"Standby" Program

[toberman]

Just received a promo from Princess for a 'Standby' program that they're offering. Called Princess and they had NO information. Their suggestion was to log into MyPrincess and try to access the prices from there. Tried that.. no luck.

 

My question is.. Has anyone actually used this promotion? "Standby" kind of means... come and see if we have room for you.

That's not possible for the cruise line, as well as.... people cannot fly to the port 'hoping' they'll get on the ship (which is what happens at the airport for 'standby' people.)

 

Absouletly Great prices for what they are offering... All for March or April, but ?????

[Shogun]

Hi Toberman

 

Have seen similar in UK out of Southampton,

 

how it worked was you signed up to get the offers

 

you were e mailed or phoned

 

often these offers were for cruises leaving within 48 hrs

 

it was a large TA that was doing the clearing,

 

amazing prices, but such short notice

 

may be your stand by will work the same way

 

yours Shogun

[billco]

I got the Standby promo in an e-mail today. I clicked on the date next to the cruise, which took me right to the Princess website. The prices are the same on the Princess website as they are in that promo.

 

Do a search on the Princess website for any of the cruises listed in that promo. They will be the same.

 

I believe this is different than the Princess Standby program where somebody might call you up a few days before a cruise and offer a big discount. Never happened to me, but I have often run into people who live near Fort Lauderdale who were able to take advantage of short notice great deals.

[toberman]

Hi Toberman

 

Have seen similar in UK out of Southampton,

 

how it worked was you signed up to get the offers

 

you were e mailed or phoned

 

often these offers were for cruises leaving within 48 hrs

 

it was a large TA that was doing the clearing,

 

amazing prices, but such short notice

 

may be your stand by will work the same way

 

yours Shogun

 

 

Thanks Steve.... Only used to the idea of going to the airport and requesting 'standby' for any flight earlier than the one we had booked. If?? there are seats avbl.. we get them, if not, we wait for the one we booked.

Don't really know what the cruise line (Princess) means by "Standby".

 

Take Care.

[Times Prince]

Just received a promo from Princess for a 'Standby' program that they're offering. Called Princess and they had NO information. Their suggestion was to log into MyPrincess and try to access the prices from there. Tried that.. no luck.

 

My question is.. Has anyone actually used this promotion? "Standby" kind of means... come and see if we have room for you.

That's not possible for the cruise line, as well as.... people cannot fly to the port 'hoping' they'll get on the ship (which is what happens at the airport for 'standby' people.)

 

Absouletly Great prices for what they are offering... All for March or April, but ?????

We've received emails in the USA from Princess that are "Standby" Deals, and they were a little lower cost than on the Princess web site. If one uses a TA, they must be able to see on their system from Princess that you have been sent the offer in order to quote on it.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I received the same email a few days ago and jumped on it. This is the first time, however, that I saw West Coast cruises listed, which is why I jumped on it!:)

 

The fares were very good for this particular sailing and the following week's too...

[caribill]

It is poor wording by Princess to call them "standby" offers as the offers are really for confirmed bookings on ships that will sail in the next month or two.

 

The e-mail will have something like the following at the bottom: "Reference promo code: UE*, campaign code: PE3MD033 ". Giving that information to the Princess rep should allow him/her to locate the fares you see in the e-mail.

 

Princess used to title these e-mails "Last minute deals" or "Be on vacation in less than two weeks".

[waterbabyfish]

I booked after seeing the stand-by deal they were offering on the emerald, but I booked w/a ta and got it for $50 less than what Princess was offering for the same room. Yea!

[cruisincdns]

We have been signed up for Princess' StandBy Program for over 4 years now and have never received an email or phone call offering any last minute deals. I recently changed the notice period in my StandBy program settings to "less than 1 week" from "1-2 weeks" so maybe this will spawn some action.

 

I understand that while there could be a great deal on a last minute cruise, it is the airfare to the departure port that is the issue. With our "home" port being Vancouver, we are quite limited on last minute deals, but, we have airmiles we can use to fly at the last minute too.

 

Has anyone had success receiving notifications using this StandBy Program?

 

Thanks in advance!

[caribill]

Has anyone had success receiving notifications using this StandBy Program?

 

 

We do receive them.

 

For example, one that arrived 8/29 offered among others:

 

October 7 & 21 3-day west coast getaway on the Golden Princess

September 22 7-day Wine Country Coastal on the Star Princess

September 29 7-day California Coastal on the Star Princess

September 21, 28, Oct.5 7 Day Canada and New England on the Caribbean Princess

October 6 and 26 15 Day Hawaiian Islands on the Grand and the Star

and others

 

The earliest of these was almost 4 weeks out, so maybe you need to adjust your settings to a longer time period. Also, with 4 weeks or longer away, you have a better chance of a decent airfare.

 

By the way, you are more likely to receive the E-mails if you do not have any current bookings on Princess.

[earljr]

We do receive them.

 

For example, one that arrived 8/29 offered among others:

By the way, you are more likely to receive the E-mails if you do not have any current bookings on Princess.

 

I am getting an average of 1-2 per week

I have no bookings on Princess

[cruisequeen4ever]

It's nice to hear some actually get these deals because like the OP, we've sadly been signed up for years (I think about 8!) and never received a standby offer! We live within 100 miles of a port.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I get these Standby emails frequently too. I don't think they are what most people think of when they hear 'standby', which to me means, 'we'll put you on a list and if someone cancels and you're next on the list, we'll call'.

 

They seem to always be for cruises that are leaving in the next month or two--short notice cruises, more than standby. Prices seem very good, but of course you have to be able to go at fairly short notice and arrange air, if needed.

 

I don't want to cruise in the summer or fall, so if we ever do one of these it will be in winter or possibly spring.

[Times Prince]

It's nice to hear some actually get these deals because like the OP, we've sadly been signed up for years (I think about 8!) and never received a standby offer! We live within 100 miles of a port.

For some reason there was a long period where my wife would receive offers and I didn't. We now get the same emails, and of course the printed enticements come addressed to us both.

 

You might want to call the Captain's Circle desk at Princess and ask what goes on with your account.

 

I am sure having an open Future Cruise Credit helps, too.

[cr8tiv1]

As far as I know, I am signed up for stand by notices on the West Coast. The box is checked in my account profile. I have never received an offer. Can others use "your" promotion code? Would love to hope on a ship to Hawaii in the next few months.

[pablo222]

It is poor wording by Princess to call them "standby" offers as the offers are really for confirmed bookings on ships that will sail in the next month or two.

 

The purpose of marketing is to get the customers attention.

Worked.