Ocean view more expensive then balcony

[Charlieatl]

I'm taking my first cruise on Cunard on 11/3 and have paid for the trip. What happens if Cunard reduces the price of the exact category of cabin I have paid for? Does the company make price adjustments, upgrades instead, or do nothing?

Thanks.

[Underwatr]

Assuming a US booking, after the final payment date Cunard might and will reduce fares as necessary to clear out any remaining cabin inventory. Since you're in the penalty period related to cancelations of your booking I've always found it better for my nerves not to look at fares after final payment.

 

Prior to the final payment date US bookings generally can be canceled for full refund. During this period most promotional pricing deals are available to currently booked passengers, although you may not be able to retain all of the benefits of your earlier booking. I booked my next QM2 voyage during the last one and received a generous amount of onboard credit in return. In April Cunard started promoting prepaid gratuities on new bookings. I was able to get credit equal to our gratuity charges but I lost some of the onboard credit from the original booking. I saved a little money overall by revising my booking.

[Charlieatl]

I suppose this might lead one to seek bookings <90 days out, although the cabin selection might not be as robust. I checked the availability for my cruise, and most all cabin categories are available.

Not sure about all of this, hopefully some other experienced cruisers will chime in with an optimal booking strategy.

I appreciate your thoughts.

[bluemarble]

I suppose this might lead one to seek bookings <90 days out, although the cabin selection might not be as robust. I checked the availability for my cruise, and most all cabin categories are available.

Not sure about all of this, hopefully some other experienced cruisers will chime in with an optimal booking strategy.

I appreciate your thoughts.

 

Hi, Charlieatl. Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

When you have your eyes set on a particular sailing, then waiting until less than 90 days out may not be the optimal booking strategy for you.

 

Good deals can be found by waiting as long as possible before the sailing date, but for that to work well, obtaining the lowest fare should be the most important factor for you ahead of choosing a particular sailing date or a particular cabin category/cabin location. If you can be flexible in your travel plans and are prepared to move on when a particular sailing you have been looking at sells out or when the fares actually go up rather than down, then waiting for a deal after the final payment date is likely to work out well in the long run.

 

Also, keep airfare in mind. It's quite possible to get a great last-minute deal on a cruise only to find the airfare to get you to and from the ship has become prohibitively expensive.

 

Hope this helps some.

 

Regards,

John.

Edited August 12, 2015 by bluemarble

[Charlieatl]

Hi John, thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

IMHO, the cruise industry is somewhat at odds with a lot of potential cruisers due to its A) propensity to get ships filled as soon as possible, with severe penalties for any change and B) obstinately sticking to a single traveler penalty. I can somewhat understand the economics of the former; the latter is beyond my comprehension. Expecting people to make firm commitments 6-18 months out is a stretch, and I think that drives the demographic somewhat, because a lot of people just can't do that unless they have very few obligations to any third party. As for B), well there does seem to be the beginning of an acknowledgment by some parts of the cruise industry that the entire world is not couples, and for one reason or another, single individuals might enjoy a cruise. But relegating the sector to inferior cabins at a supplemental up-charge doesn't float my boat. I can't decipher the economic driver here for the industry. Cunard is "only" charging me a 75% penalty for being single in my balcony cabin. I therefore intend to eat my way across the Atlantic, embarking as a passenger and disembarking as cargo! What if land based hotels did this?

 

Anyway, to respond to your comments, yes, this is leisure travel for me, and I have sufficient flexibility that I don't need to deal with any issue other than the airfare for cruises departing from a port to which I can't drive. I'm fortunate to live in Atlanta, so have access to every east coast US port without having to fly. For example, when we disembark the QM2 in NYC, we are taking the overnight Amtrak from NYC to ATL, leaving NYC at 2:15PM, and rolling in to ATL at 8:15AM the next morning. Two roomettes, with bathrooms & all meals for about the same, or less, cost than 3 airline tickets from LAG to ATL.

 

Charlie

[bluemarble]

Charlie,

 

Based on what you have said about being flexible and not needing to fly to any east coast ports, you may indeed be a good candidate for playing the wait-and-see game. As long as you are OK with booking a "guarantee" if necessary rather than a specific cabin and taking whatever cabin the cruise line allocates for you, then you are probably good to go.

 

The single supplement is (and has been) the subject for another thread. I won't pretend that I understand cruise line economics myself, but I have been given to understand that the cruise lines do not actually break even on the cruise fares alone. They depend on passengers' on-board spending (drinks, shore excursions, spa, photos, shops, etc.) to make a profit. That is the rationale I have seen stated for the single supplement. If a single passenger occupies a double cabin, that is one less passenger to generate additional income from on-board spending.

 

Regards,

John.

[suzyed]

Charlie,

 

Based on what you have said about being flexible and not needing to fly to any east coast ports, you may indeed be a good candidate for playing the wait-and-see game. As long as you are OK with booking a "guarantee" if necessary rather than a specific cabin and taking whatever cabin the cruise line allocates for you, then you are probably good to go.

 

The single supplement is (and has been) the subject for another thread. I won't pretend that I understand cruise line economics myself, but I have been given to understand that the cruise lines do not actually break even on the cruise fares alone. They depend on passengers' on-board spending (drinks, shore excursions, spa, photos, shops, etc.) to make a profit. That is the rationale I have seen stated for the single supplement. If a single passenger occupies a double cabin, that is one less passenger to generate additional income from on-board spending.

 

Regards,

John.

 

It seems that Cunard is going to add some "Single" cabins....I wonder if they will then just charge for one person and not need to charge any kind of supplement?

[Underwatr]

It seems that Cunard is going to add some "Single" cabins....I wonder if they will then just charge for one person and not need to charge any kind of supplement?

People who have looked into the fares say that the fare for a single cabin is slightly higher than one person in a double cabin with supplement. I'm not sure but I think the comparison is for a single Oceanview vs. one passenger in a double Oceanview.