Princess British Isles cruise prices in 2018 v 2019.

[sammybonny]

For UK residents, their entire booking system is totally different than here in the US. UK laws come into affect and their fares include things those of us in the US have to pay extra for, like insurance. It's just a completely different ball game. If I lived in the UK, I'd only book at the last minute unless it was a cruise I couldn't live without.

 

I've done both British Isles cruises - the Southampton one and the Dover one. Prices never really dropped that much for either one of them. They seemed to stay pretty steady during the last 4-5 months.

You are right about the system being different here in the UK but unfortunately our fare doesnt include travel insurance and we dont get any promotions such as the sip and sail. I have heard recently that we can refare but only once and have to pay an admin fee of £100.

We also lose our deposit if we need to cancel a cruise and this can be 15% of the total price.

We have just booked the British Isles cruise in July because the price has dropped to half of what it was a few months ago otherwise we wouldnt bother until last minute.

 

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[NSWP]

is it true that after final payment you can no longer ask for a fare reduction or is it worth a shot?

 

I was told by Princess office in Sydney - No refares after final payment.:halo:

[NSWP]

You are right about the system being different here in the UK but unfortunately our fare doesnt include travel insurance and we dont get any promotions such as the sip and sail. I have heard recently that we can refare but only once and have to pay an admin fee of £100.

We also lose our deposit if we need to cancel a cruise and this can be 15% of the total price.

We have just booked the British Isles cruise in July because the price has dropped to half of what it was a few months ago otherwise we wouldnt bother until last minute.

 

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We don't get the free travel insurance from Princess either. Cost us AU$750 in insurance for a couple of months in Europe this year, cruises and land travel. None of this 'sip n' sail either, nor free gratuities. Only a bit of Promo OBC/Military OBC and this '3 for free promo.' Bottle of wine, cover charge restaurant dinner and a bit more obc. No good complaining because no one is going to listen.

 

Certainly Princess looks after its North American customers more than the Brits and Aussies.:evilsmile:

[Al54]

Not only in UK or Australia, in EU any change in your booking ("re-faring" or not) is considered as "cancelling and re-booking" and you loose your cabin and your 20% deposit and more (depending on your "cancellation" date) and, no, you don't get any insurance, except if you pay for it. Some cruiselines, like Silversea have some "re-faring" policies, but it's under specifics conditions.

 

 

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[sunsetbeachgal]

US fares don’t include travel insurance. It is an optional additional cost. I have never seen a promotion on Princess that includes free travel insurance.

 

 

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[Al54]

US fares don’t include travel insurance. It is an optional additional cost. I have never seen a promotion on Princess that includes free travel insurance.

 

 

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Sorry, I know that no country has a free travel insurance included by "the law" in cruise fares. I was just quoting (quote failed) a precedent post who said that, in UK, cruise passengers have specials benefits, like a free travel insurance : it's not true, either in US, AUS, UK or EU. Sorry if my post wasn't clear.

 

 

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[Ken the cruiser]

Sorry, I know that no country has a free travel insurance included by "the law" in cruise fares. I was just quoting (quote failed) a precedent post who said that, in UK, cruise passengers have specials benefits, like a free travel insurance : it's not true, either in US, AUS, UK or EU. Sorry if my post wasn't clear.

 

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I know when we make the Captain Circle "Ruby" level, we get the following:

 

As a Ruby Member, when you purchase Princess Vacation Protection at the standard rate, Princess will purchase an upgrade to Princess Platinum Vacation Protection automatically on your behalf.

 

But I'm assuming that's for everyone, not just for us in the US. Is that true?

[Al54]

You're right : that's a captain club's perk, so available to any member. But, if I understand well, you have to pay for the "basic princess insurance" and get an upgrade to a higher contract, so it's only an ugrade, not a free insurance, and it has nothing to do with any national law, but with a loyalty program. Am I wrong?

I have seen, at least, three times on CC forums that UK or EU passengers get perks from their national law like "free travel insurance". It's an "urban legend" (or'Sea legend?) and I just wanted to say : "it's not true". I'm not complaining about the differences between american and european market perks, just trying to give a direct information about those differences.

 

 

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[DrivesLikeMario]

You are right about the system being different here in the UK but unfortunately our fare doesnt include travel insurance and we dont get any promotions such as the sip and sail. I have heard recently that we can refare but only once and have to pay an admin fee of £100.

We also lose our deposit if we need to cancel a cruise and this can be 15% of the total price.

We have just booked the British Isles cruise in July because the price has dropped to half of what it was a few months ago otherwise we wouldnt bother until last minute.

 

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I thought you have built-in insurance or fraud protection per the government's requirements?

[sammybonny]

I thought you have built-in insurance or fraud protection per the government's requirements?

In the UK there is a voluntary scheme that most travel agents are members of ABTA which if the company was to go out of business your money would be reimbursed or they would cover your costs to return home if already on holiday.

 

There is another scheme which all travel companies who provide air travel have to hold a licence ATOL. Flights would be arranged to get you home if the airline went out of business.

 

If payment is made by credit card you can claim from the card company if the goods/holiday dont exist because of fraud or going out of business.

 

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[DrivesLikeMario]

In the UK there is a voluntary scheme that most travel agents are members of ABTA which if the company was to go out of business your money would be reimbursed or they would cover your costs to return home if already on holiday.

 

There is another scheme which all travel companies who provide air travel have to hold a licence ATOL. Flights would be arranged to get you home if the airline went out of business.

 

If payment is made by credit card you can claim from the card company if the goods/holiday dont exist because of fraud or going out of business.

 

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Thanks for explaining that. Very interesting! (y)

[shipfriend_max]

We’re looking at the Princess British Isles cruise for next year, but the prices are more than double what they are for this year. I really want to book it, but when will the prices go down? Anyone know? For example, mini suite is $1699 this May, but $3499 next May for exact same cruise. Prices have been this drastically different for some time now.

 

Usually when the itineraries get released 1.5 years in advance, Princess takes very high fares. It was the same by the end of 2016, when Princess released the itineraries for summer 2018, including Royal Princess around GB/Ireland.

I also noticed it by the end of 2015 when the new 2017 itineraires came out they were very highly priced, by mid 2016 the fares went down.

So be patient and watch the prices. I am sure once we hit summer or fall the prices for 2019 will go down. At the laest in Dec 18 or Jan 19, when the new 2020 summer collection gets released. Just be patient and wait. :)

[anthonyy7]

Definitely wait, we booked a 2018 British Isles last summer. There has been a few price drops since and prices have dropped a lot. We’ve saved thousands by rebooking. If your not in the US I would say just hold off until Jan/Feb 2019.

[NSWP]

Definitely wait, we booked a 2018 British Isles last summer. There has been a few price drops since and prices have dropped a lot. We’ve saved thousands by rebooking. If your not in the US I would say just hold off until Jan/Feb 2019.

 

But often the ships fill up fast and you could miss out by attempting to book late. eg. on our next 3 cruises in a few months Sapphire x 2 (Scandinavia/Baltics) and Royal (British Isles) the ships are 95% full, not much to choose from.

 

We are early bookers direct with Princess then get refares at no cost, if the opportunity arises, by monitoring the cruise price every few days.:halo: