Best Sale Ever Starts December 11th

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

No, they hadn’t re-fared, they just wanted to go with the ‘add-on’ for the 1st and 2nd guest only and opt out for the 3rd. We were all set and now my TA has stated Princess have come back to her to say the child would lose their original amenities associated with the booking (this isn’t mentioned at all in the sale FAQ which was previously posted on here). I wondered if anyone else had hit the same wall?

Without a re-fare I don't see how Princess can take something away from some pax when whatever sale terms you booked under apply to everyone in the cabin. 

[villauk]

10 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Without a re-fare I don't see how Princess can take something away from some pax when whatever sale terms you booked under apply to everyone in the cabin. 

 

That’s what one would have thought. I’m interested in hearing if anyone else has been told the same when opting out for the 3rd/4th guest/s.

[ceilidh1]

2 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

That’s what one would have thought. I’m interested in hearing if anyone else has been told the same when opting out for the 3rd/4th guest/s.

If my client decides to proceed with it, I will let you now the outcome. I was told clearly that first ALL passengers need to opt in to the same promo. Only after all have been opted in can you then contact Princess to opt out for guests 3/4. Once again, it was clearly stated that they would lose the entire package - no option to just opt out of drinks, for example. There was nothing mentioned about perks associated with booking previously...

[PaperSniper4]

10 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Sorry I can't find your original link and I had deleted some of what you said so I forget your original point 😞

I was strongly thinking of buying PBP for me at $700 and DW would spend $250 with Cocktail before dinner, one glass of wine with dinner and a bottle of water each day on 10 day cruise. So $600 for  2*PBP and 2*Grat is an easy decision. We booked under Anniversary before Cyber was added, but we have $150 OBC and 2*Specialty Dinner, which we kept via add ons.

 

I do follow your math, but could you get a better deal by re-faring to BSE ?

 

 

Yes....but for OUR needs only. The value of both of these sales perks, both BSE and Anniversary+Cyber <et al> depend on the customer's perceived benefits since the perks are not wholly in cash. For instance, my Ann+Cyber provides two $32 wine vouchers and unlimited internet. That might be calculated (10 day cruise) as about $60 for the internet (we're Platinum) plus $64 for the wine. However, most the wine bottles on the ship are much more expensive than $40, so we'd probably end up using those vouchers for one bottle of wine, at maybe $50. Since I can bring two bottles of my own choice "free" with me, that wine voucher credit is worth in reality $15, since I could bring a third bottle of what we like with me and pay that corkage fee. The internet is nice, but I could live without it....but let's say it's value to me is $60. So now the wine and internet perks are worth $75 to me. Not much value to me. But the Ann+Cyber OBC is very nice.😎

 

Many here have encouraged me to just keep my Ann+Cyber perks but add on the Gratuities and PBP at $30 pp pd, which for our 10 day cruise would be $600. Now that does provide $300 for gratuities, so that is good (but a wash; no value there) and the PSP at "only" $15 pp pd. That's $300 for us. However, we rarely drink in bars, and we usually go through about 3 bottles of scotch/rum/gin at about $25 per bottle; that's $75 for the cruise as opposed to $300 for the cruise. So the add ons are not a value for us. I agree if we drank more, including sodas, coffee, etc, the value would be higher. But we're nearly teetotalers! 😎 Oddly enough, I never thought than until I started reading this thread...........😉

 

I started a "Cruise Compare" spreadsheet years ago I use to compare prices. It is as subjective as possible; realistic for OUR needs. The biggest thing I look for is paid gratuities and a large OBC; hence the "Three for Free" remains our favorite sale as it's value is easy to calculate; add the paid gratuities to the OBC. The value of just about everything else depends on the person. Most people will not have the same wants and needs.

 

Looking at the fare I have now, and the potential of re-faring with BSE, I calculate for our wants and needs, I'd save about $200 in my value by re-faring. It's probably worth it. Depends on it I can find a TA anxious to make a sale. My current TA either misunderstands the BSE prices or in not willing to do a re-fare....so I might have to change TAs after using this one for about 15 years.😢

[capriccio]

10 hours ago, Storm Monkey said:

when I did my add on of the wifi and drinks, we had to apply it to all three passengers and could not opt out for the third. This was on the phone with Princess customer service. It was on day one of the sale so maybe this was one of the kinks they were working out. 

