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P&O Early Saver Fares


miranda53
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i just wondered what other people’s experience has been booking early saver fares? The cruise I’m looking at would cost an extra £500 for us if we book Premium fare. I know we’d have to pay for parking and would lose some onboard credit. But we prefer self service dining, so table sizes and times wouldn’t bother us. I’m only really concerned about cabin location. Do you get assigned the cabins that nobody else wants??

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I think you have to firstly work out what the true difference in price is, after you have deducted any extras such as free parking, and obc from the £500. Then you, and only you, can decide if the saving will outweigh the chance of being given a cabin that is less than ideal. For a short 7 day cruise,,it might be worth a gamble, but for longer than that, I, for one want to know exactly where my cabin is situated. Being woken up the first morning at 6 by the sun loungers being dragged about, directly above your cabin, is not a great way to start your cruise, and you may well rue the fact that you saved some money by booking an early saver fare.

 

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I think you have to firstly work out what the true difference in price is, after you have deducted any extras such as free parking, and obc from the £500. Then you, and only you, can decide if the saving will outweigh the chance of being given a cabin that is less than ideal. For a short 7 day cruise,,it might be worth a gamble, but for longer than that, I, for one want to know exactly where my cabin is situated. Being woken up the first morning at 6 by the sun loungers being dragged about, directly above your cabin, is not a great way to start your cruise, and you may well rue the fact that you saved some money by booking an early saver fare.

 

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Thanks, wowzz, this is very helpful :)

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Hi...we have booked saver fares a couple of times or so and we have been both lucky & unlucky with our allocation and even on one occasion upgraded from inside to outside so I am not sure how they allocate cabins and cabin grades. You have to be prepared to accept any grade that you are allocated but there may be a possibility of changing cabins within that grade.

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I suppose you will get one of the cabins that Select fare passengers have not chosen. It is unlikely to be the best cabin in a particular grade. If there are not many Select fare passengers then there may be a large number of cabins left for Saver fare passengers. Many of those remaining cabins will probably be very good cabins. Also the cabins the Select fare passengers have chosen might not be the cabins you would have liked. Different cabins appeal to different passengers.

 

Unfortunately there is a risk that you will be allocated the worst cabin in the grade you booked or any higher grade. If that would stress you out too much it may be worth paying the extra £500. The other perks do have some value.

 

Personally on Aurora I would book a Save fare for an outside cabin as I would be happy with any cabin. On Oriana I would book a Select fare as I would not want to be too near the stern.

 

Occasionally Select fares are sold without the choice of cabins. I am not sure why. All the other perks are provided.

 

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

 

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i just wondered what other people’s experience has been booking early saver fares? The cruise I’m looking at would cost an extra £500 for us if we book Premium fare. I know we’d have to pay for parking and would lose some onboard credit. But we prefer self service dining, so table sizes and times wouldn’t bother us. I’m only really concerned about cabin location. Do you get assigned the cabins that nobody else wants??

Be careful! I booked an early saver fare for our upcoming cruise on Britannia this in May I wouldnt usually book so early but there was a good offer for 3rd and 4th person sharing. 2 weeks later the prices dropped the 3rd and 4th offer was still on and the select price was less than I paid so not really a saver.

 

The cabin was allocated about 2 weeks after booking and is in a good location that we would probably have chosen ourselves. .

Just have to wait and see what dining we are allocated now.

 

I wont be booking an early saver again!

 

A crystal ball would be useful to see what is going to happen with cruise fares.😥

 

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It is a risk you have to take - you can be lucky or you can be unlucky with your allocation, which will be after those who have paid the Select Fares.

Remember too that depending on the cruise you are on, you may be paying for a Shuttle Transfer too in certain ports. Although this is not a large amount to pay especially if you have saved a lot, you would be surprised at the number of people who get upset about having to pay for the transfer when it comes to it.

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It is a risk you have to take - you can be lucky or you can be unlucky with your allocation, which will be after those who have paid the Select Fares.

