Vantage fare scam

[davecttr]

The Princess 2014 cruises are out on the B*******website. If those prices are anything to go by, then everyone will be waiting until they come down. Up to now, you could always pay less than £100 per night for an inside cabin. These prices are all over £100 per night for an inside. I expect P&O will be the same.

I noticed those price increases. In some cases a 20% rise on the brochure prices for this year. Yet people on the Princess forum are saying that the UK launch price is cheaper than the equivalent dollar price and can they book over here!

[daiB]

I noticed those price increases. In some cases a 20% rise on the brochure prices for this year. Yet people on the Princess forum are saying that the UK launch price is cheaper than the equivalent dollar price and can they book over here!

 

Well as we need mini suites or better they look every appealing. Far cheaper thsn P&O expecially with Azura and Ventura not having mini suites.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

Dai

[terrierjohn]

Well as we need mini suites or better they look every appealing. Far cheaper thsn P&O expecially with Azura and Ventura not having mini suites.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

Dai

Dai, Princess Grand Class mini suites are the same as P&O superior de-luxe balconys.

[daiB]

Dai, Princess Grand Class mini suites are the same as P&O superior de-luxe balconys.

 

True John but because of my scooter P&O will not let me book one of them. Their rule is suite or mini-suite or adapted cabin. As I do not need an adapted cabin I will not book one and deprive others.

 

So on Azura etc it has to be a suite with a butler and all the trimmings.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[qm2lover]

Friends on a Vantage Fare for a cruise this summer have just cancelled and rebooked under the Getaway Fare. Have lost their deposit OBC etc and are many £s better off.

[kersh]

We have just taken advantage of a getaway fare. We generally book as soon as the brochure comes out and still will do for Xmas cruises, but any others we will now wait. Just got a balcony cabin don't know which one yet, but got our dining request confirmed. The vantage fare is £2499 the getaway is £1699. This is a 17 night cruise.

 

For us this is a no brainer but we do not mind where the cabin is. We have our preferences but when saving £1600 we will be more than happy with whatever cabin we are allocated.

 

Sue

[AnnieC]

We have just taken advantage of a getaway fare. We generally book as soon as the brochure comes out and still will do for Xmas cruises, but any others we will now wait. Just got a balcony cabin don't know which one yet, but got our dining request confirmed. The vantage fare is £2499 the getaway is £1699. This is a 17 night cruise.

 

For us this is a no brainer but we do not mind where the cabin is. We have our preferences but when saving £1600 we will be more than happy with whatever cabin we are allocated.

 

Sue

 

Think we may have been checking the same cruise, Azura 31 May?

 

We booked a similar deal yesterday, though decided on Queen Victoria, similar itinerary, similar time of year. Same advertised price for a guarantee balcony as the P&O cruise (though got it down to £1650 with a travel agent:D), already had dining request confirmed, and saved a similar amount. It's a no-brainer, unless you are stuck with special requirements.

 

Just to stay on topic, travel agents obviously don't understand Vantage/Getaway either. One travel agent (a well-known one, does a lot of full-page spreads in Mail on Saturday, specialises in Cunard, P&O and luxury lines) assured me that Cunard would price match the Getaway fare if it came down.:eek: I gave him a little free training and advised him not to mis-inform anyone in the future.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Annie

[kersh]

Hi Annie, yes that's the one. Hope you have a good cruise too.

 

Sue

[ivygirl]

Have really enjoyed reading this thread! I'm with Dai (I think!). We booked our legs of next years Aurora worldie on the day they went on sale. We got the adjacent cabins we wanted, restaurant sitting we wanted and loads of OBC so we were happy then and are still happy. Don't usually bother to look at how prices fall. Just looking forward to another big adventure, this time in Africa!

[jeanlyon]

Ivygirl - tend to agree. I might consider a Getaway deal at some stage, but still happy to book early and get what I want, then just look forward to it. There is only one cabin available where we want to be on our cruise in September and no Getaway deals yet. The price is still more than we paid.

[pas2]

My wife and I plus another couple are booked on Arcadia cruise J303 departing 8 May. We booked a vantage fare at a cost of £3758 per couple, yes we did book our cabin and yes we did book the meal time and seating we wanted. At the time of booking a Getaway fare was only a gleam in somebodys eye.

 

A getaway fare for the same grade of cabin we have booked is currently £1520 cheaper, that also takes into account our onboard spends, and a mini suite is also cheaper than we have paid.

 

For those who keep insisting that a Vantage fare is not a scam the quote "There are none so blind as those will not see", comes to mind.

[Cristaltips]

I may be being dim, but can somebody confirm that when you book a Getaway deal, you have to pay the whole amount up front and theres a 100% cancellation charge.

If that IS the case, I'm not sure I'd want P & O hanging on to my money for nearly a year (we always do Caribbean in Jan/Feb). Knowing my luck, I'd draw the short straw and have a cabin under the pool and have all the noise of the sunbeds being dragged for the early morning cleaning.

I'm pretty sure I'd stick to the Vantage fare and know exactly where I am.:confused:

[the english lady]

With getaway you DO have to pay 100% when you book, and if you cancel-even if it is the next day, you lose 100%. That's fairly clear, especially if you book a getaway months in advance.

[BrianI]

With Vantage you have to pay 50% if you cancel after 90 days so if you are getting a Getaway at half the price the cancellation cost is the same.

