P and O price promise worthless, do not book early

[terrierjohn]

Dam you have found me out:mad: Of course it is not 25% it is only about 24% as each discount is taken off in turn and therefore it is less.

 

 

Oh I see how did we get that much, well good looks, influence and of course doing a back to back giving a further 10%:):rolleyes:

Happy Days

Gan Canny

Dai

BTW thanks for the invaluable advice but at the moment we are a tad busy. And of course I have read contrasting views regarding service on that line. Of course you can read contrasting views regarding any line which is why I pay no attention to reviews. If you want to try a cruise line or ship, just do it which is of course the advice I always give.

 

:cool:

Ha Ha a bit cheeky including the B2B discount, but thank you for the explanation, however normally most folks will only be getting the 10% and this still leaves Carnival lines distinctly uncompetitive with RCI.

If you ever do decide to sample Celebrity I will be very interested to hear your comments.

[daiB]

Ha Ha a bit cheeky including the B2B discount, but thank you for the explanation, however normally most folks will only be getting the 10% and this still leaves Carnival lines distinctly uncompetitive with RCI.

If you ever do decide to sample Celebrity I will be very interested to hear your comments.

 

No 15% if a peninsular cruise and Back to backs are not exclusive.

 

The reason we booked them is because we love the feeling of arriving back in Southampton and knowing you do not have to get off.:D also we would n

Have done 2 cruises anyway and this way we save on transport and hotel nights. It's called Win Win.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[ruths40]

Ruths40 when you got your OBC when the getaway fare reduced, did you originally book on advantage fare. Thanks

 

Hi,

Yes we booked back in February. I only rang because when we went with celebrity last year, every time the price dropped I rang and we got a reduction. This time with P&O although they sympathised, the only thing they could offer as a gesture of goodwill was some OBC for each passenger. They explained that the recent prices were totally different to what we booked and as a party of 3 cabins with children we couldn't take the risk of not being together.

Hope that's some use ...:confused:

[terrierjohn]

Hi,

Yes we booked back in February. I only rang because when we went with celebrity last year, every time the price dropped I rang and we got a reduction. This time with P&O although they sympathised, the only thing they could offer as a gesture of goodwill was some OBC for each passenger. They explained that the recent prices were totally different to what we booked and as a party of 3 cabins with children we couldn't take the risk of not being together.

Hope that's some use ...:confused:

Ruth, Can you confirm that this was extra OBC to that which you had an option to choose when booking.

If so you did really well to persuade P&O to compensate you against a getaway price.

I have just begun to read about other similar situations but I still remain very sceptical.:confused:

[2irisheyes]

I am perhaps a little too long in the tooth to have fallen into the trap of believing the spiel put out by Carnival (in relation to P&O and Cunard) on their fantastic new vantage fares. I do read the small print and it was made clear that obc or upgrades would be given if prices dropped for the same type of fare and it would be at the discretion of the cruiseline not the customer. It did not take too long for it all to become clear. I am not very trusting of large organisations and sometimes it helps not to believe the eye-catching headlines. After all they are in business to make money and if that doesn't happen there would be no cruiseline.

[Essexlass2]

We booked a Getaway fare for our fjords cruise later this month and the price has dropped by £500pp since then so even booking Getaway doesn't always get one the cheapest fare and, of course, we will get no OBC or anything else offered, but then we knew that when we booked. Its a chance we take when booking Getaway fares :)

[burnoutbabe]

yep, i booked a getaway a month ago for 2 weeks time and the price is £170pp less (or i could have had a balcony for same price). But i'm getting what i paid for.

[fatcat149]

We sailed on Ventura in October last year and spoke to the onboard cruise sales consultant about Getaway fares and when these would be offered. She clearly stated that if their were to be any getaway fares offered then they would only be 2 weeks before the ship was due to sail. I asked her to confirm this again which she did. We booked for June this year on Oriana Vantage fare and paid £1430 each only to find that you can now get it for less than £700. Ok We did get free travel but this does not make up anywhere near the difference. Never again will I book a Vantage fare P&O. We have sailed with them for last 12 years.

