Select Price or Saver price ?

[terrierjohn]

27 minutes ago, GSPG said:

Sorry as there probably a number of threads on Saver v Select Prices.

 

The cruise I am looking at on Britannia, the Saver entices you in at £1,798 for two people for a standard balcony. The select price then wants to add a whopping £1,380 on top bringing the total to £3,178 for two.

Granted you get £480 per cabin to spend and the other extras like booking your own room, priority dining etc choosing the Select option.

 

But I was wondering just how big a gamble would it be to take the saver rate. I assume in the first instance they can’t downgrade you to a Fully Obstructed balcony as you specified and went in for the standard balcony?

 

Are there ‘bad’ standard balcony rooms on Britannia that could spoil your holiday?

 

 

I would guess that your saver fare will be priced on the HF grade cabins, which are fwd on deck 15,  although this location is high and fwd it is not a bad location as the fwd area does not have any overhang above it, and will have either cabins or Epicurean and the 2 suites above them, which should be relatively quiet.

By looking at the deck plans you can see that most upgrades above HF will  likely be fwd or aft, and the only noisy ones are likely to be the HE ones aft on deck G which are above the live lounge.

[CaptainPedantic]

We had a Saver standard balcony on our last Britannia cruise, it was on F deck directly above the lifeboats - which meant we weren't able to look straight down at the water. Not a big issue and certainly wouldn't feel worth the extra £900, but it was a bit of a shame sailing through the Caribbean and our view of the sea feeling quite distant while at sea. That said, we would definitely book a Saver fare again.

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, CaptainPedantic said:

We had a Saver standard balcony on our last Britannia cruise, it was on F deck directly above the lifeboats - which meant we weren't able to look straight down at the water. Not a big issue and certainly wouldn't feel worth the extra £900, but it was a bit of a shame sailing through the Caribbean and our view of the sea feeling quite distant while at sea. That said, we would definitely book a Saver fare again.

On Britannia, apart from the cabins forward of the fwd stairs, none have a view straight down to the sea, 

[CaptainPedantic]

49 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

On Britannia, apart from the cabins forward of the fwd stairs, none have a view straight down to the sea, 

Thanks, I didn't realise that! It was our first Britannia cruise and with a fairly late booking we didn't really take notice of the deck plans, just assumed it would be fairly similar to our balconies on other ships... With that considered, I'm even happier with what we got and would definitely not bother with the extra £900!

[Harryjacobs]

I wouldnt part with £900 just to choose where I sleep.  But fools and their money are easily parted.

[GSPG]

2 hours ago, showingdiva said:

£900 to choose a cabin is ridiculous.   Personally, I always want to choose my exact cabin in my exact preferred location, and this is just another example why I am not booking P&O at present, albeit one that is not as far up the list as some other reasons.   I don't mind paying a bit extra to get selected benefits, but that amount is almost another cruise.

 

To anyone whose priority is not specific location, I can imagine that Saver is perfectly adequate.   Most of the posts on the topic seem to summarise that Saver cabins are the ones Select passengers don't choose for a number of reasons, like under a promenade deck, restaurant, theatre, pool area or in the case of Iona / Arvia, Deck 8.

Thanks showingdiva. That’s what I thought that extra money goes a long towards another cruise.

Surely accommodation they put you isn’t going to be that terrible? 

[GSPG]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I would guess that your saver fare will be priced on the HF grade cabins, which are fwd on deck 15,  although this location is high and fwd it is not a bad location as the fwd area does not have any overhang above it, and will have either cabins or Epicurean and the 2 suites above them, which should be relatively quiet.

By looking at the deck plans you can see that most upgrades above HF will  likely be fwd or aft, and the only noisy ones are likely to be the HE ones aft on deck G which are above the live lounge.

Thanks terrierjohn. Would you know if the noise from certain areas is that bad? Surely if it was the rooms affected may or should be sound proofed in some way?

[showingdiva]

5 minutes ago, GSPG said:

Thanks showingdiva. That’s what I thought that extra money goes a long towards another cruise.

Surely accommodation they put you isn’t going to be that terrible? 

 

At the end of the day, you're on holiday, on a lovely cruise ship.   If you're not worried about being at either extreme end of the ship if you're not a good traveler, or a very light sleeper and / or you only think of a cabin is a place to sleep, wash and dress, then the Saver is worthwhile.

 

£900 wouldn't even be a starter for me.   Not least because if you decide not to do that particular itinerary this year, as we all know, there's every chance P&O will be repeating it next year with the same ship.

[zap99]

11 minutes ago, GSPG said:

Thanks terrierjohn. Would you know if the noise from certain areas is that bad? Surely if it was the rooms affected may or should be sound proofed in some way?

We booked a bargain package from a TA on Azura. £729 each. Take off the cost of 3 nights hotel, transfers and BA scheduled flights, the cost of the cruise is less than £400. We have been given a cabin underneath the back of the buffet/beach house, but at that price who cares.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, GSPG said:

Thanks terrierjohn. Would you know if the noise from certain areas is that bad? Surely if it was the rooms affected may or should be sound proofed in some way?

I dont know if those cabins do suffer from a noise spillover from the clubhouse, I was just suggesting that they might have a problem. 

[kcdionysus]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:44 PM, GSPG said:

Sorry as there probably a number of threads on Saver v Select Prices.

 

The cruise I am looking at on Britannia, the Saver entices you in at £1,798 for two people for a standard balcony. The select price then wants to add a whopping £1,380 on top bringing the total to £3,178 for two.

Granted you get £480 per cabin to spend and the other extras like booking your own room, priority dining etc choosing the Select option.

 

But I was wondering just how big a gamble would it be to take the saver rate. I assume in the first instance they can’t downgrade you to a Fully Obstructed balcony as you specified and went in for the standard balcony?

 

Are there ‘bad’ standard balcony rooms on Britannia that could spoil your holiday?

 

 

I’m seeing a similar situation… via a TA, we choose an obstructed balcony £1550 total Saver fare vs £2926 Select fare equating to an increase of £1376 per cabin with £480 offered as OBC or mixture with parking so nearly £900 extra? 
 

Only our 2nd cruise with P&O but I find this disparity between fares unique. I can’t remember seeing anything similar with the 7 other cruise lines we’ve sailed with? 

[welshy74]

I have always done saver and never had a bad cabin, but that was before Arvia and Iona came along and the risk of getting a deck 8 promenade cabin really puts me off.  If I pay for a balcony I expect a balcony, but P&O class those awful deck 8 cabins in the same grade.  I want to sit and watch the sea, not masses of people walking past. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by welshy74

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, welshy74 said:

I have always done saver and never had a bad cabin, but that was before Arvia and Iona came along and the risk of getting a deck 8 promenade cabin really puts me off.  If I pay for a balcony I expect a balcony, but P&O class those awful deck 8 cabins in the same grade.  I want to sit and watch the sea, not masses of people walking past. 

But that is the risk you take. You get a great price,  but that comes with a potential downside. 

[welshy74]

Just now, wowzz said:

But that is the risk you take. You get a great price,  but that comes with a potential downside. 

Yeh I get that, but I just don’t get how deck 8 cabins can be sold as balcony.  Its a shame as the select fare on Arvia is so out of my budget.  

[terrierjohn]

12 hours ago, welshy74 said:

Yeh I get that, but I just don’t get how deck 8 cabins can be sold as balcony.  Its a shame as the select fare on Arvia is so out of my budget.  

There have been a number of posts, here and on the one we cant mention, which do seem to indicate that many of these cabins are quite  good, these are higher than the prom deck and dont feel overlooked,  and the balcony doors have a coating to create privacy glass.

[welshy74]

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

There have been a number of posts, here and on the one we cant mention, which do seem to indicate that many of these cabins are quite  good, these are higher than the prom deck and dont feel overlooked,  and the balcony doors have a coating to create privacy glass.

Having sailed Iona, I can confirm these are not for me. 

[JeanieC,Aston]

You can pay a few £££ to select the location on a Saver fare.

Forward/Mid Forward/Midships/Midships Aft/Aft.

 

[Ardennais]

6 hours ago, welshy74 said:

Having sailed Iona, I can confirm these are not for me. 

Me too! I thought they were terrible. 

[Cheshire Blue]

5 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

You can pay a few £££ to select the location on a Saver fare.

Forward/Mid Forward/Midships/Midships Aft/Aft.

 

That might be the way forward for us - thanks for the tip