Vantage rip off

[mike x ftc]

I booked a Cunard 'Vantage' fare early, happy that if the price drops they'll "pass on the reduction" as they state. Not so, they've now cut the price and renamed it a 'Getaway' fare. So there are people now paying less for balcony than i paid for an inside:mad: I tried calling cunard to state my case but they were having none of it. I know i could cancel and rebook but really - should i have to??

I know there has been a lot of mumbles about this, i just needed to get this off my chest!!

The QM2 had better impress me as at the moment I'm not at all impressed with cunard.

[Chunky2219]

There was a lot of debate on the Cunard and P&O forums when Vantage fares were announced. I'm not normally a cynic, honest I'm not, but it was obvious from day 1 that this was just a massive marketing dodge to fill cabins and hopefully never have to drop prices. It was never going to work for customers, only ever for the line.

 

The best part was the bit that said the line could make up the difference in price of a drop in any way they want. Discount, cabin upgrade, OBC, five years supply of cheese and cress sandwiches, anything.

 

You have my deepest sympathy for having been taken in by the spiel.

 

Our last two Cunard voyages have been Getaways. I'm unlikely to book really, really early ever again. In contrast, we took two early booked Celebrity voyages in the last 12 months and in total we got three very substantial price drops. We even got a retrospective 5% discount for joining the loyalty programme. It's the way to go, maybe the Carnival Group lines will get there eventually. In the meantime sadly, plenty of others will have cause to complain about Vantage Fares.

 

 

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[transatlantic fan]

I booked a Cunard 'Vantage' fare early, happy that if the price drops they'll "pass on the reduction" as they state. Not so, they've now cut the price and renamed it a 'Getaway' fare. So there are people now paying less for balcony than i paid for an inside:mad: I tried calling cunard to state my case but they were having none of it. I know i could cancel and rebook but really - should i have to??

I know there has been a lot of mumbles about this, i just needed to get this off my chest!!

The QM2 had better impress me as at the moment I'm not at all impressed with cunard.

You will love the Qm2:)

[Lanky Lad]

This is just a big con trick. I hope the idiot who came up with this cunning plan has paid the price. The even bigger idiot who thought it was a good ideal also needs to go.

[balf]

. Not so, they've now cut the price and renamed it a 'Getaway' fare. So there are people now paying less for balcony than i paid for an inside:mad: .

 

To be fair, they haven't renamed it, the small print would have stated that reductions via Getaway fares did not come into the guarantee.

 

Yes it is a scam, but a "legal" one. You had the advantage of choosing your cabin plus a bit of OBC etc. In future, if you book again with Cunard you will probably join the rest of us who accept the limitations of Getaways and wait for the offers. But remember that Getaways are not guaranteed to be available for any given cruise. You take your chance.

 

I flagged up the flaws in the system when it was originally brought in. Basically there never will be reductions in Vantage fares. Why would they do that when they can offer Getaways without having to compensate Vantage clients?

 

David.

[gfs1ram]

I booked a Cunard 'Vantage' fare early, happy that if the price drops they'll "pass on the reduction" as they state. Not so, they've now cut the price and renamed it a 'Getaway' fare. So there are people now paying less for balcony than i paid for an inside:mad: I tried calling cunard to state my case but they were having none of it. I know i could cancel and rebook but really - should i have to??

I know there has been a lot of mumbles about this, i just needed to get this off my chest!!

The QM2 had better impress me as at the moment I'm not at all impressed with cunard.

 

 

Welcome to the 'club' Mike.

But also beware early 'Getaway' deals can also be rip offs.

Regards G

[Ray66]

I booked a Cunard 'Vantage' fare early, happy that if the price drops they'll "pass on the reduction" as they state. Not so, they've now cut the price and renamed it a 'Getaway' fare. So there are people now paying less for balcony than i paid for an inside:mad: I tried calling cunard to state my case but they were having none of it. I know i could cancel and rebook but really - should i have to??

I know there has been a lot of mumbles about this, i just needed to get this off my chest!!

The QM2 had better impress me as at the moment I'm not at all impressed with cunard.

 

If you re-book you'll lose your deposit and your "complimentary benefit" of parking or obc. It may still be worth it though. This is what we did a couple of years ago when the price dropped around £1,000pp - before the name of Vantage and Getaway fares were introduced. And we still saved ourselves a few hundred pounds.

 

As mentioned above, these Vantage and Getaway fares also apply to P&O, not just Cunard.

[Salacia]

Just to mention that on this side of the pond, when fares are reduced after final payment, there is little to no chance of recompense. Anyone following the fares in the US has no doubt has noticed that fares can be cut by as much as half after 90 days of sail date (example: the QM2 Sept 12 NE/Canada 12 night cruise).

 

What Cunard calls a scheme, others call a scam. Tomato, tomato.;)

[brigittetom]

 

Somehow that comes across better verbally. :D

[Salacia]

Somehow that comes across better verbally. :D

 

Not the way I say it :D

[Chunky2219]

But also beware early 'Getaway' deals can also be rip offs.

Regards G

Agreed, and this is a really good point.

 

Our first Getaway voyage was advertised very early at a shall we/shan't we price. We decided not to bother. The Getaway price dropped another twice, until one month before sailing it was so good a deal that we couldn't turn it down. Across the Atlantic and back again, 23 days for pennies more than we'd paid for 7 days to Norway as an early booking.

 

So when Cunard bring out the Getaway fares, it doesn't mean they've blinked, it's just another stage of the marketing scam. Hold your breath and you might get a gem. Or, it might sell out.

 

Here's another example of the way the con works. There's a cruise sailing later this month with both Vantage and Getaway fares advertised. For Inside, Ocean view and Balcony cabins, the Vantage is twice the price of the Getaway. No-one is going to book today, on a Vantage basis, just on the off chance that they might have to cancel in less than three weeks and get a proportion of thier money back. Granted, you get to pick your cabin from the very small number still available, but you'd have to be serious flash with cash to pay twice the price for that sort of choice. So the only reason the Vantage fare is on display is to be able to maintain the charade that the system works properly.

 

,

,

[mike x ftc]

Thank you so much for your supporting comments.

As Chunky2219 says, Celebrity and RCI react well when the price drops. I got an upgrade to a Junior suite at no extra cost as the price for that had fallen to the same as I paid for a balcony, one call to RCI and it was honored, agian, one quick call to Celebrity and I went from a balcony to Aqua class when they dropped the prices. The Carnival group should look after loyal (or potential) loyal customers who book early.

Thank you Transatlantic fan, I'm sure we will have a lovely time but my cruise experience will certainly not be enhanced knowing that most people in balconies have paid less than I have for my inside:(

[electra2008]

I booked a Cunard 'Vantage' fare early, happy that if the price drops they'll "pass on the reduction" as they state. Not so, they've now cut the price and renamed it a 'Getaway' fare. So there are people now paying less for balcony than i paid for an inside:mad: I tried calling cunard to state my case but they were having none of it. I know i could cancel and rebook but really - should i have to??

I know there has been a lot of mumbles about this, i just needed to get this off my chest!!

The QM2 had better impress me as at the moment I'm not at all impressed with cunard.

mike if you want to be sure of the cruise then you book early and pay the price with the choice of suite, we did that last year we wanted that date.

In July this year we went Getaway and it was virtually 2 for one.

Next year we want a certain date Tranatlantic and we have decided that if we want to be sure and get the suite we wnat we will go with Vantage.

For Jan 2013 B in Law booked a year in advanced paid for midship balcony and ended up Princess Grill even though they said they did not want upgrading. Thaat could happen to you.

QM2 will impres, don't forget the Glass elevator.

[MawganTr]

On our recent trip to Norway on QE we were invited to dine in Britannia with a senior officer. Pricing came up in conversation.... He explained that the getaway fares & last minute bargain prices are to fill every cabin. He said the that particular cruise was the fullest he'd ever known. However, he'd prefer that the ship not be 100% full as there is no room for manoeuvre with spare cabins in case of problems (overflowing loos etc.!) or no option to have contractors stay on board which affects on going maintenance.

He also mentioned that there is talk of not having getaway fares in the future - keeping the deals for early bookers. He says that late bookers tend to spend less on board (as a late booker I tend to disagree!!) but the potential changes could mean early bookers, spending lots could mean plenty of profit even if they are not 100% full.

 

 

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[BlueRiband]

...He also mentioned that there is talk of not having getaway fares in the future - keeping the deals for early bookers. He says that late bookers tend to spend less on board (as a late booker I tend to disagree!!) but the potential changes could mean early bookers, spending lots could mean plenty of profit even if they are not 100% full.

 

There is a certain financial logic to not having 100% occupancy. Many office buildings in NYC aim for 95% occupancy. It's claimed that when a building is 95% full it is getting the maximum rent per square foot that the particular market will bear. 95% full at maximum rent brings in more revenue than 100% full at a lower rent.

 

The Getaway seems to have been a lose-lose for Cunard. (Those who booked great deals will certainly disagree.) Passengers have learned that there will almost always be a Getaway price so that started a downward spiral of progressively later and later bookings and further and further price drops. PR is seriously damaged as the early bookers feel like fools to have paid more for a lesser stateroom.

[Salacia]

To be fair, they haven't renamed it, the small print would have stated that reductions via Getaway fares did not come into the guarantee.

 

Yes it is a scam, but a "legal" one. You had the advantage of choosing your cabin plus a bit of OBC etc. In future, if you book again with Cunard you will probably join the rest of us who accept the limitations of Getaways and wait for the offers. But remember that Getaways are not guaranteed to be available for any given cruise. You take your chance.

 

I flagged up the flaws in the system when it was originally brought in. Basically there never will be reductions in Vantage fares. Why would they do that when they can offer Getaways without having to compensate Vantage clients?

 

David.

 

Because the Vantage and Getaway fares did not apply to US bookings, I paid little attention. That was a mistake. Clearly those fares have implications for US bookings. As an example, in years past I often booked a guaranteed category at the same price offered for a specific cabin. I did so because I believed it increased my chances of an upgarde. More often than not, that is what happened - before the Getaway fares were introduced. From what I have observed, there is no longer any benefit in US passengers booking a guaranteed category for the same price as booking a specific cabin.

 

Whatever program Cunard is now using to assign upgrades for passengers appears to give little or no consideration to passenger loyality or those who paid a higher fare when booking prior to price reductions. Unfortunately, passengers should not expect that Cunard will make amends - now it is necessary to voice objections to their travel agent (who isn't making enough money to deal with this nonsense) or call Cunard shoreside in the hopes that someone will respond.

 

To me, fares and cabin negotiations have become an unsavory practice (and that's a word I don't use often). :cool: -S.

[Floatog]

We have booked a Vantage fare for a November sailing on the Queen Vic.

One of the benefits was on board spend. They are now offering exactly the same amount of on board spend to Getaway fare passengers. This has to be false advertising.

I was happy to go along with the price difference and their two tear price policy, but this is a step too far. Cunard have gone down in my estimation and we will book elsewhere next time.:(

[balf]

They are now offering exactly the same amount of on board spend to Getaway fare passengers. .:(

 

Wasn't aware of this. Could you say what cruise this relates to?

 

David

[capnpugwash]

Wasn't aware of this. Could you say what cruise this relates to?

 

David

 

There seem to be only 2 that it might refer to, the 5/11 and the 7/11. I think that it shows the folly of early booking at the moment.:)

[Jimsgirl]

We have booked a Vantage fare for a November sailing on the Queen Vic.

One of the benefits was on board spend. They are now offering exactly the same amount of on board spend to Getaway fare passengers. This has to be false advertising.

I was happy to go along with the price difference and their two tear price policy, but this is a step too far. Cunard have gone down in my estimation and we will book elsewhere next time.:(

 

You headed your posting with the words "Cunard deceit".

 

Tut , Tut, you will bring down the wrath of the ones who believe that like the Pope in the Vatican , Cunard is infallible.

 

Cunard NEVER deceives, the evil is in your thoughts, not Cunard's.

 

You must NEVER, NEVER even think that Cunard is less than "perfect in every way". To suggest otherwise is heresy

 

It will not matter if you can prove your comments in Cunard's own words, there will still be those who will not accept any thought critical of Cunard.

 

You cannot cruise on Cunard, because QM2 does 7 sea days (TA), because it has formal nights, because it has a very good library, --no you must also believe that Cunard, is "THE ONE", "the PERFECT cruise line", every staffer is "excellent", every meal is "fantastic".

 

I wish you well,.

[pepperrn]

... "Cunard is infallible. Cunard NEVER deceives, the evil is in your thoughts, not Cunard's. You must NEVER, NEVER even think that Cunard is less than "perfect in every way". To suggest otherwise is heresy ... you must also believe that Cunard, is "THE ONE", "the PERFECT cruise line", every staffer is "excellent", every meal is "fantastic"...

Hi Jimsgirl,

 

Well, I think you are more than a little fulsome in your praise, a little "over the top" in places; I wouldn't have called Cunard "perfect" or "infallible"... like any large organisation, the odd mistake can be made, here and there, very occasionally.

 

But, like you, I wouldn't keep returning (I'd spend my £/$ elsewhere) if things weren't pretty amazing on the ships, and if I didn't have a really good time, every time I'm on board. Given the number of times you take a voyage, I know you agree with me :) .

 

However, despite one or two overly-enthusiastic moments in your positive post, I was so pleased to read it, and am so very glad that you're one of the many who love travelling time and time again with Cunard.

 

Welcome to the Cunard Fan Club. Pleased, of course, to have you on board.

 

All best wishes and many happy sailings to you for the future. :) .