Good things about Getaway Fares

[majortom10]

What a completely narrow minded view you have!

 

Low prices attract all sorts of people. The couple who can fit another holiday into their year because it's a good deal or people like myself and my husband who have 3 very young children who are not yet at school meaning we only have one income coming in, plus a huge mortgage to pay for, so we can't afford expensive prices but can grab a cheap getaway priced cruise to have a couple of days away together. Maybe people like us shouldn't be allowed on a cruise then as we don't meet your upper class standards :rolleyes:

 

It also attracts the people that normally go to Benidorm but go on the cruise because as a Getaway it is better value and then end up drunk and fighting in bars which has happened.

[kersh]

What a completely narrow minded view you have!

 

Low prices attract all sorts of people. The couple who can fit another holiday into their year because it's a good deal or people like myself and my husband who have 3 very young children who are not yet at school meaning we only have one income coming in, plus a huge mortgage to pay for, so we can't afford expensive prices but can grab a cheap getaway priced cruise to have a couple of days away together. Maybe people like us shouldn't be allowed on a cruise then as we don't meet your upper class standards :rolleyes:

 

Totally agree with you. We book Vantage fares for our must do cruises 4 booked for next year including 50 nights on the Arcadia world cruise, 24 nights on Oriana Xmas cruise and a back to back summer cruise. If we see a getaway bargain and can fit it in we book it. This does not make us riff raff . We have done 2 getaways so far and have never met any pax that stand out as riff raff.

 

Sue

[GHDPeter]

What a completely narrow minded view you have!

 

Low prices attract all sorts of people. The couple who can fit another holiday into their year because it's a good deal or people like myself and my husband who have 3 very young children who are not yet at school meaning we only have one income coming in, plus a huge mortgage to pay for, so we can't afford expensive prices but can grab a cheap getaway priced cruise to have a couple of days away together. Maybe people like us shouldn't be allowed on a cruise then as we don't meet your upper class standards :rolleyes:

 

Being a classless Aussie I was amazed by the "class" snobbery that I saw on the Aurora earlier this year.

 

It was very funny to watch, but also very sad. I overheard one very "upper" class sounding woman at breakfast complaining that she had been overcharged £1 and was heading straight down to have it removed!

[sotonjoe]

I love them. The reality is that the product offered is worth the getaway fare, but it's not worth the vantage one. £50 a night or so seems right for the food etc offered by p&o.

 

I understand the frustration of people who pay the excessive fare and feel they're subsidising the cheaper fare though because they are!

[sotonjoe]

And fwiw, nobody of any real class would be seen dead on a p&o ship so the class discussion seems erroneous to me.

[simonpjd]

I would think £50 a night is losing P&O money. And they are relying on on-board spend for their profit. Perhaps those that think it sounds 'about right' should try and live on that in London for three full meals a day, plus afternoon tea, plus snacks plus a room and west-end standard entertainment.

[sotonjoe]

I would think £50 a night is losing P&O money. And they are relying on on-board spend for their profit. Perhaps those that think it sounds 'about right' should try and live on that in London for three full meals a day, plus afternoon tea, plus snacks plus a room and west-end standard entertainment.

 

What a silly comparison.

[simonpjd]

Well perhaps we should ask posters what they think.

Is £50 a day about right per day on a cruise liner.

Lets remember that just a room in a Travelodge (just a room) is over £60. And you cannot get more basic than that.

 

I think it is a loss leader.

And remember Carnival have already issued a profits warning this year because of 'price cutting'.

[sire_bobbie]

We can afford to cruise due to Getaway fares, so we are totally up for them. Pay the price you are happy with, if you can cruise for less then go for it. Thankfully our circumstances allow us to book with a month or twos notice. So we are fans of the current pricing policy.

[majortom10]

I love them. The reality is that the product offered is worth the getaway fare, but it's not worth the vantage one. £50 a night or so seems right for the food etc offered by p&o.

 

I understand the frustration of people who pay the excessive fare and feel they're subsidising the cheaper fare though because they are!

