Who has decided to take a summer staycation cruise?

[JP82]

7 minutes ago, MacH said:

We in our early days of cruising we got upgraded on Cunard to a junior suite.  Unfortunately, it was right at the very front of the ship and we thought we had been very lucky.  Unfortunately, we couldn't actually stay in the cabin for several days as we sailed down through the Bay of Biscay due to extreme swell (the cabin was rising and falling several feet).  We vowed never to sail again without knowing exactly where our cabin would be.  So, no dining choice and no cabin choice means no cruise choice.

Well if you vowed......

[ann141]

35 minutes ago, MacH said:

We in our early days of cruising we got upgraded on Cunard to a junior suite.  Unfortunately, it was right at the very front of the ship and we thought we had been very lucky.  Unfortunately, we couldn't actually stay in the cabin for several days as we sailed down through the Bay of Biscay due to extreme swell (the cabin was rising and falling several feet).  We vowed never to sail again without knowing exactly where our cabin would be.  So, no dining choice and no cabin choice means no cruise choice.

It does sound as though you were very unlucky.We have had guarantee cabins previously and not been disappointed.Princess do give people the choice of a fixed time or anytime dining and their speciality restaurants are open as well.

[Definitas]

56 minutes ago, JP82 said:

Well if you vowed......

We absolutely did and have always chosen our cabin since. We would rather not cruise than have a cabin that we are not comfortable in. Sadly, we do not belong to those people who doesn’t get seasick and the motion at the front to the ship varied from horrendous to bad enough to make us queasy. So, in this case, a vow really was a vow. Our preferred cruise line is Celebrity and we could have saved thousands over the years if we would have been happy with a guarantee category but we always pay to choose

[zap99]

1 hour ago, MacH said:

We absolutely did and have always chosen our cabin since. We would rather not cruise than have a cabin that we are not comfortable in. Sadly, we do not belong to those people who doesn’t get seasick and the motion at the front to the ship varied from horrendous to bad enough to make us queasy. So, in this case, a vow really was a vow. Our preferred cruise line is Celebrity and we could have saved thousands over the years if we would have been happy with a guarantee category but we always pay to choose

We have only had a guarantee once and an upgrade once. Both times we got lucky. The second time a couple of cabins forward would have put us right under an overhang. Now only a cabin of our choice and no upgrade. In our opinion not worth spoiling your cruise to save a few quid.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, MacH said:

I have just been on the P&O website to look at the "staycation" cruises.  Every one I looked at did not give any option to choose cabin number or dining time.  Is this normal with P&O?  I guess that they must be confident that sufficient people will be willing to part with their money without knowing where their cabin will be or what time they will be dining in the current circumstances.  We were unlucky enough to have early dinner about 10 years ago on a late booking and would never accept that option again.  I hope that Cunard does not have the same conditions when sales open on Friday

Your TA can book your cabin grade as per deck plans so although you can't pick exact cabin there are several categories to choose from among balcony categories.

Obstructed balconies.

Standard balconies.

Balcony with sofa.

Superior deluxe.

Suite.

Graham.

 

 

 

 

 

[wowzz]

First of all, I have to declare an interest. I'm not booking a staycation cruise.

Having got that out of the way, I'm intrigued about the pricing strategies of P&O and Princess for the summer UK cruises.

Obviously,  as part of the  same  company,  pricing architecture will have been determined at a corporate level.

It seems to me that Princess prices have deliberately been set at an artificially low level. By so doing, as quite a few posters here have mentioned, traditional P&O loyalists have been tempted to try Princess. I suspect that this consumer switch is exactly what Carnival are aiming for. 

The current summer cruise programme is an ideal way to "trade up" existing P&O customers, whilst attracting new cruisers to P&O with lower prices. 

It will be interesting to find out in due course, what those  cruisers who were previously P&O loyalists,  think of their Princess experience. 

 

 

[Britboys]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

First of all, I have to declare an interest. I'm not booking a staycation cruise.

Having got that out of the way, I'm intrigued about the pricing strategies of P&O and Princess for the summer UK cruises.

Obviously,  as part of the  same  company,  pricing architecture will have been determined at a corporate level.

It seems to me that Princess prices have deliberately been set at an artificially low level. By so doing, as quite a few posters here have mentioned, traditional P&O loyalists have been tempted to try Princess. I suspect that this consumer switch is exactly what Carnival are aiming for. 

The current summer cruise programme is an ideal way to "trade up" existing P&O customers, whilst attracting new cruisers to P&O with lower prices. 

It will be interesting to find out in due course, what those  cruisers who were previously P&O loyalists,  think of their Princess experience. 

 

 

I don't think it is just for these Summer cruises Wowzz. Princess' 2022 cruises ex Southampton are competitively priced too. I'm not sure how the various Carnival brands work in terms of pricing strategies across the company but I think there may also be something in the fact that Princess got more adverse publicity regarding Covid than any other cruise company.

My other thought is that Carnival may be now trying to give Princess a solid customer base in the UK that sits somewhere between P&O's new style and demographic and Cunard's more up-market and traditional style.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Britboys said:

I don't think it is just for these Summer cruises Wowzz. Princess' 2022 cruises ex Southampton are competitively priced too. I'm not sure how the various Carnival brands work in terms of pricing strategies across the company but I think there may also be something in the fact that Princess got more adverse publicity regarding Covid than any other cruise company.

My other thought is that Carnival may be now trying to give Princess a solid customer base in the UK that sits somewhere between P&O's new style and demographic and Cunard's more up-market and traditional style.

Probably a fair point.

I was trying to be diplomatic, but I get the feeling that Carnival are, for want of a better definition, driving P&O down market, keeping Cunard at the top end, and using Princess to attract the "middle classes".

[seapals2]

We have cruised with P&O and Princess equally and have top loyalty level with both.  In the end we picked Princess for our short sea staycation as it took quite a few days to make our mind up and by that time P&O had been on sale longer and choice getting more limited.   Looking at both websites we preferred knowing the specific grade of cabin.  This year is a special celebration so we went all out for a suite.  With Princess we could select the grade within the category ... with P&O the suite price could have been for a mini suite .. there was no breakdown of grades.  Has anyone booked a mini suite to compare.  We have only had to pay £50 per person deposit and have 30 days not 90 for balance payment.  By that time there will have been a fair few sailings and we will have the option to change our plans for later in the year.  We have stuck with the advertised AI price for the 4 days but did get the option to remove it.  

[bee-ess]

We booked a 4 night with All Inclusive option on Regal Princess yesterday for September, could choose cabin grade and dining but not actual cabin but it is only 4 nights and not too bothered. We are travelling with my Sister and BIL who we have only seen once since we stepped off Oceana a year ago.

Just looking forward to getting back on board.

[peteukmcr]

We're not P&O loyalists (maybe would have been if Britannia's TA from Barbados in March 2020 hadn't been cancelled) and so are going for what we see as the best fit for us. That is the ability to select deck and location despite only being a guaranteed cabin, choice of dining time (Anytime for us), and low deposit.

[No pager thank you]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

First of all, I have to declare an interest. I'm not booking a staycation cruise.

Having got that out of the way, I'm intrigued about the pricing strategies of P&O and Princess for the summer UK cruises.

Obviously,  as part of the  same  company,  pricing architecture will have been determined at a corporate level.

It seems to me that Princess prices have deliberately been set at an artificially low level. By so doing, as quite a few posters here have mentioned, traditional P&O loyalists have been tempted to try Princess. I suspect that this consumer switch is exactly what Carnival are aiming for. 

The current summer cruise programme is an ideal way to "trade up" existing P&O customers, whilst attracting new cruisers to P&O with lower prices. 

It will be interesting to find out in due course, what those  cruisers who were previously P&O loyalists,  think of their Princess experience. 

 

 

I think that this is an interesting point. 

 

As I have said recently, we do fit in to the category of booking Sky Princess for a cruise, which may or may not go in practice, in October, and from Southampton with UK stops. 

 

We have also booked a short Fred Olsen cruise for convenience, as its not a Southampton departure and we are interested to compare having been double vaccinated and staying firmly in Blighty.  This, and other points, has caused us to disregard a P&O version. 

 

In theory, the value for money looks similar with Princess, although there appear to be a few "catch outs" in there, including more expensive (and semi-mandatory excursions); essentially the requirement to go "plus" to avoid American style tips and drinks prices; and speciality restaurants appear to be higher cover charges.   It appears that Carnival is trying to get the new P&O customers to reacquaint themselves with higher on board charges.

 

We were surprised to go qualify for a loyalty tier with Princess straight away from pre 2018 P&O cruises.

 

What I would add is that as P&O attempts "brand repositioning" it won't be able to do so without thought to the non Carnival possibilities, including Marella, Fred, and Royal Caribbean.  Clearly, CMV is wound up, so even choice is less for UK departures, the Carnival thinking can't be immune to its competitors.

