Last minute deals P&O

[purplesea]

Just booked flights to Palermo and more expensive than last year, thankfully I don't have to pay out for accomodation, as staying at a family's appartment.

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, Cathygh said:

So I wonder if the price hikes are to do with genuine rising costs, high demand or greed? ATM I think people who haven't had a holiday for a few years will accept high prices but in future they might not.

Prices can only increase with high demand, but if demand drops so will prices.

[Cathygh]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Prices can only increase with high demand, but if demand drops so will prices.

Exactly. We will just have to wait for bookings to drop so we can get a good late deal.

[SianP]

I’ve just paid £1200pp for 2 weeks fly cruise in the med in June. 
 

Same week next year is over £1800.

 

I don’t mind what cabin class or location I have though, so works for me! 

[zap99]

On 5/27/2024 at 10:57 AM, Selbourne said:

Always a risk for popular cruises but still possible for many. 3 weeks is a bit late though. The cheapest late savers tend to kick in a week or so after the balance due date, when those who are having second thoughts bail out before paying the balance, so best to look then if you are after a cheap deal rather than leave it any longer. However, the upgrade programme can kick in much later, which can result in very late availability in the lower grades.

We are on Anthem of the seas to the Canaries later in the year.  3 cruises. All full.

[david63]

14 hours ago, Cathygh said:

We will just have to wait for bookings to drop so we can get a good late deal.

That does not look as if it will be happening any time soon with Carnival group having record bookings at the moment.

[Selbourne]

9 minutes ago, david63 said:

That does not look as if it will be happening any time soon with Carnival group having record bookings at the moment.

Whilst pinning all your hopes on a last minute bargain is always a high risk strategy, especially if it’s a cruise that you particularly want to go on, the fact remains that even on a sold out cruise there will always be some people, out of the thousands booked, who for health, financial or other issues, will cancel around balance due date. As previously mentioned, we were offered a choice of cabins after balance due date on a cruise that had been sold out for months before. 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Whilst pinning all your hopes on a last minute bargain is always a high risk strategy, especially if it’s a cruise that you particularly want to go on, the fact remains that even on a sold out cruise there will always be some people, out of the thousands booked, who for health, financial or other issues, will cancel around balance due date. As previously mentioned, we were offered a choice of cabins after balance due date on a cruise that had been sold out for months before. 

Let's test our theory, Selbourne!  My August Baltic Aurora cruise just passed final payment date, 28th May.  I paid on 23 May before boarding here.  Just checked the prices after reading this thread and every cabin grade has dropped a fairly even £200-£250 as at today.  

 

If our best price scenario being 7-10 days after due date is correct, next week should see another drop for a few days, particularly as Late Saver kicks in.  I'm monitoring these prices as I'm considering a bid to upgrade if it's reasonable.  

 

It will be a bit of fun!!

[Gettingwarmer]

2 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Let's test our theory, Selbourne!  My August Baltic Aurora cruise just passed final payment date, 28th May.  I paid on 23 May before boarding here.  Just checked the prices after reading this thread and every cabin grade has dropped a fairly even £200-£250 as at today.  

 

If our best price scenario being 7-10 days after due date is correct, next week should see another drop for a few days, particularly as Late Saver kicks in.  I'm monitoring these prices as I'm considering a bid to upgrade if it's reasonable.  

 

It will be a bit of fun!!

But is it lower than the price on the first day of selling. Did you book on first day?

[mrsgoggins]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

 If our best price scenario being 7-10 days after due date is correct, next week should see another drop for a few days, particularly as Late Saver kicks in.  I'm monitoring these prices as I'm considering a bid to upgrade if it's reasonable.  

 

It will be a bit of fun!!

 

That will be interesting!  I intend to do the same for my September Princess 32 night Canada/USA cruise (final payment due 17/6), especially as they have dropped 2 Canadian ports and substituted 2 French ones, which many people are unhappy with and some have reported that they have cancelled.

 

I'll look forward to the update.

 

 

Edited May 30 by mrsgoggins
Inaccurate

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, Gettingwarmer said:

But is it lower than the price on the first day of selling. Did you book on first day?

No but the rest of my family did and I know their prices as they gave them to me when we decided to think about joining them.  Incidentally price was lower than theirs when I booked in February.

