The demise of late deals?

[Megabear2]

Whilst not the most reliable of sources, I have been sent this link a short time ago referring to a statement regarding Princess:

 

https://www.gbnews.com/travel/cruise-deals-princess-cruises

 

If this is correct, do you think P&O will be doing the same in the near future?  This appears to suggest a return to the old ways of early booking paying dividends, how do people feel about this?  A reluctance to commit early has crept in over the past two years, would you be prepared to go back to this?

 

The interesting bit is the return of "price guarantee" which proved to be a spray to catch a mackerel in the past.

[CarlaMarie]

I saw this reported on a few cruise sites yesterday so it does seem correct. I expect, like you said, it is being done in response to cruisers not booking as early. 

[amajaa]

9 minutes ago, CarlaMarie said:

I saw this reported on a few cruise sites yesterday so it does seem correct. I expect, like you said, it is being done in response to cruisers not booking as early. 

 

So it's to encourage us to book early. I think since Covid more and more people are waiting later to book, gone are the days of everyone trying to book on the first day of opening. Unless you've got kids and need to go during school holidays or you need an adapted cabin.

[kalos]

The price match is already used by P&O and Cunard, I have sent prices in from T A's 

and they did match them ,refunding me the difference . 

[gsmt47471015]

If it does become standard cruise wise practice it will at least halt the maddening spectre of guests paying up to half of the cost of frequent/regular early bookers, and in a lot of instances letting same said people know how little they paid. Interesting article

[bobstheboy]

Lot of comments on social media. There will always be cruises which don't sell well and are usually drastically reduced near sail date. Are they going to sail well under occupancy ? Can't see it working.

[bobstheboy]

3 minutes ago, kalos said:

The price match is already used by P&O and Cunard, I have sent prices in from T A's 

and they did match them ,refunding me the difference . 

It's not a price match promise, it's a promise that the launch price will not be beaten.

[kalos]

1 minute ago, bobstheboy said:

It's not a price match promise, it's a promise that the launch price will not be beaten.

 

Oh right that will teach me multitasking  (watching tv news and on here 🤣)

[Britboys]

The cheaper launch prices scheme was, imho, fine when itineraries were released 12 to 18 months ahead. Recently P&O have been launching 2+ years ahead which for many is too far away.

It's all very well for them to say this but at the end of the day if they have a lot of empty berths to fill late on, they will drop prices.

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Whilst not the most reliable of sources, I have been sent this link a short time ago referring to a statement regarding Princess:

 

https://www.gbnews.com/travel/cruise-deals-princess-cruises

 

If this is correct, do you think P&O will be doing the same in the near future?  This appears to suggest a return to the old ways of early booking paying dividends, how do people feel about this?  A reluctance to commit early has crept in over the past two years, would you be prepared to go back to this?

 

The interesting bit is the return of "price guarantee" which proved to be a spray to catch a mackerel in the past.

Do you believe anything that GB News says?

[Megabear2]

They'd have to be very confident of the entry level prices to make that price guarantee.  For me it would be a no go at two years out . Interesting to see where this goes.

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, pete14 said:

Do you believe anything that GB News says?

Rarely but others have reported it elsewhere yesterday apparently.

[molecrochip]

Post Covid, the focus was on getting people back on ships. This included enticing a new generation of cruisers acknowledging that some will never want to cruise again.

 

Low prices have been used to fill ships to capacity. Two years on, now that we’re booking 2 years out, that new generation has been found and will actively chose to return (hopefully).

 

Carnival have spoken about the need to raise prices across all brands - it was also an area that the market analysts said Carnival needed to try harder at.

 

So the approach pivots. Say launch price is £500, it reaches £700 following sales. Recently the late fare was £350 which annoyed people. Now the focus is on quality bookings over quantity.

 

A late price could stay at £700 in which case you only need to sell one cabin instead of two to generate the same fare revenue. Alternatively, you drop to £500 and still make more money on the one cabin compared to £350, but you might just sell two cabins and be £300 better off.

 

It’s an over simplification of the revenue model, which aims to maximise fare revenue across the ship, but it gives you an idea.

[bee-ess]

Have been looking at Caribbean for 25/26 and think that the launch prices are a bit too high, and a 10% deposit is a lot for cruises up to 2 and a half years away. They used to be 5% at launch.

But looking at availabilty it seems from trying a few dummy bookings that there are not a lot of cabins available to book online (unless they are holding cabins back). The 22 night TA in October 2025 on Arvia in particular does not have too many cabins available to book online .

Edited October 19, 2023 by bee-ess

[Cathygh]

I will be following prices of some P&O cruises I am interested in, but that's all for now. I have been pricing up some tour/stay and cruise packages and prices for 2025 can be up to 25% more than in 2023. This type of cruise hardly ever drops in price so it looks like some things will be struck off my bucket list. The cruise industry claims to be better value for money than a land holiday but it doesn't seem to be the case now for touring holidays. I just have to weigh up the convenience of being on a ship with food included and being in the same bed every night to living out of a suitcase and having to find my own dinner. 

 

 

[Cathygh]

25 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

 

A late price could stay at £700 in which case you only need to sell one cabin instead of two to generate the same fare revenue. Alternatively, you drop to £500 and still make more money on the one cabin compared to £350, but you might just sell two cabins and be £300 better off.

 

I note what you say about the fare revenue but what about overall revenue? Selling 2 cabins must better than selling 1, as there will be more people to spend money on board. I am fond of late deals, and use the savings to spend more on board.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Whilst not the most reliable of sources, I have been sent this link a short time ago referring to a statement regarding Princess:

 

https://www.gbnews.com/travel/cruise-deals-princess-cruises

 

If this is correct, do you think P&O will be doing the same in the near future?  This appears to suggest a return to the old ways of early booking paying dividends, how do people feel about this?  A reluctance to commit early has crept in over the past two years, would you be prepared to go back to this?

 

The interesting bit is the return of "price guarantee" which proved to be a spray to catch a mackerel in the past.

It's undoubtedly what all cruise lines, or indeed all holiday companies, would like to achieve but, a bit like draining the swamp and being up to your neck in alligators, when reality kicks in and their ships are looking as though they may sail below their optimum passenger numbers, then it's a brave CEO that sticks to his guns.

[molecrochip]

42 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

Have been looking at Caribbean for 25/26 and think that the launch prices are a bit too high, and a 10% deposit is a lot for cruises up to 2 and a half years away. They used to be 5% at launch.

But looking at availabilty it seems from trying a few dummy bookings that there are not a lot of cabins available to book online (unless they are holding cabins back). The 22 night TA in October 2025 on Arvia in particular does not have too many cabins available to book online .

The whispers are that sales have been good this week - really good. No cabins held back.

[Selbourne]

Although, for the first time in our near 30 year cruising history, we have just bagged a bargain last minute fare, I would agree with this approach. We have almost always booked at launch, partly because we now need an accessible cabin, but also because the launch prices were never beaten. As this seems to have changed now, we have stopped booking at launch (unless it’s an excellent price - which they aren’t currently), but as we are retired we are able to. That’s not fair on those who have no choice but to book early (school holidays etc) or those who book early in good faith. 

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

If it does become standard cruise wise practice it will at least halt the maddening spectre of guests paying up to half of the cost of frequent/regular early bookers, and in a lot of instances letting same said people know how little they paid. Interesting article

I must apologise, as I could be accused of that in my excitement to share our news about the Aurora 65 nighter that we booked on the spur of the moment last week. It certainly was never my intention to rub anyone’s nose in it and, in my defence, the prices I have quoted are clearly visible on the P&O website for all to see. Also, as you know, late savers come with some limitations and risks and no OBC. 
 

P.S. Thanks for your very helpful tips that you gave on that thread. ESTAs applied for (and approved today) and yellow fever jabs booked (hopefully my wife will get an exemption). 

[happy v]

Speaking only for myself. I prefer the best prices being at launch. It is good to be able to have the cabin you want but not feel you may be ripped off.

Selbourne I am sure gsmt was not referring to you. I think you could feel by all the comments made that everyone was genuinely pleased for you. It wasn't rubbing our noses in it. Just you being extremely excited. 😀

[kermchem]

1 hour ago, bee-ess said:

The 22 night TA in October 2025 on Arvia in particular does not have too many cabins available to book online .

Arvia leaves Southampton on 24th October on 14, 15 and 22 night cruises. Roughly a third of the cabins will be allocated to each. If it looks as though a cabin is not available for 22 nights then it will have been allocated to one of the others. 

[majortom10]

The only problem is having in previous years booked late deals with Princess, especially British Isles cruises. Although the news about Princess pricing being correct, as read over a number of outlets, pricing currently for 2025 IMO isn't cheap. A 12 nt British Isles cruise in May 2025 with Princess Plus in a balcony is currently £3000 and to me that is not cheap.

[gsmt47471015]

28 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I must apologise, as I could be accused of that in my excitement to share our news about the Aurora 65 nighter that we booked on the spur of the moment last week. It certainly was never my intention to rub anyone’s nose in it and, in my defence, the prices I have quoted are clearly visible on the P&O website for all to see. Also, as you know, late savers come with some limitations and risks and no OBC. 
 

P.S. Thanks for your very helpful tips that you gave on that thread. ESTAs applied for (and approved today) and yellow fever jabs booked (hopefully my wife will get an exemption). 

Selbourne please rest assured this was not a slight against you and I am delighted with the deal you have obtained, the comment was a generalisation and was more for the people onboard who begin a conversation with something like “we couldn’t believe how cheap we got this cruise and got upgraded as well “ I know you will thoroughly enjoy your cruise and look forward to hearing about it , 👍😀

[kermchem]

To me, the problem with the idea that there will be no late deals is that the customer P&O is trying to attract does not book their holidays two and a half years in advance. 
 

Why are Tui and Jet2 flight not available for P&O to confirm when they sell a cruise 18 to 24 months ahead? Because these are holiday companies who expect to sell summer 2024 holidays in January 2024.