Share the Savings? Simply Not True!!

[mrsbojamp]

This is a copy of the letter that I just sent to Princess.

 

"I am writing to express my disappointment with Princess due to the misleading claims that are posted on the website regarding Share the Savings. On my cruise personalizer page, the website reads: "The fare you have booked qualifies for our "Share the Savings" program. You may invite up to two friends or family members (two staterooms maximum) to join you on your cruise, and they will be offered the same promotional pricing you received. Click "Invite Friend" below to get started! This offer available for a limited time."

 

This statement is apparently a lie. My promotional pricing is $989 pp. My sister's pricing is $1109 pp. How is that the same?? I am being told by Princess reps that the difference is because she has not cruised Princess before. Well, I thought that was the reason for the Share the Savings deal in the first place.

 

Kindly look into this matter and rectify the error. My sister should be entitled to the same promotional pricing. If this is not remedied, please be assured that this will be the first and last time she will cruise Princess. I have always felt that Princess and Royal Caribbean were comparable lines and I have cruised them often as well (I am an Emerald level in their loyalty program). I will happily become loyal to Royal Caribbean if this matter is not settled satisfactorily."

 

Has anyone else had difficulty with this program? I had never heard of it until recently and I was so pleasantly surprised about it. Now, I feel awful now that my cabin is $340 less than my sisters. The whole thing is very misleading.

[Coral]

Misleading - I agree!

 

This a good example of when a good TA can go and fight for you. A TA who books millions with Princess per year has a whole lot more pull than one cruiser.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Yes, I also think it is misleading and you should have spoken with a supervisor. But I really don't think threatening Princess is going to get you anywhere... You just ensured a non response from them by doing that... You could have also contacted Princess through its Facebook page... They are very good at responding that way... But now that you've threatened Princess, the possibility of fixing the problem is very remote.

[pablo222]

Kindly look into this matter and rectify the error. My sister should be entitled to the same promotional pricing. If this is not remedied, please be assured that this will be the first and last time she will cruise Princess.

 

First and last time? Why book the cruise at all?

[Love.II.Cruise]

Are you after final payment? I would cancel.

[Dorset Cruiser]

First and last time? Why book the cruise at all?

 

Presumably because she wanted to cruise with her sister and took advantage of an advertised offer ?

[RickEk]

This is a copy of the letter that I just sent to Princess.

 

"I am writing to express my disappointment with Princess due to the misleading claims that are posted on the website regarding Share the Savings. On my cruise personalizer page, the website reads: "The fare you have booked qualifies for our "Share the Savings" program. You may invite up to two friends or family members (two staterooms maximum) to join you on your cruise, and they will be offered the same promotional pricing you received. Click "Invite Friend" below to get started! This offer available for a limited time."

 

This statement is apparently a lie. My promotional pricing is $989 pp. My sister's pricing is $1109 pp. How is that the same?? I am being told by Princess reps that the difference is because she has not cruised Princess before. Well, I thought that was the reason for the Share the Savings deal in the first place.

 

Kindly look into this matter and rectify the error. My sister should be entitled to the same promotional pricing. If this is not remedied, please be assured that this will be the first and last time she will cruise Princess. I have always felt that Princess and Royal Caribbean were comparable lines and I have cruised them often as well (I am an Emerald level in their loyalty program). I will happily become loyal to Royal Caribbean if this matter is not settled satisfactorily."

 

Has anyone else had difficulty with this program? I had never heard of it until recently and I was so pleasantly surprised about it. Now, I feel awful now that my cabin is $340 less than my sisters. The whole thing is very misleading.

 

It is not misleading. You do not have to be a past Princess cruiser to get the "share the savings". Call back and talk to someone else, escalate to Customer Relations. Maybe your sister booked a different category?

[Mapu]

We just "shared the savings" with two couples. They each booked the same category cabin that we did and each paid the exact same price that we did. In addition, since neither couple had sailed Princess before we referred them and each couple saved an additional $50.

 

You don't always get the right answer when you call the general Princess number. Ask for Customer Relations.

[Whimsy]

Perhaps call back with some kindness and patience and explain the situation to someone at Princess. When we have had pricing issues that didn't make sense I have talked to them, emailed the matter I was referring to while on the phone and they stuck with it till the problem was resolved.

[thinfool]

I am gonna go with the post about a good travel agent. They navigate the doublespeak and confusion on a regular basis. Your lack of experience has you all upset and unable to analyze what has happened.

 

The share promotion certainly works as it is described. I do not remember an exception for 'new cruisers'. If there is one, it is in the fine print on the email that you received. Did you read it all?

 

If it is not there, call Princess and get it straightened out.

 

Next time consider using a travel agent. Better pricing and professional service.

[mrsbojamp]

First and last time? Why book the cruise at all?

 

The cruise has been booked since March. My sister and I are taking our daughters on a trip. It has been planned for quite a while and I don't want to disappoint the family.

 

I did post this out of anger with Princess. I will try to speak with a higher up. I had already spoken with 2 representatives on 2 different days, and I was always polite. I have cruised many times with Princess, but this was the first time I had heard of share the savings.

