Price Drop

[alabuddy]

I am new to cruising and I would like to know if Princess gives OBC if you book a cruise and the price goes down. I have looked all over their site and I can't find the answer TIA

[skynight]

I am new to cruising and I would like to know if Princess gives OBC if you book a cruise and the price goes down. I have looked all over their site and I can't find the answer TIA

The direct answer to your question is no. But, if you are outside of the final payment period you can cancel and re-book. You will get the new fare and new promo incentives. Some promos have non-refundable deposits so watch for this in case yours does. Also some T.A.'s charge a fee, mine does not. We do this all the time.

If you are inside of the final payment period then you would have to work with your T.A. or Princess to see if you can negotiate anything.

[Colo Cruiser]

I am new to cruising and I would like to know if Princess gives OBC if you book a cruise and the price goes down. I have looked all over their site and I can't find the answer TIA

 

 

Not usually, however all you can do is ask.

A good travel agent helps.

As stated sometimes you can cancel and rebook as most sales are for new bookings only.

[Woobstr112G]

Not usually, however all you can do is ask.

A good travel agent helps.

As stated sometimes you can cancel and rebook as most sales are for new bookings only.

 

Keith;

 

Is there a chance your cabin could not be available when your T/A cancels and then goes to immediately re-book? I was curious as I know there must be waiting lists for various types of cabins or if a cabin class/or the entire cruise is sold out

 

Bob

[Yosef42]

If you're still before the final payment date, you can ask them to "re-price" your reservation. That's technically not a cancellation, so all the details of your reservation (cabin, amenities, etc.) stay the same; you just get the new price and terms. I've done this three times so far with my reservation, for a total savings of $450 (couple).

 

I don't know if they will do this if your category is fullly booked, though.

[WanderlustJourney]

I just saw a price drop on my cruise, a Mini Suite was slightly less than what I had paid for a Balcony. I called in and was upgraded to a Mini Suite even after final payment, no issues at all. If you've booked with a TA, have them call in as depending how many cruises their agency books with Princess, they can get it sorted out for you in your favour, cabin upgrades, OBC, etc.

[majortom10]

We are not lucky enough to have this option in the UK. If we book and the price drops if we cancel and rebook even if before final payment we lose the deposit paid so not always worth cancelling. Best option for us is to wait until closer to sailing date and see if any lower special offers come up and then book.

[JF - retired RRT]

Before final payment...no issue, just do it. The discount will be credited to your credit card or a check will be mailed.

After final payment...all you can do is ask. Mixed results reported here, everything from "no" to an upgraded cabin and everything in between.

Our own experience: we've had a price drop once after final payment. Called Princess (no TA on this one) and asked what could be done. We were given OBC equal to the amount of the price drop. Worked for us.:D

[satxdiver]

We have called Princess many times to re-price a cruise. They always tell us the up and down side of doing it before we decide. We have never had a problem and this is not canceling and rebooking. We have changed flight details after final payment (you can do it up to 45 days before the flight) and they gave us the refund in OBC. I would expect that if you are lucky enough to find a price reduction after final payment, they would give you an OBC for the difference. We have looked many times but never been lucky enough to find a price reduction after final payment. What we have always found was a price increase if the category of cabin was even still available.

[Colo Cruiser]

Keith;

 

Is there a chance your cabin could not be available when your T/A cancels and then goes to immediately re-book? I was curious as I know there must be waiting lists for various types of cabins or if a cabin class/or the entire cruise is sold out

 

Bob

 

It's possible it may not be available Bob, once canceled it can take 15-20 minutes for it to end up back in inventory. Anything can happen in that time. If the cruise is sold out that's a whole other ball game.

However like you say there could be any one of several mitigating factors. If there are wait lists then it may get snagged by Princess.

Its best to do it all at once with the TA on the phone in a 3 way call imo.

 

Too bad they can't just leave the cabin alone and just apply the new price. :rolleyes:

[Thrak]

If you're still before the final payment date, you can ask them to "re-price" your reservation. That's technically not a cancellation, so all the details of your reservation (cabin, amenities, etc.) stay the same; you just get the new price and terms. I've done this three times so far with my reservation, for a total savings of $450 (couple).

 

I don't know if they will do this if your category is fullly booked, though.

 

Definitely worth a try. We booked early for a short cruise and later someone on our roll call posted about a big price drop. I called and got the new fare without having to cancel and rebook. We saved over $600.

[lovevacadays]

I have been able to get a price drop several times before final payment without having to cancel and rebook. I got the price drops in the cabins I originally booked.

[NavyVeteran]

If you're still before the final payment date, you can ask them to "re-price" your reservation. That's technically not a cancellation, so all the details of your reservation (cabin, amenities, etc.) stay the same; you just get the new price and terms. I've done this three times so far with my reservation, for a total savings of $450 (couple).

