When and how to book our 1st p&o cruise

Sorry if this has been asked before but having finally made our minds up on a p&o Baltic cruise to celebrate my retirement i need help.

The puzzle we have having never sailed with p&o ( 1 Thomson cruise only ) is do we book early for early saver or do we book select price and also people tell me to wait and maybe grab a bargain nearer the time we wish to go( early 2019).

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

If you book Select, you get On Board Credit, or parking. You also get your choice of cabin, your choice of dining and also free shuttle buses. You get none of that with a Saver fare. Personally I always want to know where my cabin is going to be.

You are not always guaranteed a late saver fare and even then the price might be as dear as booking early Select fare as P&O like all cruise lines use fluid pricing. Also Baltic cruises are not usually done all year round or early in the year and P&Os Baltic cruises are already on sale and have been for a while and the earliest is in May. Only you can decide whether to book a Select and choose your cabin and have either free obc, parking at the port or free coach to port and choose your dinner sitting or pay the cheaper Early Saver and have none of the above choices.

Hi....the best time to book a cruise is when the cruises first go on sail but for May 2019 they went on sale last September..... on the cruises we have done the early saver/ late saver fares have never worked out cheaper than select fares at launch. You could wait to see if a late saver price becomes available but you may find that the price is no different than if you booked now...in fact could be more and they may not have the type of cabin that you want. The cruise is to mark a special occasion in your life so I would want exactly what I wanted ...no ifs or maybes....and you will only be able to do that if you book Select Fare.

If you book Select, you get On Board Credit, or parking. You also get your choice of cabin, your choice of dining and also free shuttle buses. You get none of that with a Saver fare. Personally I always want to know where my cabin is going to be.

We only ever book Select fares as we would never risk being allocated a cabin above or below a source of noise disturbance (e.g. public room or deck) or above a smoking area. No potential saving (and it is only a potential saving) of a saver fare is worth that risk for us, as it would ruin our cruise. As a point of interest, we generally book as soon as the cruises are released (as it has always been cheapest then) and have always had free parking PLUS a decent chunk of on board credit.

This is never an easy decision as there is no set formulae as to when the best deals will be available . In previous years I would say that Baltic cruises have tended to hold their prices but who is to say this will be the case next year.

When to book is really about how flexible you are happy to be. If you are happy to make do with any ship, cabin or itinary then wait until late and see if you can get a bargain. However as you are celebrating a special event then you may want to book early to get exactly what you want but then do not recheck the prices!

This year we wanted to cruise the Baltic with our daughters. For the first time in many years we could travel before the start of the school holidays. We managed to get an early saver suite for less than we usually pay for a balcony so are happy with that. We are flexible about dining and not too worried about shuttles for that cruise. My husband and I then decided we would like to do a short cruise earlier in the year. For this one we were not fussed about where we went but as it was an extra on board spend would be welcome and we did not want to have to share a table at every dinner. We managed to get another deal on a suite which we are happy with but this time on a Select fare.

So it is horse for courses! Do a bit of research. Check what is available, decide on what you want and see who can give you the best deal.

Happy cruising x

I have just booked a Baltic cruise for next year and for the first time have gone for the early saver price.

We did this as the cost for a deluxe balcony was over £600pp cheaper. Ok we forgo £200pp OBC, choosing the cabin and having confirm dining but we have never had the cabin of choice, as so far, have always been upgraded. Dining, have done 1st and 2nd sitting, so not fussed, we opt for freedom if we can. Therefore having £1200 in the kitty for our spending far out weighs paying the select fare.

Hope this helps, we are on the 13th May sailing from Southampton, by the way.

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If you book Select, you get On Board Credit, or parking. You also get your choice of cabin, your choice of dining and also free shuttle buses. You get none of that with a Saver fare. Personally I always want to know where my cabin is going to be.

This is our way too and for the exact same reasons.

We only ever book Select fares as we would never risk being allocated a cabin above or below a source of noise disturbance (e.g. public room or deck) or above a smoking area. No potential saving (and it is only a potential saving) of a saver fare is worth that risk for us, as it would ruin our cruise. As a point of interest, we generally book as soon as the cruises are released (as it has always been cheapest then) and have always had free parking PLUS a decent chunk of on board credit.

Great points plus you are only paying a deposit when you book early and your balance is due at a pre- confirmed time regardless of when you book.

It's always worth checking out the select fares OBC against the saver fares as sometimes

you save nothing with a saver fare .

For example if you was looking for a balcony in May on the Oceana you could pay the saver fare £999 and pay £150 deposit

or for another £100 go select fare and get to choose your cabin ,choose your dining options, free shuttles and only pay 5% deposit.

If you are booking as a couple then it's win- win as you are given £100 OBC each !

That is the amount you gave extra in the first place :cool: Based on E911A cruise.

Why would you want a saver fare on this cruise ?

I can only tell you that we booked our Baltic cruise last year whilst on board ship last April. We are sailing in June this year and the price for the same cabin has gone up by about £1000 now!

Thanks for all the great and helpful replies, we have settled for select price after being offered £280 on board spending and free coach to Southampton from the north by taking a balcony room also know our room and have any time dining!

The thing that shocked us though was the fact that our cruise is for the 26th may 2019 and yet was very nearly booked up, after years of hotels all over the world we have obviously been missing a trick not going on a cruise more often!

Thanks for all the great and helpful replies, we have settled for select price after being offered £280 on board spending and free coach to Southampton from the north by taking a balcony room also know our room and have any time dining!

The thing that shocked us though was the fact that our cruise is for the 26th may 2019 and yet was very nearly booked up, after years of hotels all over the world we have obviously been missing a trick not going on a cruise more often!

Great decision and justification in getting the room you want and a bundle of obc plus free coach travel.