 

If you think £50 a night is about right for Full English Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, late night snacks, room service and all entertainment inclusive I shudder to think when you last booked a land based holiday and how much you paid per night for it. This day and age it is very hard to get a half decent hotel for breakfast and dinner alone for £50pppn in the UK.

Edited August 12, 2013 by shilly3191

[Gettysburg]

I like getaway fares but do think at times they go too low and yes it is irritating and a bit of a slap in the face for those who have paid Vantage.

Quite often the on board spend, travel or car parking given away only adds up to about 150 - 200 for the booking.

 

You can save a lot more than that at times. R316. Inside Vantage 969. Getaway 699. That's almost 540 saving for two people.

Even if you paid for car parking it's still 400 and you are sacrificing cabin choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[davecttr]

As a solo cruiser i start getting interested if i can get a cruise at £150 per night so for a couple I would think £100 per night is reasonable. Less than that and the cruise line must be relying on the on board spend to provide the profit.

 

If you have a cheap cruise and spend money like water aboard, great, if you sit there with mouths full of wasps and don't spend a penny, not good news for the company or us other cruisers who are subsidising you.

[clivep]

It depends on the cabin class and time of year. £50 is about right for an inside or outside but a bit low for a balcony on P&O.

 

We always have a balcony and only sail in the spring and autumn as the summer is too hot for us. Fortunately this is when they have most trouble filling the ships. I usually book about 4 weeks before the cruise and would not pay more than £80 pppn for a balcony cabin. We've only had 2 P&O cruises (1 pre-Getaways introduction and 1 post) with a balcony cabin price of about £70 per night. I find the Vantage prices ridiculously high and expect the Getaway price on the cruises I'm interested in to be less than 50% of the Vantage ones.

 

Other cruise lines seem to manage with lower prices! Our 7 day RCI Adventure of the Seas cruise in April last year cost $832 (£525 at the time) for a balcony cabin. This was the total for the 2 of us including gratuities. This works out at about £30 pppn without the gratuities.

 

I was looking at a couple of Costa cruises earlier this year where the prices for a 7 night cruise were £149 inside and £199 balcony!

[majortom10]

It depends on the cabin class and time of year. £50 is about right for an inside or outside but a bit low for a balcony on P&O.

 

We always have a balcony and only sail in the spring and autumn as the summer is too hot for us. Fortunately this is when they have most trouble filling the ships. I usually book about 4 weeks before the cruise and would not pay more than £80 pppn for a balcony cabin. We've only had 2 P&O cruises (1 pre-Getaways introduction and 1 post) with a balcony cabin price of about £70 per night. I find the Vantage prices ridiculously high and expect the Getaway price on the cruises I'm interested in to be less than 50% of the Vantage ones.

 

Other cruise lines seem to manage with lower prices! Our 7 day RCI Adventure of the Seas cruise in April last year cost $832 (£525 at the time) for a balcony cabin. This was the total for the 2 of us including gratuities. This works out at about £30 pppn without the gratuities.

 

I was looking at a couple of Costa cruises earlier this year where the prices for a 7 night cruise were £149 inside and £199 balcony!

 

If you think £50pp is about right for an inside cabin try and book a half decent hotel in the UK for bed, breakfast and evening meal for that price and you will be surprised and then think what fantastic value for money it is when on a cruise for whats included.

[majortom10]

We have been recently looking at a holiday in Torquay just in case we cannot get a cruise for September/October. The hotel which we have used in the past which is not a top notch hotel but very nice in a basic room want £64pppn for dinner,bed and breakfast for September and £54pppn for October so that shows just what good value a cruise is when you consider it includes lunch, afternoon tea, late night snacks and all entertainment.

[janny444]

Well perhaps we should ask posters what they think.

Is £50 a day about right per day on a cruise liner.

Lets remember that just a room in a Travelodge (just a room) is over £60. And you cannot get more basic than that.

 

I think it is a loss leader.

And remember Carnival have already issued a profits warning this year because of 'price cutting'.

 

 

£50 a day on a cruise liner is that about right...NO it is not....goodness you can pay that for B/B...I would think £100 per day is nearer the mark...anything less and it is a bargain.

[clivep]

I know we Brits are used to paying through the nose which is why I often book European cruises through American travel agents where the price can be half that being charged in the UK (in addition to free pre-paid gratuities and/or OBC).

 

If you want to see how little P&O's parent Carnival can charge then look at their Costa Mediterranea cruises for 10th and 15th November. These 5 day cruises are currently £129 for an inside cabin so slightly over £25 pppn.

[bee-ess]

I think that the pppn price is irrelevant really. If they have a ship with lots of empty cabins they are taking money they would not have taken with just the cost of extra food really, all the staff costs and entertainment costs are already accounted for. By having a more full ship opens up all the other revenue streams - tours, drinks, shops, spa etc.

Our recent Oriana cruise is a good example - almost everyone I spoke to was on a Getaway, certainly the pax on our dinner table all were. P&O would have made more profit on this cruise by selling Getaway fares than not as the ship was Full with a notice at reception to say no cabin changes as it was full..

[middy]

Long live the getaway fare. :)

I don't plan too far ahead and getting mine and hubby's holiday to coincide takes arranging. So frequently only know a couple of months ahead. I love a bargain and the getaway fares are just up my street. Managed one in June and had a great time, so now looking to book another for November.( did look at a Celebrity cruise but the difference in price means two for the price of one on P&O )

Just keeping my fingers crossed that when booking they apologise for only late sitting being available like last time. Wanted late sitting anyway. :D

[clivep]

Long live the getaway fare. :)

I don't plan too far ahead and getting mine and hubby's holiday to coincide takes arranging. So frequently only know a couple of months ahead. I love a bargain and the getaway fares are just up my street. Managed one in June and had a great time, so now looking to book another for November.( did look at a Celebrity cruise but the difference in price means two for the price of one on P&O )

Just keeping my fingers crossed that when booking they apologise for only late sitting being available like last time. Wanted late sitting anyway. :D

 

I'm still waiting for the Adonia Baltic sailings in Sepember/October to come down to a sensible price. RCI/Celebrity for November is the backup plan. We've always preferred the Med in November to October but RCI have tended to take their ships back across the pond earlier over the past couple of years as they couldn't fill them on November Med cruises. This year they have several still here in November with good prices. The 13th November 12 night Celebrity Equinox looks good at £850 for a balcony cabin although it was £799 yesterday (+ flights but we always book these ourselves anyway). There are numerous cheaper RCI and Celebrity ones for November and are not last minute pricing as they're more than 2 months away.

[clivep]

Celebrity Equinox 13th November back down to £799 for a balcony today. October 20th sailing also at £799. These are prices from Celebrity website so you may get a discount on these through your TA. This is below £70 pppn for a balcony cabin and pretty much below the best P & O getaway fares (certainly for the Med).

[PeatSmoke]

Bottom line? They save people money and P and O can fill some of the less popular cabins. Everyone is a winner. I love how those trashing the cheaper deals are claiming P and O are losing out because of them. Wishful thinking I am afraid.

We paid full whack for next years cruise because we wanted a particular cabin. I am utter riff raff though. Hopefully I will be sharing a dinner table with simonpjd at some point. :D

[rubydoobydoo]

The low fares must be affecting standards, my sister has just returned from Arcadia and she said it wasn't a patch on last year

 

Food, staff, and especially entertainment all lower than previously

[soobs]

We booked a getaway fare for our March our Caribbean trip on Azura, had to take pot luck on the inside cabin, had to pay in full, all of which saved us £200pp if I was paying for a balcony cabin then I would happily pay vantage to get exactly what I wanted.

P & O made plenty of money out of me when I paid the bar bill at the end of the cruise, I am sure that pays back what I saved - if enjoying a drink or 2, 3, 4 on holiday classes me as the undesirable type so be it I had a wonderful holiday and met some lovely people from all walks of life some with money and some on a budget like myself. I just accept people for what they are.

[wilson2579]

I have just returned from Ventura and Oceana and didn't find standards had dropped apart from the biscuits in the cabin. Not the lovely shortbread ones anymore:eek: