P and O price promise worthless, do not book early

[Cosmic Rays]

No, there is nothing you can do, having booked too soon. You knew what you were doing, got it wrong, and were not misled.

 

I've been arguing a pretty strong case on behalf of those conned by Vantage fares (not me) for a while now, but your post is really not helpful to anyone and does nothing for the cause of those really duped.

 

Annie:(

 

SORRY..................ONLY a comment - didn't mean to rattle your cage!!! I am fully aware of the controvesy over Vantage fares both with P&O and on Cunard. I'll crawl back into my burrow.........

[wilson2579]

There are quite alot of people that are not happy with the situation that they find themselves in.There are many poeople who don't have the options of when they book so it is not as easy as some people think.

Wilson2579 , can i ask if your booking in July was before the introduction of Vantage fares ?

 

Hi Fiona, It was a Vantage fare which went down quite a bit a couple of months later. The first I knew of it was a letter about the OBC. I hasten to say it hasn't reduced since and the vantage price is the same as a year ago. The getaway price isn't that much lower but this is the school holidays. Maybe time yet for it to drop more.

[Cathygh]

Hi

Ima very new to cruising but I have been folowing the market since 2009/10. I can not comment on how late deals were handled before that time. When I wanted to book a cruise for 2010, I looked at prices when the brochures came out, then again in January & then tracked them for some months. In 2010, the cheapest price was in January & never found a late deal for the cruise I wanted, so in the end we missed out that year.

In 2011 we booked a mini cruise about 3 weeks before departure, & got about £10 off the brochure price. Not really a late deal then.

Then in 2012 we booked another mini cruise, 3 weeks before departure, at half price and were given a very nice upgrade from inside to balcony. Everyone we spoke to had done the same thing.

So what changed between 2010 and 2012? Was it the recession biting deeply? Too many ships? The sinking of the Costa ship? It seems to me that if these large cruise companies can afford to sell balcony cabins at Inside prices they are overcharging in the first place. Perhaps they would be better reducing prices by 25% & not having the fire sales. If I knew I was getting a really good price from the start thatw as not going to go down I would book earlier & they would have the cabins sold earlier. It must be worth a try for a couple of years at least till things pick up.

Cathy

[daiB]

SORRY..................ONLY a comment - didn't mean to rattle your cage!!! I am fully aware of the controvesy over Vantage fares both with P&O and on Cunard. I'll crawl back into my burrow.........

 

You should do no such thing. Rattle away to your hearts content. You are proving the point that the only fluid prices are those in the getaway section.

 

As Cathy has said getting a cabin can be a lottery if you risk waiting until the last moment you can lose as easily as winning.

 

Annie clearly has a cause to champion and you squashed it .....shame:rolleyes:.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[FLUFFY01]

I wonder how long it will take the idiots at P&O corporate HQ to find out the number of empty cabins on sailing is increasing. Then they will have the bright idea of solving the problem by banning solos and families from booking them......er....hold on a minute :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Thank you for the laugh regarding families and solos.:)

[KarenR_UK]

YES.............DON'T BOOK EARLY...............not even a Getaway. We did that last month and today the price has dropped a further £340 EACH!!!! Guess there's nothing I can do now, or is there perhaps even though I know the T&C's???

There are some absolutely amazing fares about now so that tells us all the state of the overloaded bed space cruise market.........

 

I'm currently playing Getaway roulette:p

 

We've picked the cruise we want to do, got the time off 'ok'ed by the boss - but heard last week that P&O changed the getaway prices on some near cruises:cool:.

'Ours' didn't change (too far out, or just 'selling nicely thank you' ? who knows - all part of the 'fun'), so have now waited another week to see if it will go down :eek:

 

I don't know how long I will be able hold my nerve as I am also conscious that some of the prices did go up & sometimes the getaway fare is withdrawn altogether!!:eek:

 

Actually, I think I'll be booking as soon as I get a moment to myself to contact the TA:D

[Cosmic Rays]

I'm currently playing Getaway roulette:p

 

We've picked the cruise we want to do, got the time off 'ok'ed by the boss - but heard last week that P&O changed the getaway prices on some near cruises:cool:.

'Ours' didn't change (too far out, or just 'selling nicely thank you' ? who knows - all part of the 'fun'), so have now waited another week to see if it will go down :eek:

 

I don't know how long I will be able hold my nerve as I am also conscious that some of the prices did go up & sometimes the getaway fare is withdrawn altogether!!:eek:

 

Actually, I think I'll be booking as soon as I get a moment to myself to contact the TA:D

 

You could try making a 'dummy' Vantage booking on line and see what is still available!! It's fun to do.

When is what you want 'sailing'? If it's July I would still wait...........in hindsight. Our stateroom hasn't been allocated yet........

[KarenR_UK]

You could try making a 'dummy' Vantage booking on line and see what is still available!! It's fun to do.

When is what you want 'sailing'? If it's July I would still wait...........in hindsight. Our stateroom hasn't been allocated yet........

 

I had been doing just that :)

There wasn't much movement over the two weeks, but that perhaps just means specific cabins haven't been allocated yet - there could be 16 cabins and 15 getaway bookings and they are just waiting for that final one to close it all up:D

 

However, just after my post I decided to have a look !

& nearly fell off my chair - all grades had a small drop (£50-£100), but balcony had a massive £300 pp drop :eek:

 

Booked it last night:D

 

Its for early June, so I'm working on the principle that's likely to be the last drop (though given the extent of the drop perhaps balconies are selling particularly badly & it will go down again - especially as both first and 2nd dining were both still available....).

But if it does go down again, at least I'm still £600 better off than I would have been if I had booked last week.

 

Re the cabin allocation - my TA said P&O are being particularly tardy of late & we might know only a week or two before sailing - perhaps P&O have instigated this as another 'punishment';) for late booking.

 

must update my signature:D

[Cosmic Rays]

I had been doing just that :)

There wasn't much movement over the two weeks, but that perhaps just means specific cabins haven't been allocated yet - there could be 16 cabins and 15 getaway bookings and they are just waiting for that final one to close it all up:D

 

However, just after my post I decided to have a look !

& nearly fell off my chair - all grades had a small drop (£50-£100), but balcony had a massive £300 pp drop :eek:

 

Booked it last night:D

 

Its for early June, so I'm working on the principle that's likely to be the last drop (though given the extent of the drop perhaps balconies are selling particularly badly & it will go down again - especially as both first and 2nd dining were both still available....).

But if it does go down again, at least I'm still £600 better off than I would have been if I had booked last week.

 

Re the cabin allocation - my TA said P&O are being particularly tardy of late & we might know only a week or two before sailing - perhaps P&O have instigated this as another 'punishment';) for late booking.

 

must update my signature:D

 

Good for you.....................your £300 gain was my £300 loss, both on balconies and ours in July on Arcadia!!!!!

[Chandon26]

Hi

 

Thanks for the replies. I booked for the cruise in November last year. When I booked it, it was the only fare available. I had put off booking it before as I was waiting for the price to drop. Advantage fare was not mentioned nor is it on any of my paperwork. My argument is this

 

1. I was given a price promise that if the cruise price came down I would be given additional OBC/upgrade. This was the only reason I booked it then. The additional benefits I would have foregone happily as they are not important to me. Nothing was mentioned about a different type of fare, I do not believe the getaway fare was available then.

 

2. I agree that I was happy to pay the price in November, but only with the price promise. I am NOT asking for my money back, only additional OBC. The cruise now has been reduced by over £400 per person for the same cabin.

 

3. I believe that P and O have done this on purpose, it is devious and I will complain to the ASA and I encourage everyone who has been affected to do so also. P and O only offered the Getaway fare for this cruise after the full fare had been paid

 

Thanks for all your replies.

[Bobbyjean]

Good for you Chandon.

 

I wonder if they made it clear back then that people who buy Vantage fares will only get OBC if the VANTAGE fare goes down?

 

It is still misleading though, because only experiences cruisers will be aware that there are other types of P&O fares. How on earth would you know otherwise if you simply wanted to book a holiday without reading forums for hours beforehand?

[Chandon26]

Ruths40 when you got your OBC when the getaway fare reduced, did you originally book on advantage fare. Thanks

[Thejuggler]

Ruths40 when you got your OBC when the getaway fare reduced, did you originally book on advantage fare. Thanks

 

She would have had no choice as a child passenger is also included. I suspect the OBC was a gesture from P&O.

 

To date it appears the only OBC offered as a result of a Vantage fare drop was in the early days during the crossover between fluid pricing and vantage fare/getaway fare.

