Booking onboard?

[GUT2407]

Are there any advantages to booking while on a cruise with Cunard?

 

Thank you.

[cruiseluvva]

Yes, a low deposit and OBC, the amount of which depends on the length of cruise and category of cabin booked.

[GUT2407]

Yes, a low deposit and OBC, the amount of which depends on the length of cruise and category of cabin booked.

 

Thank you more or less as expected.

[Salacia]

Are there any advantages to booking while on a cruise with Cunard?

 

Thank you.

 

I remember once seeing in the QM2 Daily Program me that there as a special sale on certain voyages offering double on board credits if booked on board. We usually just purchase a future cruise credit rather than booking on board, just to avoid the emotional pull and the sales pitch ;)

 

But I understand that terms and conditions vary, depending on where the booking is placed. So it might tend to get a bit confusing.

 

S.

[MCC retired]

The advantages are in addition to the best rate currently available to you :

Reduced Deposit

Onboard Credit (occasionally double OBC is offered )

Your current TA gets credit for the booking (unless you remove TA) enabling TA to offer you additional TA Discount , OBC, Group amenity, Gifts )

[Ab Ovo]

You get a slight %-off prices,

any travel agent you wish will get the booking, so you remain loyal there,

for me, best of all, if you know the ship and have a favorite cabin, you can get it.

[pmb1]

Whether or not you book on board, do buy future cruise credits. Only $300 each, good for four years, and can be used to pay the deposit, in full, on any future cruise.

[sandjango]

Are there any advantages to booking while on a cruise with Cunard?

 

Thank you.

 

Another useful reason for booking on board ...you can go and see where your stateroom is or look around the decks and choose a deck or area you like...

Edited June 6, 2016 by sandjango

[Travellingtaff]

Whether or not you book on board, do buy future cruise credits. Only $300 each, good for four years, and can be used to pay the deposit, in full, on any future cruise.

 

Please note that GUT2407, the OP comes from the Land Down Under, where the future cruise deposit is $A75 pp, but lasts for only one year. It is transferable to another cruise and fully refundable if not used.

The OBC is the same worldwide. It's a no brainer, really.........

[Gary999]

In the UK we can pay deposit by credit card and also the balance by credit card without the usual credit card percentage fee being added - only when booking onboard.

[Mbett1]

Beware of this !

We booked a future cruise on board during our recent QV cruise. Upon returning home I checked the website and found that we could book the same cruise in an adjoining cabin for £1200 less. Cunard refused to match the price. We cancelled and rebooked and even with losing the deposit and a reduced on board credit, we still emerged £400 better off.

I think it was a poor show as the cruise consultant on board assured me that we were being offered the best possible deal! - Still one lives and learns!

[resistk]

OK here is the trick. When you book on board you do get a generous credit and maybe access to a better, more centrally located cabin. However, the price is usually higher than what it will be later. You want to get in writing that Cunard will match any price drops up to 90 days before the cruise. However, Cunard will not tell you about any price drop so you need to watch it carefully. Also Cunard promotions can very tricky with free upgrades and perks amounting to a major price drop. You also may need to ask for a price adjustment more than one time. This is a situation where adding a travel agent to the booking at the time of booking on board could be useful because the agent can sometimes negotiate a perk or price drop, or even a re-book where Cunard's pricing strategies become complicated and opaque at a later date. I can say from experience you can save quite a bit if you diligently watch the Cunard price after booking on board.

Edited June 12, 2016 by resistk

[tv24]

We always, always, make a deposit on an open booking to snag the OBC that comes along with booking on board. Very easy to do. The OBC is very useful since we always need something to cover booze and/or gratuities.

[resistk]

We always, always, make a deposit on an open booking to snag the OBC that comes along with booking on board. Very easy to do. The OBC is very useful since we always need something to cover booze and/or gratuities.

 

True but it does get tricky with Britannia Club and Grill fares. What they give you on board is most often a very high price compared to later.

[tv24]

True but it does get tricky with Britannia Club and Grill fares. What they give you on board is most often a very high price compared to later.

 

So what we do is an open booking, no specific cruise or crossing, no specific class, just a deposit. It gets us the OBC. Then we have a couple of years to use the deposit toward a cruise or crossing and take advantage, through our travel agent, of whatever special offer Cunard has available at that time.

[CateW]

In my mind with the exception of the reduced deposit, there is no advantage to booking onboard unless you want a specific cabin and that particular cruise is selling particularly well. The reduced deposit is nice but you can pay now or pay later. Cunard doesn't reduce the price of the cruise as as incentive for booking on board and often times the price of the cruise will go down closer to sailing. We are platinum with Cunard and I think they have the worst loyalty program at sea but we love Cunard and will continue to sail with them, however, I will no longer book at the highest price and wait until about 6 months out.

[Underwatr]

Cunard doesn't reduce the price of the cruise as as incentive for booking on board and often times the price of the cruise will go down closer to sailing.

No, but they will include perks such as onboard credit and prepaid gratuities. We got about $900 all told on our last onboard booking. When the booking is transferred to our TA he usually cuts the rate further or adds an additional perk. Edited June 13, 2016 by Underwatr

[MCC retired]

We usually just book a undetermined Future Cruise and receive the reduced deposit and OBC. Then assign our TA to it for further reductions and/or OBC when we actually book .

Add to that OBC for Military and Shareholder:D:D:D

 

Sometimes Cunard promotes certain sailings with Double OBC if you book onboard . However the book on board rate is never better than it would be to book the same cruise shore side .