Two different prices

Good evening everyone ! About to book a carribean cruise and a bit confused about the two different prices , the most expensive one guarantees you the cabin you want, it's the other one ... can they put you anywhere on the ship as long as it falls in to your category? Thanks

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Yes plus they also choose your dining arrangements

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THankyou we're talking a difference of nearly 800 pound between us ... a lot of money

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If you book a guarantee cabin you have to accept that you will have to take what is offered. If you book a balcony you are guaranteed to be given a balcony but you won't have any choice on deck or location, obstructed or not. Just recently someone posted that they did not care for the cabin they were allocated and asked to change to another cabin in the same category and were refused. This does not apply to North American bookings so don't be misled by reading posts from people who have different booking terms than the UK. £800 is a lot of money.

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If it's a ship with a retreat then the price difference would pay for that! So even if the cabin wasn't quite perfect you would have your own lounger etc. all cruise - just a thought!

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It's britania 14 day cruise ! First time cruiser..... would anyone take the risk ?

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It's britania 14 day cruise ! First time cruiser..... would anyone take the risk ?

 

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If you go to the Caribbean, I think having a balcony is a big positive. Where exactly it is located is not a major issue. I would be happy to book on a Guaranteed Balcony basis. On top of that I should know from experience where the "best" locations for me are. These are my personal preferences on the other hand as a first time cruiser where would you choose? If you go for top grade it might not be ideal for you but for the majority, so that's a bit of a waste of money. I know I do not get seasick, nobody does who travels with me. So forward, midships and aft are not an issue neither is low or high decks. What relevance are any of these points anyway?

Dining is a bigger issue to me but realistically you will get allocated 1st 2nd or Freedom not likely to be a table for two. I prefer first sitting big table sharing they are not that popular but first is but I would risk not getting that for £800. You might even end up in a good situation but as a first time cruisers you wont know really either way!

Incidentaly you do not get the port shuttle buses on the cheaper tariffs but these are not relevant in the Caribbean so again a winner on a cheaper tariff.

So a fortnight Guaranteed Balcony would be a good idea for me.

Regards John

Thanks John ... that's a big help think I will take the risk !

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It's britania 14 day cruise ! First time cruiser..... would anyone take the risk ?

 

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I would go for a balcony, although on Britannia they aren't huge. With regard to the cabin they more or less all look the same (some grades have sofas others don't) so the biggest difference is location, which doesn't particularly bother me. Let us know if you need more help understanding the dining arrangements, again with a £800 saving I'd be happy to take pot luck.

Britannia has a lovely Retreat, it's a private sun bed area that you have to pay for and it's fairly pricey. Given that the balconies are smallish I would go for the cheaper option and use the difference to buy access to the Retreat for two weeks.

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Thanks for that! Yes a explanation of the dining procedure would be very helpful....

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Out of 10 cruises (most of then not with P&O) I've only ever booked a guarantee cabin. And only once was it a slightly poor location (right above the theatre). On all the others the cabin has been more than fine. Nearly always quite far forward.

On P&O you also don't get to know about the dining arrangements until you get on board. But the chances are you'll get allocated freedom dining, so you have pretty much flexibility to eat when you want and choose to share not share.

Incidentally the best GTY I ever took was on Cunard. Nice cabin. Easy access to the buffet, plus a coverted table for 2 in the dining room on late sitting (Cunard don't do freedom dining).

If it was me, i wouldn't hesitate to take a guarantee again. It's unlikely you'll get an upgrade, but you will get a cabin. And you'll probably check the personaliser every day to see if it's been assigned yet. Last time it was two weeks before departure.

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Thanks for that! Yes a explanation of the dining procedure would be very helpful....

 

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You could be allocated any of Freedom dining, or 1st or 2nd sittings. On Freedom dining you can take an available table space or wait with a pager for a table for your party size. If you are allocated a sitting you don't like or a table size you don't like on your first evening you can put in a request and they will try and accommodate you. Freedom seems to be more popular and I believe it is difficult to switch from fixed dining.

