What price loyalty ?

I have been a loyal fan of Fred Olsen for many years. Earlier this year I booked my 14th cruise with Fred for next February, a 46 night trip.

Imagine my annoyance when this week I see an advert offering free transport to the port, 200 euros per cabin shore spend plus £50 off a shore excursion for bookings this month. None of which is retrospective for earlier bookings.

And of course they have been sitting on a large deposit instead of it being in my bank account.

Yes I know that there is often incentives when a cruise is not full but not this far in advance.

Annoyed ? yes I am and my loyalty to Fred Olsen has just evaporated. I will think very carefully before booking with them again after this sort of treatment for loyal customers who book early.

The only reason to book early is to secure a specific cabin and a spot on the cruise, it has nothing to do with 'loyalty'.

If you don't care that much about which cabin you get and are willing to risk the cruise selling out, then don't book early and wait until you see a good offer for the cruise you want.

But if you do book early you can be sure there will be better offers later on, even if 'later on' turns out to be a week or a month after you booked.

Can't have it both ways sadly,

Well, that's life. We tend to book late and often find good offers. I am keeping my eye on a couple of P and O cruises later in the year and the prices fluctuate a lot, both up and down.

Sorry you feel that way but that's life I think. If you were happy with the price when you booked then just accept you got what you wanted. It's like Marks and Spencers Sales, one week top price next week half price in Sale. You don't expect them to refund the difference.

We always book early so that we get the cabins we want and often there is some incentive.

We fancy a cruise next year up round Scotland, but am not paying nearly £150 per day. So will wait until a few weeks before to see, it then might end up cheaper but with only cabins at the back and low down, so no cruise.

Like somebody else said no loyalty about booking early, in my opinion that is 😄

Same thing happened to us Ileynman. We booked 9 months in advance, then a couple of months later Fred offered £100 per person cabin spend and free AI drinks package. We were gutted.

Shortly before the cruise we were given a complimentary cabin upgrade, which softened the blow a bit, but it has put us off booking early. I hope you get a visit from the upgrade fairy too.

We've had a few upgrades over the years in similar circumstances.

They can be good, but take the time to check where the new cabin is before you accept as they can often be the least desirable of the higher cabin grade.

You booked early to get the most desirable cabin in the grade you were in, so pause a moment and consider before deciding if it really is an upgrade.

Top advice from Mark. We had an upgrade on a P and O cruise went from inside cabin mid ships both ways to a balcony at the back, terrible vibration, so not always what it seems.

Not the first time

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2293563

I really do not understand cruise companies doing this, all it is saying to it's customers is hold on and we'll drop the price.

I have been a loyal fan of Fred Olsen for many years. Earlier this year I booked my 14th cruise with Fred for next February, a 46 night trip.

 

 

 

Imagine my annoyance when this week I see an advert offering free transport to the port, 200 euros per cabin shore spend plus £50 off a shore excursion for bookings this month. None of which is retrospective for earlier bookings.

 

 

 

And of course they have been sitting on a large deposit instead of it being in my bank account.

 

 

 

Yes I know that there is often incentives when a cruise is not full but not this far in advance.

 

 

 

Annoyed ? yes I am and my loyalty to Fred Olsen has just evaporated. I will think very carefully before booking with them again after this sort of treatment for loyal customers who book early.

Booked the same cruise. I know what you mean. Once with P&O they gave us extra onboard credit

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It's all down to economics, supply and demand.

It's all down to economics, supply and demand.

So, if we all stop booking, the price drops and we all get a cheap cruise, I'm sure the cruise companies wont last long financially doing that.

Yes, when they have few bookings, especially once the payment deadline has been reached, they will drop prices. There are a couple of cruises I have been watching for quite a while and the prices have fluctuated considerably

It's the same principle with flights and ferries.

Haven't we all learnt that, nowadays, loyalty is not considered of much importance by most commercial organisations?

when i was working i booked early to ensure i got area on ship i wanted as i could only go at same time every year, yes i missed offers etc. i am retired now and can wait longer before booking,yes i have got some good bargains.as far as i an concerned loyalty is nothing you are only another passenger.

Haven't we all learnt that, nowadays, loyalty is not considered of much importance by most commercial organisations?

Loyalty is rewarded through the Oceans Club, you will form your own opinion as to have useful the benefits are.

The error is in trying to equate booking early with loyalty.

A early booker is no more loyal than a late booker, both are 'loyal' when they make repeat bookings.

It is flexibility that drives the booking times.

Book early if you are inflexible on dates/destinations/cabins and the cruises are priced accordingly to reflect your lack of flexibility.

If you are flexible on those things but still book early then you have misunderstood the process :)

Loyalty is rewarded through the Oceans Club, you will form your own opinion as to have useful the benefits are.

 

The error is in trying to equate booking early with loyalty.

 

A early booker is no more loyal than a late booker, both are 'loyal' when they make repeat bookings.

 

It is flexibility that drives the booking times.

 

Book early if you are inflexible on dates/destinations/cabins and the cruises are priced accordingly to reflect your lack of flexibility.

 

If you are flexible on those things but still book early then you have misunderstood the process :)

But it is still annoying when, as a gold member, we book a cruise early to find a few months later the same cruise is being offered will gratuities and drinks included and I have paid for mine. It is even more annoying that these offers are always introduced just after the cancellation deadline, so it is not economical to cancel and rebook.

I have been a loyal fan of Fred Olsen for many years. Earlier this year I booked my 14th cruise with Fred for next February, a 46 night trip.

 

Imagine my annoyance when this week I see an advert offering free transport to the port, 200 euros per cabin shore spend plus £50 off a shore excursion for bookings this month. None of which is retrospective for earlier bookings.

 

And of course they have been sitting on a large deposit instead of it being in my bank account.

 

Yes I know that there is often incentives when a cruise is not full but not this far in advance.

 

Annoyed ? yes I am and my loyalty to Fred Olsen has just evaporated. I will think very carefully before booking with them again after this sort of treatment for loyal customers who book early.

We are one point away from being Gold members. I have asked my travel agent to enquire about back to back cruises for our golden wedding in 2018. I have particularly asked him to check what discounts and incentives are available. If we cannot get our cruises at a decent price then we will either find another cruise line or take two land based holidays.

Pugwash123

We are one point away from being Gold members. I have asked my travel agent to enquire about back to back cruises for our golden wedding in 2018. I have particularly asked him to check what discounts and incentives are available. If we cannot get our cruises at a decent price then we will either find another cruise line or take two land based holidays.

 

Pugwash123

I have not commented on this thread as I find the subject a bit tiresome - everyone can choose what and when to book, so I do not see the point of people complaining after they have booked, because a different type of deal has come up.

However, since the topic appears to have migrated to bookings for 2018, I must say that the prices of some cruises in that new (ish) brochure are totally OTT for a Fred cruise. We have got decent prices on 'book 3' deals that have been offered over the last couple of years, but this summer they did not even put that type of deal on. I would comment also that Fred (and other companies) often put an offer on starting at the beginning of December and going on into the new year. If you can wait that long, you may get a better deal with Fred or poss something else, otherwise Fred's brochure for 2018 would not appeal to us in any way. A book 3 deal would not help for a simple back to back cruise - but it would give a third cruise free. They may not use that type of deal, but I do not see then selling their cruises easily at the prices they are asking at present.

I browsed through a P&O brochure this afternoon and their prices are considerably less then Fred. I see problems with P&O, but I also see problems with Fred. Land holidays is largely what we are thinking of, but we have been a bit over cruised over thet last couple of years anyway.

I have not commented on this thread as I find the subject a bit tiresome - everyone can choose what and when to book, so I do not see the point of people complaining after they have booked, because a different type of deal has come up.

 

However, since the topic appears to have migrated to bookings for 2018, I must say that the prices of some cruises in that new (ish) brochure are totally OTT for a Fred cruise. We have got decent prices on 'book 3' deals that have been offered over the last couple of years, but this summer they did not even put that type of deal on. I would comment also that Fred (and other companies) often put an offer on starting at the beginning of December and going on into the new year. If you can wait that long, you may get a better deal with Fred or poss something else, otherwise Fred's brochure for 2018 would not appeal to us in any way. A book 3 deal would not help for a simple back to back cruise - but it would give a third cruise free. They may not use that type of deal, but I do not see then selling their cruises easily at the prices they are asking at present.

 

I browsed through a P&O brochure this afternoon and their prices are considerably less then Fred. I see problems with P&O, but I also see problems with Fred. Land holidays is largely what we are thinking of, but we have been a bit over cruised over thet last couple of years anyway.

I too find the prices being asked by Fred for 2017/2018 are over the top compared with previous years, so I have emailed my travel agent and told him not to book the back to back cruises we originally enquired about.

Pugwash123

I too find the prices being asked by Fred for 2017/2018 are over the top compared with previous years, so I have emailed my travel agent and told him not to book the back to back cruises we originally enquired about.

 

Pugwash123

I agree completely, their prices seem to have gone up steeply. When onboard recently we asked for a quote for a cruise we were interested in; it was at a price that was just silly. About 4 days after we got home someone form Fred 'phoned us and asked if we were interested. Can't be selling that well then!

I agree, the one we wanted to do next year is just a stupid price that we are not prepared to pay.

Since the vote for Brexit the £ has fallen sharply against the US$ and the Euro and is projected to fall even further. Fuel oil, one of the major costs for a cruise ship, is priced in dollars. I guess crew are paid in their own currency and many supplies and services [dock charges etc.] taken in European and foreign countries will also increase by up to 20%. I think that the increased cost of cruises just reflects this. The only hope is that the £ goes back to $1.5 against the $ rather than parity.

Already charges on cruise lines such as Celebrity for drinks packages, excursions and gratuities etc. have been increased for British passengers to reflect the fall in the value of the £.

I'm booking now before it gets even more expensive! :)

berkshireboy

Yes I can also see prices going up post brexit and some Fred cruises may have gone up even from those brochure prices, but the cruises in question, with the prices to which I was referring were on sale before the brexit vote and at that stage most people thought the vote would be to remain in the EU.

A few hours ago we booked a newly released 31 night cruise from Colombo (Sri Lanka), to Piraeus for February 2018 in a very well placed, second grade up, inside cabin on deck four of Voyages of Discovery's cruise ship Voyager for £2,791 each. That includes tips (which they always include) and return Manchester flights. It is a back to back cruise, but they do very generous discounts for back to backs. The cruise has lots of interesting ports with very few sea days compared to most of Fred's itineraries.

We hope they will also vary our flight out date so we can book ourselves a few days in a hotel pre cruise. They have done that for us for a cruise next February for just over £50 admin charge in total and we are booked on Emirates scheduled flights, both out to Hong Kong and back from Sri Lanka for next February/March. VOD's cruises are far superior to Fred's in our opinion and they also have open dining (so no set sittings). Even the Swan Hellenic brand, run by the same company, has well priced cruises when you consider they also include trips - if you wish to use them.

Fred have definitely lost our custom for the next couple of years.

berkshireboy

Yes I can also see prices going up post brexit and some Fred cruises may have gone up even from those brochure prices, but the cruises in question, with the prices to which I was referring were on sale before the brexit vote and at that stage most people thought the vote would be to remain in the EU.

Hope that that doesn't mean that prices for cruises will rise even further! :) [see the £ rose slightly against the $ today, lets hope that it continues!]

Actually I've found with Fred if you book when cruises are first released they will often offer free or reduced upgrades when prices are subsequently reduced.

A few hours ago we booked a newly released 31 night cruise from Colombo (Sri Lanka), to Piraeus for February 2018 in a very well placed, second grade up, inside cabin on deck four of Voyages of Discovery's cruise ship Voyager for £2,791 each. That includes tips (which they always include) and return Manchester flights. It is a back to back cruise, but they do very generous discounts for back to backs. The cruise has lots of interesting ports with very few sea days compared to most of Fred's itineraries.

Have done several cruises on Voyager and Discovery and they certainly have good itineraries. Our next one is Cape Town to the Canaries via the South Atlantic Islands so plenty of sea days - but then we chose it for that! For insurance reasons we now need to keep our cruises to less than 31 days which can be restricting.]

We hope they will also vary our flight out date so we can book ourselves a few days in a hotel pre cruise. They have done that for us for a cruise next February for just over £50 admin charge in total and we are booked on Emirates scheduled flights, both out to Hong Kong and back from Sri Lanka for next February/March.

Yes,we've had our flights out to South Africa varied next year so we can get a few extra days at the Cape. Flights out on Emirates like you, although a reduced baggage allowance as it's a "special fare" and back on a Thomson charter from Teneriffe. Flights this year were with the charter outfit HiFly which were actually quite good but we returned with Iberia because we had a post cruise extension in the Galapagos.

VOD's cruises are far superior to Fred's in our opinion and they also have open dining (so no set sittings). Even the Swan Hellenic brand, run by the same company, has well priced cruises when you consider they also include trips - if you wish to use them.

Although food is very subjective I don't consider the food on VoD as good as on Fred and there are no tables for two. Nor is the entertainment as good and the show lounge which hasn't got raised seating, is very poor. However Voyager is much improved to what she was like when VoD purchased her. She would probably be even better if the last dry dock of Minerva hadn't proved to be much more costly than expected leaving less for Voyager. She is back in dry dock next Autumn so possibly some more upgrading will take place then. Do you think the All Inclusive is good value at £20 pppn? We had it earlier this year when it was first introduced and the jury is still out. :)

Swan Hellenic is not for us - we've friends who've cruised with them and say never again.

Fred have definitely lost our custom for the next couple of years.

Yes, we've not booked anything with them for next year which is unusual but have booked the trans Pacific on Black Watch at the start of 2018. [We are very much into bucket list cruises now and this ticks off Easter Island among others]

[For some reason can't get the quote function to work]

Particularly expensive are the Fred air fare add-ons. They are charging £900 return to Barbados for their Caribbean cruise, whereas a return on a much better airline than the charter ones they use can be booked for around half that. Of course their fares include transfer to the ship, but it is a huge amount to pay for that convenience.