Megabear2

Thanks. The Iona 2025 cruise is indeed a good deal at present having been on sale for quite some time. I belive its just dropped to £1999.00 for an inside and is less elsewhere? The balcony saver however is £6398 with select starting at £8198 with obc of £275, or car parking plus £125 obc or coach plus £125obc. The 2026 version has launched at £2199 saver inside. These are exactly the examples of what I mean about pricing right. The balconies on these two cruises are what the retiree experienced cruisers want and the 2026 entry price is £6898 (deck 8 forward) with the select starting at £7612 with £150obc or free car parking or coach - this has the 10% saving of £846. Basically if you add on the £846 early discount the new cruise is £8458 so already in excess of the 2025 long on sale price. Re 2025 I sail on the same day on QM2 for 35 nights. We have a sheltered balcony and paid £7400 way back, not on launch. I checked that price yesterday and its now just over £8500.

Yes, I know of no one who benefitted from the price guarantee, as I said in my original post a sprat to catch a makrel.

Can't speak for the Central American ports but virtually all of your Caribbean ports have very good free WiFi available. They are very conscious of the cruise ship crew needs. Obviously the US ports and the islands nearby are excellent. Ironically it is more likely the WiFi won't work here at home than out in the Caribbean!

The The cruise industry has for years needed people to book 18 months minimum out. This stretched to 2 years and now is as much as 2 1/2 years - I can book P&O until the end March 2026. They are an outlier admittedly with very few on sale from other lines. The problem with expecting such long term commitment is the balancing act for customers other than the retirees. With today's economic uncertainty booking a year ahead never mind two will put some off committing. There is the option to pay in instalments which may encourage some though. It will be a fine tightrope to walk to ensure this promise of the lowest price at launch as the bean counters will need to be very sure of the entry price point to maintain this. If the crystal ball worked this well I'd have Jeremy Hunt banging on my door to take it! I'm not the atypical cruiser as I drop in and out on a whim and although price is partly a decider the destination is of more interest. As I'm aging I'm more likely to look at longer more far flung destinations and I'm happy to fly. However I'm conscious from chats onboard the ships that flying is very much off the radar for many. It's these people, the ones with guaranteed financial availability that will look at those entry prices, especially the select fares, to decide if its a good deal. The price has to be exactly spot on and judging by comments about the price point seeming too high, there might be a problem on the mundane offerings, not so much the more "unique" ones. Moley mentioned good sales on the new releases. Indeed the entry level early savers look attractive on a few sailings, however select fares appear high. Interestingly there is a 10% introductory discount on the select fares at present, cynical old me thinks that may just be to lock in some of the older/experienced cruisers. Sorry ICF but I've used your favourite February Caribbean Arvia cruise as an experiment. You book the very cheapest inside saver fare, either after final payment date and this year 6 months in advance and have to date found reasonable prices. On the basis the price won't be bettered younwill pay £1,799pp plus £100pp to fly from Birmingham or Manchester on K604 departing 13/2/2026 (Total £3798). With the special 10% discount the select fare would be £1,934pp plus £100pp - this would give £45 OBC - total £4068. It must be remembered the select price will rise by 10% at some point on top of any "normal" increase, so a minimum £386.80 on top - £4454.80. What do you think of these prices as someone who looks for the actual bottom line price when booking a cruise? Would you still think they're a bargain? I've no idea personally as I've nothing to compare with as my Caribbean cruises cost substantially more and my equivalent is now well over £8,000.

Rarely but others have reported it elsewhere yesterday apparently.

They'd have to be very confident of the entry level prices to make that price guarantee. For me it would be a no go at two years out . Interesting to see where this goes.

Whilst not the most reliable of sources, I have been sent this link a short time ago referring to a statement regarding Princess: https://www.gbnews.com/travel/cruise-deals-princess-cruises If this is correct, do you think P&O will be doing the same in the near future? This appears to suggest a return to the old ways of early booking paying dividends, how do people feel about this? A reluctance to commit early has crept in over the past two years, would you be prepared to go back to this? The interesting bit is the return of "price guarantee" which proved to be a spray to catch a mackerel in the past.

We had the premiere of The Greatest Showman on Queen Mary 2 in New York. Quite an experience and certainly a one off.

The OP has a very good point. Vamps posted recently how shocked she was at the charge for her family. As the seats are in a 3-3-3 formation people like her will more or less have to pay up to ensure they are together. The actual cost isn't posted anywhere that I know, merely a statement as follows: "Choose your preferred seat on selected Caribbean and Mediterranean charter flights. Seats on scheduled flights can usually be purchased through the airline’s own website. Some airlines require tickets to be issued before they allow you to pre-book seats, in which case payment for your flight may be required in advance and will be non-refundable." The first line is misleading as it does not indicate a charge and unless you know how P&O work it may be an unexpected cost. Very badly worded and misleading in my humble opinion!

Wiped out half of London, though! The poor wouldn't touch them after that.

Don't forget the car parking John! Magnificent savings all round, great to hear it.

Most of this started when the EU airlines within Europe were told they had to offer a "base" fare, ie just a flight, no luggage, sit anywhere (remember the Easyjet/Ryanair scrambles to board). That was fine to start for people just popping off or around Europe for the day. The problem set in when airlines saw the opportunity to follow the US and add extra charge for everything they could imagine a passenger might pay for. Consequently it has crept in across the board and people just accept it,forgetting it's a fairly new thing. On some airlines the add ons come to more than the starting fare. A similar thing happens in the US with "resort fees on hotels, mask the true cost of the product by pretending you're getting something extra. The whole lot is a on.

The problem with this story, despite the individual being laughable in telling it, is the fact that the staff in pushing these products need to be very aware of the individuals' circumstances. Looking at the lady's blonde hair it's obviously coloured, possibly by herself as she claims to be a hairdresser. "Product" as these people like to call it can react extremely badly on dyed hair. Anyone attending a reputable hairdresser's for anything other than a cut should be asked to fill in a questionnaire about their hair colour, medications etc. and an allergy test taken a minimum 48 hours before. From experience of attending the "beauty seminars" onboard several lines this doesn't happen and that will put passengers at risk of events like these. Often the people selling these items after a seminar are just the beauticians, manicurists etc and certainly not hairdressers or specialists. It is very dangerous and the service provider should be aware of this. Actually it wouldn't be P&O's liability either so they've been good to give her help. On the costs, well my mother, an intelligent shy lady, at the age of 86 fell for these hard sell tactics after going to have her hair washed and put up for a black tie night on Queen VIctoria. When I went to collect her she was sat in her wheelchair with a very large plastic bag and she was most reluctant to tell me what was in it. On return to the cabin I examined it to find six bottles and tubes of various products. A quick trip to reception for a bill print out showed she had been charged over $400 for these items. I packed them up and went back to the spa and demanded they took them back and explained why they had effectively tricked a very elderly lady into such purchases of items clearly totally unnecessary for her. A very shamed faced manager refunded the money and as a gesture of goodwill offered to put my mother's hair up for free on the rest of the occasion nights. It is extremely easy to be pressurised and on that part I have a lot of sympathy with the lady in the story.

Okay, that explains why you can't change the cabin type as these fares are not amendable and you are now past final payment date. P&O website states the following on babies/infants: "In twin cabins these extra beds are pull-down beds which your cabin steward will stow away by day (please note in selected Arvia, Azura, Britannia, Iona and Ventura cabins there are sofabeds instead; see deck plans for details)." (My bold). and "Azura, Britannia and Ventura have a number of cabins that can accommodate a travel cot for an infant aged over 6 months and under 2 years." I am assuming your cabin has not been allocated yet but I would think advising P&O/travel agent your booking could be noted that you require a cabin suitable for a travel cot and this shouid be borne in mind by P&O at allocation, hence I would on this occasion bypass your agent to speak direct to P&O for help and booking the cot. Incidentally when calling, ignore the chatbot and the bit about if you've booked through an agent, basically you want customer service but there isn't an option. If they argue about the agent point out they have given contradictory advice so you need clarification - lay it on thick you're concerned there won't be a travel cot if you can't book it and you need peace of mind. The drinks package unfortunately is something you will need to sort onboard as the very antiquated system simply cannot cope. As I said the alcoholic package gives the kids for free but now I recall you want the non alcohol one.

I'd agree, it's for the travel agent. However if they are adamant they've done all they can I would ring P&O myself for full clarification of what exactly the position is so that I am forearmed to complain to the agent if it becomes necessary. The whole point of an agent is their supposed knowledge, there doesn't seem to be much here so I'd suggest getting all the information direct, particularly if this cruise is imminent -if the OP is the person I recall raising the issue of the drinks package some time ago, this has been ongoing for quite a while.

