May 2 - 10% Early Booking Bonus

[Stumblefoot]

It's fun reading about everyone's bookings and savings!

 

I have tried and tried to edit my original post and list everyone's voyages, but alas, I'm just not technically savvy enough to overcome Cruise Critic's editing lockout. So, below is a summary of where folks are heading that took advantage of the 10% EBB promotion before the May 3 price hike.

 

 

1. Stumblefoot - Muse #6815, Athens to Dubai, 9-days, Jun 15, 2018
   
2. Randyk47 - Spirit #5732, Rome to Dubai, 18-days, Nov 15, 2017
   
3. WesW - Cloud #1806, Ushuaia to Cape Town, 21-days, Feb 28, 2018
   
4. Aussiechick7 - Shadow, Singapore to Hong Kong
   
5. Lois R - Spirit #5722, Barcelona to Rome, 9-days, Aug 9, 2017
   
6. Les37b - Spirit #5806, Barcelona to Monte Carlo, 9-days, Mar 30, 2018
   
7. Tothesunset - Three bookings... Congrats!
   
   • Wind #2729, Barcelona to Bridgetown, 15-days, Nov 10, 2017
     
   • Spirit #5801, Cape Town (RT), 10-days, Jan 5, 2018
     
   • Whisper #4828, Lisbon to Ft. Lauderdale, 13-days, Oct 18, 2018
     

[*]Hanoverian - Muse #6811, Dublin to Barcelona, 13-days, May 7, 2018

[*]AtMaui - Whisper, Two voyages on the '18 World Cruise.

[*]cflutist - Cloud #1829, Ushuaia (RT), 15-days, Dec 22, 2018

[*]hypercafe - Muse #6806, Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan, 13-days, Mar 22, 2018

[*]kbwinn - Cloud #1823, Colon to Lima, 11-days, Oct 15, 2018

Voyage Summary by Ship

• Cloud (3)
  
• Muse (3)
  
• Shadow (1)
  
• Spirit (4)
  
• Whisper (3)
  
• Wind (1)
  

[MBP&O2/O]

We booked 2809 (Wind) for £2350pp inc. discounts, current discounted rate now £3510pp. EBD still ongoing after 8 months.

All I need now is flights:(

[spinnaker2]

Stumble

We too are off on the Spirit.

One back to back this September 21 on the Spirit and one next September (a crossing)on the Spirit.

All with the EBB.

Lots of liquidity for SSea.

:-)

[Stumblefoot]

Update #2 to include voyages from MBP&O2/O and Spins.

 

 

1. Stumblefoot - Muse #6815, Athens to Dubai, 9-days, Jun 15, 2018
   
2. Randyk47 - Spirit #5732, Rome to Dubai, 18-days, Nov 15, 2017
   
3. WesW - Cloud #1806, Ushuaia to Cape Town, 21-days, Feb 28, 2018
   
4. Aussiechick7 - Shadow, Singapore to Hong Kong
   
5. Lois R - Spirit #5722, Barcelona to Rome, 9-days, Aug 9, 2017
   
6. Les37b - Spirit #5806, Barcelona to Monte Carlo, 9-days, Mar 30, 2018
   
7. Tothesunset - Three bookings... Congrats!
   
   • Wind #2729, Barcelona to Bridgetown, 15-days, Nov 10, 2017
     
   • Spirit #5801, Cape Town (RT), 10-days, Jan 5, 2018
     
   • Whisper #4828, Lisbon to Ft. Lauderdale, 13-days, Oct 18, 2018
     

[*]Hanoverian - Muse #6811, Dublin to Barcelona, 13-days, May 7, 2018

[*]AtMaui - Whisper, Two voyages on the '18 World Cruise.

[*]cflutist - Cloud #1829, Ushuaia (RT), 15-days, Dec 22, 2018

[*]hypercafe - Muse #6806, Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan, 13-days, Mar 22, 2018

[*]kbwinn - Cloud #1823, Colon to Lima, 11-days, Oct 15, 2018

[*]MBP&O2/O - Wind #2809, San Juan (RT), 7-days, Mar 11, 2018

[*]Spinnaker2 - Three bookings too... Awesome!

• Spirit #5727B, Athen to Venice, 7-days, Sep 21, 2017
  
• Spirit #5728, Venice to Rome, 9-days, Sep 28, 2017
  
• Spirit #5825, London to New York, 15-days, Sep 10, 2018
  

Voyage Summary by Ship

• Cloud (3)
  
• Muse (3)
  
• Shadow (1)
  
• Spirit (7)
  
• Whisper (3)
  
• Wind (2)
  

[Randyk47]

It would appear the 10% discount was hard to pass up for a number of CCers. Considering we represent as almost insignificant number of Silversea regulars I'm assuming Silversea did quite well with this promotion. Still may not have gotten all the response they wanted so they extended it another 60 days but they're battling more than just price/cost considerations.

[hypercafe]

I made my plans with SS with their cruise consultant. From her I got the impression this was a regular deal.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[Randyk47]

I made my plans with SS with their cruise consultant. From her I got the impression this was a regular deal.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

 

This is our seventh cruise in five years with Silversea and this is the first time we've gotten the early payment option. Now maybe that's just the luck of the draw and we finally picked a cruise that had that option but I'd be hard pressed to say it's a regular deal.

[Stumblefoot]

It would appear the 10% discount was hard to pass up for a number of CCers.

Randy, I wonder if it might have been the fear of a price increase that caused many of us to book/pay now, rather than wait until later? I know this was certainly the case for us.

 

Since SS initiated the 10% EBB promotion with the release of the 2018 schedule last fall, from my perspective, the list price of a SS fare isn't the true price as I don't know anyone who pays full freight. As such, SS has conditioned us to book at the end of promotional periods, not for the promotion itself, but rather to avoid what has become the inevitable increase in list fare. Since all promotions, discounts (Venetian Society, on-board bookings, etc.), and insurance are calculated off the list fare, I wonder if it's this price increase avoidance that drives the regular SS cruiser's behavior. In our case, we avoided a +2.3% ($278) increase.

[cflutist]

It is a numbers game.

Their Facebook advertising is slightly misleading.

It says Antarctic cruises have complimentary All Inclusive packages. What they don't say is that it is for cruises through Feb 2018 only (ours is Dec 2018), and that they raise the base fare to compensate for it.

 

We booked a 15-day Antarctica, but to be fair, I compared several 10-day cruises on the Cloud to Antarctica in a Veranda Suite. These were the fares prior to May 2nd.

 

12/1/17 = 15,075 pp

12/11/17 = 15,075 pp

12/2/18 = 12,195 pp

12/12/18 = 12,195 pp

 

The two 2017 sailings included the Pre-cruise package, one night hotel, additional 899 economy airfare, charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, and transfers.

The two 2018 sailings do not.

The difference was $2880 pp (plus air).

 

We were charged $2680 pp for air, and $199 for hotel or $2879 pp

 

So without the air, it came out to within a dollar of each other.

We were told that we could not add their charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia or transfers if we did not book their air.

Seems to me that SS raises the fares to offer discounted packages in return.

 

What was so special about May 2nd?

 

Since this is our first SS cruise, I was not familiar with their fare strategies.

Have they offered 10% early booking discounts in the past?

Why is Antarctica so expensive? (at least to us who sailed in suites on Princess it is).

Edited May 4, 2017 by cflutist

[Randyk47]

Randy, I wonder if it might have been the fear of a price increase that caused many of us to book/pay now, rather than wait until later? I know this was certainly the case for us.

 

As it was for you I'm sure there were others who booked and paid now as a hedge against a price increase. If you are a regular and frequent Silversea passenger then the 10% savings is a nice incentive. We actually were attracted by the unique itinerary and the chance to visit pretty much all the major sites in Egypt and Petra in Jordan. While cost is always a consideration it wasn't the primary one for us. Without doubt it being a Venetian Society cruise with the 5% savings then the 10% early payment savings option really made it even more attractive.

[Randyk47]

It is a numbers game.

Their Facebook advertising is slightly misleading.

It says Antarctic cruises have complimentary All Inclusive packages. What they don't say is that it is for cruises through Feb 2018 only (ours is Dec 2018), and that they raise the base fare to compensate for it.

 

We booked a 15-day Antarctica, but to be fair, I compared several 10-day cruises on the Cloud to Antarctica in a Veranda Suite. These were the fares prior to May 2nd.

 

12/1/17 = 15,075 pp

12/11/17 = 15,075 pp

12/2/18 = 12,195 pp

12/12/18 = 12,195 pp

 

The two 2017 sailings included the Pre-cruise package, one night hotel, additional 899 economy airfare, charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, and transfers.

The two 2018 sailings do not.

The difference was $2880 pp (plus air).

 

We were charged $2680 pp for air, and $199 for hotel or $2879 pp

 

So without the air, it came out to within a dollar of each other.

We were told that we could not add their charter flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia or transfers if we did not book their air.

Seems to me that SS raises the fares to offer discounted packages in return.

 

What was so special about May 2nd?

 

Since this is our first SS cruise, I was not familiar with their fare strategies.

Have they offered 10% early booking discounts in the past?

Why is Antarctica so expensive? (at least to us who sailed in suites on Princess it is).

 

I can't say exactly why May 2 was chosen other than whenever they offered the incentive they picked a time and date that worked with their pricing strategy and to attract bookings. Make it too far out and people will just waffle on booking and paying and put off their decision.

 

They may have offered the 10% early payment incentive before but if they did I don't recall it applying to so many itineraries/cruises. A TA friend says despite the improved economy vacation travel (resorts, cruises, theme parks, etc) has been slow and still has not fully recovered. Add the unfortunate incidents in several countries all over the world and a certain portion of the population is just not traveling outside of their perceived safe zone.

 

My take on the Antarctic cruises is that it's a small ship with fewer passengers so operating costs per passenger are high. They can't generate the same savings Princess can get by with because of their scale. Secondly, it is an all inclusive cruise and those generally don't compete well on strictly a price basis versus a mass market line.

[cflutist]

Thanks Randyk47.

That makes sense, fixed costs of operating the ship, also only 200 pax onboard the Cloud in polar waters versus 290 for other itineraries means less people to spread the cost over, thus higher fares.

[spinnaker2]

Silversea does expedition cruising in a spectacular way.

Totally worth every penny IMO.

 

Also my cruise in September has gone up 3k per person.

EBB worth it for me.

[les37b]

Update #2 to include voyages from MBP&O2/O and Spins.

 

1. Les37b - Spirit #5806, Barcelona to Monte Carlo, 9-days, Mar 30, 2018
   

 

Weird that youve got me down for this one. I did book this when we left the Wind 6 weeks ago, but changed it to Venice to Athens 2 cruises on.....and changed my sig to show that too at the time. Not that it matters, you also missed my Muse trip in 6 weeks! ..... Thats as long as I sot my passport out. Cant believe I cannot find it. It must be at home somewhere.... If I cant recover by tomorrow I'll have to bite the bullet.

[Stumblefoot]

Weird that youve got me down for this one. I did book this when we left the Wind 6 weeks ago, but changed it to Venice to Athens 2 cruises on.....and changed my sig to show that too at the time.

Sorry about that. As you've learned, I never read signatures, so didn't even see it there. I just remembered what you had booked from a previous post. I'll happily change it in a future update if you like. Just let me know the voyage # and I'll take care of the rest. Thx.

[cflutist]

Silversea does expedition cruising in a spectacular way.

Totally worth every penny IMO.

 

 

Looking forwards to this cruise. Were not many choices as far as cruiselines go.

[les37b]

Sorry about that. As you've learned, I never read signatures, so didn't even see it there. I just remembered what you had booked from a previous post. I'll happily change it in a future update if you like. Just let me know the voyage # and I'll take care of the rest. Thx.

 

 

 

No problem.

