Princess now requiring their form to transfer to TA

[cruzrbachoua]

Hi not sure if anyone else had this issue.  I guess last November Princess changed the policy that they now require their form be filled out in order to transfer a cruise you booked on own.  In the past I was able to put a courtesy hold on it and later that day he had it...boom done.  Now I put one on hold yesterday off the new openings and princess played hardball with him.  I had emailed him the courtesy hold notice I got and in the email stated he could take it over and the other items I needed him to final book for us ...he contacted me today and said I had to fill out the form no ifs ands or buts, I did and he later called back to state I should go ahead and make the deposit as he was told it could take up to 2 days to get it assigned to him and then my courtesy hold would have expired and I would have lost my cabin on the Pacific Princess.  I went ahead and placed the deposit and let princess know that I think it is crazy.  They said we have to have it in writing, I said you did I sent him a very explicit email.  Good thing I wasn't traveling and was able to do this.  

 

Just a heads up...

[dstables]

2 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Hi not sure if anyone else had this issue.  I guess last November Princess changed the policy that they now require their form be filled out in order to transfer a cruise you booked on own.  In the past I was able to put a courtesy hold on it and later that day he had it...boom done.  Now I put one on hold yesterday off the new openings and princess played hardball with him.  I had emailed him the courtesy hold notice I got and in the email stated he could take it over and the other items I needed him to final book for us ...he contacted me today and said I had to fill out the form no ifs ands or buts, I did and he later called back to state I should go ahead and make the deposit as he was told it could take up to 2 days to get it assigned to him and then my courtesy hold would have expired and I would have lost my cabin on the Pacific Princess.  I went ahead and placed the deposit and let princess know that I think it is crazy.  They said we have to have it in writing, I said you did I sent him a very explicit email.  Good thing I wasn't traveling and was able to do this.  

 

Just a heads up...

I just booked on line on Wednesday for the Sky Princess 2021 and did a courtesy hold and told my TA to transfer it over to her. No problem. She had it that same day and I received her discounted invoice this morning. Maybe some TA’s have more pull with Princess?  

[cruzrbachoua]

possibly..but even when I called princess..(yeah I know how that goes) several reps said it was not mandatory based on some issues they recently had...they did not elaborate. I have been with him for 12 years...he was mad too. I don't mind filling it out if that is necessary but nothing was on their website for that...at least that I saw.

[4cats4me]

I booked with my FCDs two nights ago and was able to transfer it to her yesterday without filling out a form. In the past when I’ve simply put  a hold on a cruise and tried to transfer, she informed me that the process wouldn’t be as strait forward.  

Edited May 10, 2019 by 4cats4me

[Steelers36]

In the past, I have only heard of the transfer from TA#1 to TA#2 as being a bit of a hassle and requiring extra steps. 

 

With my TA, I can book the cruise on their website engine and then have my agent take it on, so normally no transfer from Princess is required.

 

[cruzrbachoua]

Yeah that is what I have been doing for 12 years and now this time princess through a stink.  He even had his boss call and email.  I called and spoke to 2 different people who said yes it was a new change but would note my complaint. 

[cr8tiv1]

I put a hold on a last minute cruise (March for May) and my TA picked it up with no problems at all.  No deposit.  No FCD.  Just a verbal "I want to put this on hold" and gave them my TA's name.

[Thrak]

I transferred 3 during the "grace period" when they instituted the new transfer policies. I used to just transfer right before final payment but one can't do than anymore. At that time they were adamant about the new form. I had to fill it out, print it, sign it, scan it back into the computer, and then email it. It was a pain but I did it as they were insistent the new form had to be used. Since then I've read a lot of posts saying Princess has backed off on the requirement. Sounds like the OP got a "hard case" at Princess.

[pris993]

I book book directly with Princess... solves the problem..then I and Princess are in control of the booking.. ..found this is the way to go several years ago... no problems at all.

[capriccio]

As soon as bookings opened for Tahiti last month, I made my reservation by calling Princess direct because I wanted a specific cabin and didn't want to even wait for my TA to have time to reserve it.  I told the customer service rep I wanted to transfer the reservation to my TA immediately.  The Princess rep advised me to forward the Princess deposit confirmation to my TA via email noting that we authorized the transfer.  I did just that and my TA responded that she would complete and submit the form to Princess.  Within a couple of hours my TA sent me her Cruise Deposit Confirmation reflecting her discount.  Everything was taken care of quickly and efficiently on a very busy day for both Princess and my TA.

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, pris993 said:

I book book directly with Princess... solves the problem..then I and Princess are in control of the booking.. ..found this is the way to go several years ago... no problems at all.

Saving 9% of the cruise costs is not worth it for everyone, but it is for many of us.

[pris993]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

Saving 9% of the cruise costs is not worth it for everyone, but it is for many of us.

I booked with TAs for years, never saved any money.   Now I book during launch fares and save compared to booking prices later in the year.  Plus I usually get a good on board credit.  Most TAs in the past gave me the same on board credit that Princess did and claimed credit for it but I knew better.   I live in the San Francisco bay area, hard to find a good TA.  I do not like big box store TAs or on line.   So working with Princess or other cruise lines directly works for us, we have well over 60 cruises over past 40 years... so we know what we want.  Yes... some folks have found a TA they feels give them a good deal, I don't bother to try find any more here.  

