Wowza! Few Deals and LOTS of Upsells! $599 Becomes $1,454!

[Guardsy]

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Princess must be doing just fine as there are very few deals from Princess directly, anywhere.

In looking at drop and gos, found a 7-night New England out of New York.  Interior advertised as $599.  Checked it out.  Now $649 for an interior.  Need an ADA.  Yep, they have one.  We always get Princess Plus for only the drinks and gratuities, so I marked that.  Took the price to $1,209.  Add in the taxes and port fees of $245 ea.  Oh, my gosh, $1,454 per person, 7-day, interior.

 

Amazingly, Princess Plus does say Princess Plus, but then the list under it has all Princess Premiere benefits, including the $20 drinks, reserved show seats, etc. Only other option given is just regular Princess.

What the heck!

 

[iamaqt2]

Just book the drop and go.  You can add the Princess Plus once you board.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Guardsy said:

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Princess must be doing just fine as there are very few deals from Princess directly, anywhere.

In looking at drop and gos, found a 7-night New England out of New York.  Interior advertised as $599.  Checked it out.  Now $649 for an interior.  Need an ADA.  Yep, they have one.  We always get Princess Plus for only the drinks and gratuities, so I marked that.  Took the price to $1,209.  Add in the taxes and port fees of $245 ea.  Oh, my gosh, $1,454 per person, 7-day, interior.

 

Amazingly, Princess Plus does say Princess Plus, but then the list under it has all Princess Premiere benefits, including the $20 drinks, reserved show seats, etc. Only other option given is just regular Princess.

What the heck!

 

The new total of $1,209 is consistent with paying 7 x $80 for Premier Fare package, not Plus.  Benefits match, so it is hard to see where the mixup is.

[Abercrombie2019]

11 hours ago, Guardsy said:

Now $649 for an interior.

Am I missing something?  Isn't $649 for a 7 day cruise a good deal?  

 

I like that Princess gives people the option of having a low price, or having the "inclusive" package.  It allows you to decide what experience/expense you are comfortable with.

[memoak]

Ships are sailing very full these days so no deals are really out there   We eye on the Discovery for two weeks recently and there were tons of families with  4 people to inside and balcony cabins

[Abercrombie2019]

I stalk my vacations.  I plan where I want to go, and when.  I tend to book a year and a half in advance, usually at a price that I'm not very happy with and wait for the prices to come down.  I always go for the "refundable deposit". If the prices don't come down, I tell myself that I will cancel.  

 

If prices do come down to a point that I am comfortable with, then I start to book flights and hotels.  I will book EZAir if it is priced better than booking direct with airlines.  I try to keep my options open for as long as possible.

 

So far, I've always been able to re-fare or rebook for much better rates.  I've even been able to move from balcony to deluxe balcony for much less money than I originally booked for.  

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

I stalk my vacations.  I plan where I want to go, and when.  I tend to book a year and a half in advance, usually at a price that I'm not very happy with and wait for the prices to come down.  I always go for the "refundable deposit". If the prices don't come down, I tell myself that I will cancel.  

 

If prices do come down to a point that I am comfortable with, then I start to book flights and hotels.  I will book EZAir if it is priced better than booking direct with airlines.  I try to keep my options open for as long as possible.

 

So far, I've always been able to re-fare or rebook for much better rates.  I've even been able to move from balcony to deluxe balcony for much less money than I originally booked for.  

We usually book a year or more also but have many casino offers that have tight time frames with very few suites available so if people got used to booking last minute fares they should be aware of limited availability and higher fares

[voljeep]

we booked a little fall cruise at PLUS50 with $200 OBC - aft balcony

currently - disclaimer - PLUS60 with $250 OBC with a move from aft to mid aft - balcony - the first day available for booking

 

never a price drop - now up 128% over original cruise fare - plus the additional increase in insurance.

Edited June 23, 2023 by voljeep

[Abercrombie2019]

We have a cruise booked for next year that is currently about 140% more expensive than when we re-fared it a couple of months ago.  So it would seem that demand is currently high.

[Buckeye10640]

I booked a 5 day out of FLL March 2022 for $199 (+tax and fees) , that was a balcony w/o plus and no single supplement.It came with $100 OBC, I got $100 stockholder OBC and $50 OBC for my FCD.  Of course I had to add in wifi and grats and some drinks but,  hey, it was almost like sailing free.  If only I could find that now out of FLL......

Edited June 23, 2023 by Buckeye10640

[memoak]

30 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I booked a 5 day out of FLL March 2022 for $199 (+tax and fees) , that was a balcony w/o plus and no single supplement.It came with $100 OBC, I got $100 stockholder OBC and $50 OBC for my FCD.  Of course I had to add in wifi and grats and some drinks but,  hey, it was almost like sailing free.  If only I could find that now out of FLL......

Times have really changed in the last year

[MissP22]

An easy way to trim the price is eliminating the Plus package & buying exactly what you want when the mood strikes you. Surely you can easily live without 15 drinks a day and reserved seating. If not, then cruising has become just another inflated vacation option. 

[memoak]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

An easy way to trim the price is eliminating the Plus package & buying exactly what you want when the mood strikes you. Surely you can easily live without 15 drinks a day and reserved seating. If not, then cruising has become just another inflated vacation option. 

No I want my 10 drinks a day and I am not willing to pay through the nose for them

[MissP22]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

No I want my 10 drinks a day and I am not willing to pay through the nose for them

The package obviously doesn't make sense for everyone. 

At home I hardly drink anything in between each cruise and find myself forced to drink (alcohol) when it's already paid for. 

Do people actually drink that much at home? 

[voljeep]

29 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

The package obviously doesn't make sense for everyone. 

At home I hardly drink anything in between each cruise and find myself forced to drink (alcohol) when it's already paid for. 

Do people actually drink that much at home? 

a week at home and a week on a cruise/vacation are 2 totally different things for us ... work hard, play hard(er)

[memoak]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

The package obviously doesn't make sense for everyone. 

At home I hardly drink anything in between each cruise and find myself forced to drink (alcohol) when it's already paid for. 

Do people actually drink that much at home? 

At home we always have 2 pre dinner drinks and wine with dinner. If we go out to lunch then at least 2 wines or beers. On weekends we will add maybe a Bloody Mary or bottle of sparkling wine

[MissP22]

Based on what people are posting here on CC, we definitely are not among the drinking public, even on vacation. 

[Senga]

We were on Sky Princess Norway/Iceland in June in a DB.  TOTAL cruise only price was $6,537.12 CDN and included a $100 US onboard credit.  To book the same cruise/category/ship/date for next year it is $6,071.36 PER PERSON with a $200 US onboard credit.  Our TA said prices have increased dramatically and many cruises for 2024 are already sold out.

 

[Buckeye10640]

3 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

 

 

 

58 minutes ago, Senga said:

We were on Sky Princess Norway/Iceland in June in a DB.  TOTAL cruise only price was $6,537.12 CDN and included a $100 US onboard credit.  To book the same cruise/category/ship/date for next year it is $6,071.36 PER PERSON with a $200 US onboard credit.  Our TA said prices have increased dramatically and many cruises for 2024 are already sold out.

 

Thats just crazy!

Edited June 25, 2023 by Buckeye10640