 

If you booked not knowing about Getaway (it is obvious in brochures and pricing now, but hasn't always been so) its worth pushing P&O and involve ASA etc.

[simonpjd]

Chandon26 you do not have a leg to stand on in this case. It is blazed all over the P&O brochures and website that there are two fares. Make no mistake P&O have not covered themselves in glory about the way this has been implemented but it is all there in black and white.

The VANTAGE fare is the one you booked. Comes with various incentives and if it is reduced you will get the difference in OBC.

The GETAWAY fare MAY be made available at a later date with a reduced price and reduced benefits.

 

When you booked you state that there was no Getaway option and you were told if the price reduced you would get the OBC. This is your only chance - because if you were not told that a Getaway fare may be made available at a later date at a cheaper price then you could argue you were not given the full facts.

You say P&O are devious and Getaway fare was not made available until the full fare had been paid - well that is exactly how it is designed to work. The Getaway should be made available near the start date to try and sell off unsold cabins. This is not devious, it is good business sense - you will not get anywhere trying to get them on that.

 

Now , of course, we all know that Getaway fares actually start appearing 6 months or so before the cruise and, as yet, I have not heard of a single Vantage fare ever having been reduced. And I ask if anyone here knows of one then let us all know. This is where P&O are sailing a tad close to the wind.

If I was running it I would actually reduce the Vantage fare on a couple of cruises and take the hit. At least I would be able to say 'There, we have done it as promised.' I would also set in place rules that a Getaway fare CANNOT be offered until it is within 12 weeks of sailing. So it genuinely is a last minute fare which is how they originally described it.

I would hope they have staff reading these forums and reporting back - at one time a couple of weeks back 7 or the top 15 threads here all concerned this same issue - so it is obvious that many people are not happy.

[daiB]

Chandon26 you do not have a leg to stand on in this case. It is blazed all over the P&O brochures and website that there are two fares. Make no mistake P&O have not covered themselves in glory about the way this has been implemented but it is all there in black and white.

The VANTAGE fare is the one you booked. Comes with various incentives and if it is reduced you will get the difference in OBC.

The GETAWAY fare MAY be made available at a later date with a reduced price and reduced benefits.

 

When you booked you state that there was no Getaway option and you were told if the price reduced you would get the OBC. This is your only chance - because if you were not told that a Getaway fare may be made available at a later date at a cheaper price then you could argue you were not given the full facts.

You say P&O are devious and Getaway fare was not made available until the full fare had been paid - well that is exactly how it is designed to work. The Getaway should be made available near the start date to try and sell off unsold cabins. This is not devious, it is good business sense - you will not get anywhere trying to get them on that.

 

Now , of course, we all know that Getaway fares actually start appearing 6 months or so before the cruise and, as yet, I have not heard of a single Vantage fare ever having been reduced. And I ask if anyone here knows of one then let us all know. This is where P&O are sailing a tad close to the wind.

If I was running it I would actually reduce the Vantage fare on a couple of cruises and take the hit. At least I would be able to say 'There, we have done it as promised.' I would also set in place rules that a Getaway fare CANNOT be offered until it is within 12 weeks of sailing. So it genuinely is a last minute fare which is how they originally described it.

I would hope they have staff reading these forums and reporting back - at one time a couple of weeks back 7 or the top 15 threads here all concerned this same issue - so it is obvious that many people are not happy.

 

 

This of course is coming into line with the US were they have the 90 Ticker. By law they have to price match up to 90 days out after that there are always bargains to be had.

 

However the price match is not always automatic as I have read many threads where the cruiser found out about the fall in price and had to apply for theirs to come down as well.

 

I also look at the Cunard section of CC and although mentioned there is certainly not the number of complaints that there are on here.

 

BTW I agree with the first section of you post.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[tillybilly321]

Chandon26 you do not have a leg to stand on in this case. It is blazed all over the P&O brochures and website that there are two fares. Make no mistake P&O have not covered themselves in glory about the way this has been implemented but it is all there in black and white.

The VANTAGE fare is the one you booked. Comes with various incentives and if it is reduced you will get the difference in OBC.

The GETAWAY fare MAY be made available at a later date with a reduced price and reduced benefits.

