Booking future cruise while on a cruise....

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Deborah

Guest
We're taking our first cruise. I've been reading where people can book their next cruise while on the ship. What are the benefits to this and does it really save you money. We chose Princess as a first cruise and if we like it as much as I imagine we will I'd really like to book another depending on the savings available.

Thanks for any info you can give.
 
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Gayle V

Guest
Hi Deborah,

Here's a little Cut and Paste from our Cruise Travel Tips page. (This tip was curtesy of Cruise Cutie.)

While onboard a Princess Cruise you have the opportunity to visit their “Future Princess Cruise Consultantâ€Â. At this visit you will have the chance to get a great deal on your next Princess cruise by making a “Ghost booking†with only a $100 deposit. This means you are able to book a future Princess cruise, that you will take place at an undeclared future date, and on an unspecified ship. You decide the specifics of when to sail and on which ship at a later date. The booking is good up to four years, and is able to be transferred to your favorite TA.


What is the advantage of all this? For example, you could choose to book a fifteen day cruise with that ‘ghost’ booking. It would normally be $900.oo deposit to lock up a sailing of that length. But Princess accepts your Ghost booking , only ($100) as deposit from its’ loyal customer (you).

And depending on the length of the cruise and cabin chosen, you also get up to $150.oo per person cabin credit waiting for you when you board that cruise. Suppose you have to cancel? No problem; you get your money back on the initial deposit. Suppose you book and need to change plans. This is not a problem either; simply have your TA do the necessary paperwork and it's a done deal. Want to purchase multiple "Ghost Bookings� You can do that too.

Also available, while onboard the ship, are "Share the wealth coupons", usually 2 coupons offered per cabin. With these you can offer the same great deal to family and friends who may be sailing with you whenever you do decide to take your “ghost booking†cruise. It’s almost too good a deal to pass up.

From what I understand if you don't use the booking in the four years, you can cancel the whole thing for a refund, also.

BTW , we were on the Emerald Princess last month with the Cruise Addict's ESCAPE cruise and I saw all the info on the future bookings, but never saw any mention of the "share the wealth" coupons. So I'm not sure if they still do that. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know so I can update the Tips page if need be.

Also, one hint, don't do what we did. We were so busy having fun that we forgot to go make the ghost booking. The cruise was ten days long. We felt like there was plenty of time to get around to it, but never did. Oh well. Another missed opportunity.
 
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Beryl

Guest
Just a little extra note! The coupon is no longer called "Share the Wealth" and my experience lately is that they only give you one of them. However, the coupon says "Only two stateroom reservations per on Future Cruise Sates stateroom reservation are allowed." You can probably get 2 coupons if you ask specifically for them. If you use these coupons to entice your friends to book they will still have to pay the full deposit but they will receive the onboard credit. They must travel on the same cruise as you do.

Yes, if you intend to cruise with Princess again they are a great deal. You receive onboard credit which varies according to the cabin type booked and length of the cruise. You do not have to specify a cruise at the time you purchase the Future Cruise Credit and you can book with Princess directly or with whatever travel agent you choose. That $100 deposit is a very real benefit as Princess is now in the process of changing their deposit policies and the deposit can be as much as 30% of the cruise cost!!! ::eek:::eek: I'm glad I have a FCC in my back pocket.
 
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Gayle V

Guest
Thanks for the information Beryl. I'll have to work on changing the Tip's page to match this info.

An wow! Very interesting about Princess changing their deposit policy. 30% is quite an increase. It's not likely to make a difference to us. After all you have to pay the whole thing eventually, so it doesn't matter to me, now or later. But I do think that it may be off-putting for some cruisers.

BTW, has anyone posted about this on the Q&A page. I'm sure it would interest everyone, not just the Princess fans. Besides, you know that if Princess does it, the other lines will likely follow their lead.
 
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bOB

Guest
Also if you take advantage of the FCC and are not sure of a Travel Agent that you want to use (if you just book an FCC it will default to the agent that booked the cruise you are currently on) make sure and check the box that says to assign the booking to Princess. When Princess owns the cruise you can then transfer it at any time to a Travel Agent of your choice, if it defaults to the current agent, that agent will own the booking and it can be a real hassle to get it back.
 
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Beryl

Guest
Great point boB ... thanks for the reminder! By leaving the FCC in the hands of Princess it gives you lots of time to "shop" for the very best deal available on the cruise you choose and can you can avoid the hassle of trying to get your previous agent to reassign the FCC to a different agent.
 
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navymom

Guest
We did this on a cruise back in 2006. We're now going to be able to use the $100 each as our deposit on a cruise this December or January and my travel agent told me today that we'll have $50 shipboard credit each. I'm very happy we did this.
 
