Princess Loses 'Price and Perks' Comparison with Celebrity

[Kartgv]

Is anyone else disappointed with the latest Princess promotions?

 

We've been deciding on a Canada/New England cruise for September 2019, narrowed our choices down to the Caribbean Princess 10 nights between NYC & Quebec and Celebrity Summit 14 nights RT Bayonne/Quebec. We want to do something special for this trip, so looked at Club Class on Princess and Aqua Class on Celebrity - pretty comparable accommodations/services. We've been on both ships, both are fine, and are happy with both cruise lines, with Princess getting the edge recently. We pre-registered for a sale starting this week with one of the large online TA's, and today compared pricing and perks.

 

Princess works out to be $839/night/couple, with the new Sip 'n Sale as a perk. We also get a small loyalty OBC from Princess, plus the military credit - maybe $200 total, plus generous free internet minutes from our loyalty status.

 

Celebrity works out to be $651/night/couple, with the following perks: Free Premium Drink package, Free Gratuities, Free Unlimited Internet, plus $300 OBC.

 

It shouldn't be hard to figure out which we chose. While most of the Celebrity perks come from a great TA/Celebrity promotion, we were very disappointed to find nothing comparable for Princess. We Googled Princess promotions, hoping to find something a little more competitive with another TA, but didn't find anything. The same Celebrity promotion was available for all cruises, with much less date restriction that the current Sip 'n Sail.

 

Any ideas why Princess has been less competitive lately? They're still our favorite, but we can't justify the major difference in this case.

[kywildcatfanone]

Princess seems to have become a nickle and dime cruise line, and their prices are higher, even with promos.

[fishywood]

Apples and oranges. Or maybe more like watermelons and kumquats.

 

Celebrity Summit is one of their older M-class ships. Closest Princess comparison would be to the Sun-class ships.

 

The Club Class Mini Suites on Caribbean Princess are midship on a middle deck, with only other cabins above and below. The Aqua Class cabins on Summit are on higher decks with public areas above them, mostly forward or aft (only a few could be considered midship). And no bathtub as in Princess Mini-Suites.

 

And are you certain you are getting the Premium Drink Package as the promo from Celebrity? Usually they only give the Classic Beverage Package which is far less inclusive than Princess' PBP. You may find yourself paying the difference either for a better package or a lot of drinks, as X's bars are all stacked with items over the allowable cost in their packages.

 

Also note the free internet on Celebrity will be limited to one device. Not just one device at a time, but only the single one you use the first time you sign on. Cannot be alternately used by cabinmate's different devices as on Princess.

Edited June 27, 2018 by fishywood

[Smileyatsea]

It sounds like they booked the Go Best promotion with Celebrity which does include the premium drink package.

 

Celebrity’s internet is in fact a one device at a time. You can switch devices. We have numerous times.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Kartgv]

...Celebrity Summit is one of their older M-class ships. Closest Princess comparison would be to the Sun-class ships.

 

The Club Class Mini Suites on Caribbean Princess are midship on a middle deck, with only other cabins above and below. The Aqua Class cabins on Summit are on higher decks with public areas above them, mostly forward or aft (only a few could be considered midship). And no bathtub as in Princess Mini-Suites.

 

And are you certain you are getting the Premium Drink Package as the promo from Celebrity? ….Also note the free internet on Celebrity will be limited to one device....

 

You have some good points that might affect some travelers' decisions, but...

 

We've been on both ships and enjoyed both. Yes, the Summit is a little older, but she's a classic beautiful design and we enjoy the smaller size, so no problem there.

 

You're right about the cabin location, but neither of us gets sea sick, so upper decks/forward or aft doesn't bother us. Actually quite a few of the Aqua Class cabins on Sky Deck are mid-ship, but we chose one more forward so that we're under the quiet adults only Solarium Pool rather than the main pool. Most cabin reviews for this area say they are quiet. The lack of a tub is a non-issue - we both have trouble getting in and out of them and prefer the upgraded shower in Aqua Class.

 

Yes, we're sure we're getting Premium Drinks. As Smileyatsea said, we upgraded to Go Best for $400 more; that is included in the price comparisons.

 

The single device internet is no problem at all - we only take one device on cruises.

[moki'smommy]

It sounds like you're getting what you want fro Celebrity...so go with them on this cruise.

 

We're very happy with our Princess deal for Alaska--complimentary grats, one specialty dining each, and some OBC in the package. We also got shareholder's OBC, loyalty internet, and a cabin upgrade. That's not bad. I didn't even shop around!

