PO Cruises are now too expensive

[Ladycommonsense]

Wow! Did I really read this? What a sexist stupid remark to make ..... if anyone regulates this site, I suggest delete this silly comment!!

[wowzz]

Can someone tell John that this is 2017, not 1917! Talk about patronising.

 

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[Ehg]

Wow! Did I really read this? What a sexist stupid remark to make ..... if anyone regulates this site, I suggest delete this silly comment!!

 

 

What's sexist about it?

 

I'm a woman, (although the way the PC brigade is going I'm not sure how much longer we will be "allowed" to admit to our genders!) and all I can ascertain is that the gentleman was suggesting his wife was savvy with money.

 

Please do not remove the comment. Fed up of this ridiculous over-reaction to perfectly benign comments.

 

 

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[terrierjohn]

It's not a question of affording it for me. I can. But that shouldn't mean I just lap up every price increase that P&O send my way. They are providing a service and if any other provider, be it a supermarket, restaurant etc. raised prices by the margins that P&O are doing, then I'm going to question the value.

 

A 20% increase next year, for much the same cruise. Yes, I know we don't have to pay it and we can go elsewhere, but as paying, loyal customers, we have every right to question it on here. This forum isn't just about praising. It gives a chance to critique all aspects of the cruise, including the price.

Crispy, As I have pointed out to you many times Sterling's depreciation will have to be reflected in prices of all holidays, especially overseas and cruises on dollar based lines, so unless P&O prices are increasing more than competition, then its hardly profiteering.

I agree I will not be happy paying more but if I want to cruise I will have to pay the going rate, and so will you if you are holidaying abroad.

Of course you can mitigate against any currency related increases by taking a staycation, but in all honesty 2 weeks at Butlins in Minehead or some caravan holiday park in Skegness is not going to float my boat.

[tartanexile81]

Ask the wife, "Would you book a cruise at a 40% discount saving a colossal £1500?" I think I should likely hear "Oh yes, we can get a new kitchen done with that sort of money!"

 

:'):'):'). Not from this "lady of the household" Last thing on my mind.

 

Can someone tell John that this is 2017, not 1917! Talk about patronising.

 

(y)

[funfan]

Yes I can understand that - it suits you best - but it's a long journey for us to Southampton

Have looked at fly cruises in the Med with P&O but usually 2 sea days, no all inclusive drinks package, no included gratuities (we always tip but where we get good service) and can't choose your cabin. Not bothered about a balcony as prefer to socialise on deck and as long as we can see out through a large window are happy. My husband is very familiar with the P&O ships as he used to be involved with the Christmas decorations and spent time on some of the fleet but preferred the smaller proper Ocean going liners. We loved Ocean Village which were part of P&O and were ex P&O ships.

I'm sure we'll do one of their cruises soon 😎🚢🍷🐬

Ibelieve the Ocean Village is now the Cruise and Maritime Columbus . Starts sailing from tilbury this year

[Cappers]

40% discount,,,£1500,,,that's another holiday that is!!!

So yes,,I ,,as the lady of the household,,would grab that bargain!

 

What a lively if somewhat contentious thread this had turned into!

[my marina bay]

We booked a basic balcony cabin on Arcadia for two weeks sailing this summer. We booked the first day bookings opened and got our cabin of choice with a small amount of obc. Fast forward to this January and we decided to book the Baltic for next year. We booked a Deluxe balcony cabin in the location of choice with extra obc and it works out cheaper than our cruise this year. Go figure!?

[Port out]

I really don't know what the fuss is about. Our first P&O cruise back in the '82 cost £1650 each for a porthole cabin (no balconies in those days) for a 21 night cruise to the Caribbean and back. That's £5700 each in todays money. Errr you could do the same for less than £2000 each these days plus have OBS. Personally I think todays prices reflect excellent value but I guess those folk who new to cruising and have been used to package holidays for a few hundred quid are going to flinch at paying a reasonable sum for the wrapped up value of a fantastic cruise. I would also like the ‘moaner’s’ here to reflect on what most folk think of the ‘moaners’ on a cruise, we hate them as all they do is push push push ‘their’ point of view. In my experience buying at brochure launch generally represents the best value for money and at the same time enables you to choose a cabin and location of your choice. If you are waiting for a ‘deal’ then of course the prices will fluctuate but then it’s your choice, so stop moaning.

 

Left out

[Port out]

We booked a basic balcony cabin on Arcadia for two weeks sailing this summer. We booked the first day bookings opened and got our cabin of choice with a small amount of obc. Fast forward to this January and we decided to book the Baltic for next year. We booked a Deluxe balcony cabin in the location of choice with extra obc and it works out cheaper than our cruise this year. Go figure!?

 

 

Different cruise, maybe different time of year. There are many variable factors which result in the price offered.

[john watson]

Political correctness and common sense are somewhat incongruous. The point I am making is that marketing people aim their sales in a way they perceive that will achieve their objective. One of the biggest cons is "savings" you have to look at what money you are spending, end of. If you "save" £2000 on a cruise you do not suddenly have £2000 to spend on other things but many consumers think like this. If you consider buying a Rolls-Royce but decide against doing so because you cannot afford it, you could spend the £250,000 on a house but you did not have the money for the car anyway so you still have not got it for a house. Whilst this is obvious it is not thought about when you make a smaller £1500 - £2000 "saving" on a cruise. This offer works well in the high street and makes people think they are not spending much and they can afford a lot more.

 

The decision maker is the person who the marketing people target, if they think this will be a person of a particular type they aim at that person. Many years ago Viking Ferries were doing very badly in comparison with Sealink and Townsend Thoreson. After a lot of research the marketing people found out that strangely; "which ferry?" was decided by the children, the adults just wanted to cross The Channel, so they re-branded Viking Ferries as "Sally" the ship; pester power came into play,and Sally the ship became very successful with on board stuff aimed at youngsters.

 

It's all about getting as much money from the cruise fares and targeting the market in whatever way achieves maximum revenue.

 

Regards John

[Josy1953]

There has always been problems with P&O, and probably many other cruise lines, of trying to be fair and give good deals to early bookers and people who go for last minute deals at bargain prices. Five or ten years ago their advertising always suggested that early bird savers were the best fare deal you could get and people booked up thinking this was correct. Over the years it became more and more obvious that this was not true and late deals were the cheapest so savvy people booked later on in greater numbers until that proportion of bookers was sizeable..

 

I am wondering if the cruise line has simply adopted a different pricing strategy, in light of selling out most cruises. If you start your prices at 20% above last year and sell sufficient cruises, it will put you in a much stronger position of being able to resist cut throat bargain prices nearer to sailing day and you may achieve more overall revenue at 95% capacity than last year ram jam full after lots of last minute bargain break deals were booked on.

 

Another thing is that lots of ladies of the household book "the cruise" and if you inflate the original price; let's call this the manufacturers RRP, then later on you can discount your holidays to 20% off and you have got back to nearer the proper price. If you sell below this price you could well be looking at a 40% discount. If this discount came in mid sales season you could easily sell out by then. Ask the wife, "Would you book a cruise at a 40% discount saving a colossal £1500?" I think I should likely hear "Oh yes, we can get a new kitchen done with that sort of money!"

 

Regards John

 

 

Wow where do you get a new kitchen for £1500? not anywhere that I know.:D:D:D

[Selbourne]

I was also outraged by the kitchen analogy - my wife made me spend £10k on ours :D

[john watson]

I was also outraged by the kitchen analogy - my wife made me spend £10k on ours :D

 

 

Clearly you were looking at Seabourne Cruises before you did not go and from the money you saved you have got a £10,000 kitchen and booked P&O on a saver fare basis instead.

 

Regards John

[Ehg]

I was also outraged by the kitchen analogy - my wife made me spend £10k on ours :D

 

 

[emoji23]

 

 

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[my marina bay]

Different cruise, maybe different time of year. There are many variable factors which result in the price offered.

 

 

Cruise is still peak holiday season. I've just had a look at an old invoice for the same cruise same time same type of cabin a few years ago and the price is roughly the same. POs prices don't appear to have increased that much to me.

[FredChopin]

Carnival Corporation must be feeling the pinch after having to shell out so much compensation for Costa Concordia. Perhaps they need to increase fares to be able to stay afloat. Incidentally, P&O were not at the London Cruise show a couple in February, although they had a prime spot last year. It was very obvious who the popular cruise lines were. It was positively buzzing around Celebrity and Princess, also Viking River Cruises.

[WeAllLove2Travel]

Just compared Celebrity Eclipse, PO Britannia and PO Azura for February 2018. Completely gobsmacked PO are charging £1950 more for a balcony cabin than Celebrity. The Celebrity price includes the Classic Drinks package but excluding the flight which costs only £850 for a couple. HAL prices are even better, now that balcony smoking has been banned definitely worth considering. Both are a cut above P&O in all the cruise ratings.

 

Why are PO Cruises prices so high ?

 

 

I'm sorry but what cruise line is P&O. I've searched the forum and wracked my brain but am still left clueless.

 

 

 

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[tartanexile81]

I'm sorry but what cruise line is P&O. I've searched the forum and wracked my brain but am still left clueless.

 

 

:eek::'):eek::'). You don't know what you're missing

[WeAllLove2Travel]

:eek::'):eek::'). You don't know what you're missing

 

 

Really?! How exciting! I'll look into taking one but what does P&O stand for?

 

 

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[WeAllLove2Travel]

Really?! How exciting! I'll look into taking one but what does P&O stand for?

 

 

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Never mind. I see now. P&O is the name of the cruise line! Nice! Thanks. I'll check it out! [emoji6]

 

 

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[john watson]

Really?! How exciting! I'll look into taking one but what does P&O stand for?

 

 

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Peninsular and Oriental.

 

Regards John

[WeAllLove2Travel]

Peninsular and Oriental.

 

Regards John

 

 

Thanks John [emoji5]

 

 

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[grapau27]

There has always been problems with P&O, and probably many other cruise lines, of trying to be fair and give good deals to early bookers and people who go for last minute deals at bargain prices. Five or ten years ago their advertising always suggested that early bird savers were the best fare deal you could get and people booked up thinking this was correct. Over the years it became more and more obvious that this was not true and late deals were the cheapest so savvy people booked later on in greater numbers until that proportion of bookers was sizeable..

 

I am wondering if the cruise line has simply adopted a different pricing strategy, in light of selling out most cruises. If you start your prices at 20% above last year and sell sufficient cruises, it will put you in a much stronger position of being able to resist cut throat bargain prices nearer to sailing day and you may achieve more overall revenue at 95% capacity than last year ram jam full after lots of last minute bargain break deals were booked on.

 

Another thing is that lots of ladies of the household book "the cruise" and if you inflate the original price; let's call this the manufacturers RRP, then later on you can discount your holidays to 20% off and you have got back to nearer the proper price. If you sell below this price you could well be looking at a 40% discount. If this discount came in mid sales season you could easily sell out by then. Ask the wife, "Would you book a cruise at a 40% discount saving a colossal £1500?" I think I should likely hear "Oh yes, we can get a new kitchen done with that sort of money!"

 

Regards John

P&O brochure prices always look expensive to start but if you wait till closer to cruise time there are often plenty of reduced pricing.

 

love sailing with RCCL

[JimJam39]

Have any of you compared Tui Discovery ships (Thomson) for the Caribbean- these are ex Royal Caribbean ships and sail from Montego Bay and Barbados next winter. They have far more balcony cabins than Thomson smaller older ships and are standard all inclusive (drinks) Thomson ships have a very relaxed way of cruising, have open dining and the entertainment voted by this site is 5 star. You can have fine dining for a small supplement and most itineries have only one sea day a week. You can fly by Dreamliner from a number of regional airports and they allow you to choose your cabin (albeit by phone currently).

 

Thomson Spirit Oct 2005 Repo Palma to Sharm el Sheikh

Thomson Celebration Jan 2007 Red Sea Magic

Ocean Village Feb 2008 West Caribbean & Central America BtoB

Ocean Village Aug 2008 Eastern Med

Ocean Village 2 Feb 2009 Eastern Caribbean BtoB

Ocean Village Mar 2010 Eastern Caribbean BtoB

Thomson Dream Feb 2011 Eastern Caribbean & Cuba BtoB

Thomson Celebration Aug 2011 Eastern Med

Thomson Celebration Apr 2012 Red Sea Magic

Thomson Celebration Apr/May 2012 Repo Sharm el Sheikh to Marmaris

Thomson Dream Feb 2013 Eastern Caribbean BtoB

Thomson Majesty Nov/Dec 2014 Colourful Coasts Canaries

Thomson Dream Jan/Feb 2015 West Caribbean Panama & Cuba BtoB

Thomson Dream Apr 2015 Transatlantic Sunset

Thomson Majesty June 2015 Hellenic Classics

Thomson Celebration Sept 2015 Adriatic Affair

Thomson Dream Jan 2016 Mayan Treasures/Cuban Revolution

Thomson Dream April 2016 Atlantic Adventure

Thomson Dream June 2016 Iconic Islands/Adriatic Explorer

Thomson Celebration Jan 2017 Cities of Gold

Thomson Dream April2017 Atlantic Daydream

Thomson Majesty Sept2017 Med Medley/Treasures of Med

W

Do you know if this will this be for Nov 2018 and which airports can you fly by dreamliner? :)