A strategy needed for getting the best fares on Cunard

[old fool]

I welcome advice from frequent travelers on a strategy to obtain the best fares on Cunard cruises. e.g.

 

Travel agent? / web site? / book on board? / phone directly to Cunard?;

Is the rule "book late" for lowest fares?;

If the fare goes down after booking what options are available?

The good and bad of a Guarantee vs. selecting a specific cabin?

Are there ever specials for single travelers that reduce the "200% sting"?

 

 

In short, those of you who have booked Cunard many times have experience and most likely use a method that minimizes the cost. Please share your tips and advice.

 

Thank you

[Jim Avery]

If price is the main driver, book late. We had very good rates on QV doing this. Also book a GTY fare if possible unless you must have a particular cabin/grade/location.

[CateW]

We got what I think is a fantastic price on 12/22 holiday sailing of the QM2, we only booked 2 weeks ago. We did get the dreaded guarantee (balcony) so I'll have to see how that shakes out once we get our room assignment. We did use a TA and got a decent OBC. I believe that if the price drops after final payment your stuck with what you paid so make sure you;re happy with your final payment price.

[Route6A]

I agree with booking late if that is possible as I have found some very good low fares after the final payment deadline. I once booked a crossing for an unusually low fare after final payment. Watching for sales is also a smart strategy.

 

Sometimes, I find better fares with online travel agents, due to OBC's, but other times, it makes little difference. I never book a guarantee as I prefer to select my location.

[old fool]

Can you apply your deposit to a lower priced booking as long as it's before the final payment?

[PunkiC]

Register to get special deal e-mails. I got some balcony deals last week that were amazing.

[bazzaw]

I am sure that the following will sound facetious - but I mean it in all sincerity.

 

The VERY best way to get the VERY best cruise fares is to look for those great deals - on any ship, in any cabin, going anywhere, at any time of the year. As soon as you start to narrow those options to something that you "want", you will pay more :rolleyes:. Sad - but true. We have had some good deals on cruises for which we have been able to specify two of those things to our requirement - the other two being not of our choice. If you want to specify your requirements for all four of those options, you will indeed pay through the nose !! :D

 

Barry

[balf]

[quote name=bazzaw;34887198 As soon as you start to narrow those options to something that you "want"' date=' you will pay more

Barry[/quote]

 

 

Very true. You can regard it as a contest between you and Cunard: you want the cheapest fare, Cunard want the biggest initial spend.

 

It's worth remembering that there are no real "horror" cabins on Cunard ships though we would always hope to avoid one next to the laundry and find that there is little difference in practice between decks or position. However we have made the booking we have always been happy with the cabin we have chosen or been allocated and have quickly settled in and made it "home" for the duration.

 

We could never ever book years ahead as some do, but it takes all sorts.

 

David.

[old fool]

Does the fare always go down or stay the same as we get closer to the sailing date, or does price move up and down like airline tickets?

[Artemis]

Hi, old fool, here's a hot Cunard deal for solo travelers--it ends Aug 15. http://www.frommers.com/community/blogs/blog.cfm/cruise-blog/attention-solo-travelers-cunard-selling-solo-transatlantic-cabins-899 If you are traveling with someone, see current specials based on double occupancy here: http://www.cunard.com/Special-Offers/special-offer-1/ I agree you should subscribe to emails to get these kinds of deals in your Inbox, but sometimes, it just takes following travel media and staying on top of pricing. It is impossible to know with certainty whether fares will go up or down, as that's primarily a function of supply and demand; but if you are flexible, simply calendar the 90-day final payment deadline for the crossings of interest and then watch for any adjustment in the week or two after. If it's a soft sell, prices will usually take a brief dive, and guaranteed cabin pricing may be on offer. If they get enough takers, prices may then recover and actually increase if the ship is near capacity with only a few weeks to sail date.

[Garybem]

I agree with the suggestion that a number of people have made about signing up for the Cunard emails and mailings.

 

The Cunard MD Peter Shanks has been very open that they have had to deal Cunard a lot over the last months and year, like all cruise lines. So I have a constant flow of emails and mailings with deals both close in and far out.

 

It is also worth checking often the Cunard site as they have a section listing late booking deals and also good deals for the months ahead.

 

Saying all that, Cunard have launched their Vantage Fares Guarantee, as they are concerned and affected by people all waiting to go book very late. This new guarantee that if prices fall after you book they will add in benefits to the value of the reduction in OBC etc (I blogged about them : http://www.allaboutcunard.com/2012/07/cunard-launch-vantage-fares-if-prices.html )

 

I also agree with the post that made the point that if you want to chose a cabin or a date or a time.... that will cost more than waiting.....

 

In recent times the deepest deals on Cunard seem to have been for Fjords and then Transatlantic as it get to within weeks of departure.

 

On the deposit point, Cunard do not let you move deposit - if you change it is counted as a cancellation...

[bazzaw]

It's worth remembering that there are no real "horror" cabins on Cunard ships though we would always hope to avoid one next to the laundry

 

NO - NO - NO!!! :D We once had an inside cabin right alongside a laundry on QM2 - and it was the best inside we have ever had. Why?? Because other times we have been very far away from the laundry and whenever I needed to press a shirt, I had to walk what felt like a half a mile to the laundry only to find it occupied and very busy. But for this particualr cabin, I could check it out every time we went back to our cabin and quickly zip in there when I found it to be empty. It was brilliant!! :D

 

Notice that I said "when I needed to press a shirt" -- and not "when my wife ...":D

 

Barry

 

BTW - we heard nothing from the laundry when inside our cabin.

 

Barry

[old fool]

It seems that the best method for a chance at a low price and still early enough to book connecting flights is to sign up for Cunard emails; check 75-90 days prior to the prospective sailing; and take a "guarantee" in your choice of cabin category. I welcome comments or suggestions on my "theory".

[Underwatr]

The emails will tell you when there's a special fare, but we've booked with a TA as often as directly with Cunard. Knowing a good (online) discount TA will save you a lot of money - around 20% off Cunard's past-passenger rate for my upcoming Christmas cruise.

 

There are websites (at least one, anyway) where you list your cruise and the best price you've seen for a given cabin category, and travel agents compete for your business. There's a Clark Howard article about this. Oddly enough, one TA consistently gives me the best offer through this service (and I've begun to use him directly ).

[pepperrn]

NO - NO - NO!!! :D We once had an inside cabin right alongside a laundry on QM2 - and it was the best inside we have ever had. Why?? Because other times we have been very far away from the laundry and whenever I needed to press a shirt, I had to walk what felt like a half a mile to the laundry only to find it occupied and very busy. But for this particualr cabin, I could check it out every time we went back to our cabin and quickly zip in there when I found it to be empty. It was brilliant!! Barry

Couldn't agree more :) . Twice I've had an inside cabin next or near the laundry (QV-next door on deck 4, QM2-one cabin away on deck 11) and both times I found it as handy as you did for the same reasons.

BTW - we heard nothing from the laundry when inside our cabin. Barry

Despite my worries before boarding, like you, I wasn't disturbed once by noise due to the laundry or people using it on either occasion :) .

[balf]

whenever I needed to press a shirt,

 

Barry

 

Press a shirt? Get some Packit folders and take all you will need with you.

 

Cruises are not for pressing shirts......or getting in punch ups in the laundry.

 

David

[old fool]

Does Cunard ever do specials for single travelers? "Artemis" mentioned a very good special for a single traveling TA for this winter. Is that a very rare occurance or fairly common to see such good single fares?

[canny_cruiser]

Rare - in my experience. Even Artemis' code returns an error for me on the Cunard site!

 

If Cunard had anywhere near the number of solo offers which MSC has, my cruise list below would be all Cunard rather than mainly MSC!

[Whitemarsh]

Does Cunard ever do specials for single travelers? "Artemis" mentioned a very good special for a single traveling TA for this winter. Is that a very rare occurance or fairly common to see such good single fares?

 

If they do, they generally don't advertise them. I know of a great deal for singles they had on a sector of the 2013 world cruise, but I only found out about it by accident.

 

The deal was so good that it was cheaper for friends of mine (a couple) to make separate bookings with a stateroom each than it was for them to make a single booking with one room!

[old fool]

If they do, they generally don't advertise them. I know of a great deal for singles they had on a sector of the 2013 world cruise, but I only found out about it by accident.

 

The deal was so good that it was cheaper for friends of mine (a couple) to make separate bookings with a stateroom each than it was for them to make a single booking with one room!

 

What was the "accident" that alerted you to such a great deal?

[Whitemarsh]

What was the "accident" that alerted you to such a great deal?

 

I was shopping around with a TA, trying to compare prices on a particular sector. Out of curiosity, I requested the price on adding an additional sector (to the one I was enquiring about) and nearly fell over when I found out how cheap the additional sector was.

 

I should point out that the TA didn't know about the deal for single travellers either; he was as surprised as I was.

[Artemis]

Rare - in my experience. Even Artemis' code returns an error for me on the Cunard site!

 

• Never draw a conclusion about anything from the Cunard website, particularly the booking engine! The fact that it's a flawed creature is often a subject of discussion.
  
• Please be reminded that Cunard sales terms vary based on residency. It's unlikely this particular "singles" offer advertised in the US travel media extends to non-US bookings. But if you are interested in sailing any of the listed dates, you should ring them up and inquire!
  

 

Cheers! :)