When would I get the best deal?

I am looking to book a cruise for around May, June or July 2019 and I have about 4 options to chose from. I am wondering whether I should go ahead and book something soon, or wait a while and see if I can get a better deal. Any thoughts from you seasoned cruisers would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I am looking to book a cruise for around May, June or July 2019 and I have about 4 options to chose from. I am wondering whether I should go ahead and book something soon, or wait a while and see if I can get a better deal. Any thoughts from you seasoned cruisers would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Well to get the best deal I suspect you are a year too late. These cruises have been on sale since September 17. That’s when I booked and my cruise price has not been bettered.

However generally this is a how long is a piece of string question. Many would say wait until much nearer the departure date, you may be lucky

I will be booking early next month for 2020, April onwards as March have been on sale since March this year.

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Well to get the best deal I suspect you are a year too late. These cruises have been on sale since September 17. That’s when I booked and my cruise price has not been bettered.

 

However generally this is a how long is a piece of string question. Many would say wait until much nearer the departure date, you may be lucky

 

I will be booking early next month for 2020, April onwards as March have been on sale since March this year.

 

 

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Sound advice from Dai.

Early or very, very late booking is best for price. Early booking has the advantage of choice and perks. Late sometimes offers a lower price but it is more of a gamble.

Prices vary soooo much. Try a cruise tracker site - sorry not allowed to name any here- there is one now that tracks P&O select, early & late saver fares and also if the cruise is on a similar date and route as last year you can now see last year's prices.

Sound advice from Dai.

 

 

 

Early or very, very late booking is best for price. Early booking has the advantage of choice and perks. Late sometimes offers a lower price but it is more of a gamble.

Just had a check the cabin we have on Britannia next July is now £550.00 more than we paid so well over £1000 more. And for once not a suite.

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OP. Keep checking prices and make a note of them, you will then at least have a track of how they fluctuate.

Also take a note of what 'freebies' are included for the fare. You can then see if they are really free!

We can't book any holiday many months in advance due to work commitments so can't take advantage of any early offers.

Last year our cruise was in early July, not P&O.

I had tracked prices from Christmas. There were loads of offers every week after Christmas, but the price was crazy and fluctuated, but largely upwards. Offers were also scant. A drinks package, or small amount of OBC.

I waited and booked it after Easter. The price dropped by 30% and also included drinks package and OBC.

However you have to be prepared to miss out, as has happened to us previously as the prices didn't drop.

Just had a check the cabin we have on Britannia next July is now £550.00 more than we paid so well over £1000 more. And for once not a suite.

 

 

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Hi daiB,

Thanks for that info. That was quite a huge increase on your booking then. Bet you are glad you booked it when you did? Unfortunately we are pretty much complete newbies to cruising. Our first cruise was in May this year on the Ventura. We had a few problems on that cruise and were considering not going on another one but decided to try cruising just once more.

I noticed lots of cruises on your signature and I assume that this was a list of all the ones you have been on? If so, how would you compare the Ventura with Azura?

I will keep an eye on the prices over the next couple of months but like you said, I am probably a year too late to get a good deal. The price of a balcony cabin on A911 cruise has already gone up by £200 for both of us in the past week, which really shocked me.

Prices vary soooo much. Try a cruise tracker site - sorry not allowed to name any here- there is one now that tracks P&O select, early & late saver fares and also if the cruise is on a similar date and route as last year you can now see last year's prices.

Thank you for that hint. I will try to find a cruise tracker site. I have never heard of one of those before. It's great to get all these hints and tips from experienced cruisers. Thank you

OP. Keep checking prices and make a note of them, you will then at least have a track of how they fluctuate.

 

Also take a note of what 'freebies' are included for the fare. You can then see if they are really free!

 

We can't book any holiday many months in advance due to work commitments so can't take advantage of any early offers.

 

Last year our cruise was in early July, not P&O.

 

I had tracked prices from Christmas. There were loads of offers every week after Christmas, but the price was crazy and fluctuated, but largely upwards. Offers were also scant. A drinks package, or small amount of OBC.