 

When you booked you state that there was no Getaway option and you were told if the price reduced you would get the OBC. This is your only chance - because if you were not told that a Getaway fare may be made available at a later date at a cheaper price then you could argue you were not given the full facts.

You say P&O are devious and Getaway fare was not made available until the full fare had been paid - well that is exactly how it is designed to work. The Getaway should be made available near the start date to try and sell off unsold cabins. This is not devious, it is good business sense - you will not get anywhere trying to get them on that.

 

Now , of course, we all know that Getaway fares actually start appearing 6 months or so before the cruise and, as yet, I have not heard of a single Vantage fare ever having been reduced. And I ask if anyone here knows of one then let us all know. This is where P&O are sailing a tad close to the wind.

If I was running it I would actually reduce the Vantage fare on a couple of cruises and take the hit. At least I would be able to say 'There, we have done it as promised.' I would also set in place rules that a Getaway fare CANNOT be offered until it is within 12 weeks of sailing. So it genuinely is a last minute fare which is how they originally described it.

I would hope they have staff reading these forums and reporting back - at one time a couple of weeks back 7 or the top 15 threads here all concerned this same issue - so it is obvious that many people are not happy.

 

 

 

I think what Chandon 26 was trying to say was that when they booked there was not the option of the 2 fares. They may be emblazoned over the P&O website and flyers now, stating the difference, but they most certainly did not have this information "out there" when Chandon 26 booked.

 

I know this as we booked ourselves last Sept. The only option available was the Vantage fare with the benefits of OBC or an upgrade should the price go down. The person at P&O made a great deal of this selling point to my husband. I knew that the last few cabins would be sold off dirt cheap close to sailing, as that is something that always happens. I do believe that the introduction of the Getaway fares months before final payment is just a blatant attempt to bypass the Vantage price promise.

 

This policy could have far reaching effects for P&O. Sales are obviously down already this year, hence the incredible reductions on the Getaway fares. They have now pretty much guaranteed that sales will be very poor for next year as anyone caught out by this years chaos will book elsewhere or will wait until the last minute.

[daiB]

I think what Chandon 26 was trying to say was that when they booked there was not the option of the 2 fares. They may be emblazoned over the P&O website and flyers now, stating the difference, but they most certainly did not have this information "out there" when Chandon 26 booked.

 

I know this as we booked ourselves last Sept. The only option available was the Vantage fare with the benefits of OBC or an upgrade should the price go down. The person at P&O made a great deal of this selling point to my husband. I knew that the last few cabins would be sold off dirt cheap close to sailing, as that is something that always happens. I do believe that the introduction of the Getaway fares months before final payment is just a blatant attempt to bypass the Vantage price promise.

 

This policy could have far reaching effects for P&O. Sales are obviously down already this year, hence the incredible reductions on the Getaway fares. They have now pretty much guaranteed that sales will be very poor for next year as anyone caught out by this years chaos will book elsewhere or will wait until the last minute.

 

Well yes but it is not just P&O which have these deals some of the American lines have up to 84% off for late bookers, Holland America, Seabourn, Carnival, RCI they are all at it. So little to do with the getaway fares.

 

So if you move you will find exactly the same.

 

Same advice as ever. Book early, ie on the first day, we got up to 25% off with all the benefits or wait and book late. Never in the middle. Does not matter what cruise line you look at.

 

 

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[Pig Launcher]

As a relative novice to this game and a P&O virgin I have probably thrown money away so any advice is appreciated.

I booked a suite on Ventura last year for a cruise this coming July. I was aware that prices may fall if demand is weak but was under the impression I would get this back as onboard spending.

I regularly dummy book on line and so far suite prices have not dropped though there is plenty of time for this to happen. If it does do P&O make the customer aware or do you have to chase it up yourself? Also what are the odds on any sort of refund ?

[Norfolk Brit]

Also what are the odds on any sort of refund ?

 

Let's just say you have a most appropriate user name:D.

 

Sir Martin

[davecttr]

As a relative novice to this game and a P&O virgin I have probably thrown money away so any advice is appreciated.

I booked a suite on Ventura last year for a cruise this coming July. I was aware that prices may fall if demand is weak but was under the impression I would get this back as onboard spending.

I regularly dummy book on line and so far suite prices have not dropped though there is plenty of time for this to happen. If it does do P&O make the customer aware or do you have to chase it up yourself? Also what are the odds on any sort of refund ?

 

the concensus is zero chance although a couple of people have reported mysterious increases in their on board credit when the had new invoices printed. I have such an invoice which i am taking with me on my cruise next week.

[daiB]

As a relative novice to this game and a P&O virgin I have probably thrown money away so any advice is appreciated.

I booked a suite on Ventura last year for a cruise this coming July. I was aware that prices may fall if demand is weak but was under the impression I would get this back as onboard spending.

I regularly dummy book on line and so far suite prices have not dropped though there is plenty of time for this to happen. If it does do P&O make the customer aware or do you have to chase it up yourself? Also what are the odds on any sort of refund ?

 

If your grade has not gone getaway now it is unlikely to happen as I understand the August ones are out.

 

It would only go getaway if someone had to drop out.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[wilson2579]

As a relative novice to this game and a P&O virgin I have probably thrown money away so any advice is appreciated.

I booked a suite on Ventura last year for a cruise this coming July. I was aware that prices may fall if demand is weak but was under the impression I would get this back as onboard spending.

I regularly dummy book on line and so far suite prices have not dropped though there is plenty of time for this to happen. If it does do P&O make the customer aware or do you have to chase it up yourself? Also what are the odds on any sort of refund ?

 

I am on this cruise and I have been given OBC since I booked it a year ago. The first I knew about it was when I received a letter telling me.

[happygran]

I'm with Chandon 26 on this one. This is our first P and O cruise, after doing RCI, NCL & Celebrity (our favourite). We thought we'd take my elderly mum on a cruise, saw the 5 night Ventura which fitted in with our plans to take her to Eastbourne afterwards. They had a price promise. Nothing to lose we thought. I must say that this 5 nighter cost us more than a 7 nighter Caribbean cruise on Celebrity.

 

After final payment we saw the Getaway fares! £200 cheaper each! Not best pleased. Emailed David Dingle and have been upgraded but still not happy. We didn't get any of the extra benefits of the Vantage fare (OBC, free parking etc) as the cruise was under 7 days.

 

It's nothing short of misrepresentation.

 

We were willing to give P and O a try, but I really can't think that we'll be booking with them again. It's left a bad taste.

 

We'll stick to Celebrity.

[terrierjohn]

Well yes but it is not just P&O which have these deals some of the American lines have up to 84% off for late bookers, Holland America, Seabourn, Carnival, RCI they are all at it. So little to do with the getaway fares.

 

So if you move you will find exactly the same.

 

Same advice as ever. Book early, ie on the first day, we got up to 25% off with all the benefits or wait and book late. Never in the middle. Does not matter what cruise line you look at.

Gan canny

Dai

:cool:

Dai, I am a little bit confused with your claim to have received up to 25% off by booking early.

My understanding is that P&O offer 5% early booking, plus 5% past passenger, plus 5% if you are on a Peninsular cruise, that's no where near 25%.

You will also get some OBC, but since you don't yet know what the OBC credit will be when the launch offer finishes you cannot claim this as a discount.

Would you care to enlighten me?

By the way pick up a Celebrity brochure and compare their prices for similar cruises with what you paid, by my calculations you could have had even lower prices and you would certainly have enjoyed far better service than one gets from P&O.

[daiB]

Dai, I am a little bit confused with your claim to have received up to 25% off by booking early.

My understanding is that P&O offer 5% early booking, plus 5% past passenger, plus 5% if you are on a Peninsular cruise, that's no where near 25%.

You will also get some OBC, but since you don't yet know what the OBC credit will be when the launch offer finishes you cannot claim this as a discount.

Would you care to enlighten me?

By the way pick up a Celebrity brochure and compare their prices for similar cruises with what you paid, by my calculations you could have had even lower prices and you would certainly have enjoyed far better service than one gets from P&O.

 

Dam you have found me out:mad: Of course it is not 25% it is only about 24% as each discount is taken off in turn and therefore it is less.

 

 

Oh I see how did we get that much, well good looks, influence and of course doing a back to back giving a further 10%:):rolleyes:

 

 

Happy Days

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

BTW thanks for the invaluable advice but at the moment we are a tad busy. And of course I have read contrasting views regarding service on that line. Of course you can read contrasting views regarding any line which is why I pay no attention to reviews. If you want to try a cruise line or ship, just do it which is of course the advice I always give.

 

:cool: