Questions about booking

[go4ak]

I am looking to take a cruise September 5th of 2015 (to Alaska) and want an inside cabin. There's no incentive to book now (no deals or OBC, etc) so I think I can wait and just keep checking back.

 

I just finish a cruise and received the "just for you" email. It gives me a deposit of $100.00 but no OBC. This was my first cruise.

 

What is the "normal" down payment amount?

 

Could you help me understand some things about a "saved" cruise?

Why do you save a cruise? Is it so you can watch for a price drop then book it? If you have a saved cruise and decide to book it is it still considered a new booking?

 

 

Also - what do the different categories mean IB, BA, etc. and where can I find the definitions?

 

Thanks

Edited June 15, 2014 by go4ak
didn't finish typing :-(

[geoherb]

I never bother to save cruises. The Princess website remembers that last few cruises I looked at. I can do a new search when the one I want to check out isn't in that list.

 

I just booked our August cruise today. I started looking at prices in early May. Two of the cruises I was interested in are not available--or at least not in my price category. One has only suites showing up as available.

[peety3]

Also - what do the different categories mean IB, BA, etc. and where can I find the definitions?

 

Simple "answer": go online and browse different cabin categories. You'll find that the first letter indicates type, second letter indicates price block essentially.

[JF - retired RRT]

I am looking to take a cruise September 5th of 2015 (to Alaska) and want an inside cabin. There's no incentive to book now (no deals or OBC, etc) so I think I can wait and just keep checking back.

 

I just finish a cruise and received the "just for you" email. It gives me a deposit of $100.00 but no OBC.

 

What is the "normal" down payment amount? "Normal" down payment is a % of the price of the cruise.

 

Could you help me understand some things about a "saved" cruise?

Why do you save a cruise? Is it so you can watch for a price drop then book it? If you have a saved cruise and decide to book it is it still considered a new booking? The best way to follow cruise prices is to find a website that will track it for you.

 

Thanks

See above:)

[Working 2 Cruise]

I am looking to take a cruise September 5th of 2015 (to Alaska) and want an inside cabin. There's no incentive to book now (no deals or OBC, etc) so I think I can wait and just keep checking back.

 

I just finish a cruise and received the "just for you" email. It gives me a deposit of $100.00 but no OBC. This was my first cruise. Did you buy Future Cruise Credit?

 

What is the "normal" down payment amount?

 

Could you help me understand some things about a "saved" cruise?

Why do you save a cruise? Is it so you can watch for a price drop then book it? If you have a saved cruise and decide to book it is it still considered a new booking?

 

 

Also - what do the different categories mean IB, BA, etc. and where can I find the definitions?

 

Thanks

 

Getting OBC is not that easy!

There are several ways to get some however. Buying onboard future cruise deposits will get you some depending on the length of the cruise and the cabin type, the other is buying 100 shares of Carnival stock. Are you or your traveling companion military or veterans? If you are and have your papers, you can get some. Also, some travel agents will give some OBC with some of their promotions...

Edited June 16, 2014 by Working 2 Cruise

[caribill]

I am looking to take a cruise September 5th of 2015 (to Alaska) and want an inside cabin. There's no incentive to book now (no deals or OBC, etc) so I think I can wait and just keep checking back.

 

I just finish a cruise and received the "just for you" email. It gives me a deposit of $100.00 but no OBC. This was my first cruise.

 

What is the "normal" down payment amount? Usually 15% of the fare.

 

Could you help me understand some things about a "saved" cruise?

Why do you save a cruise? Is it so you can watch for a price drop then book it? If you have a saved cruise and decide to book it is it still considered a new booking? Still a new booking. Saved just means it is quicker to find again.

 

 

Also - what do the different categories mean IB, BA, etc. and where can I find the definitions? In most cases, it is strictly location of the cabin. The first letter says if inside, oceanview, balcony, mini-suite or full suite (I,O,B,M,S). The closer to the start of the alphabet (IA vs IF), the better the location in Princess' opinion, but passengers may have different ideas of what is better. For balconies and mini-suites where the 2nd character is a number (example B1), it means a deluxe cabin. Full suites always have a number as the second character (example S2).

