The peasants are revolting

[katrus-83]

So good old Fred has followed the example of the Carnival groups sub standard offering, also known as saver fares, by introducing their own version called the wa sorry anchor fare.

Here's my take on a fictitious cruise company board room meeting.

Minion to Fat Cat " Sir/Madam the peasants are revolting"

Fat cat to Minion " I know but as long as they keep paying their money who cares?"

Minion " No sir/madam they're revolting because we keep ripping them off by raising our prices whenever we feel like it"

Fat cat " The ungrateful bar stewards! well if that's the way they want it I'll call there bluff, we'll charge them our normal fare and give them nothing in return for it and we'll call it a saver/anchor fare then what we'll do is we'll really stick it up them and charge them even more money for things they used to get for nothing and call it a standard fare!

Minion " Genius Sir/Madam the fools are sure to fall for it"

Just a thought.

Edited August 11, 2014 by katrus-83

[1160451]

Not quite a true take in my opinion.

Although if the "Peasants" don't like the price or the product nobody forces them to go.

The only hint of revolution I have ever noticed on a Fred cruise was when the Dolphin Racing was cancelled.

My experience of an anchor fare was a saving of over £200 each, but obviously the OP has a different experience.

[1160451]

Hi katrus....sorry I didn't recall your post about the Balmoral. Did you enjoy it. Also I see you were on the Ryndam what did you think of HAL ?

We didn't like HAL at all, too sedate for us.

Take it easy.

[katrus-83]

Ha! Ha! you were right sir/madam, they've fallen for it, they really have fallen for it!:D

[tigernut]

So good old Fred has followed the example of the Carnival groups sub standard offering, also known as saver fares, by introducing their own version called the wa sorry anchor fare.

Here's my take on a fictitious cruise company board room meeting.

Minion to Fat Cat " Sir/Madam the peasants are revolting"

Fat cat to Minion " I know but as long as they keep paying their money who cares?"

Minion " No sir/madam they're revolting because we keep ripping them off by raising our prices whenever we feel like it"

Fat cat " The ungrateful bar stewards! well if that's the way they want it I'll call there bluff, we'll charge them our normal fare and give them nothing in return for it and we'll call it a saver/anchor fare then what we'll do is we'll really stick it up them and charge them even more money for things they used to get for nothing and call it a standard fare!

Minion " Genius Sir/Madam the fools are sure to fall for it"

Just a thought.

 

Is this supposed to be news?

 

Fred implemented Anchor fares more than a year ago. The first departure offering Anchor fares was 6 April 2013.

 

If passengers wish to choose their dining time, they have the choice to pay the full fare with Fred, or choose a different cruise line.

Edited August 12, 2014 by tigernut

[katrus-83]

My post was intended as a parody of cruise lines attitude towards their customers.

Obviously not everyone shares the same point of view, mine is that cruise lines have a tendency to be underhand with their paying customers and yes despite what some may think I am one of those customers and yes I do still enjoy cruising.

That doesn't mean that I have to agree with the way they do business.

There seems to be a common thread at times on these forums of " well if you don't like it go else where" or "don't cruise then" well I'm sorry but I wont give up the holidays that I love just because I feel strongly about the way cruise lines treat their paying guests.

The points that I was trying to make were these,

1, the continual raising and lowering of cruise fares is simply unfair and based, in my opinion, on greed. I believe that cruise lines will still be making a profit when they sell cruises at there lowest price so why not just sell them at that price to every one. I have been on both sides of the cruise fare lottery and no it's not good when the person next to you at the bar has paid hundreds of pounds less than you but I don't feel that good when some poor sod who has worked hard all year for his holiday has paid hundreds less than me either.

2, I think, as I tried to explain in my first post, that these anchor or saver or whatever fares they call them are nothing more than smoke and mirrors and really what they are doing is responding to peoples dissatisfaction with the points that I raised above by trying to convince us that they are giving us some sort of a saving by booking these fares when really all they are doing us flogging us a cruise with a lot less benefits for a price that we would have paid for a normal cruise (as in a cruise with every thing included in the price excluding drinks) in the past and the price that they charge for a normal cruise now is just a vastly over inflated price to make the cruise lines some additional income and to make people who've booked saver fares think that they've bagged themselves a bargain. It's a win win situation for the cruise lines and no real bargain at all for us.

 

Personally I think the cruise industry needs some code of conduct with regard to how they charge their customers.

Sadly I feel that I'm in the minority in this respect as a lot of cruisers have an (at times) intense loyalty to their chosen cruise line or lines and can get very defensive of them. I will continue to cruise myself so I guess I deserve all I get but there is a side to the industry that I find very distasteful

Edited August 12, 2014 by katrus-83

[katrus-83]

Line eleven of my previous post should have read " hundreds more than me", sorry.

