QM2 prices question

Greetings from the sunny country of Ireland!:D I thought I would start off with a joke. :) I had a question about transatlantic crossings on the QM2. My wife and I took one last year and had loads of fun and want to do it again this year. We met a lady on board who said that she waited until a month out and was able to get a cabin room for 400 dollars per ticket.

Now, I wanted others opinions on is this feasible as in terms of price and timeline (a month out)? Or was a tips traveller telling a bit of a fib ? :)

We have our hearts set on a August cruise, and we don’t want to be greedy, but willing to be patient if the price drops by half or close to it.

Would love to hear thoughts from those with experience crossing the Atlantic.

Thanks so much for your help!

Keep in mind:

"Supply and Demand"

But then again... Their is always the luck of the Irish.

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In as much as Cunard appears to have a totally different marketing plan for every country they service and then makes it close to impossible to wander from one offering to an other without the aide of a very adroit TA, you will get a bunch of suggestions. Make certain the one that sounds the best also relates to where you reside (country).

If you are prepared to game the system, one can begin by pulling up the cruise (s) you like then going to the Cunard website and begin making a reservation. This will let you see what has already been sold and what is still available. If a lot of cabins are still available in your price category you may want to wait a bit to see if the fares are lowered. If only a few are available there is not much chance for a super deal. Then again, if all of the inside cabins are sold out but there are a number of ocean view available, the upgrade fairy gets involved and moves up a bunch of inside folks and bingo the cheap seats which are easier to sell at top dollar are now available and the harder sells are all gone.

Rocket science is easier than trying to out guess a computer driven fare pricing system. Better odds at the Roulette wheel once on board.

We met a lady on board who said that she waited until a month out and was able to get a cabin room for 400 dollars per ticket.

It sounds like the lady was from the US and that she paid her own air fare separately.

In the UK the prices include air fare.

The 8 night crossing next month starts at £999 for insides on Saver fare and £1,299-1,449 for the Cunard Fare.

It sounds like the lady was from the US and that she paid her own air fare separately.

In the UK the prices include air fare.

The 8 night crossing next month starts at £999 for insides on Saver fare and £1,299-1,449 for the Cunard Fare.

Ray, in the UK you don't have to have the air fare included. I am booked to New York in July and have booked cruise only. I used to work for an airline so am using my own concessions to fly home. Hope this helps.

Hi,

Yes I realise that thanks. I was just mentioning that the TA prices quoted on Cunard's website include the flight. And if you don't want to take the flight, there will be some sort of amendment. But I can't see that that price would ever be as low as $400 (£272) mentioned above.

Thanks everyone who have replied. I do understand that country of origin, numbers of cabins available and other factors all come in to play. Just seeing if anyone has got a really cheap price before .

Looking forward all the same to a cruise this summer.

Thanks everyone who have replied. I do understand that country of origin, numbers of cabins available and other factors all come in to play. Just seeing if anyone has got a really cheap price before .

Looking forward all the same to a cruise this summer.

Never quite that low but have managed to cage a TA for $575 pp which was pure luck as my original deposit was one day late being posted which caused the original booking to automatically cancel out.and when I went back to my TA to rebook, Cunard had dropped the fare into the basement. Felt almost like winning the lottery.

I've seen TA's as low as £499 including airfare in the UK several times in the last couple of years, so the figure you mention is just about feasible with the airfare removed. I certainly wouldn't rule it out.

We paid £1099 last year through a cruise specialist travel agent in the UK for a 20 night round trip on the QM2 including 5 nights hotel in New York and transfers in the USA. We haven't seen anything like as low as that this year so far and suspect the impending refit has pushed up demand and prices, at least that is perhaps what Cunard are anticipating. Prices for the TA's are certainly holding up well above those we have seen before.

It may be difficult to get a super low price in the summer due to school holidays but it has always been feasible in the Autumn. With the refit though who knows..

I live in the uk, but booked this years cruise using the services of a travel agent in the US, I saved quite a bit doing it that way

If you are asking for a "sweet spot" for the best deals vs. cabin availability none of us can help you with that. We're not clairvoyant enough to know what economic or geopolitical events will affect booking demand.

You stated that you had your "hearts set" on an August sailing - which is peak vacation time. You have to decide if your priority is booking that date or waiting out for a deal that may never happen.

Another board member here listed five criteria that must all be true if one is to wait for a deal before booking:

1) Lowest price is your goal over any other consideration.

2) You are not tied to one sailing date.

3) You can accept a category guarantee and no choice of dining time.

4) You can accept that the ship might sell out before you make up your mind.

5) Airfare is not an issue.