Best Sale Ever Starts December 11th

[bobstheboy]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I think when a monetary valued item is comped under a promotion,  they show the value of the package, not what is paid.  Also If I understand prior posts correctly, this is the first time Princess has allowed PAX to purchase packages separately through a promotion.  Prior to that, the comps would be included in the total fare and wouldn't separate out the purchase of the additional perks.  I hope this answers your query. 

Thanks.  Yes that makes sense. It makes me realize how good a deal this Promotion is, the price paid is just over a third of the full price.

[cjmayes51]

Does it seem odd that if you booked under sip & sail there are no upgrades on this sale . Why wouldn’t they have a WiFi + grats upgrade for say $20 a day pp?  Charlie

[emairs]

58 minutes ago, cjmayes51 said:

Does it seem odd that if you booked under sip & sail there are no upgrades on this sale . Why wouldn’t they have a WiFi + grats upgrade for say $20 a day pp?  Charlie

I have a cruise booked on Sky Princess. Originally, there were no perks. When sip n sale came along, my TA was able to add it, along with a small price reduction. With this new promotion, she had the gratuities and wifi added, along with a huge price reduction.
 

On the other hand, our future cruise on Discovery Princess resulted in a price increase of a few hundred dollars when the BSE promotion was added, but it was well worth it.

Edited December 30, 2019 by emairs
To add info

[Coral]

49 minutes ago, cjmayes51 said:

Does it seem odd that if you booked under sip & sail there are no upgrades on this sale . Why wouldn’t they have a WiFi + grats upgrade for say $20 a day pp?  Charlie

The initial info did have it and it was removed at the last minute.

 

I am so glad I had my sister switch her booking to Cyber sale the day before (and give up Sip and Sail) as she ended up getting everything she wanted and saved money.

[rocklinmom]

So I just gave myself a headache computing out the difference between adding on the BEST3 (drinks, wifi, grats) with our current fare (fare only, no perks) vs. refaring our 2021 cruise with the BSE promo. It is quite a difference. To add BEST3 to our 14 day cruise it would be $40pp (for five of us that makes $200 a day) for a total of $2800. We would keep our current fare. But if I just refare to the BSE it comes out to $2103. That is with the higher fare (and quite a higher fare than when we booked - $350pp more for four of us and $560 more for our fifth person, who is third person in the cabin fare) and also with the higher insurance cost. So we would get the same BSE perks for $697 less by refaring vs. doing the add ons.  And I can see that BSE is definitely capacity controlled because on our 2020 cruise it is now only offering BSE to minisuites - other cabin categories are only offered at base fare with no BSE option.  So I am debating whether to refare now (and try to justify the cost with the perks we would pick up) while it's still available for our cruise/cabin type -- or just wait for next fall's 3 for Free -- or throw my calculator in the trash.  This is way too much math that Princess is making me do. 

[voljeep]

i'm getting ready to try to 're-fare' from a no-perks cruise booked under $1 deposit on 10/31/19 to a BSE and retain the $1 deposit option...

 

just adding the BSE $40pp pd x 8 days = $ 320 , whereas a refare under BSE would add just $ 160 pp

 

all depends on how Princess wants to handle the $1 deposit, but will prolly go ahead with the adding of BSE, if we have to do that to retain the $1 deposit … but may just do BEST2DG at $30 to save $80 pp and just use our minutes or upgrade one package

 

Discovery Princess … late 2021 … true AFT balcony - premium deluxe, I believe

[PCWalton1]

I don't have any experience on good deals for Princess as I have just been on a one day cruise so I am asking if this is good. We are booked in May on Royal Princess for a 7 day Mexican Rivera cruise. We have an obstructed balcony cabin on Deck 8 E433. I found a video online that shows it's only obstructed if you look down 😀

We recently added the current Best Ever Sale Promo (the BEST3 code) for an additional $40 a day. So that brought the total price for the two of us to $2156. With the balcony cabin it includes:

 

• $240 OBC
• Complimentary Specialty Dining Experience for two
• Premier Beverage Package With Tips
• Pre-paid gratuities
• Wifi Package

 

Seems to me a decent deal for a 7 day cruise. At least it would be with Royal Caribbean where I usually cruise. 

