select fare price dropped

Booked a cruise last July for a cruise going in June this year , just happened to have a look at the prices for our booking for a party of four it had dropped by nearly £700 . Now i know people say that once you have booked never go back and look at the prices , but its hard not to do it . Bit of advice needed do I have a moan at the travel agent who I booked with or directly with P & O.

:(:(

Sorry! Moan about what?

If the price had gone up, would you have accepted a surcharge?

Unfortunately P&O are very intransigent about price matching so I very much doubt you will get any joy from complaining. However it is worth checking whether you could save money by cancelling, losing your deposit, and re-booking, you will need to check all the perks like OBC as well, and get your TA to do the change to ensure you keep the same cabin.

Thank for the reply terrierjohn pity others couldn't be more polite.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Forums mobile app

I would take it up with your agent for sure. The select price has always been fixed, with the saver price fluctuating according to demand. I've no idea what P&O are doing right now but traditionally, their customer service is non-existent.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I would take it up with your agent for sure. The select price has always been fixed, with the saver price fluctuating according to demand. I've no idea what P&O are doing right now but traditionally, their customer service is non-existent.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I don't believe it's the case that Select prices have always been fixed. They certainly haven't been in recent years. They seem to change with great regularity, often increasing when generous on board credit deals are offered and decreasing when they are not.

Even though we have been cruising with P&O for 20 years, I have never been able to work out which time of year, or time out from departure date, is the best time to book in order to get the best deal. It seems that even if you think you have cracked it with one cruise, the same rules don't apply to the next one!

If anyone has genuinely worked out an answer to this conundrum, that works every time, then I don't believe that they have ever shared it on this forum!

I believe that there are other cruise lines that do not fluctuate prices as much as P&O and I, for one, would like to see more transparency. For a start, P&O no longer publish a full table of fares for every cabin category and every cruise within their (very poor) brochures. I have a 1995 brochure which is far better (and clearer) than they are now 20 years on.

Ideally, I would like to see a system where the best deals are when cruises first go on sale. I'm sure that I wouldn't be alone in being likely to book more cruises well in advance if I knew that this was the best time to do so. Then after an early booking rate, move to a less discounted price which remains constant right up until a few months before departure. Finally, a few months out, do a last minute deal at a price to fill the remaining unsold cabins. Whilst that will still be a frustration to those of us who have already booked, we will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that we secured our ideal cabin at a good rate some considerable time ago and that those booking at the last minute will be getting the least desirable cabins.

Must just be my perception then. I went through a phase of tracking the prices, in the days when the saver fares were good. I also tracked the select fares. But it does seem that P&O have a particular talent for upsetting people without explanation.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Must just be my perception then. I went through a phase of tracking the prices, in the days when the saver fares were good. I also tracked the select fares. But it does seem that P&O have a particular talent for upsetting people without explanation.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well said! Yes I think it used to be far more stable but they now have such vast capacity to fill and on the newer ships it's not uncommon for over half the passengers to be first time cruisers, so they seem to be in a constant state of flux as far as pricing is concerned.

And, of course, the fact that they don't have transparent pricing helps them to hide this fact. Those of us who spend ages trying to work it all out (or debate it on forums such as this) are probably less than one percent of cruisers, so although it's downright infuriating for us, it probably works for P&O!

Agreed.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I would take it up with your agent for sure. The select price has always been fixed, with the saver price fluctuating according to demand. I've no idea what P&O are doing right now but traditionally, their customer service is non-existent.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We booked a cruise (Select Fare) just 2 weeks ago, and I was considering altering the cabin choice. I noticed that the Select price has increased by exactly £1,000! I thought I was imagining it, but I checked my invoice and yes, it was £1000 more to book the same cabin/cruise yesterday than it was 2 weeks earlier. :( Decided to leave well alone.

Although I can't afford them, one of the advantages of Saga cruises, is that if they drop the price of a cruise, the same reduction will apply to existing bookings.

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

P&O operate a fluid pricing system which is similar to most other main stream cruise lines. They will make 3 or 4 offers over a year where they give special amounts of OBC, and they tend to advertise these to try and tempt people to book.

But within these basic outlines they obviously monitor the popularity of every single cruise and make fine, or sometimes major, adjustments to individual cruises to try to maximise their selling prices, which as a shareholder I accept is sensible policy.

If your preference is for select pricing with the benefits these give, then booking on launch is normally the cheapest option, especially this last September when they were giving 5% discounts to everyone and 10% to past passengers for summer 2018 cruises. Experience then tells me that select prices tend to creep up over the 12-18 months after launch and only rarely do they fall.

Of course saver fares eventually kick in and to sell the remaining cabins there are often very good savings.