Edited March 25, 2021 by No pager thank you

[ann141]

3 hours ago, bee-ess said:

We booked a 4 night with All Inclusive option on Regal Princess yesterday for September, could choose cabin grade and dining but not actual cabin but it is only 4 nights and not too bothered. We are travelling with my Sister and BIL who we have only seen once since we stepped off Oceana a year ago.

Just looking forward to getting back on board.

We have booked the 4 night cruise on Regal leaving Southampton 1st September.Is that the cruise you have booked? We mainly chose Princess rather than P and O because this cruise calls at Belfast.I didn't want a cruise to nowhere.We like P and O and Princess equally though top tier benefits are far better on Princess

[2BACRUISER]

11 hours ago, Britboys said:

I don't think it is just for these Summer cruises Wowzz. Princess' 2022 cruises ex Southampton are competitively priced too. I'm not sure how the various Carnival brands work in terms of pricing strategies across the company but I think there may also be something in the fact that Princess got more adverse publicity regarding Covid than any other cruise company.

My other thought is that Carnival may be now trying to give Princess a solid customer base in the UK that sits somewhere between P&O's new style and demographic and Cunard's more up-market and traditional style.

I have to say i'm looking at Baltic cruises for 2022 and am very tempted by Princess principally because you get 8 ports for your money and with P&O its only 6 ports and my OH dislikes sea days, pricewise i can get All inclusive with princess for the price of select fare with P&O, its just a case of seeing how the dates work for us. And its only £50 deposit each and i think as somebody else posted P&O seem to be going for the 'family' market " but I get the feeling that Carnival are, for want of a better definition, driving P&O down market, keeping Cunard at the top end, and using Princess to attract the "middle classes".  

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

Probably a fair point.

I was trying to be diplomatic, but I get the feeling that Carnival are, for want of a better definition, driving P&O down market, keeping Cunard at the top end, and using Princess to attract the "middle classes".

I agree entirely with that sentiment, the only difference is having done quite a few cruises from Southampton with Princess and are generally mostly UK cruisers with the exception of Round British Isles cruises which I think I am correct in saying Princess were one of the first to do these cruises, do them consecutively all through the summer and are very popular with US citizens. The first British Isles cruise we did on Grand Princess there was only 54 Brits on the ship. 

[wowzz]

59 minutes ago, 2BACRUISER said:

I have to say i'm looking at Baltic cruises for 2022 and am very tempted by Princess principally because you get 8 ports for your money and with P&O its only 6 ports and my OH dislikes sea days, pricewise i can get All inclusive with princess for the price of select fare with P&O, its just a case of seeing how the dates work for us. And its only £50 deposit each and i think as somebody else posted P&O seem to be going for the 'family' market " but I get the feeling that Carnival are, for want of a better definition, driving P&O down market, keeping Cunard at the top end, and using Princess to attract the "middle classes".  

We have a 16 night Baltic cruise booked with Saga for September 2022.

8 ports, with overnight stops in Stockholm, SP and Oslo.

[joeecco]

1 hour ago, 2BACRUISER said:

I have to say i'm looking at Baltic cruises for 2022 and am very tempted by Princess principally because you get 8 ports for your money and with P&O its only 6 ports and my OH dislikes sea days, pricewise i can get All inclusive with princess for the price of select fare with P&O, its just a case of seeing how the dates work for us. And its only £50 deposit each and i think as somebody else posted P&O seem to be going for the 'family' market " but I get the feeling that Carnival are, for want of a better definition, driving P&O down market, keeping Cunard at the top end, and using Princess to attract the "middle classes".  

We’re booked on Britannia for her May Baltic cruise and got a balcony for 2 of us for £3200 select fare with coach which we were really pleased with. It’s not £1500 more after dynamic pricing. We wanted to do P&O as that price suited us perfectly and we know from research that the excursions are better value with them compared to Princess. But how the prices are right now, we’d probably think the same as you and go with Princess plus fare.  

[rachiem]

13 hours ago, seapals2 said:

We have cruised with P&O and Princess equally and have top loyalty level with both.  In the end we picked Princess for our short sea staycation as it took quite a few days to make our mind up and by that time P&O had been on sale longer and choice getting more limited.   Looking at both websites we preferred knowing the specific grade of cabin.  This year is a special celebration so we went all out for a suite.  With Princess we could select the grade within the category ... with P&O the suite price could have been for a mini suite .. there was no breakdown of grades.  Has anyone booked a mini suite to compare.  We have only had to pay £50 per person deposit and have 30 days not 90 for balance payment.  By that time there will have been a fair few sailings and we will have the option to change our plans for later in the year.  We have stuck with the advertised AI price for the 4 days but did get the option to remove it.  