 

Thanks

 

see above in red

[cdngrl]

i save cruises on princess' website all the time. it makes it easy to go in and check prices. it also reminds me which cruises I found interesting.

 

I torture myself having my current booking show up as well so I can see the prices new bookings are getting that I am not. :p

[skynight]

I am looking to take a cruise September 5th of 2015 (to Alaska) and want an inside cabin. There's no incentive to book now (no deals or OBC, etc) so I think I can wait and just keep checking back.

I just finish a cruise and received the "just for you" email. It gives me a deposit of $100.00 but no OBC. This was my first cruise.

What is the "normal" down payment amount?

Also - what do the different categories mean IB, BA, etc. and where can I find the definitions?

Thanks

 

I don't see any Princess Cruises that sail Alaska on Sept 5th, there are ones around that date. The standard deposit is a percentage of the fare. I think it may be 15%. But, for a September 6th sailing full payment would be due 75 days prior to sailing which is June 23rd. So the $100 deposit really has no advantage for an early Sept. cruise. Save it for the future.

 

While Princess may not be offering any OBC for Alaska at this time, travel agents may still have some promos. Shop around.

 

Inside cabins. The difference between IA, IB, IC ... is location on the ship. "I" means inside, and "A" is what Princess believes is the better location. Examine the deck plans. Just be careful not to select a cabin that is adjacent to the elevator shafts, you will hear them all night. There is a chance that you may be upgraded from what you select to a higher category inside or maybe even an outside. Princess tends to do this for newer customers as a marketing tool, but only the digital world knows the real selection process.

[denmarks]

Normal down payment is 10%. Look closely at the rules with the $100 deposit and OBC. It is sometimes non refundable.

 

I always book early since you have a better chance of free upgrades. I went from an inside to a balcony with 3 upgrades for my October cruise.

 

Once on a cruise you can buy a future cruise credit for $100. That becomes the deposit on your next cruise and you also get OBC.

[A1A]

Not to ruffle the feathers of the Princess loyalists, but have you looked at other lines that may be comparable? Celebrity will give you a 50% deposit discount and give you either a free drink package, free gratudies or a $200 OBC. Get a good TA and get even more OBC. Not sure on how prices compare but other lines offer different deals. Worth checking out in my opinion.

Ken

[gdisney]

I see reduced deposits of $100 all the time from my TA, and from other sources. To me, that's not much of a perk; it just means you have more to pay off later ;)

[geoherb]

I don't see any Princess Cruises that sail Alaska on Sept 5th, there are ones around that date. The standard deposit is a percentage of the fare. I think it may be 15%. But, for a September 6th sailing full payment would be due 75 days prior to sailing which is June 23rd. So the $100 deposit really has no advantage for an early Sept. cruise. Save it for the future.

The OP was asking about a cruise next year.

[Putterdude]

Since the OP is in no rush, I would wait until about this time next year before booking. There are far to many berths heading to Alaska as the lines play "me to". Living in the greater Vancouver area I watch the market pretty closely and invariably about now there is a huge dump of cabins at ridiculously low prices...right now there are insides in the $500 range for September this year and I doubt that there will be much upward pressure on rates next year. The downside is of course you are not likely going to get you choice of cabins on the date you care to sail.

[Pam in CA]

Not to ruffle the feathers of the Princess loyalists, but have you looked at other lines that may be comparable? Celebrity will give you a 50% deposit discount and give you either a free drink package, free gratudies or a $200 OBC. Get a good TA and get even more OBC. Not sure on how prices compare but other lines offer different deals. Worth checking out in my opinion.

 

Ken

Not ruffled feathers but a new cruiser should be made aware that Celebrity (and Royal Caribbean) have violated Alaska's environmental laws so they do not have permission to sail in Glacier Bay and other highly attractive Alaskan sites. Plus Celebrity does not allow TAs to discount fares. Princess does. Edited June 16, 2014 by Pam in CA