 

See para 38

http://www.pocruises.com/Global/pdf/POC%20Booking%20conditions%2020.12.12.pdf

 

Getaways are normal only announced within 90days although the recent ones go to the end of July which is a bit longer.

 

Brian

[terrierjohn]

I may be being dim, but can somebody confirm that when you book a Getaway deal, you have to pay the whole amount up front and theres a 100% cancellation charge.

If that IS the case, I'm not sure I'd want P & O hanging on to my money for nearly a year (we always do Caribbean in Jan/Feb). Knowing my luck, I'd draw the short straw and have a cabin under the pool and have all the noise of the sunbeds being dragged for the early morning cleaning.

I'm pretty sure I'd stick to the Vantage fare and know exactly where I am.:confused:

As Brian says getaway fares are normally only offered over the last few months before cruise date, so you would be more likely to know if you might need to cancel, and even then any health issue should be covered by your insurance. As regards cabin location you then need to consider the price difference, and only you can decide if its worth it, when it comes to dining arrangements a quiet word with the Maitre D' will more than likely ensure you get the sitting you want.

[jenny wren]

In our case we changed to a Getaway just before the final payment was due on our Vantage fare...so we were going to pay the full cost in a few days anyway.....as others have said if you have to cancel for medical reasons your insurance will pay that anyway and there was no other reason we were going to cancel....:)

[EssexcruiserS]

It is much too easy for people to try and muddy the waters with talk of booking the cabin you want (big deal!) and choosing your meal time (Big deal!) The issue is one of honesty, these cruises are still being marketed as "if the price drops you will get upgrade, credit or money back) that is the reason customers felt protected and that is the reason they now feel cheated. There is no money back, there is no credit , there is no upgrade.. Scam , scam, and another time scam.

 

Having said that, It will only work once with passengers. We have booked a cruise as soon as the brochure comes out every year for the last 16 years. Last year we got money back £900 from Carnival when the price dropped, this year we have got money back ' £850 from Carnival' when the price dropped. If we had booked with P&O we would not have got a penny.. So next year if we are looking for a P&O cruise, we will just wait until a couple of months before we want to go and book then.

[BrianI]

You can still book your dining option and table size on a Getaway. I have just booked a Getaway for June and the dining option has been confirmed, not even wait listed.

Brian

[phileas fog]

Just booked 7 nights on Ventura to the Fjords for £399 pp ,inside cabin forward and 2nd sitting,I am happy especially as we are going on my birthday!!

[Oarsman55]

It is much too easy for people to try and muddy the waters with talk of booking the cabin you want (big deal!) and choosing your meal time (Big deal!) The issue is one of honesty, these cruises are still being marketed as "if the price drops you will get upgrade, credit or money back) that is the reason customers felt protected and that is the reason they now feel cheated. There is no money back, there is no credit , there is no upgrade.. Scam , scam, and another time scam.

 

It is. The Vantage fares were marketed in a deliberately misleading way.

 

Well said.

 

Peter

[Oarsman55]

You can still book your dining option and table size on a Getaway. I have just booked a Getaway for June and the dining option has been confirmed, not even wait listed.

Brian

 

We keep saying this and it keeps being ignored. I don't think anyone has yet come on here saying they failed to get their preferred option. This is yet more marketing spin to encourage people to pay more for the same thing (apart from choosing your cabin number).

 

I doubt there's any absolute guarantee about dining times whatever you book. However, by definition, the getaway fares are being offered on cruises that aren't selling - even Dai admits that - thus both dining times are likely to be available unless you book at the very last minute.

[davecttr]

We keep saying this and it keeps being ignored. I don't think anyone has yet come on here saying they failed to get their preferred option. This is yet more marketing spin to encourage people to pay more for the same thing (apart from choosing your cabin number).

 

I doubt there's any absolute guarantee about dining times whatever you book. However, by definition, the getaway fares are being offered on cruises that aren't selling - even Dai admits that - thus both dining times are likely to be available unless you book at the very last minute.

 

If we examine the P&O sit for getaway fares that have been offered several months before sailing we can be sure those cruises are not selling as well as P&O want. Can we identify why? If so for next year we can make a guess at which cruises to wait for getaway and which to book early.

[daiB]

We keep saying this and it keeps being ignored. I don't think anyone has yet come on here saying they failed to get their preferred option. This is yet more marketing spin to encourage people to pay more for the same thing (apart from choosing your cabin number).

 

I doubt there's any absolute guarantee about dining times whatever you book. However, by definition, the getaway fares are being offered on cruises that aren't selling - even Dai admits that - thus both dining times are likely to be available unless you book at the very last minute.

 

A slur sir. I admit to nothing.:cool::rolleyes:

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[Norfolk Brit]

This will cheer you up, Dai; looks as though they're going to start charging Getaway passengers for shuttle buses: http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?c=setreg&region=2&m_id=s~bd_rvd&w_id=8790&news_id=2005648

 

Mary

[simonpjd]

So far, as far as I know and nothing on here so probably correct, there has not been a single cruise where P&O have reduced the Vantage fare thereby having to give OBC / upgrades etc.

And until that happens then this sort of thread will continue. And making a valid point. It would probably be of benefit to P&O to reduce the Vantage fare on a couple of cruises JUST TO SHOW IT HAPPENS. Even if it is really a PR exercise which will cost them a few bob. At least then they will always be able to say 'Look it is true Look at this cruise - we reduced the Vantage fare'.

 

Gosh I should be in management - wait a minute I am. Maybe I should be in P&O management.