Booking with a Princess Vacation Planner

[AE_Collector]

I’m looking for some info from people who book through a Princess Vacation Planner much of the time. We booked this way exclusively from about 2011 to 2017. They took good care of us but they never provided any extras citing they can’t as it would likely cause problems with other Travel Agents if they did. We are at 43 Princess cruises and 444 days onboard so we did some serious cruising through that time frame. From 2017 on we began to book some through Princess and some through another place that gives us a bit of a kick back. We haven’t been on another cruise line in 10 years. We used to get some amazing cabin category upgrades up until they started selling upgrades which ended that “perk” for us.

 

Fast Forward to the last year as we started trying to get back to cruising again since the restart. Cruise prices are good for now but Elite Perks are vanishing before our eyes. Some of these perks they eliminated seem almost pointless to us, they could have rearranged things a bit to not disenfranchise people like us who have invested a lot to get to almost three times the Elite level with Princess. Yes I know there are people with thousands of days and hundreds of cruises and I know there are those who don’t worry about perks like we do. Princess had the best perks in my mind and that combined with our “go to cabin type” being a relatively inexpensive Obstructed Oceanview kept us cruising on Princess as many as 88 days a year (in 2015) even with everything costing us a third more now than it did 10-12 years ago because of the Canadian / US exchange rate.

 

Finally my question with regards to booking through a PVP. I have realized lately that some people ARE now getting further reduced cruise prices and/or additional OBC given to them when booking direct with Princess or at least from their PVP. People with far less time on Princess than us. I started asking two different PVPs that we’ve used about how this works or why it is happening for others but not for us along with questioning why we didn’t even receive the additional OBC that seemed to be a part of every booking under the “Greatest Sale Ever” that ended March 1. The first part of my question of the PVPs could be touchy but the missing OBC seemed like an easy thing to look into for us. Never the less, I got the silent treatment. Crickets. Virtual silence from both PVPs, and zero response to my Customer Relations enquiry and zero response to both PVP enquires that they said they forwarded to Customer Relations for me. So is anyone else getting anything extra booking with a PVP rather than booking elsewhere?

 

After exhausting all methods of trying to resolve these issues with Princess we just gave up and did something that we have never done before. We cancelled a cruise with them, the only one we had booked currently. We tend to book in the last three months before boarding so we aren’t booking a bunch of cruises to see which ones we will actually do. We book and usually have to pay in full and we’re going. We have always been more than satisfied with our time actually onboard Princess but the combination of steady reduction of Elite Perks, Princess not offering a higher level than Elite (that might have been an opportunity for them to keep some perks but at a higher loyalty level), being jerked around trying to book and actually receive advertised perks associated with various sales has made us realize after 10 years of exclusive loyalty to Princess that we should start to shop around again. Loyalty programs are huge, what business doesn’t use them to hang on to their existing customers. But someone at Princess needs to go back to business school because they are badly dropping the ball in this area IMHO.

 

[brisalta]

The original Vacation Planner assigned to me pre-covid19  never did anything for me. A new planner was assigned to me in the past year and he has been a breath of fresh air.

Easy to work with and re-fared my cruise retaining OBC even though the published rate said for new fares only and no OBC.

[AE_Collector]

Good to know. That was another thing I have heard from others…refared within final payment for a further price reduction. Our PVP has never done anything extra for us. So annoying as any of these enquires could have led to some sort of agreement with us but the dead air is now leading to us looking elsewhere. Thanks for the info.

[teecee60]

1 hour ago, AE_Collector said:

I’m looking for some info from people who book through a Princess Vacation Planner. We booked this way exclusively from about 2011 to 2017. They took good care of us. 

 

Cruise prices are good for now but Elite Perks are vanishing before our eyes. Princess had the best perks in my mind and that combined with our “go to cabin type” being a relatively inexpensive Obstructed Oceanview kept us cruising on Princess as many as 88 days a year.

 

So is anyone else getting anything extra booking with a PVP rather than booking elsewhere?

 

We tend to book in the last three months before boarding. We book and usually have to pay in full and we’re going. We have always been more than satisfied with our time onboard Princess but being jerked around trying to book and actually receive advertised perks associated with various sales has made us realize that we should start to shop around again.

 

Loyalty programs are huge, what business doesn’t use them to hang on to their existing customers. But someone at Princess needs to go back to business school because they are dropping the ball in this area.

 

 

I would suggest, that since you booked through a PVP exclusively for many years, you really have absolutely no idea if "they took good care of you."

 

There are many long time cruisers who mistakenly believe, that a travel agency is FORBIDDEN to sell cruises at prices below those offered by the cruise line. You should know that there are MANY travel agencies that offer lower prices AND added OBC/perks than what the cruise lines offer. In reality, booking directly with the cruise line (or your PVP) almost always guarantees that you will pay a HIGHER price and get FEWER perks.

 

Your habit of booking AFTER the final payment date is one of the two very BEST ways to get the lowest prices AND the most OBC/perks. (as the cruise line is absolutely desperate to fill every cabin that they possibly can) This strategy does come at the cost of losing out on "more desirable" cabins.

 

Booking through reputable online travel sites is the "other best" way of getting fantastic deals. A perfect example of this, is the 14 night Regal Princess transatlantic on 16 April. Just yesterday, that cruise was being offered for $518 for an inside cabin, and $701pp for a balcony cabin, with $300 OBC that was NOT offered by Princess. ($140pp in taxes and port charges are extra)

 

Princess STILL DOES have some outstanding perks. If you use Princess Future Cruise Deposits that adds another $150 OBC... if you own Carnival stock, that adds ANOTHER $250 OBC, and if you are a military vet, that adds ANOTHER $250 OBC.

 

A combined $950 OBC on a 14 night cruise that only cost $658pp for an inside, or $841pp for a balcony... makes cruising with Princess a REALLY good deal! 

 

 

[AE_Collector]

From 2017 on is when I began booking some Princess cruises elsewhere in an attempt to get a bit of additional OBC. Being in Canada somewhat limits this option though we can book with any travel agent most of them don’t want to deal with booking in $Canadian with Princess. Princess always has their own “$Canadian” pricing which is at a set exchange rate that seems to be an attempt to provide a slightly better exchange rate than the current bank exchange rate. This rate doesn’t change every day, it can stay put for months when the true exchange rate isn’t too volatile. And while we are only talking maybe a 2-4% improved rate on average, much of the time it can be more valuable as it apples to cruise price, taxes and fees, gratuities and it can cover all onboard spending for everything by pre purchasing OBC before the cruise. Also, going this route eliminates the credit card company from adding another 2.5% or so conversion fee if we had paid in $US. So while we always kept both US and CDN FCDs on hand, in reality I haven’t used to US FCDs to book a cruise in $US in years.

 

I always felt we were snagging the best cruise price in most cases by booking “last minute” (last 2-3 months). This works for us because we are very flexible about traveling on short notice, want to go anywhere and everywhere in the world, not just the same short vacation over and over and we really don’t care where our cabin is on the ship for the most part. We book a lot of guarantees for the best price and rarely have been unhappy with what we actually got.

 

I would love to find a Canadian TA that routinely booked in $CDN and gives additional perks. The Big Box store I have gone rough in Canada is proving to be more of a hassle for very little extra.

 

Thanks for all the reply and good info  @teecee60

[Shawn5]

We were approached via email by a PVP after we had booked and paid for a cruise (interestingly, she was aware of our previous Princess Cruise history, but not of our current booking). Since we had a small issue that Princess customer service couldn't resolve with the current booking, we reached out to this PVP and she was able to help out. Will probably use her next time.

[AE_Collector]

Oh and yes, we’ve maximized the shareholder and Future Cruise Deposits for over 10 years now keeping as many as 6 FCDs each in our accounts at any given time to absolutely ensure we never got into a bind with none remaining available for a last minute booking. 

[mtnesterz]

You mention that a loyalty program is important to you. I have read that those who sail RCI say they are happiest with the offered loyalty program. You might look into whether or not RCI would work for you.

Edited April 3, 2023 by mtnesterz

[AE_Collector]

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

You mention that a loyalty program is important to you. I have read that those who sail RCI say they are happiest with the offered loyalty program. You might look into whether or not RCI would work for you.

Yes thanks, we have been looking at Celebrity as we have been on celebrity 4 times though it was 10 years ago and we have friends who generally seem happiest on RCI. Ironically they are a bit ticked with RCI at the moment as they have a long trans pacific about to start and learned after it was too late that they missed the window to book attendance at shows and everything is booked up now. They can still stand in line at shows to see if they can get in though.

 

Thanks for your input!

[Thrak]

16 hours ago, AE_Collector said:

But someone at Princess needs to go back to business school because they are badly dropping the ball in this area IMHO.

 

The current President of Princess Cruises is a Marketing person. That should tell you something. I've never found marketing people to be in touch with reality.

[billco]

16 hours ago, AE_Collector said:

Loyalty programs are huge, what business doesn’t use them to hang on to their existing customers. But someone at Princess needs to go back to business school because they are badly dropping the ball in this area IMHO.

 

Not sure Princess is all that interested in hanging on to their existing customers. Although he doesn't seem to be that popular, that someone is filling the ships with cruisers who spend more money than the so called loyal existing customers like the ones who know all the tricks to minimize the cost of their cruises. I would think bottom line is something that would be taught in business school. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by billco

[voljeep]

23 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

The current President of Princess Cruises is a Marketing person. That should tell you something. I've never found marketing people to be in touch with reality.

They are not supposed to be in touch with reality. They're 'visionaries' - big picture of what's to come.  Not their job to make it happen... just get people to 'look/buy' .  They sell 'ideas'

[Thrak]

3 minutes ago, billco said:

Not sure Princess is all that interested in hanging on to their existing customers. Although he doesn't seem to be that popular, that someone is filling the ships with cruisers who spend more money than the so called loyal existing customers. i would think bottom line is something that would be taught in business school. 

 

I hate to say it but I tend to agree with your assessment. The loyal cruisers get more freebies and often tend to spend less money. They have already done the excursions and, if they want them again, they have learned to book them privately. They tend to not buy the pictures or the cruise video. They already burned out on buying Princess branded merchandise. I think JP is looking for a crowd of affluent younger people. I may be wrong but it seems to me that young people today tend to spend all they make rather than being more frugal as my wife and I were when young.

[Sunwanabe]

Tried with PVP on last cruise. Never again. I had a couple of questions on my spring cruise. Emails and voice messages to the person, zero response. Only to find out by calling main number that the person is not working at present. Common sense would record and have have a reply on their direct email address and voice message to call or respond to ________ for info. Also the person was not available on weekends and after hours unlike my now personal planner. 

[teecee60]

31 minutes ago, voljeep said:

They are not supposed to be in touch with reality. They're 'visionaries' - big picture of what's to come.  Not their job to make it happen... just get people to 'look/buy' .  They sell 'ideas'

 

THAT sounds like you could be a visionary... who is marketing those marketing visionaries! 😵

[AE_Collector]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

I hate to say it but I tend to agree with your assessment. The loyal cruisers get more freebies and often tend to spend less money. They have already done the excursions and, if they want them again, they have learned to book them privately. They tend to not buy the pictures or the cruise video. They already burned out on buying Princess branded merchandise. I think JP is looking for a crowd of affluent younger people. I may be wrong but it seems to me that young people today tend to spend all they make rather than being more frugal as my wife and I were when young.

Yes a fair bit of truth to that. So many slightly different scenarios though. Highly unlikely we would ever cruise with a Plus or Premium package. And we don’t buy many drinks onboard but an occasional one. The thing that got us looking forward to a drink was the two for one (later the second one for $1) happy hours. But where we still spend quite a bit of cash is on Princess shore excursions. We don’t do the same cruise over and over, we keep trying to get to more new places thus we still do lots of expensive excursions. I only recall us doing one excursion that wasn’t Princess in 43 cruises. But I can see Princess splitting us all into two or maybe three groups to concentrate on. The basic, Plus and maybe the Premium groups. And large numbers of cruisers seem to be going for it so Princess knows where the $$$ is. We can still go along for the ride unless (like myself) we hit the wall and get ticked at their lack of support of us.