[jagoffee]

You have some good points that might affect some travelers' decisions, but...

 

We've been on both ships and enjoyed both. Yes, the Summit is a little older, but she's a classic beautiful design and we enjoy the smaller size, so no problem there.

 

You're right about the cabin location, but neither of us gets sea sick, so upper decks/forward or aft doesn't bother us. Actually quite a few of the Aqua Class cabins on Sky Deck are mid-ship, but we chose one more forward so that we're under the quiet adults only Solarium Pool rather than the main pool. Most cabin reviews for this area say they are quiet. The lack of a tub is a non-issue - we both have trouble getting in and out of them and prefer the upgraded shower in Aqua Class.

 

Yes, we're sure we're getting Premium Drinks. As Smileyatsea said, we upgraded to Go Best for $400 more; that is included in the price comparisons.

 

The single device internet is no problem at all - we only take one device on cruises.

 

I cruise on both Celebrity and Princess and the points in both your post are valid in my experience. I almost always find better value on the Celebrity total package, but I still cruise on Princess when the itineraries are what I want. For instance I did the RT 28 day cruise from San Pedro to the French Polynesia with Princess. I have a one way Alaska cruise and a Ocean to Ocean Panama cruise (in a larger ship, so I can experience the new locks) booked with Princess.

 

One point that you may have missed is that a Cabin for a Club Class Minisuite is significantly better and bigger than an AQ cabin. Although I have only had one cruise using Club Class Dining, I enjoyed it more than Blu.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

P.S. if compare a Celebrity cruise on the new Edge you will not find the same value.

[geoherb]

Every time I look at Celebrity versus Princess, Princess has won recently. For our upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise, the Princess base price is the same as a Celebrity trans-Atlantic of the same length. The difference is that Princess is giving us free gratuities and a great airfare.

[neverbeenhere]

Stackable OBC is a Princess winner.

Suites are a Celebrity winner.

West coast is a Princess winner.

 

It is very necessary to compare many cruises before concluding the winner.

 

We have cruised “a few” times on each line, we love Celebrity, but we know Princess is a better “deal”.

 

But but but, we will continue to compare.

[Pam in CA]

You don’t seem to take into account that on Princess, TAs can discount fares and give additional OBC. You can save at least 10% or more. Not all TAs offer discounts but with a good TA, you can save a lot over booking directly.

[riffatsea]

I have found that what TAs can offer varies a lot.

We booked our Panama Canal cruise under the 3 for free promotion.

I then tried to find a TA who would offer something more and didn't find anything except maybe $50 extra OBC. No price reduction at all so I guess it depends on how you booked and which cruise to see if a TA will offer you something better.

We are happy with what we got from Princess directly.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

I have found that what TAs can offer varies a lot.

We booked our Panama Canal cruise under the 3 for free promotion.

I then tried to find a TA who would offer something more and didn't find anything except maybe $50 extra OBC. No price reduction at all so I guess it depends on how you booked and which cruise to see if a TA will offer you something better.

We are happy with what we got from Princess directly.

 

I agree that what TA's offer varies a lot. I shopped around a while back, and was surprised to see how many basically quoted by email, the same price as what is on the Princess WEB site. A few, actually quoted higher, as they had booking fees.

 

We have always gotten at least 8-9% off the Princess WEB site prices with the agent we use, regardless of the Princess promotion, and sometimes, extra OBC.

 

 

The only one we have booked that we could not do better on was the recent three day sale, that was exclusive to the online TA as they worked out their own deal with Princess. The perks were worth it to us, even if we factored in the savings we would have gotten from our normal TA with their discount.

[Cruise Junky]

You don’t seem to take into account that on Princess, TAs can discount fares and give additional OBC. You can save at least 10% or more. Not all TAs offer discounts but with a good TA, you can save a lot over booking directly.

 

Even 10% though is still putting this cruise $100 per day more expensive.

 

OP, stick with Celebrity.

[rockdoctor]

Your cost analysis leaves out a comparison of port days and sea days for the two cruises. The Princess Cruise has more ports and fewer sea days. We did the more expensive Eastern Canada CruiseTour with Princess for 16 days and saw much more of ananda than on the 14 day Celebrity Cruise. How do you want to use your time?

[Kartgv]

What bothered us about this scenario is that we did our homework, asked several TA's that have given us great Princess deals in the past what they could do for us on this cruise. In each case, the answer was 'not much'; except the Sip'n Sail promotion that applies to a comparatively narrow time frame. Has anyone that booked in the last week or two found a good Princess offer? Could Princess for some reason be cutting back on the number of TA's that are able to do special pricing?

