Princess Fail

[WatchHill]

Princess has a Reservation Transfer Request Form which you can submit to adminsupport@princesscruises.com It must be submitted within 60 days of booking creation and be outside of final payment.

I did this when booking our upcoming cruise. My TA was traveling, so Informed him I was going to book directly with Princess to snag one of the last mini suites and then do the transfer. Once he received the document and it was process through Princess [2 days] his agency had lots of perks, included the beverage package, wifi and crew appreciation, and a significant savings over Princess which offered me one of those usless coupon books.

IMO, Princess is experiencing a protracted post Covid recovery, and not as responsive as in the past.

Darcy

[57eric]

I found another answer.  At least, it worked for me in 2020.  Email revenuesupportdepartment@princesscruises.com. 

 

I don't know about the 60 day rule.  Hopefully not.

[suzyed]

On 10/4/2022 at 10:50 AM, toofewcruises said:

I'm willing to bet that they don't. Not everyone is interested in saving money!

Really?  They would rather pay more for the same thing?  

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, 57eric said:

Ah, the wisdom of Cruise Critic posters.  My request to my new CVP for confirmation emails has gone unanswered and I will be transferring my bookings to a TA, as suggested.  Can anyone advise the procedure?

 

Thanks.

First find a TA. I am sure the TA will know the procedure. I do think, however, there is a time limit (though I am not sure how long, but I am sure someone else knows) to get this done.

[57eric]

On 10/6/2022 at 10:33 AM, WatchHill said:

Princess has a Reservation Transfer Request Form which you can submit to adminsupport@princesscruises.com It must be submitted within 60 days of booking creation and be outside of final payment.

I did this when booking our upcoming cruise. My TA was traveling, so Informed him I was going to book directly with Princess to snag one of the last mini suites and then do the transfer. Once he received the document and it was process through Princess [2 days] his agency had lots of perks, included the beverage package, wifi and crew appreciation, and a significant savings over Princess which offered me one of those usless coupon books.

IMO, Princess is experiencing a protracted post Covid recovery, and not as responsive as in the past.

Darcy

Sadly (for me), this response is correct.  I'm miles outside the 60 day limit.  I can probably cancel and rebook with my TA, though.

 

For those who are eligible and may be interested, the required form is attached.

 

I have successfully used the address I proposed in a subsequent posting to transfer Cunard bookings, despite it being "princess.com".  While they share web domains, Princess and Cunard evidently have different processes and policies in this area.

 

 

Reservation Transfer Request Form (12).pdf

[suzyed]

On 10/3/2022 at 11:01 PM, pris993 said:

Good for you, I don't have any more store front TAs where I live.   

I get it....we don't have storefront TAs here either....at least ours is not.

[dave_k58]

42 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I get it....we don't have storefront TAs here either....at least ours is not.

I don't think there is such thing anymore as a store front travel agency.  But I think all the cruiseline agents work from home also

 

[57eric]

OP here.  To close this out, I rebooked with my TA and got lower fares and more OBC.  Then I spent two days trying to get through to Princess to cancel my original bookings.

 

My new Princess cruise planner never responded to my information request.

 

Princess Fail indeed!

[cr8tiv1]

My TA is a store front agency.  But I have been warned by CC not to advertise the name.  Wish I could.  She is wonderful and has magic tricks up her sleeves.

On 10/12/2022 at 9:25 AM, dave_k58 said:

I don't think there is such thing anymore as a store front travel agency.  But I think all the cruiseline agents work from home also

 

 

[bjkTX]

On 10/3/2022 at 10:52 PM, capriccio said:

I have read that agencies that discount the Princess advertised prices are not allowed to publicize their pricing on-line or in print.  You must contact the agencies to get a quote.  That has been the way with our on-line TA that we have been working with for over 10 years.  We save from 7% to 12% as a discount over the Princess pricing.  We prefer to receive the discount instead of an OBC.  She also throws in a small OBCs and gifts (bottle of wine, specialty dinner, etc.) occasionally.

And if you go to the AARP site and buy Princess gift cards you can save an additional 10% - I just bought more yesterday to use on a Feb 2024 cruise that was already nicely discounted by our TA.

[sloopsailor]

38 minutes ago, bjkTX said:

And if you go to the AARP site and buy Princess gift cards you can save an additional 10% - I just bought more yesterday to use on a Feb 2024 cruise that was already nicely discounted by our TA.

 

Where are these gift cards located on the AARP site? I can't find them. 

[bjkTX]

1 hour ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Where are these gift cards located on the AARP site? I can't find them. 

It's somewhat tricky because they (for some reason) aren't member only rewards - you have to find "see ALL rewards" and scroll through them.

[buckeye7]

2 hours ago, bjkTX said:

And if you go to the AARP site and buy Princess gift cards you can save an additional 10% - I just bought more yesterday to use on a Feb 2024 cruise that was already nicely discounted by our TA.

Can these AARP gift cards be used to pay for the cruise itself or just onboard items/excursions? Thank you! Didn't know about these!

