Early Saver or Select

Hi Everyone, after a bit of advice.

Looking to book a cruise on Azura next year but not sure whether to book as an early saver or select.

Early saver states that P & O will allocate our cabin and we have to be flexible with our time/table size and dining style.

The save price is £210 extra per person but we get to pick cabin and have priority on times and table size.

Just wondering how people had gone on with booking the early saver in the past?

Hi Everyone, after a bit of advice.

 

Looking to book a cruise on Azura next year but not sure whether to book as an early saver or select.

 

Early saver states that P & O will allocate our cabin and we have to be flexible with our time/table size and dining style.

 

The save price is £210 extra per person but we get to pick cabin and have priority on times and table size.

 

Just wondering how people had gone on with booking the early saver in the past?

Do you not get some OBC or car parking or coach travel as well?

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We've never had a problem with early saver. You can choose the category of cabin you want and You can request your dining and we have always got freedom dining which is what we request. We've usually gone up a couple of categories as well from the cabin category we selected. Shuttle's are £2.50 pp each way if you need to pay for them (this has happened on one occasion) so if you don't mind letting P & O choose your cabin I'd say go for it. £420 is a lot towards your spending money :)

Yes was just going to say that the advantages of choosing your cabin, choosing your dining time etc would outweigh the £210 and also with Select you will get either free parking or OBC as well, so not much in it. Personally I would always want to choose my cabin. We were recently "upgraded" from an inside on D deck, which we had chosen, to an inside on A deck. This was supposedly an upgrade, but not in my book. I do not want to be underneath the Lido deck, nor tossed around in bad weather at the top of the ship. They put us back where we were.

OBC/parking/coach travel is not always offered with Select but personally I find waiting for our cabin to be allocated adds to the excitement...but we haven't been allocated a bad cabin ....yet we are currently waiting for our cabin allocation for our cruise in August so fingers crossed. If we'd booked select we'd have had to pay £300 each more with only £75pp on-board credit so it was a no brainer for us :)

OBC/parking/coach travel is not always offered with Select but personally I find waiting for our cabin to be allocated adds to the excitement...but we haven't been allocated a bad cabin ....yet �� we are currently waiting for our cabin allocation for our cruise in August so fingers crossed. If we'd booked select we'd have had to pay £300 each more with only £75pp on-board credit so it was a no brainer for us :)

TBH I'd pay more than that to be sure of a cabin in a quiet location and to get Freedom dining as well as free shuttle buses and free coach travel from Scotland so for me it's also a no-brainer. Select every time

OBC/parking/coach travel is not always offered with Select but personally I find waiting for our cabin to be allocated adds to the excitement...but we haven't been allocated a bad cabin ....yet we are currently waiting for our cabin allocation for our cruise in August so fingers crossed. If we'd booked select we'd have had to pay £300 each more with only £75pp on-board credit so it was a no brainer for us :)

It has been offered every cruise I have looked at. Except the vey short ones. 6 days and under. But clearly if the difference is £200+ it is not a short cruise.

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It has been offered every cruise I have looked at. Except the vey short ones. 6 days and under. But clearly if the difference is £200+ it is not a short cruise.

 

 

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Yes you are correct, my mistake we have done a couple of 5 nighters over the last couple of years :)

Hi Everyone, after a bit of advice.

Looking to book a cruise on Azura next year but not sure whether to book as an early saver or select.

Early saver states that P & O will allocate our cabin and we have to be flexible with our time/table size and dining style.

The save price is £210 extra per person but we get to pick cabin and have priority on times and table size.

Just wondering how people had gone on with booking the early saver in the past?

To be honest I think it's a choice only you can make based on how important the cabin and the dining arrangements are to you and your family.

Also, if you are driving down the possibility of free parking or if not the OBC.

We like the OBC or free car parking and opt for whichever works out better for us. Also, selecting our cabin location and dining arrangements are important to us. Plus the free shuttle buses are a useful bonus.

TBH I'd pay more than that to be sure of a cabin in a quiet location and to get Freedom dining as well as free shuttle buses and free coach travel from Scotland so for me it's also a no-brainer. Select every time

Exactly. If I was given a cabin on the top deck, or at the far rear of the ship, it would ruin my holiday, so I choose Select every time. We booked Select on next year's Aurora cruise and paid £1385 each for 19 days. It is now on offer on an Early Saver for £1900 - Some Saver!

I’ve had a couple of cabins in ‘undesirable’ locations (the stewards bang their carts out really early opposite our door, or being shaken awake by the vibrations aft), so now pick our cabin after much research and experience. So being stressed prior to the cruise not knowing where my cabin will be and the risk of being put on a fixed dining time, is not the way I’d want to go. I’d choose Select every time for peace of mind (with “no upgrade”) even if it was more expensive.

Saying that, if cabin location and dining time don’t matter to you, then work out what you’ll save and decide if it’s worth it.

May be worth researching the cabins that others have been allocated on saver fares and didn’t like, and see if you’d be happy if you’d received these. Even a week is a long time on a cruise to feel miserable in your surroundings.

Good luck with your decision.

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I never understand why P&O plays these games with varying types i.e. Select, Early Saver and Saver as it depends when you book and many will have paid less for a Select and have obc or free parking/coach travel than those booking a laughable Saver at igher cost. I know it is all down to fluid pricing but Princess have a much better system where even on late deals you can still pick your cabin and dining time and get some very good late deals.

We book late saver these days, now retired and can go whenever we want and not too fussed on itinary, dining times or cabin location. Last cruise was Oriana, 17 nights including 2 days in Venice. Booked late saver and got a low deck midship cabin for £999 each, £58pppn. Also was about to book 35nights Carribean late saver for £1999 each, £57 pppn but accident stopped us. I have seen Pando cruises at saver price of £50pppn before.

Do any select fares approach that sort of pppn even allowing for OBC etc.?

Hi Everyone, after a bit of advice.

Looking to book a cruise on Azura next year but not sure whether to book as an early saver or select.

Early saver states that P & O will allocate our cabin and we have to be flexible with our time/table size and dining style.

The save price is £210 extra per person but we get to pick cabin and have priority on times and table size.

Just wondering how people had gone on with booking the early saver in the past?

I book select every time because I want to pick a balcony cabin midships,near a lift,has cabins above and below us and mid deck definitely not high up.

Select gives us a decent OBC and choice of Freedom dining too.

Jeanlyon

I think we all know the reason why fares for Aurora have gone north, so maybe not a fair (!) comparison this time.

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We've never had a problem with early saver. You can choose the category of cabin you want and You can request your dining and we have always got freedom dining which is what we request. We've usually gone up a couple of categories as well from the cabin category we selected. Shuttle's are £2.50 pp each way if you need to pay for them (this has happened on one occasion) so if you don't mind letting P & O choose your cabin I'd say go for it. £420 is a lot towards your spending money :)

People have been posting of charging of £4-£5 each way for shuttles recently (if you have to pay)

As I don't really mind the cabin position and or dining times, we've booked saver for our next cruise. Saving about £800 negates any OBC and free parking, we still save. I am more than happy.

People have been posting of charging of £4-£5 each way for shuttles recently (if you have to pay)

It could have gone up then but even if we needed a shuttle every day it's still cheaper to pay for them than pay the extra for select

As I don't really mind the cabin position and or dining times, we've booked saver for our next cruise. Saving about £800 negates any OBC and free parking, we still save. I am more than happy.

That's the main thing that you are happy with your choice.

Absolutely :)

Thanks for all your advise.

We decided to go with the select price in the end.

Although it was more money we were concerned about what cabin location we would be given and prefer that we might have more chance getting a table for 2 in the restaurants.

We did get a little OBC which you don’t get with the early saver.

All booked now so roll on November 2019!

Just back off Britannia paid the early saver price. Used Airlynx for parking who were brilliant, 5 mins from the port, £97 for 15 days parking. Picked us up from the port at 8.20 we were driving North on the A34 at 8.45. Requested late dinner table size 6 which we got with the added bonus it was next to a window. Our cabin was close to the the front stairs and elevators so no problem with the centre lifts and although we had 7 stops we only paid £8 each for the return shuttle service in Helsinki.

Free shuttles for all in Copenhagen and Rostock, Tallinn and Skagan were short walks and we had tours booked in St Petersburg and Stockholm so no need of a shuttle. The early saver fare really worked for us, saved about £500 which covered our final bar bill.

Just back off Britannia paid the early saver price. Used Airlynx for parking who were brilliant, 5 mins from the port, £97 for 15 days parking. Picked us up from the port at 8.20 we were driving North on the A34 at 8.45. Requested late dinner table size 6 which we got with the added bonus it was next to a window. Our cabin was close to the the front stairs and elevators so no problem with the centre lifts and although we had 7 stops we only paid £8 each for the return shuttle service in Helsinki.

Free shuttles for all in Copenhagen and Rostock, Tallinn and Skagan were short walks and we had tours booked in St Petersburg and Stockholm so no need of a shuttle. The early saver fare really worked for us, saved about £500 which covered our final bar bill.

You must have been lucky with the price or there has been a recent price increase just checked for a 14nt cruise in October and price for parking is £127-50 for parking 5 minutes from port and if you park at their other car park 20 mins from port it is £101-25.

As others have said "You pays your money you takes your choice" we like to select our cabin, as strangely (Or so it seems) my wife likes to feel the ship moving, so we always book frwd on the Lido deck.

Also second sitting, big table, set dining is what we enjoy, so the fact that we can book both cabin position and dining options with select booking, and the on board credit we get (£450 on our upcoming R815) means that is for us.

Always do your homework and compare different deals. We were looking at 12 nights on Ventura on 9th December and saw a deal for a saver fare at £649 for an inside cabin, so just about £54 pppn. On further investigation, the obstructed view outside cabin was £720 on a select fare, but this came with a total of £110 pp obc and all of the other select benefits, although strangely we don't have a cabin allocated yet so the upgrade fairy may arrive! Guess which one we booked!