Roy

[Bobbyjean]

We sailed on Ventura in October last year and spoke to the onboard cruise sales consultant about Getaway fares and when these would be offered. She clearly stated that if their were to be any getaway fares offered then they would only be 2 weeks before the ship was due to sail. I asked her to confirm this again which she did. We booked for June this year on Oriana Vantage fare and paid £1430 each only to find that you can now get it for less than £700. Ok We did get free travel but this does not make up anywhere near the difference. Never again will I book a Vantage fare P&O. We have sailed with them for last 12 years.

Roy

 

Roy, I would write to P&O informing them that you are very loyal customers and are disillusioned - I would be very surprised if you did not receive some sort of compensation.

[ruths40]

Ruth, Can you confirm that this was extra OBC to that which you had an option to choose when booking.

If so you did really well to persuade P&O to compensate you against a getaway price.

I have just begun to read about other similar situations but I still remain very sceptical.:confused:

 

Yes, happy to confirm we went for free parking for first booking with the children having OBC for their room ( when it's gone - its gone I tell them!)

The additional OBC was for each member of the group as 'a gesture of goodwill' - may just have caught the telesales staff at P&O in a generous mood that day !

[Bispham Boo]

We have just come back from Oriana and booked Vantage fares, after which the price fell by about £350 pp (would have paid our bar bill :D). I contacted Carol Marlow & David Dingle and got no reply from DD and a standard one from CM's office. My TA also tried to get some obc.

We went with my parents, who were on a different coach to us and were waiting in a different part of the ship to dis-embark. A party was being shown round, one of whom asked Mum & Dad if they'd enjoyed the cruise. Mum asked him who he was. She thinks he said Chief Administration Exec. She proceeded to tell him exactly what she thought of the Vantage Fare situation! She said he seemed a bit take aback :).

 

We very much enjoyed our cruise but certainly won't be booking Vantage Fares again. We are not particularly brand-loyal (though I do love the QM2) and are still working. When we retire we plan to cruise more but P&O may not be our first choice.

[Pig Launcher]

Roy, I would write to P&O informing them that you are very loyal customers and are disillusioned - I would be very surprised if you did not receive some sort of compensation.

 

I called P&O yesterday and have now sent this e mail but expect no joy. Hopefully we will still enjoy the cruise but it will be back to Celebrity for us after this costly error. P&O are commiting business suicide as far as building loyalty goes in my opinion.

 

As this is my first cruise with P&O I was somewhat taken aback to find a new fare is now available for this same class of suite at a cost reduction of 1640 pounds. The only difference being a gataway fare does not guarantee in which suite you will be sailing. Had I known about this I would have waited and made this very significant saving.

 

I contacted P&O about this and was offered a BA grade suite on the Riviera Deck and 50 pounds each in OBC as a form of compensation. However I don't find leaving a sunny aft cabin for a partially shaded one in mid ships particularly tempting. So I declined this ‘upgrade’.

I was then told 100 pounds of onboard credit is the only form of recompense available. Even if accepted we will effectively be travelling with wiser cruisers who knew about the gataway prices who are 1540 pounds better off for it.

Sadly we have not even boarded a P&O ship yet but have already decided our first venture away from Celebrity was an expensive mistake.

The advantage fare has turned out to be anything but.

[nisymonds]

Had to cancel azura cruise last year due to massive getaway reduction and re-book same cruise, as a resault i was told by thomas cook that I had to pay £50 admin fee per passenger to forward my original deposit to a more expensive cruise. I did this by booking the arcadia for august this year, i received free parking & a small amount of on board credit but surprise surprise p&o have gone straight in with getaway discount of £150 per passenger on the week my balance is due, bypassing vantage to vantage discount, making me worse off by booking a year ago. I have complained to p&o strongly and have had 2 calls back, 1 from a team leader and 1 from cruise solutions just quoting me terms & conditions & adamant of no compensation offer leaving me very angry & a feeling of somehow being let down by p&o, i certainly will NEVER book early again