[bjkTX]

19 minutes ago, buckeye7 said:

Can these AARP gift cards be used to pay for the cruise itself or just onboard items/excursions? Thank you! Didn't know about these!

I have used them to pay for the cruise -  they will save me $700 on the next cruise - but they can be added to your account giving yourself OBC as well (at least our TA has done that in the past).

[buckeye7]

3 minutes ago, bjkTX said:

I have used them to pay for the cruise -  they will save me $700 on the next cruise - but they can be added to your account giving yourself OBC as well (at least our TA has done that in the past).

Wow that's great! So glad to learn this!  Thank you!

[Fleur25]

59 minutes ago, bjkTX said:

It's somewhat tricky because they (for some reason) aren't member only rewards - you have to find "see ALL rewards" and scroll through them.

Wow! This is an excellent tip! Thank you so much!

 

[pris993]

On 10/2/2022 at 8:21 PM, suzyed said:

What's the advantage?  Do they give you a better price?  

Often it is when bookings first open, so price is good, I get the specific cabin I want, book with a future booking credit - deposit only $100 pp, plus get OBC.  Sometimes they have some other freebees too.    That is it.  If price drops before final payment, I call and get the new cruise fare.  

[sloopsailor]

1 hour ago, bjkTX said:

It's somewhat tricky because they (for some reason) aren't member only rewards - you have to find "see ALL rewards" and scroll through them.

 

Got it! Thanks. I had already registered and didn't even remember that I did that!! Old age, I guess. 🙂

 

And I scored 1,515 points in the process. Not sure what that will get me, but I'll find out eventually.

[bjkTX]

13 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Got it! Thanks. I had already registered and didn't even remember that I did that!! Old age, I guess. 🙂

 

And I scored 1,515 points in the process. Not sure what that will get me, but I'll find out eventually.

I used to build up points when I was after other cruise line gift cards - but strangely for the Princess cards you don't have to be a member or use points!

[Fleur25]

On 10/26/2022 at 2:39 PM, bjkTX said:

And if you go to the AARP site and buy Princess gift cards you can save an additional 10% - I just bought more yesterday to use on a Feb 2024 cruise that was already nicely discounted by our TA.

 

Hi bjkTX:

 

So I finally have a little to investigate your AARP tip. It was not easy to find! LOL!! There's tons of offers. It's a real treasure trove. But here's my question. I found one for Carnival but not one specifically for Princess. Are these the ones you were talking about? Or is there one that specifically says "Princess"?
 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

On 10/3/2022 at 11:01 PM, pris993 said:

Good for you, I don't have any more store front TAs where I live.   

Most store front TA's wouldn't be worth the bother in terms of scoring the best deal.

[pris993]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

Most store front TA's wouldn't be worth the bother in terms of scoring the best deal.

They could not afford to stay in business, when they went out of business, I started booking all my travel direct.  Enjoyed the store fronts because we could walk in and get procedures for a long-range planning.    Booking direct, we booked early and got what we wanted, if price dropped, we got the new fare on cruises.  Could do the same with hotels.   I am sure some may find better deals, finding the best deal was not our top priority.  

[Steelers36]

20 minutes ago, Fleur25 said:

 

Hi bjkTX:

 

So I finally have a little to investigate your AARP tip. It was not easy to find! LOL!! There's tons of offers. It's a real treasure trove. But here's my question. I found one for Carnival but not one specifically for Princess. Are these the ones you were talking about? Or is there one that specifically says "Princess"?
 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

 

 

 

They have Princess as well - keep looking  (Or at least they did not long ago).

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, pris993 said:

They could not afford to stay in business, when they went out of business, I started booking all my travel direct.  Enjoyed the store fronts because we could walk in and get procedures for a long-range planning.    Booking direct, we booked early and got what we wanted, if price dropped, we got the new fare on cruises.  Could do the same with hotels.   I am sure some may find better deals, finding the best deal was not our top priority.  

There are plenty of store-front TA's in our area, but they don't discount cruise bookings (a common situation in Ontario).  That's why we use online US agencies - but they also have an office.  That said, many agents work remotely as there is no real need for them to be in an office when they engage with clients online or on the phone. 

 

If I needed a TA for their actual travel advice service, I would definitely prefer a local person with experience.  The ONLY reason I use a TA to book Princess is because of the cruise fare discounting.  I never use a TA for anything else.  

 

PS - I think you meant "brochures" and not "procedures", and I have also collected some from agencies before that put them on display.

 

[pris993]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

There are plenty of store-front TA's in our area, but they don't discount cruise bookings (a common situation in Ontario).  That's why we use online US agencies - but they also have an office.  That said, many agents work remotely as there is no real need for them to be in an office when they engage with clients online or on the phone. 

 

If I needed a TA for their actual travel advice service, I would definitely prefer a local person with experience.  The ONLY reason I use a TA to book Princess is because of the cruise fare discounting.  I never use a TA for anything else.  

 

PS - I think you meant "brochures" and not "procedures", and I have also collected some from agencies before that put them on display.

 

You are correct, brochures are what I mean.  I am in the San Francisco Bay Area; rents alone have driven out small business and that was before the Pandemic.