Early Saver Cabin Allocation

[kittywife77]

I've done a search on this topic, but have an additional query. I've booked a Feb 2024 school holiday sailing on Arvia in a balcony guarantee. This cruise is almost sold out already. Wow!

 

In this situation am Iikely to get a cabin allocation sooner rather than later?

 

Thanks.

[Thejuggler]

Unless you have access to the P&O booking system you will never know if a cruise is 'almost sold out'.  18 months out I doubt it is.

 

Cabins are released to the market in batches and what you see online may not be the same as what can be accessed by agents.

 

There will always be empty cabins to allow fluid pricing to work effectively and upgrades are offered as the cruise gets nearer.  GTY fare is what is left and your allocation may change a number of times before it is finalised, but you will only be told once.

[grapau27]

On 8/7/2022 at 10:32 AM, kittywife77 said:

I've done a search on this topic, but have an additional query. I've booked a Feb 2024 school holiday sailing on Arvia in a balcony guarantee. This cruise is almost sold out already. Wow!

 

In this situation am Iikely to get a cabin allocation sooner rather than later?

 

Thanks.

Personally I always book a select fare and balcony cabin.

I then choose my own cabin then select NO Upgrades so I don't get what someone else calls an upgrade.

There are some huge On Board Credits offered too with select plus free port shuttles.

For saver fares you might find out your cabin number a few weeks or days before you cruise and likely get a cabin no one else wants.

Graham.

[bobstheboy]

Early saver and Select prices are very fickle. I booked a cruise for next September and got £820 OBC, with my military OBC it is £950. The difference between the two prices was £960, it was a no brainer. Another of my booked cruises the difference was £1300 with total OBC of £420!  No way am I paying that excess to choose a cabin. All prices per cabin.

[Bobblehat71]

I always used to book a select fare as the free parking was always about the same as the additional cost. The last two cruises I've done I just booked a saver fare as the select prices were ridiculously more expensive even with the on board credit and parking. I really don't know why anybody pays hundreds of pounds extra just to pick a room. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by Bobblehat71

[showingdiva]

39 minutes ago, Bobblehat71 said:

I always used to book a select fare as the free parking was always about the same as the additional cost. The last two cruises I've done I just booked a saver fare as the select prices were ridiculously more expensive even with the on board credit and parking. I really don't know why anybody pays hundreds of pounds extra just to pick a room. 

 

Mobility 

Not good travelers at extreme ends of a ship

Convenience  ...

[arlowood]

1 hour ago, Bobblehat71 said:

I always used to book a select fare as the free parking was always about the same as the additional cost. The last two cruises I've done I just booked a saver fare as the select prices were ridiculously more expensive even with the on board credit and parking. I really don't know why anybody pays hundreds of pounds extra just to pick a room. 

There are quite a few areas around the ships that we regularly sail on (Arcadia, Aurora)  that would not equate to "happy cruising"  for my part. For example if I chose an early saver de-luxe balcony, I would be very upset to be allocated cabins on A-deck under the Belvedere restaurant. We were caught out on one cruise when we booked one of those cabins and we were woken up most mornings as the restaurant staff started moving stuff around above our cabin in preparation for the breakfast service.

 

Again proximity to lifts for those with mobility issues can be important.

 

Cabins in the forward section can be very noisy if you are unlucky to run into rough sea conditions.

 

For my part I like to know where I'll be on the ship - so I'm willing to pay the premium

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Bobblehat71 said:

I always used to book a select fare as the free parking was always about the same as the additional cost. The last two cruises I've done I just booked a saver fare as the select prices were ridiculously more expensive even with the on board credit and parking. I really don't know why anybody pays hundreds of pounds extra just to pick a room. 

You would if that room was an accessible one, or even a much preferred and sought after location.

[kittywife77]

It took less than 48 hours from booking to cabin allocation.

 

15617, not the best but by no means the worst location.

