Cost of cruise why so different

Just on QE now, cost in Canadian for cruise next year is $3800 if British , $5700 if Canadian for same room...also paid $4000 this year for same cruise...crazy...

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There is a review on QV from the cruise we just finished where the reviewer mentions paying £6k for the cruise. However, on their table was another couple in the same class of cabin who had paid only £2.5K for the same cruise. Now that would annoy the majority of people.

It happens, we have to live with it. A bit like some of the deals that have included gratuities, OBC and drinks. Which are generally not available to UK customers.

You pay your money and take your chance. But generally we accept the quotation and therefore what we pay at the time of booking.

Is the British price you quote definitely in Canadian dollars or should it be in pounds sterling? $5700 converts to £3415.

Which cruise are you looking at next year ? The August British Isles cruise on Queen Victoria ?

Which cabin grade ? Does the Canadian price include a drinks package/flights ?

I know Cunard use regional pricing but it would be good to understand why there is quite so much difference (if the prices are in the same currency).

Just on QE now, cost in Canadian for cruise next year is $3800 if British , $5700 if Canadian for same room...also paid $4000 this year for same cruise...crazy...

 

 

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Im more mortified you were sitting around a table discussing the price with total strangers...

This is one of those threads I like to investigate because it takes some detective work. We know from other threads that the OP is talking about a voyage that calls at Stornoway. That leaves two possibilities for next year.

QV: Voyage V917 (30 June-14 July, 2019)

QE: Voyage Q925 (6 Sept-20 Sept, 2019)

As it turns out, QE voyage Q925 is showing fares similar to what the OP has described for cabin category BE. Here is what I am seeing for that voyage and that particular cabin category on Cunard’s web sites for Canada and the UK, with the US thrown in for good measure. These are per-person fares, double occupancy.

Cunard Canada

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, Canadian Fare: C$5,461 + C$254.44 taxes & fees = C$5,715.44

Cunard UK

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, UK "Cunard" Fare: £2,301 = C$3,828 (approx.)

Cunard US

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, US Fare: US$4,369 + US$188.47 taxes & fees = US$4,557.47 = C$5,949 (approx.)

There are no flights involved. The US and Canadian fares do include the “Drinks on US” promotion which offers free drinks under $9 for balcony cabins. On the other hand, the UK fare offers $110 onboard spend. So, I have no good explanation for this pricing disparity between the UK and the Canada/US sites.

Im more mortified you were sitting around a table discussing the price with total strangers...

I'm going to assume that your comment, Roscoe, was offered tongue-in-cheek.

While indeed it is considered somewhat naff among the wealthy to discuss the cost of their purchases (i.e. among folks to whom the cost is irrelevant), instead for many individuals the cost is a critical component in determining value.

For my part, I am not wealthy. I cannot afford frequent expensive vacations. Yet in a few days I will be enjoying two weeks on the QM2 in an upgraded Deck 12 balcony stateroom for less than the normal cost of an inside cabin. I will be sandwiching the voyage with several nights in upscale hotels in (respectively) Manhattan and Brooklyn .... for about one-third of their normal cost and about one-sixth of Cunard's package price for lesser-quality hotels.

The extra effort required for me to find such "bargains" pays off for me in higher value per cost and thus a more pleasurable experience, and might be of considerable interest to someone who is unaware of the availability of such deals, and who blindly assumes that Cunard's full-price package constitutes the most attractive bargain.

I could misrepresent myself as a wealthy person who routinely drops many thousands of dollars in hotel and shipboard costs (I find the monocle and spats helps give that impression!), or I could offer my insights to those individuals who might appreciate them ...IF ASKED, or exchanged in the context of a conversation about more-affordable travel opportunities.

Note that that is very different from bragging obnoxiously "oh, you paid HOW MUCH for your cabin?? well I got a MUCH BETTER deal than that!" which effectively devalues their experience and leaves them less satisfied. That would indeed be a dickish move.

