Wiltonian

Has been like this for at least 40 years. They pay peanuts and they get monkeys, but never enough of them. They think that entering the USA is such a privilege that you should accept being treated like herds of sheep, being grunted at (happened personally to me), treated with disdain and grateful for finally being allowed to pass into the country.

It's like that because no US citizens who might change things are affected by it. I think that post-Brexit, the UK should make the point by having a special slow immigration lane for US citizens. Only joking. I think.

Stuart

Oh what a storm in a teacup! This is a site for diehard Cunard fans, who will want to resist any change that Cunard tries to make. However what you are unlikely to see is any comment from those people who do not cruise with Cunard because of the dress code. We live in a more casual, unstructured society where people no longer have Sunday best clothing and the cruise lines know this and will have done their research carefully. Okay they lose a few diehard cruisers, but they stand to gain these numbers over and over again from that sector of the marketplace which will not presently cruise with Cunard because of the restrictive dress code. Some you win, some you lose, but you can bet that Cunard are stacking the odds in favour of their balance sheet, where losing some loyal passengers is merely collateral damage.

Two points: First, we await our first Cunard cruise, chosen partly because they've kept the formal nights which Celebrity, with whom we've cruised annually in recent years, have ditched.

Second, and this applies to other lines, too: it may seem clever to attract a younger customer base, but who, in the UK, has the money: the 45 year olds or the 65 year olds? Moreover, who has the time to take the long cruises which are a major element in the Cunard "offer"; 45s or 65s - or even 75s or 85s?

Dumbing down the dress code will lose the major USP of Cunard, and make it largely indistinguishable, and therefore in more direct competition with, a host of mid-market lines.

Having to get a visa just for 2 days in St Petersburg when doing ships's shorex would be a pain. If the Ruskis pull that stunt then I reckon all the cruise lines should boycott the joint.

The problem being that St Petersburg seems to be seen as the highlight of every Baltic cruise, so the whole Baltic trade would be adversely affected.

I don't like Putin; I don't like Trump.

I don't like what Putin ordered to happen in Salisbury; I don't know how many former spies have been assassinated outside the US by US operatives in the last few decades, but I doubt if the figure is zero.

Putin has lied about Salisbury; Trump . . . .

I deplore the homophobia of Russia; I deplore the Islamophobia and xenophobia of the current US administration.

Hmm.

We used the 99 Euro package of airport->hotel, dinner, room, breakfast, hotel->cruise terminal. It worked well. http://www.hoteltraiano.com/ing/index.php?cmd=offerte

I asked via private message on the official P and O facebook page and was told it was 1 bottle only. I personally was going to try and take a 2.2 litre box but thought twice about it. If they are not stopping you doing it then I think that will be what I will be doing. x

It would be interesting to know what, a few hours later, a different responder would have said! Unless such things are written down somewhere, then I suspect that some social media representatives for big companies make it up as they go. And if it's not written down somewhere, ship's crew will also give different answers.

Almost all Celebrity Med cruises visit one non-EU country; surprised P&O don't do likewise!

Stuart

Once they've issued one invoice, and you've paid the deposit, they can't increase prices apart from those caused by external factors, which will be covered in the sales contract. When booking on-line, I always screen-grab the booking confirmation on the web-site, in case the email says something different.

Ah so you are saying they need large incentives a lot of the time?

 

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From the high prices of their cruises, it would seem that Celebrity don't need large incentives at all; they just choose to include drinks packages in their "offer". It makes sense because the cost to them of providing drinks is less than the savings which customers perceive themselves to be getting.

A cruise line offering an incentive of over £500 on any cruise is having difficulty in selling its cruises. It is a marketing ploy. If all there cruises were selling well then there would be no price drop. P&O generally find that pre Christmas cruises are a hard sell therefore the prices are lower, considerably lower. A number of years ago there were last minute deals on nearly all cruises and people were up in arms as they had paid much more than others for the same cruise. All cruise lines have offers at some time, our Princess Cruise dropped the price by $1000 a month or so before we sailed.

 

If a cruise is selling well there will be no extra incentives.

 

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You really ought to familiarise yourself with Celebrity before making generalisations.

Most of the time, Celebrity includes a drink package in the price. Most of the time; not just for late bookings; typically when they go on sale, 12-18 months ahead.

It's certainly a marketing technique, but there is no evidence to suggest Celebrity cruises aren't selling well, Indeed, the big problem, reflected in this thread, is that Celebrity prices can be very high. The poster who found that a Celebrity cruise was cheaper than a comparable P&O one was pointing out an exception to the rule.

I've been on 4 Celebrity cruises, all sold with drinks packages and booked around 15 months in advance. It's just the way they sell their cruises.

Stuart

Clearly if you got drinks and OBC over the Christmas holidays it was a special deal.

Hardly; Celebrity very very often include the Classic Drinks package in their pricing, excluding repositioning cruises. irrespective of holiday periods. And many travel agents offer OBC. So, not a "special deal' and perfectly comparable.

Santiago? https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2298971&highlight=santiago

Hi,

 

I believe the UK government have banned this practice, but as Cunard is registered abroad the charge can still be applied. .

Nope. Just think how many companies trading in the UK and EU are registered outside the EU.

