What's the point of "Select Fare" vs "Early Saver" rant!

[pomcruise]

I'm a loyal P&O cruiser and one of those cheerfully optimistic people who doesn't complain about the free xmas pressie from them (like many did)!

 

It's rare for me to whinge... but here goes...

Like everyone here, I work hard to pay for my cruises and as a single person, I have to pay the additional single person tax for the priviledge (generally between 50-70%).

 

So when I booked my Select Fare back in Jamuary for my cruise on 20th March, I thought I was getting the best possible price after TA compared Select with Saver fares....

 

Seems that I should have saved the money and booked today as for the price I've paid for an outside with a view of a lifeboat (yes, I knew I was getting a lifeboat view) I could have booked a damn balcony and STILL saved myself over £150!!

 

I spoke with P&O, they said, "speak with your TA". I spoke with my TA and they spoke with P&O who basically said "ha ha, we've got your money, like it or lump it"! I'm paraphrasing here of course!!

 

My understanding was that if you booked select rather than saver, if the price went down, they would do something for you to compensate i.e. a cabin upgrade or perhaps some extra OBC?

 

What's your thoughts on the difference between select, early saver, saver more or whatever ridiculously name pricing structure they come up with next?!

 

End of whinge, time for G&T methinks!

 

 

PS Before anyone points it out, yes I know I'm lucky to be able to afford to go on a cruise and if this is all I've got to whinge about, then blah blah blah. This is simply an expression of my opinion, so please don't shoot me down in flames (as has happened before)!!

[Bacardi..]

I though they only offered a grantee for select fare to select fare, but got rid of that a couple of years ago. Once you've booked and are happy with the price don't look again, if you don't want to upset yourself.

 

You are lucky I booked a cruise in May on the oceana which I could of saved over £1500. I'm not bothered though as I'm going where I want when I want. But that would have been nearly another cruise

 

 

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[Mysticalmother]

Cant really say much....except i guess if I were in your shoes I would feel pretty much the same way!

 

I really don't like their fluid pricing...I can understand cheap deals coming out very close to sailing but only after they have upgraded those that booked months or years earlier on select fares. It seems that despite what they say about select fare payers they are not getting the upgrades they deserve.

 

I wonder what a FOI request would reveal......:confused:

[john watson]

You really need to keep your eyes on price trends these days. As a single cruiser you are probably much more flexible than a couple both at work with two children at school. That's two lots of Annual Leave to book from work around colleagues plus aiming at school holidays. If you collect data over the months you will be able to spot whether itineraries hold their price or plummet nearer sailing. Do some ships plummet more than others? If they do drop in price then assess the time periods this occurs prior to sailing. All this is a total pain to do but if people are very flexible, have lots of spare time and want the best use of as little money as possible it's worth doing. If you spend 100 hours doing it but save the aforementioned £1500 you have "earned" money at a rate of £15 an hour with no tax liabilities.

 

The current system is not fair but it generates more revenue for the cruise line and that is why it is done. If I were a bit miffed financially on cruise deals I would be putting all the information into a file and be analysing it. I cant be bothered to be honest but I do know if you anticipate various repositioning cruises from other lines you can book cheap refundable flights and hotel reservations in foreign parts with the intention of booking the cruise "cruise only" if it drops near sail date; typically when this happens the airfare increases a lot. If you have pre-booked you are quids in.

 

Regards John

Edited March 11, 2016 by john watson

[daiB]

I'm a loyal P&O cruiser and one of those cheerfully optimistic people who doesn't complain about the free xmas pressie from them (like many did)!

 

It's rare for me to whinge... but here goes...

Like everyone here, I work hard to pay for my cruises and as a single person, I have to pay the additional single person tax for the priviledge (generally between 50-70%).

 

So when I booked my Select Fare back in Jamuary for my cruise on 20th March, I thought I was getting the best possible price after TA compared Select with Saver fares....