[nisymonds]

Had to cancel azura cruise last year due to massive getaway reduction and re-book same cruise, as a resault i was told by thomas cook that I had to pay £50 admin fee per passenger to forward my original deposit to a more expensive cruise. I did this by booking the arcadia for august this year, i received free parking & a small amount of on board credit but surprise surprise p&o have gone straight in with getaway discount of £150 per passenger on the week my balance is due, bypassing vantage to vantage discount, making me worse off by booking a year ago. I have complained to p&o strongly and have had 2 calls back, 1 from a team leader and 1 from cruise solutions just quoting me terms & conditions & adamant of no compensation offer leaving me very angry & a feeling of somehow being let down by p&o, i certainly will NEVER book early again

[carhirer]

Nisymonds

 

Could you clarify please?

 

Are you talking about two different cruises? Did you book vantage for last year, cancel and rebook a getaway fare for the same cruise? Or did you rebook a getaway fare this august?

 

Are PO waiting before final payment is due before introducing getaway fares?

[daiB]

I called P&O yesterday and have now sent this e mail but expect no joy. Hopefully we will still enjoy the cruise but it will be back to Celebrity for us after this costly error. P&O are commiting business suicide as far as building loyalty goes in my opinion.

 

As this is my first cruise with P&O I was somewhat taken aback to find a new fare is now available for this same class of suite at a cost reduction of 1640 pounds. The only difference being a gataway fare does not guarantee in which suite you will be sailing. Had I known about this I would have waited and made this very significant saving.

 

I contacted P&O about this and was offered a BA grade suite on the Riviera Deck and 50 pounds each in OBC as a form of compensation. However I don't find leaving a sunny aft cabin for a partially shaded one in mid ships particularly tempting. So I declined this ‘upgrade’.

I was then told 100 pounds of onboard credit is the only form of recompense available. Even if accepted we will effectively be travelling with wiser cruisers who knew about the gataway prices who are 1540 pounds better off for it.

Sadly we have not even boarded a P&O ship yet but have already decided our first venture away from Celebrity was an expensive mistake.

The advantage fare has turned out to be anything but.

 

The clear flaw in your argument is that if the reduction was a getaway after your final payment there is little difference between Celebrity and P&O as I have seen reductions of this scale for Celebrity cruises.

 

All cruise lines discount after the final payment day. Which I understand to be the 90 day ticker, ie three month before the cruise. Some of the discounts i have seen have been way over what you are quoting in the region of 50 to 84%. Now it is not clear what discount was to be had at the start of that but that sounds massive.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

Dai

[daiB]

Had to cancel azura cruise last year due to massive getaway reduction and re-book same cruise, as a resault i was told by thomas cook that I had to pay £50 admin fee per passenger to forward my original deposit to a more expensive cruise. I did this by booking the arcadia for august this year, i received free parking & a small amount of on board credit but surprise surprise p&o have gone straight in with getaway discount of £150 per passenger on the week my balance is due, bypassing vantage to vantage discount, making me worse off by booking a year ago. I have complained to p&o strongly and have had 2 calls back, 1 from a team leader and 1 from cruise solutions just quoting me terms & conditions & adamant of no compensation offer leaving me very angry & a feeling of somehow being let down by p&o, i certainly will NEVER book early again

 

nisymonds

 

Deep discounts have been available on P&O for years. My experience goes back over 10 years. Is the problem that they are more visible now because of the internet?

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[kruzgal]

The clear flaw in your argument is that if the reduction was a getaway after your final payment there is little difference between Celebrity and P&O as I have seen reductions of this scale for Celebrity cruises.

 

All cruise lines discount after the final payment day. Which I understand to be the 90 day ticker, ie three month before the cruise. Some of the discounts i have seen have been way over what you are quoting in the region of 50 to 84%. Now it is not clear what discount was to be had at the start of that but that sounds massive.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

Dai

 

Final payment on Celebrity is 57 days before departure, not 90.

[Scriv]

We made the mistake of booking very early even before the brochure came out. We booked an inside cabin as that was all we could afford. We are first time cruisers. We registered for automatic upgrade, but were not upgraded.

