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.