Its the 3rd day of a new month and already I have spoken to 4 guests who are unhappy that Cunard have massively dropped the price of the cruise that they had booked over a year earlier, in one case a guest of mine had booked 4 cabins and the price had reduced by 1200 per person.
The guest had booked over a year ago and had been given on board credit and an "early booking discount" but the difference was still 1000 per person and he was in a lower cabin!
We all understand that near to the departure of a cruise many cruise lines can offer whats called a guaranteed deal - this means that a guests can make a booking at a reduced rate - have no benefits like parking or on board credit - and not know their cabin number - so they could be next to the laundrette or below the pool etc etc...........early bookers who pay a higher rate can accept this really.......and it works well and is easy to explain as an agent..OTHER CRUISE LINES DO THIS WELL!..............HOWEVER Cunard are offering reduced rate cabins - with a cabin number!!
Have Cunard been over pricing their cruises from the start?
Would more on board credit be the answer? or making sure all early bookers get a little something before the offers go out?
Please don't get me wrong here - I love passengers getting a fantastic deal, but at a risk of annoying returning past guests that always book early? that's one huge risk to take by Cunard, their customer relations team must be inundated with upset clients.
What Do Cunard Have To Say About This?
My call to Cunard today about this matter went as follows - "unfortunately this is a new deal and the passengers will have to write into our guest relations department".
Lets not take anything away from the quality of the Cunard ships here, 3 top quality ships with fantastic service on board!
I would love to hear from guests who have written to Cunard and had a positive experience with their pricing issues.............................
About Me
- Tony
- My journey into travel and cruising was purely by accident! This was 10 years ago when I turned up at the doorstep of Cruise.co.uk eager and ready to work - I was told that I would be loading booking forms and undertaking general administration duties - within 18 months I had travelled to Florida, Hawaii and the Mediterranean and seen that cruising was the most exciting part of travel there was. My very first cruise experience was on a 2* all inclusive cruise ship called the Thomson Topaz that some may still remember - this really opened my eyes to cruising - luckily my second cruise was the Norwegian Star to Hawaii so I kind of went from one extreme to the other! In 10 years the cruise industry has exploded and I'm looking forward to what the next 10 years in cruising brings.
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Its a Free Market--Thankyou for giving us a Bargain
ReplyDelete‘Celebrity’ and ‘RCI’ generally will reduce your cruise price if the price drops, but check with the travel agent that they will chase Celebrity or RCI for you and honour that reduction. A number of travel agents say ‘no the price you book the cruise at is the price you pay’. Avoid those agents like the plague.
ReplyDeleteRemember if you were in the States and you cancel your cruise 65 days before you travel you get your deposit back but in the UK you don’t. So prices generally plummet about the 65 day mark. So in the present market it may be advisable to wait and book at the last minute but again monitor the cabin availability and prices regularly. I know travel against don’t like the idea but we are living in a different age than even four years ago. Most travel agents are still saying book early for the best prices. One agent even told me the other day that prices never drop.
Last November our ‘Constellation’ cruise dropped like a stone. We got £1000 credit before we paid and a further cheque for £450 after we paid the final amount. Yes a ‘cheque’ not a credit to the cabin.
We have received a credit f £900 on a September Celebrity cruise and who knows maybe more by the time we pay the final amount in June because cabins are just not selling. That’s all cabins including suites.
When on a recent Caribbean cruise American passengers complained that a number of ships were pulling out of the Caribbean. The captain said it was because the profit margins in the ‘Med’ are larger that’s why. But times are changing!
We have just got a fantastic deal with Cunard sailing on Tuesday. We have saved £7,000 for the 2 of us sailing in a penthouse suite.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a specific cabin and really want to be on that cruise, that ship, that date then book early and risk prices falling. If you want to take a chance on the cruise being fully booked or a risk a "not so good" cabin or whatever then leave it to the last minute. It all depends on your attitude to risk and how flexible you can be.
ReplyDeleteWe booked a Cunard grills cabin in February for a 7 day cruise in May at what I thought was a good price after some negotiation with the agent. Within a week Cunard had reduced the price and informed the agent and shortly afterwards we received £572 refund. I think that our booking "crossed" with the reduction and Cunard did the honourable thing. So it does happen or maybe we were lucky!
ReplyDeleteAJC - Colchester
Hi,
ReplyDeleteWe have booked a cruise on QM2 for September 2012 to New England and Quebec for 25 nights. we have booked 16 months in advance to get what all travel agents and Cunard say 'to get the best deal' My travel agent has sent my request to Cunard to include me in the free onboard credit that they are now advertising 14 months away. Was told no chance as they have to keep all cruises viable and to consider cancelling my current booking and re-book at today's price. How is that viable for them ??? As this is our 4th cruise with Cunard I am not at all impressed.
Clive Smith