 

 

You might try again.

 

We were in a similar situation (having to add the drinks and gratuities option) to the 3rd passengers - a 5 year old and a 10 month old - to two of the cabins on our sailing.  I had no problem with the gratuities since we would pay those anyway but the 5 year old's parents dont let her drink soda and would limit her to one mocktail a day and the 10 month old wouldn't use any of the drink offerings!  On day 1 Princess said they had to take the entire option.  Yesterday my TA got the drinks portion dropped while the gratuities appear as a paid service.

[voljeep]

12 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Which ship?  I see a lot of Western Caribbean sailings on the list but I didn't see any for Sky sailings.  They probably figure they don't need to entice people to book sailings on Sky for certain voyages that are popular.

SKY - over next Thanksgiving weekend … but it did just go onto the 'Getaway Sale so 2nd person is 1/2 off … which is nice

 

$50 each NRD … 

[capriccio]

6 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

I’m now being told that if our friends opt out on their 3rd guest, then that child loses all their previous amenities associated with the booking (under the 3-for-Free), is that what you were told from Princess?

 

Our 3rd guests in two cabins will be 5 years old and 10 months old.  On Wednesday we weren't allowed to opt out of the drinks and gratuities options.  Yesterday Princess dropped the drinks portion and the gratuities now shows as a paid service (no problem there; we would have paid them anyway).  Both kids retained the perks from the cyber sale promo.

[Daniel A]

5 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I was told clearly that first ALL passengers need to opt in to the same promo. Only after all have been opted in can you then contact Princess to opt out for guests 3/4.

The terms of this promotion are not really as crystal clear as some are making it sound.  The fine print on the Sale FAQ Flyer clearly states "the offer" is combinable with casino discounts yet they are only permitting it on refares, not add ons.  They never state the difference between add on and refare or new bookings in the terms and conditions of "the offer."  As far as I'm concerned, "the offer" has the component of the add ons and those terms should apply across the board to add ons as well as a part of the "offer." 

 

ceilidh1 - According to the FAQs, PAX 3&4 don't need to opt in:

Q: Do all guests in the cabin need to have the same

offer?

A: Guests 1 and 2 must have the same offer. If the

first and second guest have Best. Sale. Ever., it will

apply to guest 3 and 4 by default. Guests 3 and 4

can opt out of this package

 

I'm not sure how the above squares with the fine print on the initial sale flyer which states:

If one guest in a stateroom elects not to avail itself of the Offer, the Offer may not be available for other guests in the same stateroom."

 

Some aspects of this rollout are as clear as mud.

[voljeep]

18 minutes ago, voljeep said:

SKY - over next Thanksgiving weekend … but it did just go onto the 'Getaway Sale so 2nd person is 1/2 off … which is nice

 

$50 each NRD … 

upon further review … now 2 OPTIONS on that cruise 

 

option 1 - getaway - NO perks - 50 pp NRD

 

option 2 - BSE - wifi, grats, PBP - 100 pp Refundable deposit

 

option 2 is $ 730 more for 5 day cruise

 

wondering if I can book getaway … then do 'add-on' for grats and PBP @ 30 pp pd = $ 300

[Daniel A]

8 minutes ago, voljeep said:

upon further review … now 2 OPTIONS on that cruise 

 

option 1 - getaway - NO perks - 50 pp NRD

 

option 2 - BSE - wifi, grats, PBP - 100 pp Refundable deposit

 

option 2 is $ 730 more for 5 day cruise

 

wondering if I can book getaway … then do 'add-on' for grats and PBP @ 30 pp pd = $ 300

Keep looking!  

 

Someone else on this thread had the idea of taking the current sale as a new booking without any perks and then go back and do the add ons.  I don't know if they or anyone else has tried this already.

 

Do you have refundable deposits available?  If you do, then there's no risk to you for trying. 

