Thinking about trying Princess Cruise Line

[NC State]

We love cruising but thinking about trying Princess.  Will Princess lower your package price if you find it on sell like Royal? 

[mtnesterz]

When you say package price, do you mean buying Plus or Premium (I mention because you may not be familiar with those terms.) or do you mean bundling your air, transfers and cruise fare in one purchase?

 

We always booked in the past through what Princess calls their Cruise Vacation Planners (CVP'S) and no discounts. You might find one of those big TA agencies, or big box store that offers an in-house special, or gift card for booking any line they sell. I would be surprised and interested to learn if a discount specific to Princess is offered by anyone.

Suggest you have a look at the threads on the first couple pages here and see if Princess is something you would be interested trying. Not just watching a commercial or reading a brochure, but what people really say.

Edited June 7, 2023 by mtnesterz

[NC State]

I book directly with the cruise line. With Royal I'm always checking the price. If I see it reduced I can call them and they will honor the lower rate. Didn't know if Princess did the same. 

[dreaminofcruisin]

10 minutes ago, NC State said:

I book directly with the cruise line. With Royal I'm always checking the price. If I see it reduced I can call them and they will honor the lower rate. Didn't know if Princess did the same. 

 

Yes. You can REFARE if the price drops. However, if there is a sale you book under originally, you may lose the perks from the sale....OBC or the like.

Also, sometimes you can't REFARE if the price is for new bookings only. Then you would need to Cancel and Book. For this reason, be careful when you book that your deposit is Refundable. Lately, Princess has made more of their down payments not Refundable especially if booking as Guaranteed instead of picking your own cabin.

 

We usually book as soon as we find something interesting. Most of the time, it seems like the price goes up, but occasionally we will see a price drop and have been successful refaring. 

 

Welcome to the Princess Board!

[NC State]

8 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

Yes. You can REFARE if the price drops. However, if there is a sale you book under originally, you may lose the perks from the sale....OBC or the like.

Also, sometimes you can't REFARE if the price is for new bookings only. Then you would need to Cancel and Book. For this reason, be careful when you book that your deposit is Refundable. Lately, Princess has made more of their down payments not Refundable especially if booking as Guaranteed instead of picking your own cabin.

 

We usually book as soon as we find something interesting. Most of the time, it seems like the price goes up, but occasionally we will see a price drop and have been successful refaring. 

 

Welcome to the Princess Board!

Thank you for taking time to answering my question.  We like what we see so I'm thinking we should try it. 

[gottagocit]

1 hour ago, NC State said:

We love cruising but thinking about trying Princess.  Will Princess lower your package price if you find it on sell like Royal? 

I recently answered this question for someone in our roll call and thought I would copy the long reply below. Maybe it’ll help explain if/when you can can take advantage of a price drop. 

 

“A few things have to align to allow it.

First, if you want to keep the same cabin there must be a cabin available in that same category. That allows you to see the new available rate and if there’s not one available they will consider your category “sold out” and you can’t re-fare. 

 

Second the available published fare for your category must be lower than the cost you booked at. 

 

Third your original booking must have been made with a refundable deposit and not part of a sale promo that includes “non-refundable” deposits (rare these days but can happen). 

 

Fourth you’ll need to consider the loss of any onboard cruise credit you got under your original booking as the new rate may not come with such OBC and you’ll loose it when re-faring. 

 

Fifth you can’t have passed your final payment date with your upcoming voyage. 

And yes you simply call whoever you booked through (Princess direct or travel agent) and ask for the new lower fare. They essentially cancel your existing reservation and rebook you at the new lower rate. Some newer Princess agents have told people they can’t do that but the next one you contact that has more experience will do it with no problem. 
 

One last thing is if there are no cabins available in your current category you CAN still do essentially the same re-fare by booking a new higher category assuming it’s advertised price is lower or low enough for you to want it. This is what we did yesterday. We moved from a category IB interior to an IA since an IA popped up available for less than we had re-fared last time. We moved to a better location and still saved $260 total for both of us. Since our first booking this voyage we’ve reduced our total fare with taxes and insurance by $1,600. I had posted here a time or two previously when we caught a lower fare to alert others but you may have missed it.”

 

 

[NC State]

Thank you for the information. 

[mtnesterz]

OK. If you prefer to book with the cruise line directly, then call and get yourself a CVP at 1(800) 901-1172. Some are good, some are worthless. Ours is great, but good or bad, we are not allowed to name them here. No discounts but you will have a direct line to Princess and an email address. Forget call backs, hours on hold, and dealing with an inexperienced new hire. The only problem with a CVP is a good one is hungry and will call you until you tell them, "Don't call me, I'll call you."

2 hours ago, NC State said:

Thank you for the information. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by mtnesterz

[roadster08]

Check out the thread on 10% off using AARP gift cards.