 

Seems that I should have saved the money and booked today as for the price I've paid for an outside with a view of a lifeboat (yes, I knew I was getting a lifeboat view) I could have booked a damn balcony and STILL saved myself over £150!!

 

I spoke with P&O, they said, "speak with your TA". I spoke with my TA and they spoke with P&O who basically said "ha ha, we've got your money, like it or lump it"! I'm paraphrasing here of course!!

 

My understanding was that if you booked select rather than saver, if the price went down, they would do something for you to compensate i.e. a cabin upgrade or perhaps some extra OBC?

 

What's your thoughts on the difference between select, early saver, saver more or whatever ridiculously name pricing structure they come up with next?!

 

End of whinge, time for G&T methinks!

 

 

PS Before anyone points it out, yes I know I'm lucky to be able to afford to go on a cruise and if this is all I've got to whinge about, then blah blah blah. This is simply an expression of my opinion, so please don't shoot me down in flames (as has happened before)!!

 

 

Your whinge is about 2 years out of date. It was the Vantage fare that came with guarantees but people did not like it and so it was scrapped. There in no guarantee at all now. Prices rise and fall with supply and demand.

 

 

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[the english lady]

Oh dear.

I really do try and not look at prices once I've book.

I do not think early savers are worth it..no definite choice of cabin, only grade.2nd choice for dining.

So please please do not look much closer to sail date when the saver fares come out, as they will be even less.

We tend to book select, as we are quite fussy about position of the cabin. I know people will be cruising for less than me. I just enjoy my holiday. I never ever discuss prices or tips with anyone on board.

I know single cruises seem to get the worst deal possible to start of with. I guess you could just do what John says and work out if they is any cycle with the prices, but then you risk maybe not having such a good cabin position wise.

You've ranted ,hopefully you feel a little better.

Leave it a few weeks and as you seem to have booked via a TA ask them to send a carrot email saying how much you enjoy sailing with P and O, and is there any way blah blah. I always feel carrots work better than sticks.

I guess this is when a specialist cruise TA may be worth it, over a bog standard high street TA. Did you book via a high street TA or a specialist?

Edited March 11, 2016 by the english lady

[Scriv]

As a lot of you on here know, what I am having a bit of trouble getting into my head is paying a Select Fare, but being unable to choose my cabin.... it seems very strange to me to only have a Guarantee cabin after paying full whack. There was £100 difference between Select and Early Saver at time of booking although a very generous OBC offer for Select fare - and I did get my choice of dining and shuttles included, though there aren't any on this cruise

 

This seems to be happening a lot at the moment. My daughter has a booking under Guarantee for a cruise in June on Britannia and my booking for Norway on Azura in May is the same.

 

It will be interesting to learn our cabin allocation.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Scriv

[the english lady]

As a lot of you on here know, what I am having a bit of trouble getting into my head is paying a Select Fare, but being unable to choose my cabin.... it seems very strange to me to only have a Guarantee cabin after paying full whack. There was £100 difference between Select and Early Saver at time of booking although a very generous OBC offer for Select fare - and I did get my choice of dining and shuttles included, though there aren't any on this cruise

 

This seems to be happening a lot at the moment. My daughter has a booking under Guarantee for a cruise in June on Britannia and my booking for Norway on Azura in May is the same.

 

It will be interesting to learn our cabin allocation.

 

Maybe they tried it when booking for Britannia, decided it worked and are continuing to use it.

Thinking about it (which I shouldn't) I guess it means they can sell some cabins more than once, for a cruise.

If you book select and specify you want x cabin and no upgrades , that will take that cabin out of the equation.

Take those out and I guess they can keep on selling that grade. If they sell more at that grade than they actually have, that's when upgrades come in.

I would still think it would be wrong though to upgrade the guarantee fare payer rather than a select fare payer, who picked a cabin, but said upgrades would be accepted.

I would never book early saver . I think you lose too much over what you have paid.

[Scriv]

I would still think it would be wrong though to upgrade the guarantee fare payer rather than a select fare payer, who picked a cabin, but said upgrades would be accepted.

