CABINET Posted July 24, 2014 #26 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) ExactlyThat is my point. The Maitre d wants a happy Dining room/Happy Liner Why Cunard have suddenly stated this in their saver fares prices is in my opinion Blackmail to try and get customers to pay the higher fares. The service charge is a charge for service. If you don't get the service then you don't pay it. How on earth does not getting ones choice of early or late seating equate to "not getting the service". Your room and public areas will still be cleaned, you will still receive a meal delivered to your table served by the wait staff and prepared in the kitchen etc. For goodness sake grow up! Edited July 24, 2014 by CABINET Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennbank Posted July 24, 2014 #27 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) How on earth does not getting ones choice of early or late seating equate to "not getting the service". Your room and public areas will still be cleaned, you will still receive a meal delivered to your table served by the wait staff and prepared in the kitchen etc. For goodness sake grow up! Every One to their own opinion, That is what forums are for. Perhaps you would also like to tell all those passengers that just withdraw the service charge at the start of their voyage for no reason ! the same thing. By the way I am fully grown ! thank you for your kind advice/comment. Edited July 24, 2014 by Pennbank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray66 Posted July 24, 2014 #28 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I only realised that there are actually three fare grades for the UK, when speaking to the future sales rep last month, namely the Cunard Fare, The Early Saver and The Saver Fare. The Cunard Fare The Cunard Fare offers flexibility, value and peace of mind. For cruises of seven nights or more, you can choose from one of the following complimentary benefits: On board spending money or, car parking in Southampton or, return coach travel to Southampton or, airport parking on selected Fly-Cruises or, regional flights or, hotel stays These benefits are subject to availability and are per booking, not per person. With our Cunard Fare prices shuttle buses will be offered free of charge in ports where they are provided by Cunard Line. By booking the Cunard Fare on any cruise, you will also be able to choose your precise stateroom type, location and number, including three and four berth staterooms. Passengers in Britannia Staterooms have a choice of Early or Late Seating for dinner. With the Cunard Fare, you can make amendments or even change your cruise entirely up to 90 days prior to departure, subject to our booking conditions. When booking, you will only be required to pay a 15% deposit Early Saver Our Early Saver fares offer a reduced fare with some benefits Available on selected cruises, at selected times Available on selected grades of stateroom (we’ll assign your stateroom number) Second priority for dining - Britannia passengers can submit their dining preference prior to boarding, allocation will be confirmed on boarding. 15% deposit Flexibility to change your booking (subject to our booking conditions) Saver Fare Saver Fares require a 100% deposit at the time of booking and are subject to a 100% cancellation fee. No amendments are permitted once booked; any amendment will be treated as a cancellation. Bookings are made at the relevant stateroom type and a stateroom number is allocated by Cunard prior to departure. Dinner seating as allocated on board. Shuttle buses in ports are an additional cost. Saver Fares apply to new bookings only. These terms and conditions vary, where relevant, the applicable booking conditions which are otherwise unchanged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maina Posted July 24, 2014 #29 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Those fares and their associated benefits are very interesting to those of us who are not UK residents. So far as I know, people in the U.S. are not offered any of the complementary benefits available with the "Cunard fare." We have to pay for shuttle buses, hotel, parking, etc. We do, however, have the opportunity to select a particular stateroom, pay by credit card with no extra charge, and select Britannia dining option at the time of booking. I believe you can also request changes in stateroom (subject to availability of course) and changes in dining option after booking. We have to pay in full by 90 days from the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitai999 Posted July 24, 2014 #30 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Yes, and what a load of codswallop it is! Don't get me started on the new Cunard Fare other than I won't be too quick to book it next time, especially since I have heard of many Saver Fares receiving upgrades, changing their dining time onboard and paying £'s less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BlueRiband Posted July 24, 2014 #31 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) Can I conclude from this discussion that first sitting is more popular and it is more likely that a Saver Fare would be allocated 2nd sitting? We have booked on a Saver Fare and fully accept that we don't have the same choices re stateroom and dining allocations as those who have paid the higher fares and actually think that's fair enough. A voice of reason! You're right in that the first sitting is more popular and therefore those on discounted fares would more likely be assigned to the second sitting. On embarkation day many passengers try to change their seating for one reason or another so the lines to Britannia are quite long. The Maitre D' will try to be accommodating but if the ship is full he has limited flexibility. Edited July 24, 2014 by BlueRiband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Deeliteful Posted July 24, 2014 #32 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Just booked my first cruise on Cunard (a Saver fare I realise now) and really looking forward to it. I see Cunard has just as many rude and abusive people on Cruise Critic as the other lines though! Shame :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckymal Posted July 24, 2014 #33 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I have book a saver fare for QM2 in October and have a question about the dining times. Cunard say the time will be allocated on boarding and cannot be changed. Is this true or if you can find someone to swap with will they let you? I think anybody booking the saver fare should NOT be allowed to change Cabin or Dining arrangements, if this was to be allowed what is the point of paying the full fare. A better solution would be cheaper fares when cruise dates are published and price increase nearer the sailing date, that way we would know what cabin , sitting and table number we would be going to.:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maina Posted July 24, 2014 #34 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I think anybody booking the saver fare should NOT be allowed to change Cabin or Dining arrangements, if this was to be allowed what is the point of paying the full fare. A better solution would be cheaper fares when cruise dates are published and price increase nearer the sailing date, that way we would know what cabin , sitting and table number we would be going to.:confused: That sounds altogether too reasonable so it's highly unlikely to be done. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToadOfToadHall Posted July 24, 2014 #35 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Can I conclude from this discussion that first sitting is more popular and it is more likely that a Saver Fare would be allocated 2nd sitting? We have booked on a Saver Fare and fully accept that we don't have the same choices re stateroom and dining allocations as those who have paid the higher fares and actually think that's fair enough. I'd agree with all of your comments. Last year we went on a Saver fare (or whatever it was called 12 months ago now) and we booked a table for 2 on the late sitting and that's what we got. However, we fully understood that as we were paying considerably less for the cruise and had bookED quite late. I suspect that if we'd have booked 1st sitting we most likely would not have gotten that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruzseeka Posted July 24, 2014 #36 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Thank you BlueRiband and ToadofToadHall for your replies to my query. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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