Risks of booking an Early Saver suite on Arvia?

[itf]

We're not new cruisers but have only been on P&O twice, on Britannia. First time we had a select fare, and the second time my mother booked very late and were allocated a terrible room above an entertainment venue which was very unhelpful with a 3 year old. P&O did actually come good and put us in an empty suite after our second sleepless night that time, but I would really rather not risk a repeat.

 

In the end this has worked in P&Os favour as I'd like to sail in a suite again now! I'm just wondering if there's any full suites on Arvia (given it's the sister ship of another in the fleet) that would be so undesirable as to be a similar disaster (I'm not at all concerned about location front/back/midship or even the size of the suite) if I booked an Early Saver? Three of us, 2x adults and a child.

Edited December 12, 2021 by itf

[itf]

When I look at Select, there's only one cabin offered to me anyway - 15109 - is it therefore safe to assume this is the room we'd be allocated?

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, itf said:

When I look at Select, there's only one cabin offered to me anyway - 15109 - is it therefore safe to assume this is the room we'd be allocated?

That’s directly under the bridge. I can think of worse places to be under, but you might hear the sound of people walking around overhead during the night. I’d be more concerned about the steel fronted balcony of that suite though as they spoil the outlook. 

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, itf said:

When I look at Select, there's only one cabin offered to me anyway - 15109 - is it therefore safe to assume this is the room we'd be allocated?

If it is anything like Cunard then no it is not the only suite available. P&O and Cunard both use the same computer programme and if you go into selecting room it usually gives you more availability and even then it is not always correct. We recently booked onboard Cunard and when checking online only showed staterooms available at the Aft of the ship when I went to Cruise Sales Voyage Specialist to confirm availability and price she said there was plenty of availability Midships.

[Cathygh]

When I have booked  saver fares in the past on ships that weren't full I have always been happy with my allocation. On one occasion the ship was full and I was allocated the same grade in a less favourable position. It's a roll of the dice - and I would do it again

[itf]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

If it is anything like Cunard then no it is not the only suite available. P&O and Cunard both use the same computer programme and if you go into selecting room it usually gives you more availability and even then it is not always correct. We recently booked onboard Cunard and when checking online only showed staterooms available at the Aft of the ship when I went to Cruise Sales Voyage Specialist to confirm availability and price she said there was plenty of availability Midships.

 

I did go into selecting room and there was nothing at all on any deck I could change to if I was willing to pay the higher fare.

[majortom10]

4 minutes ago, itf said:

 

I did go into selecting room and there was nothing at all on any deck I could change to if I was willing to pay the higher fare.

The only true way of finding out is either contact P&O direct or a TA I certainly wouldnt trust cabin availability online.

[sueandphil]

There are only 24 suites on Arvia (and Iona) and the forward ones, I believe, are steel fronted and are prone to strong winds and some movement on some cruises. If you call and book a Select fare you may get a better choice of suite but I realise this will cost more. I notice that, on the TA in January,  the suites are already sold out so if you have the chance of booking a cheaper saver fare I would not leave it too long to book

[molecrochip]

If booking Early Saver then you could be given any suite including the family suites without balconies.

 

You are unlikely to get the one cabin left on sale for select as early savers are used to cover cancellations earlier in the process than saver fares.

 

If your cruise is a closed-end cruise where everyone embarks and debarks at the same place/time, online availability should be correct.

 

if your cruise allows staggered embarkation/debarking then a selection of cabins are allocated to each option. For, say, P&Os Caribbean season, the same cabins usually stay allocated to Friday or Saturday embarkations.

 

If however you looking at say a Hamburg - Southampton - New York on Cunard then they will have set cabins aside to cover Hamburg - New York, Southampton - New York and Hamburg - Southampton. If you want a cabin different to the one readily available, Cunard will swap inventory if it’s available.

 

[majortom10]

11 hours ago, molecrochip said:

If booking Early Saver then you could be given any suite including the family suites without balconies.

 

You are unlikely to get the one cabin left on sale for select as early savers are used to cover cancellations earlier in the process than saver fares.

 

If your cruise is a closed-end cruise where everyone embarks and debarks at the same place/time, online availability should be correct.

 

if your cruise allows staggered embarkation/debarking then a selection of cabins are allocated to each option. For, say, P&Os Caribbean season, the same cabins usually stay allocated to Friday or Saturday embarkations.

 

If however you looking at say a Hamburg - Southampton - New York on Cunard then they will have set cabins aside to cover Hamburg - New York, Southampton - New York and Hamburg - Southampton. If you want a cabin different to the one readily available, Cunard will swap inventory if it’s available.

 

If that is the case then Cunard do it differently even though it is the same IT system. We checked online whilst onboard QE for a cruise leaving and returning to Southampton and there were no midship balcony staterooms showing even when I put in individual stateroom numbers. I went down to see Voyage Sales within 15 minutes and there were loads available on her system that did not show or say available when checked online, so they do it different than P&O which if they do surprises me.

[molecrochip]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

If that is the case then Cunard do it differently even though it is the same IT system. We checked online whilst onboard QE for a cruise leaving and returning to Southampton and there were no midship balcony staterooms showing even when I put in individual stateroom numbers. I went down to see Voyage Sales within 15 minutes and there were loads available on her system that did not show or say available when checked online, so they do it different than P&O which if they do surprises me.

What was the cruise number?

[majortom10]

41 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

What was the cruise number?

Q203N

[itf]

Reviving this topic just to say in my payment page, I now have a cabin number - can't see it anywhere else! Does this mean the cabin is confirmed? If so it was the one remaining cabin that I could see when I booked.