Beware Princess Deceptive Pricing schemes

[kruisey]

Sorry you did not understand the offer you took. An upgrade to a higher category usually means the same type cabin (balcony in your case), but in a "better" location. Not everyone agrees with Princess's judgement on this. It is rare to get an upgrade to a higher type cabin (mini-suite in your case).

 

I don't know how you booked, but if it was with a person they should have made this clear to you.

 

I am so ignorant:eek:.I have never taken up the offer but I can see were someone might think' higher category" would mean say an inside to an obstructed view.

Suppose one always has to remember to read the small print.A learning lesson for me too :cool:

Edited March 15, 2015 by kruisey

[johnmik1]

Princess "Small Ships" are priced similar to Crystal fares, and many times you end up paying more on Princess after they they nickle and dime you.

 

I can't imagine why you would lower yourself to the Princess experience when you obviously prefer Crystal.

[lovevacadays]

Oh goodness!! It sound like you might want to cancel and try another Crystal cruise. I have never found Princess' prices to be deceptive. Just like airlines and hotels, cruise line prices can change rapidly. Also, always read the fine print.

[Astro Flyer]

I can't imagine why you would lower yourself to the Princess experience when you obviously prefer Crystal.

 

And how often are the Princess "small ships" priced like Crystal.

 

An Aussie buddy sailed on the Ocean Princess yesterday & paid $90/day/pp. for an obstructed OV guarantee cabin & got a balcony cabin plus a lot of combinable OBC to spend.

 

Who wouldn't want to sail Crystal however the lowest price I've seen in their emails promoting "sales" was about $300/day/pp. That's triple the price of my buddy's Ocean Princess cruise & it would be nearly impossible to be "nickel & dime" $400/day/couple vs. a more all-inclusive Crystal cruise. :eek:

[NH Cruisers]

I just read the entire thread. I agree that folks must read the fine print and know what the deals are. Princess pricing is not that much different from any of the other lines I have sailed. Amoung them HAL, Carnival, Royal Carribean, NCL, Celebrity and Princess. I liked 'em all.

Why would Princess being owned by Carnival Corp. be a bad thing? Isn't Cunard too? Seabourn? Those have a sort of elite status.

[TomCruises]

We have booked a cruise on Princess for this July; we have not sailed on Princess in years and our last cruises have been on Crystal (a class act!). But we chose this Princess cruise due to the itinerary. Princess advertised a "1-2-3" promotion with one perk being a cabin upgrade. We booked a balcony and that cabin is what we were given, but maybe in "better location" but big deal ! Our friends book an Interior and are wait listed for a Balcony, the Balcony clears and they are then upgraded to a Balcony ! We should have booked Interior !

To top things off, Princess has added the exact same cruise 2 weeks later and are charging $1,100 less per cabin (weather not a factor in pricing).

I must say whoever handles Princess pricing strategy needs to take some lessons from Crystal Cruises and stop making customers feel like they were "played".

Oh I forgot, Princess is now owned by that classy outfit Carnival Cruise Lines (haven't noticed any of their ships dead in the water lately !).

 

Comparing Crystal with Princess is like comparing Rolls Royce with Toyota! You seem to prefer Crystal so maybe they can provide that itinerary your looking for because you may have found your itinerary with Princess, however, by the sounds of it, you won't be happy!:eek:

[PescadoAmarillo]

You booked a cruise, presumably at a price you liked for a cabin you liked and now complain because someone got something better.

Very accurate, yet succinct.

[jagsfan]

We're much better off when we don't know what our table mates on a cruise or the guy sitting next to us on our flight or even somebody on a train with us paid. It's up to each of us to decide if the price suits us, so no point in whining about it after the fact.

[pablo222]

We have booked a cruise on Princess for this July;

 

So, you should be way outside final payment.

 

Do not let princess treat you this way.

 

Vote with your wallet and cancel!

[Shelly97060]

We have booked a cruise on Princess for this July;

we chose this Princess cruise due to the itinerary. Princess advertised a "1-2-3" promotion with one perk being a cabin upgrade. We booked a balcony and that cabin is what we were given, but maybe in "better location" but big deal!

 

To top things off, Princess has added the exact same cruise 2 weeks later and are charging $1,100 less per cabin (weather not a factor in pricing).!).

 

 

Since you haven't made final payment you can cancel or if you have found a better price you may be able to get the lower price ( we always have been able to get reduced price before final payment but it could depend on who you booked with).

