Why the price difference?

[babs135]

We're looking at the QM2 transatlantic/New England trip in October 2020 but I'm puzzled by the pricing. The 30 nights interior cabin is showing at just over £3,300pp and the 28 nights at just over £3,500pp.  The difference is that the 30 nighter end in Hamburg and includes the flight back to the UK.  So how can 2 extra nights on board plus a flight be cheaper than simply disembarking in Southampton?

[bluemarble]

I can't explain price discrepancies like this other than it's a result of Cunard's pricing algorithms. I've been watching a similar situation with the July 6, 2020 eastbound crossing from New York. Until recently in the US it was $160 per person less expensive (in a sheltered balcony) and $140 less expensive (in an inside) to book that as a 9-night crossing to Hamburg rather than as a 7-night crossing to Southampton.  So once again, less expensive to book two additional nights.

 

As of today, that 7-night crossing is showing "sold out" in the US except for inside cabins while there is still a lot of availability on the 9-night crossing. And as it happens, the price is identical now in the US for either voyage in an inside ($1359 per person before taxes and fees).

 

For what it's worth, I'm not seeing the same pricing discrepancy in the US for your October 2020 voyages. The US base fare (before taxes and fees) for an inside on the 28-night voyage ending in Southampton is $4699 per person and on the 30-night voyage ending in Hamburg the base fare is $4939 per person in the US.

[Bigmike911]

Pricing has more to do with demand and supply than it does with actual cost. It is the dynamic pricing models that transportation providers use around the world. It changes with the wind. As for availability. I am just finishing up ( we arrive NYC tomorrow)  a twelve day T/A voyage. I originally booked a 8 day westbound from Southampton. Then to get the level of accommodation I wanted, I changed it to a 10 day westbound from Hamburg.

 

Later I added, at great expense, a two day Southampton to Hamburg leg to be able to travel with friends. None of the pricing made much sense. The two day was as much as my friends four day Southampton-Hamburg-Southampton was. The level of accommodation was the same for all segments, but was not available for the original 8 day crossing. 

 

I presume that there is some grand algorithm for this, but considering the design of Cunard's shaky web site, I wonder if it could just be chance. 

[LadyL1]

It would not be worth the hassle of saving a few hundred pounds and fly home from Hamburg. It is a long cruise, so the S’ton round trip would be ideal as you can take as much luggage as you want. You will be be certainly needing warmer bulky clothes in your collection that is apart from from a lot of formal wear.

Perhaps see on board!😊.

[grayjay]

The same thing happened to us a year or so ago when we booked a cruise round the British Isles where the cruise out of/to Southampton was much more expensive than the one out of/ to Rotterdam. As it doesn't matter to us whether we fly to London or Amsterdam we of course chose Rotterdam. We also noticed that Cunard offered the same cabin categories but different decks for booking, for example deck7 ( Rotterdam bookings) vs. deck 6 in the same cabin category.

[navybankerteacher]

41 minutes ago, LadyL1 said:

It would not be worth the hassle of saving a few hundred pounds and fly home from Hamburg. It is a long cruise, so the S’ton round trip would be ideal as you can take as much luggage as you want. You will be be certainly needing warmer bulky clothes in your collection that is apart from from a lot of formal wear.

Perhaps see on board!😊.

This makes sense.  Cunard sells  VALUE - not necessarily DAYS.  If they realize that many more of their passengers will want to debark in Southampton vs. Hamburg --- where the ship will call to pick another batch of passengers   -- they will price it accordingly - knowing that they likely will would wind up with difficult-to-sell cabins for the Southampton to Hamburg bit.

[Chelsea1]

I booked New York to Hamburg in Queens Grill leaving New York this coming 18th October.

 

It was significantly cheaper than NY to SOTON and includes British airways flight back from Hamburg to London.

[Bedruthen]

I don’t know if you can still do it, but a few years back we wanted to cruise back from Dubai. But it was actually cheaper to book a longer crossing back from India. So we contacted Cunard, booked India to U.K., but embarked in Dubai. Might be worth asking.