Wishing on a star Posted October 29, 2015 #26 Share Posted October 29, 2015 We are trying to decide whether to book Alaska today. For the two of us, the gratuities would help a bit... And we would use the dining. We are looking at an early mid-May sailing, that does not have a lot of OV cabins booked. I am wondering if they might actually lower the price on those. I think they are currently overpriced, in that they are only $200.00 less than a balcony. (for us, $400.00 is $400.00) If so, we can just call and have this re-fared, if this would come out cheaper for us. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Working 2 Cruise Posted October 29, 2015 #27 Share Posted October 29, 2015 We are trying to decide whether to book Alaska today. For the two of us, the gratuities would help a bit... And we would use the dining. We are looking at an early mid-May sailing, that does not have a lot of OV cabins booked. I am wondering if they might actually lower the price on those. I think they are currently overpriced, in that they are only $200.00 less than a balcony. (for us, $400.00 is $400.00) If so, we can just call and have this re-fared, if this would come out cheaper for us. Right? They're more likely going to go up! You have the free gratuities... Jump on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklinmom Posted October 29, 2015 #28 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I would book today, which is the deadline for the 3 for 1 sale. The next sale might not include free gratuities or the free specialty restaurant dinner. Fares on Alaska cruises don't usually drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEtue Posted October 30, 2015 #29 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Based on my experience - prices always drop. But you can't have your heart set on a certain sail date or cabin..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted October 30, 2015 #30 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We are looking at an early mid-May sailing, that does not have a lot of OV cabins booked. I am wondering if they might actually lower the price on those. I think they are currently overpriced, in that they are only $200.00 less than a balcony. (for us, $400.00 is $400.00) If so, we can just call and have this re-fared, if this would come out cheaper for us. Right? If prices drop, it will be a new promotion and to get the new pricing you would have to give up any amenities (such as free gratuities) that are not also a part of the new promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denatravels Posted October 30, 2015 #31 Share Posted October 30, 2015 (edited) I guess there is NO promotion for the next few days (on my specific sailing). Hoping that might trigger a small price drop--- nope. Same price. Just no added bonus. Edited October 30, 2015 by denatravels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcruzin Posted October 30, 2015 #32 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Princess "sales" are now mostly the same price as the previous "sale" but with different amenities (AIBP on one sale, free gratuities on another). Same pricing exceptions: a) If the ship is selling well, the price will go up b) If there is a lower price, it will be usually be no more that a couple of hundreds of $$$. Princess (and other cruise lines) are trying to keep "price integrity" in order to train customers to book early for best pricing and to avoid deep discounting in order to fill up cabins. Adding amenities such as free gratuities effectively lowers the cost of the cruise while keeping listed price integrity. How well is this working? Well RCL told financial analysts that "The program has been in place for seven months or so, and we have not granted a single exception to the policy. I acknowledge it has cost us a bit and is costing us a bit this year in revenue, and some cabins have gone empty which could have been filled with dramatic last minute deals, but we stood firm and we have made zero exceptions." I think Celebrity has had a lot of success with this approach. I have been monitoring prices of my cruise in May. I booked it last November when the itinerary first opened. I don't usually book 18 months out but I'm glad I did. I paid $1399 with a drink package, $300 OBC and paid gratuities all coming from the cruise line. In March the price dropped $100 pp so I got an adjustment and kept all of the above. My C2 category sold out during the March sale and now the lower category is at $1549 and has been holding at that price. I also have to add at the higher price you only have a choice of one of the perks above where I received all three for less money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denatravels Posted November 3, 2015 #33 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Some sale... My cruise has been at a stable price for two months. UP $200 today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocklinmom Posted November 3, 2015 #34 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Yep, the fares for our June cruise went up the day after the 3 for 1 sale ended. Glad I booked when I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatcruiseisnext Posted November 3, 2015 #35 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Some sale... My cruise has been at a stable price for two months. UP $200 today. It's not a sale for us either. We are booked on a TA in April 2016. When we booked it was under the 3 for free promotion. We used EZ air as well. If we were booking today under the new sale it would cost us (for 2 people) $882 more total for cruise and air PLUS we would lose our free gratuities, our free specialty dining and our free bottle of wine. I'm so glad we booked when we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shredie Posted November 3, 2015 #36 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Some sale... My cruise has been at a stable price for two months. UP $200 today. I'm curious: if carrots are on sale at the grocery store and you go in to buy cucumbers, do you say "Some sale" when it turns out the cucumbers are full price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatcruiseisnext Posted November 3, 2015 #37 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I'm curious: if carrots are on sale at the grocery store and you go in to buy cucumbers, do you say "Some sale" when it turns out the cucumbers are full price? I think you missed the point. The cruise I spoke about IS on sale today under the new promotion that started today. So yes....it is "some sale". NOT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go sea Posted November 3, 2015 #38 Share Posted November 3, 2015 We have an Alaska cruise for AUG 2016,which we booked in June and received $100 onboard credit. THIS SALE NOW IS OVER $500 MORE WITH NO ONBOARD CREDIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denatravels Posted November 3, 2015 #39 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I'm curious I'm curious, too. Why is it whenever I post on the princess site- you have a nasty comment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shredie Posted November 3, 2015 #40 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I think you missed the point. The cruise I spoke about IS on sale today under the new promotion that started today. So yes....it is "some sale". NOT! I was not quoting you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayred Posted November 3, 2015 #41 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I check the price each day on my June Alaska cruise. I saw the price go up $50 on the cheapest category about 4 days ago and then yesterday it went up 150 more for a total of 200 more. Exact same cruise. If I stay in the same room (mid ship) this "sale" would cost me $240pp - not a good deal for me even with the discounted air fare (my flight saves 200pp on air cost). I am joining the others who are glad we booked early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denatravels Posted November 3, 2015 #42 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) I was not quoting you. Nope. You were quoting me. Not really sure why you continue to feel the need to comment. Can someone please tell me how to set up the ignore feature from the app. Only have seen on web version. Edited November 3, 2015 by denatravels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Working 2 Cruise Posted November 4, 2015 #43 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Some sale... My cruise has been at a stable price for two months. UP $200 today. Alaska cruises are very popular, for good reason. It's unlikely you'll get much of a bargain.... Or much of a price drop. And no, if you read carefully, Shredie was not quoting you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted November 4, 2015 #44 Share Posted November 4, 2015 It's not a sale for us either. We are booked on a TA in April 2016. When we booked it was under the 3 for free promotion. We used EZ air as well. If we were booking today under the new sale it would cost us (for 2 people) $882 more total for cruise and air PLUS we would lose our free gratuities, our free specialty dining and our free bottle of wine. I'm so glad we booked when we did. I checked a 33 day B2B cruise we had also booked under the 3-for-three promotion. The price is up $830 for two from what we paid plus it does not include the $759 gratuities for two that was in the previous promotion. Thus a total higher cost of $1589 more for two with this week's pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted November 4, 2015 #45 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Princess (andf other cruise lines) are working to encourage early booking so that ships can be filled without resorting to last minute big discounting. It seems to be working because booking for next year are ahead of what they have been in the past. Thus, IMHO, the higher pricing is due to supply vs. demand. The pricing for the announced 2017 European sailings are, again IMHO, high. Insides start at around $200/person/day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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