 

As for the 1-2-3 promo - the upgrade for the promo ( as I remember it) is within the category so it sounds like you got what was promised.

 

Lastly, sometimes different weeks for the same itinerary cost more ( generally supply and demand is what is at play). If you prefer the pricing a couple weeks later and you are flexible on when you can cancel and rebook for the week you prefer...I understand you may be frustrated but none of what you are describing sounds like deceptive pricing.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I understand you're frustrated, but I'm so puzzled because it's not final payment time yet, so you could cancel the current cruise and re-book to the later cruise with the better price! If your friends cleared the waitlist, they would have to pay for the balcony, not get a free upgrade. Did they clear the waitlist and pay, or did Princess give them a free upgrade? The free upgrades are just the luck of the draw. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a fabulous cruise! Memories are priceless!

[notentirelynormal]

I'm trying to figure out what all the nickle and diming is. Does she mean because everything isn't all inclusive you have to pay for what you want? Except for the first day when they are selling drink packages I don't remember heavy selling. Sure, there is the pay restaurant, paying for alcohol etc.... maybe that's what she means.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm trying to figure out what all the nickle and diming is. Does she mean because everything isn't all inclusive you have to pay for what you want? Except for the first day when they are selling drink packages I don't remember heavy selling. Sure, there is the pay restaurant, paying for alcohol etc.... maybe that's what she means.

 

I was wondering too. Some more premium lines include airfare, drinks, shore excursions or some of those. But not everyone needs to fly to their port of embarkation, not everyone partakes in drinking alcohol, not everyone is interested in excursions. But for someone who wants a more inclusive, that's a good option for them.

[W5KAP]

EVERY cruise line, hotel, resort, airlines, etc. offers different pricing on different dates. It's all based on supply and demand. A week or two can make a very big difference.

 

Pam speaks the truth. Prices vary during the period before your cruise. Did you call your TA and ask for a price reduction? Every cruise we have been on we keep an eye on the prices and call out TA for a reduction when one occurs. It just happened again on our up-coming HAL Trans-Atlantic. The price dropped almost $1400. Now in fairness we had been given the free beverage package worth $2600 which we now lose. Fine by us as there is no way we could or would ever drink that much. We also lost $50 worth of Cabin credit but that's minor compared to the savings. Bottom line is the price changes a lot due to reasons everyone has mentioned already. Keep and eye on it and sometimes you can snare some great reductions.

 

And by the way, we love Princess but are trying HAL on this cruise.

 

Cheers, Kenn

[BlessedAZWife]

I LOVE reading all of the wonderful comments on here!!

On our last cruise, we booked months in advance and I wanted to choose our cabin. I selected the cabin that we felt would best suit our needs, wants and desires. 2 weeks prior to sailing, I checked the fares and went bananas because the fares had gone down significantly and the cabin right next to ours was $400 less!! Final payment had been made, so no options! Then I thought about it, and realized that when I booked, I was thrilled and felt that we had gotten a great price. I was also pleased that I had gotten the cabin that we wanted. So, I realized that we are pretty lucky to even be able to cruise, let alone be able to do it on a regular basis! Instead of comparing what everybody else gets or got, I am simply overjoyed to be able to cruise and

I do not understand people who can find a gripe about every single little thing! Holy cow people!!!! There are people who don't have a roof over their heads or know where their next meal is coming from, and people on here are complaining because "Princess Cays isn't quite as nice as Half Moon Cays". PLEASE!!!

[DBSDSS]

Hope to clarify at least the issue about the cheaper fares on the subsequent cruise.

 

Believe the Op is on the 4Jul15 Iceland cruise. So are we ( myself and DW),and nine of our friends. Originally there was only one such cruise, our group booked this tour because we liked the itinerary.

 

Months after we booked the cruise, Princess changed the itinerary of the following cruise from a Baltic cruise to essentially the same cruise as the 4Jul15 cruise, one port different. Presumably Princess was having difficulty selling the Baltic cruise, but not the Iceland cruise. - the first cruise was almost sold out.

 

Since they added the new itinerary just a couple of months ago, they discounted the rates, yes by up to a $1,000 pp, to sell the ship. We considered changing to the latter cruise, but it wasn't worth trying to coordinate everyone's schedule, including changing air tickets.

 

We had our TA check with Princess to see if they would give us the cheaper rates. They said no, but we could switch to the following cruise if we wanted to. Now wearing my shareholder hat, I understand why they didn't give us the cheaper fares, our cruise was basically sold out so there was no reason to discount it. When we originally booked our cruise, the fares were relatively high, but we knew that and booked the cruise, so we really don't have anything to complain about.

