Shore excursion changes coming!

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for that info.

[DebJ14]

We really don't want to have to prepay for the excursions on cruises where we have lots of onboard credit. We are not big drinkers and don't use the spa, so unless we pay for the excursions or buy a bunch of junk we don't want in the gift shops, we have a hard time using up the OBC. Edited December 25, 2015 by DebJ14

[Go-Bucks!]

[quote name='katisdale']That would be an easy choice for me. If pre-payment is required, I would make independent arrangements.[/quote]


Same for me! I want to use OBC to pay for any excursions. This is why I don't take Celebrity excursions when sailing with them. Bad idea, Princess!!

[hillslife]

My vote is NO.....I love being able to hold an option, using OBC to pay for it and having no hassle as long as it is cancelled in time. One of the great perks of Princess.

Have been on other lines where you HAVE to pay up front...we book a lot less ships excursions....

Princess...please listen to your loyal customers and don't follow the crowd with this change:(

[dickinson]

[quote name='DebJ14']We really don't want to have to prepay for the excursions on cruises where we have lots of onboard credit. We are not big drinkers and don't use the spa, so unless we pay for the excursions or buy a bunch of junk we don't want in the gift shops, we have a hard time using up the OBC.[/QUOTE]

I agree!! We have a cruise booked with prepaid gratuities by Princess. I also have FCC which will give OBC. Also have stockholder credit. Some people also have military OBC. I have read here that some people end up with $900 of OBC! What would you use it all on? I think this is a bad policy and agree with others that Princess is testing it out on the wrong demographic to get "real insight" into what people think.

Princess…. please stick with the current policy. If you must make people prepay then please allow somehow for us to use OBC!

[Cosmic Rays]

My vote is NO too...................
We currently have the option of prepaying which I have done for gratuities, but not tours - that's what the OBC is for.
On another point, we are paying $450 more each for Princess Air tickets than the fares are now shortly before departure, even with the '54 day rule' in the T&C's. Princess don't want to know so NOT HAPPY!!!

[seacrystal]

No, no, no!!!!

[missdenise]

[quote name='Murphey']Private tours people!!! Even at parity in price, you get smaller groups, see more and special treatment...I can't remember the last time I booked with Princess. They'll always get their share of the "newbie and nervous" crowd. :rolleyes:[/quote]


Not always an option. We have no choice but to book with Princess if we want to take an excursion while cruising the Panama Canal.

[nukesubsailor]

I can see why Princess wants to do this. Do some math----
Assume the Princess fleet of ships have passengers in the 44,000 beds for 50 weeks per year and that each passenger spends an average of $200 on Princess excursions. (44,000 x 50 x $200 = $440 million). Now assume that Princess invests the pre-payment cash at a paltry 2% yield. That is $8.8 million in Princess's pocket instead of in the passengers' pockets.
This is only a nickel and dime to the individual passenger but it is millions to Princess. If Princess wants to be the cruise line of choice for cruisers, why do they keep changing things to become more like all the other cruise lines.

[Northender]

[quote name='nukesubsailor']I can see why Princess wants to do this. Do some math----
Assume the Princess fleet of ships have passengers in the 44,000 beds for 50 weeks per year and that each passenger spends an average of $200 on Princess excursions. (44,000 x 50 x $200 = $440 million). Now assume that Princess invests the pre-payment cash at a paltry 2% yield. That is $8.8 million in Princess's pocket instead of in the passengers' pockets.
This is only a nickel and dime to the individual passenger but it is millions to Princess. If Princess wants to be the cruise line of choice for cruisers, why do they keep changing things to become more like all the other cruise lines.[/quote]

You hit the nail on the head, nukesubsailor. Its all about the money. It is another way for the cruise line to keep aFLOAT.

A big [SIZE=4][COLOR=red]NO[/COLOR] [/SIZE]for me, Princess.