[Gettingwarmer]

8 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

That will be interesting!  I intend to do the same for my September Princess 32 night Canada/USA cruise (final payment due 17/6), especially as they have dropped 2 Canadian ports and substituted 2 French ones, which many people are unhappy with and some have reported that they have cancelled.

 

I'll look forward to the update.

 

 

Yes it is unfortunate that a lot of Canadian ports are declining having large ships and others have restrictions in entering. We were lucky to get to Bar Harbor last year. 

[zap99]

24 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Let's test our theory, Selbourne!  My August Baltic Aurora cruise just passed final payment date, 28th May.  I paid on 23 May before boarding here.  Just checked the prices after reading this thread and every cabin grade has dropped a fairly even £200-£250 as at today.  

 

If our best price scenario being 7-10 days after due date is correct, next week should see another drop for a few days, particularly as Late Saver kicks in.  I'm monitoring these prices as I'm considering a bid to upgrade if it's reasonable.  

 

It will be a bit of fun!!

We did that with RC and saved about £300pp. Not mega, but pays the drinks bill. It was actually cheaper than I anticipated as they gave us another £350 " seniors " discount and wrinklies money off excursions ,30%. Last year we played chicken with TUI and saved about £500 on a week to Menorca. Late booking May result in missing out on your plan A, but....

[Selbourne]

22 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Let's test our theory, Selbourne!  My August Baltic Aurora cruise just passed final payment date, 28th May.  I paid on 23 May before boarding here.  Just checked the prices after reading this thread and every cabin grade has dropped a fairly even £200-£250 as at today.  

 

If our best price scenario being 7-10 days after due date is correct, next week should see another drop for a few days, particularly as Late Saver kicks in.  I'm monitoring these prices as I'm considering a bid to upgrade if it's reasonable.  

 

It will be a bit of fun!!

Whilst the price drop post balance due date has already proved our point (although, to be fair, it was you who first alerted me to the price drops post balance due - and in particular a week or two after - so I won’t claim the credit for that), an August cruise on Aurora is one that I personally wouldn’t be expecting late bargains on. 
 

Just a thought, but as the bid to upgrade prices rarely seem to be very cheap, might it be worth you enquiring about a normal upgrade that you pay normal price for? You mention that the prices when you booked were cheaper than launch prices and, as we know, P&O base upgrade prices on the price difference that applied at the time you booked. You’ve probably already considered this. 

[Eglesbrech]

41 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

That will be interesting!  I intend to do the same for my September Princess 32 night Canada/USA cruise (final payment due 17/6), especially as they have dropped 2 Canadian ports and substituted 2 French ones, which many people are unhappy with and some have reported that they have cancelled.

 

I'll look forward to the update.

 

 

We were booked with Princess to Canada last year and had to cancel but out of interest we kept an eye on it. The prices dropped like a brick before the final payment date to the point that had I been able to travel I would have been significantly cheaper to cancel and rebook.

 

I’m talking by thousands of pounds difference. Strangely it went up a bit again after the final payment as presumably they sold more cabins. 
 

This year may be different as cruising is very popular and the airports are likely to be a pain with the new fingerprinting etc from October. May push more towards U.K. departures.

[Gettingwarmer]

15 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

We were booked with Princess to Canada last year and had to cancel but out of interest we kept an eye on it. The prices dropped like a brick before the final payment date to the point that had I been able to travel I would have been significantly cheaper to cancel and rebook.

 

I’m talking by thousands of pounds difference. Strangely it went up a bit again after the final payment as presumably they sold more cabins. 
 

This year may be different as cruising is very popular and the airports are likely to be a pain with the new fingerprinting etc from October. May push more towards U.K. departures.

Yes we booked under a 30% discount. 

[Fionboard]

My August 30 Iceland cruise on Arcadia has drpped significantly. Two friends paying considerably less than me for the same cabin. You take your chances! 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Whilst the price drop post balance due date has already proved our point (although, to be fair, it was you who first alerted me to the price drops post balance due - and in particular a week or two after - so I won’t claim the credit for that), an August cruise on Aurora is one that I personally wouldn’t be expecting late bargains on. 
 

Just a thought, but as the bid to upgrade prices rarely seem to be very cheap, might it be worth you enquiring about a normal upgrade that you pay normal price for? You mention that the prices when you booked were cheaper than launch prices and, as we know, P&O base upgrade prices on the price difference that applied at the time you booked. You’ve probably already considered this. 

