As Predicted - P&O having to discount Fjord cruises

[showingdiva]

Cancelled an April fjords on Iona and kept a May one with another cruise line.   P&O offering OBC, other line a drink / ice cream package.   Similar itineraries and extended balcony cabin (single use).   P&O one still over double the price, at one point was nearly three times.

Not dissing P&O (will probably go back to them one day), but too much of a difference, that has afforded another cruise, to ignore.

[GOQ]

2 hours ago, davecttr said:

Just checked and now £130 cheaper than when I booked. I have a single inside on deck 16 which was fine last time.

I would be interested in your opinion of those single inside cabins on deck 16 Britannia Dave. I have 2 cruises booked on Britannia a single balcony deck 16 and a double balcony deck 14. I was just thinking it would be just a short walk from a deck 16 inside cabin to the deck for open space, so might be a good future option.

 

Another thought about the Fjord cruises are the restrictions which come into place in 2026 so I have been thinking about a Britannia/Iona fjord cruise anyway, I have a space in May so one of these cruises looks very tempting, especially if its a bargain.

 

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

We book when we are happy with the price and then don't look at the prices afterwards because it seems to be a path to madness.  We also always say no upgrade because we are particular about where on the ship our cabin is. 

After cruising for over 40 years we know the potential problems with various cabins eg: with public spaces above or below or near to the lift / stairs lobby, close to the launderette, overlooked from balconies above.

We usually do that but on our recent Iona cruise I kept an eye on prices and cancelled the cruise then booked the same cruise again in a better cabin for a far cheaper price and massive amount of OBC.

[dallas16]

I think it's not just P&O but other cruise lines that are discounting prices as well. The fjords are plenty big enough for ships like Iona and MSC Virtuosa. I think P&O were quite unlucky with weather and numerous other ships cancelled their port calls in the fjords last year including small ships from Seabourn and Oceania , the locals told us it had been one of the wettest and windiest summers on record which resulted in lots of cancelled ships. The cruise pier in Hellesylt is less than half of the length of Iona but with the berthing dolphins, can easily accommodate the largest ships in the world 

[Interestedcruisefan]

Our inside saver cabin on 20th May is now advertised at £494 per person (we paid £500 per person)

 

Who is advertising balconies at £494 per person? They are still showing £700 plus per person where I looked

[Britboys]

18 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Our inside saver cabin on 20th May is now advertised at £494 per person (we paid £500 per person)

 

Who is advertising balconies at £494 per person? They are still showing £700 plus per person where I looked

The agent that many of us use on here is advertising the £494, which of course will be inside but they are also advertising free upgrade from Ocean View to Balcony - obviously not for Britannia, which doesn't have any Ocean View.

[Selbourne]

16 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Our inside saver cabin on 20th May is now advertised at £494 per person (we paid £500 per person)

 

Who is advertising balconies at £494 per person? They are still showing £700 plus per person where I looked

As I stated earlier in this thread, the £494 per person (balcony cabin) offer is currently being offered on a forthcoming batch of 6 Iona Cruises and 2 Britannia ones. I cannot name the agent but most P&O regulars on this forum use them. I suspect that they are the biggest TA that places bookings with P&O, so have been given priority. The P&O website is still showing much higher prices. I’d love to post the link but forum rules won’t allow it. 

[davecttr]

37 minutes ago, GOQ said:

I would be interested in your opinion of those single inside cabins on deck 16 Britannia Dave. I have 2 cruises booked on Britannia a single balcony deck 16 and a double balcony deck 14. I was just thinking it would be just a short walk from a deck 16 inside cabin to the deck for open space, so might be a good future option.

 

Another thought about the Fjord cruises are the restrictions which come into place in 2026 so I have been thinking about a Britannia/Iona fjord cruise anyway, I have a space in May so one of these cruises looks very tempting, especially if its a bargain.

