When did Cunard stop showing how much OBC when you book online?

[alibabacruisers]

Hi everyone.  We, over the years, have booked using Cunard online as well as various TA's.  Prior to covid I remember that when you booked online yourself any OBC used to show, but for the past few years I have noticed they do not specify.  At the moment, we are trying to book a 2025 Fjord cruise on QM2 under the "Big Balcony Event" which says extra on board spend but does not say how much.  Even going through the process until the time to pay, still does not list this.  

 

Has anyone else had this occur?  I have checked online TA just to see if they show amount and they do.  We do not want to book without knowing for sure and I have tried calling them but of course, since it is Sunday here, they are closed.

 

So frustrating, but guess I will have to wait to call them tomorrow (Monday).  I just wanted to see if anyone noticed that they stopped showing the actual amount in recent times. I think I will also post in the Australia boards to see if anyone has had this occur.

 

Thank you in advance!

Edited August 27, 2023 by alibabacruisers

[TowandaUK]

We recently booked online. The obc showed in the section detailing what was included in the Cunard fare. Confusingly it shows per person not per cabin and we only realised once we had booked and had double what we expected - a nice surprise. 

[Pushpit]

I guess this is part of the Australian site's limitations. It's bad enough on the UK side so I wouldn't want to have to handle anything worse. (As a side point I've recently commented on the  Fred. Olsen board about a voyage I did yesterday, and the App, UX and IT process experience was so much better on this small, non Carnival, company).

 

On the UK side we get two hints, one a bit hidden. So if you select a voyage, select the number of passengers, then select a stateroom, you are then given a "do you want the Saver rate or the Cunard rate". Now in the example below it's a bit of a no-brainer given that the OBC is £159 approx.

 

So you select Cunard Fare and you get the screen where you play around with stateroom selection until you are happy, click not-really-reading the terms and conditions and Continue. However the Continue button floats down the page, and if you don't want extras like flights you may not notice this at the bottom of the page:

 

which is extra clear in a way, since in theory you won't get the $125 component if you sit on the fence for too long.

[LittleFish1976]

6 hours ago, Pushpit said:

I guess this is part of the Australian site's limitations. It's bad enough on the UK side so I wouldn't want to have to handle anything worse. (As a side point I've recently commented on the  Fred. Olsen board about a voyage I did yesterday, and the App, UX and IT process experience was so much better on this small, non Carnival, company).

 

On the UK side we get two hints, one a bit hidden. So if you select a voyage, select the number of passengers, then select a stateroom, you are then given a "do you want the Saver rate or the Cunard rate". Now in the example below it's a bit of a no-brainer given that the OBC is £159 approx.

 

So you select Cunard Fare and you get the screen where you play around with stateroom selection until you are happy, click not-really-reading the terms and conditions and Continue. However the Continue button floats down the page, and if you don't want extras like flights you may not notice this at the bottom of the page:

 

which is extra clear in a way, since in theory you won't get the $125 component if you sit on the fence for too long.

I'm afraid we have nothing like that amount of useful information presented to us on the Australian website!

 

And then there's the angels who work at the UK call centre who can actually effect action regarding bookings. In desperation I rang and booked through the UK not so long ago and would do so again if it becomes necessary. So helpful.

[bluemarble]

It does appear the Cunard Australia website is lacking in the amount of detail provided about the OBC amounts compared to Cunard's other sites. It's especially problematic when I check the current "Big Balcony Event" promotion. Nowhere can I find any mention of specific OBC amounts being offered, even in the Terms and Conditions for that promotion. In the US, we usually get a detailed chart in the Terms and Conditions listing the amount of OBC being offered depending on the length of the voyage and the grade of accommodation. But for the "Big Balcony Event" on the Cunard Australia site, all I can find is this blurb about OBC.

 

"On Board Credit (‘OBC’) is per person in USD. Amount varies by stateroom type and itinerary duration as specified and is applied to the first two guests only in a room. For cruises 2-6 nights, there is no OBC applicable. On Board Credit is non-refundable, non-transferable, cannot be redeemed for cash, cannot be used in the medical centre or casino and expires at the conclusion of your cruise. OBC offer valid for new bookings only made during the Campaign Period."

 

When I start a booking and "View fares" on the Cunard Australia site, I am able to see the amount of OBC being offered for the "Cunard Fare", but not for the "Big Balcony Event".

 

 

This is for a Britannia Balcony on the 14-night New Zealand cruise (Q335). Here we can see I am being offered $230 OBC per stateroom with the Cunard Fare for double occupancy, but all it offers for the Big Balcony Event is "EXTRA money to spend on board". Not very helpful indeed.

[sfred]

35 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

It does appear the Cunard Australia website is lacking in the amount of detail provided about the OBC amounts compared to Cunard's other sites.

 

@bluemarble's test booking is the same as our booking experience.  OBC for many Aus/NZ promotions is often a mystery until after the booking is placed and it shows in the booking confirmation email  My theory (and only a theory) is that the Cunard site may have challenges in dealing with both A$ fares and promotional US$ OBC simultaneously, and maybe there are ACCC (Australia Competition and Consumer Commission) regulatory issues in promoting a sale fare that contains multiple currencies.  Or maybe it is just the typical Cunard IT.  Anyway, unfortunately I don't think there's an online solution to your query, @alibabacruisers.  Hopefully the call centre can help you on Monday.

[alibabacruisers]

Thank you all so much for the confirmation that Cunard Australia site does not show the OBC and it is probably due to the Big Balcony Promotion?  I know that when we have looked at other cruises we do see the Cunard Fare versus other fares and the OBC does show for those.

 

I did check out online TA sites for the same cruise and saw the OBC there (which I have checked on previous investigations), but just wish Cunard would make things clear.