[dstables]

7 hours ago, pris993 said:

I booked with TAs for years, never saved any money.   Now I book during launch fares and save compared to booking prices later in the year.  Plus I usually get a good on board credit.  Most TAs in the past gave me the same on board credit that Princess did and claimed credit for it but I knew better.   I live in the San Francisco bay area, hard to find a good TA.  I do not like big box store TAs or on line.   So working with Princess or other cruise lines directly works for us, we have well over 60 cruises over past 40 years... so we know what we want.  Yes... some folks have found a TA they feels give them a good deal, I don't bother to try find any more here.  

We book the Sky Princess for 2021 for 20 days. We are from Canada but our small office TA is in the US she can book us in CDN funds or US funds and always saves me 8-10% off of the launch Princess fare or any sale price. She saved us $250.00 per person on this booking. 

[famski740]

I booked a 2021 cruise on the new Enchanted Princess last night with my TA.  Went online and put a hold on the cabin I wanted then notified TA with confirmation number and all details.  She immediately sent me a quote of almost 11% less then princess ( plus added her own OBC) and I told her to go ahead.  She completed the form and everything with princess and sent me a completed confirmation within a couple of hours.  We talked and she said that we would look at the "Sip & Sail" promotion when it comes out in June and then again at the "3 for Free" promotion when it comes out in September in order to get the best values.

Edited May 11, 2019 by famski740

[pris993]

2 hours ago, dstables said:

We book the Sky Princess for 2021 for 20 days. We are from Canada but our small office TA is in the US she can book us in CDN funds or US funds and always saves me 8-10% off of the launch Princess fare or any sale price. She saved us $250.00 per person on this booking. 

Good for you, small office TAs generally are the best... most here have gone out of business, too much overhead, i.e., rent etc. for them to stay in  business.  

[dog]

I'm experiencing the same issue as OP. If I put cruise on hold, contact my TA ---when she is working, to take over booking,  I pay her my deposit, possibly getting OBC or lower price, I MUST fax the form to Princess, which takes time---losing my hold, and cabin.  I've been told an email or phone call to Princess will not do.

If I pay Princess they will not let me transfer to my TA, like they did in the past.

My TA has lost a couple of my bookings because of this new policy.

 

[jwattle]

38 minutes ago, dog said:

I'm experiencing the same issue as OP. If I put cruise on hold, contact my TA ---when she is working, to take over booking,  I pay her my deposit, possibly getting OBC or lower price, I MUST fax the form to Princess, which takes time---losing my hold, and cabin.  I've been told an email or phone call to Princess will not do.

If I pay Princess they will not let me transfer to my TA, like they did in the past.

My TA has lost a couple of my bookings because of this new policy.

 

If you pay your deposit to Princess, you CAN still transfer to your TA, you just have to use the form  😃.

[capriccio]

16 minutes ago, jwattle said:

If you pay your deposit to Princess, you CAN still transfer to your TA, you just have to use the form  😃.

dog - And why won't your TA fill out the form for you?  As long as the TA has an email (which I presume they attach to the transfer form) from you authorizing the transfer that is good enough for Princess.

[cruzrbachoua]

Was told it needs to have my signature 

[Gracie115]

Princess also has changed their policy about how long you have to transfer to a TA after initial booking.  It has to be done within 60 days....we found this out the hard way earlier this week when trying to transfer a cruise we first booked back in November....thankfully it was just a short 5 night cruise so we won't lose much in perks by not transferring.

[capriccio]

8 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Was told it needs to have my signature 

Who told you this - the TA or a Princess representative?

 

If it was the latter, this seems to be another case of differing instructions depending on who you talk to at Princess!  The customer service rep that made my reservation specifically told me to forward the Princess confirmation to my TA via email and note that we want this reservation transferred to the TA.  That is all we had to do.  We signed nothing other than the implied signature on our email.  The TA completed and successfully submitted the transfer form. 

[Thrak]

When I transferred my 3 bookings during the grace period I was told by Princess that I most definitely had to physically sign the form. There's a line on the bottom for the signature.

 

The form is located here: 

Transfer-Request-Form-1.pdf

[cruzrbachoua]

I was told by both people at princess I talked to and my ta was told by his rep and he told me...he actually forwarded me the email from his rep with the form

[capriccio]

50 minutes ago, Thrak said:

When I transferred my 3 bookings during the grace period I was told by Princess that I most definitely had to physically sign the form. There's a line on the bottom for the signature.

 

The form is located here: 

Transfer-Request-Form-1.pdf

 

 

3 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

I was told by both people at princess I talked to and my ta was told by his rep and he told me...he actually forwarded me the email from his rep with the form

 

I guess I should have played the lottery that day! 

[voljeep]

4 hours ago, pris993 said:

Good for you, small office TAs generally are the best... most here have gone out of business, too much overhead, i.e., rent etc. for them to stay in  business.  

especially when taking "8% - 12%" out of their commission ...