As a travel agent, we normally get access to the same deals most of you can find online, with the exceptions of a few ‘mass’ reseller sites that either rebate part of the commission (against travel agent ethics) or have amenities tied to a group rate on a particular sailing.

One area we can’t really compete are the cruise line onboard offerings – where they sell you a future cruise credit. Norwegian tends to have the most direct/easiest – buy $500 worth of future cruise credits, and they will credit your onboard account $250. You can do this increments of up to $2,000. The downside: its Norwegian.

Princess offers some different programs that are a bit more rich on your pocket book. Today’s focus is The Ultimate Package.

Here are the perks:
$12,000 in future cruise credits issued to one person
$600 in instant onboard credits
Two 5-night “premium” land stays
Two 2-night pre/post hotel stays
$4,000 in hotel credits
Elite status for the next 2 years (based on date of your current sailing, which apparently is effective ON your sailing)
Earn additional FCC dollars based on your onboard spend (25%) with certain products.

The cost: a whopping $14,999

So lets break this down.
$14k less $12k is $2,999, less the instant $600 OBC, so we’re at $2,399 in value. The two 2 night stays can be worth up to $1,200ish – so we’re at $1,199. The unknown value is the two 5-night “premium” land stays, which I’m told can be to a slew of tourist destinations around the world.

FCCs – they are valid for 18 months and MUST be used within 24 months of purchase. You can’t transfer these to another person. Can be used for Alaska cruisetours. FCC can be used for FLEXIBLE AIR (eg: more expensive Princess Air options), but not the Restricted Air rates. FCC’s can’t be used for onboard expenses, so one would think Princess Plus/Premier aren’t eligible, just cruise fare.

As I read thru the terms & conditions, it seems that Canadians aren’t eligible for the Elite status.

The hotel travel certificates are valid ONLY for the person who bought the Ultimate Package, and cover only the base rate at a hotel/resort, which means somewhere like Vegas – they can nail you for $50/night as a resort fee – for starters.

From what it looks like, the Ultimate Package is not ran by Princess but thru a 3rd party, so travel agents can’t really help you in the booking process. So we then get cut out of sales process & lose a customer.  Open Network Exchange doesn’t seem to have very good reviews on Google, as it operates under a high-pressured travel sales business.

It also seems like there’s a few more restrictions on cancelling cruises using the FCCs in the program, and from what I’ve read on Reddit, the 5 night hotel stays are near impossible to book and look/feel like a timeshare offering.

So honestly, it doesn’t seem like THAT good of a value, especially if you can’t use the FCC’s towards a cruise with Princess Plus/Premier. Nor take advantage of agency pricing when we have better rates than what you might find with Princess.