Best Cunard offers right now

[AspirationalFlyer]

Hello all, 

 

I’m thinking of booking a Cunard Transatlantic cruise in November. Are there any special offers on right now covering this period? I’m struggling to find anything online on the UK site. 

 

Do you tend tend to book through travel

agents rather than direct and, if so, why? 

 

I am based in the UK.

 

Thanks v much in advance. 

 

[majortom10]

Always book through a dedicated cruise TA as they are always cheaper than booking direct with Cunard.

[BigMac1953]

A couple of times we've booked with a US travel agent as they seem to get more offers. Germany and Australia seem to be the most expensive countries in which to book, but often a UK agent will be able to discount the price and offer extra OBC.

 

Stewart

[johnsuttoncoldfield]

20 minutes ago, AspirationalFlyer said:

Hello all, 

 

I’m thinking of booking a Cunard Transatlantic cruise in November. Are there any special offers on right now covering this period? I’m struggling to find anything online on the UK site. 

 

Do you tend tend to book through travel

agents rather than direct and, if so, why? 

 

I am based in the UK.

 

Thanks v much in advance. 

 

Good Afternoon to you - I don't see any great deals for the end of the year but it is a case of keeping a regular check on the website (if you can navigate the new one, which I can't!).

 

I have previously always booked direct with the cruise line, just because you can get a good relationship with a particular adviser and they tend to look after you, at least mine have. However, as so many fellow passengers on previous cruises have pointed out what good discounts they get with agents, I approached one recently who has indeed assisted with a discount. It is worth saying however that I know our US friends can secure excellent discounts through their agents but this is not the case in the UK.

I booked a Cunard cruise with a UK agent and managed to secure just £100 discount on a £4000 spend!

 

To be honest, I am likely to go back to booking direct as I ended up having to contact the cruise line myself as my agent managed to get a couple of important details wrong. So in the UK, unless you have had a decent agent for many years and are comfortable with them, I really do not consider that the likely discount you will get is worth the hassle.

 

Just my opinion, perhaps if there was a way to book with a US agent and secure their far better discounts the problem would solve itself, but alas I do not think it is possible.

 

[BigMac1953]

Just my opinion, perhaps if there was a way to book with a US agent and secure their far better discounts the problem would solve itself, but alas I do not think it is possible.

 

Not sure what you mean.

 

It can't be easier. Do your research, then call them or send an email. A few good ones specialise in Cunard. As I wrote, we've done it twice when it suited us without any problems. We've even had the World Club sailings added to our UK "Club".

 

Stewart

Edited February 12, 2019 by BigMac1953
Font went grey

[johnsuttoncoldfield]

14 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Just my opinion, perhaps if there was a way to book with a US agent and secure their far better discounts the problem would solve itself, but alas I do not think it is possible.

 

Not sure what you mean.

 

It can't be easier. Do your research, then call them or send an email. A few good ones specialise in Cunard. As I wrote, we've done it twice when it suited us without any problems. We've even had the World Club sailings added to our UK "Club".

 

Stewart

Hi Stewart

 

I am learning something - so you are UK based and have been able to book with a US Agency?

 

When I attempted this with Princess I was told that there was no way I could do this as the booking address would have to match the Country of origin - in much the same way as not being able to access the US Cunard or Princess website from the UK.?

 

Obviously, if you have been able to do this then I am completely wrong and so will be attempting again!

[Bell Boy]

2 hours ago, AspirationalFlyer said:

Thanks everyone, especially for the prompt responses. 

 

Do you have any particular travel agents in mind? Is there anyone you’d recommend? 

Avoid a High street Travel agent.  You need to look for a Cunard "Cruise Specialist" which you will  often find in the Saturday Daily Mail.

 

 

 

[BigMac1953]

We live in Glasgow.

 

The US T/A's use their own office address and email on the paperwork.

 

None of the cruise companies like you doing this, but who's to say that you didn't work there for a period of time? My daughter did.

[BigMac1953]

Meant to mention, if you use "hide my ip" you can access any site.

[Jack E Dawson]

Cunard ALWAYS has specials going on. 

Whether you book direct our through an independent TA, I recommend checking the Cunard web site on a regular bases and signing up for Cunard e-mails with special offers. 

Right now (on the US site) there are very good rates on the Westbound crossing departing Southampton on Nov. 19th. This sailing will also be used to celebrate Cunard's 100th anniversary of sailing out of Southampton so there is sure to be a great departure celebration. I'm not sure what category you are looking for but inside cabins are starting at U$959pp.

Another good option is to look for "last minute sailing" promotions. Cunard actually has a section on their web site listing these. The good news about this is that on Cunard, these last minute deals start 120 days out from the departure date. Last year we did the Fashion Week Crossing in a sheltered balcony for U$849pp plus $100OBT booking about 90 days out. 

[majortom10]

Dont forget if comparing US prices with UK prices as the norm on a TA in the US it soes not include port taxes as they are extra and do not include flights. All UK prices booked either direct or with a TA include return flights and taxes.

[BigMac1953]

The US agent we used gave us a composite price, but without air travel. We were doing a round trip on one, and booked our own flight on the other. Even with business class air travel, there was still a substantial saving.

 

They're not always lower in price, but they do tend to get more offers than we di including "flash" sales.

 

They also get Grills offers that stopped for us in the UK after Shanks left.

[NavyPanda]

I normally book through a travel agent because they provide better prices than going direct and my current one at the moment has been very helpful with some queries and issues we've had in the past.

 

Generally when it comes to pricing, I've noticed there are three different types of pricing.

 

1. Direct with Cunard, which I call the base/highest price  (If you are an NHS employee, there is a 5% discount available, other employee benefit schemes also have the 5%, you may wish to check)

 

2. The same package as what you would buy from Cunard (flights, transfers etc.) sold through a travel agent at a fixed discount of the direct price. Most travel agents will discount and some do automatically. Expect a discount of 3-5% of the direct price. An agent recently (I assume, accidently) sent me their Agent Copy of the Booking Confirmation, and their base commission was 8%, which is how they are able to provide discounts. Because of the rules here, I can't recommend any travel agent to you, but if you click on 'Find a Cruise' at the top of the page, look for the cruise you are after, then click the 'View all Prices' drop down against a cruise, there are a few which are doing 3% at the moment. Alternatively, I know there is a travel agent which regularly does 5% off, have a look in the travel pages/ads in the Daily Mail / Express etc. and compare the prices for the same Cunard cruise amongst all the agents (even if its not the cruise you are after), invariably the discount is a fixed percentage across all the cruise they sell.

 

 

3. A different package sold through a travel agent, which includes the cruise, a few nights in a hotel and your flight there/back. Sometimes the whole package can actually work out cheaper than the Saver fares, on sale at the same time! I went on a Transatlantic in Nov 2016 and paid less for the cruise and 4 nights in NYC and flight back then I would have done just for the Saver fare (and I was able to choose my dining like a Cunard fare). Just checking a couple of travel agents which I know do these sort of packages, yields no particular deals, this time, but keep this in mind.

 

[Underwatr]

If you feel like rolling the dice a bit, the fares often drop significantly in the period less than 90 days before sailing. For example on two different sites I'm currently seeing reductions on the westbound TA on 14 April and on the round trip TA out of New York on 21 April.

 

90 days is significant because that's final payment deadline and US bookings on Cunard become nonrefundable about 120 days out. So probably Cunard sees more cancellations around that point and many fewer after. They can also reduce prices within 90 days of sailing with relatively fewer people canceling and rebooking for the cheaper fare.

[Bennybluehat]

Last week we booked the BTB transatlantic for spring next year & had to do so fast because there were hardly any cabins left, the only 1 that was vacant that was in a good position was on deck 8 with a view of the side of a lifeboat, basically it was that or nothing! We even rang Cunard who said people have been booking like crazy. Today I received an email advertising double onboard credit & 5% off. We couldn’t have waited any longer for a good deal because we wouldn’t have got a cabin. Makes me feel a bit bitter!

[ew101]

On ‎2‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 10:58 AM, Jack E Dawson said:

Another good option is to look for "last minute sailing" promotions. Cunard actually has a section on their web site listing these. The good news about this is that on Cunard, these last minute deals start 120 days out from the departure date. Last year we did the Fashion Week Crossing in a sheltered balcony for U$849pp plus $100OBT booking about 90 days out. 

 

Jack is right here- for this game you need to be patient  - and decide when your price has been reached and pounce.  Use Cunard.com- one clue is if lots of categories are open Cunard could decide the risk of sailing with empty cabins is too great.  Cruise ships are like hotels- most costs are fixed and paid in advance.   Weeks near holidays and with the risk of bad weather can be good options.   Some dancers we know book when the price drops below $100/night.