 

It really was then quite upsetting to see so many late bookers, who had paid just a fraction of what we had paid for an inside cabin, be further upgraded from their outside cabins and balconies, which were so much nicer than ours, and get OBC thrown in as well. They also were able to get moved onto the sittings of their choice.

 

Several posts have suggested people like me should stop whinging and get on with it, which I think is very unfair. I don't begrudge all the Getaway people getting their bargains at all, but I do think that the early bookers should be fairly treated too and get a little bit of the cake as well.

 

After all, who enjoys realizing they might as well have thrown £1000 over the railings into the sea?

[Cosmic Rays]

We made the mistake of booking very early even before the brochure came out. We booked an inside cabin as that was all we could afford. We are first time cruisers. We registered for automatic upgrade, but were not upgraded.

 

It really was then quite upsetting to see so many late bookers, who had paid just a fraction of what we had paid for an inside cabin, be further upgraded from their outside cabins and balconies, which were so much nicer than ours, and get OBC thrown in as well. They also were able to get moved onto the sittings of their choice.

 

Several posts have suggested people like me should stop whinging and get on with it, which I think is very unfair. I don't begrudge all the Getaway people getting their bargains at all, but I do think that the early bookers should be fairly treated too and get a little bit of the cake as well.

 

After all, who enjoys realizing they might as well have thrown £1000 over the railings into the sea?

 

Reading between the lines, was the ship not sailing full? With what you say re upgrades, OBC etc etc for these people once on board there must have been reasons surely. It's a shame you couldn't have done the same once on board - did you ask? Which ship was it?

[Scriv]

Hi Colin,

 

I don't really know if the ship was full. It was the Oriana - a lovely ship by the way and we did have a wonderful cruise, despite my grievance about all this.

 

It was our very first cruise and I guess we did not know the ropes at all. It was a few days into the cruise when we were - unavoidably - made aware of having really lost out by booking early and thought that by that time asking for an upgrade would have been pointless. And I guess we didn't want to make a fuss. An inside cabin was just fine, but I would have loved a window

 

Someone else who had paid Vantage had actually asked pre-cruise for an upgrade at a cost and had been refused.

 

It's this unfairness between the two offers that is wrong.

.

[Paul10000]

As with all the others, P&O don't seem to understand the basics of customer care. If they even offered early bookers a cheap cabin upgrade it would be something. Finding that others have paid almost half for a better cabin is galling to say the least. Still - that's it for me, all loyalty gone. good luck to them trying to fill even more cabins next year. :mad: Price Promise - my ass!

[rubydoobydoo]

P and O certainly do have some strange policies

 

We booked an inside a few years ago and about a 2 months before we sailed we saw that balcony cabins were only a couple of hundred pounds more than we paid so we asked if we could pay the extra and change

 

We were told we could change but would have to pay the price that the balcony cabin was on the day we booked

 

We could not do anything about it as we had paid in full but I suppose they would not do it as they would have to sell our inside cabin again at a reduced price, it sucks when you hear of someone booking a reduced price inside then being upgraded to a balcony for free though

[Pig Launcher]

As with all the others, P&O don't seem to understand the basics of customer care. If they even offered early bookers a cheap cabin upgrade it would be something. Finding that others have paid almost half for a better cabin is galling to say the least. Still - that's it for me, all loyalty gone. good luck to them trying to fill even more cabins next year. :mad: Price Promise - my ass!

 

Could not agree more. I am six weeks away from my first and last P&O cruise. If a full refund was available I'd bin this one too.

[oceana20]

Hi Scriv

We booked for Vantage the day our next two cruises went on sell, infact 6 wks before Vantage had even started. I telephoned P&O last wk to ask if we could PAY to upgrade from our balcony to either a mini suite or a suite and was told that no paid for upgrades are being offered on either of our cruises, E314 & E315 regardless of cabin type. This leaves a bitter taste when you see how much prices have dropped for late bookers and the fact that they can and do get free upgrades.