Princess Cruise

[MartinPW]

Hi has any one been caught out booking a princess cruise with $99 deposit to find out that there was no onboard cruise money?

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Special offers like that one don't necessarily include OBC. You need to read the fine print of the offer.

[Aus Traveller]

42 minutes ago, MartinPW said:

Hi has any one been caught out booking a princess cruise with $99 deposit to find out that there was no onboard cruise money?

 

I don't ever assume there is an on-board credit included in a booking. If there is, it is a bonus. The deal you booked that didn't have OBC, was most likely a lower price. That left the money in your pocket rather than having a non-refundable OBC.

[MicCanberra]

Most times there is no OBC attached unless it is a promotion.

[arxcards]

2 of our upcoming cruises were booked on $99 deposits. One had a decent amount of OBC, but that was booked when nobody was cruising anywhere. The other was booked a few months back, and there was no OBC in the T&C's.

 

Was it that you booked on something that had OBC, but didn't receive it aboard?

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

2 of our upcoming cruises were booked on $99 deposits. One had a decent amount of OBC, but that was booked when nobody was cruising anywhere. The other was booked a few months back, and there was no OBC in the T&C's.

 

Was it that you booked on something that had OBC, but didn't receive it aboard?

Sometimes the OBC only applies to certain length cruises or in balcony cabins or better.

[Aussieflyer]

Many of the cruises I have booked have not had OBC - it's a sort of an extra perk offered from time to time (except if using a FCC booked on board when they do throw in a bit). It's not something I ever count on. You can bet the overall price where OBC is included is not super cheap. 

[arxcards]

23 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Sometimes the OBC only applies to certain length cruises or in balcony cabins or better.

We had $300 OBC on Pacific Explorer in May, largely credits from cancelled deposits that were applied. Once aboard though, it wasn't applied to our account, and it took a trip to the main desk to have it fixed. Thankfully they could see it was meant to be on our account and were able to apply it without going through old emails for the booking.

[getting older slowly]

OBC   are a perk or sweetener      not a given......   it is a trade off   

with a  very reduced deposit  you tend to forfeit some thing else 

 

the cruise line is there to make money.... nothing is for free.....

 

Don with coffee

[Aus Traveller]

17 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

OBC   are a perk or sweetener      not a given......   it is a trade off   

with a  very reduced deposit  you tend to forfeit some thing else

the cruise line is there to make money.... nothing is for free.....

Don with coffee

You have explained the situation regarding OBC very well. Experienced cruisers should know how it works and I was surprised at the original post on this thread with the comment about being caught out. Surely everyone looks at the details of any 'deal' before booking.

[Hammer61]

On 7/29/2022 at 5:43 PM, MartinPW said:

Hi has any one been caught out booking a princess cruise with $99 deposit to find out that there was no onboard cruise money?

Not sure it’s being caught out? Princess have different prices and then promotions or sales with different things included, be it beverage packages, OBC, reduced deposits or a combination of thing etc, usually find them pretty transparent with their offers and its clear to see what’s included, not sure I would ever book a cruise assuming OBC was included though?

 

Did it say you had OBC when you booked? if so, call them up and ask why its not on your booking, they are usually pretty good at sorting things out.

[GUT2407]

We hav3 had OBC ranging from $0 to about $1500, cruises ranging from 2 nights to 33 nights, each a mid or a cabin or two off mid, balcony. There really doesn’t appear to be any logic too it, I guess Princess offer what they need to sail close to capacity

[getting older slowly]

Cruise pricing   ... is not just looking at the fare.....

 

To me it is the total cost of the trip.....

( fare, excursions, drinks, specialty dinning  etc ... and getting to the ship )

 

Also the percentage  of the total cost... to the fare   changes a lot from the fare for an inside cabin to a suite.....

 

It reminds of the story of a person buying a Roll Royce and asks about cost of running it and servicing...  if you need to ask you can't afford it.

 

Cheers Don

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

Cruise pricing   ... is not just looking at the fare.....

 

To me it is the total cost of the trip.....

( fare, excursions, drinks, specialty dinning  etc ... and getting to the ship )

 

Also the percentage  of the total cost... to the fare   changes a lot from the fare for an inside cabin to a suite.....

 

It reminds of the story of a person buying a Roll Royce and asks about cost of running it and servicing...  if you need to ask you can't afford it.

 

Cheers Don

I compare cruises three ways:

1. Basic cabin fare which allows me to see how fares have increased or decreased.

2. Inclusive fare with drinks and WiFi, but usually not speciality dining, less OBC.

3. Trip cost although I usually only include one night's accommodation cost where needed as extra nights are discretionally.

 

I have a humongous and very messy spreadsheet with a separate sheet for each cruise and a summary sheet. I start a new sheet when I book a cruise so I can budget for all the extras.