Cruise Company Loyalty

[Princess]

This Vantage/Getaway fare problem is a real bug bear and the growing number of people on lots of forums discovering this pitfall by failing to read the small print demonstrates just how many people cannot read!(TIC) It is perhaps obvious to people who have cruised with P&O and Cunard for many years and even they have been caught out.

But I feel, and I think possibly that Haveabeer may have this in mind too, there are many other points and problems associated with P&O that could bring loyalty to P&O in to question.

[Manoverboard]

There is no such thing as ' Loyalty to P&O ' as indeed there is also none to British Gas, Tesco or Honda as a life time's experience ... it is an out of date value.

[haveabeer]

MoB
Yes totally agree but thats ok till the person paying full price is looking for there next cruise like me
will never book early again unless it something i really want to do, if there are a lot of liked minded people then more cabins will drop into getaway.

[Quizzical Bob]

MoB
Yes totally agree but thats ok till the person paying full price is looking for there next cruise like me
will never book early again unless it something i really want to do, if there are a lot of liked minded people then more cabins will drop into getaway.

Us too. Getaway from now on. If we can't cruise then we shall do something else.

[Manoverboard]

HaB ... yes, that is exactly what will happen if P&O wish to fill their ships.

Once the economy picks up then no doubt the trend will reserve but that is not going to happen any time soon in my opinion unless they move away from their present staid formula regarding itineraries and dress codes.

[haveabeer]

MoB

By the time there is upturn in the economy people will be used to paying less and any increase will be
seen as a profiteering.
It cant be easy for P&O they are on a loser whichever way the go drop the prices and they will be
accused of devaluing the badge keep prices high and be seen as profiteering but there
has to be a happy medium but not sure where

[noddy10]

The gentleman in question says that the details on home page of website changed after he complained and was not specific when he booked in January and that the person in P&O confirmed to him that it was a Vantage fare he was booking which they are now denying because his cruise is less than 7 days. He says he has screenshots of home page before his complaint and they are with Trading Standards. I do not know or agree with this gentleman or if he is telling the truth or think he is right. By the way there are exactly the same arguments being said on cruise.co.uk forums about Cunard and exactly the same problem.

[RB1961]

I only look at the Getaway deals that are relevant to the cruise I have booked. Last year and so far this year the only Getaway deal prices are based on the lower graded cabins of a particular type, inside,outside etc.
As the grade of cabin I chose last year and this(so far) have not been advertised as Getaway cabins then I assume that the higher grade are the ones that get sold out first.
We have done one Getaway deal last year and we were under the gym..not a cabin we would pick but it was all about the itinerary and price.
On another note I changed my broadband provider 4 weeks ago and they are now advertising the same thing with the first 6 months free.....it's not just P&O.

We have only ever cruised with P&O and we will continue to do so not out of loyalty just that we haven't had a bad one yet and it suits or needs.

[haveabeer]

The gentleman in question says that the details on home page of website changed after he complained and was not specific when he booked in January and that the person in P&O confirmed to him that it was a Vantage fare he was booking which they are now denying because his cruise is less than 7 days. He says he has screenshots of home page before his complaint and they are with Trading Standards. I do not know or agree with this gentleman or if he is telling the truth or think he is right. By the way there are exactly the same arguments being said on cruise.co.uk forums about Cunard and exactly the same problem.

All calls are recorded mine was and confirmed what i had said was correct and what there employee had said was wrong but it makes no difference

[Silver_Shiney]

We can't afford the luxury of waiting until the last minute to see what bargains are available and so are happy to pay the asking price as soon as we are able to book. If the price subsequently drops (as it has for our next cruise - by around 50%) then that's just tough and, if someone is able to get it at that lower price, I am genuinely very happy for them.

Once we're retired, we'll change our strategy!

[noddy10]

RB1961 they only release Getaway fares on the lowest grade of each particular type of cabin i.e. inside, outside,balcony and then its up to P&O to put you in whatever grade that are available with the minimum grade you have booked being guaranteed.

[RB1961]

Noddy10
Not always. On our Getaway there were 2 choices of inside cabins grades.

[haveabeer]

RB1961 are you Red Bull F1 fan if so car looks strong this year again

[Manoverboard]

I suspect that there may be an element of put down or wishful thinking about Getaway deals in that only the rubbish cabins are sold for this purpose.

On some cruises this may indeed be the case but certainly not on all, we have had an aft balcony cabin and a midships outside on A Deck ... we would have been perfectly happy to have booked the same cabins from the first release brochure.

[Dancing Queen]

Exactly Moby, I have booked five getaway deals and each time have had an excellent upgrade with an excellent cabin and position.

Luck ..... I don't think so, I look at the grade I am booking and need to know I will be happy with anything within that grade, I also look at anything above the grade I am booking to ensure I would be happy with that too, do your homework first and you will not be disappointed

[haveabeer]

Yes exactly what I shall be doing if I book with PandO again

[noddy10]

Very true Manoverboard they advertise Getaway price at lowest grade of that particular cabin and then P&O can upgrade you to anything that suits them. Last April we booked a Getaway at lowest grade of inside on Azura and when cabin was assigned it was the top grade of inside cabin.

[Gill W]

So, from reading this thread, it seems that people like Getaway deals and think they are a Good Thing

There were always several similar threads on the old P & O board.

However, on the old board (one hasn't been started on this board yet), people complained that The Wrong Sort Of People snapped up Getaway deals, 'lowering the tone of the onboard ambiance', and therefore Getaways are a Bad Thing.

Personally, I don't care either way, I'll just carry on doing my own thing.

As long as you are happy with your Getaway, go for it, but I don't want to see a load of complaining threads about them.

[Dark Knight]

the crux seems to be that people who book early early and then see a better deal for the same cruise are a tad miffed, sorry but you were happy when you booked it, so you can't really blame anyone but yourself
if you want to take advantage of low fares then wait till nearer the cruise date , if you cannot wait then you take your chances, when you book
first thing I was tols about cruising was once you pay, never look again

it seems people want all the perks and none of the conditions attached and are surprised when they se a better deal??

[towny44]

the crux seems to be that people who book early early and then see a better deal for the same cruise are a tad miffed, sorry but you were happy when you booked it, so you can't really blame anyone but yourself
if you want to take advantage of low fares then wait till nearer the cruise date , if you cannot wait then you take your chances, when you book
first thing I was tols about cruising was once you pay, never look again, it seems people want all the perks and none of the conditions attached and are surprised when they se a better deal?? of course we want both good prices and good T&C's, we can't all afford to be taken for all we've got like some.[/i]

Some of us who need a HC cabin have no choice but to book early if we want to guarantee a cabin. Now if the Vantage fare system worked as advertised this would not be a problem, nor indeed if the P&O launch fares were discounted as much as the Celebrity fares, where my price paid last March for this June is still to be bettered.
I assume both Carnival and RCI are profitable, but I am a much more satisfied RCI customer than I am of Carnival.

[oldbluefox]

I tend to agree with DK and admit I'm not happy when I see my cruise advertised much cheaper than I paid for it but I made the decision and have to live with it. For my next cruise I am going to hold back and look for a Getaway fare. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. It helps inasmuch as I'm not too bothered where the cabin is. I may be lucky, I may not but that is the risk I take.
I believe Getaway fares have been around for a long time except they were not advertised as such. For a long time many people have waited until the last minute, phoned P&O and got a good deal so it's not new. Clearly it's better to fill as many cabins for as much money as you can get which is precisely what Carnival are doing. Come the end of the day, as much as we talk about loyalty, it's a business.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We choose P&O over RCI/Celebrity because we prefer the experience. Nothing to do with price. And in any case a lot of the supposed cheaper prices disappears as soon as you look at the much higher tips and on board costs on RCI/Celebrity.

Also to pick up another point I see no benefit for P&O to change its product or pricing structure and try to fish in the same pool as other cruise lines. There is no evidence whatsoever that anyone else is having any more luck filling ships than P&O. The papers are full of giveaway deals on every cruise line out there and when you consider P&O are selling seven ships, more than any other cruise line operating out of the UK, they must be doing something right.

[stocktonmackem]

I agree with towny, we need an accessible cabin and have booked both cruises on the day they came on sale, we cant wait around to see if a cabin goes down in price, having said that i was happy at the time I booked and will be happy on the day I get on the ship. For me the anticipation is nearly as good as the holiday, mind you I wouldnt say no to a bit of extra obc. Hopefully if the advantage fare hasnt been a success they might bring next years early bird offers down a bit.

[Dark Knight]

Sorry Towny
but it still sounds like sour grapes to me, if you have to have a certain grade of cabin and have to book early, then surely you know it will never be a bargain?
why infer that some people have more money than you or are happier to pay higher prices?
when you booked you were happy with the price....end of, so when the price drops why should you be entitled to a refund? or extra benefits? or in fact anything at all
if you could afford the original price why carp about discounts?

[towny44]

Dark Knight, as usual you miss the point by speed reading. Although I am not happy with P&O promising that Vantage fares offer a price promise that is never met, my main complaint is that their brochure prices are much higher than Celebrity, and they offer far less discount for early bookers than do Celebrity.
The result is that my early booked Celebrity cruise is still competitive with their best current offers, whilst P&O's getaway deals are well below my launch price, and for those who have never tried Celebrity, their product is IMO better than P&O and, other than tips, their drink and shore excursion prices are no higher than P&O.