Does Princess lower prices after final payment?

[DonRobertoSanJuan]

I have seen it with Royal and Celebrity, but does Princess put up a big sale with lower prices after final payment date, when they have a lot of cabins available?

[Thrak]

That is quite often the case. People who are able to cruise at very short notice (and who don't really care about cabin type or location) can often pick up some very sweet deals. I'm hoping to be able to do that when I finally retire. :)

[Astro Flyer]

Yes, just like other cruise lines Princess offers sales after final payment & they're dependent upon "supply & demand". My recent experiences have been that post final payment sales were less frequent & instead received more upsell offers so Princess could generate additional income instead of lowering prices or to give free upgrades.

 

There are so many variables & others will have different experiences but this has been my recent experience.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[paul929207]

It all depends on how the cruise is selling

[shepp]

Not in my personal experience. Yes, I tend to shop for bargains and book insides, but I don't think I ever booked a cruise, then checked post-final-payment and thought, "Wow, fare went down. I should try and get an OBC or something." Recent experiences: Canal cruise became dirt cheap right before final, then the fare increased by 40%, then sold out. Mexico cruise went up slightly before final, stayed that way, then sold out. Japan cruise in July is completely sold out, though cabins may well become available after final.

 

I do get last-minute offers, and if I were in FLL, might jump on them. Cruises from SFO usually sell out, anyway. And if there were a cruise I was really interested in, I would never delay booking until after final simply because I assumed the fare would go down.

[Pam in CA]

It all depends on how the cruise is selling

Exactly. Supply and demand.

 

Princess seems to be going the route of offering upsells rather than lowering prices. By getting passengers to pay a bit more for a higher cabin type, they free up the cheaper cabins that they then re-sell. Follow the money.

 

Unlike RCCL and Celebrity, Princess allows TAs to discount prices so depending on the cruise, cabin category and when you book, you can save 10-20%, usually paying less than any post-final payment price reduction.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Pam in CA

[geoherb]

I tracked prices of several cruises for New Year's on Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess. The biggest sales after the final payment date seemed to be on HAL ships. Princess had a few good price reductions, depending on what level of cabin you wanted, and Celebrity had the fewest price reductions.

 

We ended up going on the Caribbean Princess in balcony cabins for $700 less per person than it would have cost if I had booked in August.

 

I was watching prices for DH's spring break next month. My mother's recent hospital stay made me reluctant to book, so we decided not to go. It's also apparently a popular week. The Emerald is sold out. The Regal doesn't have any inside cabins left. The prices on balcony cabins and mini suites have come down a little bit since I started looking.

[partybarbie]

My aunt and I use a high volume TA out of Sacramento. She recently told us if Princess drops the price after final payment, as long as the new price doesn't say that it's for new booking only, she could get us the cheaper price. My aunt put her to the test with her 10-day Mex Riv cruise, out of SF, this coming April. Her balcony cabin dropped $200.00 per person and the TA was able to re-book it at the lower price. My aunt lost her pre-paid gratuities and some obc, but she still saved $120.00 on the cabin.

[AZbeachboy]

Our upcoming Mexican Rivera Trip has continuously gone up. It went down just before final payment, but to change I would have lost my OBC and free grats, so it did not make sense. Then the prices soared and never came back down. They sold out of OV and Inside and started upsales. Last count ther are about 90 cabins left, bue enough people took the upsale that it reopened the other cabins. But the prices went up from what they were. Maybe the last week they will go down again.