 

I waited and booked it after Easter. The price dropped by 30% and also included drinks package and OBC.

 

However you have to be prepared to miss out, as has happened to us previously as the prices didn't drop.

Thank you for your advice. I will write down the prices and see how much they change. There has already been a £200 increase for a balcony cabin and that was in less than a week. Quite shocking really just how quickly these prices can change.

I have a list of about 4 possible cruises for us to chose from, so I will keep an eye on all of them and see how the prices change. Thank you

Hi daiB,

 

Thanks for that info. That was quite a huge increase on your booking then. Bet you are glad you booked it when you did? Unfortunately we are pretty much complete newbies to cruising. Our first cruise was in May this year on the Ventura. We had a few problems on that cruise and were considering not going on another one but decided to try cruising just once more.

 

I noticed lots of cruises on your signature and I assume that this was a list of all the ones you have been on? If so, how would you compare the Ventura with Azura?

 

I will keep an eye on the prices over the next couple of months but like you said, I am probably a year too late to get a good deal. The price of a balcony cabin on A911 cruise has already gone up by £200 for both of us in the past week, which really shocked me.

Possibly or the best to ask as I like both ships. Little physical difference often some of the negatives people post about are passenger or crew related and they of course constantly change so someone who has a bad experience on a cruise could go back in 3 months time and have a totally different experience.

We tend to move around the fleet if we can, however we tend to cruise at certain times of year and so can be restricted by what is available.

I hope you get something booked and have a great time.

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We booked our Aurora cruise next april last year. It is £500 more per person than it was then, with a Saver Fare that is £400 pp more. We have always found that booking early is the best, unless it's a very ordinary cruise, like Canaries, Fjords, where there are many of the same cruise. We tend to go on the longer ones to different ports.

Sidekick180, if you are looking for a bargain then you might want to consider the Caribbean fly cruises in November and early December.

All cruises lines, including P&O, seem to struggle to fill their ships at this time every year, and there are normally bargains to be had, in the past the prices have been almost at give away levels.

Sidekick180, if you are looking for a bargain then you might want to consider the Caribbean fly cruises in November and early December.

 

All cruises lines, including P&O, seem to struggle to fill their ships at this time every year, and there are normally bargains to be had, in the past the prices have been almost at give away levels.

Good call John. Also applies to all cruises in November and early December.

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I was quite excited when, thanks to someone on here, I discovered price tracking websites, but after detailed checks I have found them to be inaccurate. Like several other regular P&O cruisers on this forum, I have found that the cheapest price for a Select fare is always at launch and is never bettered. I can’t comment on Saver prices as we would never book one, on the basis that we only want the cabins in the best positions, not the leftovers. It would be no bargain for us to be above or below a source of noise nuisance and we wouldn’t want the worry or uncertainty of the gamble that you have to take.

At the point I started looking at tracker websites we had 5 future P&O Cruises booked and the price we had paid for each of them was less than the lowest price shown on the trackers. An important point to note is that tracker sites only monitor the headline price. They don’t take into account other offers such as double on board credit. We consider the price paid to be the price less OBC (we usually take free parking, so it’s OBC above that) and that can vary massively.

Select prices do go up and down massively and our cruise for April/May is now almost twice the price we paid (at launch) but the one consistent factor is that they seem to always be cheapest at launch. And, of course, you also get the pick of the very best cabins. I would pay extra to be able to do that, but an added bonus is that you pay less. Even if it was a bit cheaper say a year later I wouldn’t consider that a saving worth having if the trade off was a less desirable cabin.

As for differences between the ships, we have been on all of them. Of the large ships, we like Azura the least, followed by Ventura, but much prefer Britannia over both of them. Of the small ships, we like Arcadia the least, followed by Oriana but our favourite is Aurora. Lots of reasons contribute to our rankings, but everyone is different and no two people will agree entirely!