 

Muse is 9 June 2017 Barcelona to Rome 6709

Spirit is 18 April 2018 Venice to Athens 5809

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rosepark]

Am I right in thinking that the early booking discount has only recently been offered to US clients?

We booked a cruise over a year ago for November this year, taking advantage of the 10% early booking discount then and the early booking discount has been available virtually continuously since then, certainly on the cruise which we are taking.

Since we booked, reduced price air fares have been added and most recently, the Silver Select offer of a 2 cabin upgrade or $1000 OBC etc. The price of the cruise has increased and to get the Silver Select offer, we have to cancel the original booking and re-book at the current price.

I suspect things will change again after 30th June.

Rp

[les37b]

Am I right in thinking that the early booking discount has only recently been offered to US clients?

We booked a cruise over a year ago for November this year, taking advantage of the 10% early booking discount then and the early booking discount has been available virtually continuously since then, certainly on the cruise which we are taking.

Since we booked, reduced price air fares have been added and most recently, the Silver Select offer of a 2 cabin upgrade or $1000 OBC etc. The price of the cruise has increased and to get the Silver Select offer, we have to cancel the original booking and re-book at the current price.

I suspect things will change again after 30th June.

Rp

 

That's exactly how it works. The hand giveth, the hand take away. It's just a case of seeing yourself if you'd be better to cancel and rebook or to leave as it is. It can work in your favour and no increase to fair happen. But usually the price does increase making the price warranty invalid... and needing to be ingenuous to get round that obstacle.

[rosepark]

That's exactly how it works. The hand giveth, the hand take away. It's just a case of seeing yourself if you'd be better to cancel and rebook or to leave as it is. It can work in your favour and no increase to fair happen. But usually the price does increase making the price warranty invalid... and needing to be ingenuous to get round that obstacle.

 

Actually what I was really querying was that the early booking discount only seems to have hit the US now, whereas it has been an offer here for over a year.

What do you mean about being ingenuous re the price warranty? I am intrigued.

Rp

[les37b]

Actually what I was really querying was that the early booking discount only seems to have hit the US now, whereas it has been an offer here for over a year.

What do you mean about being ingenuous re the price warranty? I am intrigued.

Rp

 

Its something thats been ongoing for two years at least.

 

Typo and auto correct... ingenious was what I meant - ie do the calculations and work out ways to get the best deal even if it means cancelling and rebooking.

[Randyk47]

Actually what I was really querying was that the early booking discount only seems to have hit the US now, whereas it has been an offer here for over a year. Rp

 

While it may have been available on a few cruises it wasn't available on every cruise. Last year we took a year off our distant cruises to Europe and took a Caribbean cruise on the Wind in March 2016. That cruise offered a fairly nice onboard credit as an incentive but no early booking/payment option. Now I'm wondering if the 10% discount is more broadly or generally available to non-US passengers? Silversea is advertising it applies to selected 2017 cruises and all 2018 cruises except the full World Cruise.

[rosepark]

Its something thats been ongoing for two years at least.

 

Typo and auto correct... ingenious was what I meant - ie do the calculations and work out ways to get the best deal even if it means cancelling and rebooking.

 

Ah, I thought you had some magic scheme. I think we will rebook as we will use the OBC and we can keep the same suite which is good. slightly disgruntled that TA did not spot the offer and that I had to tell them about it - and they are supposed to be SS experts...

BTW, I too have a view of the Thames but slightly up stream from you

Rp

[les37b]

While it may have been available on a few cruises it wasn't available on every cruise. Last year we took a year off our distant cruises to Europe and took a Caribbean cruise on the Wind in March 2016. That cruise offered a fairly nice onboard credit as an incentive but no early booking/payment option. Now I'm wondering if the 10% discount is more broadly or generally available to non-US passengers? Silversea is advertising it applies to selected 2017 cruises and all 2018 cruises except the full World Cruise.

 

Which one? It wasnt Puerto Rico to Ft Lauderdale was it?

[Randyk47]

Which one? It wasnt Puerto Rico to Ft Lauderdale was it?

 

Yes. That was it.