Does base price rise when 3 for Free is offered??

[riffatsea]

Booked 3 for Free last year for Panama Canal.

Considering Hawaii for Dec.2020. Lots of cabins available so not booking right now but

wondering if base price generally goes up when 3 for Free perks /sale is offered??

BTW last year I couldn't find a travel agent to offer anything better than what Princess offered.

I know many of you seem to do better than that but they couldn't beat price or offer any more

perks even though we were booking a full suite!

Any thoughts??

[jasbo49]

Coming up first, in the latter part of June, will probably be the Sip and Sail promo. We'll find out then whether fares to up to account for the "freebies."

 

My recollection is that the 3 for Free that follows carries pretty much the same fares as the S and S. It seems to me that some prices will go up for these, but a fair number of our bookings haven't seen increased fares.

 

Jim

[JF - retired RRT]

Not always.

We had a B2B booked last Sept. for 12/19-1/20, 3 days after we booked the 3 for free sale started. Same price!!

Upgraded from inside to obst. balcony for $200 more pp.

LOTS of OBC (way more than the current sale), grats paid plus all cabins in a category were the same price.

[voljeep]

keep checking the price of your cruise for fluctuations either up or down ... why not book a preferred cabin now with a refundable deposit - then refare/rebook as necessary ?

[riffatsea]

2 minutes ago, voljeep said:

keep checking the price of your cruise for fluctuations either up or down ... why not book a preferred cabin now with a refundable deposit - then refare/rebook as necessary ?

I guess it just seems like extra hassle to rebook/refare when I could just book one time.

IF there were lots of suites(we only do suites these days) were booked then I'd hurry to choose one now but there seem to be tons available soooooo.........not in a hurry.

[tere247]

Who know what dates the 3 for free would include?  TIA

[JF - retired RRT]

22 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

I guess it just seems like extra hassle to rebook/refare when I could just book one time.

IF there were lots of suites(we only do suites these days) were booked then I'd hurry to choose one now but there seem to be tons available soooooo.........not in a hurry.

That can change in a flash. One day lots of suites, next day they're all gone. Book now if you want a suite on THAT cruise. If you don't care...wait.

[riffatsea]

OK -Thanks for the advice!

[kywildcatfanone]

Nothing is truly free, so I usually see prices adjusted for the various promotions.  Sometimes you can get a truly good deal, and sometimes not.

[riffatsea]

OK now you can all laugh at me!! I got so excited with everyone telling me to book now that I went to the Princess web site and saw a sale and suites going fast!

The trouble is it was for THIS year 2019 and we don't want to go until 2020!!

I didn't realize that and booked it for the WRONG year!

I noticed it when they wanted full payment by this September so felt like an idiot and cancelled !

Whew!!

 

[geoherb]

The prices for suites seem to be more stable than they are for other categories of cabins. And if you can't find a TA with better pricing for suites, you could book through the big box store and get generous onboard credit or a rebate on a gift card.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’ve had the price stay the same, so the 3 for Free becomes value added, I’ve had the price increase, so you have to weigh out the value of the perks vs the fare, and then I’ve had the price drop AND include the perks! Obviously we all want the last one to occur!

[foodsvcmgr]

I have found that Princess frequently does not raise fares when starting a new promo, making it a true value, not an illusory one. Whereas Holland America always seems to jack up their rates whenever free drinks or similar are offered.

[TravelingEA]

On 5/28/2019 at 3:34 PM, geoherb said:

The prices for suites seem to be more stable than they are for other categories of cabins. And if you can't find a TA with better pricing for suites, you could book through the big box store and get generous onboard credit or a rebate on a gift card.

We have always gotten OBC from the big box store, never a rebate on a gift card.

[riffatsea]

Well I too the advice to book the cabin we wanted now instead of waiting!

Now will keep checking for sales and promotions.

I might also check out moving the booking to someone else soon if I get a good offer.

So far I haven't seen much out there.

[Wichard]

In my experience the price has risen so that when you net it all out it may be an increase with the sale but other times the OBC increase and other perks have made it possible to upgrade to a balcony for a reasonable price compared to the initial difference in price between an interior and a balcony.  My method is to book a selected room far in advance then watch the deals and price fluctuations and rebook when it is to my advantage.

 

I have tried to understand the logic of how Princess prices their cruises particularly with same or similar routes on different ships or slightly different times but I have not been successful.  

 

Richard 

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Well I too the advice to book the cabin we wanted now instead of waiting!

Now will keep checking for sales and promotions.

I might also check out moving the booking to someone else soon if I get a good offer.

So far I haven't seen much out there.

👍

[riffatsea]

I was looking around at the cruise and the Princess site shows that our cabin(mid ship suite) is the only one of that group booked. On another web site where you have to be a member they show that 4 of the suites are UNavailable,ours and 3 others. Interesting!

[kywildcatfanone]

They don't give those benefits away for free. 

[riffatsea]

True! The price is a little higher and am not rushing to use them but $950 of OBC is a lot!

[crystalspin]

The sale in May (that was essentially Three-for-Free but wasn't called that?) had base fare $130pp higher than launch fares for our 2020 Alaska cruise. BUT the benefits were $250 OBC and HSC worth $217, both per person. For four people in two mini-suites (the third person in one cabin gets no perks but also sees no hike in fare). 

 

I made a spread sheet with an pre-cruise outlay total ('the bill') and THEN, the amount for HSC added for total cost. The May sale saved us $2200 overall!

 

So I just re-did the dummy booking post-sale... the base fare dropped $658pp for the first four people! That seems an awful lot! but thanks to my TOTAL COST spreadsheet I can see that we are still $100 to the better on the May re-faring.

 

The difficulty will come when Sip-and-Sail comes on -- because while the PRICE of the PBP is $70.79pppd (or $991pp for 14 days), the VALUE of it is not so easily calculated! 

[thegoaliegirl]

I think it really depends. I am traveling in August and we have 4 cabins booked. 3 were booked during the 3 for free, one was booked later. Only 1 is still at the 3 for free, the other two were cheaper with a later promotion.

[Ombud]

My 4 future cruises are just going up with each new promo. Will be interested in what 3 for Free offers but chances are I've got lowest price (varies at 200-300 day). 

Edited June 6, 2019 by Ombud

[billco]

I posted the following on another topic, but it might be of interest here, also:

 

FWIW, I have been keeping tabs on a booking I made on the Coral Princess May 18, 2018. Prices do not include add-ons (transfers, insurance).

 

19 Days Panama Canal Pacific Adventure Roundtrip from Los Angeles, California, United States

Departure Date April 21, 2020

Balcony Cat BE

 

Booked direct with Princess May 18, 2018

Total Price $7578.00

Does not include free gratuities or OBC

 

Transferred Booking to TA May 20, 2018

Total Price $6996

Does not include free gratuities or OBC

 

Rebooked with TA 3 for Free Sale Sept 19, 2018

Total Price $5796.00

Includes Gratuities ($551), $200 P/P OBC

 

Princess Sale May 4, 2019

Total Price $7348

Includes Gratuities ($551), $125 P/P OBC

 

 Non Sale June 5, 2019

Total Price $6748

Does not include free gratuities or OBC

 

Non Sale June 6, 2019

Total Price $6528

Does not include free gratuities or OBC

 

And from a site that is offering a 3 day sale:

I got this on May 28.

 

Here is a quote for your 19 Night Panama Canal Cruise.  If book during our Princess 3 Day Sale (Jun 6 to Jun 8) you will get the following perks for the total $7,348.00:

 

1. Free Prepaid Gratuities
2. Free Premier Beverage Package
3. 1 Free photo
4. 2 Coupon Books at $900 value each
5. Reduced Deposit of $200 per stateroom
6. $50 Onboard Credit

[DrivesLikeMario]

The base price for the 3-for-Free usually has some of the lowest prices and often is way lower than the Sip n' Sail.

OP-If you're in a full suite, you can expect some big OBC from a TA.  We can't recommend TAs here, but get a recommendation from someone you know who has had comm. kick-backs AND great, responsive service.  The higher the category you book, the more OBC you get since TA's comm. is based on the cruise fare.