First time cruise

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, SteveH2508 said:

JB - the £300pp is not including drinks, Wi-Fi and crew incentives (gratuities). Princess Plus price for a balcony is £499pp for that 5 day cruise.

 

 

Don't want to upset you, Steve, but on a certain igloo site that Princess cruise (7th Oct ?) is being offered at £299 for balcony cabins, only the suites are more expensive at £499.

Free wifi, gratuities, & drinks in that price ? - we wish 🤣

 

Altho we usually grab great bargains, there's always someone who'll claim to have paid less. What others paid is irrelevant, as long as when I booked I was happy with the price that I paid, and I'll hazard a guess that you have the same attitude.

 

JB 🙂

[wowzz]

JB - sorry to disagree with you, but Marella, in my opinion are more expensive than P&O and Princess. Are Marella good value  - I don't know, as I will never sail on them.

At present prices are all over the place.  We are sailing on Sky Princess in October 21 from Southampton for 14 days, in a mini suite, with Princess Plus package,  for £1600 pp. Now that is what I call value for money! 

[John Bull]

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

JB - sorry to disagree with you, but Marella, in my opinion are more expensive than P&O and Princess. Are Marella good value  - I don't know, as I will never sail on them.

At present prices are all over the place.  We are sailing on Sky Princess in October 21 from Southampton for 14 days, in a mini suite, with Princess Plus package,  for £1600 pp. Now that is what I call value for money! 

 

No, IMHO Marella isn't as good as P&O or Princess - and I think most folk would agree.

Ergo their brochure fares look like poor value - certainly compared to P&O's "Saver" fares (Jeez, I hate the complications with P&0 fares, but that's for another thread 😉)

But whilst fares for most cruise lines  have a degree of fluidity, Marella has taken this to extremes. Their launch prices are usually...... errrr, let's say ..... "optimistic". As sailing dates get closer, demand & supply takes over - I've seen their prices rise & fall and rise & fall more-or-less weekly and by as little as about £20. But it's from about 8 weeks out that we see big reductions for Marella cruises that aren't selling well. Their high initial prices mean that they usually under-sell, resulting in great value for late, late bookings.

Because we're lucky enough to be retired and none-too-fussy about when we take a cruise we've snaffled some great value  late-booked Thomson/Marella cruises.

A few years back there was one itinerary which included Havana, Panama and a couple of ports we'd not visited before and which really appealed to us (an advantage of Marella is the unusual itineraries). We didn't want to be so tightwad that it booked-out and we missed it. But that cruise sailed on about four dates so we held off & kept an eye on prices until two of the four dates were showing as booked-out. By now prices were significantly lower than brochure price, but still not a "bargain".  The price did come down further after we booked, but we were happy with our price.

 

So, on reflection, I should perhaps have made that point in my initial post.

My excuse is that it was already a long post and my typing finger was worn out 😉

 

All that is pre-pandemic - because of the risks of late cancellations, travel restrictions etc we've stuck to road trips in the UK and not cruised or travelled to foreign shore since it broke.

Now that things have eased & the future - though still uncertain - looks brighter our interest has been re-ignited.

 

And yes' at the moment prices are all-over-the-place.

But the bargains are for 2021 dates - your Sky Princess cruise in October is currently offered at £1415 for balcony with Princess Plus - suites no longer offered  on the website I'm viewing, so you got yourselves a very good deal.

But the self-same cruise (same ship, same itinerary) in July '22 is showing £1535 for an inside cabin (with no Princess-plus) and your £1600 suite at £2879 (again no Princess-plus).

 

Happy sailings

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[wowzz]

19 minutes ago, John Bull said:

And yes' at the moment prices are all-over-the-place.

Totally agree. But bargains out there if you know where to look. Azura March 2023, 20 nights Canaries to Malta (admittedly with some repetition of ports), deluxe balcony cabin,  including flights,  £1600 pp.   But we did book on launch day.

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Totally agree. But bargains out there if you know where to look. Azura March 2023, 20 nights Canaries to Malta (admittedly with some repetition of ports), deluxe balcony cabin,  including flights,  £1600 pp.   But we did book on launch day.

 

 

You got me all excited there 🙃

Then I saw the date - 2023 😐

Sadly, too far out for us.

 

Besides, if you have to pay in full with booking think of all the interest you'll lose - almost £3 by my reckoning 😉

 

JB 🙂

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

 

You got me all excited there 🙃

Then I saw the date - 2023 😐

Sadly, too far out for us.

 

Besides, if you have to pay in full with booking think of all the interest you'll lose - almost £3 by my reckoning 😉

 

JB 🙂

First of all an apology - I got a bit excited - the actual cost was just over £4000, so £2000 each, but still a bargain in my eyes.

The deposit was £209, so I won't even be losing £3 in interest!!

[Sophia71]

I am a first time cruiser, except when I was a kid and there were ocean liners....but that doesn't count. I'm jumping all in on a a 35 day cruise, no travel agent and a solo traveler,, doing it on my own and learning new things everyday. It's been a bit like a roller coaster, up and excited one day, rather stressed and freaked out the next, thinking what have I done. But I was afraid if I waited a couple of years I wouldn't be able or want to do it. I'm not getting any younger that's for sure.

[ldubs]

On 9/21/2021 at 12:05 PM, SteveH2508 said:

We have just booked this today. Quite good value and should be a 'non-controversial' introduction to cruising for you.

