Benefits for on-board reservations?

[FirstTeacher]

Does Princess offer any special benefits if you reserve a new cruise while on-board? On Celebrity, I was offered OBC plus reduced deposits. Anything like that with Princess?

[reedprincess]

43 minutes ago, FirstTeacher said:

Does Princess offer any special benefits if you reserve a new cruise while on-board? On Celebrity, I was offered OBC plus reduced deposits. Anything like that with Princess?

Princess offers Future Cruise Deposits. For $100 per FCD, you get a refundable $100 deposit usable for any future new booking, plus PBC on said booking based on cabin type booked and length of cruise.

 

[caribill]

54 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Princess offers Future Cruise Deposits. For $100 per FCD, you get a refundable $100 deposit usable for any future new booking, plus PBC on said booking based on cabin type booked and length of cruise.

 

 

And if you choose to book a cruise while on board, an FCD will automatically be issued/applied and in most cases will be the only deposit needed if before final payment time.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, FirstTeacher said:

Does Princess offer any special benefits if you reserve a new cruise while on-board?

 

Sometimes they have on board special pricing. 

 

For example, this summer on some ships a limited number of itineraries were offered at 50% off the then current pricing.

[sewgood]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Sometimes they have on board special pricing. 

 

For example, this summer on some ships a limited number of itineraries were offered at 50% off the then current pricing.

Very interesting.

Did they advertise that in the Patter or did you have to speak to the on board cruise planner to find out about the offer?

 

[caribill]

51 minutes ago, sewgood said:

Very interesting.

Did they advertise that in the Patter or did you have to speak to the on board cruise planner to find out about the offer?

 

o First heard about it in a presentation by the Future Sales lead person

o Next saw it as one of the rotating ads on the digital screens around the ship

o Never noticed it in the Patter although the Patter did list the presentation by the Future Sales person

[sewgood]

28 minutes ago, caribill said:

o First heard about it in a presentation by the Future Sales lead person

o Next saw it as one of the rotating ads on the digital screens around the ship

o Never noticed it in the Patter although the Patter did list the presentation by the Future Sales person

Thanks for the information, I will have to watch those screens now.😊

 

[FirstTeacher]

Thank you all for your prompt replies.

[Hlitner]

With Princess we like to keep 1 or 2 Future Cruise deposits on our account.  It is not necessary to actually choose a cruise until a later date (used to have 2 years.  The advantage is having a low deposit and extra OBC.  If you do not use the deposit within the required time the money is refunded.

 

Since we book through various discount cruise agencies we get the OBCs from that future cruise deposit (for both DW and myself) plus the OBCs from our cruise agency (can sometimes be 7-10% of the cruise price) and often other OBC from a Princess promotion.  Add our veterans OBC (up ti $250) and shareholder credit (up to $250) and our OBC can total well over $1000.

 

Hank

PS.  Rumors say Princess will no longer allow piggybacking the veterans and shareholder credits although we were able to get both for an upcoming Dec cruise.

[jjack413]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

With Princess we like to keep 1 or 2 Future Cruise deposits on our account.  It is not necessary to actually choose a cruise until a later date (used to have 2 years.  The advantage is having a low deposit and extra OBC.  If you do not use the deposit within the required time the money is refunded.

 

Since we book through various discount cruise agencies we get the OBCs from that future cruise deposit (for both DW and myself) plus the OBCs from our cruise agency (can sometimes be 7-10% of the cruise price) and often other OBC from a Princess promotion.  Add our veterans OBC (up ti $250) and shareholder credit (up to $250) and our OBC can total well over $1000.

 

Hank

PS.  Rumors say Princess will no longer allow piggybacking the veterans and shareholder credits although we were able to get both for an upcoming Dec cruise.

About Future Cruise Deposit

You can purchase a Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) on board as part of our Future Cruise Deposit Program.

The Future Cruise Deposit is a reduced, fully refundable deposit of $100 per person that secures a booking until final payment and gives you up to $150 Onboard Credit!

You’ll have up to a year to book your cruise with your preferred Travel Advisor or Cruise Vacation Planner or directly through Princess. If you don’t book during that time, we’ll automatically refund the FCD to the credit card used to purchase the deposit.

[Bwana Tom]

The future cruise deposits (FCD) are of great benefit and we always have a few of those on hand for our future bookings. But my best advice on actually booking a cruise while on board is to check the prices on the web before laying your money down and committing. On our last cruise we discovered the cruise we were considering was priced considerably lower than their so called "onboard sale price" both on the normal Princess site as well as through our travel agent. Be diligent and don't lay your money down unless you are sure it is the best possible deal. A quick check on the web while onboard could save you considerably. 

[Guest ldtr]

On 8/19/2023 at 9:55 PM, caribill said:

 

Sometimes they have on board special pricing. 

 

For example, this summer on some ships a limited number of itineraries were offered at 50% off the then current pricing.

If I recall correctly those were itineraries within 60 days of the current cruise. 

[Guest ldtr]

On 8/20/2023 at 3:17 AM, Hlitner said:

With Princess we like to keep 1 or 2 Future Cruise deposits on our account.  It is not necessary to actually choose a cruise until a later date (used to have 2 years.  The advantage is having a low deposit and extra OBC.  If you do not use the deposit within the required time the money is refunded.

 

Since we book through various discount cruise agencies we get the OBCs from that future cruise deposit (for both DW and myself) plus the OBCs from our cruise agency (can sometimes be 7-10% of the cruise price) and often other OBC from a Princess promotion.  Add our veterans OBC (up ti $250) and shareholder credit (up to $250) and our OBC can total well over $1000.

 

Hank

PS.  Rumors say Princess will no longer allow piggybacking the veterans and shareholder credits although we were able to get both for an upcoming Dec cruise.

Because you applied for and got both before the implementation date for the new rules. They are allowing the obc under the old rules if it was approved before the new rules went into effect.

[Hlitner]

Just now, ldtr said:

Because you applied for and got both before the implementation date for the new rules. They are allowing the obc under the old rules if it was approved before the new rules went into effect.

We knew about the rumor of new rules, so applied for the credit in July.  Surprisingly, it was processed and applied to our Dec cruise within 1 day.  Miracles never cease 🫠

 

Whether we ever book another Princess cruise is another question.  Despite having more than 30 Princess cruises (hundreds of days) we now see more value with the higher end small ship luxury lines. 

 

Hank

[kiwimum]

The 50% off cruises are a good deal if you know you are definitely going to travel.   Cannot use FCD as deposit, deposit is non-refundable non-transferable.    Yesterday on board the Sky booked our grandkids to travel with us to Antarctica in December 2023.   Fare was definitely 50% lower than what we paid for our booking (they are in the balcony next door).

Limited itineraries, can only be booked onboard.   Does not hurt to ask.

[caribill]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

If I recall correctly those were itineraries within 60 days of the current cruise. 

 And:

o Trans-Atlantics and Trans-Pacifics though the end of the year

o South America cruises into next year

o Cruises out of Galveston for the coming season except for holiday cruises

[kiwimum]

20 minutes ago, caribill said:

 And:

o Trans-Atlantics and Trans-Pacifics though the end of the year

o South America cruises into next year

o Cruises out of Galveston for the coming season except for holiday cruises

As well as some Mexico out of San Pedro.

 

On 8/20/2023 at 10:22 AM, sewgood said:

Thanks for the information, I will have to watch those screens now.😊

 

I would suggest stopping by the Future Cruise desk and checking.   Currently on the Sky.  Our minimal sea days has 3 staff available 8-8, shore days 8-12 and 2-8.  Stopped by this morning with absolutely no wait.  One and done.

[TN-Mountains]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

If I recall correctly those were itineraries within 60 days of the current cruise. 

On our cruise, they advertised that it was for itineraries within 60 days, but they offered some that were further out.  For instance, we were on a June 3rd sailing and we booked a Dec 19 cruise for 50% off.  The catch was 1.) we had to pay in full, and 2.) good for single or double occupancy, not triple.  We are a family of 5.  We could have gotten 3 cabins at half price, but my oldest child is 13, so we couldn't book him as a solo passenger.

 

@FirstTeacher, the half-off deals sold onboard are half-off the Princess website prices (standard fares) and not the brochure prices, so they are great deals if they offer an itinerary you like.  

 

 

[caribill]

22 minutes ago, TN-Mountains said:

On our cruise, they advertised that it was for itineraries within 60 days, but they offered some that were further out.  For instance, we were on a June 3rd sailing and we booked a Dec 19 cruise for 50% off.  The catch was 1.) we had to pay in full, and 2.) good for single or double occupancy, not triple. 

 

 

When we sailed, they changed it so full payment was only due if inside the final payment period.

 

[TN-Mountains]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

When we sailed, they changed it so full payment was only due if inside the final payment period.

 

They told us we only had to pay the deposit, but when they ran my card they charged a non-refundable full payment.  My CVP tried to fix it, but was told that rate had to be paid in full/non-refundable.

[caribill]

11 minutes ago, TN-Mountains said:

They told us we only had to pay the deposit, but when they ran my card they charged a non-refundable full payment.  My CVP tried to fix it, but was told that rate had to be paid in full/non-refundable.

 

Many of the on board future sales people are new to the job and do not know know to process everything correctly. I suspect that is what happened to you.

 

Actually, the first time we tried to book a cruise the sales person quoted us the full then current price. We came back again the next day to work with the experienced head of the department. He told us the first guy had neglected to take the 50% discount.

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We knew about the rumor of new rules, so applied for the credit in July.  Surprisingly, it was processed and applied to our Dec cruise within 1 day.  Miracles never cease 🫠

 

Whether we ever book another Princess cruise is another question.  Despite having more than 30 Princess cruises (hundreds of days) we now see more value with the higher end small ship luxury lines. 

 

Hank

Just to be clear a couple can still get 1 Veterans and 1 Shareholder.  It is just that the person that gets the Veterans cannot get the shareholder.  The other person in the cabin must be the owner of the shares and apply in their name.  The impact is mostly for Solo cruisers since they can now only get one.  Or couples where both are veterans since they are limited to a total of two either both veterans or 1 veteran and 1 shareholder, instead of the three they used to get.

[CruzeQueen2]

@FirstTeacher I just returned from my trip on the Crown, August 15th.

I booked several cruises for 2024 with the Future Cruise desk while on board. Can and Sylvain were both most helpful. One of the agents suggested that I look at the printed list of deals that were applicable for sale prices, while on board. There were two different lists. One for solo travellers  and a second list of 50% off fares. 

 

I purchased and applied Future Cruise deposits for each one and left an extra FCD in my account to play with later! Yes, new FCDs are now good for one year (only) from purchase date. Previously they were good for two years, but that has changed!

 

Happy shopping. As noted above, it never hurts to ask. The Future Cruise sales guys - Can and Sylvain were excellent on Crown last week. 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 And:

o Trans-Atlantics and Trans-Pacifics though the end of the year

o South America cruises into next year

o Cruises out of Galveston for the coming season except for holiday cruises

Just curious but if we were on a Princess cruise right now, we may be able to book the Grand Suite on the following Jan 2024 Antarctica itinerary on the Sapphire starting at $6,014 pp, or is the 50% discounts limited to certain categories?

 

 

Cruise Details (princess.com)

 

[caribill]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just curious but if we were on a Princess cruise right now, we may be able to book the Grand Suite on the following Jan 2024 Antarctica itinerary on the Sapphire starting at $6,014 pp, or is the 50% discounts limited to certain categories

 

 

Don't know as I did not get pricing for a full suite.

 

But I do not remember any obvious mentions of limiting the sale to certain categories.