Upgrading at Princess

[zidanefan]

I booked an oceanview room for my second princess cruise about 6 days ago online. I checked today, and they now offer a $100 OBC per person for the same room. If I upgrade my room to a balcony, will I get the OBC? I wouldn't mind paying the extra money for the balcony if I can get the credit. Any thoughts/ideas on to go about this? What would the account manager say?

[Nancyquilts]

Ask your TA to find out for you.:D

[Loonbeam]

It depends on the terms of the original booking. If you can cancel your current without penalty AND the new offer is not for new bookings only you generally can.

 

Your TA should know.

[Pam in CA]

As said, check with your travel agent. There are all kinds of promotions and sometimes it's a reduced fare and you can get that and keep your OBC; other times, you'd lose your OBC; and other times, you'd have to cancel and rebook. There are times when you will not be eligible at all. So, it all depends and without looking at your booking and the promotion or terms you booked under, there's no way to tell or give an answer.

[paul929207]

You would need to read and understand all the fine print. Easiest to ask your TA or Princess.

 

Also,, you say they are now offer $100 OBC per person for your cabin (category?). Do you get this OBC or is it just for new bookings.

[zidanefan]

Unfortunately, I booked online at Princess and not through a TA. I do have a princess rep that I can call - I just wouldn't know what to say to her or how to ask her (this cruising is all new to me!).

Paul, as far as the OBC, it is $100 per person for the oceanview cabins. I have not received this credit, I just saw it when I went on the website today and searched for the cruise I am taking (the credit is now under the price of the cabin categories.)

 

For the future, would a TA be able to get better pricing that booking directly through Princess? Also, besides price, I guess a TA knows more fine print than I do and deals with this kind of stuff all the time.....

[AZbeachboy]

Normally you cannot get better princing with a TA. The main difference in using a TA is they do all the work. However, you lose all control over the booking. Princess will not even talk to you about the booking. Everything must go through the TA. Some like it and some do not. It just depends on you.

 

You said your booking is through Princess. Just give them a call and say the same thing you said on here and they will help you. I have called about changing and they have had other deals that I could get that was better. At other times, like my current booking I am locked in pretty much, If I change I will not only lose my OBC but the free Gratuities. That come to about $250. But when I called Princess will very helpful. The have a good staff there.

Edited December 13, 2014 by AZbeachboy

[paul929207]

Normally you cannot get better princing with a TA. The main difference in using a TA is they do all the work. However, you lose all control over the booking. Princess will not even talk to you about the booking. Everything must go through the TA. Some like it and some do not. It just depends on you.

 

You said your booking is through Princess. Just give them a call and say the same thing you said on here and they will help you. I have called about changing and they have had other deals that I could get that was better. At other times, like my current booking I am locked in pretty much, If I change I will only lose my OBC but the free Gratuities. But when I called Princess will very helpful. The have a good staff there.

I am sorry, but this is just NOT true. I use a TA and get about 15% off the current Princess price plus some OBC.

[paul929207]

Unfortunately, I booked online at Princess and not through a TA. I do have a princess rep that I can call - I just wouldn't know what to say to her or how to ask her (this cruising is all new to me!).

Paul, as far as the OBC, it is $100 per person for the oceanview cabins. I have not received this credit, I just saw it when I went on the website today and searched for the cruise I am taking (the credit is now under the price of the cabin categories.)

 

For the future, would a TA be able to get better pricing that booking directly through Princess? Also, besides price, I guess a TA knows more fine print than I do and deals with this kind of stuff all the time.....

Zidanefan,

 

I would tell the Rep what you have told us. You see that they are now offering OBC on cabins like yours. Further, You are considering upgrading to a balcony. Would the OBC go with the upgrade?

 

An alternative would be to transfer the booking to a discount TA. here you MIGHT get a lower price and other benefits. If you want to go this route, I would find a TA that will give you a good deal then transfer the booking.

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I am sorry, but this is just NOT true. I use a TA and get about 15% off the current Princess price plus some OBC.

 

I agree. I use a TA and get better pricing also.