So overall the old adages, "you pays your money you takes your choice", and "you win some, you lose some", are always correct. If you know a cruise you desperately want will be popular then book early, if you fancy a bog standard cruise at any old time then opt for a late saver.

We booked a cruise (Select Fare) just 2 weeks ago, and I was considering altering the cabin choice. I noticed that the Select price has increased by exactly £1,000! I thought I was imagining it, but I checked my invoice and yes, it was £1000 more to book the same cabin/cruise yesterday than it was 2 weeks earlier. :( Decided to leave well alone.

Same here. We booked our February cruise at the end of December. The price is now over £1000 more each, with the sane obc. We're happy!

P&O operate a fluid pricing system which is similar to most other main stream cruise lines. They will make 3 or 4 offers over a year where they give special amounts of OBC, and they tend to advertise these to try and tempt people to book.

But within these basic outlines they obviously monitor the popularity of every single cruise and make fine, or sometimes major, adjustments to individual cruises to try to maximise their selling prices, which as a shareholder I accept is sensible policy.

If your preference is for select pricing with the benefits these give, then booking on launch is normally the cheapest option, especially this last September when they were giving 5% discounts to everyone and 10% to past passengers for summer 2018 cruises. Experience then tells me that select prices tend to creep up over the 12-18 months after launch and only rarely do they fall.

Of course saver fares eventually kick in and to sell the remaining cabins there are often very good savings.

So overall the old adages, "you pays your money you takes your choice", and "you win some, you lose some", are always correct. If you know a cruise you desperately want will be popular then book early, if you fancy a bog standard cruise at any old time then opt for a late saver.

I am so hoping you are right! I booked 2 cruises for 2018 in September on that offer rate...I have never in my life booked a cruise so far ahead before! But I do know that balcony cabins on Oriana sell out early, and for my med cruise, a balcony is a must!

Hhhmmmm,,I've got my eye on Azura at the end of May to Norway,,the price hasn't changed at all yet since the first time I looked at it. Some friends have booked it but they have 3 children so wanted to get the cabin they need for all of them. It will be their first cruise and we have promised to go with them,,as I have repeatedly assured them they will love it we really do have to keep to that promise..but it's still quite a bit more than we would normally pay and we will have to book the select fare so we can choose freedom dining as they have done to ensure we can dine together. I normally book saver fares as we don't really mind which exact cabin we have so I'm already slightly irritated by the non movement of the price. The question is,,how long can I hold my nerve before caving in and booking it at what I consider a too high price :rolleyes: I don't reckon it will drop before march,,,based on past experiences of price watching!

Just to add ,,I watched the price for the same cruise in the same week last year on Britannia and from early march it went in a pattern of 3 prices,,I tracked that pattern and pounced about 6 weeks before sailing when I didn't think it would go any lower. I remember feeling very pleased with myself:D

With 6 weeks to go and the price is right you have got to go for it , but I've got 6months to go for mine and the way it's dropped they will be giving them away with 6 weeks to go .

Sent from my SM-G900F using Forums mobile app

Ok, so with a great degree of trepidation, I decided to re-look at all 5 of our future bookings to see how much more or less they would be if we were booking them now. The results were staggering. All the Aurora bookings were made as soon as they were released and the Britannia ones a year before sailing. All took advantage of discounts and OBC offers at the time.

The price comparisons are total I.e. Select fare less on board credit

Aurora Baltic 16 nights May 17. Balcony. Cost when booked £4242. Cost now £5948. An increase of +40%

Aurora Northern Lights 12 nights Mar 18. Balcony. Cost when booked £3038. Cost now £4448. An increase of +46%.

Aurora USA. 24 nights. Sep 18. Balcony. Cost when booked £7260. Cost now £7898. An increase of +9%

Britannia. Med. 14 nights. Summer 17. Suite. Cost when booked £6298. Cost now £6848. An increase of +9%

Britannia. Med. 14 nights. Summer 17. (Same cruise as above) Balcony. Cost when booked £3948. Cost now £4428. An increase of +12%

So, in all cases, we were better off booking early and, in some cases, by huge amounts. Have to say, I was very surprised. We want to specify a specific cabin and are very fussy re location, so will only do select bookings and have to do so well in advance. Frankly, I expected some of the prices to be a lot less now.

Perhaps us early birds do catch the worm :)

Ok, so with a great degree of trepidation, I decided to re-look at all 5 of our future bookings to see how much more or less they would be if we were booking them now. The results were staggering. All the Aurora bookings were made as soon as they were released and the Britannia ones a year before sailing. All took advantage of discounts and OBC offers at the time.

