Hi,

I've just been contacted by the online travel agency who I'd booked my
upcoming cruise from Rome to Egypt & the Aegean from October 21. Apparently,
Princess have a new ruling which prohibits US agents from selling cruises to
Australians unless they've previously travelled on Princess.

They've organised a full refund and were helpful and apologetic in
explaining that they were no longer permitted to sell me the fare. The
cruise is far from booked out, so it was suggested rebooking through
Princess or an Australian travel agent should be painless, and may even be
possible at a reduced rate given that there are many vacancies on this
soon-to-depart cruise.

Unfortunately, it turns out that a balcony class room through Princess will
cost me $2500, compared to the $1,550 price that I was originally going to
pay for the same room. Other online Australian websites have it available
from $2,400 - $2,480 - so it's not much cheaper. I could get an interior
room, but even that would still cost me $1,750 - $200 more than the original
balcony booking, and would leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Can anyone suggest any other websites or means where value prices are
offered for Princess cruises. It seems very unfair that I could book this
cruise for $1,000 less if I lived in the US. This is getting very last
minute (it departs in 12 days!), but I'm yet to see too many places dropping
their prices. Are price drops truly likely to occur, or should I just bite
the bullet and book a cheaper room through Princess.com?

Any advice or recommendations appreciated.