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Keep looking!  

 

Someone else on this thread had the idea of taking the current sale as a new booking without any perks and then go back and do the add ons.  I don't know if they or anyone else has tried this already.

 

Do you have refundable deposits available?  If you do, then there's no risk to you for trying. 

You cannot "take the current sale without any perks".  If you purchase a "stripped down" cruise, it is not by definition the current sale.  It is a completely separate thing that is always there for any voyage they sell and it has a different 3-character booking code.  You can purchase the basic fare for any cruise, but it isn't actually booking a sales promotion and declining the promos.

 

At that point you can still purchase internet, gratuities and drink packages - but at the prices in the Cruise Personalizer or on-board.

[Steelers36]

34 minutes ago, voljeep said:

upon further review … now 2 OPTIONS on that cruise 

 

option 1 - getaway - NO perks - 50 pp NRD

 

option 2 - BSE - wifi, grats, PBP - 100 pp Refundable deposit

 

option 2 is $ 730 more for 5 day cruise

 

wondering if I can book getaway … then do 'add-on' for grats and PBP @ 30 pp pd = $ 300

I am thinking not.  The booking code for a Getaway will be different than the promotions they have indicated as eligible for add-ons.  Also the presumption for adding on grats and PBP (BEST2DG) is that the customer already has internet as part of their existing booking.  BUT, all they can do is say NO if you ask and why not call and ask.  You never know.  (Only reason I am not all the way 100% certain on this one versus the stripped down basic fare is that Getaway is a type of sales promotion).

 

[Daniel A]

13 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I am thinking not.  The booking code for a Getaway will be different than the promotions they have indicated as eligible for add-ons.  Also the presumption for adding on grats and PBP (BEST2DG) is that the customer already has internet as part of their existing booking.  BUT, all they can do is say NO if you ask and why not call and ask.  You never know.  (Only reason I am not all the way 100% certain on this one versus the stripped down basic fare is that Getaway is a type of sales promotion).

 

I tend to agree with you that it won't work but with a refundable deposit, it's worth a try.  The reason I don't think it will work is because the Retro Guidelines talk about "Prior" promotions.

[voljeep]

23 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

(Only reason I am not all the way 100% certain on this one versus the stripped down basic fare is that Getaway is a type of sales promotion).

as is Landmark, 3FF, Anniversary, etc … why would Getaway be any different from them ??

 

will book as Getaway today … then later do the "add-on" Best2DG

Edited December 13, 2019 by voljeep

[azbirdmom]

10 hours ago, steelers36 said:

IMO, it is not that complicated at all.  I just think there was this new twist that a lot of people didn't get and perhaps some Princess employees needed more training.  I read the TA materials and I am not a TA, but it was quite understandable to me. 

 

ETA - I would like to modify my answer in that it seems Princess did not do a good job considering 3rd and 4th persons in room as young kids for whom a soda type drink package might not be wanted nor desirable.

Perhaps there should have been an age exemption for infants and pre-schoolers.  However anyone who books a family cruise under S&S is paying something baked into the 3rd and 4th fares for beverages.

 

 

Re: TA materials, they were understandable and made it seem easy.  However, as we now know, Princess failed on execution for a good part of the first day it was available.  They were initially only allowing the amenity add-on to be applied only when there were cabins available in the class of the previously booked cruise.  That was resolved after a while.  They also declined to allow cruises booked with a casino discount to have the amenities added-on despite language that BSE IS combinable with casino discounts.  Although Princess is now saying that they only intended that statement to apply to a cruise booked under the BSE promo, some Q & A's in the same document also address the add-ons leading to a conclusion that any restrictions / provisions would apply to all aspects of the promo.  Finally, all cruises after the specified date are not eligible for the promo contrary to language in the TA materials.  Princess can do better.  I hope they do in the future.

Edited December 13, 2019 by azbirdmom

[PaperSniper4]

2 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

 

....

Looking at the fare I have now, and the potential of re-faring with BSE, I calculate for our wants and needs, I'd save about $200 in my value by re-faring. It's probably worth it. Depends on it I can find a TA anxious to make a sale. My current TA either misunderstands the BSE prices or in not willing to do a re-fare....so I might have to change TAs after using this one for about 15 years.😢

UPDATE - additional research lead me to just keep my Jan 2021 cruise with the original fare: Anniversary+Cyber. After calling the online TA that advertised a good BSE price, I discovered their price was deceptive by several hundred dollars. So, I'm sticking with the TA I've been using for 15 years. His price for the BSE fare was lower, but it was still best for us to stick with the original Ann+Cyber fare.

 

My reason for updating is to encourage people to consider the value of the perks that Princess (et al) offer to see what they actually are worth to them. And not to assume prices we see on websites are accurate. Everyone's needs and wants are a little different, and as someone said earlier, you have to figure that our for yourself.😎

 

Doug

[RMMariner]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

upon further review … now 2 OPTIONS on that cruise 

 

option 1 - getaway - NO perks - 50 pp NRD

 

option 2 - BSE - wifi, grats, PBP - 100 pp Refundable deposit

 

option 2 is $ 730 more for 5 day cruise

 

wondering if I can book getaway … then do 'add-on' for grats and PBP @ 30 pp pd = $ 300

We had two Getaway cruises booked long before this sale. Princess will not let me do an add on for either of them. They would let me re-fare at almost double the cost, but both the rep and our PVP were adamant that the Getaway Sale and the add ons were not combinable.

Hope you get it. If you do please post, because I will give it another try, if anyone here posts that they managed to combine the two.

Edited December 13, 2019 by RMMariner

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, RMMariner said:

We had two Getaway cruises booked long before this sale. Princess will not let me do an add on for either of them. They would let me re-fare at almost double the cost, but both the rep and our PVP were adamant that the Getaway Sale and the add ons were not combinable.

Hope you get it. If you do please post, because I will give it another try, if anyone here posts that they managed to combine the two.

when are your Getaways booked for … mine is 11+ months out … and as all things Princess, if you don't like the first answer , wait a couple hours / days / or even weeks in our case ...

[RMMariner]

Ours are April and May 2020. That is why I phoned our PVP after the first rep said no. The PVP is quite good, and she was very adamant that they don't combine. I did notice that in the web pages with the table of how the add ons would work, there was no mention of the Getaway Sale.

 

I agree with you, sometimes asking again gets a different answer. I will try again as the reps become more familiar with the sale. Good luck on your end, and if I do get it I will let you know.

[gnocchi_mommy]

This worked out great for us!! We are on a 15 nt TA and by rebooking under this code our cabin was about $700 more, and we lost $400 OBC- so about $1100 more. 
 

Drink package $2123.00

Wifi $150

Gratuities $435

 

Which saved us about $1608 total 

 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Re: TA materials, they were understandable and made it seem easy.  However, as we now know, Princess failed on execution for a good part of the first day it was available.  They were initially only allowing the amenity add-on to be applied only when there were cabins available in the class of the previously booked cruise.  That was resolved after a while.  They also declined to allow cruises booked with a casino discount to have the amenities added-on despite language that BSE IS combinable with casino discounts.  Although Princess is now saying that they only intended that statement to apply to a cruise booked under the BSE promo, some Q & A's in the same document also address the add-ons leading to a conclusion that any restrictions / provisions would apply to all aspects of the promo.  Finally, all cruises after the specified date are not eligible for the promo contrary to language in the TA materials.  Princess can do better.  I hope they do in the future.

Well stated.

[Tedferg]

5 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

 

Yes....but for OUR needs only. The value of both of these sales perks, both BSE and Anniversary+Cyber <et al> depend on the customer's perceived benefits since the perks are not wholly in cash. For instance, my Ann+Cyber provides two $32 wine vouchers and unlimited internet. That might be calculated (10 day cruise) as about $60 for the internet (we're Platinum) plus $64 for the wine. However, most the wine bottles on the ship are much more expensive than $40, so we'd probably end up using those vouchers for one bottle of wine, at maybe $50. Since I can bring two bottles of my own choice "free" with me, that wine voucher credit is worth in reality $15, since I could bring a third bottle of what we like with me and pay that corkage fee. The internet is nice, but I could live without it....but let's say it's value to me is $60. So now the wine and internet perks are worth $75 to me. Not much value to me. But the Ann+Cyber OBC is very nice.😎

 

Many here have encouraged me to just keep my Ann+Cyber perks but add on the Gratuities and PBP at $30 pp pd, which for our 10 day cruise would be $600. Now that does provide $300 for gratuities, so that is good (but a wash; no value there) and the PSP at "only" $15 pp pd. That's $300 for us. However, we rarely drink in bars, and we usually go through about 3 bottles of scotch/rum/gin at about $25 per bottle; that's $75 for the cruise as opposed to $300 for the cruise. So the add ons are not a value for us. I agree if we drank more, including sodas, coffee, etc, the value would be higher. But we're nearly teetotalers! 😎 Oddly enough, I never thought than until I started reading this thread...........😉

 

I started a "Cruise Compare" spreadsheet years ago I use to compare prices. It is as subjective as possible; realistic for OUR needs. The biggest thing I look for is paid gratuities and a large OBC; hence the "Three for Free" remains our favorite sale as it's value is easy to calculate; add the paid gratuities to the OBC. The value of just about everything else depends on the person. Most people will not have the same wants and needs.

 

Looking at the fare I have now, and the potential of re-faring with BSE, I calculate for our wants and needs, I'd save about $200 in my value by re-faring. It's probably worth it. Depends on it I can find a TA anxious to make a sale. My current TA either misunderstands the BSE prices or in not willing to do a re-fare....so I might have to change TAs after using this one for about 15 years.😢

Thanks for a great explanation - I do enjoy going through all the permutations and must develop a spreadsheet as you say.

[Daniel A]

So I just got back from meeting in person with my TA.  I was right in front of her when she called Princess and she said we wanted to book the add on to the existing booking using coupon code BEST2DW.  It's a 28 day cruise so at $25/pp/day for two it should come out to an additional $1,400.00.  Princess rep told my TA "Done."  When I got home 1/2 hour ago, I printed my new Travel Summary.  Here is what my New Travel summary says: DW & I have the PBP added to my booking for $1,981.56 EACH for a total of $3,963.12.  The unlimited Wifi got added to the summary for $279.16 EACH for a total of $558.32.  The total added to my Travel Summary for the add ons comes to $4,521.44!!

 

I called my TA back and she called Princess who told her that it's showing correct at their end at $1,400.00 for PBP & Wifi.  Their computers are 'slow' today and the Travel Summary should show the correct amounts 'soon.'

 

Has anyone else seen this happen in their Travel Summary?

 

P.S. This is clearly not my TA's error it's definitely Princess.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Daniel A

[capriccio]

23 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

So I just got back from meeting in person with my TA.  I was right in front of her when she called Princess and she said we wanted to book the add on to the existing booking using coupon code BEST2DW.  It's a 28 day cruise so at $25/pp/day for two it should come out to an additional $1,400.00.  Princess rep told my TA "Done."  When I got home 1/2 hour ago, I printed my new Travel Summary.  Here is what my New Travel summary says: DW & I have the PBP added to my booking for $1,981.56 EACH for a total of $3,963.12.  The unlimited Wifi got added to the summary for $279.16 EACH for a total of $558.32.  The total added to my Travel Summary for the add ons comes to $4,521.44!!

 

I called my TA back and she called Princess who told her that it's showing correct at their end at $1,400.00 for PBP & Wifi.  Their computers are 'slow' today and the Travel Summary should show the correct amounts 'soon.'

 

Has anyone else seen this happen in their Travel Summary?

 

P.S. This is clearly not my TA's error it's definitely Princess.

 

My travel summary has always (including for our original booking) showed 'the list price' for each service; not the amount charged or paid.  Our invoice has been the correct amount.

[Daniel A]

4 minutes ago, capriccio said:

 

My travel summary has always (including for our original booking) showed 'the list price' for each service; not the amount charged or paid.  Our invoice has been the correct amount.

Thank you, that's reassuring.