Comparison of PO fares

[Kenmo1]

On a cruise forum which has a dot in it there is an interesting comparison of Vantage and Getaway fares including % drop and approximate period before cruise that it dropped. The mathematicians amongst you will enjoy reading it. Sorry, don't know how to do link or whether allowed.

[Peter D]

Just read it. Very interesting.

Hope the link works.

http://www.cruises.co.uk/673-cruise_cha ... lysis.html

[ChesterfieldJohn]

That women has far to much time on her hands

John

[Dark Knight]

interesting to note that the family ships sell out quicker and attract a lesser discount, shows which way Pando are going

[ChesterfieldJohn]

interesting to note that the family ships sell out quicker and attract a lesser discount, shows which way Pando are going

Surely it just means that more people cruise during school holidays than out of them?

John

[Dark Knight]

how do you reach that conclusion?
my interpretation is Azura and Ventura are attracting more customers than the traditional or adults only ships, hence the lower discounts, so the bigger ships are more popular all year round, not just in the holidays

[ChesterfieldJohn]

how do you reach that conclusion?
my interpretation is Azura and Ventura are attracting more customers than the traditional or adults only ships, hence the lower discounts, so the bigger ships are more popular all year round, not just in the holidays

Family ships attract more passengers.

Means kids like to cruise with their parents.

The size of the ships means that they must attract more passengers.

John

[Dark Knight]

the biggest discounts are being given to the adults only ones , so they must therefore be the most difficult to fill
so by default the bigger ships must be more popular all year round? because they would be sailing half empty if they were only popular during school hols and would attract the biggest discounts to fill them for the rest of the year?

least popular biggest discount for both ships and destination..........simples

[ChesterfieldJohn]

the biggest discounts are being given to the adults only ones , so they must therefore be the most difficult to fill
so by default the bigger ships must be more popular all year round? because they would be sailing half empty if they were only popular during school hols and would attract the biggest discounts to fill them for the rest of the year?

least popular biggest discount for both ships and destination..........simples

Kevin,
Isnt that what I said??

Kids dont only go during school Hols but more do.
John

[Dark Knight]

sorry John
misread your post, to mean that the bigger ships must attract more passengers, so give bigger discounts but they don't give the biggest discounts, so they must be filling the bigger ships all year round easier than the smaller ones? and not with families , not that many take their kids out of school for a cruise

we always cruise out of school term time and have not seen very many school age kids on board on either Azura or Ventura, in fact on Ventura we didn't see any kids at all

[oldbluefox]

Does it matter?

[Dark Knight]

not a jot Foxyplod

just interesting to note the bigger ships are proving easier to fill ,despite all you read on forums such as this one ,about blocks of flats and tired old worn out clichés like Butlins at sea etc

and it may point the way forward for the company

[oldbluefox]

I think there are many other factors which come into play such as destination, time of year, school holidays, working people who need to book well in advance, initial pricing structures, impact of those who can travel any time leaving bookings until late on, facilities on different ships, etc etc.
As with all statistics you may read into them what you like and still end up wide of the mark.
The whole focus of the exercise was to compare Getaway and Vantage prices. Not sure any other conclusions could be drawn from such a narrow database.

[Dark Knight]

of course that is true
taking the ladies work at face value and assuming she is correct , I still find it interesting to see which ships are having to be discounted the most heavily to fill them
nothing more, just mildly interesting

[oldbluefox]

Using the statistics it could be said that young families have plenty of disposable income and will pay to go to the Mediterranean on Ventura and Azura no matter what the cost and therefore Getaway promotions are less attractive.
That's what the statistics could be suggesting but I am certain many would disagree - and I don't blame them.
I do agree the outcome of this lady's work is interesting and my only criticism is she didn't publish her work sooner otherwise I would have saved myself a lot of money.

[Dark Knight]

How does the saying go
Lies, dammed lies and then statistics ?

[oldbluefox]

Very true DK. Now, armed with these statistics I am off to check my target prices for my next cruise.

[Dark Knight]

we have never had a target price, we see one we like the look of, itinerary , dates then ship, if we are happy with it we book, if not we look at something else and don't go back at look at it once booked

[Holiday Planner]

I found it really interesting - I have been doing something similar, but with a few selected cruises to get a feel for trends, and on a selection of cruises I was watching for September. It paid off, because it gave me a feel for what was a good price, and when my favourite cruise hit that level I booked. It went up again a day or two later.

[oldbluefox]

Well done HP!!
Having been stung by Vantage fares I have joined many others in watching prices and how much other cruises are sailing for. I know exactly what I want and how much I am prepared to pay. If my plan does not work out I'll find something else but it is a bit galling to sit with somebody telling you they paid half of what you paid and had an upgrade into the bargain. Never again!! I don't blame anybody who is price-watching if they have flexibility of holiday dates and are not too worried which cabin they have.

As an aside every time I go onto the P&O site I am invited to take part in their competition which I sometimes do three or four times a day as I look up prices. Do I stand a chance of winning do you think?

............................thought not!!

[Kenmo1]

we have never had a target price, we see one we like the look of, itinerary , dates then ship, if we are happy with it we book, if not we look at something else and don't go back at look at it once booked

Like you, DK. we find an itinerary first, then we 'jump in' and book when the price reaches what we are happy to pay but that doesn't stop me wondering if we have jumped too soon. I can't resist looking even though I tell myself I shouldn't because I know I will end up kicking myself for booking too soon.

[johnds]

Following up a point I made on another thread the numbers do evidence the worthlessness of the Vantage promise.
Only four cruises has their vantage price reduced and only one by more than £50
So for me that part of the advantage of booking Vantage should be ignored

John

[towny44]

Following up a point I made on another thread the numbers do evidence the worthlessness of the Vantage promise.
Only four cruises has their vantage price reduced and only one by more than £50
So for me that part of the advantage of booking Vantage should be ignored

John

Well spotted johnds, I was beginning to think I was only one to notice the b******g obvious, that is that the Vantage price promise is, always has been, and always will be worthless.

[Dark Knight]

no Towny
some people just ignore it and don't bother getting worked up about it, they saw through it ages ago and don't let it influence their choice of holiday

[Silver_Shiney]

Means kids like to cruise with their parents.

Don't you mean that parents want to take their kids on holiday with them? How many of the kids have a say in it?