 

Yes, I agree too TEL, that in fairness, priority for upgrades in this situation should go to

1. Select Fare payer wanting an upgrade

2. Select Fare paid but Guarantee allocated

3. Early Saver

 

Reason being that 'Select Fare paid but Guarantee allocated' payer has bought after the Select Fare payer who managed to get a cabin.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Scriv

[jenny wren]

We booked an early saver inside cabin last year which ended up being over 1000 pounds per person dearer than a balcony if we booked 6 weeks out......(a 30 nighter).....we wrote an email asking if we may be considered for some OBC to compensate and were told 'definitely not' !

We were 'upgraded' to an outside cabin and that was it! We are Caribbean tier so regular P and O cruisers

We vowed then never to book early again! :)

[john watson]

The problem with upgrades as I see it is that if you book Select Fare and choose a cabin and specify you do not want an up grade you have to keep those passengers in that cabin. If you look at passengers who have booked a Select Fare chosen their cabin and said they will be happy with a free upgrade, do you upgrade them as a priority. Most passengers would think this the fairest and most appropriate thing to do.

 

However for anyone who has booked a Guaranteed Grade the cruise line is obliged to upgrade them under contractual law if their minimum has been overbooked. To meet this obligation the cruise line could put the overbooked guarantee people directly into the next highest new minimums available and sort it out in one go. Alternatively they could count up the number of guarantee overbookers and upgrade a similar number of select fare people into the next highest grade and put the guarantee overbookers into the vacated cabins which have been made available by upgrading the select fare people. The second option seems fairest but an administrative nightmare. This is particularly so when you also have a team of staff offering paid upsell offers moving the goalposts and prioritising Caribbean tier people too as you try and work the fair system.

 

I suspect the cruise line may well go for the first, theoretically less fair option, because it is easier to organise. This might well be considered a pragmatic approach and lead to fewer upgrades overall so they can sell the more attractive remaining cabins at higher prices. Remember the general passengers have no idea of the overall trends and moves the line has made and why, so in general you wont feel too bad about it as you cant prove a thing, particularly as you do not actually know what happens. I think if you want an upgrade book Guaranteed Grade Rates on any cheapest fare basis. If you booked Select you will most likely get the cabin you wanted as you chose it but you might be lucky and get an upgrade to a similr cabin in the wrong part of the ship like most upgrades turn out to be.

 

Regards John

Edited March 11, 2016 by john watson

[the english lady]

Yes, I agree too TEL, that in fairness, priority for upgrades in this situation should go to

1. Select Fare payer wanting an upgrade

2. Select Fare paid but Guarantee allocated

3. Early Saver

 

Reason being that 'Select Fare paid but Guarantee allocated' payer has bought after the Select Fare payer who managed to get a cabin.

 

Like like like Scriv....that is the order I think it should be for fairness.

I am now going to go away and try and find a good deal on a cruise ,for a mini suite. At MM's instigation who seemed to get a very good deal.

[P&O SUE]

I think it's awful to pay select and only get a guarantee cabin. The main reason I've always booked select (so far) is so that I can choose my cabin! I hear so many stories of people being upgraded to a "worse" cabin in their eyes I tick "no upgrades" too! The first time I booked I had no idea and was upgraded from inside to another inside but up high. We had rough seas and swayed a bit!

It would be interesting to know if most people are happy with their guarantee cabin or their upgraded cabin. I often look at the saver fare and wonder where on the sip I would end up!

[Mysticalmother]

Like like like Scriv....that is the order I think it should be for fairness.

I am now going to go away and try and find a good deal on a cruise ,for a mini suite. At MM's instigation who seemed to get a very good deal.

 

TEL - good luck. Hope you find something. I know we were very lucky ( for a change! ) . Like you we normally book select - but not normally suites. And usually see the select price of our cabin drop ...ggrrrrr.

