Comparison of PO fares

[Manoverboard]

I would readily concede that we only book early with P&O for something out of the ordinary.

We were stitched up by fluid pricing in 2010 and I was certainly a tad irritated for a while but I was only out of pocket by a few hundred. With Getaway deals the figure can ratchet up into the thousands and that for me is a show stopper unless I have booked that Getaway.

[Kenmo1]

A ND cabin on Oceana on 9th August is available at £809 for Vantage and £926 for Getaway - that should make interesting conversation at the dinner table and a rather annoyed getaway booker. Perhaps it is a new marketing ploy by PO to make the getaway fares more unattractive than the vantage ones. All the other grades are sold out but if you get the booking window up at the vantage fare it still shows at least 6 cabins available to choose from.

[towny44]

DK, just for the record I do not moan or whinge about P&O without, IMO, there being a valid reason, and although I do consider Celebrity to be my favourite cruise line at present, I refer to them mainly in comparison with P&O, these 2 currently being the only cruise lines I have sailed with from Southampton. I am more than happy to sail with P&O if I find a cruise and price I like, which is why I will be sailing on Azura in October.
My current main complaint with P&O, or possibly Carnival, is their pricing policy. When I checked the first editions of their 2014 roundtrip Southampton cruises I could not find one cruise where the P&O price bettered similar Celebrity prices, which is why I did not book anything with them for 2014; and I am not talking a few pounds but up to a 20% difference for a similar grade balcony cabin.
If, or when, P&O prices become competitve again then I will be more than happy to donate my money to them, but I am not holding my breath.
Your final comment about tantrums and toy throwing is similarly way off mark, once I find a good cruise deal then how much less someone else pays is of little consequence.
Invigilator, after reading your comment I had to re-read my April Azura review to check how critical I had been to P&O in case it was my review you were referring to, overall I thought it was quite well balanced. However if it was then the comment I made about needing to check on our June Eclipse cruise if my glasses had been too rose tinted was probably understated, if anything our June cruise was even better.

[oldbluefox]

I don't have a problem with towny's promotion of Celebrity.
As an observation since the topic title is 'Comparison of P&O fares' (which started off as a consequence of a lady's comparison of Getaway and Vantage fares) I think it is reasonable to compare P&O's fares and those of Celebrity or any other cruise line. Clearly there are advocates who will sing the praises of different cruise lines and I have no problem with that. We are all different and what suits one may not suit another. To be honest I have looked at Celebrity's and Princess' cruises and prices and have not necessarily found anything which makes me sit up and take notice but that's not to say it wouldn't in the future and there's no reason why I will stop looking. In the same way I look at CPS and the alternative cruise parking companies with a view to finding what suits me and my pocket best. I enjoy reading the views of others and take out of them what I wish. The best ones are those which give a balanced, rounded view and it would be a sad time if we dismissed other points of view because they don't concur with our own.

As for Huddersfield Town.............. that's another matter!!

[Capt Black]

I've just had a look at the Getaway price for a shortie we are/were tempted for August. After knocking off £50 last week (still need at least another £50 off), PandO have just bumped it back up again.

Loads of cabins at Vantage fare available, none of the sittings nor Freedom dining waitlisted.

Who are these people that set the prices??

[Kendhni]

I don't have a problem with towny's promotion of Celebrity.
As an observation since the topic title is 'Comparison of P&O fares' (which started off as a consequence of a lady's comparison of Getaway and Vantage fares) I think it is reasonable to compare P&O's fares and those of Celebrity or any other cruise line. Clearly there are advocates who will sing the praises of different cruise lines and I have no problem with that. We are all different and what suits one may not suit another. [...] I enjoy reading the views of others and take out of them what I wish. The best ones are those which give a balanced, rounded view and it would be a sad time if we dismissed other points of view because they don't concur with our own.

I concur totally ... what is the sense in trying to do comparisons if you get shot down every time you compare. Every poster will have their own experiences and their own priority list which means they may get different results to others in any comparison ... however by trying to understand what those priorities are can make the comparison worthwhile (either because it does impact ourselves or maybe it is irrelevant to us).

As a board we should be encouraging and promoting people to give comparative experiences without the assumption of being a 'cheer leader' or a 'moaner'.

[oldbluefox]

The only proviso I would add is that when we extol the virtues of cruiseline A or cruiseline B we give reasons for our preference otherwise it can be misconstrued. Very often we read that service on a cruiseline is better but never find out why. Therefore it just becomes a personal opinion without anything to back it up. As an example when we went on Cunard (in cheap cattle class) it was a pleasant surprise to find half a bottle of bubbly and slippers in our stateroom even though we had never sailed with them before. It is these differences which help to form opinion.
I have tried 4 cruiselines so far and for me P&O fits the bill the best. However I am keen to hear what others are offering - HAL, Princess, Celebrity,Fred, Azamara. Not too bothered about Silversea, Seabourn or Seven Seas as I can never see the day when I would spend that amount of money on one cruise and at the moment I am quite happy to slum it with the likes of Silver Shiney and Moby!!!

[haveabeer]

I have seen a steady decline in standards with P&O now I know that there are many that have cruised many more times than us but even so since our first in 2010 things have changed
Menu never changes
Entertainment less acts
Staff not so attentive
Shorter port days
Longer sea days
Slower speeds
Customer Service shore side

Now to be honest I can put up with these but I can't accept losing £2200 that hurt I will cruise with them again but not on Vantage never again

[oldbluefox]

We have only been cruising for 10 tears or so but we miss:
The streamers when leaving Southampton
The sailaway bands
Champagne fountains
Regular ice carvings
Port talks given by real people
Celebrity talks

I suppose it is inevitable that some things had to be culled given that the cost of cruising has reduced. Personally I would prefer to pay more and have the glamour of cruising restored and whilst we still love our cruises it's not what it was.

I must say my experience of shoreside has always been positive and we have always had good service.

Haveabeer, as one who is not restricted by holiday dates and is not bothered which cabin we get I'm joining you in the Getaway queue.

[Silver_Shiney]

I am quite happy to slum it with the likes of Silver Shiney and Moby!!!

Fine with me, but you're getting the beers in!

[Quizzical Bob]

I've just had a look at the Getaway price for a shortie we are/were tempted for August. After knocking off £50 last week (still need at least another £50 off), PandO have just bumped it back up again.

Loads of cabins at Vantage fare available, none of the sittings nor Freedom dining waitlisted.

Who are these people that set the prices??

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

[oldbluefox]

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

In that case I'm probably propping up the price of my proposed cruise by myself then.

[Kenmo1]

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

In that case I'm probably propping up the price of my proposed cruise by myself then.

Oh heck! I've probably done the same to the Eastern Med one we are going on. I still look even though we have booked - and yes, I know I'm daft to do it.

[oldbluefox]

I can now see all those who have paid Vantage prices clicking like mad on their cruise to keep the prices up!!! That'll quieten down the Getaway bandits!!

[david63]

Depending on the system that various sites use you can quite often get around the "price hike" by clearing cookies for that site, using another browser or rebooting your router

[emjay45]

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

In that case I'm probably propping up the price of my proposed cruise by myself then.

Me too I had no idea that happened. I'll get my son to show me how to do what David suggests.

[Quizzical Bob]

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

In that case I'm probably propping up the price of my proposed cruise by myself then.

Me too I had no idea that happened. I'll get my son to show me how to do what David suggests.

I don't know if the P&O site does this but fluid pricing is usually automatic and this practice is something to look out for.

[Silver_Shiney]

Which cruises are you looking at? Perhaps I could help to bump the prices up for you??

[Quizzical Bob]

Which cruises are you looking at? Perhaps I could help to bump the prices up for you??

If it does work this way then it only bumps up your own prices, I'm afraid.

[Silver_Shiney]

Which cruises are you looking at? Perhaps I could help to bump the prices up for you??

If it does work this way then it only bumps up your own prices, I'm afraid.

Oh, okay, you'd better give me your login details then

[Holiday Planner]

I've certainly noticed when searching for flights that if you go back the price has gone up. It means speculative browsing is not a good idea. If you think you want to book, you can usually 'save' an offer for a limited time. One option is to research on one log in (say mine), but book on another (eg husband's).
I haven't noticed P&O or the travel agents doing it - the Vantage & Getaway prices seem consistent accross the various sites.

[emjay45]

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

In that case I'm probably propping up the price of my proposed cruise by myself then.

Me too I had no idea that happened. I'll get my son to show me how to do what David suggests.

I don't know if the P&O site does this but fluid pricing is usually automatic and this practice is something to look out for.

Sorry QB I didn't make myself plain. I meant , like OBF I kept looking at the cruise I've booked. The rest of my comment was with regard to websites such as Amazon, clearing the cookies etc. I'll do as suggested by David.

[Kendhni]

I've just had a look at the Getaway price for a shortie we are/were tempted for August. After knocking off £50 last week (still need at least another £50 off), PandO have just bumped it back up again.

Loads of cabins at Vantage fare available, none of the sittings nor Freedom dining waitlisted.

Who are these people that set the prices??

Just a word of caution...

Some websites will increase the price the more times that you look at an item. Amazon is one of them.

I have heard that but never seen any evidence of it ... it would be a folly because it is so easy to get around and check ... and if it where the case then I am sure there would have been an outcry before now. So at the minute i put it in the realms of urban legend (that may have been tried ages ago by one or more vendors).

Amazon is a curious one though ... I have seen prices jumping all over the place but then realised that what had happened was that the same article was on multiple pages and it depended on which page I picked after searching ... in one example a WD hard disk drive I was after was 20% cheaper on a different page .. both supplied directly by Amazon.

A lot of holiday/flight firms use fluid pricing so the price goes up (or down) naturally over time which may be what people are finding and not as a direct result of tracking cookies (or similar). having said that I do know of some sites that reduce the price if you try to leave them without buying.

[johnds]

It is undoubtedly the case that if you browse around various websites to buy air tickets - particularly on a more obscure routing that your activity will drive the price up. I have personal experience of this. Most of these websites seem to use the same underlying database and it gets excited when it starts to think that there is great demand for a particular flight. I don't think it is related to cookies on your PC it is a function of the database design hence removing cookies may not produce a positive result. Some years ago I wanted 4 seats on a particular flight with TAP ( I think) which was the only airline flying the route i wanted and it only flew once a day with an aircraft with only about 100 seats. I tried the airline site first, got a price and then tried to beat it by browsing around. Every site I went to showed a higher price than the previous one and eventually I went back to the airline site which then showed the highest price of all. I changed the date of travel by one day which wasn't a problem for us and booked on the airline site at the original lowest price. One week later I went back to that airline site just for interest to find that the price for the original day of travel had gone back to the original lowest price.
I'm absolutely certain that me repeated asking for a price on that particular flight drove the price higher

[Andrea S]

To all of you IT people please can you advise.

I travel quite a lot and only need the flight. I use sky scanner which is extremely good showing all airlines and the prices.
Recently I clicked on a couple of dates , chose one and was redirected to their site to book.
This week I have received an e mail from the other company with a message saying they had noticed I had been looking and obviously not found anything suitable . I found this quite scary as I was looking on my mobile phone and put in no personal details so how did they get my e mail address.??