[Jilliebean28]

Our first (and only) PVP was great for the first year.  He has since ghosted us.  We know he is still working in that roll but after multiple phone calls and emails to him have gone unreturned we will move on to a traditional travel agent.  

[jeromep]

Based only upon recent experience and a bit of "connect the dots" logic, PVPs are inside sales people who are given access to "self-service" cruisers, those of us who have become comfortable booking through the web site on our own, and their goal is to conduct email blasts and phone calls to get these unassociated cruisers to book more cruises.  Unassociated you say?  Yes.  Meaning cruisers that book direct and do not use a travel agent.

 

If you use a travel agent to book cruises, you are terra non grata and become the "property" of the travel agent you book with, so if you have a TA you won't hear from PVPs and will not have one assigned to you.

 

Now, if your most recent cruise was booked through a TA and you are getting promotional contacts, either via email or phone calls, from PVPs, I'd love to know, because the moment that I moved my most recent booking from Princess direct to a TA the emails and phone calls from PVPs dried up.

 

Are PVPs travel agents?  I suppose so, but only inside the Princess organization.  I consider them more along the lines of warm call sales.  A lot of what they do is cold calling, but they only call a list of persons who are either past cruises with Princess, especially those that have booked through Princess, or have shown interest in cruising with Princess by requesting brochures and promotional materials, so you are in their database.  So, a warm call.

 

So here is a little story.  Booked direct with Princess for a 2023 summer cruise last fall.  From the time I started showing interest in the cruise until I booked, about 6 weeks to hammer out the vacation time details and budget on my end, I was assigned 3 different PVPs.  The last one felt questionable, didn't return calls in a timely manner, took 48+ hours to respond to an email, and didn't seem to know anything.  That was the last straw.  I booked through the web site on my own and hoped for the best.

 

Then the changes associated with Princess Plus/Premier were announced, tried to get ahold of my PVP.  They were gone, I'd been assigned to somebody else.  That was the last straw.  I talked with some friends, asked some questions and found an independent TA.  They navigated me through the Princess Plus changes, made the adjustments to my booking to ensure that the new features were part of my cruise, and did this all based upon their own calendar and tasks list.  I didn't have to call them, they took notes of our conversations, put things in their schedule to look into changes and made adjustments that we already wanted and just handled it.

 

I read so many threads here of people that are working through cruise changes, questions, needs and are going through the call center at Princess trying to deal with these issues.  I've had to do many of the same things, but since moving my cruise to a TA, I get straight answers, and if they have to work with the booking, they do on their end and "just handle it".

 

So, @AE_Collector I strongly recommend finding a travel agent, developing a relationship, and using them to book your future cruises and not book directly through Princess.  I think your pre-cruise booking experience will be much better.

[Lady Arwen]

I have the opposite experience.  Our CVP is a gem.  Had her for years and wouldn’t dream of booking with just any Princess rep.  Answers emails immediately.  Returns my calls within 24 hours…..usually 1-3 hours.

 

Last week she called to ask about one of our dogs because I had mentioned to her a few weeks prior that he wasn’t well.  We chatted about the weather here in Canada and hers in Florida.  Told me about her laser eye surgery.  We had a half an hour conversation and she didn’t mention Princess until we were saying goodbye and then she inquired if there was anything she could help us with.

 

Wish I could share her with everybody!  When you find a good one, hang onto them because those ones are few and far between.

[Married15]

One of the reasons we use a PVP is that he is able to get us our favorite cabin that isn't available on-line or for anyone else. Just did it today and he came through again for us. I generally book early and then re-fare when prices come down. Perks are not as important to me as "my" cabin is. 

[remydiva]

On 4/2/2023 at 11:41 PM, teecee60 said:

 

I would suggest, that since you booked through a PVP exclusively for many years, you really have absolutely no idea if "they took good care of you."

