Onboard Booking Question

[CruiserMickey]

Hello! I am a frequent Celebtity cruiser and have booked onboard for friends who will accompany us on a future cruise but are not onboard with us at the time of booking.

 

Does Princess have a similar policy? My brother is sailing on Princess in a few weeks and we hope to cruise with him next summer to the British Isles.

 

Will he be able to make a future cruise booking (with reduced deposit and OBC) for us if we are not on the ship with him?

[SCX22]

If you have already have a Captain's Circle membership number assigned to your name, then your brother will be able to purchase a Future Cruise Deposit (reduced $100 deposit and bounce back OBC depending on length and category booked) on your behalf.  They are $100 each and are good for 1 year.

 

Below is the schedule for the bounce back OBC.

[CruiserMickey]

55 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

If you have already have a Captain's Circle membership number assigned to your name, then your brother will be able to purchase a Future Cruise Deposit (reduced $100 deposit and bounce back OBC depending on length and category booked) on your behalf.  They are $100 each and are good for 1 year.

 

Below is the schedule for the bounce back OBC.

Thanks for the info!

[wallyj]

@CruiserMickey,

You brother will also have to ‘pay’ for the deposits and in the case you cancel or do not use, the $ is returned to the credit card used to buy the deposits.

 

Have you sailed with Princess ? If not your brother should ‘refer’ you and others where you would each receive some ‘OBC’ ($25). The referral process will generate a Princess Captain circle number for the referee which your brother should supply when he purchases the future cruise deposits.

 

See the Princess website for details on the referral program terms and conditions.

[CruiserMickey]

7 hours ago, wallyj said:

@CruiserMickey,

You brother will also have to ‘pay’ for the deposits and in the case you cancel or do not use, the $ is returned to the credit card used to buy the deposits.

 

Have you sailed with Princess ? If not your brother should ‘refer’ you and others where you would each receive some ‘OBC’ ($25). The referral process will generate a Princess Captain circle number for the referee which your brother should supply when he purchases the future cruise deposits.

 

See the Princess website for details on the referral program terms and conditions.

Thanks, yes, we have sailed Princess and have used the referral program for others. We have Captain Circle numbers, just haven’t sailed Princess in about 8 or 9 years.

 

We prefer Celebrity overall, but choose our cruises by itinerary rather than being faithful to one line. The British Isles cruise gets us to our ancestral homeland which we think will be very special.

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

Hello! I am a frequent Celebtity cruiser and have booked onboard for friends who will accompany us on a future cruise but are not onboard with us at the time of booking.

 

Does Princess have a similar policy? My brother is sailing on Princess in a few weeks and we hope to cruise with him next summer to the British Isles.

 

Will he be able to make a future cruise booking (with reduced deposit and OBC) for us if we are not on the ship with him?

Unless the two of you are hoping to book one of those 50% deals only offered on ships that have been going on earlier this year, then there is no point in booking a cruise on the ship.  Brother should just buy you all FCD's as noted above and you simply pay him back after his voyage.

 

Book your next voyage from home (hopefully you know a good TA that offers a discount off cruise fare).

[CruiserMickey]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

Unless the two of you are hoping to book one of those 50% deals only offered on ships that have been going on earlier this year, then there is no point in booking a cruise on the ship.  Brother should just buy you all FCD's as noted above and you simply pay him back after his voyage.

 

Book your next voyage from home (hopefully you know a good TA that offers a discount off cruise fare).

Thanks for the advice. Is there a list of the 50% off cruises I can check? We are looking at Princess Standard, but if we can get 50% off Plus, that is worth it for us.

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, CruiserMickey said:

Thanks for the advice. Is there a list of the 50% off cruises I can check? We are looking at Princess Standard, but if we can get 50% off Plus, that is worth it for us.

The list likely changes as time goes by.  You would need to be in touch with someone on the ship now and ask them.  Also, from some recent posts, it appears as though it was a mistake by on-board sales to be discounting the Plus and Premier by 50% as well (IMO, PCL loses money for certain at that rate).  So, that may have stopped by now.

 

[CruiserMickey]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

The list likely changes as time goes by.  You would need to be in touch with someone on the ship now and ask them.  Also, from some recent posts, it appears as though it was a mistake by on-board sales to be discounting the Plus and Premier by 50% as well (IMO, PCL loses money for certain at that rate).  So, that may have stopped by now.

 

Thank you! 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, CruiserMickey said:

Thanks for the advice. Is there a list of the 50% off cruises I can check? We are looking at Princess Standard, but if we can get 50% off Plus, that is worth it for us.

I will try to add it for you …

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

Aha .. here is the current list.  
it is good through cruises booked through the end of August.  

