Beware booking a P and O cruise wen you are onboard !!!

[Holidayfun141]

We have just returned from a Cruise on Britannia and were persuaded by management to book another cruise while

onboard to have a benefit of a better price and £100 extra OBC.

We arrived  home to check how much we had saved, to our astonishment the Cruise which we booked on board 4 days ago

was £196.00 cheaper, and the OBC had increased by £200.00 !!!

We rang P and O and their reply was there’s nothing we can do to help ! even though we only booked a few days ago.

So we have cancelled the Cruise and lost our deposit but gained £300 due to the new price and more OBC.

We are absolutely disgusted at their attitude, we were encouraged again in the Theatre to book before we left, to book onboard.

I understand about fluid pricing but 4 DAYS AGO , and there is nothing they are prepared to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Scorpio41]

Often happens. We have a set price in mind and don’t look again.

Many have cancelled and rebooked loosing their deposit but saving £100’s sometimes over a £1.000. Plus better obc.

[FangedRose]

You need to change the title to Beware of Booking a P&O (or any other UK cruiseline) Cruise.

 

What you discovered is nothing to do with booking on board. If you had booked online, or through a TA on the same day you would have got the same price.

[Waju]

10 minutes ago, Scorpio41 said:

Often happens. We have a set price in mind and don’t look again.

Many have cancelled and rebooked loosing their deposit but saving £100’s sometimes over a £1.000. Plus better obc.

I think that's the best way - once booked stopped looking - still look myself sometimes though 🙂

[Wonky]

36 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

You need to change the title to Beware of Booking a P&O (or any other UK cruiseline) Cruise.

 

What you discovered is nothing to do with booking on board. If you had booked online, or through a TA on the same day you would have got the same price.

Think you need to change the title to buy anything anywhere! If you bought something in B&Q and the next day the price had dropped would you be so annoyed?!

[Holidayfun141]

Thanks for all the replies as I do understand fluid pricing it was the

manner in which we were lied to as we were encouraged to book onboard

to gain extra OBC , 

Loyalty is a two sided coin and we were told P and O do want repeat customers

hence the pushing of booking onboard to repay your loyalty.

Again it’s a matter of opinion as to book a cruise and don’t look at prices again.

But my complaint is if instead of pushing to book again they should explain that prices do go up and down so it may not be a bargain they are selling you.

 

 

 

 

[carlanthony24]

I wouldn't say lied to but they told you the price at the time you made the booking including the extra obc you would get for booking onboard. You have come back found it cheaper with more OBC but in theory losing the extra OBC you would of got if you had booked it onboard when the price had changed. To be honest they do tell you 

 

 

Prices and promotions can vary from time to time, in line with the rest of the travel industry. However, we are not able to honour these changes retrospectively.

Edited June 9, 2023 by carlanthony24

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, Holidayfun141 said:

Thanks for all the replies as I do understand fluid pricing it was the

manner in which we were lied to as we were encouraged to book onboard

to gain extra OBC , 

Loyalty is a two sided coin and we were told P and O do want repeat customers

hence the pushing of booking onboard to repay your loyalty.

Again it’s a matter of opinion as to book a cruise and don’t look at prices again.

But my complaint is if instead of pushing to book again they should explain that prices do go up and down so it may not be a bargain they are selling you.

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry that you were not aware of the change of date for the offer that ended on 5 July. Obviously onboard booking is going to be under the terms in place as at that date.  For instance the current offers of extra OBC only run until 4 September and therefore those booking onboard prior to that date will receive those terms.  

 

Like anything where prices can fluctuate if you are planning a purchase it's best to set a price you are happy with and book within that bracket.  It can work both ways.  Whilst onboard Arvia last month I booked a cruise with the minimum deposit and received the largest OBC I've ever had.  I was also allowed to move two other bookings and was granted extra OBC and new booking required only £50 deposit.  

 

I suppose the answer is be very aware of the dates the offers change as there's always four or five days inbetween where prices and OBC are nowhere like when offers are on. Buyer beware is perhaps applicable.  Ironically if you'd booked onboard up until 5th July you might well be saying what a great deal you received.

[Holidayfun141]

19 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm sorry that you were not aware of the change of date for the offer that ended on 5 July. Obviously onboard booking is going to be under the terms in place as at that date.  For instance the current offers of extra OBC only run until 4 September and therefore those booking onboard prior to that date will receive those terms.  

 

Like anything where prices can fluctuate if you are planning a purchase it's best to set a price you are happy with and book within that bracket.  It can work both ways.  Whilst onboard Arvia last month I booked a cruise with the minimum deposit and received the largest OBC I've ever had.  I was also allowed to move two other bookings and was granted extra OBC and new booking required only £50 deposit.  

 

I suppose the answer is be very aware of the dates the offers change as there's always four or five days inbetween where prices and OBC are nowhere like when offers are on. Buyer beware is perhaps applicable.  Ironically if you'd booked onboard up until 5th July you might well be saying what a great deal you received.

 

[terrierjohn]

39 minutes ago, Holidayfun141 said:

Thanks for all the replies as I do understand fluid pricing it was the

manner in which we were lied to as we were encouraged to book onboard

to gain extra OBC , 

Loyalty is a two sided coin and we were told P and O do want repeat customers

hence the pushing of booking onboard to repay your loyalty.

Again it’s a matter of opinion as to book a cruise and don’t look at prices again.

But my complaint is if instead of pushing to book again they should explain that prices do go up and down so it may not be a bargain they are selling you.

 

 

 

 

You are never going to get that level of honesty from any salesman, what you are advocating would leave the poor salesman out of a job, remember the phrase "Buyer beware".

[Holidayfun141]

Thank you Megabear, we were aware of the offer that ended 5th June as stated

on the cruise to book by that date for extra OBC and a special bargain price.

It was the way it was encouraged to book onboard that has left me feeling sad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Holidayfun141]

TerrierJohn I understand Buyer Beware, once bitten etc.

 

[Megabear2]

53 minutes ago, Holidayfun141 said:

Thank you Megabear, we were aware of the offer that ended 5th June as stated

on the cruise to book by that date for extra OBC and a special bargain price.

It was the way it was encouraged to book onboard that has left me feeling sad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviewing current pricing structures your rebooked cruise may still prove to be a big bargain.  Prices on most cruises have edged up past few days and OBC is definitely nowhere near the generous levels it was, only certain cruises are covered by the current headline OBC advert.  Christmas cruises seem to have a £150 or so discount but the fares are still.very high. 

 

As we head into summer it looks like capacity is tightening, at least until mid September, and prices have a higher entrance level. Definitely the gap between saver and select is.wide on a lot of the cruises.  Apparently insides are extremely popular according to my Arvia salesman.  I wonder if people are taking them in the hope of bidding after 80 days for higher grades.

[FangedRose]

2 hours ago, Holidayfun141 said:

Thanks for all the replies as I do understand fluid pricing it was the

manner in which we were lied to as we were encouraged to book onboard

to gain extra OBC , 

Loyalty is a two sided coin and we were told P and O do want repeat customers

hence the pushing of booking onboard to repay your loyalty.

Again it’s a matter of opinion as to book a cruise and don’t look at prices again.

But my complaint is if instead of pushing to book again they should explain that prices do go up and down so it may not be a bargain they are selling you.

 

 

 

 

You state that you understand fluid pricing, but want to be told that prices can up and down! What do you think fluid pricing is?

Edited June 9, 2023 by FangedRose

[Denarius]

I think that there are two separate issues here. The advantages of booking whilst onboard and P&Os policy of "fluid pricing".

If you book onboard you will get better terms than had you booked onshore at the same time. But you will not necessarily get better terms than you would either onshore or onboard a few days later as the price may have changed for the better in the meantime; just like you might buy something from Tesco one day to find the price has gone down when you next visit a few days later. But the price could equally as well have gone up. Would you be complaining then?

[sweep2907]

Is this poster for real? These companies exist to make a profit for goodness sake and not pander to one and all who feel hard done by! I bought a garden furniture set recently and several weeks later, it's a lot cheaper. It is a fact of life that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Don't expect companies to be on your side. Bet your post would be boasting if you'd benefitted over others? 

[Holidayfun141]

Yes this poster is for real, your opinion doesn’t matter to me so don’t waste your breath.

if you had been sat next to me when I was told I was getting a one time bargain

i would be interested in your thoughts.

 

 

[9265359]

3 hours ago, sweep2907 said:

I bought a garden furniture set recently and several weeks later, it's a lot cheaper.

There are an awful lot of people who would simply buy a new set and return it using the original receipt.

 

Now I am not condoning such behaviour, but I would strongly suspect that the retailer selling the garden furniture knew full well that they would be slashing the price and the higher price was always a false price to trick those buying at the lower price into thinking they had got a bargain (meanwhile those who actually paid full price…).
 

So which is the more dishonest, the customer cheating with their return or the retailer engaged in false pricing to make it look like goods are on sale when they never really were?

 

And as cruise companies are mostly protected from customers returning their cruise, they can play this game to their hearts content.
 

So buy at a price you are happy and then don’t look back in the mirror, because seeing how much extra you paid due to these dubious marketing tricks leaves a bad taste for your upcoming cruise.

[Francisdrake]

On 6/9/2023 at 6:38 PM, Wonky said:

Think you need to change the title to buy anything anywhere! If you bought something in B&Q and the next day the price had dropped would you be so annoyed?!

To be fair if i'd bought something from B&Q & the next day the price dropped, i'd take it back & get a full refund and re-buy it if they wouldn't refund me the difference.    Difference with a P&O holiday is you haven't the cooling off period to be able to do this.

[Sheep Flavour]

Do not listen to what the sales people have to say on board. 
 

Me and Mrs SF in 2021 after COVID was thankfully leaving us asked about an up coming cruise….the fantastic deal he could give us was using the OBC we could of got oursleves by booking on shore.

 

that being said the lady we upgraded our room with on our next cruise while we were on one in April helped us and got a good deal. So personally I think it’s half the person you deal with and half the fact you need to research your own stuff as well

[MidShip45]

On 6/9/2023 at 5:37 PM, Holidayfun141 said:

We have just returned from a Cruise on Britannia and were persuaded by management to book another cruise while

onboard to have a benefit of a better price and £100 extra OBC.

We arrived  home to check how much we had saved, to our astonishment the Cruise which we booked on board 4 days ago

was £196.00 cheaper, and the OBC had increased by £200.00 !!!

We rang P and O and their reply was there’s nothing we can do to help ! even though we only booked a few days ago.

So we have cancelled the Cruise and lost our deposit but gained £300 due to the new price and more OBC.

We are absolutely disgusted at their attitude, we were encouraged again in the Theatre to book before we left, to book onboard.

I understand about fluid pricing but 4 DAYS AGO , and there is nothing they are prepared to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely appalling. Typical of the now non existent customer service from a once great company. Did you book via another agent?

[Windsurfboy]

Saga have a price drop guarantee. Early buyers are always cheapest so it's not all UK cruise lines

[Holidayfun141]

Midship45

yes we booked with our local travel agent

[terrierjohn]

5 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Saga have a price drop guarantee. Early buyers are always cheapest so it's not all UK cruise lines

But you dont get cash back, its either an upgrade or OBC.

[Windsurfboy]

 

12 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But you dont get cash back, its either an upgrade or OBC.

 

I recieved £300 back from Saga 2 months ago following a  reduction in prices across the board for our forthcoming cruise. This might of been unusual. 

 

OBC is far better than nothing