New promotion looks good/not really

[lbfluffy]

I already have the Grand booked for our 10 day Alaska cruise. We booked an inside on the Lido deck because balcony and ocean was A LOT more. Balcony was almost $3000 more. I figured I would check today to see what kind of deal I can get with the new promotion offering free drink package. It is even higher than when I first looked at it. Oh well. I will keep my inside and keep an eye on prices for ocean view and balcony. I have 11 months to keep searching. I love my location and I am fine with my cabin. I have a lot of excursions I want to do which I know will cost a great deal.

[Nan_Sea]

"Sales" have been very disappointing

[lrockwitt]

This sale is not very good for anyone that has booked lower than a balcony.

It went higher to include the drink package

 

 

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[whitecap]

This sale is not very good for anyone that has booked lower than a balcony.

It went higher to include the drink package

 

 

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It certainly isn't for all categories. We had this cruise booked and this morning the fare went down by $120.00 and we got $500.00 in OBC so we made out pretty good.

[lrockwitt]

We booked inside Golden Princess and it did nothing for me. I would have booked balcony if it was a better deal. I agree it was higher for the balcony than when I booked it.

I have a Panama Canal booked for January 2016 and the price went way up for balcony to include sale???

[elliair]

It certainly isn't for all categories. We had this cruise booked and this morning the fare went down by $120.00 and we got $500.00 in OBC so we made out pretty good.

 

We booked for the Panama Canal and got $240 back and everything stayed the same including OBC. I'll take it.

[Colo Cruiser]

The sale is a dud for us. :(

[Lazy K]

This sale is not very good for anyone that has booked lower than a balcony.

It went higher to include the drink package

 

 

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And it is no deal at all for solo travelers, even if they would like to book a balcony or above. I read in the fine print, shared with me yesterday by my TA, that this "sale" does not include solo travelers. This, unfortunately, seems to be the norm with many Princess "sales".

 

Outside of the loss of the on-board spend of potentially only one additional adult, I have to wonder why singles are routinely excluded? We nearly always have to pay a premium cabin fare, and often book ship excursions, spa treatments and specialty dining.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Lazy K

[5:00_Somewhere]

I'm truly sorry this sale isn't good for everyone, but I do have to say that it worked out very well for us, and the timing was a very happy coincidence.

 

We had already booked a balcony mini for a cruise next year, but just discovered we needed to re-book for a different date due to a conflict that has arisen. We would have bought the Beverage package, and we would have eaten at least once in the Crown Grill and/or Sabatini's, so those happened to be great perks for us; and an OBC on top of it; plus - for us, anyway - the cruise fare went down by $100 for the exact same cabin.

 

I'm sure there will be other sales in the not too distant future that will be broader application.

 

Keep a happy thought. :)

Edited July 9, 2015 by 5:00_Somewhere

[cb at sea]

You are not paying a "premium" fare...you are paying the cost of the cabin which is based on DOUBLE OCCUPANCY....

 

You folks need to stop looking at the "per person" price as you forget about the DOUBLE OCCUPANCY thing!

[MCC retired]

This may not be the greatest Sale for the 2016 sailings but locking it in now with the Beverage , Beverage & Dinner , or OBC for non drinkers plus Refundable Deposit , is terrific .

Plus , many months to go leaves you open to exchange it for an even better Sale, should that occur.

Sorry that it is for Balcony and above & no Single occ. , but that is clearly stated.

[mmckm]

I just checked with Princess to see what the deal would be for us, as we have a 28 day cruise booked for the Southern Pacific. The deal for us ended up costing $2600 more if we rebooked and the the sip and sale would be included. No deal there for us. If you were booking today its a deal because the fares have gone up a lot on this cruise. I don't think we would by a drink package for a 28 day cruise we do for a 1 week or 2 week cruise.

[Nan_Sea]

For me this reinforces that booking early and watching for price drops is the way to go.

[mmckm]

For me this reinforces that booking early and watching for price drops is the way to go.

 

We always book early and have found that the prices have gone up. We book full suites and they usually end up sold out. As they start to sell the price goes up. If you book a category that they have a hard time selling out you may benefit, as they may lower the price to fill the ship.

[Nan_Sea]

I booked an Oct cruise in early June. The price went up then down I saved $100/pp then the price went up just before the Red White and Blue sale. On" sale" it was more than I paid. Today, now that the sale is over, the price is down but not for less than I paid. I was able to choose the cabin I want at a good price. Works for me.

[denmarks]

I have not seen any sales for a single in the lowest cost inside category. Every other year I have at least received an upgrade. In fact last year they upgraded me to a balcony. The current price and all the sale prices are higher than what I paid. I booked way in advance which helped.

[Pierlesscruisers]

Outside of the loss of the on-board spend of potentially only one additional adult, I have to wonder why singles are routinely excluded? We nearly always have to pay a premium cabin fare, and often book ship excursions, spa treatments and specialty dining.

 

If you were running a cruise line and had a chance to have 2 paying passengers in a room versus 1 paying passenger in a room wouldn't you charge that single person more? If I recall, you do, at least, get twice the travel "credit" for a single person in a room so you get to advance from one level to another twice as fast as someone not paying a single supplement.

 

Or did I misunderstand your post?

 

Tom

[ChiefBoats]

It may not if your looking for only reduced booking prices. We used it today to book two 2016 cruises because of the reduced booking fee. Our TA will keep checking on reduced cost and we normally get some reduction when we pay off the remainder. Since we do not drink that much the drink package is not that important to us but we did get the additional cruise credits which we like better. The few drinks that I purchase will not make a very big dent in the cruise credits.

_______________________________________________

Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska

[lovevacadays]

We booked inside Golden Princess and it did nothing for me. I would have booked balcony if it was a better deal. I agree it was higher for the balcony than when I booked it.

I have a Panama Canal booked for January 2016 and the price went way up for balcony to include sale???

 

The sale is for cruise April 2016 - December 2016.

[piper28]

I've got my eye on one cruise in particular that is included in this, and while I don't remember exactly what the price was before, I don't believe it actually went up (it's higher normally anyways because it's a holiday cruise). I'll probably end up booking it, and then if something comes up with a lower price I can always swap for that anyways after I figure out what the cost benefit to me is for the beverage package. I'm not a huge drinker, but I do think I'll get more benefit from it than the on board credit they're offering, so I wouldn't argue with getting it if no reductions come forward.

[caribill]

For those who booked earlier and are just now seeing what the pricing is with this promotion, the price comparison should not be to what you paid weeks or months ago, but to what the pricing was yesterday before this promotion started.

 

Only then can you tell if prices were raised due to the promotion.

 

There have been a number of posts saying the current promotion is at the same price as when they booked without the promotion.

 

So if the price is higher than when you booked, it could be normal increases due to supply/demand and not be connected to the AIBP promotion.

 

From another thread:

 

Just a note to all that were discussing the July 9 sale yesterday. We booked a cruise for June 1 - Great Britain yesterday and read about the upcoming sale later in the day. I emailed our agent explaining the sale and asked if she would be able to get it for us. Just heard back from her a few minutes ago, we got the beverage package and our cruise also went down $100. per person!

Edited July 10, 2015 by caribill

[Nan_Sea]

There were 100s of cabins available when the price was raised on our cruise a couple of weeks before the RWB sale. Interesting to watch and learn

[Colo Cruiser]

There were 100s of cabins available when the price was raised on our cruise a couple of weeks before the RWB sale. Interesting to watch and learn

 

 

 

Yes I think they are more aggressive with the pricing now, and not in a good way. :(

[beg3yrs]

For those who booked earlier and are just now seeing what the pricing is with this promotion, the price comparison should not be to what you paid weeks or months ago, but to what the pricing was yesterday before this promotion started.

 

Only then can you tell if prices were raised due to the promotion.

 

By accident I have done exactly that. Am considering next year's North Cape cruise on the Emerald and had priced a balcony the day before the sale. The day of the sale, the price went up by roughly $40 a day per person. That would be a discounted AIBP price and could be a savings for some.

 

I estimate based on our own personal habits, we might spend as much as $44 per person per day on various libations (yes, I count coffee) each sea day but only about $25 on port days.

 

For us, these numbers and their uncertainty make this sale kind of a non-event.

[PrincessMelody]

I just checked our November 2016 14 day Regal cruise, and the price increased over $1000 for our deluxe balcony cabin! Just to get the "free" booze package...lol!! :rolleyes: