So cheesed off with prices!

[Alibobs]

Am I being overly sentimental in thinking of that some current fare fluctuations may be due in part to the recent Costa Concordia tragedy? Not the way I would want my fare to be reduced

[Chunky2219]

Am I being overly sentimental in thinking of that some current fare fluctuations may be due in part to the recent Costa Concordia tragedy? Not the way I would want my fare to be reduced

I doubt it. We got a fantastic price drop deal with Cunard last year, long before the Concordia went down. If ships are filling up nicely on the other hand, prices still seem to rise over time.

 

My preferred way of going about things now for any line in the Carnival group (including Cunard) is to wait as long as possible, watch for the price drops and book a good deal. If the voyage we want sells out or goes up too far in price we find something else. I'm unlikely to ever book early again.

 

For Celebrity (and I assume also RCCL and Azamara) it works best for us to book early, watch for the price drops then phone the TA and get the reduction. It's a pity Cunard don't work this way.

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[9stilton]

If it helps we know of people who are regular Cunard cruisers & had booked months ahead to go on a cruise with Cunard in Dec last year. They were alarmed to find that prices on that cruise were ultimately slashed and discounted markedly to what had paid. They then made representation to their travel agent who in turn contacted Cunard with a resultant upgrade of 5 levels into a Princess Grill stateroom.

 

It clearly shows to me that regular Cunard cruisers are looked after & that some travel agents also value returning custom. Good luck in your quest wirh Cunard

[brigittetom]

[quote name=Chunky2219;32837535

 

For Celebrity (and I assume also RCCL and Azamara) it works best for us to book early' date=' watch for the price drops then phone the TA and get the reduction. It's a pity Cunard don't work this way.

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.[/quote] Cunard does honor price drops which is why it's a good idea to book onboard, get onboard credit, and hope for price drops. My [point is simply...that if you book at the very last minute...there are deals to be had...provided you are not absolutely determined to get on that particular cruise....because it may sell out before you can get the "absolute best deal". :)

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Cunard does honor price drops which is why it's a good idea to book onboard, get onboard credit, and hope for price drops. My [point is simply...that if you book at the very last minute...there are deals to be had...provided you are not absolutely determined to get on that particular cruise....because it may sell out before you can get the "absolute best deal". :)

 

This is good advice for USA cruisers but unfortunately it doesn't work like this in UK. Once you book it is irrelevant what future price drops occur as you don't get any price changes for your booking as you've already contracted to pay the asking price at time of booking - and if you cancel you lose your deposit. :mad:

[Chunky2219]

This is good advice for USA cruisers but unfortunately it doesn't work like this in UK. Once you book it is irrelevant what future price drops occur as you don't get any price changes for your booking as you've already contracted to pay the asking price at time of booking - and if you cancel you lose your deposit. :mad:

Yes, unfortunately Salad Muncher is correct about the UK situation. I guess this is because Cunard require a rather large deposit, whereas the folks who will let you chase a price drop only ask for £150 each, so if they don't honour the drop you just cancel and rebook. Of course, after final payment date all bets are off and they are probably every bit as inflexible as Cunard

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[zider]

This is good advice for USA cruisers but unfortunately it doesn't work like this in UK. Once you book it is irrelevant what future price drops occur as you don't get any price changes for your booking as you've already contracted to pay the asking price at time of booking - and if you cancel you lose your deposit. :mad:

To take it a bit further if you booked in the UK say a AA Cabin & later you see a P4 at a good price you can not have it at that price ,You have to pay the price that the P4 was when you made your original booking So no incentive to pay for a upgrade, But a new booking can have it at the price but you the already paying customer can not!! Now is that not a Farce i think that it is.

[Oarsman55]

Surely most of us who cruise know enough about economics to realise that cruise lines are businesses and they're there to maximise profit and stay in business.

 

If they start price-matching with late bookings we'll all be swanning around the world for 50 or 100 quid a night. Not for long though, because they'll go bust. Then we'll all have to find something else to moan about:D.

 

Peter

[Underwatr]

Everyone assumes that US reservations are 100% penalty after final payment but that's not the case. The US Cancellation policy isn't 100% after final payment, but about the same time as the normal final payment deadline cancellation penalties begin to apply. So 89 days out you might have a 25% penalty, 59 days out it might be 50%, etc. It only gets to 100% within a couple of weeks of sailing.

 

EDIT: Just looked at the Cunard confirmation for a recent cruise:

3 months out - 25% cancellation penalty

2 months out - 50% cancellation penalty

1 month out - 75% cancellation penalty

2 weeks out - 100% cancellation penalty

[Oarsman55]

To take it a bit further if you booked in the UK say a AA Cabin & later you see a P4 at a good price you can not have it at that price

 

No, you can't, because they are spending advertising and marketing money trying to bring in ADDITIONAL people to fill the P4s. You're already booked, so there's no advantage to them in giving it to you.

 

I'm not unsympathetic, but either book early and run the risk of others booking later and paying less, or book late and run the risk of getting a bad cabin or nothing at all. Once you've studied the market for a while it becomes much easier to accurately predict which cruises will be discounted and when they've reached the bottom, but to take advantage of it you need to be flexible with dates, cabin and itinerary.

 

Peter

[zider]

No, you can't, because they are spending advertising and marketing money trying to bring in ADDITIONAL people to fill the P4s. You're already booked, so there's no advantage to them in giving it to you.

 

I'm not unsympathetic, but either book early and run the risk of others booking later and paying less, or book late and run the risk of getting a bad cabin or nothing at all. Once you've studied the market for a while it becomes much easier to accurately predict which cruises will be discounted and when they've reached the bottom, but to take advantage of it you need to be flexible with dates, cabin and itinerary.

 

Peter

But its not a P4 that i would have booked in the 1st place its the AA that i would have booked & if you already made a booking you can not pay to upgrade at the new price but anyone making a new booking can.

[SamuelBronkowitz]

I'm new to all of this (sailing for the first time in a month) but I've been tracking QM2 prices on Expedia and Cunard's website since last year, and have notice without fail, at least for the INSIDE staterooms the prices would drop dramatically anywhere about 8-4 weeks before sailing. About 40% drop.

 

This time I was lucky and got an email from Cunard for a "flash promotion" and got the Inside Stateroom for $1,400 total as opposed to $2,200.

 

If flexible with when you can go, I would say it's best to wait it out and see when you can nab the best deal. But I'm far from an expert!

[keithm]

I'm new to all of this (sailing for the first time in a month) but I've been tracking QM2 prices on Expedia and Cunard's website since last year, and have notice without fail, at least for the INSIDE staterooms the prices would drop dramatically anywhere about 8-4 weeks before sailing. About 40% drop.

 

This time I was lucky and got an email from Cunard for a "flash promotion" and got the Inside Stateroom for $1,400 total as opposed to $2,200.

 

If flexible with when you can go, I would say it's best to wait it out and see when you can nab the best deal. But I'm far from an expert!

I've gotten Flash rates as low as $499 on some TA's.Unfortunately you need to travel on really short notice.

[warringtonian]

We used to be regular Fred Olsen passengers until a few years ago when we booked one of their most expensive suites only to find out two weeks later that it was much cheaper. I wrote to Fred Olsen but they refused to budge on price so I cancelled and booked on Princess instead. This is our only weapon - don't travel with them again. I should say that the same thing happened on a previous occasion and they lowered the price so there is no consistency.

[SamuelBronkowitz]

I've gotten Flash rates as low as $499 on some TA's.Unfortunately you need to travel on really short notice.

 

 

In this case there was plenty of notice (I got the flash email on 3/22..and it was good until 4/30) for cruises on 5/4 & 5/29, so giving pretty good time.

 

However my passport was at the British Consulate waiting for a visa and I didn't get it back until 3/30 so I was sweating bullets they would sell out before I could inspect my visa.

 

I booked as soon as I checked over my visa, and wouldn't you know it, when I called Cunard back on Monday to ask questions, they sold out the flash rate fares completely. Whew....