[Colsers]

On 8/8/2022 at 1:09 PM, bobstheboy said:

Early saver and Select prices are very fickle. I booked a cruise for next September and got £820 OBC, with my military OBC it is £950. The difference between the two prices was £960, it was a no brainer. Another of my booked cruises the difference was £1300 with total OBC of £420!  No way am I paying that excess to choose a cabin. All prices per cabin.

Hi, we're considering between Saver and Select fare atm for cruise in March 2023. Difference is £1000 in price. Taking away the offered obc choosing our cabin is costing £420 extra for a 14 night cruise. Not sure if its worth that extra in today's financial climate? We just can't decide. We've always chosen our cabins before but as they are inside cabins we're considering if it is worth it.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Colsers said:

Hi, we're considering between Saver and Select fare atm for cruise in March 2023. Difference is £1000 in price. Taking away the offered obc choosing our cabin is costing £420 extra for a 14 night cruise. Not sure if its worth that extra in today's financial climate? We just can't decide. We've always chosen our cabins before but as they are inside cabins we're considering if it is worth it.

Don't forget that Select fare allows you to choose your dining option as well, although not relevant if you are on Iona.

[Colsers]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Don't forget that Select fare allows you to choose your dining option as well, although not relevant if you are on Iona.

It's Arvia, not sure how that works on saver fare? Are you assigned a time? Can you not do freedom dining?

[Gettingwarmer]

16 minutes ago, Colsers said:

It's Arvia, not sure how that works on saver fare? Are you assigned a time? Can you not do freedom dining?

Arvia is all freedom dining like Iona. 

[wowzz]

27 minutes ago, Colsers said:

It's Arvia, not sure how that works on saver fare? Are you assigned a time? Can you not do freedom dining?

Yes, as just said, all freedom dining, so less incentive to book a select fare, apart from making sure you avoid certain dreaded conservatory cabins.

[bobstheboy]

37 minutes ago, Colsers said:

Hi, we're considering between Saver and Select fare atm for cruise in March 2023. Difference is £1000 in price. Taking away the offered obc choosing our cabin is costing £420 extra for a 14 night cruise. Not sure if its worth that extra in today's financial climate? We just can't decide. We've always chosen our cabins before but as they are inside cabins we're considering if it is worth it.

It is very subjective whether you pay a large premium to choose a cabin. Some are happy to pay hundreds extra, others, like myself, wouldn't pay more than £200 pp extra. Personal choice.

[Colsers]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Yes, as just said, all freedom dining, so less incentive to book a select fare, apart from making sure you avoid certain dreaded conservatory cabins.

On saver fare, prior to your sailing you are allocated a dreaded cabin (for me, Forward and low decks) is there any negotiation with P&O to change within the grade, has anyone had experience of this?

[Colsers]

1 minute ago, bobstheboy said:

It is very subjective whether you pay a large premium to choose a cabin. Some are happy to pay hundreds extra, others, like myself, wouldn't pay more than £200 pp extra. Personal choice.

Yes, like everything in life, it's all subjective and personal choice. I was just putting it out there to see what the consensus of opinion was and if there were any great differences in the fares that I wasn't aware of.

[True Devonian]

59 minutes ago, Colsers said:

On saver fare, prior to your sailing you are allocated a dreaded cabin (for me, Forward and low decks) is there any negotiation with P&O to change within the grade, has anyone had experience of this?

This is why we always book select fare. We are happy to pay the extra to ensure we get the cabin we want, in the area we want. We are not prepared to risk being allocated a cabin in an area we would not wish to be. Those booking a saver fare must accept the risk and not expect to be able to negotiate with P&O to change cabin to suit them, if it is that important to you book select.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Colsers said:

On saver fare, prior to your sailing you are allocated a dreaded cabin (for me, Forward and low decks) is there any negotiation with P&O to change within the grade, has anyone had experience of this?

Afaik, by booking a saver fare, you are,  in effect, giving up any option as to changing the cabin you are allocated. 

After all, being able to change your cabin, defeats the purpose of a saver fare. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by wowzz

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, Colsers said:

On saver fare, prior to your sailing you are allocated a dreaded cabin (for me, Forward and low decks) is there any negotiation with P&O to change within the grade, has anyone had experience of this?

When booking your saver you should be able to select a general area/cabin grade.  If you look at the plan and see how many are in the area you wouldn't like you can narrow your odds.  Normally there is a slight price increase per grade with forward being the cheapest and mid the dearest.

[Colsers]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

When booking your saver you should be able to select a general area/cabin grade.  If you look at the plan and see how many are in the area you wouldn't like you can narrow your odds.  Normally there is a slight price increase per grade with forward being the cheapest and mid the dearest.

Thank you Megabear2. This is what I generally meant. I knew Saver fare couldn't specify exact cabin, deck etc that's the point of the two fares and I knew it is a risk, and many people aren't willing to gamble on it,  but if you can select a general area/cabin grade then we would be happier to book Saver.

I would never expect P&O to negotiate booking a certain cabin after choosing Saver fare, I just wondered if anyone had experience of changing to a different cabin before sailing within the same grading, albeit paying a supplement if it were deemed to be a better general positioning.

[janny444]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

When booking your saver you should be able to select a general area/cabin grade.  If you look at the plan and see how many are in the area you wouldn't like you can narrow your odds.  Normally there is a slight price increase per grade with forward being the cheapest and mid the dearest.

Am I correct in thinking that the grade you book on saver fare is the minimum grade that will be allocated.....could you not end up with a higher grade cabin in a worse position?

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, janny444 said:

Am I correct in thinking that the grade you book on saver fare is the minimum grade that will be allocated.....could you not end up with a higher grade cabin in a worse position?

Yes you could, which is why you would need to choose the cabin grade with great care.

[DebiGee]

I am new to the board , and indeed to cruising itself . I have booked a saver fare on Iona on 29 Oct to Spain and Portugal. The price was excellent and to be honest we would not be able to have afforded a 14 day cruise if it wasn't for this price. That's not to say I havent had anxious moments in the last month since I  booked it. I realise that I have to wait to be allocated a cabin and that this could be a deck 8 overlooked on the promenade cabin .When I booked I chose the size of the cabin as the second or third size as its named on my booking as Balcony cabin mid-fwd /mid-aft. I don't know if this was good or bad. Can someone help with this please?

As a bit of background our first cruise was going to be Celebrity in May20 (cancelled and rebooked) and then May21 (cancelled again) and I spent ages picking out a cabin on that one but this was a quick decision to try again and this time I didnt want to overthink it. My anxiety has not thanked me for that spontaniety. One of the main things I am anxious about is when the cabin will be allocated.

[Megabear2]

33 minutes ago, DebiGee said:

I am new to the board , and indeed to cruising itself . I have booked a saver fare on Iona on 29 Oct to Spain and Portugal. The price was excellent and to be honest we would not be able to have afforded a 14 day cruise if it wasn't for this price. That's not to say I havent had anxious moments in the last month since I  booked it. I realise that I have to wait to be allocated a cabin and that this could be a deck 8 overlooked on the promenade cabin .When I booked I chose the size of the cabin as the second or third size as its named on my booking as Balcony cabin mid-fwd /mid-aft. I don't know if this was good or bad. Can someone help with this please?

As a bit of background our first cruise was going to be Celebrity in May20 (cancelled and rebooked) and then May21 (cancelled again) and I spent ages picking out a cabin on that one but this was a quick decision to try again and this time I didnt want to overthink it. My anxiety has not thanked me for that spontaniety. One of the main things I am anxious about is when the cabin will be allocated.

Hello, welcome.  I've yet to sail Iona but when making my booking for the same cruise I was advised by P&O that deck 8 has no mid aft or aft balcony cabins.  Looking at the plan therefore only the mid forward cabins will presumably be a possibility for you unless you are given an upgrade to a deluxe or conservatory cabin.

 

This cluster of mid forward cabins are quite small, 10 in total with 2 of them being accessible cabins. If you look on the P&O deck 8 plan they are the last cabins on deck 8 coloured in pink and are grade GC.