Is this the cheapest cruise ever?
15 nights in Asia on Sapphire
Princess for $500!
A FEW lucky Australians scored the deal
of the year yesterday after a cruise was
advertised online for the incorrect price –
more than $3,500 less in some cases.
Cruise Sale Finder accidentally used the
five-night fare for a 15-night Princess Cruises
voyage from Singapore to Thailand and
Indonesia, which was quickly snapped up by
several people.
Four women paid $500 each for a quad-share
cabin – today it is advertised for the corrected
fare of $1,472 per person.
Another couple paid $647 per person twinshare
for an outside obstructed view cabin –
today the starting price is $2,177.
Cruise Sale Finder was obliged to honour the
deal because the customers had paid their
deposits.
People who enquired or booked without
paying the deposit received an apology and a
$100 onboard credit.
Confirmed cruisers – and those who missed
out – discussed the inadvertent discount
on Facebook cruising pages including
CruiseAholics, Cruising Solo and Cruisey Life
Uncensored.
Cruise Sale Finder’s general manager Ryan
Posa also explained its mistake on its Facebook
page: “The incorrect cruise code was loaded
against the cruise so the incorrect rates were
displayed. While we try to keep the website
free from errors, sometimes human errors are
made,” Posa said apologetically.
The five-night cruise (roundtrip from
Singapore to Bangkok and Koh Samui,
departing 8 January 2015) had the cruise code
H502 and the 15-nighter (Singapore, Bangkok,
Koh Samui, Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, Komodo
Island, Lombok, Singapore) was H502A.
Speaking to Cruise Weekly, Posa said the
wrong fare was not picked up by staff for more
than 24 hours “so everyone jumped on it”.
The company received 26 enquiries, with “a
few” paying their deposits before the error
was discovered.
“We honoured the bookings of the people
who paid the deposit in time, which I think is
fair,” Posa said.
“On some bookings we lost over $3,500 and
we’re only a small travel agency, not a big
cruise line. It’s just one of those things!”
The website – www.cruisesalefinder.com.au –
is operated by Cruise Republic, a New Zealand
company registered in Australia.