[AZbeachboy]

I am not trying to argue, however what I stated was my expierence. I have used TA's and never got a better deal that using Princess. Sometimes you can get a good deal using a TA if they have blocked out group of cabins and treat it tour, however, even those cabins have to be returned at some point. That also does not happen on every cruise.

 

I have used and still compare my cruises with one of the largest cruise TA sites. I seldom can beat going directly to Princess. Can it be done? Yes. But it is not consistenly that way.

[zidanefan]

Zidanefan,

 

I would tell the Rep what you have told us. You see that they are now offering OBC on cabins like yours. Further, You are considering upgrading to a balcony. Would the OBC go with the upgrade?

 

An alternative would be to transfer the booking to a discount TA. here you MIGHT get a lower price and other benefits. If you want to go this route, I would find a TA that will give you a good deal then transfer the booking.

 

Paul, thanks for the info - much appreciated. I will contact the rep on Monday. I just think it would be great to get an extra $200+ OBC for my girl and I, considering Princess added this incentive within a week of my booking.

If they can do nothing, I'll PM you if that's ok and see if you know someone that could help.

[godawgs2012]

In regards to the OP's question, I'll share my recent experience. My wife and I have a mini-suite booked on our next cruise. We booked it for x price. I looked about a month ago and the price had dropped $20pp and they were offering $100 OBC per person. I called Princess and they immediately re-fared my booking, dropped the price by $20pp and gave us the $200 OBC.

 

Today, I called Princess because the price had dropped again another $40pp. When I called Princess, they informed me that to get the new price, I would have to forfeit the OBC (which clearly isn't worth it since I'd be losing more OBC than I'd be saving in cash).

 

It all depends on the offer and the fine print of that offer. The first one I took advantage of was combinable with active bookings while the newest offer was not combinable with current bookings and you lose all other perks. All in all, it never hurts to call and ask - you may get it, you may not. It all depends on the fine print.

[zidanefan]

In regards to the OP's question, I'll share my recent experience. My wife and I have a mini-suite booked on our next cruise. We booked it for x price. I looked about a month ago and the price had dropped $20pp and they were offering $100 OBC per person. I called Princess and they immediately re-fared my booking, dropped the price by $20pp and gave us the $200 OBC.

 

Today, I called Princess because the price had dropped again another $40pp. When I called Princess, they informed me that to get the new price, I would have to forfeit the OBC (which clearly isn't worth it since I'd be losing more OBC than I'd be saving in cash).

 

It all depends on the offer and the fine print of that offer. The first one I took advantage of was combinable with active bookings while the newest offer was not combinable with current bookings and you lose all other perks. All in all, it never hurts to call and ask - you may get it, you may not. It all depends on the fine print.

 

Thanks for sharing - I will definitely call Princess now and find out. Considering my original booking didn't have any offers, I'm not worried about losing them!

Would you say in your experience that Princess was more than willing to save you money/help you out, even though it costs them "money" (but increases their client loyalty)?

[paul929207]

I am not trying to argue, however what I stated was my expierence. I have used TA's and never got a better deal that using Princess. Sometimes you can get a good deal using a TA if they have blocked out group of cabins and treat it tour, however, even those cabins have to be returned at some point. That also does not happen on every cruise.

 

I have used and still compare my cruises with one of the largest cruise TA sites. I seldom can beat going directly to Princess. Can it be done? Yes. But it is not consistenly that way.

No TA is obligated to offer a discount. Some do. I searched long and hard to find the one I use. Many claimed to be discount, but had the same price as Princess with little or no extras.

[godawgs2012]

Thanks for sharing - I will definitely call Princess now and find out. Considering my original booking didn't have any offers, I'm not worried about losing them!

Would you say in your experience that Princess was more than willing to save you money/help you out, even though it costs them "money" (but increases their client loyalty)?

 

I've never had an issue. I have always found them to be helpful.

[bhopal21]

Normally you cannot get better princing with a TA. .

 

Sorry but that is just not true.

