I am a frequent Princess cruiser as many are, but am sick & tired of their come on false sales. On three different occasions I called Princess the same day I received a mailing regarding a cruise that seemed interesting. Each time I was told the mailing was prepares many weeks in advance and they can no longer honor the advertised special. Yesterday, I received an email with a special price. Called within one hour of receiving the email and was told the email was prepared weeks in advance and they don't have any more cabins at the special rate.
Princess is not the only cruise line who does this. And it's not just cruise lines, but airlines do exactly the same thing.
Then again, when you look at it, car dealers, restaurants, and other business do exactly the same thing. Sometimes you win, but mostly you don't get what you are hoping for.
They set aside so many cabins to sell at the special rate. Once those are gone, they're gone. Unfortunately, while they are preparing the emails and mailings, the special is available to anyone who happens to call in or book online, so they are already selling those relatively few cabins at the lower rate.
As I've always said, if you want to cruise, then book it as early as possible and then let your agent monitor the rates to see if any specials come along that would lower the rate. But don't count on specials as you may be disappointed. So it's best just to pick something you want, make your plans accordingly, and then hope something comes along that will make the price better.
They and the other companies get away with it because they'll include a disclaimer that the special is "capacity controlled." Not everyone is sent the same mailing either.
They and the other companies get away with it because they'll include a disclaimer that the special is "capacity controlled." Not everyone is sent the same mailing either.
I understand what everyone is saying, but chasing an email an hour after receiving it and being told it is an old price reduction that started week before. Give me a break. There is no reason for Princess to give those cabins away before the email goes out. People calling before the email do not know about the future price reduction, therefore would not be disappointed with a non special quote. On the other hand, frequent Princess customers like myself have to pay higher than the one time customer when chasing a special.
In my working days, it was always stressed to "know your customers". Obviously, Princess does not follow that practice, would rather look for new customers while antagonizing past customers, since it is past cruisers who receive the email.
Pete, you are right regarding already booked cruises, but if I decide on a cruise because of a good price, not location your price reduction monitoring does not work. Many of us have cruised to all the popular destinations, so a decision to return to a location on one of our favorite lines is price generated.
Perhaps I didn't phrase that quite right; what I meant to say is that when an agent, like myself, is shopping for a client, we will look at all the current specials being offered in order to provide the best pricing to them. If a special is being offered in the cruise line's booking system that has not hit the market yet with an emailing or mail campaign and we get that special for our client, we thereby book into some of that capacity controlled space. And really good specials get sent around to agents and their consortiums before anyone else sees them.
I'm just one agent. When you multiply that times the 25,000 agents just in the U.S. and Canada, you can begin to understand how sometimes these specials get booked rather quickly, leaving those who rely on the mail and emails for notification to fend for themselves with what's left over.
The percentage of capacity controlled specials are limited by the cruise lines, with some being less than others. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out because of the economy. Carnival started their Early Saver Fares last year with a non-refundable deposit requirement. Other cruise lines are now starting to follow suit. They set aside a certain number of cabins to sell under these rates and once they're gone, they're gone. They are taking a page from the airlines to reward those who book the earliest and it's been very popular. Unfortunately, this has become normal practice and not just in the cruise industry and the airline industry, but also in other businesses as well.
And I hear what you're saying about cruising based on price. But while everyone wants to get the best rate possible, most people have to plan vacations months in advance due to jobs, kids, etc., so these 'early bird' specials are geared towards them since they represent the majority of cruisers.
And I understand what you're saying about past guests should receive priority over first-time cruisers and I agree. But Princess does offer Past Guest Rates that are lower than the regular rate for first-timers and often lower than the specials, so there are some benefits to being past guests.
As I said earlier, it'll be interesting to see how all this plays out over the next couple of years.
Pete,
It is an interesting discussion we are having. I can now see it in a different light. You are right, I do get lower quotes from Princess for being a frequent cruiser, but the one I was chasing was much better than the prior customer discount.
I can see if Princess does not allow the TAs to book at the future discounted prices, then they will have to adjust all those booking when the discount goes out to general public.
Thinking back to my last 2 Caribbean cruises, I chased then, not though the cruise lines, but thru online TA emails. As you said, y'all get the specials before I would from Princess. So I will not be fustrated again in the future, I went into Princess website and changed my profile to have them not send me anymore mailings & emails.
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