 

For Rockdoctor, actually the number of sea days worked in Celebrity's favor this time. The days when we could do 6 port days in a row are sadly behind us.

[caribill]

Could Princess for some reason be cutting back on the number of TA's that are able to do special pricing?

 

 

Princess does not decide which (or how many) TAs are able to give discounts. That is up to the individual TAs.

 

Some TAs give discounts by taking the money from their commissions. Since commissions are not always generous, the discounts from the commissions may not be very big.

 

Some TAs set up for "group space" on voyages. By doing so, they get a discount on the pricing from Princess and if you are part of a TA's group space, you can have a larger discount if the TA passes the savings on to you.

 

TAs also get "amenity points" they can use for various purposes. Sometimes a TA will use these points to provide benefits to the passenger. This can include extra OBC, wine, dinner at a specialty dining room, casino credit, etc. However another option for a TA is not to use these points for the benefit of the passenger, but instead to get an extra commission for him/herself.

[thinfool]

As for the price differences...IMO, when Princess begins to have trouble filling their ships, the prices will adjust accordingly.

 

Maintaining a higher price than Celebrity only says that Princess is being successful with the product that they are offering.

[tailspintom]

Princess does not decide which (or how many) TAs are able to give discounts. That is up to the individual TAs.

 

Some TAs give discounts by taking the money from their commissions. Since commissions are not always generous, the discounts from the commissions may not be very big.

 

Some TAs set up for "group space" on voyages. By doing so, they get a discount on the pricing from Princess and if you are part of a TA's group space, you can have a larger discount if the TA passes the savings on to you.

 

TAs also get "amenity points" they can use for various purposes. Sometimes a TA will use these points to provide benefits to the passenger. This can include extra OBC, wine, dinner at a specialty dining room, casino credit, etc. However another option for a TA is not to use these points for the benefit of the passenger, but instead to get an extra commission for him/herself.

Yep, we were once beneficiaries of that. When we were about to book something with the future cruise person, she suggested that we use our listed agent in that they had better placed cabins for less money. Pretty principled of her.

[Cruise Junky]

As for the price differences...IMO, when Princess begins to have trouble filling their ships, the prices will adjust accordingly.

 

Maintaining a higher price than Celebrity only says that Princess is being successful with the product that they are offering.

Then they must be having serious issues filling ships in Alaska right now judging by the sales.

[moki'smommy]

Then they must be having serious issues filling ships in Alaska right now judging by the sales.

It depends on how you look at it. Yes, the dollar amounts are a bit lower than what we paid. But I got complimentary grats, a specialty dinner, and a small amount of OBC, making the booking I originally made a few hundred cheaper than the current offer for the same date. That's pricing from the Princess web site; I haven't found one of those amazing discounting TAs yet. I do use my TA who gives great service, and on my last cruise her group added a small OBC.

[richsea]

Kartgv, we have found the opposite to be true regarding recent pricing between Princess and Celebrity; at least in the Caribbean. I am sure there are sailings where the reverse is true, but by and large, we have seen Celebrity’s pricing inch higher and higher lately. We have been long time Celebrity cruisers, but since both lines provide the type of cruise experience we prefer, usually the better value wins out, and for the past two years, that has been Princess. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Have a fantastic cruise! We love Summit for her size and decor.

[caribill]

Yep, we were once beneficiaries of that. When we were about to book something with the future cruise person, she suggested that we use our listed agent in that they had better placed cabins for less money. Pretty principled of her.

 

The TA may have better pricing, but the TAs do not reserve in advance specific cabins. They have access to the same inventory that the future cruise rep has.

 

When I use a TA with "group pricing" I can always select my cabin from what I see is available on the Princess web site.

[villauk]

Kartgv, we have found the opposite to be true regarding recent pricing between Princess and Celebrity; at least in the Caribbean. I am sure there are sailings where the reverse is true, but by and large, we have seen Celebrity’s pricing inch higher and higher lately. We have been long time Celebrity cruisers, but since both lines provide the type of cruise experience we prefer, usually the better value wins out, and for the past two years, that has been Princess. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Have a fantastic cruise! We love Summit for her size and decor.

 

I have to agree with price comparisons for X in 2019. In the same time period (height of the summer), we can take 13 nights on Princess for less than 7 nights on Celebrity in the Med :eek:.