We had to book select as we needed definite 1st sitting fixed to be with our family.  We are a very large group of 24 at present.  As a result looking st the fares when we booked there was a very considerable difference, almost £2500 to have a balcony and nearly £3500 for the deluxe.

 

We have booked an outside shower only deck E based on some information from people on here.  We are paying a reasonable amount - well.i think so anyway - of £3698 for select fare.  My 8 of our group booked day 1 and their insides are only slightly less than that.  

 

Currently the offered prices are:

 

Inside £2958

Outside £3458

Balcony £4698

Deluxe £5398

 

If, and it's a big if, the bid comes in at a reasonable cost we may go for it as anything based on today's fares would appear reasonable with only £1,000 between the two.  The balcony and deluxe prices have dropped very considerably even between our booking and the final payment date.

 

I have a feeling that some people are being put off by reviews (suggesting a very tired ship) and also the destination.  Those of us in the cheap seats aren't seeing the big reductions like the higher end.

 

As I say will be interesting .

Edited May 30 by Megabear2

[Mollag]

42 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

We had to book select as we needed definite 1st sitting fixed to be with our family.  We are a very large group of 24 at present.  As a result looking st the fares when we booked there was a very considerable difference, almost £2500 to have a balcony and nearly £3500 for the deluxe.

 

We have booked an outside shower only deck E based on some information from people on here.  We are paying a reasonable amount - well.i think so anyway - of £3698 for select fare.  My 8 of our group booked day 1 and their insides are only slightly less than that.  

 

Currently the offered prices are:

 

Inside £2958

Outside £3458

Balcony £4698

Deluxe £5398

 

If, and it's a big if, the bid comes in at a reasonable cost we may go for it as anything based on today's fares would appear reasonable with only £1,000 between the two.  The balcony and deluxe prices have dropped very considerably even between our booking and the final payment date.

 

I have a feeling that some people are being put off by reviews (suggesting a very tired ship) and also the destination.  Those of us in the cheap seats aren't seeing the big reductions like the higher end.

 

As I say will be interesting .

We paid £2932 with £340 OBC in September last year for PB grade inside on this one MB

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

That will be interesting!  I intend to do the same for my September Princess 32 night Canada/USA cruise (final payment due 17/6), especially as they have dropped 2 Canadian ports and substituted 2 French ones, which many people are unhappy with and some have reported that they have cancelled.

 

I'll look forward to the update.

 

 

We just had an email offer for this cruise, offering a balcony cabin for an inside cabin price of £2399pp.

[Megabear2]

42 minutes ago, Mollag said:

We paid £2932 with £340 OBC in September last year for PB grade inside on this one MB

My BIL was first to book on this on launch day as he had to move a cruise as he was unable to get assistance for his father in law for za booked cruise.  He has a lido deck inside select at £3,200.  6 others booked slightly later paid around £3,000 or just under for their insides.  Our average on insides is around £2,900.  

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We just had an email offer for this cruise, offering a balcony cabin for an inside cabin price of £2399pp.

Is that select fare? I assume a TA is offering it.  If so it follows my "theory".

[terrierjohn]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Is that select fare? I assume a TA is offering it.  If so it follows my "theory".

Maybe confusing you MB, this offer was for the Princess  Canada cruise. I dropped in as @mrsgoggins was quoting her Princess cruise. But it is still a darned good offer for a 31 night TA cruise on Sky Princess.

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Maybe confusing you MB, this offer was for the Princess  Canada cruise. I dropped in as @mrsgoggins was quoting her Princess cruise. But it is still a darned good offer for a 31 night TA cruise on Sky Princess.

Yes, they ran that deal on it's equivalent last year, I recall you sending me details when I was considering it.

[GSPG]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Let's test our theory, Selbourne!  My August Baltic Aurora cruise just passed final payment date, 28th May.  I paid on 23 May before boarding here.  Just checked the prices after reading this thread and every cabin grade has dropped a fairly even £200-£250 as at today.  

 

If our best price scenario being 7-10 days after due date is correct, next week should see another drop for a few days, particularly as Late Saver kicks in.  I'm monitoring these prices as I'm considering a bid to upgrade if it's reasonable.  

 

It will be a bit of fun!!

Yes, looking forward to an update.
I assume you look at these on a daily basis to record any movements?