Grill Suites and Saver Fares

I notice Grill Suites are not available on either Early Saver or Saver Fares yet are still bookable at full price.They used to be available on Getaway Fares. So what happens to the unsold suites??:confused:

I notice Grill Suites are not available on either Early Saver or Saver Fares yet are still bookable at full price.They used to be available on Getaway Fares. So what happens to the unsold suites??:confused:

Presumably people who have paid full whack for Britannia Club will be upgraded to Princess Grill and people who have paid full whack for Princess Grill will be upgraded to Queens Grill.

Is it worth waiting for Grills prices to come down on summer QM2 TAs? Or do they normally stay the same?

Here's a trick that used to work for me with the Getaway fares, maybe it will work for Saver..........

If you keep doing the start of a dummy booking, you can see the cabins still officially available. Almost invariably the Q2s are booked, the Q1s show available. Q3 and Q4 often show booked as well, but keep watching. Other times, you can see lots of Q4s showing availability and the best possible time to take a gamble is when this is the case.

Once someone has booked all the lowest grade QG (used to be Q7, now Q6) Cunard has to show its hand and start offering guarantee cabins. It will show Q6 guarantees, which may be the result of upgrades for the early bookers, but in my experience is actually Q3/Q4/Q5 cabins that were never really nailed on in the first place.

It's a bit of a gamble, but the last twice we booked a Q7 guarantee we ended up with a Q7 (booked very late before sailing) and then a Q1. The Q1 was originally allocated as a Q3 but then we got a phone call offering an upgrade at a once in a lifetime price. I suspect it will be a long time before I book early again, if ever.

....

The difference is that on Getaway fares the Grill Suite prices used to be shown but now on Saver and Early Saver all Grill Suites are marked as Sold Out. Yet they are still showing as being available on Full Fare.

The difference is that on Getaway fares the Grill Suite prices used to be shown but now on Saver and Early Saver all Grill Suites are marked as Sold Out. Yet they are still showing as being available on Full Fare.

Maybe the company is coming around to the fact those who paid full fare Britannia [and on a first paid, first dip basis] should have first dibs on unsold suites as upgrades, rather than sell them off on a saver fare which could be similarly priced to full wack Britannia fares already paid. Plus, any late comers to the cruise who definitely want a suite, will have to pay the full fare.

Just a thought.

The difference is that on Getaway fares the Grill Suite prices used to be shown but now on Saver and Early Saver all Grill Suites are marked as Sold Out. Yet they are still showing as being available on Full Fare.

Cunard can offer as many or non at all of Saver fares as they wish. They are playing the same game as their potential customers.

Sometimes there are very useful savings on Savers, other times the difference is too small to bother with.

In an ideal cruise world there would be one price, but that's not going to happen whenever there are remaindered cabins.

David.

Maybe the company is coming around to the fact those who paid full fare Britannia [and on a first paid, first dip basis] should have first dibs on unsold suites as upgrades, rather than sell them off on a saver fare which could be similarly priced to full wack Britannia fares already paid. Plus, any late comers to the cruise who definitely want a suite, will have to pay the full fare.

 

Just a thought.

This is a lovely idea and would be nice but I fear it would not maximise revenue. As the ships return from their World cruises it will be interesting to see how the "Saver Fare" system actually operates.

This is a lovely idea and would be nice but I fear it would not maximise revenue. As the ships return from their World cruises it will be interesting to see how the "Saver Fare" system actually operates.

I am all for bargains/last minute fares if it means the ship sails with as large a passenger load as possible and I speak from a position of a 'full wacker' who requests no upgrade, but it does seem very unfair if the full wackers who are up for an upgrade, even if it does involve a supplementary payment don't get first dibs.

As you say, it will be interesting to see what happens and I suppose unless passengers complain, we'll never know who gets upgraded instead of the cabin offered on a saver fare at a similar price to a lower cabin's full fare.

W've done both.

Paid full whack for an early booked 7 days to Norway in QG, no upgrade when the late fares came out. We also paid only pennies more for a 23 day very late booked Getaway fare in QG to New York, New England, Canada and back again. The following year, a 14 day Getaway in a Q1 (!!!) cost us less than our early booked 7 day Q4 had, both to Norway.

I know what I'll be doing as much as possible in future. That is, at least until Cunard adopt the same policy as Celebrity/RCCL and give early bookers the full benefit of any subsequent price drop. Cripes, they even gave me an extra 5% off for joining their loyalty programme!

The bottom line is that if you want to know exactly where you are going, in which particular cabin well in advance then it's going to cost. If you want to fill your ships up, that's going to cost too. It's a market economy.

.

 

That is, at least until Cunard adopt the same policy as Celebrity/RCCL and give early bookers the full benefit of any subsequent price drop.

 

.

If they did that they may as well sell at the Saver price in the first place.

Saver and Getaway are/were designed to avoid any refunds on early bookings.

New fare structure? Nothing has changed.

David.