World Cruise 2025?

[polmcs]

Ouchie! A 25WC balcony costs 11.5K more than the same balcony on the 24WC for 2 passengers!

[tcdcruiser]

Club class selling for around $63k per person, without insurance. Yeah…..big increase.  

[conifercruiser]

And yet, not many cabins available. very sad! 

[Cruise Junky]

1 hour ago, conifercruiser said:

And yet, not many cabins available. very sad! 

A lot of people may have done curtesy holds. Likely drop off in a couple of days.  

[mrstmaxx]

We booked this morning!!!  So excited.  Had to log in and because we are Elite it showed up and I was able to book.  Now we just have to wait for excursions to open

[mrstmaxx]

Also there were 2 different segments available.  Sorry I can’t remember what they are 

 

and yes very expensive even with the additional 5 days

[waltd]

Outside showing $220.00 Per day.   Is Princess offering anything additional for this cruise?   Any perks?

[conifercruiser]

I think the days of getting “perks” are over - you have to pay for them now. You’re given the choice of a basic package with no perks; Princess Plus (Wi-Fi, crew appreciation, drinks package, a few other things); and the top of the line Princess package (forget the name, price, and additional perks since I’m not interested sorry!).
 

The price difference on a balcony between basic and plus for the 101 day LA - FLL was close to $7000 per person, not cheap!! Unlike the 2024 cruise (which I cancelled and booked 2025 instead), they were not offering a $1000 per cabin shipboard credit for excursions. Nothing has changed for the better -  except the itinerary.

[CeCe_]

On 3/7/2023 at 4:35 PM, conifercruiser said:

I think the days of getting “perks” are over

 

Can you please elaborate are all elite perks are gone such as free laundry services?

[CeCe_]

On 3/7/2023 at 8:37 AM, conifercruiser said:

And yet, not many cabins available. very sad! 

 

It appears going really fast.  When itineries first came out 3 days ago, pricing had yet to be available.  We checked back the next day, almost 30% of cabins across all categories appeared "booked".  Last night, more than 60% appeared booked.  More categories are offered in guaranteed bookings.   The Island Princess is an Old Lady, nothing wrong with that, just wish that Princess would give us a Royal Princess or better for that price.

Edited March 9, 2023 by CeCe_

[memoak]

On 3/7/2023 at 9:46 AM, Cruise Junky said:

A lot of people may have done curtesy holds. Likely drop off in a couple of days.  

We put a Vista suite on hold and got all the quotes including Princess Plus and insurance   Would have been the bucket list of all time but finally gave it up. Could not fathom leaving our cat for 4 months 

[Cruise Junky]

6 hours ago, CeCe_ said:

 

It appears going really fast.  When itineries first came out 3 days ago, pricing had yet to be available.  We checked back the next day, almost 30% of cabins across all categories appeared "booked".  Last night, more than 60% appeared booked.  More categories are offered in guaranteed bookings.   The Island Princess is an Old Lady, nothing wrong with that, just wish that Princess would give us a Royal Princess or better for that price.

I’m not saying it’s not selling but have you checked all legs?  Perhaps there are different cabins being held  it’s being sold in at least 4 ways.  It’s absolutely possible it’s selling very well but Princess has a habit of only releasing some per leg. 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, CeCe_ said:

 

It appears going really fast.  When itineraries first came out 3 days ago, pricing had yet to be available.  We checked back the next day, almost 30% of cabins across all categories appeared "booked".  Last night, more than 60% appeared booked.  More categories are offered in guaranteed bookings.   The Island Princess is an Old Lady, nothing wrong with that, just wish that Princess would give us a Royal Princess or better for that price.

If this is anything like past, they only released a very limited number of cabins.  Also, cabins have to be shared across multiple segments.

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, CeCe_ said:

 

Can you please elaborate are all elite perks are gone such as free laundry services?

I think all they meant was the lack of perks for booking WC early.  I put a booking on hold so far and I noticed we get $200 OBC each - and that was for a segment and not the full tour.

[CeCe_]

34 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I think all they meant was the lack of perks for booking WC early.  I put a booking on hold so far and I noticed we get $200 OBC each - and that was for a segment and not the full tour.

 

I just checked my booking, it is $1250.00 OBC.  That's for two of us.  I think yours is not too far off since it is a segment.

Edited March 9, 2023 by CeCe_

[Steelers36]

11 minutes ago, CeCe_ said:

 

I just checked my booking, it is $1250.00 OBC.  That's for two of us.  I think yours is not too far off since it is a segment.

That is quite nice - although $625 is not quite up to the former $1,000.  And $625 is a good chunk of change better than $200.  That said, if we do the segment, is is 50 nights, so less than half of the full tour.  Did not expect to get much from a segment versus the full tour, so not complaining.  If we do it, still to come is 3% of for using FCD's and we get Shareholder and discounting from TA. 

 

 

[conifercruiser]

11 hours ago, CeCe_ said:

 

Can you please elaborate are all elite perks are gone such as free laundry services?

Sorry for the confusion - Captain’s Circle benefits are still around (laundry etc). Since world cruises are so long, I seem to recall in the past those fares always included crew appreciation, Wi-Fi, and some OBC for excursions and now that Princess Plus is a thing you have to pay extra. 
 

But I was mistaken in saying there was no OBC, as others have stated, I do see we have $1000 OBC for LA - FLL, it just wasn’t stated anywhere during the booking process. My bad! 
 