Rather, sharing opportunities to obtain higher value such as a Cunard voyage at a more affordable cost can be very helpful to the less-experienced or less-sophisticated traveller. It is also one of the most effective strategies for keeping the carriers (in this case Cunard) "honest". Since the carriers ultimately treat the passengers as commodities - as so many "occupied cabins" - then how else are passengers supposed to respond in kind, if not by sharing their experiences and insights? Rather, passengers can leverage that information to obtain better value for themselves on subsequent travels.

Isn't that the whole point of these Cruisecritic discussion boards?? To exchange insights into optimizing the experience? Why would cost not be considered part of that conversation.

And btw it is interesting to note that Cruisecritic is owned and administered by TripAdvisor (formerly part of the Expedia group) as a commercial venture to promote travel sales. Don't ever imagine that these things exist for purely altruistic purposes!

My comments are offered for those who wish to receive them ... to anyone who is offended by such crass opinions, please feel free to ignore them.

"ipsa scientia potestas est" ('knowledge itself is power') - Sir Francis Bacon

Cheers,

PJ

This is one of those threads I like to investigate because it takes some detective work. We know from other threads that the OP is talking about a voyage that calls at Stornoway. That leaves two possibilities for next year.

 

QV: Voyage V917 (30 June-14 July, 2019)

QE: Voyage Q925 (6 Sept-20 Sept, 2019)

 

As it turns out, QE voyage Q925 is showing fares similar to what the OP has described for cabin category BE. Here is what I am seeing for that voyage and that particular cabin category on Cunard’s web sites for Canada and the UK, with the US thrown in for good measure. These are per-person fares, double occupancy.

 

Cunard Canada

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, Canadian Fare: C$5,461 + C$254.44 taxes & fees = C$5,715.44

 

Cunard UK

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, UK "Cunard" Fare: £2,301 = C$3,828 (approx.)

 

Cunard US

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, US Fare: US$4,369 + US$188.47 taxes & fees = US$4,557.47 = C$5,949 (approx.)

 

There are no flights involved. The US and Canadian fares do include the “Drinks on US” promotion which offers free drinks under $9 for balcony cabins. On the other hand, the UK fare offers $110 onboard spend. So, I have no good explanation for this pricing disparity between the UK and the Canada/US sites.

Im more mortified you were sitting around a table discussing the price with total strangers...

QE: Voyage Q925 (6 Sept-20 Sept, 2019)

 

 

Here is what I am seeing for that voyage and that particular cabin category on Cunard’s web sites for Canada and the UK, with the US thrown in for good measure. These are per-person fares, double occupancy.

 

Cunard Canada

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, Canadian Fare: C$5,461 + C$254.44 taxes & fees = C$5,715.44

 

Cunard UK

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, UK "Cunard" Fare: £2,301 = C$3,828 (approx.)

 

Cunard US

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, US Fare: US$4,369 + US$188.47 taxes & fees = US$4,557.47 = C$5,949 (approx.)

 

There are no flights involved. The US and Canadian fares do include the “Drinks on US” promotion which offers free drinks under $9 for balcony cabins. On the other hand, the UK fare offers $110 on board spend. So, I have no good explanation for this pricing disparity between the UK and the Canada/US sites.

Maybe the answer for the price difference is as simple as because they can. Many products sold Worldwide are priced based upon what the market will pay. The US & Canada markets will pay more, these market include some extra free things.... which as we all know are never free.

It could also be based upon other information the cruise line has, like spending on broad, tours taken, gaming etc. For example if the average UK guest spends more more than the US Canada guest then the line could be making effort to get them on the ship. Maybe trying to build up the UK market.... no way of really knowing why. Sorry

Interesting thread. And on the subject of telling 'strangers' how much we paid for the trip, we never do unless asked directly as happened on our last cruise on the Queen Elizabeth.

If I found that the person sitting next to me paid half what I had, then I might be found crying softly (or even loudly!) into my drink :D:D Working on the basis that the price paid is the price at which the person was comfortable with then that's fine. I might ask the person who paid half my price who they booked with, etc. but then I would congratulate them (through clenched teeth) on getting a fantastic deal.

There is a review on QV from the cruise we just finished where the reviewer mentions paying £6k for the cruise. However, on their table was another couple in the same class of cabin who had paid only £2.5K for the same cruise. Now that would annoy the majority of people.

On a previous cruise, we'd paid about £4500. On the very last morning we shared a breakfast table with a young couple who had just finished Uni and they said they booked the cruise last minute and ended up paying around £2000. Good on them was my thought - it did not annoy me. In fact, it annoyed me so little that we did what they did the very next year - booked very late and paid half what we paid the previous year.

Cruising is a commodity sold in an open, international market. Like petrol. And what a Canadian or American or a Briton pays for a litre of the stuff is just about as varied as the prices they pay for the same cruise. Is it "fair"? Probably not.

It's been a long... long time... since steamship fares on point-to-point runs were essential fixed by by "pools" of otherwise competing lines. As were airfares once upon a time. Too many think of transport/travel as a "service" that should command the same price when it's a commodity sold to get the highest possible bottom line profit. Most cruise lines (like most companies) are run by accountants and a lot more effort and resources goes into the massaging of prices and profits at Carnival Group (or any other line) than I suspect goes into any other aspect of the company.

And you commit and purchase when YOU feel you've obtained the best price or value. We sail in a week in QE in a P2. Today, Cunard (USA) are selling a Britannia Club cabin for MORE than we paid for Princess. And Princess has been sold out for weeks. And we won't know, ask or care what others paid. We'll be too busy navigating the bar and wine list to get under the magical $12 or under limit of the drinks package we got. Now that IS worth the effort.

I asked for a price for sept 6 QE, drink package was $100 less than no drink package because it included a $500 non refundable deposit. I asked for the price without the non refundable deposit, what you get us no drinks and pay $100 more...and still $5700 vs $3800. For the same cabin.. oh well. Just upset as we missed Stornoway and why I booked the cruise we are on now. Trying to get back next year but the price is too much at this time

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Im more mortified you were sitting around a table discussing the price with total strangers...

I agree. I would no more ask (nor answer) such a question than I would ask a lady how much she paid for her dress.

The pricing Cunard uses is very much like the airlines use to manage their 'yield'. The want to maximize the amount they receive, and make sure every cabin is booked so they use dynamic pricing which in the case of the airline can change by the minute. Late purchases can be either much higher than average if they have few to fill or much lower than average if there is a lot of open capacity. I have found over time that Europeans appear to pay less that North Americans for the same flights, however. But they are also usually plan trips long in advance.

Hi everybody

I love cruising with QV and I always met with the same group on the same cruise. But this year for the first time I am not joining them anymore. Cunard wants from Swiss people an absolutely ridculous price for a Q6 suite, while my British friends pay for their Q1 and Q2 about what we Swiss people would pay for a Balcony stateroom. Cunard should reconsider their price politic.

The OP quoted prices for next year so they probably came from the Sales Office or the brochures & flyers freely available rather than personal conversation

Hi just got off yesterday...

the prices I got were on board at the voyager sales office, although I did ck both Canadian and uk Cunard’s sites before going to see them..if we had a British address we could book and get the uk price, but as we do not ..the price is so much more...for CAN and USA travellers...in the end we bought a future travel voucher so we can watch the prices for Stornoway next year, as noted it is showing $3400 more for sept 6 for us, with or without drinks...compared to this year for a BE..

(without drink price is reg deposit vs non refundable for drink package).

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Hi just got off yesterday...

the prices I got were on board at the voyager sales office, although I did ck both Canadian and uk Cunard’s sites before going to see them..if we had a British address we could book and get the uk price, but as we do not ..the price is so much more...for CAN and USA travellers...in the end we bought a future travel voucher so we can watch the prices for Stornoway next year, as noted it is showing $3400 more for sept 6 for us, with or without drinks...compared to this year for a BE..

(without drink price is reg deposit vs non refundable for drink package).

 

 

 

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And as a side note. This was not a table discussion just the info we obtained from the sales dept.