 

I booked an Alaskan 10 day RT SFO cruise yesterday and saved a little over $1100 from the Princess price by using a TA.

 

And we got $100 OBC from the TA as well as a free dinner in one of the specialty restaurants anytime during our cruise.

 

We've never had a cruise that we didn't save 11-15% or more using a TA, not one.

 

Mike:)

Edited December 14, 2014 by bhopal21

[caribill]

I will contact the rep on Monday.

 

You can call on Sunday unless you want to only deal with a specific rep who is not working that day. Any phone rep can help you.

[ontheweb]

Normally you cannot get better princing with a TA. The main difference in using a TA is they do all the work. However, you lose all control over the booking. Princess will not even talk to you about the booking. Everything must go through the TA. Some like it and some do not. It just depends on you.

 

Princess is one of the few, if not the only remaining cruise line, that allows travel agents to discount.

 

We booked the Ocean Princess through our regular TA for a cruise last summer in the British Isles. I was able to speak with representatives at Princess. (I had physically lost the credit card that I had put down in my cruise information. They informed me that I should change it, but could not do it on the personalizer. They would have to do it for me. I also had some questions about excursions, which they answered. At one point, I even got contradictory information from different Princess reps, and ended up calling our TA who called Princess and we had a 3 way conversation. When there was a price drop, I did go through our TA. I'm not sure if Princess would have done this, or told me to call our TA.)

[minniem]

I have never had a problem with Princess rebooking my fare. I booked through a Princess Vacation Planner and he rebooked me four times. Each time a new offer was posted I would call him and he would explain what I might gain and what i might lose if I rebooked. The last offer we gave up the free bottle of champagne but the fare went down $20 and we were given $100 in on board credit. As previous posters have said, call, you have nothing to lose by calling.

Minnie

[islandatsea]

We booked a cruise via Princess on December 10th for the Panama Canal. The next day I checked on the Princess web site to see if anything had changed for our cruise and saw that a $100 OBC per person was now being offered. I called Princess & asked if there was anything they could do about giving us the OBC. The rep at Princess looked into it & said he could by refaring the booking. Everything else stayed the same but we each got the additional $100.

[zidanefan]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I called Princess just now and was seamlessly upgraded to a balcony with all the current pricing and new OBC promotions. Very easy. It made me wonder - do people book their cruises a year or two in advance to get the exact room that they want, and then keep "re-faring" it as the price drops and the promotions get better?

Would a Travel Agent keep on top of this for a client?

[caribill]

It made me wonder - do people book their cruises a year or two in advance to get the exact room that they want, and then keep "re-faring" it as the price drops and the promotions get better?" Some people do this, some do not realize it is possible and do not do this. That is why Princess does not apply savings automatically. Every passenger who does not take advantage of eligible price drops means more income to Princess.

 

 

Would a Travel Agent keep on top of this for a client? Most travel agents have too many clients to do this. Some posters have said their TAs do check for this.

 

 

Please see my comments in red.

[ontheweb]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I called Princess just now and was seamlessly upgraded to a balcony with all the current pricing and new OBC promotions. Very easy. It made me wonder - do people book their cruises a year or two in advance to get the exact room that they want, and then keep "re-faring" it as the price drops and the promotions get better?

Would a Travel Agent keep on top of this for a client?

 

I have been on roll calls where someone posts about a price drop. If I see this, I call my TA and he checks for us. If there is a price drop in our category, he gets it for us.

[AZbeachboy]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I called Princess just now and was seamlessly upgraded to a balcony with all the current pricing and new OBC promotions. Very easy. It made me wonder - do people book their cruises a year or two in advance to get the exact room that they want, and then keep "re-faring" it as the price drops and the promotions get better?

Would a Travel Agent keep on top of this for a client?

 

I have been with two TA's out of the 14 cruises I have been on. One had the software and would do it, however they would not rebook unless their was atleast $100 in savings. The other I keep researching and would call them and tell them of a price change.

 

I do not use a TA any longer. I call Princess every week or every other week and ask what specials they are running. But even if the price drops you have to look at the total package including OBC and gratuities.