[DaisyRose]

I've sailed many lines, and the two things I felt made Princess my first choice were the fact that they have passenger laundromats and they let you reserve online precruise without having to pay for shore excursions at the time of booking. I don't normally get a lot of OBC, but I usually have some, and like to use it for a shore excursion. If you wait to book until you are onboard, not only do you risk your preferred excursion being sold out, but you also often pay more onboard. I will be very unhappy if Princess starts requiring payment at the time of booking. It puts them more on par with other cruise lines that often have better prices. If this change becomes policy, I definitely see myself booking fewer cruises on Princess, and doing more independent tours when I do go on Princess cruises. Just because other lines are doing things doesn't mean Princess must follow suit. My mother taught me to "think for myself" and not to go along with the crowd. Princess should remember that as well. Keep things the way they are, and stand out from the other lines. I think I also see fewer cruises in my future. Very disappointed.

[Loreni]

We spent over two months sailing Princess in 2015 and will be black card on our next Princess cruise, if we take one. We will NEVER prepay Princess for tours.

We have begun to notice many cost cutting measures. For years, we have thought that Celebrity might be a better match for us, but our OBC has kept us with Princess.

Now our OBC is being devalued. If we wait until after boarding to book an excursion, we will get the leftovers and probably at a higher cost. We usually book at least a few Princess excursions; however, they have never been anywhere near as good as the excursions we arrange ourselves. And with tripadvisor and the roll calls, it's easy to arrange your own excursions. Come to think of it, rushing through breakfast only to sit in the Princess theater and then be herded through a tour isn't so ideal.

So if this becomes policy and we sail with Princess again, we will arrange all of our own tours. We don't drink or gamble. If we find that we cannot get value from our OBC, we will have one less reason not try other lines.

Many little things are adding up to make us strongly consider looking elsewhere. For example, We are very unhappy with the new balcony furniture and probably will no longer bother with balconies or mini-suites on Princess...what good is a balcony that can't be used. At some point there will be a final straw. But like I said we don't drink or gamble, maybe Princess will be glad to see us go.

[MicCanberra]

I like the flexibility that Princess provides, as sometimes, I like to prepay and other times not. A changing $AUD can make pre paying a real saving, using BC is an advantage for not prepaying. Edited December 26, 2015 by MicCanberra

[SoCal Cruiser78]

[quote name='cr8tiv1']And what about all that On Board Credit...(which can not be used to pre-pay). You would be "forced" to drink it away or spend it in their shops. No wonder they have become so "generous" with their offerings.My vote is a "NO". Please don't change something that works because other lines are doing it. What became of standing out as different?[/QUOTE]

I agree completely! They are, in my opinion, devaluing non-refundable OBC if they proceed with this plan.

[MicCanberra]

[quote name='SoCal Cruiser78']I agree completely! They are, in my opinion, devaluing non-refundable OBC if they proceed with this plan.[/QUOTE]

Yep, they want their money back and some of yours to go with it.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes more $$.

[Redwing55]

I might think this policy might lead to the repeat cruisers to use more private tours. It may not be worldwide, but many of the "private" excursions in the Caribbean collect the payment when you show... or frequently even AFTER the excursion. So what is the rationalization of Princess to force prepayment? Optional yes, but requiring it? I recognize other lines doing it, but I even question them.

Let's hope enough people squawk about it and Princess leaves it as is and promotes that as a reason to sail with them.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Princess should be careful what they wish for. On our Oceania cruise we were astounded at the high prices for ship's excursions, but a few seemed necessary because of unique itineraries or worry about making it back -- and then they kept getting cancelled for "lack of interest." So, higher prices = fewer bookings = less revenue, at least for shore excursions.

[rob2102]

Unfortunately its a good and sound business practice. Not only do other cruise lines do it but every air line and travel company.
Its good for the company bottom line . princess management has to listen not only to its passengers but also is accountable to its share holders.
Will I miss the old days, for sure but this us not unexpected or unreasonable.

[RDC1]

[quote name='rob2102']Unfortunately its a good and sound business practice. Not only do other cruise lines do it but every air line and travel company.
Its good for the company bottom line . princess management has to listen not only to its passengers but also is accountable to its share holders.
Will I miss the old days, for sure but this us not unexpected or unreasonable.[/QUOTE]

Actually the only benefit that Princess might get out of requiring advance payment is related to cash flow, not profit.