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Thanks for the detective work, that's some expensive promotion !

X2

Appreciate it.

On a side note, is anyone aware of a section or thread for Canadian travellers? Specifically, travel offers geared towards Canadians.

I haven't seen anything I'm sorry

This is one of those threads I like to investigate because it takes some detective work. We know from other threads that the OP is talking about a voyage that calls at Stornoway. That leaves two possibilities for next year.

 

QV: Voyage V917 (30 June-14 July, 2019)

QE: Voyage Q925 (6 Sept-20 Sept, 2019)

 

As it turns out, QE voyage Q925 is showing fares similar to what the OP has described for cabin category BE. Here is what I am seeing for that voyage and that particular cabin category on Cunard’s web sites for Canada and the UK, with the US thrown in for good measure. These are per-person fares, double occupancy.

 

Cunard Canada

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, Canadian Fare: C$5,461 + C$254.44 taxes & fees = C$5,715.44

 

Cunard UK

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, UK "Cunard" Fare: £2,301 = C$3,828 (approx.)

 

Cunard US

Voyage Q925, Cabin BE, US Fare: US$4,369 + US$188.47 taxes & fees = US$4,557.47 = C$5,949 (approx.)

 

There are no flights involved. The US and Canadian fares do include the “Drinks on US” promotion which offers free drinks under $9 for balcony cabins. On the other hand, the UK fare offers $110 onboard spend. So, I have no good explanation for this pricing disparity between the UK and the Canada/US sites.

Booked the June 30th cruise on Q.V. this morning,

prices were similar to what was shown above for the September 6th QE sailing when we checked a week ago..just before when we got off QE.

Today we got the BD for $4123 plus port charges, no drinks as they say all gone, even though I stated it still shows...(false advertising, they should update website)

but we got free gratitudes, also as we had bought a future cruise credit so got another $600 US room credit,

and..our new booking does not have the restriction of non refundable deposit..

funny how things change in a week...

if we had booked on board, we would have got the free drinks, but this would not have been worth the difference of the fare then which would have been $1500 CAN each...

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Thanks for reporting back, I'm glad your missed ports experience didn't put you off completely.

Yes, thanks for reporting back. Of course finding a fare you are comfortable with is all that really matters in the end. But just to help you feel even better about your choice, here is a similar fare analysis to what I did previously for the voyage and cabin type you have chosen comparing Canadian, UK, and US fares.

Cunard Canada

Voyage V917, Cabin BD, Canadian Fare: C$4,124 + C$238.41 taxes & fees = C$4,362.41

Cunard UK

Voyage V917, Cabin BD, UK "Cunard" Fare: £3,065 = C$5,166 (approx.)

Cunard US

Voyage V917, Cabin BD, US Fare: US$3,299 + US$176.59 taxes & fees = US$3,475.59 = C$4,501 (approx.)

So, for this particular voyage and the current currency exchange rates, the fares are currently skewed in favor of the Canadian fare in comparison to both the UK and US fares. Well done.

Yes, thanks for reporting back. Of course finding a fare you are comfortable with is all that really matters in the end. But just to help you feel even better about your choice, here is a similar fare analysis to what I did previously for the voyage and cabin type you have chosen comparing Canadian, UK, and US fares.

 

Cunard Canada

Voyage V917, Cabin BD, Canadian Fare: C$4,124 + C$238.41 taxes & fees = C$4,362.41

 

Cunard UK

Voyage V917, Cabin BD, UK "Cunard" Fare: £3,065 = C$5,166 (approx.)

 

Cunard US

Voyage V917, Cabin BD, US Fare: US$3,299 + US$176.59 taxes & fees = US$3,475.59 = C$4,501 (approx.)

 

So, for this particular voyage and the current currency exchange rates, the fares are currently skewed in favor of the Canadian fare in comparison to both the UK and US fares. Well done.

I think they fixed the drink package shortage and added more availability, the room we booked yesterday went from $4123 to $5786 today OMG, pays to watch the prices...

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