised! Well that's a surprise... not!

 

Thank you for your email.

 

I can advise the policy of Princess Cruises is that UK citizens must book through the UK and the US passengers through the US office.

 

We operate this policy in the UK and US as it is not advisable to book through the US office for UK passengers due to the fact that you will be governed by US laws and no protection from our governing body ABTA, you may also experience difficulties of obtaining cancellation insurance as you would not be able to book insurance in the US as you are not residents and it is unlikely anyone in the UK would insure you for a US booking.

 

I hope this information is helpful to you and if there is anything else I can check for you, please do not hesitate to email me again. Alternatively, you can contact our Reservations team on 0845 3 555 800 and one of our consultants will be happy to help with your enquiry.

 

You can also visit our website at www.princesscruises.co.uk for further information on your chosen cruise ship.

 

I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Interestingly, in the first sentence they say you "must" book through the UK and in the second, they say it is not "advisable" to book through the US. A contradiction if ever there was.

 

Needless to say, I haven't found this information helpful so they will be 'hearing' from me again soon!

 

Laura

[antsp]

this is princes in the uk just talking out of there a**

[UK Cruiser]

...and the comment regarding insurance is nonsense! Our first ever planned cruise was cancelled due to illness and I had no problems at all getting a refund from my UK insurance company!

 

Laura...did you try the TA I recommended to get her take on this? She certainly doesn't seem to have any problems.

 

Lynne

[ourlol]

Lynne,

 

Re the insurance. I totally agree. I actually checked out a similiar statement made by Princess UK before my cruise in 2003. I seem to remember my broker saying, like you, it was nonsense! With regards ABTA, that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 

No I haven't contacted any recommended TAs as yet. Due to a family illness it's questionable at the moment whether I'll actually get on my cruise in July so, for the time being, I have no future plans as such .

 

It's more the principle... I'm trying to understand why certain TAs are being stopped from continuing something that has been deemed acceptable in the past while others are being allowed to continue. I think I've got a bee in my bonnet now and am trying to seek some sort of closure once and for all. Can I or can't I ... and if not... why not. I feel like I'm losing a friend (if that makes sense). I'm sure I can have a similar relationship elsewhere, but it seems sad that I am being forced to.

[Aussie Gal]

I have been following this thread with interest. I booked our South American cruise for January 2006 with Princess through a U.S. Agent in July last year and at the time she said that it would be fine even though we are not U.S. citizens. She apparently has booked many Aussie and overseas customers.

 

The only caution was that we should not fill in our on line form until after we have paid our full amount for the cruise.

 

We have a booking number which I have checked many times and when we board we will go and see the cruise consultant and get this cruise added to our other 3 with Princess.

 

I must admit after reading here that one is threatened with not being able to board does put shivers up my back as we are travelling a huge distance to board the ship and are so looking forward to the cruise.

 

I do feel it is such a form of discrimination against other nationalities that here in our country it would not be allowed and the company would have to toe the line so to speak.

 

Jennie

[UKLady]

I have just received a reply off Princess Cruises to my letter which asked firstly why the room pricing was so different and secondly why had UK passengers been prevented from booking with US travel agents. Here is there written response

 

As you may or may not be aware the U.S. market is nearly 10 times that of the UK and is much more competitive. As a commercially viable organisation operating on both sides of the Atlantic there are a number of differences in the markets where our cruises are sold. For example, with respect to the marketing costs, the UK market does not benefit from the same economies scale. In addition general on-board spending patterns in the casinos, bars and other areas of the ship tends to differ between the UK and US markets and this, in turn impacts on profitability. When our fares are calculated all these factors have to be taken in to account and we set our fares at the most competitive level within the markets in which we operate.

 

There are differences of approach in the American marketing of our cruising product, these being determined largely by local custom and practice. The US Market is particularly responsive to disccounting and we, in line with other cruising companies, have to bear this very much in mind when promoting our holidays in America. The travel agents, through which all American passengers book their cruises, play a large part in the process and booking inducements are not unusual.

 

We set our cruise rates well in advance and do not change them despite any subsequent fluctuations in exchange rates. These can affet the final amounts paid in the currency of each country and can work to passengers advantage or disadvantage. It should also be borne in mind that offers made in the USA refer to the sea fare only and exclude other essential elements of the holiday such as air travel overnight hotel stays, insurance etc. They are also restricted to certain types of cabin so that choice is more limited. We are of course aware that many passengers will talk of the deals they have been able to obtain whilst ignoring the restrictions placed on them and I am sorry that this does rankle with some of our passengers booking here in the UK.

 

I have many comments to make on this response, that does not answer my question, and made me more angry than I was before. I will wait until I calm down before I put them on here (as they wont be printable!), however, I am sure that others will have something to say

[shuggee]

Hi guys, Well that reply you received from Princess in the UK says it all. They don't want UK passengers at all and they're going the right way about it. They say in that reply that we don't spend enough in the Casino, that's a bit of a generalisation. Do they think we're thick over here when they say "It should also be borne in mind that offers made in the USA refer to the sea fare only and exclude other essential elements of the holiday such as air travel overnight hotel stays, insurance etc." Of course we know it's cruise only. They also say that the choice of cabins are restricted, well that's not my experience and even if it were it still doesn't answer why I got a quote in the UK of £2,800 (that's including the travel agent's discount) for a mini-suite and in the US I was quoted £1,852 PLUS a shipboard credit of $75 per cabin. That's nearly £1,000 cheaper. In anyone's book that's a rip-off.

 

Shug.

[AnDeNo.UK]

We have booked four cruises with U S online TA.= Cruise Value.If you don't get this name feel free to email me.:rolleyes:

Hello to all our fellow UK cruisers!!

 

We were just wondering has anyone ever gone independent and booked their cruise via a US travel agent rather than a UK one.

 

We have booked both with UK travel agents and direct via Princess in Southampton.

 

When on our cruise on the Star princess we made friends with an American couple and the cost of cruises came up. We had paid nearly 4 times the amount they had paid for a balcony cabin - and we were in an inside cabin

 

We went to the future cruise rep and was told it is cheaper to book via the US but we would need a US mailing address and to book our flights direct.

 

We are considering renting a PO Box and booking via the US from now on so we can get better deals.

 

Just wondering if anyone has gone down this road before, or has tried and it didn't work, or is currently doing the same thing successfully

[Kiwi Kruzer]

You may be sure that pricing (and other benefits) discrimination at Princess Cruises has been alive and well for years, and is certainly not confined only

to UK residents. Australians and New Zealanders are consistently charged far more than US passengers, up to thousands of dollars more. We asked our TA to enquire from P&O NZ why this is the case. Their response, believe it or not was..

"I am sorry I cannot provide an actual explanation as to why we do not offer the same discount programmes offered to Americans, this has always been the case as per Princess Cruises instructions. We try our best to avoid passengers getting hold of the American brochures for this reason as there are many benefits and discounts outlined which have never been available to our local passengers."

Even worse for us is that, although we have over the requisite 16 cruises with Princess for Elite CC membership under our belts (and it shows!!) we have no entitlement to the benefits US, UK and Canadians in a similar position enjoy.

Yet another instance of paying more and receiving less from Princess.

Discrimination, we believe, at its worst.

[Elaine0138]

We have booked four cruises with U S online TA.= Cruise Value.If you don't get this name feel free to email me.:rolleyes:

 

I have just tried to see if this company are accepting UK cruisers, but they are NOT. There is a message at the top of the page saying that they can no longer accept bookings from UK.

 

Also Pricess reasoning for the UK prices being higher doesn't make sense, if you have a budget of £5000.00 for a holiday, and you have to spend most of that on the fare then it leaves you less to spend on board. Princess get the money either way.

[soraya]

Hi, I'm just back off the Golden Princess having booked this cruise last minute through a US cruise company (thanks Robert)! and can report that I had no problems whatsoever (apart from missing Orkney, but that's another story).

 

After reading this thread I was a bit worried about being turned away and kept thinking that at least it was in the UK so getting home wasn't going to be impossible, but it was no hassle at all.

 

I said it was tickets at the pier and gave them my name and that was that. I did all the pre-registration online and bought the shore excursions that way too and it was all fine.

 

Having said that, I'm not that dedicated Princess cruiser that I would continue to sail with a company that doesn't want my business - this was too good a deal to miss. So, I have booked my next cruises with HAL. I did put on the feedback that their policy is anti-competative, but I'm not expecting a response.

 

HTH for all that are cruising via US bookings,

 

Soraya

[codlips]

we did it for the brilliance of the seas (rcl)last march saved at least 50% on the uk travel agents.We used *****************and booked direct flights from manchester to miami with AA, found thats the cheapest way to go.

