cruisebore Posted October 24, 2014 #1 Share Posted October 24, 2014 £999 balconies on sale today Cb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfg Posted October 24, 2014 #2 Share Posted October 24, 2014 cb Happens every year they reduce the price to fill the cabins Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 24, 2014 #3 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Shame they dont have a cruise only price for £599 and you get your own flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsilverfox Posted October 24, 2014 #4 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Hi, You might not find that as easy as you think. Until recently we used to have a two week holiday in a Caribbean resort, until the costs of the holiday mushroomed, due in part to the increase in APD. What we found was that it is relatively easy to book a holiday out there, the limiting factor was the lack of capacity in the airline seats. Virgin and BA appear to have a duopoly and tend to reserve seats for their branded holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 24, 2014 #5 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Hi,You might not find that as easy as you think. Until recently we used to have a two week holiday in a Caribbean resort, until the costs of the holiday mushroomed, due in part to the increase in APD. What we found was that it is relatively easy to book a holiday out there, the limiting factor was the lack of capacity in the airline seats. Virgin and BA appear to have a duopoly and tend to reserve seats for their branded holidays. We dont mind getting creative if the price is right. We have flown to say Houston before then took an internal flight to the port. Same with a holiday to Jamaica, we flew UK-Miami then American to Kingston. Also happy to go out a couple of days before the cruise, always nice to acclimatise with a local beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 24, 2014 #6 Share Posted October 24, 2014 These are priced at £899 A429 A429A A430 A430A N423 N423A N424 N424A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisebore Posted October 24, 2014 Author #7 Share Posted October 24, 2014 We dont mind getting creative if the price is right. We have flown to say Houston before then took an internal flight to the port. Same with a holiday to Jamaica, we flew UK-Miami then American to Kingston. Also happy to go out a couple of days before the cruise, always nice to acclimatise with a local beer! We choose Manchester, with Philadelphia as the US hub and are usually pleased with the flights across the pond. However the internal flights compare extremely unfavorable when compared with even the likes of Ryanair. The amount of cabin baggage people bring on and the general size of the other passengers, usually makes for an uncomfortable flight. We will now only use this service if the internal flight is no more an an hour or so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacardi.. Posted October 24, 2014 #8 Share Posted October 24, 2014 There has also been a big drop in some sectors of world cruises. I have just booked 29 nights from singapore (balcony) with extra nights in singapore for £2.5k. Inside can be had for 2k I don't think that's bad including flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayscot Posted October 24, 2014 #9 Share Posted October 24, 2014 These are priced at £899 A429 A429A A430 A430A N423 N423A N424 N424A Booked on one of these cruises a year past April the day the cruises went on sale. The price reductions dont bother me too much but last minute cruisers getting much better cabins for lower prices does. I have had this discussion with p & o many times in the past asking why customers having booked at the outset cannot be upgraded and the lower graded cabins sold off at knockdown prices to no effect. Having been on 18 p & o cruises in the past I am afraid to say that we will now be joining the growing band of people who will now only book last minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vizzog Posted October 24, 2014 #10 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Booked on one of these cruises a year past April the day the cruises went on sale. The price reductions dont bother me too much but last minute cruisers getting much better cabins for lower prices does. I have had this discussion with p & o many times in the past asking why customers having booked at the outset cannot be upgraded and the lower graded cabins sold off at knockdown prices to no effect. Having been on 18 p & o cruises in the past I am afraid to say that we will now be joining the growing band of people who will now only book last minute. Until this year have always booked early for a November cruise but this year booked the time off work but didn't book a cruise until a month ago. Last year family joined us for 2 weeks of a back to back and paid considerably less. We booked a superior deluxe cabin flying locally a couple of weeks ago and saved over 2k compared to the early price. Now have allocated cabin number which is actually a higher grade so very pleased. We could have booked an standard balcony today from Gatwick for £1998 but didn't have the nerve to wait until 2 weeks before sailing date. Edited October 24, 2014 by vizzog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofun Posted October 24, 2014 #11 Share Posted October 24, 2014 It's a bargain, we've had the info from many of the cruise 'net sites. Would book but we're land based Sagaing to Cuba in November. So that'll be our dose of late year sun. However, it does make me wonder about the state of the cruise and worldwide holiday industry and whether the many events worldwide are affecting folks' decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thejuggler Posted October 24, 2014 #12 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I had an e-mail last Friday for the Ventura transatlantic from Malaga which left this week. £599 for two weeks including flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 24, 2014 #13 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I had an e-mail last Friday for the Ventura transatlantic from Malaga which left this week. £599 for two weeks including flights. Not bad but still wouldnt tempt me to do a transatlantic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofun Posted October 24, 2014 #14 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Not bad but still wouldnt tempt me to do a transatlantic Not just a bit tempted, on Cunard, as a bucket list thing? I am, the designed as an ocean liner sorta appeals, just have to persuade my wife who hates sea days. Same as I want to experience Allure, just because she's the largest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 24, 2014 #15 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) Yes we will probably do the crossing at some point, but it will either be Cunard like you say as a journey rather than a ship just repositioning from A to B. Or we might consider one of the RCCL mega ships either on its first trip from the Euro shipyards to its US home or when one of them repositions, but I think Cunard would be the likely option. Edited October 24, 2014 by richleeds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobs Posted October 25, 2014 #16 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Queen Mary to New York is definitely a bucket list thing, we ticked it off the list a few years ago at first said we would never do it again but now a few years later it's a maybe. We had according to the Commodore one of the worst crossing's he had ever done the weather was terrible we couldn't go outside for 3/4 days the doors were all tied shut. The food was very good, entertainment good, the experience amazing as was NY the week before Xmas. We only paid 499 pp for the crossing and return flight so it was a bargain. Put it on your bucket list and look out for a good deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the english lady Posted October 25, 2014 #17 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Booked on one of these cruises a year past April the day the cruises went on sale. The price reductions dont bother me too much but last minute cruisers getting much better cabins for lower prices does. I have had this discussion with p & o many times in the past asking why customers having booked at the outset cannot be upgraded and the lower graded cabins sold off at knockdown prices to no effect. Having been on 18 p & o cruises in the past I am afraid to say that we will now be joining the growing band of people who will now only book last minute. We will never do a fly cruise, but if you book last minute, is there a chance there may be problems with the flying bit..and availability on seats for that part? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 25, 2014 #18 Share Posted October 25, 2014 We will never do a fly cruise, but if you book last minute, is there a chance there may be problems with the flying bit..and availability on seats for that part? You would be fine, if P&O are still selling it as a fly cruise, it means they know they have the airline seat inventory needed to fulfil the offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 25, 2014 #19 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) Queen Mary to New York is definitely a bucket list thing, we ticked it off the list a few years ago at first said we would never do it again but now a few years later it's a maybe. We had according to the Commodore one of the worst crossing's he had ever done the weather was terrible we couldn't go outside for 3/4 days the doors were all tied shut. The food was very good, entertainment good, the experience amazing as was NY the week before Xmas. We only paid 499 pp for the crossing and return flight so it was a bargain. Put it on your bucket list and look out for a good deal That is one of the reasons that puts us off - the weather. Also why we have not done a positioning cruise, they are either spring or autumn. I think if we do QM it will be July/August, I appreciate that time of year guarantees nothing but it probably increases the chances of a smooth sailing and sunny days. Though we do love NYC at Christmas and I bet its quite magical sailing in at that time of the year. Edited October 25, 2014 by richleeds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruzseeka Posted October 25, 2014 #20 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) We will never do a fly cruise, but if you book last minute, is there a chance there may be problems with the flying bit..and availability on seats for that part? We always book a fly/cruise through the cruise company as a package (unless we were planning to spend a day or two days at the cruise departure point then booking independently is more of a proposition as you've built in a margin). But with a fly/cruise package, there are no panics