 

They were bijou and OK, everything you need including a shower door. My cabin was L251 and the far end of the corridor was the Library and Crows Nest. The corridor is quiet and not generally used as a through route. The white space inside is a crew area including stairs and lifts.

 

[bobstheboy]

Current late prices are low for most of the cruise lines, even the 6* luxury brand.

 

River cruises are also available at 50% + discounts. Disposable income is down for many and bound to take its toll on cruises.

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, Britboys said:

The agent that many of us use on here is advertising the £494, which of course will be inside but they are also advertising free upgrade from Ocean View to Balcony - obviously not for Britannia, which doesn't have any Ocean View.

Sincere apologies everyone. Andrew has spotted something that I missed in what I now think is a very misleading advert. The advert states 7 nights from £494 plus free upgrade to a balcony cabin. I haven’t been able to access the link all day (due to high demand, I suspect) but I’ve just been able to, and the headline £494 is indeed an inside with balconies showing as from £642, so that would equate to £183 per cabin per couple per night. 
 

I wish that I could post the advert as I don’t think I’d be the only one to have read “from £494 plus FREE upgrade to a balcony” as meaning that balcony cabins were from £494. Not having followed prices on these cruises I have no idea how much of a saving the ‘free’ upgrade is worth. Once again, apologies for creating unnecessary confusion.

[Josy1953]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

I agree, but when booking with Princess, you can refare, and keep your original cabin,  so it is worth keeping your eye on the fares in that case. It does cost £50 pp though ! 

I have just been and looked on the Princess site and the prices for the cruises that we have booked have increased, one would cost us £940 and the other £1050 more for the same grade cabin than we paid.  The cruise that we have booked on Celebrity the cabin grade that we have booked is sold out. 

[NavyPanda]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Sincere apologies everyone. Andrew has spotted something that I missed in what I now think is a very misleading advert. The advert states 7 nights from £494 plus free upgrade to a balcony cabin. I haven’t been able to access the link all day (due to high demand, I suspect) but I’ve just been able to, and the headline £494 is indeed an inside with balconies showing as from £642, so that would equate to £183 per cabin per couple per night. 
 

I wish that I could post the advert as I don’t think I’d be the only one to have read “from £494 plus FREE upgrade to a balcony” as meaning that balcony cabins were from £494. Not having followed prices on these cruises I have no idea how much of a saving the ‘free’ upgrade is worth. Once again, apologies for creating unnecessary confusion.

 

Thank you for the update and clarification. As someone who monitors P&O pricing very carefully the post didn't seem right to me.

 

Generally, travel agents do not sell P&O/Cunard cruises from Southampton significantly cheaper than booking direct. The only difference would be a 5% (slightly more if you are very lucky) discount which is taken from the TA's commission. 

 

However, if P&O/Cunard do a fly cruise package, and the travel agent only purchases the cruise element, and builds the rest of the package, then these can be significantly cheaper than just a normal 5% discount. 

 

Would strike me as very odd if P&O started deviating from this suddenly with only one travel agent. 

[Ardennais]

5 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Had the email from the TA.  Prices look good for a balcony.  However, we do feel that maybe Iona is a bit too big for the fjords and all the hassle she had last season there, so a no for us.

That’s my worry too. We really loved Iona and will definitely sail on her again! 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

I have just been and looked on the Princess site and the prices for the cruises that we have booked have increased, one would cost us £940 and the other £1050 more for the same grade cabin than we paid.  The cruise that we have booked on Celebrity the cabin grade that we have booked is sold out. 

Good to know that prices have not decreased. 

But it is always worth checking. We upgraded to a minisuite from a balcony cabin for our April cruise, as the price had reduced.

[wowzz]

I received an email today from a TA (not the normal one) offering some great looking fares on Oceania. But, you have to contact the TA to see the cruise details,  cabin availability etc.

Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I like to look and mull over my choices (as was posted previously about Saga) rather than being bounced into making a decision.

Perhaps I might call my favoured TA tomorrow for a chat !

[zap99]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Good to know that prices have not decreased. 

But it is always worth checking. We upgraded to a minisuite from a balcony cabin for our April cruise, as the price had reduced.

That's one of our plans for Britannia in December.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

That's one of our plans for Britannia in December.

But I didn't think you could refare on P&O ? 

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

But I didn't think you could refare on P&O ? 

My understanding is that you have to cancel and re book. Otherwise, if you upgrade it’s usually based on the fares at the time you booked. The trick P&O seem to be opting now though is to cut the prices after the balance due dates, which gets the capacity up (the profit coming from the on board spend), but stops those who have already booked from benefitting. 

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

But I didn't think you could refare on P&O ? 

Various options..If the price drops again fairly soon, cancel and rebook, assuming premium seats still available.  See if moving to a superior cabin on the same cruise is an option.Pay the balance and enjoy the £700 OBC. The lesson has been learnt not to book early. We have been deciding which beach bars will be 2 beds, 2 beers and which will be Rum punch and a mudslide. Probably back to the boatyard on the Friday ,or perhaps fishery.  Saving some money would be good, but not a major consideration.

 

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Various options..If the price drops again fairly soon, cancel and rebook, assuming premium seats still available.  See if moving to a superior cabin on the same cruise is an option.Pay the balance and enjoy the £700 OBC.

So, I have a wake view balcony, PE seats from BHX, and £880 obc for our December cruise on Britannia.

How much does the fare need to drop to make it worthwhile to lose my £500 deposit, but keep my cabin, flights, obc etc ? 

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

So, I have a wake view balcony, PE seats from BHX, and £880 obc for our December cruise on Britannia.

How much does the fare need to drop to make it worthwhile to lose my £500 deposit, but keep my cabin, flights, obc etc ? 

At the moment if we cancel and rebook, losing our deposit, but still getting premium seats, we save about £150. Not worth it, but a few months to go yet. Just an exercise of watching prices, not getting to uptight. If the price drops a few hundred more...we will see, but a nice holiday is the main priority.

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, zap99 said:

At the moment if we cancel and rebook, losing our deposit, but still getting premium seats, we save about £150. Not worth it, but a few months to go yet. Just an exercise of watching prices, not getting to uptight. If the price drops a few hundred more...we will see, but a nice holiday is the main priority.

If our price halves, I will rebook, but that is not going to happen. 

[terrierjohn]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

If our price halves, I will rebook, but that is not going to happen. 

Our favourite TA will handle everything for you, if the price reduction begins to look attractive.

[Selbourne]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

So, I have a wake view balcony, PE seats from BHX, and £880 obc for our December cruise on Britannia.

How much does the fare need to drop to make it worthwhile to lose my £500 deposit, but keep my cabin, flights, obc etc ? 

I always work out our net fare as being the cruise price less OBC. I do this as P&O tend to have a pricing stance of low cruise price with low OBC, or high cruise price with high OBC (exceptions apply but the principle remains). Then it’s simply a case of looking at what the new net price is and seeing how any reduction compares to the loss of deposit.
 

The problem, however, is that the biggest reductions are likely to be after balance due date, which scuppers the plan! 

[wowzz]

28 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I always work out our net fare as being the cruise price less OBC. I do this as P&O tend to have a pricing stance of low cruise price with low OBC, or high cruise price with high OBC (exceptions apply but the principle remains). Then it’s simply a case of looking at what the new net price is and seeing how any reduction compares to the loss of deposit.
 

The problem, however, is that the biggest reductions are likely to be after balance due date, which scuppers the plan! 

I do the same with regards to obc, but when giving pricing examples, I tend to give both the gross figure and the obc, as I am aware that some on the forum seel less value in the obc than I do.

I agree about reductions after final payment date, but as our next P&O cruises are in wake view cabins, I am pretty confident they will not be available, let alone discounted.