Has anyone ever had a decent Vantage fare reduction?

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Hey congratulations if it is the Getaway fare you have, but it is most unusual to get a stateroom number immediately for the getaway booking. Are you sure you have not got a Vantage booking with obc ?

 

 

Hi! Yes it is a Getaway, I checked my booking info once again just to be sure. There is no OBC, but we got to choose our dining times and were given our cabin number immediately. Maybe this is because we are three in a cabin?

[Pennbank]

Hi! Yes it is a Getaway, I checked my booking info once again just to be sure. There is no OBC, but we got to choose our dining times and were given our cabin number immediately. Maybe this is because we are three in a cabin?

 

Congratulations, Cunard are obviously relenting. :D You will no doubt have a great time on board.

 

t&c Please note that our Getaways fares are based on 2 passengers sharing a cabin. Therefore, if you are planning to book a cabin for sole occupancy or wish to book a cabin to accommodate 3 or 4, then please select our Vantage fare option.

 

These terms and conditions vary, where relevant, the applicable Cunard Line Booking Conditions apply. The applicable Cunard Booking Conditions are otherwise unchanged.

[L4605]

Last May when on Queen Mary 2 we booked a cruise for this year it was vantage for 15 nights.We chose our cabin and went for free car parking and also got $950 OBC we thought we had a good deal with that.We got a letter from Cunard about 3 months later saying that the price of the cruise had been reduced and they had increased our OBC to $1520 we were over the moon with this and thought no more about it.When I paid the cruise in full earlier this year they e-mailed our confirmation and they had increased our OBC to $2400 we were amazed with this.This will be our fourth cruise with Cunard so we are quite new to Cunard and wonder if you get a better deal when you book while aboard ?

 

ps. its a sheltered balcony midships.

[Zippy99]

I assume they charged you brochure prices when you booked, so only you know whether you've done well in comparison with what the cruise is going for now! At least in your case you won't probably have to worry about the cost of the ship's tours, but remember to empty your account and use it all before you leave the ship and a have a great time spending it!

[Alibobs]

It really does depend on what you want......my husband and I both work, we fancied the voyage we have booked so we booked the time off work but not the trip.......we decided we would wait until the Getaway fare reached a certain level and book then. If it didn't reach the level or sold out we would still have taken our holiday but have flown somewhere sunny. We have now booked, the price has gone down even more and will probably continue to do so given the capacity that is left but we don't mind.....we have booked at a price that we are happy with, (we are fortunate at the moment not to need a specific cabin' I do have sympathy for disabled and single passengers) It really is horses for courses.

if we were desperate to do a particular trip or to require a particular cabin we probably would have booked eaelier

[Salacia]

I assume they charged you brochure prices when you booked, so only you know whether you've done well in comparison with what the cruise is going for now! At least in your case you won't probably have to worry about the cost of the ship's tours, but remember to empty your account and use it all before you leave the ship and a have a great time spending it!

 

 

A caution regarding Cunard tours pre-booked on line: my understanding is that your credit card is charged at the time of booking- OBC's can't be used for tours unless you book the tours on board. I have a healthy on-board credit for my next QM2 voyage, and I'm not pre-booking or ordering anything until I board the ship. Tours might be sold out, but I'm willing to take that risk.

 

On the very rare chance that an OBC hasn't been fully used by the end of the voyage, one suggestion is to ask the Pursar to put the remainder towards increasing your Hotel & Dining charge. :) Regards, -S.

[violetta58]

We are on the QE at present ( marvellous holiday -sun at last !) and booked it last year on board the QM 2 as we always do as we like particular staterooms. We got the vantage fare which included free car park AND $600 each obc.The fare dropped in Dec last year and Cunard gave us £719 off final price and additional $1270 obc making a total of $2470 obc!!! We were not sure if we will spend it all in 13 nights but are certainly working hard on spending it!!! I therefore can't fault Vantage fares and I do think you get a better deal booking on board .

[L4605]

We paid the full price for our cruise it doesn t seem so bad when you get something back.If we still have money left near the end of the cruise Im sure my wife will find a nice handbag or two.

[AnnieC]

An interesting ASA ruling on Fred Olsen, who were offering a similar 'deal' to Vantage fares:

http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2006138

 

Let's hope Carnival read it.

 

Annie

[Wacktle]

We booked our Queen Victoria cruise for 1st June 2013 back in August 2012 on a Vantage Fare, having been assured by our cruise booking agent that people were already benefitting under the price promise. The Vantage Fare has never been reduced. A Getaway Fare was launched many weeks ago. It has dropped and dropped. We could have saved £1000 to £2000 by booking on that fare, depending on when we booked. All we have to show for our Vantage Fare is $120 each OBC, a guaranteed dinner time, a cabin of our choice, and a printed excursion booklet. I wonder if we could have managed without all those, given the savings?

[Zippy99]

We booked our Queen Victoria cruise for 1st June 2013 back in August 2012 on a Vantage Fare, having been assured by our cruise booking agent that people were already benefitting under the price promise. The Vantage Fare has never been reduced. A Getaway Fare was launched many weeks ago. It has dropped and dropped. We could have saved £1000 to £2000 by booking on that fare, depending on when we booked. All we have to show for our Vantage Fare is $120 each OBC, a guaranteed dinner time, a cabin of our choice, and a printed excursion booklet. I wonder if we could have managed without all those, given the savings?

 

Unfortunately this was always going to be the case as they P&O and Cunard are really just trying to fill the ships as best they can and these promises were always going to be just smoke and mirrors and having cruised on both over many years the differences between the two brands are certainly diminishing, apart from the hull colour they have the same crew makeup and on the QV last time it was captained by one of the P&O skippers, but hey lets not go there...I can commiserate though as we are soon to go on the QM2. Although we booked a getaway fare we have received the printed excursion booklet, but have seen the fare change since booking several times and we could now have each saved nearly £500 per person for the same cabin grade. But hey hoe best foot forward hopefully we're still enjoy the cruise and put this one down to impulsive behaviour in the booking department which we hope to control for the next time.

[gfs1ram]

Cunard are not my favourite cruise line at the moment. We travel on the QE on May 26th to the North Cape. Unfortunately we booked a 'getaway' balcony in February and paid £1299 each - the very same deal today is £899 !!!!!!

The Vantage fare I see is still £2099 (same as February) so we thought we were getting a good deal then but the getaway price dropping by £400 each is a lot of money. Just thankful we did not pay the vantage fare - why would you???

I wrote a letter of complaint about 10 days ago ( my Travel Agent had already expressed my disgust and got $25 on board spend each as a 'gesture') and today had a phone call from a very rude customer services person stating it was Cunard pricing policy and basically the price drop was 'hard cheese' and threatened to remove the $50 on board credit as 'she would not have given it me !! I basically put the phone down, from her attitude she had obviously had the conversation many times before and was not going to budge.

It's a pity because you feel 'ripped off' and last October we had a great cruise on the QE to Istanbul. We thought it was a great ship hence the re-booking. If we ever do sail Cunard again after todays events then lesson learnt. I would never pay Vantage rates and only book Getaway say 6 weeks before the Cruise. If the cruise got sold out well thats our bad luck. It's better than paying Vantage rates.

[iandjm]

Just back from QE. Hmmmmmm.

 

Onboard service did seem a bit hit or miss and 50% of crew did not want to, or were unable to communicate with you. I noted crew shouting over the dinner table to their coleagues in their own languages, which I thought a little rude.

 

We were on a special Cunard World club voyage, but absolutley nothing was different from a normal cruise.

 

The Vantage vs Getaway fare issue was spoken about by so many people onboard. I still cannot for the life of me see why people who made early bookings, paying a considerable amount, are not upgraded, and only lower grade cabins offered for the £50 a night fares! At present so many people are being made to feel bad about the fare they paid.

 

I emailed Peter Shanks whilst onboard explaing how I felt and had a call from the ships Hotel Manager within 3 hours of sending the email, wishing to arrange a meeting. We met with the Hotel Manager and had a positive discussion. He wanted to know how we feel about Vantage vs Getaway, and what idea we had for fare structures etc. Apparently Cunard will be in touch. I suspect a $20 future cruise credit will be in order!

 

As someone who still works, and has to arrange leave in advance I have to book cruises early. I now feel I just cannot risk booking with Cunard, or indeed any of Carnival group that have a Vantage and Getaway fare structure. I will now stick to booking cruises with cruise lines that offer some form of price guarantee up to final payment date.

 

On a positive the entertainent on QE was very good. Great shows and entertainers. Jazz in a the Garden lounge. Amazing musicians and David Frost as a guest speaker, who was fastinating.

[Norfolk Brit]

David Frost as a guest speaker, who was fastinating.

 

He was on my last QE cruise and was, indeed, a fascinating speaker. Did he do any of his excellent Denis Thatcher anecdotes?

 

As a fully underpaid member of the getaway brigade, I'll pass on the rest of your post:D.

 

Mary

[glojo]

I emailed Peter Shanks whilst onboard explaing how I felt and had a call from the ships Hotel Manager within 3 hours of sending the email, wishing to arrange a meeting. We met with the Hotel Manager and had a positive discussion. He wanted to know how we feel about Vantage vs Getaway, and what idea we had for fare structures etc. Apparently Cunard will be in touch. I suspect a $20 future cruise credit will be in order!

Good for you and I believe the only way things will get altered is if we put pen to paper, or in your case email :)

[iandjm]

He was on my last QE cruise and was, indeed, a fascinating speaker. Did he do any of his excellent Denis Thatcher anecdotes?

 

As a fully underpaid member of the getaway brigade, I'll pass on the rest of your post:D.

 

Mary

 

Hi, Yes he told the story about the time he was asked to speak at a reception. Loved it :)

[Norfolk Brit]

Hi, Yes he told the story about the time he was asked to speak at a reception. Loved it :)

 

Did he do the 'train compartment reserved for inmates of an asylum' one?

 

Mary

 

Sorry everyone, this must be most irritating for you all. I'd repeat the story but can't remember it all, plus I'm useless at telling jokes:D.

[granny red]

Just back from QE. Hmmmmmm.

 

Onboard service did seem a bit hit or miss and 50% of crew did not want to, or were unable to communicate with you. I noted crew shouting over the dinner table to their coleagues in their own languages, which I thought a little rude.

 

We were on a special Cunard World club voyage, but absolutley nothing was different from a normal cruise.

 

The Vantage vs Getaway fare issue was spoken about by so many people onboard. I still cannot for the life of me see why people who made early bookings, paying a considerable amount, are not upgraded, and only lower grade cabins offered for the £50 a night fares! At present so many people are being made to feel bad about the fare they paid.

 

I emailed Peter Shanks whilst onboard explaing how I felt and had a call from the ships Hotel Manager within 3 hours of sending the email, wishing to arrange a meeting. We met with the Hotel Manager and had a positive discussion. He wanted to know how we feel about Vantage vs Getaway, and what idea we had for fare structures etc. Apparently Cunard will be in touch. I suspect a $20 future cruise credit will be in order!

 

As someone who still works, and has to arrange leave in advance I have to book cruises early. I now feel I just cannot risk booking with Cunard, or indeed any of Carnival group that have a Vantage and Getaway fare structure. I will now stick to booking cruises with cruise lines that offer some form of price guarantee up to final payment date.

 

I am rather annoyed at the Vantage and Getaway fare structure too. Can anyone supply me an email address for Peter Shanks so that I can vent my anger.:mad:

Thanks in advance.:)

[Wacktle]

Strangely, or understandably maybe, I feel better knowing I'm not the only person aggrieved by this Vantage vs. Getaway fare fiasco. I suppose I'd feel differently if I'd got a great Getaway fare. Being a pessimist, I don't know if I could risk it. I'd be sure to get a cabin under scraping sunbeds, tables, nightclub, etc ... or behind a lifeboat. So, perhaps a previous contributor has the only answer, i.e. I'd be better off booking with another cruise line. I realise that normal package holiday prices can drop before departure, but we don't normally commit so much money and so any loss is minimal in comparison and we can live with it. I did email my cruise agent about this, but had no reply. I assume she (and the agency) have had many such complaints and it would be difficult for them to voice a view.

[lucky white heather]

We're just back from the same QE cruise. It was quite obvious from the overheard conversations around the ship that many guests were not happy with the current Vantage v. Getaway fare structure.

We sympathised with those who felt that early booking was not worthwhile considering the promises they had been led to believe would be forthcoming if prices fell... but did not materialise. We would have felt the same.

 

Cunard must be dreaming if they think guests don't talk to each other .We overheard numerous complaints made by regular and dedicated cruisers who were openly saying they would never book early again .They were now prepared to take chance on a sailing and take what was available a couple of weeks before a saildate and if nothing suitable was left....tough !There are other alternative cruiselines to try.

 

Or had already decided to make their booking with a competitor cruiseline who would honour the early booking promises in return for an early booking commitment.

 

We had chosen a Getaway fare at a price we thought appropriate but when it fell to half what we paid for the same grade cabin within a couple of weeks of our booking date we just had to take it on the chin but made our minds up too , that very late booking might be advantageous in our future cruise plans.

 

Cunard may eventually have to rely solely on late booking guests if this fare structure persists for any length of time. Not good business sense for any company.

[fantasy51]

The Vantage vs Getaway issue is even worse when you are a solo traveller. As of this month we are only allowed to buy Vantage fares. Even if we wait until the last minute, we can't get any of the Getaway fares. Now, we solos are used to paying up to twice the price per person (i.e. the same cost for a room no matter how many people there are in it), but a price I saw this last week had us paying almost four times the price per person of someone sharing (i.e. double the room price).

 

Yes, letters and emails have been sent!

[andyasia]

The Vantage vs Getaway issue is even worse when you are a solo traveller. As of this month we are only allowed to buy Vantage fares. Even if we wait until the last minute, we can't get any of the Getaway fares. Now, we solos are used to paying up to twice the price per person (i.e. the same cost for a room no matter how many people there are in it), but a price I saw this last week had us paying almost four times the price per person of someone sharing (i.e. double the room price).

 

Yes, letters and emails have been sent!

dear solo traveller that doesnt sound good on getaway fares ...maybe you could enrol a friend and then cancel the friend before you board!!?i met a lot of solo travellers on board queen elizabeth last week in the med...they met each day on board...we had booked a vantage fare on deck 10 ocean view but was too noisy so after one night we upgraded to balcony on floor 5 for nominal charge!!!i am taking my mum soon so will look out for getaway fares soon...stung once dont want to be stung twice!!

[andyasia]

sorry i meant deck 1 not deck 10!!!

[glojo]

Just been looking at an example of what you folks are discussing 14 day cruise on QWueen Elizabeth.

 

Vantage fare for Balcony £2029

Getaway fare balcony £899

 

Is that something to bring a smile to the faces of the folks paying out the full fare?

 

I guess the answer is to pay the fare you are happy with and never look again at any adverts for that cruise.

[andyasia]

glojo thanks for that advice cheers