Agree with many here that select prices are best when they go on sale. A good source tell me P&O are doing extremely well of late and their cruises are always fairly.well booked and they don't need to drop prices to fill them. I've had my eye on two cruises and they keep going up and up and up. Certain cruises sell a lot cheaper each year and always worth booking Caribbean late on where good deals can be had. I'm on the phone in September for summer 2020 so as not to pay over the odds again.

Sidekick you don't mention what grade of cabin you are looking for, or how often you cruise.

Most of the advice you have been given revolves around suites, mini-suites and larger type balcony cabins, from regular cruisers. There are much less of these than inside cabins. Pando will offer the higher grade cabins at a good prices to kick start booking. Inside cabins take longer to shift and there are bargains to be had. 3 years running I was looking at 35 day caribbean and each year approx september then late nov/early dec it was available at 1999pp which is £57 per night. I have seen prices as low as £50 per night. Yes you get the so called "leftovers" but up to now we have never had a bad cabin. That said, it can happen. On my last cruise on Oriana for 17 nights we were in a cabin approx midship and low down. This suited us nicely.

Sidekick you don't mention what grade of cabin you are looking for, or how often you cruise.

Most of the advice you have been given revolves around suites, mini-suites and larger type balcony cabins, from regular cruisers. There are much less of these than inside cabins. Pando will offer the higher grade cabins at a good prices to kick start booking. Inside cabins take longer to shift and there are bargains to be had. 3 years running I was looking at 35 day caribbean and each year approx september then late nov/early dec it was available at 1999pp which is £57 per night. I have seen prices as low as £50 per night. Yes you get the so called "leftovers" but up to now we have never had a bad cabin. That said, it can happen. On my last cruise on Oriana for 17 nights we were in a cabin approx midship and low down. This suited us nicely.

Not really correct, the only P&O ship with more inside cabins than balconies is Oriana, Aurora and Oceana have similar numbers, but all the others have far more balcony cabins than insides.

However I tend to agree that insides sell less well, as a result their prices do tend not to increase as much, and some low selling cruises do have very good last minute offers.

But if you check the comments on these boards from people who do book inside cabins, even they will confirm that launch prices are rarely bettered.

Whilst, like many others, I know from personal experience that the best deals (Select price wise) are always at launch, I can’t help but wonder if this may not be the case with Iona.

Perhaps I am alone in thinking this, but I cannot see P&O filling Iona’s maiden season if the only destination is the Fjords, especially given the vast passenger capacity.

A lot of first time cruisers will want to go to warmer destinations (Med, Canaries etc) and the Fjords don’t hold much appeal to young families, which is going to be a major part of Iona’s target audience. Even those of us who are seasoned cruisers and absolutely love the Fjords, and large ships, may have reservations about visiting them on Iona, as the larger ships tend not to do the most scenic Fjords (Flaam, Olden, Gerainger) as much and even when they do you often have the hassle of a tender.

Whilst I am sure that the Maiden Cruise will sell out, I can see some heavy discounting being required in order to fill a ship of that size for a whole season, given all the limitations described above.

As I stated before, I have seen inside cabins at £50 pppn, not regularly I must admit. £60pppn is often seen for a wide range of cruises. What I have not seen in any posts is an actual cost quoted pppn. I only ever see "Launch prices are nearly always the cheapest"

As I stated before, I have seen inside cabins at £50 pppn, not regularly I must admit. £60pppn is often seen for a wide range of cruises.

Around 8 weeks before our family cruise in June this year you could have booked a late saver inside cabin for two weeks at 799 (57pppn), a balcony at 1299 (92pppn) and a deluxe cabin at 1599 (114pppn). Our family booked early ie nearly two years in advance (never again) and paid £600 -750+ more per person. Even taking into account free parking/obc it was still a bad deal. Ironically twelve months before sailing the deluxe cabin was priced around 2700 pp therefore it looked like booking early had been a good idea!!

I agree with the poster who said certain cabins have to be booked early ie suites or disabled cabins as there aren't many.

Providing you don't want school hols there are bargains around. As for bad cabins, the only ones we've had we chose ourselves ie aft on Brittania. Cruise lines want ships to sail full so will reduce nearer sail date to ensure they do.

Whilst, like many others, I know from personal experience that the best deals (Select price wise) are always at launch, I can’t help but wonder if this may not be the case with Iona.

 

Perhaps I am alone in thinking this, but I cannot see P&O filling Iona’s maiden season if the only destination is the Fjords, especially given the vast passenger capacity.

 

A lot of first time cruisers will want to go to warmer destinations (Med, Canaries etc) and the Fjords don’t hold much appeal to young families, which is going to be a major part of Iona’s target audience. Even those of us who are seasoned cruisers and absolutely love the Fjords, and large ships, may have reservations about visiting them on Iona, as the larger ships tend not to do the most scenic Fjords (Flaam, Olden, Gerainger) as much and even when they do you often have the hassle of a tender.

 

Whilst I am sure that the Maiden Cruise will sell out, I can see some heavy discounting being required in order to fill a ship of that size for a whole season, given all the limitations described above.

I think you are spot on. I also think that there will be a degree of displacement across the fleet. People who would have booked another ship will try Iona if the price is right and leave gaps on the older ships.

Personally I don’t fancy any tender port in a ship that size. Half the day wasted waiting.

I also think that all these extra cabins will eventually have an overall downward pressure on prices after the initial flourish of a new ship.

Over the years the best time for booking has changed. A few years ago it was very late to get a bargain, now it’s predominantly very early for more interesting cruises. As others have said there will always be bargains if where and when you want to go can be flexible.

the Fjords don’t hold much appeal to young families, which is going to be a major part of Iona’s target audience.

Sorry Selbourne have to disagree. We have visited the Fjords three times. The first time was on Oriana in May when I was slightly surprised at the age group (younger than I imagined - around 50s) but after sailing in school hols twice I was amazed how young the passengers were. Lots of very active young folk with families who had organised cycles, kayaks, canoeing activities at all ports. I would have guessed the avg age around 40 but it could have been younger.

I do agree with you about filling Iona outside school hols, I think they will struggle so we will wait and book when prices drop.

Just contacted my TA about upgrading my cabin on QM2 for Nov 2019 which was booked when brochure was released in Sept/Oct 2017. Know that you pay the price of the cabin when you booked not current prices but was shocked with price. They say either book early or book late not in between as prices increase, well that is not always correct. Was given a price of Princess Grill suite at price of Sept/Oct 2107 to upgrade today and the price Cunard quoted me was over £3500pp, the same cruise which is still 15 months away is currently been advertised at £2699pp. So it kills the myth that to get best price book early or wait for a late deal.

Since the introduction of future cruise sales on board PO's ships, following RCI's lead, and the incentive of a deposit of only £50pp, I understand that some cruisers book as a maybe cruise and make the final decision when the full balance is due. (Long sentence!). Thus, there becomes available cabins some 90 days before departure.

In any case with the trend towards mega resort ships with their huge capacity, there will always be last minute cancellations, hence the concepts of upgrade and guarantee grade offers.

A REAL BARGAIN: a Florida criuse friend had heard of hopefuls turning up on the quayside on days of departure and getting a deal. I believe that PO requires 4 days to do the post 9-11 induced checks.

Since the introduction of future cruise sales on board PO's ships, following RCI's lead, and the incentive of a deposit of only £50pp, I understand that some cruisers book as a maybe cruise and make the final decision when the full balance is due. (Long sentence!). Thus, there becomes available cabins some 90 days before departure.

 

In any case with the trend towards mega resort ships with their huge capacity, there will always be last minute cancellations, hence the concepts of upgrade and guarantee grade offers.

 

A REAL BARGAIN: a Florida criuse friend had heard of hopefuls turning up on the quayside on days of departure and getting a deal. I believe that PO requires 4 days to do the post 9-11 induced checks.

My understanding is that although there is a small deposit if you cancel you are still liable for the full deposit

Having said that I am not 100% but it did come from an industry source.

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