[drakecrow]

Our UK friends booked a Panama Canal cruise with by husband (UK passport holder) and myself (US citizen) through my US TA. No problems at all. They were already in US before the start of the cruise and we booked our own R/T travel from California to Florida. The only problem encountered was when we went to pay the advance cruise deposit and they would only accept ours as US residents, not UK residents. The advanced booking agent, who wasn't much help, was a real pain and offered no further assistance

[S&D]

Very good thread, and very interesting, it seems we "overseas" pax will have to be very sneaky from now on...the PO box was a good idea! Good luck everyone with your future bookings! I wonder if we can use a friends address in the States for bookings?

 

S&D (currently booked thru a US TA for next cruise) :) :D

[Aussie Gal]

Hi S & D,

 

We are also booked through a U.S. T.A. for our cruise in January. Have you put in your details online yet or are you waiting until you have paid for the cruise in full. We were advised to wait, as our address in the U.S. is different from our passports.

 

Just wondering how you are going about it.

 

Jennie

[S&D]

Hi Jennie,

 

We booked about 9 months ago thru a US agent...with our own Aussie address etc., will be doing the on line form filling pretty soon, no one has said to wait. Our payment/balance is due in Jan. We have no US address, but I suppose its a good idea maybe to make future bookings easier?

 

Very best wishes

 

S&D :)

 

PS..who do you book the flights with..when you book with a US agent for the cruise?

[antsp]

hello coolcruiser nice to see someone else on these boards from liverpool too, we have always booked via the us and never had a problem, lets wait and see if any who does manage too book in the us is ever refused bording. I think you will all find out it will be a very long wait...

[ourlol]

antsp,

 

I think you'll find that a fairly large proportion of British posters on Cruise Critic hail from Liverpool or the North West of England. My husband is a scouser (although now livin' daahhhn saarf), and my 20 year old son is at University in Liverpool. My 18 year old may also go there in the Autumn, much to his brother's dismay. Do we count :D

[UK Cruiser]

....and don't forget that God's own county of Yorkshire is also represented here!

 

Maybe we ought to be finding a mailing address in the US where we can all register and have our documents sent on to us!

 

I honestly wouldn't have thought that there were enough of us trying to use US TAs to cause such a problem for Princess and they should realise that if they make it more difficult, as they have already recognised, there is a lot of competition out there! By finding the Princess bargains in the US we've already shown we know how to shop around and by alienating us now, we may just find a product which suits us better in the long term.

 

I cannot believe that Princess have actually committed to paper that they think UK passengers should pay more because they spend less on board!

 

Lynne

[phillipahain]

I am pretty sure though that its what Princess think

 

You only have to look at the Art plastered all over the place and the pushing of Art sales for starters

 

Then look at who is buying what onboard

 

USA shoppers are a very different market indeed

 

Do not forget my warning to insist your onboard account is charged in dollars not in pounds because the ships conversion rate is not good and they charge 3% for the priveledge .............Most credit cards only charge 1.5% especially Saga

 

and of course if you have a dollar account in either the UK or especially USA the last thing you need is charges in pounds and transaction charges levied on top

[ourlol]

Phillipahain

 

Most credit cards only charge 1.5% especially Saga

 

The Nationwide Credit Card doesn't make a charge at all on either purchases or cash withdrawals abroad.

 

PS: I hope your daughter and family are now recovering after their accident and able to enjoy the rest of their holiday.

[shuggee]

Hi, Scotland here! lol. Well I've just booked a minisuite on the Coral Princess and at first the US travel agent wouldn't book it because it was outside North America. My US friends suggested I use their address and the travel agent booked it. The price through Princess UK was £2,800 for cruise only. The price through the American TA was £1,800 for cruise only and with a $75 shipboard credit. Princess are trying to tell us that American cruisers spend $1,895 more per minisuite? I don't think so! They also say that they have 10 times more bookings from the USA than anywhere else so that just makes the figures even more laughable. It's pure discrimination between the US and everyone else. They just don't want or care about non-US clients. This is my first cruise on Princess and the experience hasn't been pleasant so far. I've only been Royal Caribbean before and with them you can book online without ever speaking to a travel agent. I ordered a Princess brochure online and it said it would be here in 7-10 days that was over a month ago. I'm sure though that once on board everything will be much better.

 

Shug.