 

 

[rocklinmom]

That does seem like a good deal. Not sure which promo you originally booked under with that amount of OBC. 

[rocklinmom]

Looking again at our upcoming 2020 cruise, I think all cabin categories do still include the BSE promo. It just looks different now and shows a red "Sale" banner on all available cabin categories except minisuites, which don't have a sale banner and still show the two different price options (BSE and base fare with no perks). It's quite confusing. If I was booking this cruise today I would think that I could get the lowest price for a balcony cabin, for example, and still get the BSE perks. If true that is a great deal. Anyone booked on summer 2020 Alaska cruises might want to check this out. I would refare and get the big price reduction on top of BSE perks, but this is a family group cruise for us and we want our cabins to be together (and of course they are minisuites). But someone could get a great refare price and still get the BSE (or anyone who is thinking of booking this cruise, now would be a good time!). 

[sun&sea]

7 hours ago, Coral said:

The initial info did have it and it was removed at the last minute.

 

I am so glad I had my sister switch her booking to Cyber sale the day before (and give up Sip and Sail) as she ended up getting everything she wanted and saved money.

That's exactly what my sister and I did! We switched to the cyber sale the day before the BES came out. We moved from a balcony to a mini for a large price reduction, giving up our sip and sail. Then, 2 days later, we added the drinks and gratuities for $30/pp/day. We have the 4-device wifi and $32 OBC from the cyber sale. We are all set for the same amount as our balcony! Win-Win.

 

Janet

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, sun&sea said:

That's exactly what my sister and I did! We switched to the cyber sale the day before the BES came out. We moved from a balcony to a mini for a large price reduction, giving up our sip and sail. Then, 2 days later, we added the drinks and gratuities for $30/pp/day. We have the 4-device wifi and $32 OBC from the cyber sale. We are all set for the same amount as our balcony! Win-Win.

 

Janet

It is all good!

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, Coral said:

The initial info did have it and it was removed at the last minute.

True, but it made no financial sense as it was a wash.  Actually could be had for less by Premiums/Elites for a lot of voyages.

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

i'm getting ready to try to 're-fare' from a no-perks cruise booked under $1 deposit on 10/31/19 to a BSE and retain the $1 deposit option...

 

just adding the BSE $40pp pd x 8 days = $ 320 , whereas a refare under BSE would add just $ 160 pp

 

all depends on how Princess wants to handle the $1 deposit, but will prolly go ahead with the adding of BSE, if we have to do that to retain the $1 deposit … but may just do BEST2DG at $30 to save $80 pp and just use our minutes or upgrade one package

 

Discovery Princess … late 2021 … true AFT balcony - premium deluxe, I believe

As long as a RD, I wouldn't worry about $1 versus a $100 - especially since it is best to use the $100 FCD to cover the deposit.  I never use a $1 deposit.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

Looking again at our upcoming 2020 cruise, I think all cabin categories do still include the BSE promo. It just looks different now and shows a red "Sale" banner on all available cabin categories except minisuites, which don't have a sale banner and still show the two different price options (BSE and base fare with no perks). It's quite confusing. If I was booking this cruise today I would think that I could get the lowest price for a balcony cabin, for example, and still get the BSE perks. If true that is a great deal. Anyone booked on summer 2020 Alaska cruises might want to check this out. I would refare and get the big price reduction on top of BSE perks, but this is a family group cruise for us and we want our cabins to be together (and of course they are minisuites). But someone could get a great refare price and still get the BSE (or anyone who is thinking of booking this cruise, now would be a good time!). 

IIRC, you cannot add the B.S.E. Add-On packages to a basic fare booking (Standard Public Fare; code NL1).

 

[rocklinmom]

Oh I meant that someone could book at that (lowest) fare and when I did a mock booking it still showed the BSE being included. Even though it wasn't showing as BSE the perks were still there in the booking (and when I clicked "view applied promos").  For our cruise it was doing this for all available cabin categories except minisuites (which showed both lowest and BSE prices). So it sure appeared that those lower cabin categories could book the "sale" lowest price and still get BSE somehow, even though you couldn't tell unless you did a mock booking and read it carefully. 

[Storm Monkey]

On 12/15/2019 at 9:53 PM, Storm Monkey said:

I specifically asked about opting out for the 3rd guest - our daughter - and returning to the previous fare before they added in the cost of the beverage/wifi package and keeping the perks from 3 for free. The only answer I got was to call back in a week when they hope to have the option to opt out available for my booking. 
 

I did mention that I had heard others could already opt out, and that was why I was put on hold while they checked with a supervisor, and the answer back was they are working on it but isn’t possible yet. Which clearly isn’t the case -as has been reported here numerous times with varying stipulations such as the loss of previous perks. 
 

when I call back I will specifically make sure we get the original fare back with the gratuities and OBC remaining in place- if they finally figure out how to let us opt out for the third passenger

 

Hello, i realize i am reviving a thread that most have moved on from, but i wanted to update my results for those that were interested. And didn’t feel it warranted a new thread.

 

this morning i called back (our booking is with Princess directly) to see if i could remove the BSE add-on of drinks and wifi from our daughter who is booked as the 3rd passenger in our room — and success!

 

my first call was around 10am eastern, and the rep said i had to call back after noon as i needed to speak to a supervisor to get this done. Apparently they aren’t in until 9 pacific time.

 

when I phoned back, i gave the booking number and repeated my request and the agent put me on hold to go and talk to a supervisor and after about 20 minutes came back and it was done! We have the drinks and wifi add-on for myself and my husband. My daughter’s fare was reverted back to the original price when we booked and she was able to keep her 3 for free booking perks of OBC and paid gratuities.

 

i know some people reported being told that in order to remove BSE add-ons for a 3rd passenger that they would lose the original booking perks, so i wanted to update that i was able to keep these. 

 

It seems they now have the ability to make this happen, but you do need to request to speak to a supervisor.

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Storm Monkey

[villauk]

1 hour ago, Storm Monkey said:

 

Hello, i realize i am reviving a thread that most have moved on from, but i wanted to update my results for those that were interested. And didn’t feel it warranted a new thread.

 

this morning i called back (our booking is with Princess directly) to see if i could remove the BSE add-on of drinks and wifi from our daughter who is booked as the 3rd passenger in our room — and success!

 

my first call was around 10am eastern, and the rep said i had to call back after noon as i needed to speak to a supervisor to get this done. Apparently they aren’t in until 9 pacific time.

 

when I phoned back, i gave the booking number and repeated my request and the agent put me on hold to go and talk to a supervisor and after about 20 minutes came back and it was done! We have the drinks and wifi add-on for myself and my husband. My daughter’s fare was reverted back to the original price when we booked and she was able to keep her 3 for free booking perks of OBC and paid gratuities.

 

i know some people reported being told that in order to remove BSE add-ons for a 3rd passenger that they would lose the original booking perks, so i wanted to update that i was able to keep these. 

 

It seems they now have the ability to make this happen, but you do need to request to speak to a supervisor.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for this as my TA is still being told we’d lose the original booking perks.  I’m going to copy your post and send it to her, if that’s okay, ensuring she follows the timing you state and requesting a supervisor 😉.

[LB_NJ]

On 12/30/2019 at 9:17 AM, Daniel A said:

I think when a monetary valued item is comped under a promotion,  they show the value of the package, not what is paid.  Also If I understand prior posts correctly, this is the first time Princess has allowed PAX to purchase packages separately through a promotion.  Prior to that, the comps would be included in the total fare and wouldn't separate out the purchase of the additional perks.  I hope this answers your query. 

 

What they did is on my travel summary (from Princess web site) they quote the full price of the items however they upped the fair price to just show what I paid (or actually will pay at final payment) for the promotion; so they just up the fare price to include the cost of the promotion: WIFI $69.79, Gratuities $101.5, Beverage $495.39.

 

Since my travel agent comps OBC based on fare I wonder if I get additional OBC as a result?

 

The downside of course is that since this is wrapped into the total cruise fare I can't cancel it like separately purchased Beverage plans and if I cancel after final payment I get less money back.

[mellon1]

On 12/30/2019 at 11:24 AM, emairs said:

I have a cruise booked on Sky Princess. Originally, there were no perks. When sip n sale came along, my TA was able to add it, along with a small price reduction. With this new promotion, she had the gratuities and wifi added, along with a huge price reduction.
 

On the other hand, our future cruise on Discovery Princess resulted in a price increase of a few hundred dollars when the BSE promotion was added, but it was well worth it.

You are lucky.  We have 35 days booked b2b in 2021 and we had sip & sail and we would have to pay more money to add the gratuity/internet by hundreds.  We are in a mini suite.  Idon't know if that makes a difference.

[emairs]

1 hour ago, mellon1 said:

You are lucky.  We have 35 days booked b2b in 2021 and we had sip & sail and we would have to pay more money to add the gratuity/internet by hundreds.  We are in a mini suite.  Idon't know if that makes a difference.

We also have a TA booked on Discovery Princess, November 2021. It had no perks. We were able to add this promotion, but the cruise price has increased by several hundred dollars. However, it is still a bargain when the value of all the perks is calculated.

[LB_NJ]

32 minutes ago, emairs said:

We also have a TA booked on Discovery Princess, November 2021. It had no perks. We were able to add this promotion, but the cruise price has increased by several hundred dollars. However, it is still a bargain when the value of all the perks is calculated.

 

You sure the cruise price went up?  They are only supposed to add the cost of the promo.

[Daniel A]

14 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

 

You sure the cruise price went up?  They are only supposed to add the cost of the promo.

The cost of BSE upgrades get added to your total fare due at final payment.  It's not like ordering the Drink Package, wifi and paying the gratuities through your personalizer.

[Storm Monkey]

5 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Thank you so much for this as my TA is still being told we’d lose the original booking perks.  I’m going to copy your post and send it to her, if that’s okay, ensuring she follows the timing you state and requesting a supervisor 😉.

good luck!

I was very specific in  saying I wanted the BSE add-on removed, that I wanted the original fare back for the 3rd passenger and that I wanted the original booking perks to remain. I logged in and confirmed the changes in the travel summary while I was still on the phone with the agent. 
 

for what it’s worth both agents I spoke with this morning said it made perfect sense that we didn’t want the add ons for a minor and the it also made complete sense we wanted to keep the original fare and booking perks (3for free)

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

The cost of BSE upgrades get added to your total fare due at final payment.  It's not like ordering the Drink Package, wifi and paying the gratuities through your personalizer.

 

Yes that is how it worked for me however it sounded like the fair went up more than it was supposed to by just adding the promo amount.

 

For example adding the wifi+gratuity+beverage is supposed to increase the fair by $40pp/pd.

[villauk]

5 hours ago, Storm Monkey said:

good luck!

I was very specific in  saying I wanted the BSE add-on removed, that I wanted the original fare back for the 3rd passenger and that I wanted the original booking perks to remain. I logged in and confirmed the changes in the travel summary while I was still on the phone with the agent. 
 

for what it’s worth both agents I spoke with this morning said it made perfect sense that we didn’t want the add ons for a minor and the it also made complete sense we wanted to keep the original fare and booking perks (3for free)

 

 

Thanks, I’ve passed it on to her. I don’t suppose you got a name of the supervisor at Princess you dealt with? I know it’s a long shot, but it’s always easier if they’ve completed the change previously.