 

Many of you suggested using a travel agent. My sister did her booking through one, and the TA was given the same response that I got - she's not entitled to all the promotions that I got because I have cruised with Princess before and she hasn't.

[mrsbojamp]

Maybe your sister booked a different category?

 

We are right next to each other mid-aft balcony, Caribe deck.

[Mapu]

The cruise has been booked since March. My sister and I are taking our daughters on a trip. It has been planned for quite a while and I don't want to disappoint the family.

 

I did post this out of anger with Princess. I will try to speak with a higher up. I had already spoken with 2 representatives on 2 different days, and I was always polite. I have cruised many times with Princess, but this was the first time I had heard of share the savings.

 

Many of you suggested using a travel agent. My sister did her booking through one, and the TA was given the same response that I got - she's not entitled to all the promotions that I got because I have cruised with Princess before and she hasn't.

 

The two couples that I "Shared the Savings" with had never cruised with Princess either. Both couples paid exactly what I paid. My husband and I have sailed with Princess many times and are Elite.Captain's Circle members. Share the Savings used to be called Share the Wealth previously. The only explanation that I can think of is that when you booked you might have booked at a past passenger rate which may have been combinable with the Share the Savings rate. Your sister would not get that PA1 promotion.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

misleading??????

[Ren1216]

I just booked a cruise two weeks ago, we are past passengers. At that time, I "Shared The Savings" with two other couples who have never sailed with PCL before. They were indeed given the same rate as me. Perhaps this only applies to new bookings. If you and your sister already had exisiting reservations and THEN tried to apply the promotion, maybe that isnt allowed. That's the only reason I can think of since the offer worked just fine for us.

 

Definitely call and ask again. And if given the same answer (that your sister doesn't qualify for your rate because she's not a past passenger), then ask them to explain the Share The Savings offer. Someone isn't understanding something somewhere along the way.

[pablo222]

The cruise has been booked since March. My sister and I are taking our daughters on a trip. It has been planned for quite a while and I don't want to disappoint the family.

 

If I felt like I was cheated, it would taint the entire cruise for me.

 

I would move my reservation, and my family's reservations to

a different cruise line.

[argenta01]

We are right next to each other mid-aft balcony, Caribe deck.

 

You could have cabins right next door to each other and still be in different price categories. For example, these cabins are right next to each other yet priced differently. C242/246, C243/247, C326/328, C325/327, C502/504, C501/503, C616/618, C617/619. You didn’t mention a ship, but this is an example from the Caribe deck on the Crown.

[Diamondring]

I used a travel agent for our upcoming cruise. Because we have more cruises than our travel companions, their price would have been $500 more than ours. So the TA suggested a switch on paper only, meaning, list the husbands in one room and the wifes in the other, so the prices would be the same. Then once on the ship, go up to the front desk and switch the rooms. Well, as it turned out we were able to use 'Share the Savings' and not play the room name game. A good TA is a great help.

[skynight]

We had a similar experience with this program in 2010. After lots of letters and negative responses from the Customer Service Dept., we wrote a letter including all the actual original copies of the advertising to the California Department of Consumer Affairs in Sacramento showing and proving the false advertising. We sent a copy of the letter with attachments to the Princess Corporate Legal Department. We received a telephone call directly from the Princess Corporate Lawyer indicating we were indeed correct and Princess provided us with compensation.

The lawyer was not happy with Customer Service, and mentioned our case was discussed with the senior execs at their monthly meeting.

 

Even though we continue to cruise on Princess, we have a very low opinion of their home office operations.

[jagoffee]

This is a copy of the letter that I just sent to Princess.

 

"I am writing to express my disappointment with Princess due to the misleading claims that are posted on the website regarding Share the Savings. On my cruise personalizer page, the website reads: "The fare you have booked qualifies for our "Share the Savings" program. You may invite up to two friends or family members (two staterooms maximum) to join you on your cruise, and they will be offered the same promotional pricing you received. Click "Invite Friend" below to get started! This offer available for a limited time."

 

This statement is apparently a lie. My promotional pricing is $989 pp. My sister's pricing is $1109 pp. How is that the same?? I am being told by Princess reps that the difference is because she has not cruised Princess before. Well, I thought that was the reason for the Share the Savings deal in the first place.

 

Kindly look into this matter and rectify the error. My sister should be entitled to the same promotional pricing. If this is not remedied, please be assured that this will be the first and last time she will cruise Princess. I have always felt that Princess and Royal Caribbean were comparable lines and I have cruised them often as well (I am an Emerald level in their loyalty program). I will happily become loyal to Royal Caribbean if this matter is not settled satisfactorily."

 

Has anyone else had difficulty with this program? I had never heard of it until recently and I was so pleasantly surprised about it. Now, I feel awful now that my cabin is $340 less than my sisters. The whole thing is very misleading.

 

In September you posted

 

"Yes, I got a similar reduction. I was thrilled. I was also able to get the same price for my sister by "sharing the saving." I had never done that before. Keep learning new things every day!!"

 

What happened? Did you originally get the same price and then you received additional discounts later than you could not apply to your sister's booking? Or were you just mistaken and your sister never did receive the same price?