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allaboard

Guest
A word of caution for Canadian cruisers.When you book for a future cruise while on a cruise,make sure the agent applies your deposit in US dollars.We made our deposit and when we got our receipt it was in Canadian dollars which we didn't give much thought.
However when we came to apply this deposit to our cruise coming up Nov 10th /08 we ran into all kinds of trouble with the travel agent in Florida (we booked on line) telling us they couldn't have our FCC applied as the deposit was in Canadian funds, and we would have to do it through Princess.
On calling Princess, guess what? they said we had to do it through the travel agent.
So after numerous calls and basically having the buck passed by various Princess agents we finally got a girl who cleared it all up in five minutes. An E- mail was sent to Princess voicing our displeasure over the way this was handled.
 
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Beryl

Guest
I've been on 14 Princess cruises....I hear about this problem all the time and strangely I've never had this happen...and I pray I never do! Because I've heard so much about it I keep a pretty close watch on my account.....which I always note to be charged in US$ ! Talk about asking for trouble. Now that I've said that outloud watch and see what happens on my next Princess cruise!! It's a really good point allaboard....thanks for pointing out the pitfalls!! :CAN
 
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cathi

Guest
[size=medium][/size]We always get a FCC when we sail with Princess. There really is no downside 'cause anytime within 4 years you just call, book what you want, apply the FCC, and there is no deposit AND you get an oboard credit. The OBC varies with the # of days and the category booked. Our last cruise that I booked we ended up with a $300 OBC. Mind you it was for 31 days!!! Add to your OBC any group benefits and it can really add up! Most TA's have group rates for a range of cruises and most offer at least a $25 OBC per person. Ain't much but every little bit helps!
 
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maw

Guest
We were unable to obtain Share the Wealth coupons this time. The crise advisor said no longer available. Star week of 8-18th.
 
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quintessential traveller

Guest
Is a cabin upgrade possible after paying in full?

Hi to all,

We are travelling on the Grand Princess on Nov. 10th. We reserved interior cabins under guaranteed status and have Princess Captain Circle numbers. The travel agent @ cruise marketplace told us this would increase our chances to get bumped into an upgraded cabin. In the event that we wouldn't´t get the complimentary upgrade, or even if we did, Has anyone upgraded to balcony after paying in full for an interior room? What would the additional cost be?
Any comments about the Grand Princess Ship is also appreciated.
Best Regards,

QT
 
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bOB

Guest
Re: Is a cabin upgrade possible after paying in full?

Most likely would be to a higher category inside, maybe a slim chance at an outside, balcony, somewhere between slim and none, unless of course you are elite or platinum then your chances might increase but not by much.

As far as buying the upgrade it would be pretty much the going rate depending on what deal your TA can cut for you and if you wait to upgrade at the pier you can plan on probably paying book rate for the difference, unless Princess is really desperate on your sailing.
 
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Beryl

Guest
quintessential traveller .... I am going to make a suggestion to you.... heed it :) ! Book the cabin category that you want. DO NOT BOOK A CABIN IN THE EXPECTATION OF GETTING AN UPGRADE! If you have your heart set on a balcony cabin book one....if you will be happy in an outside go for that. If you truly don't care what cabin category you are in go ahead and book a guarantee inside.....just be aware that what the cruiseline thinks might be a better cabin may not be your idea of a better cabin. Check out those deck plans carefully....there are pitfalls all over the place. Pitfalls like noisey locations, obstructed view locations, far forward locations, far aft locations (though some people think aft are the absolutely best locations :grin ), smelly cabin locations, cabins with beds that cannot be made into a queen/king, and on it goes. If you book a guarantee category check those deck plans and make sure you will be happy with any cabin in the category you book as well as in every other category that is considered a higher category than the one you booked.....or, if you don't truly care, leave your reservation alone and indeed you could be very happy!! Good luck and I hope you get a fabulous upgrade!!
 
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navymom

Guest
[quote Beryl]quintessential traveller .... I am going to make a suggestion to you.... heed it :) ! Book the cabin category that you want. DO NOT BOOK A CABIN IN THE EXPECTATION OF GETTING AN UPGRADE!

.....just be aware that what the cruiseline thinks might be a better cabin may not be your idea of a better cabin. [/quote]

I agree 100%.
 
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rlmajor

Guest
We have cruised on the Grand Princess before, probably close to 10 years ago and we are sailing her again in February 09. We made the arrangements while on our last cruise. The system works well. I follow the prices and this time there was a promotion that would have given us a higher grade cabin. My husband and I generally don't care where we stay unless there are unusual circumstances (like on back to back cruises when we don't want to have to changed rooms or when traveling with other family members where we want rooms close by, etc.) For the Grand Princess trip, we had selected our cabin (inside) and when I called for the upgrade, just booked the guaranteed category (obstructed view outside). We have stayed in every level cabin and long ago decided that it really didn't affect our enjoyment of the cruise so we now extend our time rather than invest in the cabin. We have received upgrades but only once did we move from inside and never to a balcony. My advice is that if you want a balcony and it really matters to you, book it!
 
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