I really like the itinerary and we’re looking forward to the cruise!
 

[CeCe_]

2 hours ago, conifercruiser said:

Sorry for the confusion - Captain’s Circle benefits are still around (laundry etc). Since world cruises are so long, I seem to recall in the past those fares always included crew appreciation, Wi-Fi, and some OBC for excursions and now that Princess Plus is a thing you have to pay extra. 
 

But I was mistaken in saying there was no OBC, as others have stated, I do see we have $1000 OBC for LA - FLL, it just wasn’t stated anywhere during the booking process. My bad! 
 

I really like the itinerary and we’re looking forward to the cruise!
 

 

No problem at all!  Thank you for clarifying.  We like the itinerary too and looking forward to that cruise!

[waltd]

On 3/9/2023 at 11:58 AM, Steelers36 said:

I think all they meant was the lack of perks for booking WC early.  I put a booking on hold so far and I noticed we get $200 OBC each - and that was for a segment and not the full tour.

We also booked the 50 day segment and also received the $200 OBC per person.

[We_like_to_cruise]

On 3/9/2023 at 7:31 AM, CeCe_ said:

 

It appears going really fast.  When itineries first came out 3 days ago, pricing had yet to be available.  We checked back the next day, almost 30% of cabins across all categories appeared "booked".  Last night, more than 60% appeared booked.  More categories are offered in guaranteed bookings.   The Island Princess is an Old Lady, nothing wrong with that, just wish that Princess would give us a Royal Princess or better for that price.

 

Well, I am currently on WC2023 on the Island.  For the week before online bookings became available, we were encouraged to pre-book.  There were special sign ups in the Elite Lounge, additional future cruise staff to assist, and a "show" in the Explorer's Lounge.  We were able to put our names down on the list, reserve our current cabin (or ask for an upgrade) and get a free courtesy hold without doing anything else. 

 

On March 8 we received our booking confirmation with zero deposit.

 

I would expect many more cabins to become available in the next couple of days when deposits are required.  There are many comments on the steep prices of this voyage - almost 100K for a balcony cabin!

 

Don't get me wrong - we are loving this cruise and the ship and especially the crew.  But, we were spoiled with 2020 pricing and applied FCCs. 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

But, we were spoiled with 2020 pricing and applied FCCs. 

Similar to how I felt about our pricing for the cruises we took in Mediterranean region this past Fall.  Won't be seeing those prices anytime soon.  Especially with inflation and price of everything going up.

 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 3/1/2023 at 8:32 PM, 23ros said:

I agree.... I am waiting and waiting.  The Island Princess 2025 cruise was announced to the current cruises onboard the world cruise now.

And Australia is getting getting the Discovery Princess down here in 2024/25.  

 

WHERE ARE THE ITINERARIES PRINCESS???? 

The Discovery is leaving?  What ships will be in California?  Every time I fall in love with a ship, it leaves me for another Country.  

[polmcs]

I was looking forward to booking the 2025WC when it was released, but the 2025 price of a balcony, compared to what the 2024 price is currently showing has definitely put me off. The interior and ocean view prices are somewhat comparable between the two cruise lines, but the balcony and mini suite prices on Princess have shot through the roof.

 

That got me looking elsewhere. I’m not sure if what I saw today was a glitch, but the Cunard 2025WC prices appear to be much more reasonable. The glitch was that I saw fares listed, but they are not supposed to be released until March 16th. When I went back, no fare was listed and all categories showed sold out. 
 

In general, the 2024 WC fares from Cunard are less than the current Princess fares which is surprising to me and the 2025 fares (if what I saw was correct) are significantly less. Oh and on a brand new ship too (the Queen Anne) and not the red headed step child of the fleet that is the Island Princess.

 

A few swings and roundabouts though. Cunard internet is a lot more expensive than my Elite discounted price, but grats are $5pppd cheaper on Cunard. I would loose my Elite laundry perk, which is definitely needed on a world cruise, but laundry is complimentary on Cunard on a world cruise, even for a newbie to the line. 
 

I will take another look on Thursday. 

 

 

[polmcs]

Looks like the Cunard WC2025 fares have posted and they were in line with what I saw yesterday.

 

Cheapest balcony on Princess for the 2024 WC is $57K and their 2025 WC fare is $71K, which is a staggering increase.

 

The cheapest Balcony on the Cunard 2025WC is $56.1K and for comparison their cheapest balcony (guaranteed) is $47.5K for the 2024 WC. To nominate a cabin and avoid NRD, the Cunard 2024WC balcony is $52.5K.

 

Time to run some more numbers in detail. 

[KKB]

Question...I have been lurking World Cruises for a while.

Definitely my bucket list.

It started last January following 3 couples blogs as they were on Viking.

Points Guy put out an interesting article today:
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/around-the-world-cruises/

(I wish he had been more thorough & listed what is all included--or not--in each of those price points)

 

My big question is insurance. 

As we get older (currently 57 & 60--still quite healthy), with aging parents, we rather need to think more about this--ESPECIALLY when one takes a pricey world cruise.

I see people mention adding it here. I did a dummy booking on Princess & it was $4K more.

It does appear to be cancel for any reason insurance (it said those worlds...).

 

Typically it seems 3rd party insurance is better priced--has anyone used a 3rd party insurance company for world cruise insurance? 

Curious if you would share the company if you have.

Thanks!