 

The $130 difference pp certainly doesn't seem right under a share the savings. Perhaps you had the same price at one time and then you later took advantage of another promotion that could not be combined? That is the only thing that makes sense to me. I currently have a Princess cruise booked when we were paying $100 pp than our friends because of a past Princess discount until the cruise price went down and now we are paying the same because with the lower price there is no past passenger discount.

 

The bottom line is that when you booked and were offered a share the savings I would think it would apply and if not it would be misleading for sure.

 

Good luck.

[mrsbojamp]

In September you posted

 

"Yes, I got a similar reduction. I was thrilled. I was also able to get the same price for my sister by "sharing the saving." I had never done that before. Keep learning new things every day!!"

 

What happened? Did you originally get the same price and then you received additional discounts later than you could not apply to your sister's booking? Or were you just mistaken and your sister never did receive the same price?

 

The $130 difference pp certainly doesn't seem right under a share the savings. Perhaps you had the same price at one time and then you later took advantage of another promotion that could not be combined? That is the only thing that makes sense to me. I currently have a Princess cruise booked when we were paying $100 pp than our friends because of a past Princess discount until the cruise price went down and now we are paying the same because with the lower price there is no past passenger discount.

 

The bottom line is that when you booked and were offered a share the savings I would think it would apply and if not it would be misleading for sure.

 

Good luck.

 

Yes, I did post that. There have been several reductions since August. That was when I first learned about share the savings. So, initially my sister got the same savings that I did. I periodically check on the prices, so about a week ago I found that when I logged on to Princess the price was reduced again. I called and was given the new lower rate without a problem. I then asked about my sister, but the agent told me she wasn't eligible. That's when I suggested to my sister to call her travel agent. The TA was told that my fare was so low because I was a past Princess cruiser. That's when I tried calling Princess again. I have looked everywhere that I can for a statement that puts some restrictions on the share the savings promotion. I can't find anything. I did not respond to any email or snail mail offer - I just logged onto Princess and saw a new fare.

 

I feel bad because I have always been a Princess fan. And I am generally not fond of those people who tend to use these forums to gripe about things. By far, I believe in trying to find the positive in any situation. This one just got the best of me.

[RickEk]

Yes, I did post that. There have been several reductions since August. That was when I first learned about share the savings. So, initially my sister got the same savings that I did. I periodically check on the prices, so about a week ago I found that when I logged on to Princess the price was reduced again. I called and was given the new lower rate without a problem. I then asked about my sister, but the agent told me she wasn't eligible. That's when I suggested to my sister to call her travel agent. The TA was told that my fare was so low because I was a past Princess cruiser. That's when I tried calling Princess again. I have looked everywhere that I can for a statement that puts some restrictions on the share the savings promotion. I can't find anything. I did not respond to any email or snail mail offer - I just logged onto Princess and saw a new fare.

 

I feel bad because I have always been a Princess fan. And I am generally not fond of those people who tend to use these forums to gripe about things. By far, I believe in trying to find the positive in any situation. This one just got the best of me.

 

Ok, so here's what happened. You got a promotion that featured "share the savings" which allowed your sister to share your promotional fare. Then you found a past-passenger promotion that did not have a "share the savings" component that was combinable with your new promotion. Because of that, your sister was not eligible for the new fare. Technically, because you went to a non-share-the-savings promotion, Princess could take away the "share the savings" fare from your sister. They probably won't do that, but she won't be able to share in a promotion for which she is not eligible. Them's the rules... :)

[mrsbojamp]

Ok, so here's what happened. You got a promotion that featured "share the savings" which allowed your sister to share your promotional fare. Then you found a past-passenger promotion that did not have a "share the savings" component that was combinable with your new promotion. Because of that, your sister was not eligible for the new fare. Technically, because you went to a non-share-the-savings promotion, Princess could take away the "share the savings" fare from your sister. They probably won't do that, but she won't be able to share in a promotion for which she is not eligible. Them's the rules... :)

 

Great....could you please show me where those rules are stated? "Share the savings" is still an option when I look at my booking online, so presumably I should be able to share my promotional pricing, if I understand how this goes. I would think that if it was not an option, it would not appear when I logged in.

Edited October 13, 2013 by mrsbojamp

[cruzsnooze]

 

Many of you suggested using a travel agent. My sister did her booking through one, and the TA was given the same response that I got - she's not entitled to all the promotions that I got because I have cruised with Princess before and she hasn't.

 

This is the reason NOT to use a TA. You never know how they handle things or if they are handling things. Nobody would work harder for you then YOU. If you keep control of your booking you can keep talking to Princess and work your way up the chain of command till you're satisfied.

[jagoffee]

Great....could you please show me where those rules are stated? "Share the savings" is still an option when I look at my booking online, so presumably I should be able to share my promotional pricing, if I understand how this goes. I would think that if it was not an option, it would not appear when I logged in.

 

Initially after reading your response I was thinking like RickEK.

 

If you click on the current share the savings link does it show your price? I agree it does seem strange the way you are describing the situation.

 

I would think that it would be a common situation. Have other had a special past passenger discount and been able to share it?