 

Bear in mind that things are not normal at the moment (masks, covid tests etc..) £100 pppd for a balcony including drinks and gratuities is a good price.

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=G128R

 

 

An actual answer to the Op's question!!! 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Sophia71 said:

I am a first time cruiser, except when I was a kid and there were ocean liners....but that doesn't count. I'm jumping all in on a a 35 day cruise, no travel agent and a solo traveler,, doing it on my own and learning new things everyday. It's been a bit like a roller coaster, up and excited one day, rather stressed and freaked out the next, thinking what have I done. But I was afraid if I waited a couple of years I wouldn't be able or want to do it. I'm not getting any younger that's for sure.

Nice that you’re doing the research. But, dependent upon your choice of cruise/cruise line, you may want to transfer that booking (within the allowable transfer window) to a TA who shares their commission with you as refundable SBC or as a rebate.

[Sophia71]

35 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Nice that you’re doing the research. But, dependent upon your choice of cruise/cruise line, you may want to transfer that booking (within the allowable transfer window) to a TA who shares their commission with you as refundable SBC or as a rebate.

Hi, thanks for responding. Like I said I'm a new cruiser, I understand TA means travel agent, not understanding at all what you mean. I've never had a TA I've booked all my own trips (land tours, etc) on my own. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Sophia71 said:

Hi, thanks for responding. Like I said I'm a new cruiser, I understand TA means travel agent, not understanding at all what you mean. I've never had a TA I've booked all my own trips (land tours, etc) on my own. 

TAs are paid a commission for cruise bookings. And some of them will rebate to you 5-10% of the commissionable fare. For a cruise on a premium or luxury line that could be a “chunk of change.”

We travel a lot and do all our own arrangements -except for cruises where, even if we do the research and initially book with the cruise line, we will then transfer it (w/i the allowable transfer time) to our TA to get the added perks.

For Oceania, look for an Oceania “preferred partner” or “Connoisseurs Club” TA.

[Sophia71]

28 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

TAs are paid a commission for cruise bookings. And some of them will rebate to you 5-10% of the commissionable fare. For a cruise on a premium or luxury line that could be a “chunk of change.”

We travel a lot and do all our own arrangements -except for cruises where, even if we do the research and initially book with the cruise line, we will then transfer it (w/i the allowable transfer time) to our TA to get the added perks.

For Oceania, look for an Oceania “preferred partner” or “Connoisseurs Club” TA.

I see, I thought that's what you meant. I just emailed a TA and he/she said they would try and help me commission or not. I gave her my booking number and cruise line and all. They said they would let me know. I was surprised they responded so late. Right now I am getting more stressed by the minute. I just didn't even think of having a travel agent book for me. This is a HAL cruise. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

54 minutes ago, Sophia71 said:

I see, I thought that's what you meant. I just emailed a TA and he/she said they would try and help me commission or not. I gave her my booking number and cruise line and all. They said they would let me know. I was surprised they responded so late. Right now I am getting more stressed by the minute. I just didn't even think of having a travel agent book for me. This is a HAL cruise. 

Didn’t realize you’re talking about HAL. Not sure what their policy is about transfer. Our preferred line is Oceania- small ships, award winning food, stellar service.....

[Sophia71]

11 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Didn’t realize you’re talking about HAL. Not sure what their policy is about transfer. Our preferred line is Oceania- small ships, award winning food, stellar service.....

Is this a Oceania forum?, so sorry. I'm on a midsize ship I think they call them. I was looking at Oceania, but booked this as it's from my home port. Well will see how this all works, a lot of stressors, but at the same time I'm hopeful it will all work out. Thanks for the tips, at least you got me to see if a TA can help take over, I am hoping they can.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

36 minutes ago, Sophia71 said:

Is this a Oceania forum?, so sorry. I'm on a midsize ship I think they call them. I was looking at Oceania, but booked this as it's from my home port. Well will see how this all works, a lot of stressors, but at the same time I'm hopeful it will all work out. Thanks for the tips, at least you got me to see if a TA can help take over, I am hoping they can.

 

This specific Subforum is not an Oceania forum.

FWIW: Oceania price includes airfare.

[2wheelin]

6 hours ago, Sophia71 said:

Is this a Oceania forum?, so sorry. I'm on a midsize ship I think they call them. I was looking at Oceania, but booked this as it's from my home port. Well will see how this all works, a lot of stressors, but at the same time I'm hopeful it will all work out. Thanks for the tips, at least you got me to see if a TA can help take over, I am hoping they can.

 

This is a general question forum so you are in the right place — or you could post on the HAL forum.

You are on a long cruise so you may get some benefits from using the right TA. However, you need to be aware that many times the cost to you may be exactly the same and once you turn it over to a TA, the cruise line will not work with you directly. You also need to make sure the TA does not add any fees of their own for changes or cancellations.

Many on here apparently get significant “rebates” from their TA—most often with higher cost cruises. Others will tell you they have never found a better deal from a TA. Even though TA names cannot be shared, some posters are themselves in the business. Keep reading all you can here and ask the right questions and good luck. 

Welcome to cruising and to cruise critic.

[clo]

1 hour ago, 2wheelin said:

once you turn it over to a TA, the cruise line will not work with you directly.

Not true in my case with Oceania.