if the flight is delayed as it's their problem to get you to the ship one way or another, not the passenger's! But, yes flight availability can be an issue. You sometimes see particular fly/cruises change price from airport to airport depending on seat availability. I've seen the same fly/cruises vary in price by several hundred pounds when flight availablity becomes limited at one airport as compared with another. And of course, sometimes it is no longer possible to book from a particular airport if the flight from there is fully booked. If you book your own flights then clearly flights can and do get fully booked and again earlier boking is usually cheaper - flights with limited seats will often rise in price near to departure. I imagine for a really late departure, it would be risky booking the cruise before being confident you can get the flights first. Edited October 25, 2014 by kruzseeka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 25, 2014 #21 Share Posted October 25, 2014 We always book a fly/cruise through the cruise company as a package (unless we were planning to spend a day or two days at the cruise departure point then booking independently is more of a proposition as you've built in a margin). But with a fly/cruise package, there are no panics if the flight is delayed as it's their problem to get you to the ship one way or another, not the passenger's! But, yes flight availability can be an issue. You sometimes see particular fly/cruises change price from airport to airport depending on seat availability. I've seen the same fly/cruises vary in price by several hundred pounds when flight availablity becomes limited at one airport as compared with another. And of course, sometimes it is no longer possible to book from a particular airport if the flight from there is fully booked. If you book your own flights then clearly flights can and do get fully booked and again earlier boking is usually cheaper - flights with limited seats will often rise in price near to departure. I imagine for a really late departure, it would be risky booking the cruise before being confident you can get the flights first. Of course when booking your own flights you would check availability prior to booking the cruise. But if you are on P&O's website and looking at say a LGW departure and the price is right for you then yes the seats are still available, that could be in the last 24 hours before the flights departure, there is no risk involved. If its showing no availability then there is no fly/cruise to sell you. You may then look at other airport departures if you really want that cruise and don't mind getting yourself to that airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruzseeka Posted October 25, 2014 #22 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Of course when booking your own flights you would check availability prior to booking the cruise. But if you are on P&O's website and looking at say a LGW departure and the price is right for you then yes the seats are still available, that could be in the last 24 hours before the flights departure, there is no risk involved. If its showing no availability then there is no fly/cruise to sell you. You may then look at other airport departures if you really want that cruise and don't mind getting yourself to that airport. Obviously, as you're booking a fly/cruise as a package irrespective of the time left before departure - that's what they're selling you. You get the ATOL certificate along with the booking confirmation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 25, 2014 #23 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Obviously, as you're booking a fly/cruise as a package irrespective of the time left before departure - that's what they're selling you. You get the ATOL certificate along with the booking confirmation. I think that is what English Lady was asking, that if you book a fly/cruise with P&O will there be any flight availability issue. I don't think she was referring to dynamically packaging your own trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the english lady Posted October 25, 2014 #24 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I think that is what English Lady was asking, that if you book a fly/cruise with P&O will there be any flight availability issue. I don't think she was referring to dynamically packaging your own trip. It was along the lines of if you do a last minute booking, and say Gatwick was your nearest airport, is it possible that you could end up having to factor in getting to Newcastle, as that is the only one with any seat left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richleeds Posted October 25, 2014 #25 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) It was along the lines of if you do a last minute booking, and say Gatwick was your nearest airport, is it possible that you could end up having to factor in getting to Newcastle, as that is the only one with any seat left. Yeah, you would click the airport of your choice then if nothing comes up you could expand the search to other packaged flights from different airports if you are willing to make the journey, sometimes it can be a worthwhile saving flying from an alternative airport. If there are no seats left from any airport then I presume it the cruise won't come up at all or just be listed as sold out. Edited October 25, 2014 by richleeds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now