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We received a letter on Saturday morning advising that our existing summer booking qualified to be included in the 3 for the price of 2 offers.

 

One of the two cruises to be added to be taken between September and December this year, which is more than a bit restrictive in our circumstances due to peace keeping duties (aka babysitting grandkids) during those months.

 

However, the most immediate impediment is that this deal ends 31st May.

 

C'mon Fred - 4 days is hardly enough time for punters to consider all the logistics of adding two cruises to their travel plans at such short notice. :(

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The Offer as been on the go for months.
Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong - but I don't recall FO flagging up existing cruise bookings made before the 3 for 2 offer was introduced as qualifying for part of that deal.

 

The tone of the recent letter was not a reminder notice.

 

However, I'm not infallible !!!

Edited by WeeCountyMan
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Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong - but I don't recall FO flagging up existing cruise bookings made before the 3 for 2 offer was introduced as qualifying for part of that deal.

 

The tone of the recent letter was not a reminder notice.

 

However, I'm not infallible !!!

 

 

I do not recall any mention of previously booked cruises either. The fact remains though that Fred wants you to book two further cruises and do not see what your problem is. Either you want to go for it or you do not and there was loads of time between last Saturday and the end of May. Sounds a good deal to me as you would basically be getting two for one as things stand at present, but if you do not want to book another two cruises, that is your decision, but why make such a fuss about it.

 

Personally, we have decided to give Fred a miss for a while and do more hotel holidays. I do not see that cruises are necessarily the best way to travel, but we have done a lot of Fred cruises in the last 3/4 years as the destinations have appealed and the various three for two offers, along with booking on board have given us good value. We may go back to them next year if a good offer comes out AND destinations are what we want, but other things appeal at present.

 

It is true that being drawn into a "good offer" is a common way for companies to do business, but an offer is only "good" if it is something you want to do. Sometimes you just have to ignore a marketing ploy and stand by what you want. I do not see how you can complain about Fred using marketing ploys though - it is what all companies do in different ways and time limited offers are a common thing. Sometimes you ignore one offer and find another one comes up that is more suitable to you and some times it does not - swings and roundabouts.

 

This sounds to me very like someone booking something then complaining that someone else has a better offer. Thing is everyone has their own choice, so why complain.

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[ The fact remains though that Fred wants you to book two further cruises and do not see what your problem is./QUOTE]

 

There's no problem for anybody who has complete latitude to chose when they go on a holiday or cruise, we don't have that option, as explained.

 

The rest is academic.

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[ The fact remains though that Fred wants you to book two further cruises and do not see what your problem is./QUOTE]

 

There's no problem for anybody who has complete latitude to chose when they go on a holiday or cruise, we don't have that option, as explained.

 

The rest is academic.

My lengthy post was OTT and for that I appologise. However had you given a full quote of my post, it susequently said "Either you want to go for it or you do not............."

 

As I said nothing is a good deal if you do not want it and these offers are often what you do not want to do for various reasons (including availability). If you are not available to take the offer up then that would appear to be your decision. I still do not understand your original post complaining that the offer had been made though.

 

Our position is that my husband has an elderly relative who needs attention but is resisting it - a position many people find themselves in, but as there is no other relatives to be around if needed, we have needed to stop booking holidays a year or more ahead as we had often done. It has other advantages though as we could be available for offers which we have often seen but not been able to take up as we were already booked up at that time and would also leave us free to just do something on a whim. We have also had to accept that any travels may have to be cancelled curtailed at short notice if needed (even if we cannot claim on the insurance) - that is something that is a no brainer to us though as to sit twiddling out thumbs in our very late 60's will mean many travels we wish to do could be a no go if left much longer.

 

Sounds to me like you answer to Fred is, "Thanks, but no thanks" :)

Edited by tring
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However had you given a full quote of my post, it susequently said "Either you want to go for it or you do not............."

 

If you can't go, for whatever reason, the wanting/not wanting scenario is irrelevant.

 

I still do not understand your original post complaining that the offer had been made though.

 

The issue was timescale. Four days is a a ridiculously narrow "window of opportunity" for potential bookings IMO, especially for those of us who are limited as to when they can travel.

 

We've not long returned from a 7 night hotel package which we were able to fit in - had the offer letter arrived during our absence it would have timed out by our return.

 

It seems like the uptake (or lack thereof) on Fred's 3 for 2 may have left them with cabins to fill, hence the retrospective inclusion of previously booked cruises in the deal.

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If you can't go, for whatever reason, the wanting/not wanting scenario is irrelevant.

 

 

 

It seems like the uptake (or lack thereof) on Fred's 3 for 2 may have left them with cabins to fill, hence the retrospective inclusion of previously booked cruises in the deal.

 

 

Now that I can agree with whole heartedly, which is why I also think other offers will come out as time progresses.

 

Interestingly we were told (I think 18 months ago) at an Oceans party on board Braemar that they were never doing a book 3 again as people were choosing cruises of similar value so they were giving too much away. Strangely, although that did not come out a few days later when the December offers were due, but it was brought back the following spring when the new cruises were being released. They have upped their headline prices since then of course, so they can presumably afford to give more away in offers.

 

They lost out on a booking of ours for next Oct though as we just wanted one cruise and P&O were far better priced than Fred. It is a lengthy one way Med fly cruise, so we also get lots of ports, free coach travel back to Manchester and extra on board spend. Then the share benefit will be obtainable as well. A complete no brainer for us. We have done very little Med as we were passing through for more exotic destinations, so there are many new ports for us as well and and we can get home easily if we need to do so for family reasons mentioned earlier,

 

Cheers,

 

Barbara

 

 

 

PS Do you not get emails from Fred? We do and all offers tend to come by email as well as by post.

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You are not in such a dissimilar position to us, governed by family responsibilities - except we know when we can/cannot get away on holiday, whereas you are constrained by different issues.

 

We are new to Fred, just starting the learning experience of good deals etc.

 

The 3 for 2 is a good deal in absolute terms, however for us wild heathens north of Hadrian's Wall the thought of cruising from Southampton is a consideration. The outward journey is OKish , but the return slog up the motorways is something we don't relish.

 

That's why Rosyth attracted us for our second cruise with Fred - it's almost literally just up the road.

 

I opted out of emails, we get regular updates from our booking agent - they are excellent, however I'm not allowed to mention names.

 

It just struck me earlier - any FO customers who were away from home for the long weekend would likely receive said offer letter with less "action time" than we did. It's not a Scottish holiday, although the banks were closed Monday.

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We are new to Fred, just starting the learning experience of good deals etc.

 

The 3 for 2 is a good deal in absolute terms, however for us wild heathens north of Hadrian's Wall the thought of cruising from Southampton is a consideration. The outward journey is OKish , but the return slog up the motorways is something we don't relish.

 

Regards offers from Fred, they usually have something for the new year which tends to come out in the first few days of Dec and then something when they bring out the new cruises (which was March this year I think and that is what is finishing now). The brochure release last year was also accompanied by a 3 for 2 offer if I remember correctly, though each offer of 3 for 2 (or whatever) tends to have slightly different conditions with what is needed to be booked to get the offer. They seem to regularly be offering free drinks and/or tips as one offer option. When they finish an offer, you often find that prices go down for some cruises, though that often means Anchor Fares, so no choice of cabin or free shuttle buses and would need to pay if want to choose dinner sitting. Previous 3 for 2 offers have all been for Freedom Fare and could be combined with Oceans discounts and the -5% given for booking on board as far as I know - the ones we booked two and three years ago were, so they were very good value. I think 3 for 2 was only offered in the spring of the last couple of years.

 

No guarantee of future offers of course, but may be useful for you to get a feel for the background re previous offers, though others may correct me on the details. I suspect the Autumn cruises will have reductions in the not too distant future now the 3 for 2 is going - depending upon how many sales have been done on those cruises with the 3 for 2. Quite good from Fred's point of view to insist on an autumn cruise being booked for the 3 for 2 offer as the autumn cruises never sell that well by any cruise company and are frequently discounted - seas can be iffy then of course.

 

Scottish departures must be great for you. With a Merseyside address, we also prefer not to go to Southampton now (Newcastle and Scotland make a much more pleasant journey if Liverpool not available). That is one reason we are looking to land hols as we are only 45 mins from Manchester airport.

 

Happy cruising,

 

Barbara

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We are slowly getting our heads around FO prices and offers etc.

 

Our forthcoming jaunt from Rosyth was booked last summer on board with the 5% discount - relatives joining us on the cruise took a late offer booking and saved a substantial amount in comparison, even after paying for preferred dining sitting to be with us.

 

Once bitten, twice shy now !!!

 

As for land holidays - we like TUI GOLD hotels - no children (there is a God) and decent evening entertainment, maybe not your scene of course. We recently did the one in Camp de Mar, Mallorca, one of the best - a couple we chatted to were on their 14th visit, and the hotel was full of repeat customers. That level of frequency is more than a bit OTT for us though.

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Yes, booking a single cruise is an expensive business. Must admit our book 3 offers were actually cheaper than late anchor fares. We have booked anchor fares, but you do need to be wary as cabins lowish down and to the back of the ships which can be really noisy with bad vibration. We now prefer to be in the front half of the ships, but would not want the back quarter at all. Some people are not so sensitive and can sleep anywhere tough. Fred's fleet have all been done up cosmetically, but they are still old boats.

 

We are more into adventurous destinations if possible and are starting to book our own hotels with international and internal flights. We have a month in Myanmar and Thailand booked for next January - just hoping nothing curtails those plans. Most hotels are pay on arrival or much nearer the time, so some financial safeguards there.

 

Cheers,

 

Barbara

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We are more into adventurous destinations if possible and are starting to book our own hotels with international and internal flights.

 

We've done a few DIY holidays, however, they are not without pitfalls.

 

Stayed in a nice 4 star hotel in Malta April 2010 on a Thomas Cook package - there was a large party of Irish folk over for a wedding, flying with Ryanair, having made independent arrangements.

 

When the Icelandic volcanic ash problem grounded return flights O'Leary was quick to wash Ryanair's hands of any responsibility for them. Their hotel booking had ended and they were obliged to pay for further nights or seek alternative accommodation.

 

Meanwhile TC kept us in the same room on the same board basis for 4 extra nights (no complaints) before they organised an Air Malta plane to take us all back to Glasgow. We were also advised we could claim back £x (can't recall specifics) on travel insurance for incidental spending, which we duly did - the insurance company gave us the full daily amount allowable although it was more than we spent, or claimed !!!

 

I'm not up on the legal aspects of these situations however it seems a holiday travel company has a duty of care if it sold customers the whole package.

 

O'Leary came back on Sky news later that day - apparently his lawyers had had to advise him that his earlier pronouncement was not quite the "nothing to do with us" position he had stated.

 

The Irish crowd had to take a boat to the heel of Italy, a hired coach all the way up to the French channel ports, a ferry over to the UK, another coach over to Holyhead for the ferry over to the old sod. Nightmare journey and it cost them around £1000 per head it seems.

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My husband worked in consumer protection. Yes there are a lot of safeguards with package travel and in the past he would insist on it, but we now have disruption insurance (which is becoming quite common), so if one bit cancelled, then covered to replace or even to cancel the rest. Have to check your insurance policy carefully though. Much easier to let the package travel company just pick up the bits though admittedly.

 

We have done a couple of hotel only bookings through agents, which were booked to tag onto a cruise - Kuoni in Sri Lanka and TUI in Mauritius - worthwhile if cost much the same. Some minor problems with a couple of the Sri Lanka hotels, but must say Kuoni were most impressive at dealing with them. The TUI hotel (which was after a Fred cruise form Liverpool to Mauritius last October) was not as advertised, so we ended up changing hotel after contacting TUI. Flight back (booked direct with Etihad) was half the cost of Fred's flight and to our choice of times and with a few nights in Abu Dhabi.

 

Totally independent travel is more risky of course, but given the prices we have paid we could easily afford to relocate if a big problem happened. I am a little wary what will happen if one of us gets ill during the trip - but insurance would cover us financially and they make the arrangements. Not something we would risk if either of us had health issues though. We had to stay longer in Barbados after a cruise, because of illness and the insurance re booked our flights and picked up all the bills. The real downside is the vast amount of time I have spent with my head into reviews, forums etc., but we are very happy with our bookings in Myanmar/Thailand now. The only alternative in Myanmar is a set tour with a group - not our scene at all. We tried to book a tailor made tour package and just was not available.

 

Kuoni had done us grand with a four hotel bookings and a car and driver for part of that time in Sri Lanka, though we booked a cheaper hotel independently in Colombo which was brilliant. Kuoni are really big there and provided the best price we could get as well. We booked flights ourselves. Even Kuoni do not do that sort of thing for Myanmar though - sadly.

 

The main advantage of independent booking IMO is that you choose the time of your international/internal flights and we have realised we can avoid night flights that way as there is an airside hotel in Dubai airport (an executive room there is great value if you stay long enough to use the lounge for food/drinks before/after your sleep).

 

We are toying with the idea of booking a two week slot on Boudicca winter 2019/2020 and adding more time on land each end and our own flights, but would book much nearer to the time with the family problems. Pre/post cruise stays booked with a cruise company come out at totally silly prices and are often not where you would want to stay anyway and are only for a few nights. At least Fred will book cruise only at decent prices.

Edited by tring
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Have to check your insurance policy carefully though
I had never twigged about the disruption clause where travel insurance is concerned - will read up now - and I know where to come for expert guidance !!!

 

When it comes to hotel based holidays in the usual resorts of the Med or Canaries I have found that DIY is rarely, if ever, a better deal than the major package outfits after transfers and hold luggage is added - and, as you say, if there is a drama the customer with TUI etc. can just sit back and let them sort it out.

 

I have to say that Jet2 have got (?) their act together and produce a better all round offering than the others.

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I think most, if not all, straight forward packages are cheaper (especially with the more upmarket hotels who give good deals to the main companies) if that is what you want. The advantage from our point of view is if you want to go to somewhere else (e.g. a tour or a hotel out of the main tourist resorts) at the same time as the beach hotel, or combine it with a cruise. We now tend to spend more than the basic two weeks on holidays, especially if going long haul as it does not seem worth the flight cost otherwise. Next January is far more adventurous than we have done before, so will just have to see how things go..........fingers crossed.

 

We will still use packages for shorter breaks somewhere warm and cruises to less visited places. Fred comes into his own when going North - much cheaper than land hols and not bad itineraries either. Just hoping for another buy 3 offer next spring..........

 

Enjoy your cruise,

 

Barbara

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