Timing of booking and specials

[Exponent]

Cruise newbie here - lets say I were to book today, and tomorrow a special begins. Would Princess give me the special? Thanks so much!

[karena1]

Cruise newbie here - lets say I were to book today, and tomorrow a special begins. Would Princess give me the special? Thanks so much!

 

yes, it will reprice at the current rate and give you whatever promos are available.

[paul929207]

Yes, just call your TA or Princess, whoever you booked thru. You can do this until final payment is due. You can even do it multiple times.

[JF - retired RRT]

yes, it will reprice at the current rate and give you whatever promos are available.

You will also lose any promos from your original booking. Always be sure to ask what you're getting/losing so you can compare.

[RocketMan275]

Cruise newbie here - lets say I were to book today, and tomorrow a special begins. Would Princess give me the special? Thanks so much!

 

You can change your booking as long as your outside the final payment window which is usually 75 days prior to embarkation. If the price of the cruise goes down, call Princess or your Travel Agent (TA) if you used one and ask for the lower price. If Princess adds/changes the promotion/special, you can call and ask for the new promotion/special as well. Remember though, that you cannot, usually, combine promos. For example, suppose you booked with complimentary gratuities and later Princess drops that special and adds another, say $150 OBC, it's doubtful that you can call and add the OBC without giving up the complimentary gratuities. But, you can choose which one is applied.

 

It really doesn't pay to try to time the purchase of a cruise to get the best specials or promotions. You can always call and get the new special or promotion in lieu of any you received at initial booking. If you wait for the great new offering, you stand a chance of the price of the cruise going up which might completely offset the value of the promotion.

 

Another point, promotions and specials aren't "free", they may be "included" in the price but you still pay for them. Adding a promotion or special may increase the cost of the cruise more than the promotion or special is worth to you. You will need to do the math to see if the new offering makes sense for you.

 

One other point, if you use a TA, and you should, be sure the TA you use does not charge for changing bookings, adding promotions and specials, or cancelling a booking. Some do and you should find one that does not do so. A good TA will also knock about 10% off the base price charged by Princess.

[Exponent]

Lots of great points here, thank you!

[long cruiser]

Adding free amenities almost always increases the cost of the cruise.

Cruise lines think we are stupid.

long cruiser

[sunsetbeachgal]

Just be careful of booking promos with non refundable deposits, Princess seems to have more of these lately. In that case you could cancel and rebook if a better deal comes out, but you would lose your original deposit.

 

 

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[Sea and Me]

Adding free amenities almost always increases the cost of the cruise.

Cruise lines think we are stupid.

long cruiser

I have been checking a cruise for Oct. 2018 on the Caribbean Princess. The price goes up and down, it boggles my mind!! It is included in the 3 for Free promo, however, the price is $100 more for both inside and oceanviews. The other day the inside was $450 cheaper, and oceanview was $549 cheaper!!!! BUT no amenities. So one way or the other when the "sales" are offered we pay!!! I guess it depends on how much we want to cruise and just keep checking prices. Happy sailing everyone:)

[LoriPhil]

We booked our Alaska cruise and when the Beverage package promo came out saw our cruise was eligible at the same cabin price as our original booking. Called and received the package with no hassel. We just refared our November cruise due to a big price-drop; we lost the free gratuity promo under which we originally booked, but it was more than offset by the price-drop. That offer has a non-refundable deposit so we'd lose $200 if we cancel, but we're already committed with airfare so it's worth rolling the dice.

 

Nutshell - we usually book early and monitor prices/specials/risks like non-refundable deposits and act when it makes sense for us.

 

Congrats on starting your cruising adventures!