As regards the cabin there are no cabins without balconies on Britannia except for inside cabins. It is unlikely you will get a substantial upgrade, the lowest grades are those on the top deck with a substantial overhang. Don't bet on 'last minute cancellations' as this means others who have paid full price will be upgraded before you. Having said this we once got upgraded to an aft balcony on a Panama Canal transit, the best possible position, but that was with another line.

Best of luck.

Thank you very much, this is a big help !

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Freedom seems to be more popular and I believe it is difficult to switch from fixed dining.

Not my experience the only time I was allocated a fixed time.

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Thanks for that! Yes a explanation of the dining procedure would be very helpful....

 

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You will be allocated one of three scenarios:

1. Traditional Club Dining 1st sitting 18.30 roughly

2. Traditional Club Dining 2nd sitting 20.00 roughly

They will allocate a specific table (for evening meals only) for your entire cruise at the specified time, it will seat 2,3,4,6,8 0r 10 people who will be the same people each night. This will be in a specified Main Dining Room (MDR).

3. Freedom Dining

They will advise you are on Freedom Dining 18.30 - 21.00 roughly.

Information on which Main Dining Room will be given to you on board and it's opening hours. Some ships have more than one MDR available for Freedom and you can sometimes go to either. It is down to you when you attend within the opening hours. On arrival when you want to get there at your various times each night you need to tell the waiter that you wish to dine alone and the size of your party or advise you are happy to share with whichever table they are filling. You can change between sharing and just your party as you wish on different nights. The waiter will show you which table to sit at, just for that meal, the next day it will be different table.

All the above are on the same menu exactly and have a full waiter service at the table and you will always be allocated one of these options.

Can you do anything other than the above?

Yes, you can attend the Buffet for your evening meal, different menu, queue up and fill your plate and go and find a seat. This does not save any money it's just a more informal way of dining.

Alternatively, pay a surcharge and "upgrade" for a special night in one of the Speciality restaurants on board. See the "Horizon" daily news sheet for restaurants and their times.

The above only relates to Evening Meals.

Other meals; look at the "Horizon" to see what the arrangements are they will be open seating in the MDR's, but not all are open for breakfast or lunch or afternoon tea but again MDR's are always waiter service. Plus there will be the buffet and also pub grub, and takeaway pizza style places too, all specified in the "Horizon" take a highlighter to help mark what you intend to do for eating and all other entertainment.

Regards John

We booked the more expensive fare, so as to guarantee our cabin choice, and after getting the free car parking at Southampton, plus a massive amount of obc, the final price difference was not that great.

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THankyou we're talking a difference of nearly 800 pound between us ... a lot of money

 

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That paid for us to upgrade the flights this year. :)

We were given a good "obstructed" cabin near the front, and Freedom dining, which is what we wanted.

There seems to be confusion with some people whether the Op is talking about the difference between a Select fare and an Early Saver or a Guarantee stateroom totally different with seperate T&C's. If it is a Select and an Early Saver look on P&Os website where it will be explained some do give out wrong and misleading info on here.

Our obc and free car parking combined were well in excess of £800.

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Thanks guys for all your help ! One last question, does anyone know if you can pay for the retreat on the britania daily, or for the length of the cruise?

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Thanks guys for all your help ! One last question, does anyone know if you can pay for the retreat on the britania daily, or for the length of the cruise?

 

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My understanding is that it is a one off fee for entire cruise with limited availability. They do not sell in excess of the number of loungers they have. Not sure if you get a specific one or may just use a vacant one. Florry will know!

Regards John

My understanding is that it is a one off fee for entire cruise with limited availability. They do not sell in excess of the number of loungers they have. Not sure if you get a specific one or may just use a vacant one. Florry will know!

 

 

 

Regards John

When we were on you got a specific lounger, may have changed of course. Have you checked what added benefits the more expensive cabin comes with and taken that into account? If not it might be an idea to call them and discuss. There is a free phone for P&O in the stickie at the top of the forum page.

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