 

We went on Celebrity 3 years ago and got a " free drinks package ", we do not drink during the day and tend to have one glass of wine with dinner and one other drink after we have been to the show. We often saw the same people propping up the bars all day every day obviously bent on getting their money's worth. These people were not the majority but by evening some were becoming belligerent and sometimes making other passengers uncomfortable.

 

Based on our Celebrity cruise we will not go on any cruise or holiday that is all-inclusive again.

OTOH, on four Celebrity cruises with most passengers having a drinks package, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of noticeably drunk people I've seen. Given the prices of drinks on Celebrity, and that the packages include bottled water and the usual range of coffees, the packages are well worth it if included in the price. Two coffees, two glasses of wine, a couple of bottles of beer in the heat of the day and a Bailey's can easily reach $60.

Stuart

The Chinese New Year sale saved us 24%. That fare has now gone back up halfway so it is now about 12% lower than our original fare. Not a bad savings, but I am glad we took advantage of the Chinese New Year sale. I was surprised that the thread I started about that got virtually no attention. Are all Cunard passengers so rich they don't want to save money? That's a joke, folks.

More likely that they've so often heard Cunard (and other lines) announce sales that didn't really reduce prices, that their scepticism makes them cynical, so they don't bother looking!

Mynki:

 

You posted the following line in a previous post, "If booking in the UK your ATOL and ABTA guarantees need paying for etc. " Could you give a short explanation of what they are.Thanks

Basically Government-run schemes to protect travellers if either an airline goes bust (ATOL), or a package-holiday company goes bust (ABTA). Companies pay a levy into the scheme for every flight or holiday, and the schemes recompense people if a company goes bust. Hence the organisation of my flight after Monarch went into administration - see page 2 of this thread.

Stuart

What, pray, is "countless space"? It's a bit worrying if Cunard doesn't know how big its ships and the spaces within them are. ;-)

No need to apologise - a robust exchange of views.

 

I am scratching my head to recall a dispute settlement which has greatly benefited the consumer, in the travel sector, apart from the EU flight delay regulation. Has that increased the cost of sales to the cruise industry??

Not actually a dispute settlement, but an example of greater consumer protection:

While we were on the Silhouette in October, the low-cost airline with which we'd booked our flights went into administration. The UK Government set up a brilliant back-up system of flights to repatriate every single passenger in Europe who would otherwise have been stranded.

We enjoyed the whole cruise, and flew back to the UK on one of these special flights, just 90 minutes later than the Monarch flight would have landed. Much of that was financed by the fees which tour operators and airlines pay into government protection schemes.

The US people on our cruise were incredulous that the UK government was repatriating all the passengers free of charge without any impact on the holiday at all.

Stuart

Thanks for the comments. We have a P&O cruise booked for 2019 (after a Cunard one in 2018), simply because Celebrity has become so expensive, even factoring in the drinks package. Significantly more than Cunard for Autumn to the Azores/Canaries. After trying P&O and Cunard, we'll be able to decide on which of the three (or possibly Princess) if we cruise in 2020.

On a P&O cruise I was on a couple of years ago two passengers passengers missed the departure coming back from Rome.

 

For the next few days the captain made numerous announcements that seemed to delite in their misfortune and used it as an opportunity to sell the 'guaranteed' official tours.

But were they using a private tour-operator? Just catching a bus into Rome and missing the one back isn't the same! A firm like RomeInLimo would have provided overnight accommodation and taken you to the next port.

Captains love to report on late passengers, but still to hear of a missed embarkation due to the failure of a tour company.

Stuart

Hi...I would think in most cases local/independent companies will be cheaper and probably better value but having said that we always use the ship's tours....for us the extra cost is worth it in case of some unexpected problem that arises.....heavy traffic/breakdown/road accidents and you are late back to the ship. The ship does not wait for independent late comers but it will if you are booked on the ship's tours. My nerves wouldn't stand it...especially on the trip to Rome which is considerable distance from where the ship docks.

If any independent tour company got their customers back late, their reputation would get destroyed. Not least in Rome, these are BIG outfits, with the ability to get a back-up vehicle able to "rescue" passengers in a broken-down mini-bus. If the issue is traffic, then the cruise-line's vehicles will be affected just the same.

Finally, all the companies allow a significant margin in their timings to get back to the ship. The "we don't wait for independents" is used by the cruise-lines to make massive profits at little cost, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Stuart

Can't answer the general question, but in 2016, I joined a party totalling 6 people, organised on the roll call, for the tour your describe, with a brilliant guide, including Cavtat, scenic drive and walking tour of Dubrovnik for 59 Euros each. http://www.dubrovnikshoretours.net/best-of-dubrovnik-tour/

Stuart

So from £4 in 2013 to £7 in 2018.

 

Either a 75% pay rise for cabin staff and waiters or P&O are cutting their base salary and making it up with the increased service charge.

 

Hmm, I wonder which one it is.

Actually, there is a third, quite feasible option:

Staff have received the increase in gratuities, and P&O have increased salaries, but not by as much as they might have done without the gratuities increase.

Stuart

You need to ask on your roll-call. And Viator and Costco, just like Celebrity, don't run excursions; they just use local companies and charge a massive surcharge for the privilege. Book with local companies, using Trip Advisor to find the good ones.

Worth flagging that P&O drinks are far cheaper than Cunard's!