Price Reduction

[diamondsparkling]

How come Americans can get a price reduction on a booked cruise but us Brits cannot?

 

Val

[Pam in CA]

How come Americans can get a price reduction on a booked cruise but us Brits cannot?

It has to do with the way Princess is structured and the agreements were made. Those in the UK and elsewhere must book through a UK travel agent and the packages offered are different from those offered in the US. I'm guessing it also has something to do with each country's laws and regulations. Keep in mind that even in the US, not all passengers qualify for some promotions. For instance, some are targeted and available only to residents of a targeted geographic area or for certain categories.

[Reina del Mar]

This is so unfair......also was told by future cruise credit host aboard Island Princess in April this year that conditions were universal.......only to find out that this is definitely not the case !!!!

 

Would be good if conditions of sale/price reductions/cancellation etc were equal wherever the passengers booked !!

[saltypeer]

I am sure Pam (very knowledgeable) is correct in that different countries have different laws / rules. But it has always bugged me too that the good people of the UK seem to be used as 'cash cows' by Princess. Such a shame as we like sailing with Princess. I get annoyed when we can't use a US travel agent (not legally anyway) because we don't reside in the USA. In these days of the global market and the internet, etc, it should not matter who you choose to book your cruise through, surely.

 

We will continue to be 'ripped off' until such times as we are priced out of cruising with Princess and then we may have to switch to P&O, maybe.

 

Sorry for the rant.......but it annoys me.

 

Pete

[Feebarn]

I'm like a stuck record, but you CAN get a drop in price in the UK. We did and I'm still crowing about it! We booked a mini suite in January for roundtrip to Hawaii next April. Looking back to my notes it was £3174 for the 2 of us ( a drop in price from £3450 when we started looking)

 

We booked just about 2 weeks after the Concordia stooshy and were quite pleased that the price had dropped about £300 in a couple of weeks. Thinking it wouldn't get much better than that, we booked up.

 

Fast forward to April, my husband randomly clicked on the princess website and saw that the price for a FULL suite was now showing as £2438 (still is incidently) and the mini suite is £2469.

 

So it didn't make much sense to us to keep our booking. We were all ready to cancel and lose the deposit because the full suite deal was too good to miss. So we had a restless night and 8am Monday morning phoned our travel agent, who are the Royal Bank of Scotland agency. They in turn phoned P&O and we were able to move our cabin to a VS and we now are paying less than what we originally booked for. No cancelling, no loss of deposit, just a straight forward yes you can have the price drop and yes you can in fact have that suh weeeet upgrade to a suite. :D

[Ethel5]

I'm like a stuck record, but you CAN get a drop in price in the UK. We did and I'm still crowing about it! We booked a mini suite in January for roundtrip to Hawaii next April. Looking back to my notes it was £3174 for the 2 of us ( a drop in price from £3450 when we started looking)............................................

Fast forward to April, my husband randomly clicked on the princess website and saw that the price for a FULL suite was now showing as £2438 (still is incidently) and the mini suite is £2469............

 

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about the reductions!

 

I figured it out and roughly the least expensive mini from the Princess web site is $5984US for 2. When you convert the mini at 2469 GBP it converts to $3968 USD. Why is it that so many Brits claim to be getting ripped off when clearly, we are paying more?

[caribill]

I'm like a stuck record, but you CAN get a drop in price in the UK.

 

If I remember correctly, others from UK have posted that price reductions are possible until six months before the cruise.

[cruiselvr1]

It has to do with the way Princess is structured and the agreements were made. Those in the UK and elsewhere must book through a UK travel agent and the packages offered are different from those offered in the US. I'm guessing it also has something to do with each country's laws and regulations. Keep in mind that even in the US, not all passengers qualify for some promotions. For instance, some are targeted and available only to residents of a targeted geographic area or for certain categories.

Wonderful Pictures

[antsp]

I think its just what the market will stand, in US its expected and int UK it not. If Princess could get away without dropping there prices, what do you think they would do.

