Princess Cruises
Written: May 06 '02 (Updated Oct 03 '02)
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Pros: Cruise Personalizer: the best in the business.
Cons: Website could be more user friendly.
The Bottom Line: Booking both online and through Princess agent was a breeze.
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| Suzi's Full Review: Princess Tours |
I recently booked our annual cruise vacation directly through Princess, a two week, back to back Alaska cruise departing Vancouver to Seward and back in June 2002. I used the website to book the first leg of our journey, and then a month later, I contacted their telephone reservation line to book the return and in both instances, turned my reservations over to a travel agent. I found both aspects of Princess' reservation system to work well. I was very pleased with the knowledgeable advice and service I received by calling them directly and the ease of making a reservation online.
Initially, we were planning to fly to Vancouver, take a northbound cruise up to Seward/Anchorage and fly home. After checking on airfare, it became apparent that the cost of the one way flight home from Anchorage was nearly double the cost of the cruise, so I began to look into booking a return voyage aboard the same ship. I found the telephone agents at Princess were able to quote me a low price and save me the hassle of flying home from Anchorage.
Cruise Tour
Princess, like most cruise lines in Alaska, offer a "Cruise Tour" option, combining a cruise with a land based vacation. We opted to go on Cruise Tour #52 four days prior to sailing. Our tour is scheduled to go to Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Kamloops. The cruise tour will include motor coach transportation, lodging and some tours. Meals are up to us. The price for the land portion of this trip is more expensive than the $550pp (each way) price we paid for the cruise. Rates on this particular voyage (north or south bound Gulf of Alaska) tend to be lower than round trip seven night Inside Passage cruises, as most passengers find they pay a lot in airfare (two one way flights).
Website
The website has good information, but isn't quite as user friendly as others I have used. On the other hand, one nice feature is the cruise personalizer, where you can input pre-cruise registration, order shore excursions, cruise tours and obtain information specific to your booking. And if you booked a guarantee category like we did, you can monitor your booking to see if you've been upgraded or received your cabin assignment.
Booking Transfer
Booking a cruise directly with Princess may not be your least expensive option. You can book your cruise through Princess, either by phone at 1-800-PRINCESS or through their website, and pass along the reservation number to a travel agent who can beat the price. Like a lot of people, I did this, and saved over $100 per person each way, and so should you.
Before booking any vacation, I do a considerable amount of research and price checking. I take advantage of what the internet has to offer, by checking out some of the larger travel sites like Travelocity and by contacting several cruise-only web agents. For our trip in June, I passed our booking along to Cruise Value Center (www.cruisevalue.com as recommended by Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine). They are a web-based cruise wholesaler who quoted me the lowest price this time. I frequently book through cruise.com, mytravelco.com, cruise411.com and 11thhourvacations.com to name a few. All provide a basic service and a very competetive price. Don't look for them to answer all your questions, and be there when you need them, as individual agents are hard to get a hold of. These agencies provide a good, no frills service to those of you who have cruised before and know what to expect. If you are new to cruising, I still think it's a good idea to deal with a local travel agent, who can better answer your questions. Doing research over the internet is a start, but a good travel agent can insure you book what's right for you.
Princess Cruises reservation personnel are very knowledgeable, and are happy to provide you with lots of input. I was very pleased with their help and handing over our reservation to our travel agent was very easy. To hand over a reservation, you simply make note of your booking number (which Princess will give you) and tell your new booking agent. I called four agencies (I have done business with all of them in the past) for price quotes, and gave the agent with the lowest quote my reservation number. It was quick and easy.
As a research tool, I find the Princess website to not always provide me with the information I need. It was actually more helpful to call a Princess reservation agent. I work for the cruise industry, but not for Princess. Compared to other cruise lines, the reservation agents at Princess are great. They are patient and provide accurate information. The web-based cruise personalizer is the best in the business. It lets you pre-register and keep track of your reservation. No other cruise line allows you to do this.
Conclusion
Before deciding on Princess, I suggest you check out what others have to say. Once you settle on an itinerary, check out cruise line specific information and ship reviews. Epinions is a good place to start, but also check out cruisecritic.com, where you'll find cruise reviews and excellent message boards specific to the cruise line.
I have sailed extensively on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL (as I consult for all three) but I have never been on Princess. After researching cruising in Alaska, I decided to go with Princess. Price wasn't a big consideration for us, as this year, Princess seems to be competing head on with Carnival and NCL. To my surprise, Royal Caribbean was slightly higher. As this will be our first cruise to Alaska, I am getting very excited about our upcoming trip.
Our pre-cruise documents arrived about a week ago, and were sent directly from Princess (something our agent requested to save time). Enclosed, one will find pre-registration information (that you can do over the internet) shore excursion information and a pre-cruise booklet. No other cruise line I have dealt with before has done such a thorough job.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Tour type: Individual
Tour format: Boat
Tour length: Over a Week
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Epinions.com ID:
Suzi
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 - Top 200 |
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Location: California
Reviews written: 190
Trusted by: 147 members
About Me:
Suzi is an aspiring travel writer who enjoys scuba diving and volleyball.
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