 

There are many long time cruisers who mistakenly believe, that a travel agency is FORBIDDEN to sell cruises at prices below those offered by the cruise line. You should know that there are MANY travel agencies that offer lower prices AND added OBC/perks than what the cruise lines offer. In reality, booking directly with the cruise line (or your PVP) almost always guarantees that you will pay a HIGHER price and get FEWER perks.

 

Your habit of booking AFTER the final payment date is one of the two very BEST ways to get the lowest prices AND the most OBC/perks. (as the cruise line is absolutely desperate to fill every cabin that they possibly can) This strategy does come at the cost of losing out on "more desirable" cabins.

 

Booking through reputable online travel sites is the "other best" way of getting fantastic deals. A perfect example of this, is the 14 night Regal Princess transatlantic on 16 April. Just yesterday, that cruise was being offered for $518 for an inside cabin, and $701pp for a balcony cabin, with $300 OBC that was NOT offered by Princess. ($140pp in taxes and port charges are extra)

 

Princess STILL DOES have some outstanding perks. If you use Princess Future Cruise Deposits that adds another $150 OBC... if you own Carnival stock, that adds ANOTHER $250 OBC, and if you are a military vet, that adds ANOTHER $250 OBC.

 

A combined $950 OBC on a 14 night cruise that only cost $658pp for an inside, or $841pp for a balcony... makes cruising with Princess a REALLY good deal! 

 

 

funny you should pick that particular cruise as it is our next one...first one post Covid.

 

I checked just now and all categories show sold out except for interior. Now perhaps the online site you refer to has a block of cabins on hold but for Joe Blow, no can do.

 

We got a balcony during a 'sale' and I'm happy with what we paid $1200 with $100 OBC pp and I got the cabin where I wanted. I like a good deal like everyone but if I can cruise for less than $100/day CDN for a prime balcony, I'm not going to drive myself crazy by chasing other deals and sales. Just my two cents.

 

[mtnesterz]

7 hours ago, Jilliebean28 said:

Our first (and only) PVP was great for the first year.  He has since ghosted us.  We know he is still working in that roll but after multiple phone calls and emails to him have gone unreturned we will move on to a traditional travel agent.  

I get that you are frustrated, but how about everyone else to whom he is assigned? His customer care reflects poorly on Princess as well. We have a great CVP, so happy with him. But our first was a big zero.

Suggest calling the (800) 901-1172 number, report your situation and while you're on the line, get a new CVP. Princess may see this as a training opportunity. He will either improve or move on.

Edited April 5, 2023 by mtnesterz

[Guest ldtr]

Have been using a vacation planner since the restart.  I pick the cruises on line and put them on hold, then send him an e-mail and he applies the down payment.  On occasion he will make changes in the booking if he has access to a better price or additional OBC.

 

Keep in mind that the vacation planners only get credit if you book through them.  If you book totally on line then they will not be very interested in helping you with any issues on that cruise.

[AE_Collector]

@jeromep
Yes there has to be a solution. The last straw for me was seeing others being handed discounts and extra OBC from a PVP while we have always had to pay the current listed price receiving no extra OBC and with our last booking we didn’t even get the advertised sale OBC. After weeks of trying to get answers from anyone or even a reply I gave up and cancelled our first cruise ever. One day maybe I will find a local TA I am happy with.

thanks for the reply….

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by AE_Collector

[AE_Collector]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

Have been using a vacation planner since the restart.  I pick the cruises on line and put them on hold, then send him an e-mail and he applies the down payment.  On occasion he will make changes in the booking if he has access to a better price or additional OBC.

 

Keep in mind that the vacation planners only get credit if you book through them.  If you book totally on line then they will not be very interested in helping you with any issues on that cruise.

We’ve never booked online but have occasionally just called 1-800 Princess and booked. Mainly we’ve booked through the same PVP for years and up to 8 cruises totalling 88 days in one year. My gripe now is finding out other PVPs are giving out perks that we’ve never seen. Asking about it I get dead air so maybe as others have said, once you get to triple the requirement to make it to Elite they are looking for a way to unload you!