I've come along .... P&O Exec Office email: Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com

Hello, sorry to hear your problems. Would you please provide some further information as follows: Which ship Which date What type of fare you have booked What type of fare is your baby sailing under, ie free, reduced rate, special offer Which drinks package is it, assumedly not the deluxe package as that gives children free drinks package automatically As I understand it if a cot is required you have to request one in advance - I asked my BIL who confirmed they had one but a long time ago in 2012 and it had to be ordered before departure, he also mentioned baby baths? This old link from CC might give you an idea on space as well. Also not sure if you've seen it but CruiseMummy is a helpful source on travelling with little ones. Te link below is from September 2023 so pretty recent. https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/tips-for-cruising-with-a-baby-or-toddler-on-po-cruises/ If you are sailing on Iona or Arvia I doubt very much there will be any availability for an outside cabin once you are onboard as these cabins are exceptionally popular with families. All of these cabins have, I thought, sofas which can convert to a bed so I am at a loss as to why they state you need a Pullman for a baby as the third person. I would suggest telephoning P&O to query this. In my opinion if you wait until onboard you will not be able to move to an outside cabin as there will be no availability. The bed can be sorted very easily once onboard. Your cabin steward will introduce himself on your arrival and he/she can change the set up to queen very easily. You will be able to explain to them you won't be using the Pullman bed so it should be easy. Whilst very annoying the important thing is to sort out the cabin if you are unhappy with having the inside. I suggest if there is time calling, asking for a full explanation as to why you cannot change to an outside - the departure date and type may have some bearing on this - and state once again you need to reserve a cot as you understand from social media others have indeed done this. If it's any consolation I can confirm on Arvia in May there were a large number of families in inside cabins on deck 4 when I moved down there. However they seemed to have problems with large buggies as they didn't fit the cabin or doors and were leaving them in the corridor which is technically not allowed. Good luck in sorting things, hopefully before you sail.

There's an awful lot of things that aren't though! Not being interested in anything Arvia I didn't look but as prompted by your post I see there are no children's places available so assume these are taking those berths. I did see however a discount has appeared on the select price for this cruise of £732 making it far more reasonable. So I've revisited the Britannia one and realised the quotes I had this morning actually include the 10% reduction as well. I think I'll still be passing

Is that for the new release for 2025 or which year?

There are more than one flight every day from each airport (Cardiff, Edinburgh being the exceptions). There will therefore be TUI flights on the same day. The list refers to the extra unallocated flights at the time of the announcement in September. Only one third of thecP&O flights across the season are on Maleth flights. Your flight planner is correct with TUI as you would have been informed if it was changed.

It's actually Manchester and Arvia that have the bulk of the Maleth flights. There is one flight from Gatwick on Fridays wh8ch has them too. Earlier in this thread there is a chart showing which flights travel agents were advised would be Maleth if that hel0s.

Apart from BA these are all charter airlines though. BA allows you to choose your seat free of charge on check in latest 24 hours before. BA club members get free seats earlier dependent on their level. Other scheduled airlines you can pick a seat at booking, often without charge at check in. The airlines are currently being investigated by the government over these additional charges. The charges for additional things like seat reservations etc are adding significantly to costs for passengers. The "experiment" with seat charging actually started in the US in 2008 and crept in to the UK via low cost airlines and holiday jets.

Might I suggest you write to P&O saying you are aware from social media that others who cancelled due to lack of PE have had their deposit refunded and you would like yours refunded too. I would say in your letter that no one asked for the reason you could not fly in economy and politely but firmly tell them that stress is a serious condition which you felt medically unable to put yourself through. Always worth a try, nothing ventured they say!

It's not gospel but what I was informed by two P&O people when querying it buying seats on a Birmingham flight - we had paid for extra legroom seats at extra cost on that flight which were actually very poor seats so I complained about the lack of control of passengers/cold and the adding of extra booking charge for the seat reservation. TheTUI cabin staff had the jumpseat opposite our seats - no one bought the third seat so we had the row - and thet confirmed the costs and level of service was set by P&O. The discussion centred on TUI charging less to reserve, cheaper cost for extra legroom and the use of the lounge and the drinks being included throughout the flight. At that time economy passengers only got one free drink outside of meal service. I believe it is no longer like that. Definitely the return seat allocations are done by P&O with no input from the airline. I'm afraid they fibbed to you on that one.

Why not look at the seat plan the day after and then a week or two after bookings open, that way you can see if a lot of seats are going fast and make an informed decision. Your flight being a Maleth one the rush for "better" seats may be higher. You cannot book them one way only though, which I think is a swizz as many don't worry so much on the return as they are hopefully sleeping.