Now if they do tighten cancellation and make passengers lose money if they cancel on board even then I doubt that it would material impact.

The only advantage would seem to reduce the number of people pre-booking, filling up excursions and then canceling later on, leaving empty space. Kind of an way to make sure that the people are serious. I suspect their test will be to see how it impacts excursion participation, cancellation rates and obc spend patterns.

As far as I am concerned I consider Princess's current practice to be a competitive advantage and one of the reason I continue to sail with them.

If they follow other cruise lines with this practice, they will be less competitive to me then they are today.

If it is a stealth approach to impact the value they get back for obc then it also reduced their competitive advantage as far as I am concerned.

In March I will be spending 31 days on Princess. Currently planning to spend about $3000 on pre-booked, but not pre-paid excursions. Some of that spend will be $1800 in OBC.

I have already moved mostly away from some of the other cruise lines due to changes like this in their business practices. I can do the same with Princess as well. I have far more trips to do, with or without cruise lines then I have time to complete them, including a large number of land locations that cruise lines can not reach effectively.

If they want to change go ahead I can find many other places to spend money.

[luvlabs]

Pam, I agree with you 100 percent :)

[RDC1]

[quote name='rob2102']Unfortunately its a good and sound business practice. Not only do other cruise lines do it but every air line and travel company.
Its good for the company bottom line . princess management has to listen not only to its passengers but also is accountable to its share holders.
Will I miss the old days, for sure but this us not unexpected or unreasonable.[/QUOTE]

Since when have airlines offered excursions during their flights? They do require advance payment of the fare. But many of their options I can pay for either at the airport or on the flight. I have also been able to make reservations through the airline for hotels and auto rentals that are not prepaid.

As far as travel companies, did 3 land tours last year. None of the 3 companies used required pre-payment of optional excursions. You had the option to pre-pay, but none required it.

So not sure about your comment about every airline and travel company.

[Loreni]

[quote name='RDC1']

I have already moved mostly away from some of the other cruise lines due to changes like this in their business practices. I can do the same with Princess as well. I have far more trips to do, with or without cruise lines then I have time to complete them, including a large number of land locations that cruise lines can not reach effectively.

If they want to change go ahead I can find many other places to spend money.[/QUOTE]

This.

And as Shogun mentioned earlier, with all the nickel-and-diming changes, some of the magic is gone.

[QueenofEverything]

My guess is that they have already decided to make this change. It only benefits them and in no way benefits the passengers. So, they make it look like it is a "trial" and guess what? It will be a huge success and become the new policy. They only make it look like the passengers have some sort of input on this. Cynical? Yes, but probably true!

[rob2102]

[quote name='RDC1']Since when have airlines offered excursions during their flights? They do require advance payment of the fare. But many of their options I can pay for either at the airport or on the flight. I have also been able to make reservations through the airline for hotels and auto rentals that are not prepaid.

As far as travel companies, did 3 land tours last year. None of the 3 companies used required pre-payment of optional excursions. You had the option to pre-pay, but none required it.

So not sure about your comment about every airline and travel company.[/QUOTE]

Let me clarify but I meant by pre pay. With airlines and other carriers you pre pay for your fares. When you make alterations to your orginal itenaries, you often pay for not only the differences in fares but a fee for making the change. Princess and its parnters need to know in advance on how many people are booking their tours. Its also only fair to the other passengers trying to make solidify their plans.
Bottom line is this its is a common practice in the cruise industry that will be become more and more common. You can vote with your feet, but most other of the majors do it this way.

I am not going to base my cruising decisions on the pre payment of shore excursions. You play you gotta pay, you can book with princess or go independent, but t the end of the day your not going to change the cruise industry as a whole. especially with carnival corp owing so many of the lines.
We have accepted and pay with out much complaint with the business practices of the major airlines, who nickel and dime us from everything from luggage fees to seat sizes. We regardless of the public out cry against these fees, air lines are making record profits.
Its how business operate today. Have to get used to it, its never going back.