Booking via internet

[Tablelamp]

Does anybody know if isis still possible to book via the Internet.  All I can find is call (tel......) to book.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Host Sharon
No title

[jh1809]

Yes, it's still possible. It's hardly something they would do away with.

 

BTW, it helps if you give the topic a title indicating what it's about, rather than putting in your user alias. I was expecting to find a question about the use of tablelamps in cabins!

[Tablelamp]

Their booking site has changed. Are you able to give the the correct link?

[Babyeddiedog]

I get the call to book message as well but I live in Italy so imagined that it was because they know I'm no in the UK.

[Harry Peterson]

39 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

Their booking site has changed. Are you able to give the the correct link?

https://www.pocruises.com/find-a-cruise

 

Seems to be working OK - though if you book online you do, of course, miss out on the discount you can negotiate with a TA.

[Tablelamp]

Before making a telephone booking, I like to find out what cabins are available.  Can anyone help?

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

Before making a telephone booking, I like to find out what cabins are available.  Can anyone help?

Yes, use a good TA who will give you cabin availability,  and better prices than P&O. 

As far as I can make out, there are no benefits whatsoever in booking direct, although I'm sure someone will be along shortly to tell me some! 

Edited July 17, 2019 by wowzz

[pete14]

28 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Yes, use a good TA who will give you cabin availability,  and better prices than P&O. 

As far as I can make out, there are no benefits whatsoever in booking direct, although I'm sure someone will be along shortly to tell me some! 

I agree that booking with an agent or directly with P&O over the phone is preferable to booking online. I usually book directly with P&O over the phone and, as with an agent, you get a full choice of available cabins and advice if you need it. I think the main benefit of booking as I do is in case there are any issues that arise with the booking. Booking with an agent means that  any issues are communicated via the agent, rather than directly to you so you are reliant on the agent to pass them on to you. Ditto if you want to raise anything with P&O.

In my opinion, both much better than booking online.

[Tablelamp]

I like to check on cabin availability before making a booking over the phone. Can anybody help

[Rupert2251]

3 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

I like to check on cabin availability before making a booking over the phone. Can anybody help

Either contact a good TA as has previously been mentioned or pick up the phone and ring P&O directly. Forget about trying to find availability on their website this new one is rubbish!!

[terrierjohn]

7 minutes ago, pete14 said:

I agree that booking with an agent or directly with P&O over the phone is preferable to booking online. I usually book directly with P&O over the phone and, as with an agent, you get a full choice of available cabins and advice if you need it. I think the main benefit of booking as I do is in case there are any issues that arise with the booking. Booking with an agent means that  any issues are communicated via the agent, rather than directly to you so you are reliant on the agent to pass them on to you. Ditto if you want to raise anything with P&O.

In my opinion, both much better than booking online.

A good TA will aid any communication needed with P&O and save you the time and effort, and they even give an extra discount up to 5% making them cheaper than booking direct, it's a no brainer for me.

[Rupert2251]

3 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

A good TA will aid any communication needed with P&O and save you the time and effort, and they even give an extra discount up to 5% making them cheaper than booking direct, it's a no brainer for me.

Snap!! 😃

[Harry Peterson]

8 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

I like to check on cabin availability before making a booking over the phone. Can anybody help

I agree with you absolutely. Checking out cabins, availability and locations is an essential preparatory step before phoning an agent to make the booking and negotiate a discount.

 

Phoning an agent without doing this first just doesn’t give you sufficient control.

 

Is this no longer possible on the website?

[wowzz]

In some cases, I think it is better if a TA deals with any issues rather than trying to sort them out yourself. A large TA, making hundreds of bookings a year will carry far more "clout" when dealing with P&O than will an individual. 

You are paying the TA, let them sort out any issues on your behalf.  And you are saving money! 

Still not seen any reason to book direct. 

[Rupert2251]

Agents still have copies of the old fashioned way with a big glossy brochure you can pick up. We browse the deck plans, choose our cabins then ask the agent if any of them are available. Nothing like being able to see in a brochure all decks and all grades at the same time.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

I agree with you absolutely. Checking out cabins, availability and locations is an essential preparatory step before phoning an agent to make the booking and negotiate a discount.

 

Phoning an agent without doing this first just doesn’t give you sufficient control.

 

Is this no longer possible on the website?

I've been able to check out cabin availability on the website, but it is a laborious process, having to select your deck and then position within that deck before being able to see what cabins are free. Why the whole deck cannot be shown, as when booking seats on an aircraft, is beyond me. 

However,  I have a pretty good idea of my budget, and therefore am reasonably aware of roughly whereabouts I will find suitable cabins. A 10  minute chat with the TA going through the options is all,that is needed.

 

 

[pete14]

48 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

I like to check on cabin availability before making a booking over the phone. Can anybody help

The P&O website has deck plans of each ship, so do the websites of good agents I think. Use that before contacting anybody and make a list of suitable cabins in the cabin grade you want and on the deck you want to be on and the section of the ship you want to be in. Armed with this information, which you can easily find for yourself, go ahead and contact either P&O by phone or a reputable agent. If none of your preferred cabins are available, at least the person handling the booking knows what you want and may be able to suggest similar alternatives. Crucially, once you have done this and are happy with the type and location of your cabin, be sure to stress that you are not interested in an upgrade. 

[the english lady]

I like the I want to be in control...not sure I understand at all. I want to know what cabins are available before I book...that I can understand, but not why you don't wish to ask a human what is available to book anyway.

It always used to be not all the available cabins were shown on the old website anyway. Just the ones they maybe wanted people to choose from. Not sure if that still applies with the new site.

We used to phone around 2 or 3 TA's to get quotes , and Pando direct. Compare what was on offer, what OBS, etc etc.

We then realised the savings via TA were not always that big. sometimes a matter of a few pounds. If there were any queries we were dealing direct with the horses mouth so to speak, not via a TA who may or may not pass info on in a timely fashion.

So now we phone up direct  and asked what cabins are available in the grade we want. we then chose which one..do we want to be upgraded..what is the likely path..oh no thanks we will stay where we are thank you.

I can then decide whether I wish to book or not...I am in total control..what power have i lost by speaking to someone.

another thought if you go online and pick a cabin...then decide to ring up...in the period inbetween the 2  that cabin may have been sold to someone else...so no power at all.

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, the english lady said:

 sometimes a matter of a few pounds

We saved around £300 on a 2021 Ventura cruise. Quite happy not to be talking to the "horse's mouth" for that sort of saving.

I also prefer to talk to a knowledgeable TA, who is likely to be more honest in their opinions,  than a P&O employee, who obviously has to toe the party line. 

[Eglesbrech]

46 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You may well be right in choosing to book direct if you are always going to book saver fares,  we can't because we need an accessible cabin, but would still always book select fares and we feel that booking early and via our favourite TA is best for us.

I can understand that perfectly for you.

 

We don’t always book savers, I would not consider it for example on Britannia due to the ash situation. I also never book a general grade saver where I could be allocated the lowest grade of balcony, we usually go for the other end. We have even used savers for the odd inside/ outside cabin on winter breaks to the snow where we would not use a balcony.

 

We book our main holiday a bit in advance (P&O is rarely now our main holiday) and then purchase any last minute adds on breaks via savers when the price is right. There are some really great bargains if you know when to look and if as you say you don’t need a specific cabin type.

 

I will however have a good look at the TA.

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

They are - and they really do know their subject, as specialists - but there's always the possibility that your theory's valid.  No way of knowing, really.

Yes just a theory but to date (with fingers crossed I have not jinxed it) we have always been lucky booking via P&O. 

 

Thinking about it perhaps it is because P&O offer the option to book GB, GB, EA, EB etc or maybe they do more for past passengers. Who knows.

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

We never book a saver fare - much too much of a control freak to let someone else select a cabin for me, so I can't address your theory about cabin position. Over the years however, you would have saved hundreds of pounds by dealing with a good TA, as opposed to booking through P&O. 

 

Not sure if that would apply as much to saver fares but I will be checking it out 😀

[the english lady]

27 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

Not sure if that would apply as much to saver fares but I will be checking it out 😀

The whole idea of the 2 types of saver fare are that you don't get to pick your cabin. Late saver only inside outside or balcony and that's it. Early saver you can pick a grade and that's it. You will either get that grade or higher..which could be ending up under the buffet let's say.

[the english lady]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

We saved around £300 on a 2021 Ventura cruise. Quite happy not to be talking to the "horse's mouth" for that sort of saving.

I also prefer to talk to a knowledgeable TA, who is likely to be more honest in their opinions,  than a P&O employee, who obviously has to toe the party line. 

Good for you. It worked in your case. It literally is just a few pounds when We have done it. Maybe it comes down to grade of cabin...i dont know. We do what we feel easiest with.

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, the english lady said:

Good for you. It worked in your case. It literally is just a few pounds when We have done it. Maybe it comes down to grade of cabin...i dont know. We do what we feel easiest with.

In percentage terms, the £300 was only 3% of the cruise fare, so on a  relatively cheap cruise, the saving wouldn't be that much. Even so, better in my wallet than P&O 's.