So cheesed off with prices!

After booking our round trip transatlantic crossing with a travel agent on Saturday morning as they were offering the better deal, I have looked on the Cunard website today and they have dropped their prices quite substantially. Cunard have slashed approx £600 per person off the prices today (which is why I booked with the travel agent).

I must say I feel rather cheated at the way the pricing system on bookings works. The prices are always changing, and you never know when it's best to book. If it was just a few £'s it would not be so bad, but £1200. If this price cut was passed onto the already booked customer, fine, but no. I just can't get my head around the way this works.

My husband and I are fairly new to cruising compared to many people on here, this will be our 7th crossing with Cunard in four years and so far we have stayed loyal to them as we have found everything wonderful, but this has left a very bad taste.

Forgot to mention above, that this also happened last November, but the other way round, we booked a transatlantic with Cunard, and the travel agent were selling the same trip £100's cheaper the following week.

Are we unlucky, stupid, naive? It's so frustrating.

There, I've got that off my chest, phew!

It is almost impossible to know where and when to book, the one thing that is recommended is plenty of research into pricing but that doesn't always work as you can testify. If you have booked in the UK you may only have paid the 10% deposit which you will lose if you cancel and rebook at the lower price, it may still be cheaper to do so. You may also have paid in full which gives you a slightly lower price this is normally non-cancellable and you will lose 100%. I use a travel agent rather than booking direct because I think I get better deals but those who book direct will say the same. It is a very difficult matter and sadly there is no real answer to your situation.

Thank you for the reply capnpugwash, we booked through a reputable UK travel agent and had to pay 100% as it was 14 weeks prior to travel. To cancel would mean forfeiting the total cost of the trip.

From reading the boards here, I can see this type of situation is fairly common. I don't generally discuss what we pay for our trips, and wouldn't dream of it when we are on board, but it really does seem to be a pricing/payment lottery with no logic.

We know the category of accommodation we want, and aren't particular about where the stateroom is situated. Therefore a B5 guarantee is fine for us. But to have saved £1200 if we waited 3 days is amazing.

Oh well, better luck next time, if there is a next time.

People do say that the prices fluctuate depending on the day of the week, weekends are expensive and midweek is cheaper. I don't know if it is true but it does make some sense.

My husband and I are fairly new to cruising compared to many people on here, this will be our 7th crossing with Cunard in four years and so far we have stayed loyal to them as we have found everything wonderful, but this has left a very bad taste.

The secret is to book with what your happy with, and forget if the price drops, Cunard wont do anything to help. As my ex travel agent told me, its like buying a suit that goes on sale later, you dont go back and ask for a refund.:eek:

Onboard dont discuss what you paid as someone will have paid a lot less, probably got upgraded and then they will tell you its the first time with Cunard.

But why not give them a call and vent your fury at them....

Some people here have even reported the prices changing while they are browsing online! Evidently there is a real time algorithm that adjusts pricing according to booking demand and which types of staterooms are unsold.

Those who wait may get a better price but in less desirable staterooms. (And while your Cunard fare is dropping, your airfare can be rising.) If you wait and wait and wait until a couple of weeks before sailing then the price may actually rise. The old law of supply and demand will kick that algorithm up as high demand from those who waited until the last minute for the best deal now clamor for the few remaining staterooms.

In the end, Cunard is a business that needs to pay its expenses and turn a profit. If everybody paid only cut rate prices they won’t be in business very long.

I would certainly be calling the travel agent and asking them to inquire Cunard about an upgrade.

I would certainly be calling the travel agent and asking them to inquire Cunard about an upgrade.

Or ask about getting some on board credit.

There are no fixed prices for anything these days -- there is only the situation where "they" have what you may want - and the price is a matter of what they are prepared to take for it and what you are prepared to pay for it.

Once we have committed (emotionally) to a cruise and paid for it - we never ever look again at what the price may be before it sails. (bearing in mind that it may be lower -or even higher)

Barry

Evidently there is a real time algorithm that adjusts pricing according to booking demand and which types of staterooms are unsold.

Funny you should say that. I was only saying to my wife a few days ago that I reckoned they used a program to determine prices automatically and sometimes it seems to go a bit out of whack and the prices change dramatically one way and then back the other in a short space of time.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I don't feel quite so annoyed about it all this morning... it may be something to do with the fact that it's pouring with rain, blowing a gale, and in a little over 13 weeks time we will be on the wonderful Queen Mary 2.

I'll be calling the travel agent today, and if anyone is interested I'll let you know how I get on. I won't be holding my breath :).

Nice to hear from you all.

Denise

I had the same issues and booked early for a QE cruise on 28 August in a P4 guarantee.

I've cancelled today (lost the deposit) but got a Q7 guarantee for £600 less pp than the P grade. Lost some OBC but not as much as we've saved overall.

I'll never book early again :mad:

Since you booked a B5 gty, when it comes time to berthing you'd be ahead of the folks who paid less when it comes to assigning cabins.

I can't see the UK rate codes, but here in the US, I would call Cunard and say.. my clients paid X for their B5.. and now I see the A2 is selling for the same price they paid. I want to move them to the A2.

As long as I'm not dealing with restrictive rate codes, it works.

Perhaps you should think of the times when you managed to get it right and there were people who were paying more than you? I'm sure you don't get it wrong every time. We were on a holiday when someone was paying for a week what we were getting for two but didn't spoil their holiday by teling them. We all had very nice time and we were chuffed realising that we were doing it at a better price than some.

Since you booked a B5 gty, when it comes time to berthing you'd be ahead of the folks who paid less when it comes to assigning cabins.

 

I can't see the UK rate codes, but here in the US, I would call Cunard and say.. my clients paid X for their B5.. and now I see the A2 is selling for the same price they paid. I want to move them to the A2.

 

As long as I'm not dealing with restrictive rate codes, it works.

I will keep my fingers crossed on the cabin assignment.

I called the agent yesterday and they weren't interested in calling Cunard. Although they were sympathetic, I think they must have heard my type of complaint 100 times before and were well versed in sounding apologetic if nothing else.

Perhaps you should think of the times when you managed to get it right and there were people who were paying more than you? I'm sure you don't get it wrong every time. We were on a holiday when someone was paying for a week what we were getting for two but didn't spoil their holiday by teling them. We all had very nice time and we were chuffed realising that we were doing it at a better price than some.

Hawks11, like you, when I'm on holiday, I tend not to discuss the price I paid, although you are on the button with the fact that there's always someone who does, and pays more, or less than we did.

Snoozy, I'm with you. When you know that there was a substantial price drop, knowing you are paying more than others.....just doesn't sit well. I don't get satisfaction from knowing that "I booked what I wanted" when there are passengers 10 doors down in the same cabin that payed alot less.

In the US, at least we can keep up with the price drops prior to the cruise to a point.

On the last years Holiday trip we met a wonderful new friend who booked really last minute because " the price was just too good to pass up". His cabin was 15 doors down from ours. We booked ours on board the previous year. Bottom line...he got the same cabin that "we wanted" for half the price. We did get reductions thru out the year by following prices...but we didn't get the deal of the absolute last minute booking. I personally don't see any advantage of booking early unless you book onboard to get the credit or you absolutely want to be on a specific voyage, which unfortunately most of us want. :o

--- or you absolutely want to be on a specific voyage, which unfortunately most of us want. :o

You have just hit the nail squarely on the head.

If that is what you want - then that is what you have to pay for. On the other hand - if you are prepared to go on (almost) any cruise to (almost) anywhere at (almost) anytime, there are some really good deals to be had.

Barry

You have just hit the nail squarely on the head.

 

If that is what you want - then that is what you have to pay for. On the other hand - if you are prepared to go on (almost) any cruise to (almost) anywhere at (almost) anytime, there are some really good deals to be had.

 

Barry

And there you go. I want to go from NYC to Hamburg R/T. Talk about booking premium price.:)

Update:

I spoke to a very nice woman at Cunard yesterday.

Her advice was to put my points in writing to Cunard's Customer Solutions Department.

We booked the April 27th transatlantic UK to USA early last summer when the balcony and oceanview price were the same. We have watched with some amusement as the B5 price went up to double what we are paying, then down some and as of the other day is now about $250pp more than our price - about a 30% increase. Even the inside price is now more than our balcony. Glad we booked when we did.

On the other side, our Holland America transatlantic booked at the same time went down twice and we are paying about 25% less than our original booking price. So, it goes both ways.

Unless one is clairvoyant for booking demand, guessing when the lowest prices will be offered seems to be a lose-lose situation. I just saw a post in the “First Timers” forum where the OP was advised by his travel agent to wait. Prices have since increased so he’s now blaming his TA for costing him “several hundred dollars.”

I had the same issues and booked early for a QE cruise on 28 August in a P4 guarantee.

 

I've cancelled today (lost the deposit) but got a Q7 guarantee for £600 less pp than the P grade. Lost some OBC but not as much as we've saved overall.

 

I'll never book early again :mad:

And when you lose out on a good early price because the prices keep rising, does that mean you'll never book late again?

Seriously, I've seen prices go both ways. Do you complain when a sofa you bought six months ago has now gone on sale? Do you complain about airlines that change prices on a route, often several times a day? If you were satisfied that you got a fair price when you originally booked (and I suspect you were, else you wouldn't have made the purchase), I think you should live with that decision. If you can get the cruise line to match the price drop, or can get a better cabin for less money by canceling the original reservation and rebooking, more power to you.

I realize cruises are expensive. I like to save money on them also. But don't let the fact that someone is paying less than you did for the same class of cabin ruin your holiday.

There is only one way to guarantee paying the lowest fare

Choose the least popular cruise on the least popular cruiseline going on the least popular itinerary at the least popular time of year - and book LATE!! :)

But - what you regard as least popular may actually be popular with others - so there is every chance that you will not get the cabin you would like, or even get on the ship.

Personally - I like how cruiseline pricing works today.

Barry