[Feebarn]

Why is it that so many Brits claim to be getting ripped off when clearly, we are paying more?

 

I suspect that we generally do get ripped off! I think I have just been very lucky in the deal we got. I did not think we would get the reduction as generally its just not what happens here! You pay your price and thats just it. It isn't the done thing. These boards are full of Americans talking about price drops and its just expected that you would get it automatically. Perhaps if we expected more to get the price drop, then maybe we would get it! Us Brits are guilty of just accepting things.... well frankly like a Brit!

[sasmisjas]

How come Americans can get a price reduction on a booked cruise but us Brits cannot?

 

Val

Tell me about it! Booked a cruise last Wednesday solo cruiser in twin cabin. Paid £769 then Friday the price dropped to under £500. Nothing I could do about it. I asked about adding my granddaughter and daughter to the cabin.It would cost £549 each. I could book another cabin for them at £398 each. Work that one out!:rolleyes:

[Ethel5]

I suspect that we generally do get ripped off! I think I have just been very lucky in the deal we got. I did not think we would get the reduction as generally its just not what happens here! You pay your price and thats just it. It isn't the done thing. These boards are full of Americans talking about price drops and its just expected that you would get it automatically. Perhaps if we expected more to get the price drop, then maybe we would get it! Us Brits are guilty of just accepting things.... well frankly like a Brit!

 

Since I'm not a Brit and I can only book in the US, I can't support a good solid argument. However we have made friends with a number of Brits on past cruises and when asked, it appears that their cruise included charter flights and transfers provided by Princess. So, when you nickel and dime it out, you are not really paying more. I usually go on two cruises a year of over 10 nights and I haven't been given a price drop in years. In fact, I was on the same cruise as my sister and her hubby. They got a substantial price cut and I didn't. Why? It was due to the category they had booked.

[windsor26]

It may also be to do with the fact that like Uk Australians' deposit is non refundable - they have to claim on their insurance which is why we get travel insurance immediately we book not wait until final payment time.

[paddingtonbear]

Since I'm not a Brit and I can only book in the US, I can't support a good solid argument. However we have made friends with a number of Brits on past cruises and when asked, it appears that their cruise included charter flights and transfers provided by Princess. So, when you nickel and dime it out, you are not really paying more. I usually go on two cruises a year of over 10 nights and I haven't been given a price drop in years. In fact, I was on the same cruise as my sister and her hubby. They got a substantial price cut and I didn't. Why? It was due to the category they had booked.

 

I think you also have to follow the prices and ask for the reduction. Although there are restrictions on some of the offers.

 

In Australia (if dealing through the Princess website) the cruise price stays the same from the time the cruise is listed until the cruise sails. Which can be more than $800 AUD more pp than the normal fare US people pay (not including flash sales). Sometimes it even goes up!! It never goes down.

[paddingtonbear]

It may also be to do with the fact that like Uk Australians' deposit is non refundable - they have to claim on their insurance which is why we get travel insurance immediately we book not wait until final payment time.

 

If you book through Princess in Australia the deposit is fully refundable up until a month (or so) before you cruise.

[Feebarn]

Since I'm not a Brit and I can only book in the US, I can't support a good solid argument. However we have made friends with a number of Brits on past cruises and when asked, it appears that their cruise included charter flights and transfers provided by Princess. So, when you nickel and dime it out, you are not really paying more. I usually go on two cruises a year of over 10 nights and I haven't been given a price drop in years. In fact, I was on the same cruise as my sister and her hubby. They got a substantial price cut and I didn't. Why? It was due to the category they had booked.

 

Those prices I quoted did not include air fare. I used to be able to compare the prices of US and UK prices, but can't now. In the past the prices in the US generally were an awful lot less than they are in the UK. It is true that our deposit is non refundable. Its pleasing that we seem to be coming more into line. Lets face it, we SHOULD all be paying the same for the same product!