 

The price comparisons are total I.e. Select fare less on board credit

 

Aurora Baltic 16 nights May 17. Balcony. Cost when booked £4242. Cost now £5948. An increase of +40%

 

Aurora Northern Lights 12 nights Mar 18. Balcony. Cost when booked £3038. Cost now £4448. An increase of +46%.

 

Aurora USA. 24 nights. Sep 18. Balcony. Cost when booked £7260. Cost now £7898. An increase of +9%

 

Britannia. Med. 14 nights. Summer 17. Suite. Cost when booked £6298. Cost now £6848. An increase of +9%

 

Britannia. Med. 14 nights. Summer 17. (Same cruise as above) Balcony. Cost when booked £3948. Cost now £4428. An increase of +12%

 

So, in all cases, we were better off booking early and, in some cases, by huge amounts. Have to say, I was very surprised. We want to specify a specific cabin and are very fussy re location, so will only do select bookings and have to do so well in advance. Frankly, I expected some of the prices to be a lot less now.

 

Perhaps us early birds do catch the worm :)

Actually, I've just remembered that on the first 2 Aurora cruises above and the balcony cabin booking on Britannia, I had free car parking in lieu of reduced OBC, so the price differences for those 3 are even greater, as the prices I have used now allow for the deduction of maximum OBC for 2 persons (some or all of which you would have to trade off for free parking).

This would make the net price hikes for the two Aurora cruises closer to 50% and the Britannia one over 15%. Have to say I'm still in shock at the difference and breathing an extremely large sigh of relief that I booked when I did!

Actually, I've just remembered that on the first 2 Aurora cruises above and the balcony cabin booking on Britannia, I had free car parking in lieu of reduced OBC, so the price differences for those 3 are even greater, as the prices I have used now allow for the deduction of maximum OBC for 2 persons (some or all of which you would have to trade off for free parking).

 

This would make the net price hikes for the two Aurora cruises closer to 50% and the Britannia one over 15%. Have to say I'm still in shock at the difference and breathing an extremely large sigh of relief that I booked when I did!

I think this mirrors what I said in post #12, booking select fares on launch with the launch discounts is rarely bettered later on, unless you are happy with a saver fare.

The overall thing seems to me that it is completely random and unpredictable :rolleyes:

I'm just wondering,,those of you that book really early,,are there any particular reasons you like a specific cabin? It's not something I ever really think about so I'm curious.

I think this mirrors what I said in post #12, booking select fares on launch with the launch discounts is rarely bettered later on, unless you are happy with a saver fare.

Indeed, which I guess is how it should be and a great relief to those of us who are fussy about cabin choice and need to book early in order to secure them. But I am still staggered at how much the prices have increased. On many of them, there's a bit more OBC to be had than when I booked, but at the expense of massively increased price hikes which wipe out that benefit ten times over!

The overall thing seems to me that it is completely random and unpredictable :rolleyes:

 

I'm just wondering,,those of you that book really early,,are there any particular reasons you like a specific cabin? It's not something I ever really think about so I'm curious.

Based upon my examples, it would appear that it is not as random and unpredictable as most of us (myself included) thought. It seems that the best deals are for those who book very early (select prices) or very late (if you don't mind where on the ship you end up).

Reasons for wanting to secure specific cabins are numerous and would include;

• 
  Aft suites with wrap around balconies (sell out very quickly)
  Avoiding noisy areas (lifts, crew areas etc)
  Not being directly above or below sources of late night or early morning noise (e.g entertainment venues or pools)
  Not being adjacent to cabins where there are likely to be young children (which you can work out from the deck plans)
  Accessible cabins if you need one (they can sell out within days)
  Central positions (if you are very susceptible to sea sickness)
  

There are plenty of others and, of course, some people wouldn't be bothered about any of this and can book saver fares and potentially save money or book closer to departure and take what's left. But if, like us, poor cabin choice can spoil a holiday, we would rather pay more knowing exactly what we are getting and securing first pick of the best cabins.

Of course, it's not a foolproof plan. You only have to read the 'noisy neighbours on Ventura' thread as an example of how things can go spectacularly wrong in a way that couldn't possibly be predicted or avoided!

There is no way that I will let any cruise line select a cabin for me, unless it is just for a short 7 night cruise.

Our next cruise is for 24 nights - if on the first night we can hear noise from the public areas, or early next morning we hear the loungers being moved overhead, I can tell you that SHMBO will ensure that the 24 days will seem like 48! Just not worth the risk, however much it might cost!

It is no use booking very early Select fares then checking Select fares months away from your cruise as invariably they always increase in price. The big savings can be made when Saver fares are released and prices do fall a considerable amount and great savings can be made. If you are not bothered about position of stateroom or dining, end of the day its the same food whether you have first, second or freedom dining. Finally don't always check prices just with P&O as lower prices than P&O can be seen online with cruise TA specialists.