 

Hope this helps at least part of the discussion.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I have never found Princess' prices to be deceptive. Just like airlines and hotels, cruise line prices can change rapidly. Also, always read the fine print.

 

I learned long ago that there will generally be someone who pays less (and more) than I for a seat/cabin/room. I thought I had a great deal on a cruise once for $50 per person/per day for a balcony cabin, until someone I met on the same cruise told me she got her cabin FREE through a casino deal.

 

For every cruise I have taken that has had a fare drop after final, there has been another one that sold out before final or had a fare increase from what I paid. Book when you think the price is right, and try not to worry about what others paid :).

[peety3]

I don't think Princess deceived you.

 

Regardless, please cancel your cruise and go elsewhere. The more of you who do that will open up new vacancies on Princess, and my cruise prices will go down due to more supply and less demand. I'd like that very much, thank you. I'd also like to not cruise with you if you think you were deceived by this...I can't imagine what else you won't be satisfied with onboard.

[Loonbeam]

There is a difference between complex and deceptive. Princess spells out all the rules (admittedly in some fine print) and its up to you and your TA to understand what they are.

 

There's no deception here. It's just the way the industry works.

[CAZephyr]

Wow. Feel your pain. You came to the realization that a better deal was gained by your travel companions. They are truly fortunate if they got a free upgrade; even an upsell this early is big. You can ask for better pricing if you can be watchful and the opportunity arises. Cancelling probably not an option if you friends book to go with you.

 

On one of our cruises, a fellow and his wife sat next to us at a bar on embarkation day. Conversation drifted (get it) to cabin location/type. They were very happy and proud to have gotten their deal. The man revealed the cost for their cabin, and unfortunately asked what we paid for our cabin which was in a higher category, same deck. His face became long, drawn, and pale when I disclosed that we paid >300 less on a late minute booking deal. They avoided us for the rest of the trip. Hope they enjoyed the cruise anyway.

 

You win some, you lose some. I've refrained from asking what deal others got on a cruise, flight, hotel, etc. Timing, timing, timing. Every travel industry has on/off season; early booking benefits; late booking benefits. Just have to be mindful; get the best deal for what you want; and, not look back.

 

I know you are happy for your friends. Right?

[Skai]

OP, as others have politely suggested in this thread....Perhaps you ought to just cancel your booking, as you've obviously set yourself up to be expecting disappointment.

 

A la carte cruising(or nickle and diming) may be more offputting to some versus others.

[shredie]

 

I know you are happy for your friends. Right?

 

Do you get that impression? ;):p:rolleyes:

[capriccio]

On one of our cruises, a fellow and his wife sat next to us at a bar on embarkation day. Conversation drifted (get it) to cabin location/type. They were very happy and proud to have gotten their deal. The man revealed the cost for their cabin, and unfortunately asked what we paid for our cabin which was in a higher category, same deck. His face became long, drawn, and pale when I disclosed that we paid >300 less on a late minute booking deal. They avoided us for the rest of the trip. Hope they enjoyed the cruise anyway.

 

/quote]

 

And this is why 'fare paid' is one of my three no-no discussion items on a cruise (along with politics and religion)! :D

[Griller]

After 50 plus cruises on Princess I still quite like it, but had an opposite experience recently - wanted to book a Transatlantic on Princess this spring but it was just way too high priced, I waited and waited but the cost didn't go down.

So I booked another line at less than half the cost, but NOW eventually and at last Princess have slashed their Transatlantics, even on the new ships at firesale prices.

 

So I am annoyed at myself for not having the confidence to wait until the very last minute, and at Princess for pricing way too high in the beginning, not getting many bookings, and having to fill nearly empty ships at lossmaking prices.

And I'm annoyed as a stockholder that Princess got it so wrong, they don't seem to learn from one year to the next.

 

Anyway I got a good deal, inc all drinks, on another line, at way less than Princess would have charged just for the drinks.$468 for a 14 day solo interior inc booze, specialist coffees, sodas etc. Just couldn't turn it down. if I'd waited it would have been sold out.

But I'd still prefer to be on a Princess ship.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Griller

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...$468 for a 14 day solo interior inc booze, specialist coffees, sodas etc. Just couldn't turn it down. if I'd waited it would have been sold out...

 

Wow--I paid more than that for my recent 4-nighter!