RumAndCoconuts

oh my bad. Thanks Coral

We were notified today it is cancelled.  They've offered us the Quantum at the same rate however we booked so far in advance we had our pick up cabin. We have the same cabin booked all the way from Sydney to Vancouver, midship, on the hump so we have a larger balcony. Unless we can get the same or better we will cancel this. It's the trip of a lifetime for us and we will only do it once so we want to do it right. 

 Pretty disappointing

2 hours ago, GSPG said:

Just tried to message to test it as I have never tried this before, but it said the function was disabled?

yes it seems to be! I just tried to message you back.

 But I've found the Anthem Transatlantic group! Thanks for the tip! 

On 7/28/2023 at 11:09 AM, GSPG said:

Once you disembark from Anthem, and if it’s the City Cruise terminal berth 101, depending on luggage my suggestion once off the ship is to turn right and walk to the Holiday Inn which is the nearest building to this berth.

 

Inside the doorway there is plenty of seating, a bar, food (if you need it!), toilets and possibly an area that may look after your luggage for a while so you can wander around.

 

As an aside, we are looking to book the same cruise on Britannia to the Baltics, and will be staying overnight in this hotel so could even say hello to you if we see you in the reception foyer.

Great advice thank you. We'd only need to kill about 90 to 120 minutes I would hope then we could drop off our bags. We do want to pop into town and pick up a bottle of something each to take on the ship as well as my favourite tea bags 😁 

  Do let me know if you end up booking on the Britannia 🙂

On 7/22/2023 at 8:43 AM, terrierjohn said:

I think that only applies to a lower priced offer that you see advertised in the first 48 hrs after booking.

The price matching that provides a large discount is usually given as a special deal to loyal cruisers, you're right that these are normally given to US passengers, but as I indicated, we did get a very generous 40% reduction on a Southampton Princess sailing, mainly because they introduced big discounts for children, and we were taking 3 under 10s.

Hi John, it actually applies until final payment. I've done this many times. Sometimes months after booking. If your category (it would have to be the same room type) reduces in price then they reduce your fare. As long as you haven't paid it off in full, or final payment hasn't come up they will indeed lower the fare. But as another poster said, you have to watch and then contact them or if you booked through a Travel agent, then call them.  The cruise line won't automatically reduce it. There are some travel agents that advertise that they will do this for you. But there are websites like cruise watch that will notify you as well. 

Thanks to both of you for this. I know we will want to walk into town to get a few things...would you know if we can drop off our bags even though we may not be able to board?

28 minutes ago, doog442 said:

I live near Southampton with plenty of flexibility, who do I contact for these last minute bargains and why does it matter if I live next to a port? I mean I could live 2 hours up the trainline.   

I would frequently check out a website  you can peruse by location or cruise line and it creates your list and you can sort by price. I sign up to all sorts of websites that notify of great price reductions. 

 It's a bit mind boggling how many of them are out there but you'll find several that work for you I'm sure

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Not on P&O.  I frequently saw my cabin steward helping in the restaurants in the evening and others were cleaning public areas.  Since the pandemic cabin stewards multi task on various jobs.

 Actually, I was referring to the hair dryer. 🤣

1 hour ago, alpha whiskey said:

Just back from Britannia this morning.

No hand soap in our balcony cabin.

No big deal because after reading these threads I had packed my own.

Cabin steward was fine in providing facecloths, replaced every day, and  I didn't want to stress him out over hand soap.

Plenty tea and coffee, replenished nicely each day, but no biscuits. Again no problem as digestives are available from Horizon buffet if you are fancying a dunk.

Now, the effectiveness of the hair dryer....that's a different matter!! Definitely bring your own for Britannia, but they are fine on Arvia and Iona. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oy.  They have ONE job. 😑

Hello all,

 First time P&O cruisers here. It's Celebrity's fault. 😁 We had booked a 12 Day Baltic for 2024 and two weeks later they notified us there was a pricing error and were charging us 4x the rate. The agent we booked through went to bat for us but resulted in nothing. We are elite members and I asked if they would at the very least offer a bit of FCC...NOPE. They missed a trick there. To have offered us FCC would have ensured we would sail with them...but they've now ensured we will not. 

 So we are on the 14 night Baltic cruise in May....and finally getting to the crux of my question... (why say in 10 words what you can in 57 right?) 

 We will be transferring ships in Southampton next spring. Coming off the Transatlantic on Anthem of the Seas and boarding  Britannia same day. Any insight on the logistics of this? Any help/advice/warnings would be appreciated.

I am a first time cruiser with P&O next spring so I'm doing my research on these boards..If I'm reading this right, once you book do you not get the reduced rate if the price drops? I've always sailed with Royal Caribbean and as long as Final Payment hasn't been made they'll change the price for you. 

 Clarification would be appreciated. Thanks! 

On 6/23/2023 at 12:15 PM, kalos said:

It doesn't matter how nice the soap smells..

Never let anyone see you walk out of the bathroom sniffing your fingers.

Is the soap scented????or were you being tongue in cheek? Our sailing next spring will be my first time with P&O...I would need to bring my own supplies if this is the case.  Thanks

46 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Anthem arrives at City Cruise Terminal.  It appears that Britannia sails from Ocean Cruise Terminal.

 

18 minute walk - City Terminal to Ocean Terminal

Thanks for this. I live in Vancouver and if you are on one it's steps to the next! 

Just another follow-up, we've just booked on the Baltic 14 day itinerary on the Britannia with P&O in it's place. 

 I have to say that Celebrity did miss a trick though, Our travel agent batted for us to at least get a future cruise credit...which would of course insured we would sail with them in the future. But they didn't and that insures that we do not. 

We will be transferring ships in Southampton next spring. Coming of the Transatlantic on Anthem of the Seas and boarding P&O Britannia. Any insight on the logistics of this? Any help/advice/warnings would be appreciated

On 7/11/2023 at 7:34 PM, jagoffee said:

 

what do you mean that they increased the price six times?  
 

It was six times the original price we booked at. They offered only an All inclusive rate. I have told the agent many times we have to cancel in order to book on another cruise but it's like pulling teeth. They still have our money, no refund has been issued so I'm still showing an active booking. They've had our money now for going on 3 weeks. 😤

Just a followup. It's been showing as a valid booking at my booked rate for two weeks until today. They've increased the price 6 times which is and all inclusive fare which I could never make worth while. I can't even use up the 4 free drinks I get with RCL. They are absolutely not willing to give on anything. We clearly are cancelling. (they graciously said they will allow us to cancel without charging us a cancelation fee!).

 Sour sour sour taste here for my first dealing with Celebrity. 

We are gutted. 

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Sorry to hear that... but I do think that you will enjoy X and its' ships for that sailing, which will have a few less passengers than RCCL and all in all, pricing is comparable after all items are added together... it just looks more expensive upfront... IMO

 

bon voyage

I can totally see us making the switch to X. I'm 60 now and huggy is 65. We really only stick to the Radiance class as we like the more intimate spaces and less...'frenzied' atomosphere. So I DO think that we will make the switch but I was certainly keen to try them out. They haven't cancelled my booking as of yet...When do you think they'd do that? If there's a remote chance we will keep it I'm going to stay mum. 

56 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

It sounds like RC may be the best offer for you, in this case...

 

How do their rates compare for a similar sailing at the same time in 2024???

 

Edit To Add: Many of RC ships contain more passengers than X and that will have an effect on pricing as well... something to consider also.

 

bon voyage

 

Unfortunately RCCL doesn't have a Baltic cruise next summer aside from the one leg of the World Cruise 

We have booked the Best of Scandinavia for next May. It was a great deal but I've had similar rates in the past with Royal Caribbean which we've jumped on and they never snatched it away. We are going to be over there anyway as we are doing a Transatlantic and are just trying to flesh out our summer.  

Well this is my first time ever booking with Celebrity...as I posted earlier I'm an RCCL Diamond. If they cancel this it will leave a sour taste in my mouth and I'd be extremely hesitant to book again in the future.

 Wait and see what happens I guess. 

Well this exact scenario just happened to me. I Booked the Apex for a Baltic cruise and was pretty flipping excited. I've just got a voice mail from the travel agent (I booked online) and she is saying it was a pricing error. 

 Not sure how to handle this...I've not returned her call. 

 This would have been my first time sailing with X. I'm a diamond member with RCCL.

6 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Likewise on a ship you don't need to spend a penny extra. 

You make a very good point. I had gone 15 years without cruising and did our first again since then on the Jewel out of Amsterdam in May. I too noticed the cost for a lot of things that weren't there before as well as a decrease in value in certain things...2x daily service... that sort of thing. In the past we would always book Chop's or Portofino...however with the insane price increase being that we had the option of a nice meal in the MDR we did not book one. We had reached Diamond Status way back when so we had the 4 drinks a day.  You know at the end of the cruise our only shipboard expense was the deposit on a future cruise. We literally spent $0 on board and we had a great time. We never felt like we were missing out on anything. So...you CAN send a message by not spending money onboard. The cruise was great value. Traveling, eating and lodging in Norway would have been far more expensive traveling overland.  You don't have to 'jump ship' as it were to send a message. It was my passive protest. 😊

Thank you soooo much. It's hard to get an answer from the source. You'd think that would be the right place wouldn't you? Thanks so much to you both

Was that with Royal Caribbean? This would be good news indeed! Thanks for responding