Solo Supplement_Voyage List May 25.pdf

[Steelers36]

10 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Aha .. here is the current list.  
it is good through cruises booked through the end of August.  

Solo Supplement_Voyage List May 25.pdf 182.98 kB · 3 downloads

That list is for Solo guests where they don't have to pay upcharge.  Not the same as a cruise for 50% off for the "normal" 2-in-a-cabin booking.

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

That list is for Solo guests where they don't have to pay upcharge.  Not the same as a cruise for 50% off for the "normal" 2-in-a-cabin booking.

Im so sorry .. you are right.  I posted it without really thinking it through.  Let me see if I can find the other file.  

[Cruise Raider]

Ok .. here’s the right one .. I think!  

Onboard Offer Voyage List .pdf

[SCX22]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Unless the two of you are hoping to book one of those 50% deals only offered on ships that have been going on earlier this year, then there is no point in booking a cruise on the ship.  Brother should just buy you all FCD's as noted above and you simply pay him back after his voyage.

 

Book your next voyage from home (hopefully you know a good TA that offers a discount off cruise fare).

 

6 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

Thanks for the advice. Is there a list of the 50% off cruises I can check? We are looking at Princess Standard, but if we can get 50% off Plus, that is worth it for us.

 

You have to be a current passenger on board in order to get this rate.  Future cruise has to enter a cabin number for this rate to populate in their system.  Those that aren't current passengers aren't eligible for the 50% off rate.  The work around is if a passenger onboard books a future cruise and adds a passenger not on board to their booking but in the same cabin.  I inquired about this.  

 

For the 50% off prices, I'd be willing to book a short 2 or 3 day Princess cruise just to take advantage of the rates.

[CruiserMickey]

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

 

You have to be a current passenger on board in order to get this rate.  Future cruise has to enter a cabin number for this rate to populate in their system.  Those that aren't current passengers aren't eligible for the 50% off rate.  The work around is if a passenger onboard books a future cruise and adds a passenger not on board to their booking but in the same cabin.  I inquired about this.  

 

For the 50% off prices, I'd be willing to book a short 2 or 3 day Princess cruise just to take advantage of the rates.

That information is very helpful, thanks!

[CruiserMickey]

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

For the 50% off prices, I'd be willing to book a short 2 or 3 day Princess cruise just to take advantage of the rates.

 

 I wish we could! But we have something much more important happening…a new grandson will be born in the next week or two! As much as I love cruising, I already love him more and can’t wait to meet him! 🥰

[SCX22]

17 minutes ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

 I wish we could! But we have something much more important happening…a new grandson will be born in the next week or two! As much as I love cruising, I already love him more and can’t wait to meet him! 🥰

 

Congrats!  Family first.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

 

You have to be a current passenger on board in order to get this rate.  Future cruise has to enter a cabin number for this rate to populate in their system.  Those that aren't current passengers aren't eligible for the 50% off rate.  The work around is if a passenger onboard books a future cruise and adds a passenger not on board to their booking but in the same cabin.  I inquired about this.  

 

For the 50% off prices, I'd be willing to book a short 2 or 3 day Princess cruise just to take advantage of the rates.

Sure but if they were serious about doing it, @CruiserMickey brother could book two cabins, splitting with spouse/partner if necessary and add Mickey and spouse/partner as cabin mates and then swap names later or upon boarding.  Works I think as long as everyone was agree to Standard or Plus fare and Mickey pays his brother what he owes.

[SCX22]

29 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure but if they were serious about doing it, @CruiserMickey brother could book two cabins, splitting with spouse/partner if necessary and add Mickey and spouse/partner as cabin mates and then swap names later or upon boarding.  Works I think as long as everyone was agree to Standard or Plus fare and Mickey pays his brother what he owes.

 

Makes sense.  Never thought about that.

[wallyj]

I believe the original question was for a possible British isles sailing for next summer, which are not on the 50% list currently, as it only had sailings till May 2024. 
 

Some very popular itineraries were not included such as Mexico but some Coastals were. Will Princess continue with the 50% off promo and British isle cruises included? 
 

I believe the OP now understands the best option is for the brother going on a Princess sailing in a few weeks, is to buy FCD’s for the passengers not on board. 
 

Would not hurt to enquire if there is still a 50% off promo and if any more sailings beyond May 2024 have been added.
 

 

[TN-Mountains]

8 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure but if they were serious about doing it, @CruiserMickey brother could book two cabins, splitting with spouse/partner if necessary and add Mickey and spouse/partner as cabin mates and then swap names later or upon boarding.  Works I think as long as everyone was agree to Standard or Plus fare and Mickey pays his brother what he owes.