I was told by Princess that the full balance is 90 days?

[wowzz]

46 minutes ago, joeecco said:

We’re booked on Britannia for her May Baltic cruise and got a balcony for 2 of us for £3200 select fare with coach which we were really pleased with. It’s not £1500 more after dynamic pricing. We wanted to do P&O as that price suited us perfectly and we know from research that the excursions are better value with them compared to Princess. But how the prices are right now, we’d probably think the same as you and go with Princess plus fare.  

I assume that for SP you will use one of the local companies, such as Alla Tours, which has a great reputation  ( and a maximum of 16 people per tour!)

Your pricing shows the importance of booking early. Looking at the fares for your cruise now, the price for a balcony cabin is only around £1000 less than we paid for a16 night Baltic cruise on Saga. 

[terrierjohn]

8 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

We're not P&O loyalists (maybe would have been if Britannia's TA from Barbados in March 2020 hadn't been cancelled) and so are going for what we see as the best fit for us. That is the ability to select deck and location despite only being a guaranteed cabin, choice of dining time (Anytime for us), and low deposit.

If you had used a TA you should have been able to select a cabin, someone had posted that their TA had managed to book their cabin choice.

[Guest]

Looks like Celebrity and Royal are doing 6/7/8 night cruises from Greece and Cyprus in the summer. With ports. If we are allowed out of the country (and I’ve had my jabs), this seems like a good options. And they allow under 18’s as long as they can show negative PCR test.

 

Celebrity are using their new flagship (Apex) and Royal are using Jewel. I do wonder if Anthem will do some ex U.K. cruises as that is still floating around here next to the Jewel

Edited March 25, 2021 by Guest

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, majortom10 said:

I agree entirely with that sentiment, the only difference is having done quite a few cruises from Southampton with Princess and are generally mostly UK cruisers with the exception of Round British Isles cruises which I think I am correct in saying Princess were one of the first to do these cruises, do them consecutively all through the summer and are very popular with US citizens. The first British Isles cruise we did on Grand Princess there was only 54 Brits on the ship. 

The US cruise lines generally use their Southampton based ships for the northern salings, since they all have ships based in the Med. This is primarily to widen their appeal for N Anerican customers. Their Med cruises from Southampton tend to be around school holidays, and these cater for their UK guests.

So I rather doubt wowzz's view that Carnival are aiming Princess at the UK Middle classes.

[swimming with spaniels]

Hi all,

After three hours on the internet on monday i managed to get a deluxe balcony on Iona - our room is still not allocated, I keep checking! This is our first P and O cruise and we're just looking forward to floating on the ocean, and I'm particularly looking forward to not having to cook!  

[joeecco]

28 minutes ago, Glitterati said:

Looks like Celebrity and Royal are doing 6/7/8 night cruises from Greece and Cyprus in the summer. With ports. If we are allowed out of the country (and I’ve had my jabs), this seems like a good options. And they allow under 18’s as long as they can show negative PCR test.

 

Celebrity are using their new flagship (Apex) and Royal are using Jewel. I do wonder if Anthem will do some ex U.K. cruises as that is still floating around here next to the Jewel

Rumours are that Harmony is heading across the pond to do U.K. sailings. According to RCI pages on here, the Harmony’s cruise director leaked that he’s joining the ship again in May for sailings from June in Europe and people are commenting saying that he was hinting that it was the U.K. with pictures of red post boxes etc.

 

Of course it’s just a rumour but she is heading this way, in need of a dry dock maybe, but also maybe some truth in it. The cruise director has since removed his posts, maybe he got a telling off from RCI. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

5 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Rumours are that Harmony is heading across the pond to do U.K. sailings. According to RCI pages on here, the Harmony’s cruise director leaked that he’s joining the ship again in May for sailings from June in Europe and people are commenting saying that he was hinting that it was the U.K. with pictures of red post boxes etc.

 

Of course it’s just a rumour but she is heading this way, in need of a dry dock maybe, but also maybe some truth in it. The cruise director has since removed his posts, maybe he got a telling off from RCI. 

 

 

I am booked on Harmony last week in Aug around the Med for a week from Barcelona. She is on her way over as can be seen on cruise mapper. So fingers crossed the EU get a grip on vaccines and open up some cruising.