 

In fact this is the first time I have ever booked any kind of saver fare as I am fussy where my cabin is. But as you can see from Oriana's deck plan we couldnt lose this time. CA grade booked and there are only 8 cabins...all midship, 4 port, 4 starboard.

[Eglesbrech]

I really feel for the op as this has happened to us in years gone by and it is very annoying to see the price drop like a brick - but unfortunately one of the hazards of cruising.

 

More recently we have had no choice but to book very late for holidays and we have been fortunate to get some real bargains by being flexible in what we are looking for. If however we had wanted a particular itinerary or ship or cabin there is a lot less chance that we would have got it.

 

The one we booked recently is a deluxe guarantee, I would not have taken the standard balcony guarantee are there were some cabins I would defiantly not want in that category and as a last minute booker they are the ones you are most likely to be assigned (and that's fair enough as others have paid much more).

 

While I can't commit to a booking until near the sail date I do my homework in advance and keep a close eye on the pricing on the cruises I am interested in and the range of cabins left. While some come down, just as many go up if they are selling well. Watching the ebb and flow of cabins is actually quite interesting, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to it.

 

I would never discuss this kind of thing on the ship as it is vulgar and just upsets others. If you come across anyone who does, just change the subject.

 

Don't let it spoil your cruise, have a wonderful time.

[annieuk]

We have always booked a Select Fare and always been able to choose the cabin we wanted - and specified no upgrade. I think if I was trying to book a Select Fare and wasn't able to choose my cabin then I wouldn't book and would wait until much later. We booked a Select Fare on a May cruise on Oceana last December. I did look yesterday and our grade of cabin - there's one still available and it is £100 pp more than we spent so I guess we're lucky. It really is a matter of looking at a price, and if you're happy with it, book and and don't look any more.

 

I know it's not a direct comparison at all but there was a coat I really liked that I saw before Christmas but it was much more than I was willing to spend so I decided I'd wait until the sales and hope that it would still be available. Well it was and at half price but.....not in my size so no coat! I suppose the comparison is that you either pay the price or wait and hope it goes down or choose a Saver Fare but accept the possibility that you may not get what you want. We know that there is no way that P&O is going to pay any compensation or extra OBC if the price goes down.

[the english lady]

John thank you for your detailed post. I see what you are getting at, ref the upgrades. Unfair maybe the way they do it.

[mygo1999]

Maybe they tried it when booking for Britannia, decided it worked and are continuing to use it.

Thinking about it (which I shouldn't) I guess it means they can sell some cabins more than once, for a cruise.

If you book select and specify you want x cabin and no upgrades , that will take that cabin out of the equation.

Take those out and I guess they can keep on selling that grade. If they sell more at that grade than they actually have, that's when upgrades come in.

I would still think it would be wrong though to upgrade the guarantee fare payer rather than a select fare payer, who picked a cabin, but said upgrades would be accepted.

I would never book early saver . I think you lose too much over what you have paid.

I think you have to weigh up the pro's and con's for every cruise. Our last cruise I booked a select fare. On our next cruise which I had been planning for a long time, I booked an early saver because it was an incredible deal on 'black Friday weekend'. The onboard spend and the other perks with a select fare just didn't seem worth the extra that was being charged. Yes I took a risk with which balcony cabin we were allocated and without a doubt there are some I wouldn't be happy with, but we don't spend much time in our cabin and I am very happy with the cabin we have been allocated.

At then end of the day the cruise lines want to fill their ships so they will tailor their offerings to that end. The 'guaranteed cabin' suits them because it gives them the flexibility to move people around and sell more cabins, if it didn't they wouldn't do it.

 

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[jenny wren]

We booked an early saver inside cabin last year which ended up being over 1000 pounds per person dearer than a balcony if we booked 6 weeks out......(a 30 nighter).....we wrote an email asking if we may be considered for some OBC to compensate and were told 'definitely not' !

We were 'upgraded' to an outside cabin and that was it! We are Caribbean tier so regular P and O cruisers

We vowed then never to book early again! :)

 

 

I forgot to say that we don't usually look at the price again after we've booked, but on this occasion we had an email from P ad O offering us this very cruise at a bargain price....talk about rubbing salt into the wound!!!:)

[Pink-belle]

We have booked select for our October half term 7 night cruise on Azura. From experience, we have been able to get a similar cruise at this time of year, for almost half the price on a saver deal a few weeks before sailing.

 

However, this time we are sailing with family, wanted two aft facing balconies and one single occupancy inside in close proximity. We were happy with the price we paid, without doubt others on the sailing will end up paying a lot less than we have, and may even be allocated the cabins next door.

That doesn't matter, we booked early to get the choices we wanted, at a price we were happy to pay. Marked everything no upgrade, and will not feel the need to check prices again.

[Mewat]

Previously we have always booked a select fare and chosen a specific cabin and ticked the 'no upgrade' box, but this year we have booked on an early saver fare. We have got OBC and have just received our cabin allocation which is midships and 3 grades up from the grade we paid for. I am still a bit apprehensive about our dining allocation, not particularly wanting early sitting, but at the moment things have worked out very well for us on this fare.

 

Michele

[Presto2]

I can understand how the OP feels as we had a similar experience on a land holiday. We booked 12 months in advance and asked for specific rooms when we booked. When we got there we were given a horrible room and only ended up with a half good one when we complained. The rooms we had originally requested had gone to couples who had booked at the last minute and for half the price we had paid ... grrrr.

 

It is tough and annoying, but that is the way it goes I suppose. We have to book school holidays and always book very early to get the cruise and cabin that we want for peace of mind. We don't tend to look at price after as I am sure that we would end up chuntering if we did.

 

Re the comment that someone has made about it being easier for someone single to book a cruise re being more flexible for times and dates etc. Just to note - if someone single works in a school then there is no flexibility (been there and done that).

 

On a final note - if P&O added the choice of embarkation times to the perks of a Select Fare perhaps that may be a nice perk to have to make up for the extra cost (for those of us who are bothered about this)

 

:)

Edited March 11, 2016 by Presto2

[the english lady]

TEL - good luck. Hope you find something. I know we were very lucky ( for a change! ) . Like you we normally book select - but not normally suites. And usually see the select price of our cabin drop ...ggrrrrr.

 

In fact this is the first time I have ever booked any kind of saver fare as I am fussy where my cabin is. But as you can see from Oriana's deck plan we couldnt lose this time. CA grade booked and there are only 8 cabins...all midship, 4 port, 4 starboard.

 

Question MM, how do you know when a grade is guarantee only..can you see on line, or do I have to contact . I am used to seeing select and sold out, so I need guidance...thank you.

[Mysticalmother]

Question MM, how do you know when a grade is guarantee only..can you see on line, or do I have to contact . I am used to seeing select and sold out, so I need guidance...thank you.

 

Sorry EL ...not sure i fully understand your question? I think the only way you can find out if it is guarantee only is to do a dummy booking....but if you see sold out, then you wont be able to do a dummy booking at that grade.

I know sometimes you go to book a select fare and when you get to the bit where you chose your cabin, it comes up with only guarantee cabins available.....or it used to.

Does that help......or not?!

[the english lady]

Sorry EL ...not sure i fully understand your question? I think the only way you can find out if it is guarantee only is to do a dummy booking....but if you see sold out, then you wont be able to do a dummy booking at that grade.

I know sometimes you go to book a select fare and when you get to the bit where you chose your cabin, it comes up with only guarantee cabins available.....or it used to.

Does that help......or not?!

 

Yes MM I think it does. I was just wondering how the people who end up with guaranteed bookings actually booked them.

As I said when we are looking for cabins we only seem to have the choice of select or cant do anything as sold out. I cant remember that grade going to early saver.

As you say maybe while still showing select fare, and closer to sailing try dummy bookings and see where I end up. Thank you