New P&O Website.

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I expect that most regular cruisers are far more knowledgeable about cruise ships, best cabin locations and cruise destinations than the average agent in any high street TA. However the online cruise specialists are much more informed, and have much better computer links to all the cruise lines, and can sort out problems easier and faster than I can.

I agree the specialist cruise consultants can offer some of the best prices and cruise info and we recently booked with one.

The high street TAs will often price match with a little extra thrown in so you book with them face to face.

[daiB]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Usually at the end of the month if the major TAs have not hit their targets they might give more discount for your business.

I understand they make around 15% comission so have some leeway on a better price.

I don’t think it is as high as that certainty not for P&O. A few years ago the company said it wanted more control over prices and so cut tee TA discount to 5%. Resulting in no discount at all from TA to punter. Before this time you could regularly get 10% or 11% off the price. This happened about 10/12 years ago. Now most TA’s will give 3%/4%/5% on top of any discount from P&O. My reading of the situation is that the TA commission is in the region of 10% so after giving discount of 5% or less they have between 5% and 7%/8% as their cut. After sounding out a couple of friends in the industry I don’t think I am far wrong.

[daiB]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

I expect that most regular cruisers are far more knowledgeable about cruise ships, best cabin locations and cruise destinations than the average agent in any high street TA. However the online cruise specialists are much more informed, and have much better computer links to all the cruise lines, and can sort out problems easier and faster than I can.

 

Correct.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, daiB said:

I don’t think it is as high as that certainty not for P&O. A few years ago the company said it wanted more control over prices and so cut tee TA discount to 5%. Resulting in no discount at all from TA to punter. Before this time you could regularly get 10% or 11% off the price. This happened about 10/12 years ago. Now most TA’s will give 3%/4%/5% on top of any discount from P&O. My reading of the situation is that the TA commission is in the region of 10% so after giving discount of 5% or less they have between 5% and 7%/8% as their cut. After sounding out a couple of friends in the industry I don’t think I am far wrong.

I was told around 15% so your top figure of around 13% for P&O sounds plausible as some cruiselines will offer more to TAs than P&O.

I do all the work beforehand and tell my TA exactly what cruise and cabin I want and the price I can get  then they finish the booking.I print all my cruise documents myself when they come available so my TA has very little to do.

With the internet it is no wonder so many TAs are closing as most of us can easily book everything ourselves.

 

[Bedruthen]

I was horrified to go on the website tonight and find that the redesigned CUNARD website has now been adopted now by P&O. I don’t just dislike it, I absolutely HATE it. Trying to make a cabin choice is torturous. It’s enough to stop me ever cruising with them again.  In fact I will never visit their website again, so unless a cruise pops up on the email promo shots from my cruise consultant I won’t travel with them again. 

Whoever designed this site should be made to sit in an empty office and ring the P&O customer database and ask them for feedback. It’s a disgrace. Thank you

[Harry Peterson]

15 minutes ago, Bedruthen said:

I was horrified to go on the website tonight and find that the redesigned CUNARD website has now been adopted now by P&O. I don’t just dislike it, I absolutely HATE it. Trying to make a cabin choice is torturous. It’s enough to stop me ever cruising with them again.  In fact I will never visit their website again, so unless a cruise pops up on the email promo shots from my cruise consultant I won’t travel with them again. 

Whoever designed this site should be made to sit in an empty office and ring the P&O customer database and ask them for feedback. It’s a disgrace. Thank you

I’ve found the P&O website to be working pretty well lately. Certainly it was problematic and I’m sure plenty of us have been in touch with them about it.

[terrierjohn]

Why are so many of P&Os cruises now offering select guarantee cabins?  Not only does it make it impossible to get a list of available cabins on each deck and section on the website but it just seems pointless, surely most people willing to pay select prices want the freedom to choose their cabin location or even the specific cabin they want.

[Eglesbrech]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Why are so many of P&Os cruises now offering select guarantee cabins?  Not only does it make it impossible to get a list of available cabins on each deck and section on the website but it just seems pointless, surely most people willing to pay select prices want the freedom to choose their cabin location or even the specific cabin they want.

 

A very good question. If I pay for select then I want the ability to choose from a reasonable selection of cabins.

[Harry Peterson]

12 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

A very good question. If I pay for select then I want the ability to choose from a reasonable selection of cabins.

 

17 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Why are so many of P&Os cruises now offering select guarantee cabins?  Not only does it make it impossible to get a list of available cabins on each deck and section on the website but it just seems pointless, surely most people willing to pay select prices want the freedom to choose their cabin location or even the specific cabin they want.

Odd - for me it's doing just that. Allowing me to select cabins by position and individually. It didn't a few days ago, but to be fair, it is now.

[Selbourne]

7 hours ago, docco said:

 

Odd - for me it's doing just that. Allowing me to select cabins by position and individually. It didn't a few days ago, but to be fair, it is now.

 

Docco - Have you had a change of heart? Having cancelled all your future cruises with P&O, are you now looking at cabin availability with a view to making some new bookings?

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

 

Docco - Have you had a change of heart? Having cancelled all your future cruises with P&O, are you now looking at cabin availability with a view to making some new bookings?

Not really, Selbourne - but it's a long story which I can't really go into for various reasons. 

 

Suffice to say that I cancelled only one of the three bookings in the end - the Amsterdam one, because of the changes made by P&O to the itinerary.

 

The other two are still open, but they're a long way off and we decided to leave them as they are for now. There's nothing to be gained by cancelling at this stage, and, who knows, the Azura refit next April may resolve the issues we had this year. I hope it does, and if so we'd be pretty annoyed to have cancelled a couple of cruises which we picked up at pretty good prices, exactly where we like to be on the ship.

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, docco said:

Not really, Selbourne - but it's a long story which I can't really go into for various reasons. 

 

Suffice to say that I cancelled only one of the three bookings in the end - the Amsterdam one, because of the changes made by P&O to the itinerary.

 

The other two are still open, but they're a long way off and we decided to leave them as they are for now. There's nothing to be gained by cancelling at this stage, and, who knows, the Azura refit next April may resolve the issues we had this year. I hope it does, and if so we'd be pretty annoyed to have cancelled a couple of cruises which we picked up at pretty good prices, exactly where we like to be on the ship.

 

That makes sense.  As you say, nothing to be gained by cancelling before the balance due date. Understand your reason for cancelling the Amsterdam cruise, as the city centre location and interesting transit through the sea lock and city was the highlight for us when we went but, as I expressed on that specific thread, I wondered whether by doing so you had limited the maximum potential of any claim to the value of your lost deposit, as you would now be unable to quantify your ‘loss’ as being any greater than that?

[jeanlyon]

That's why I choose a TA.  He has access to all cabins that are available, not just the ones that P&O deign to show you.  Ta for me every time.

[Cruising Nomads]

Not sure if this as already been mentioned or not. Just noticed that by using a Samsung Tablet A6 that on the new website the times of Port Calls are showing.

[Lili Sweet]

New website is not good.    The old one although not the best was a bit better.  Simple things like their basic faqs are not difficult to put together and a bit of a mess and a hunt when looking for specific info which used to be more clear on one page.  Great example I just wanted a reminder of restaurant opening hours for breakfast and when you go to their page say for breakfast you then have to click on a separate link for times and then unbelievably, you get a page not found. Such a simple thing and basic info.  Just one example.   Seriously a company of this size needs to get their act together.  I do remember a few years back they had some problems but now it seems alot of effort to get simple info.  Not that user friendly and a bit offputting.  Are they trying to keep everything a secret haha.  I got the times eventually doing a google search but not from P & O.  Such basic info should take seconds.  It seems by other posts this has been around for at least 3 months so surely they should have got their act together by now.  Not impressed for a company where one is likely to spend thousands.  Substandard imo.

 

I did eventually get to the opening times on P & O but that was a direct search link page via google.  Not using their link while already in FAQs help.  So it is clearly there just their links dont work.  This is such basic stuff.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Lili Sweet
additional info

[Harry Peterson]

You are of course entirely right, Lily Sweet.

 

It's impossible to understand why you'd produce a website as bad as this one unless you were deliberately trying to lose customers or push them towards agents and lose the commission. Cost cutting only makes sense if it saves you money - not if it ends up losing you money.

 

It ought to be very simple indeed to show all available cabins, with prices, but they still haven't managed it.

 

Why?

[the english lady]

I sometimes go on there and play. choosing Select always seems to bring up guarantee grades now, but there are two boxes one saying i will let pando choose and one saying I want to choose my own cabin. that gives you a cabin number if you dont like it,there is the words change cabin to the right of it..that then brings up a deck plan and shows you position of the cabin it had 1st suggested and what others are available. If you didnt like any of them you can bring up other deck plans that have that grade on them.  

Having said the above as we are talking 1,000's i would never do that sort of thing on line I would always ring up, and always direct. Too much miscommunication when you involve a 3rd party.