This is what we did last month.  Hubby and I were on the cruise and the kids were back home.  We booked 2 cabins with hubby in one and me in the other.  We split our kids between the two rooms. The kid in my room got the 1/2 off fare.  No one got the 1/2 off fare in the room with 3 because the 1/2 off deal is only good for double (& maybe solo) occupancy. Our kids have never cruised.  They generated Captain Circle numbers for them so we could purchase FCD in their names to use on the cruise.      

 

A word of caution for @CruiserMickey, if your brother books your cruise while onboard make sure he double/triple checks everything.  The agent that helped us onboard Sky Princess got a lot of things wrong.  We confirmed we were purchasing 4 FCD which would be used for our deposits.  The cruise is in December so the final payment wouldn't be due until Oct and we could still cancel without penalty.  After discussing these details, giving him the kids' DOB and putting a hold on the cabins, the agent asked if he could process everything later and email us the confirmation.  I didn't see a problem with this because there were 3-4 people waiting in line behind us.  When I got the confirmation late that night I noticed he charged the full fare of one cabin to my credit card and it was listed as non-refundable.  He had my 10-year-old daughter listed as "adult"  instead of showing her age.  The pricing/deposit on the other cabin was as we discussed but one son's age was incorrect.   This was the last night of the cruise and the Future Cruise office was closed.  Fortunately, a CVP was able to correct my daughter's age.  She explained that the 1/2 off deals must be paid-in-full regardless of the final payment timeline for the itinerary.  It was a great deal and I would have purchased it anyway, but irritating for an agent to charge more to my credit card than we agreed especially when the terms went from refundable to non-refundable. 

[TN-Mountains]

22 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

Thanks for the advice. Is there a list of the 50% off cruises I can check? We are looking at Princess Standard, but if we can get 50% off Plus, that is worth it for us.

On my cruise, the 50% off deal was not available for American guests.  We were offered 50% off the standard fare of select cruises.  The upgrade to plus/premier was at the current $60 or $80 pppd.    

[CruiserMickey]

11 hours ago, wallyj said:

I believe the original question was for a possible British isles sailing for next summer, which are not on the 50% list currently, as it only had sailings till May 2024. 
 

Some very popular itineraries were not included such as Mexico but some Coastals were. Will Princess continue with the 50% off promo and British isle cruises included? 
 

I believe the OP now understands the best option is for the brother going on a Princess sailing in a few weeks, is to buy FCD’s for the passengers not on board. 
 

Would not hurt to enquire if there is still a 50% off promo and if any more sailings beyond May 2024 have been added.
 

 

This is it exactly. The possible itineraries we want are not included in the 50% off list at this time. It never hurts to check, though. 😊

[CruiserMickey]

3 hours ago, TN-Mountains said:

This is what we did last month.  Hubby and I were on the cruise and the kids were back home.  We booked 2 cabins with hubby in one and me in the other.  We split our kids between the two rooms. The kid in my room got the 1/2 off fare.  No one got the 1/2 off fare in the room with 3 because the 1/2 off deal is only good for double (& maybe solo) occupancy. Our kids have never cruised.  They generated Captain Circle numbers for them so we could purchase FCD in their names to use on the cruise.      

 

A word of caution for @CruiserMickey, if your brother books your cruise while onboard make sure he double/triple checks everything.  The agent that helped us onboard Sky Princess got a lot of things wrong.  We confirmed we were purchasing 4 FCD which would be used for our deposits.  The cruise is in December so the final payment wouldn't be due until Oct and we could still cancel without penalty.  After discussing these details, giving him the kids' DOB and putting a hold on the cabins, the agent asked if he could process everything later and email us the confirmation.  I didn't see a problem with this because there were 3-4 people waiting in line behind us.  When I got the confirmation late that night I noticed he charged the full fare of one cabin to my credit card and it was listed as non-refundable.  He had my 10-year-old daughter listed as "adult"  instead of showing her age.  The pricing/deposit on the other cabin was as we discussed but one son's age was incorrect.   This was the last night of the cruise and the Future Cruise office was closed.  Fortunately, a CVP was able to correct my daughter's age.  She explained that the 1/2 off deals must be paid-in-full regardless of the final payment timeline for the itinerary.  It was a great deal and I would have purchased it anyway, but irritating for an agent to charge more to my credit card than we agreed especially when the terms went from refundable to non-refundable. 

Thanks for the word of caution. Unfortunately I am well versed in cruise pricing issues. I just went through an awful time with Celebrity redeploying the Beyond we had booked a TA sailing on and then proceeding to strip off the owed OBC, missing our loyalty upgrade, general pricing wrong and not granting the extra $100 in OBC for having to go through this mess.