Random price changes

[Canberra forever !]

:confused: what are P&O doing with their prices this summer ?? I had been looking at the Arcadia cruise to Iceland in August but due to family issues couldn't book in advance, in June it was £999 (should have booked then but couldn't risk it) then it increased to £1249, then £1449 & last night £1649 with only 2 inside cabins showing as available wow !! must be a very popular trip, we won't be going !! :(

[john watson]

I do not think these prices are random they are simply showing an upward trend which is rocketing. It is a fairly rare itinerary during the school holidays when lots of parents will be taking children on cruises. There has been an increased incidence of trouble in the Mediterranean. These two factors will push people who do not want to encounter what they perceive as possible snags into the arms of an adult only ship going somewhere more interesting. The cruise line always tries to sell early at what they think is a fairly high price marketing it as the deal of the year. Whether it holds up or not is entirely dependent on public reaction in terms of actually booking the cruise. June is in my opinion pretty late to book but by this time an August cruise should be reaching a sales point where the line is concerned sales are low or happy they are high. They might be thinking it's nearly sold out lets jack up the prices an indicator of this would be they have only got two inside cabins available.

 

In my opinion you are not safe thinking a rare itinerary will drop in price. You can sometimes bag a bargain but it will likely be on a repeat itinerary on a less popular ship.

 

Regards John

[LondonTowner]

We went on an Iceland cruise in mid June which we had only booked 6 weeks beforehand. We only paid £749 each for 14 nights which we thought a good price. However, after we booked the price fluctuated greatly, but only upwards. We were very pleased with the price we paid.

 

I doubt if the prices will be that low during school holidays. It's all a case of supply and demand. I also agree with the previous comment about many people not wishing to go to places with a possible threat of tourism.

 

Incidentally, we really enjoyed the cruise as it was something a bit different. In recent years Iceland has become a popular destination.

[Jason12]

It's what P&O call fluid pricing, in general prices will fall to their lowest just after final payment that's 12 weeks before sail date on the saver rate.

We booked this cruise back in April for 2016 looking at the recent prices for this year we got a good deal booking early.. :)

 

Keep checking prices you never know it might drop again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Canberra forever !]

Yes you are all right I do think that events around the world are influencing holiday choices and prices at the moment, I guess it was a lot of wishful thinking on my part re this cruise, we were very lucky last year and had a spur of the moment last minute trip on Oriana to the Baltic (also in August) at a bargain price, but it was not to be this year , should have booked at £999 just wasn't the right time to book for us ! Always next year :) Happy cruising :)

[clivep]

We were looking to do either this cruise or the similar Adonia one on 19th July.

 

It wasn't a popular itinerary last year and I expected the prices to come down to the £999 I was prepared to pay for a balcony cabin but they never got near to this. In fact the cheapest fare for the Adonia cruise was on the Early Saver fare, the Saver fare kicked in it at a higher price and remained so.

 

The Arcadia Iceland cruise last year was on 16th June and dropped to £649 for a balcony cabin! We could not take advantage as we had just returned from the 21st May 16 night Baltic cruise on Adonia which cost £999 for a balcony cabin. The Adonia 25th June Baltic sailing dropped to the same price as had the ones in July and August the previous year.

 

This year the 14 night 12th June UK & Ireland cruise on Adonia dropped to £979 (balcony) but since then the prices of other sailings have stayed high. Arcadia and Adonia are adult only ships and in the past this has meant that the prices in school holidays don't always stay high. Carnival must be very happy that the prices are holding up so well this year.

[Canberra forever !]

Yes I agree Clivep I bet they're counting the dollars in, just goes to show the impact of world events Happy cruising :)