Don't Let This Happen to You!

[mnocket]

Just returned home from my Panama Canal cruise on the Coral. Sat down to check my email (I don't check email while on vacation) and there it was..... sent at 3:45PM the day before we boarded the Coral - a Move Over offer to switch from our balcony room to an obstructed oceanview with a full credit of our cruise fare ($7,000) as refundable OBC! I would have jumped at that one. Lesson learned. Offers can come at any time before departure. Check Your Email!

 

btw For those wondering who receives Move Over offers - I have no idea. This was my first Princess cruise. I booked early under sip 'n sail.

[casofilia]

That sounds too good to be true!!! Are you absolutely sure that it wasn't phishing?

 

Second thought why didn't Princess offer you that at check in?

[DrivesLikeMario]

They don't make those kind of offers at check-in. They always come via email and a phone call if you're interested.

 

That's very late for a move-over offer. Your point is to check email often and I agree. I had friends on the Island Princess cruise that had delayed embarkation by a day and that information came to them via email first, before it was sent to their TA so, yes, it's always good to check.

[moki'smommy]

We got a "move down" offer about 2 weeks before our cruise. Yes, such offers can come at any time. Why the offer wasn't made at check in--the offer is made to more cabins than they need people to take it; it is given to the first people who contact Princess. The people at check in are not prepared to re-book your cruise, although they can undoubtedly ask you to call Princess if they still need your cabin.

 

These offers can happen with any type of cabin. We require an HA cabin and we were able to take advantage of a "move down" offer. We later learned that a corporate group wanted to book a group of cabins, but they wanted everyone in the group to be located near each other and they needed at least 2 HA cabins. Thus, those who had those cabins got "move down" offers. It worked well for us.

 

Move down offers are not as good as "move over" offers, but are still good.

 

We also had (on a different cruise) a delayed embarkation. Princess was great about notifications. We were notified by e-mail and text message; later we got a call from the TA with the same information. In fairness, boarding was on a weekend when the TA has limited hours and staff.

[fishywood]

That sounds too good to be true!!! Are you absolutely sure that it wasn't phishing?

 

Second thought why didn't Princess offer you that at check in?

 

It wasn't offered to them at check in as very likely enough people called immediately to free up the needed balcony cabins. Thus filling up the possible obstructed view cabins to reassign them to.

 

Hardly too good to be true; actually it is a routine "voluntary downgrade" offer (technically not a "move over" as the offer is not to change sailing dates) and 100% of fare as OBC is standard compensation these days--seems Princess needs to adjust its overbooking matrix based on the number of recent "offers" threads on here.

 

(And how on earth could it be phishing? The e-mail is just a solicitation to phone them back if you wish to accept the offer. No bogus links to click, no personal information being asked for other than possibly the booking number when calling)

[chrysalis]

Last year, we received a move over offer very near the end of leg #2 of a B2B2B on the Royal. Too complicated to deal with it while already on the ship, and at the last minute.

[EllenSunny1]

Can the obc be used to book another cruise while onboard?

 

 

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[moki'smommy]

Can the obc be used to book another cruise while onboard?

 

 

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No, it can't. BUT it is fully refundable OBC. You can pay the $100 deposit on a future cruise and use the refund to pay off the cruise. Our check came about 3 weeks after the cruise (they said up to 6 weeks). We spent a lot on excursions and still had a lovely refund. They also changed all our other OBC to fully refundable (stuff like shareholder's credit that is normally not refundable).

[JF - retired RRT]

Can the obc be used to book another cruise while onboard?

Probably not. You have to use a credit card to book.

Altho', the future cruise person might be able to massage it a little.

[EllenSunny1]

No' date=' it can't. BUT it is fully refundable OBC. You can pay the $100 deposit on a future cruise and use the refund to pay off the cruise. Our check came about 3 weeks after the cruise (they said up to 6 weeks). We spent a lot on excursions and still had a lovely refund. They also changed all our other OBC to fully refundable (stuff like shareholder's credit that is normally not refundable).[/quote']

 

 

 

Thx for the info. I’m booked on the Regal next month and given the chance will jump on an offer.

 

 

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[kip6]

Just returned home from my Panama Canal cruise on the Coral. Sat down to check my email (I don't check email while on vacation) and there it was..... sent at 3:45PM the day before we boarded the Coral - a Move Over offer to switch from our balcony room to an obstructed oceanview with a full credit of our cruise fare ($7,000) as refundable OBC! I would have jumped at that one. Lesson learned. Offers can come at any time before departure. Check Your Email!

 

btw For those wondering who receives Move Over offers - I have no idea. This was my first Princess cruise. I booked early under sip 'n sail.

 

I am on a Princess Cruise leaving 11th February, so in 3 days, and was offered a Move Over that involved not taking this cruise but being fully reimbursed and also a free 14 day cruise anywhere in the world. Not bad but unfortunately travelling with others who did not get the email and offer. So was unable to take up the offer.

[Alimariecruisin]

We were scheduled to leave our home at 7am on Sat. the 23rd of December for a 7 night Christmas Mexican cruise on Ruby (we drive 3 and half hours from our home in CA to the port) when I received a phone call at 2:30pm on Friday Dec. 22nd from a Princess rep...offering a move over to any 7 night cruise with upgraded cabin from our balcony to a minisuite plus our entire paid cruise fare to be given back as refundable onboard credit. So a free cruise in a minisuite with all our money back...we took it! I figure it is at least a $8000 plus free deal. Yep it does happen...

[Lucky TGO]

Wow that would make me sick. Sorry

Tony

[geoherb]

I did not find out about our only move-over offer until after a cruise back in 2006. At the time, DH was a professor at a community college, so we could not have switched our vacation plans easily. I did hear about others receiving the offer during our Cruise Critic meet and greet. Obviously, they had not taken it either.

 

 

For our British isles cruise last summer, several folks on our roll call received move-down offers to go from balcony cabins to insides in exchange for their cruise fare given back as refundable onboard credit. That was a sweet offer for them. I would have taken it.

[anthonyy7]

I use a TA and always mark "no upgrades", would this keep me from not receiving these offers?

[katisdale]

No you can still receive move over or move down offers. We have gotten move over offers even though I require an accessible cabin and have it marked "no upgrades". However they have come after we have arrived in Europe prior to the cruise. We might have accepted if they had offered before we flew.

[Host CJSKIDS]

That would have killed me to have seen that after the fact. Thanks for the warning. Our next sailing is sold out and I would love a move over offer but I"m sure after being so lucky in getting the price that I did, luck won't come around twice.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The day before our first Princess cruise in 2003 we had a message on our machine with a move over offer --if we postponed our cruise for a couple of weeks, we would get a full refund and an upgrade from the lowest category on the ship to a balcony.

 

 

We didn't take the offer even though we were driving to the port (so no hotel or flight that had to be changed). We were already packed (and had our daughter's kinder homework) and were raring to go on a Princess cruise after six Carnival ones.

I'm sure that after we didn't call them back, they went to the next person and gave them the same or better offer.

[abbydancer2003]

We got a call the day before our last cruise with what they called a move over, but was actually a voluntary downgrade.

 

We were in a minisuite and they offered us a premium balcony with an OBC equal to one fare. Because it was a 3 day cruise, we took it. Two of three nights we did specialty dining, and we still got a nice check back afterwards.

 

It was done with a phone call, and I think I had to confirm on the spot.

[moki'smommy]

We got a call the day before our last cruise with what they called a move over, but was actually a voluntary downgrade.

 

We were in a minisuite and they offered us a premium balcony with an OBC equal to one fare. Because it was a 3 day cruise, we took it. Two of three nights we did specialty dining, and we still got a nice check back afterwards.

 

It was done with a phone call, and I think I had to confirm on the spot.

I guess the offer depends on how desperate they are for your room. When we did a voluntary downgrade, we got a full refund of everything we'd paid for that cruise. But we did have to go from a balcony to an inside cabin.

[abbydancer2003]

I guess the offer depends on how desperate they are for your room. When we did a voluntary downgrade' date=' we got a full refund of everything we'd paid for that cruise. But we did have to go from a balcony to an inside cabin.[/quote']

 

Now that I remember, we also took a downgrade from a midship mini to a forward mini. I think we got about 50.00 OBC, maybe 100.00. The funny thing was that we'd received a complimentary upgrade to the mid ship, and I think we got OBC to go back to our original room.

[Funkat]

Our next cruise in March is sold out. We would consider an offer but I wonder about the airfare. Our flights are booked through Princess EZair but I would think there would be charges incurred to change dates at the last minute? Anyone know how they handle this part of it?

 

I doubt that we will receive an offer, but still curious. With the cost of our r/t airfare to Sydney, that would definitely have to be a consideration.

[moki'smommy]

Our next cruise in March is sold out. We would consider an offer but I wonder about the airfare. Our flights are booked through Princess EZair but I would think there would be charges incurred to change dates at the last minute? Anyone know how they handle this part of it?

 

I doubt that we will receive an offer, but still curious. With the cost of our r/t airfare to Sydney, that would definitely have to be a consideration.

If your flights are booked thru EZ air, Princess will cover the cost of your EZ air on the new cruise(s) that you select. If your flights are booked by you independently, Princess typically offers $100 to cover airline change fees.

 

Since I was curious, I looked up change fees on my JetBlue flights for our upcoming cruise. We will have change fees of $600 ($150 each way for 2 people). Princess would pay $200 of that. I don't expect a move over offer, but thought I'd be prepared with some data and some thoughts as to what we'd like to book "just in case."

[fishywood]

Our next cruise in March is sold out. We would consider an offer but I wonder about the airfare. Our flights are booked through Princess EZair but I would think there would be charges incurred to change dates at the last minute? Anyone know how they handle this part of it?

 

I doubt that we will receive an offer, but still curious. With the cost of our r/t airfare to Sydney, that would definitely have to be a consideration.

 

If you are rescheduling on the spot for the identical itinerary on a different date, and you had booked EZAir, Princess should reissue the tickets at no cost to you. But be sure to establish this before accepting the offer.

 

But if simply banking the 100% OBC for your choice of any other cruise (or two) at a later date, Princess would likely reimburse you for the airline's change fee but not any difference in fare. It would be entirely your responsibility to book a new cruise within the time limit that you can reuse your airline tickets, even if purchased through EZAir.

[Smokeyham]

We were on a layover while flying to join our cruise, and got a very nice "bump down" offer. We thought about it, but had been planning this cruise (Alaska) for over a year and had carefully picked our cabin, and so turned them down.