 

I don't know if they will do this if your category is fullly booked, though.

 

The following information applies to people from the United States. I don't know how it applies to people from other countries.

 

If you did not book a promotion with a nonrefundable deposit and if it is before final payment, you can reprice under the new price and terms. You keep the same booking number and cabin - your cabin does not go back into the inventory and no one else can book it. You get the new price and the terms of the new promotion, and you lose everything under the old promotion.

 

One exception to losing old promotions is the Captain's Circle Launch Savings. You may be able to keep that with the new promotion leaving you with a price $100 lower than the current promotion.

 

However, you can only reprice the same cabin if there is a cabin available in the same category. Otherwise, Princess is not quoting a price for that category and so you have nothing to reprice to. In this case, you can switch to a new cabin in a different category and then take a chance that your cabin will become available for you to switch back to. However that is a gamble - don't count on it.

 

I had booked a window suite on a trans-Atlantic cruise, and the cruise then became available under a Sip and Sail promotion. Since all of the window suites were sold out (a common occurrence), I could not reprice and get the promotion without losing my cabin. Luckily for me, another passenger on my roll call had the same problem. The benefits of the new promotion were enough that he gave up his window suite and switched to a mini-suite with the promotion. When I saw his post on the roll call, I immediately called Princess. Since there was now an available cabin in my category, I was able to reprice under the Sip and Sail keeping my window suite.

[Thrak]

A person on one of my roll calls posted that he didn't book under the Sip and Sail but was able to add it on at no extra cost later when that promo was going on. Not sure how but likely he just called and asked or had his TA handle it. It never hurts to ask.

[Yosef42]

The following information applies to people from the United States. I don't know how it applies to people from other countries.

Good point. I understand the rules can be quite different in, for example, the U.K.

 

On the other hand, it can't hurt to call and ask. The worst they can say is "no."

[gma rae]

My cruise was paid for, so beyond final payment by probably 5 days. I saw that the cruise price was significantly discounted, over 1,400 pp. That is a lot! So I called Princess and was told because I booked through a TA she needed to call. Called TA who spent a long time trying to negotiate with Princess. Bottom line was I needed to cancel my booking, pay a $200. cancellation penalty and re-book. Well that was still a savings but the only rooms available were not what we wanted, the ship was booked and there was no guarantee if we cancelled we could get the same room back. The rooms that were left were not worth it to us to risk our covered balcony port side for Alaska. We ate the loss. Princess would not negotiate OBC or anything else with our TA. They said it was a flash sale and only for new bookings.

[Thrak]

My cruise was paid for, so beyond final payment by probably 5 days. I saw that the cruise price was significantly discounted, over 1,400 pp. That is a lot! So I called Princess and was told because I booked through a TA she needed to call. Called TA who spent a long time trying to negotiate with Princess. Bottom line was I needed to cancel my booking, pay a $200. cancellation penalty and re-book. Well that was still a savings but the only rooms available were not what we wanted, the ship was booked and there was no guarantee if we cancelled we could get the same room back. The rooms that were left were not worth it to us to risk our covered balcony port side for Alaska. We ate the loss. Princess would not negotiate OBC or anything else with our TA. They said it was a flash sale and only for new bookings.

 

Was this cancellation penalty due to your TA? If so, fire the TA and get a real one that doesn't charge cancellation or change fees next time! Also any TA who can't negotiate to cancel and then immediately rebook the same cabin while on the phone isn't worth poop.

[NavyVeteran]

Was this cancellation penalty due to your TA? If so, fire the TA and get a real one that doesn't charge cancellation or change fees next time! Also any TA who can't negotiate to cancel and then immediately rebook the same cabin while on the phone isn't worth poop.

 

He said it was just beyond final payment. The loss of the deposit is the Princess cancellation fee when you are a few days beyond final payment. It had nothing to do with the TA.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have been able to get a price drop several times before final payment without having to cancel and rebook. I got the price drops in the cabins I originally booked.

 

 

Not possible with a "new bookings only" change. Before or after final.

 

We have received price changes as well but they were not a new booking only sale.

[Thrak]

He said it was just beyond final payment. The loss of the deposit is the Princess cancellation fee when you are a few days beyond final payment. It had nothing to do with the TA.

 

Ahhhhhhhh...... My bad. Many thanks. :D

[gma rae]

Thanks for the help! It was just not in the cards, Princes policy after final payment and enough people for a new booking. So now I know that if I don't care about the room I should wait for a Flash Sale! When I retire and time is not of the essence I will sale Flash Sale. For now I will celebrate my upcoming cruise!

Thanks for the forceful backup CC!