Remember too that depending on the cruise you are on, you may be paying for a Shuttle Transfer too in certain ports. Although this is not a large amount to pay especially if you have saved a lot, you would be surprised at the number of people who get upset about having to pay for the transfer when it comes to it.

 

Possibly the same group of people who book saver fares and can't have the dining time that they want. If dining times/cabin allocation/shuttle buses are important to you then book Select fare...you can't have it both ways....low price no choice...higher price...getting what you want.

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We book a mixture of Select and Saver.Generally the cabins you are allocated on saver fare are at front or Aft (We have never had a bad cabin to date) but we like Freedom Dining (which is becoming more popular now) and are not keen on dining late. You can sometimes change sitting but on one occasion we were told too many people had also wanted to change to Freedom dining and we had to stick with Fixed dining. Also as others have stated you have to pay for shuttles(unless free ones provided by the port authority) so it is worth investigating the ports you will be visiting to see how far out of the centre they are.I think P and O provide a list on their Q and A page.In the Caribbean there are only a very few shuttles but quite a lot more in the Mediterranean ports.We have always been happy when we have booked a Saver fare but we are increasingly booking Select Fares because with the offers they often work out at not much more than a Saver

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I think the time has come when P&O should tell all those that if you book a Saver Fare then out of respect for those that have booked Select then they should be told that their allocated stateroom and dining is non changeable no matter how soon and how long they queue at the dining room on the day of your arrival.

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I think the time has come when P&O should tell all those that if you book a Saver Fare then out of respect for those that have booked Select then they should be told that their allocated stateroom and dining is non changeable no matter how soon and how long they queue at the dining room on the day of your arrival.

 

That may be a sensible thing to do ....if it was made clear at the time of booking that you accepted cabin & dining allocation with saver fares then it would stop any " disappointment" and possible unpleasantness that could arise when you boarded the ship. It is like a lot of things if it starts off as a " gesture of goodwill" then in time it becomes acceptable and then it becomes a right.

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I think the time has come when P&O should tell all those that if you book a Saver Fare then out of respect for those that have booked Select then they should be told that their allocated stateroom and dining is non changeable no matter how soon and how long they queue at the dining room on the day of your arrival.

 

But why?

 

I agree that if pax have a saver fare then there is no guarantee that they can get what they want however if passenger A is allocated freedom dining and passenger B club early and they both prefer the other what is the harm in changing it for them? It makes two happy customers, costs P &O nothing and has no impact whatsoever on select passengers.

 

Add to this the fact that saver passengers sometimes end up paying more that late booking select passengers.

 

I don't see any logic in P&O being difficult just for the sake of it.

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But why?

 

I agree that if pax have a saver fare then there is no guarantee that they can get what they want however if passenger A is allocated freedom dining and passenger B club early and they both prefer the other what is the harm in changing it for them? It makes two happy customers, costs P &O nothing and has no impact whatsoever on select passengers.

 

Add to this the fact that saver passengers sometimes end up paying more that late booking select passengers.

 

I don't see any logic in P&O being difficult just for the sake of it.

Totally agree with you Eglesbrech, why have hard and fast rules if they are not necessary. Just as long as select passengers who have been wait-listed are given first choice before saver passengers, then I see absolutely no reason to prevent a saver passengers from switching their dining room allocation if their chosen alternative is available.

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Totally agree with you Eglesbrech, why have hard and fast rules if they are not necessary. Just as long as select passengers who have been wait-listed are given first choice before saver passengers, then I see absolutely no reason to prevent a saver passengers from switching their dining room allocation if their chosen alternative is available.

 

 

Before this Select and Saver fare structure I got the feeling most passengers got the dining time they wanted. Perhaps not the size of table. It might have involved queuing on the first day to see the restaurant manager. Under that new system they try and accommodate all passengers preferences but in a particular order. Needlessly upsetting customers for a whole cruise is not good for business (unless you are a certain airline and they have promised to change).

 

 

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But why?

 

I agree that if pax have a saver fare then there is no guarantee that they can get what they want however if passenger A is allocated freedom dining and passenger B club early and they both prefer the other what is the harm in changing it for them? It makes two happy customers, costs P &O nothing and has no impact whatsoever on select passengers.

 

Add to this the fact that saver passengers sometimes end up paying more that late booking select passengers.

 

I don't see any logic in P&O being difficult just for the sake of it.

In our case the early saver fare we booked dropped in price 2 weeks after booking and the select price became less than we had paid but we cant choose dining or get the other perks that select passengers who have paid less than us can.

 

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But why?

 

I agree that if pax have a saver fare then there is no guarantee that they can get what they want however if passenger A is allocated freedom dining and passenger B club early and they both prefer the other what is the harm in changing it for them? It makes two happy customers, costs P &O nothing and has no impact whatsoever on select passengers.

 

Add to this the fact that saver passengers sometimes end up paying more that late booking select passengers.

 

I don't see any logic in P&O being difficult just for the sake of it.

 

Because I know people who brag about booking Saver fare and race down to MDR as soon as they get onboard to change dining if not suitable and have even tried to change their cabins if unsuitable at reception with sob stories. They say why should they pay the higher fare they always get what they want with regards to dining and personally do not think it is fair to those that have paid higher price to get dining choice. If P&O stated that cabins and dining is not changeable for Saver fares under any circumstances then I think it would be better.

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Because I know people who brag about booking Saver fare and race down to MDR as soon as they get onboard to change dining if not suitable and have even tried to change their cabins if unsuitable at reception with sob stories. They say why should they pay the higher fare they always get what they want with regards to dining and personally do not think it is fair to those that have paid higher price to get dining choice. If P&O stated that cabins and dining is not changeable for Saver fares under any circumstances then I think it would be better.

 

 

Better why? And what about savers who have paid more than select?

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Better why? And what about savers who have paid more than select?

Yes, perhaps priority should depend on price paid or always keep select fares higher than any previously offered early saver fares to be fair. The name early saver fare is misleading when in fact they can cost you more lose benefits and not save anything at all.

 

 

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One thing that used to bother me was not knowing if the price was currently a good price or a bad price regardless of it being a 'Select' or 'Saver' price. I now use a website called Cruiseville.co.uk who monitor the prices for all P&O cruises and it helps you decide if you are going to be one of the guys paying a lot or one of the guys paying a little. Hope this helps ;)

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Because I know people who brag about booking Saver fare and race down to MDR as soon as they get onboard to change dining if not suitable and have even tried to change their cabins if unsuitable at reception with sob stories. They say why should they pay the higher fare they always get what they want with regards to dining and personally do not think it is fair to those that have paid higher price to get dining choice. If P&O stated that cabins and dining is not changeable for Saver fares under any circumstances then I think it would be better.

 

Maybe not everyone tells the truth about what they paid etc. As far as i'm aware when you request to change dining they work on date booked, as well as..i thimk.. type of fare. As saver fares always come out after select fares any select fares should always be swapped first.

As regards swapping cabins depends on the reason..if its just that its noisy and they don't like it..then I agree ,why should they swap.if there is something wrong with that cabin then maybe.

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Because I know people who brag about booking Saver fare and race down to MDR as soon as they get onboard to change dining if not suitable and have even tried to change their cabins if unsuitable at reception with sob stories. They say why should they pay the higher fare they always get what they want with regards to dining and personally do not think it is fair to those that have paid higher price to get dining choice. If P&O stated that cabins and dining is not changeable for Saver fares under any circumstances then I think it would be better.

 

 

Why would another passengers fare, cabin or dining arrangements worry you. It sounds to me like you want them to suffer.

 

 

 

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Because I know people who brag about booking Saver fare and race down to MDR as soon as they get onboard to change dining if not suitable and have even tried to change their cabins if unsuitable at reception with sob stories. They say why should they pay the higher fare they always get what they want with regards to dining and personally do not think it is fair to those that have paid higher price to get dining choice. If P&O stated that cabins and dining is not changeable for Saver fares under any circumstances then I think it would be better.

 

As long as you have the cabin and dining that you want why should it matter to you. If anyone can negotiate something better than they paid for they will - that is life. Same applies to the price paid - as long as you are happy with your fare surely that is all that matters.

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