nothingventured

Still pays to be vigilant. We travelled with friends on Britannia and were buying drinks in rounds. When my friends ordered a round of drinks the waiter automatically selected our cabin for the next round of drinks as we had paid for the previous round. He did not ask for, or swipe, my friends card, he entered our cabin number into the till at the bar it was only when my friend signed and noted the wrong cabin number on the receipt that it was picked up.

Just got back from a cruise on Britannia. Enjoyed the cruise but sailed on Azura last year and although the Britannia is more modern I much preferred the atmosphere on Azura and would definitely book Azura over Britannia in future. - Just my opinion.

In my opinion, the term "early saver" implies the earlier you book the cheaper the price. We knew we would have to pay for shuttles and transport to and from port on an early saver fare. What we didn't expect was for the price to drop by nearly £400 for exactly the same holiday on the same terms "early saver" but 6-weeks later (not earlier) than when we booked. If we had booked a "select fare" and seen the "early saver" cheaper then that is fair enough they are two different packages clearly different price brackets.

I know holidays go up and down in price but I think the term "early saver" should be addressed as it implies that if you wait and book later the price will go up so you take advantage and book early to get the deal. Originally we paid £979 each for an "early saver", 6-weeks later it's dropped to £799 for exactly the same package. As we have to pay transfer to and from port anyway, at either price, it made sense to cancel the original booking and book the cheaper price.

This is the first cruise we have booked. I've never experienced such a big drop in price so soon after booking with a land based package but if I had I would have done exactly the same. I'm happy because it worked out financially to our advantage and means for less than the original price we would have paid we have now paid for our transfer to and from port. :)

We booked a cruise for August on an early saver back in November and then just found out the price (again early saver) had gone down by £360 overall. We cancelled and rebooked. Took the £100 hit for losing our initial deposit but still ended up £260 better off - this will now pay for our coach transfer (which is not included on an early saver) and a few drinks on board.