[dsrdsrdsr]

... the continual raising and lowering of cruise fares is simply unfair and based, in my opinion, on greed. I believe that cruise lines will still be making a profit when they sell cruises at there lowest price so why not just sell them at that price to every one. I have been on both sides of the cruise fare lottery and no it's not good when the person next to you at the bar has paid hundreds of pounds less than you but I don't feel that good when some poor sod who has worked hard all year for his holiday has paid hundreds less than me either.

 

It's not just cruise companies, either. Do you know, I've heard there are shops on land that sometimes lower prices in something they call a "sale"! It's appalling! You get exactly the same problem, where people haven't all paid exactly the same price for exactly the same product. What can be done?

 

I don't care what other people have paid. I pay what I agreed to pay.

[Mark_T]

It's not just cruise companies, either. Do you know, I've heard there are shops on land that sometimes lower prices in something they call a "sale"! It's appalling! You get exactly the same problem, where people haven't all paid exactly the same price for exactly the same product. What can be done?

 

Greed, pure greed :)

 

I seriously hope the OP never looks at airline ticket pricing!

 

Seriously though (if that is possible) this form of price variation is entirely normal for any entity dealing in highly perishable volume constrained products.

 

Hotels, airlines, cruises, theater tickets etc ...

 

People who can book at the last minute will have access to better prices, if there is still availability, but will sacrifice choices as a result and run the risk that what they want may sell out.

 

Want the best seats at a show? Then book early.

Want to see a show for less but don't care where you sit or which show you see? Then book on the day ...

 

What you can't do is leave it until the last minute and then complain you didn't get the same choices as those who book early, or book early and complain you didn't get the same price as those who book late ...

[RivaDiva]

I wish there was a 'Like' button I could press, as on Face Book! I agree with everything you said Mark T!

Take the anchor fare but don't moan if you don't get the cabin or meal sitting you want.

I have been looking at the Balmoral on 3rd October and it looks incredibly good value.

[katrus-83]

I don't think comparing what cruise lines do with their yo yo fares to high street sales is a very good comparison to be honest but I accept that they are not alone in the way they operate. Bankers and utility companies share a similar mentality. I just have to accept that fairness is not too common these days and people don't seem to mjnd that.

[dsrdsrdsr]

I reckon that if the company offers you a deal, tells you what it costs, and tells you that the terms and prices may change in future if you don't take it now - that's fair.

 

I don't see why it's not a fair comparison, either. Other travel companies, high street shops, supermarkets, Amazon - they all have variable pricing one way or another.

[Mark_T]

I just have to accept that fairness is not too common these days and people don't seem to mjnd that.

 

It is wrong to imply that those disagreeing with you are tolerating a lack of fairness, we just don't agree with your premise that this approach is in fact 'unfair'.

[Hawks11]

We are happy to play by the rules and it is important that you know them. We have booked well ahead quite often but the next Fred Olsen one we do will probably closer to the cruise and if it is an anchor fare we will be happy to secure the dining option we prefer by paying extra.

[katrus-83]

The response to my post from the people who have taken the time to reply hasn't surprised me to be honest. It's obvious that the cruise lines are doing ok from offering these deals or they would simply have discontinued them. If people are prepared to take these "deals" and have no problem with the way that cruise companies do their business then obviously that is their absolute right. It is my right as well, obviously, to express my disquiet in what I believe is a way of selling a product in a way that looks like a bargain but is in fact nothing of the sort. To Mark_T, I wasn't implying anything, I was saying that to me a lot of things these days seem unfair, I don't like it and I would guess that you don't either, but we just have to live with it and accept that some people don't mind it. I don't think that's implying anything, I think its probably fact. The fact that you don't consider my idea of unfairness the same as yours doesn't make it any less valid. Thank you Hawks11, I appreciate your straight forward response to my post. You obviously disagree with me but you did it with out coming across as condescending. Thank you and Goodnight.

[MaisieMoo123]

I wish there was a 'Like' button I could press, as on Face Book! I agree with everything you said Mark T!

Take the anchor fare but don't moan if you don't get the cabin or meal sitting you want.

I have been looking at the Balmoral on 3rd October and it looks incredibly good value.

Riva Diva, did you book The Seine & Cities of France cruise on 3rd October? I booked this cruise last week and got it for £399. Just looked at the price this morning and seen that it is now advertised at £799. I don't mind paying £2pppn to be able to choose dining option if it means I can save such a large amount!

[RivaDiva]

WOW!

I knew I couldn't book it because we will only be back from Italy a few days before. I couldn't believe the price of it though. I think we will go in March, although its not the Balmoral. Think its the Braemar, which I don't know.

Do please let me know how you get on, Maisymoo.

Feeling jealous!

[MaisieMoo123]

You will love Braemar, we went on it last October and thought the staff, food and entertainment were all fantastic.

[Cruising Nomads]

What a bargain you got on the France Cruise. I know you are not allowed to give TA names on here but a clue would be nice for future reference.

[MaisieMoo123]

Keep an eye on the Fred Olsen website. That is where we saw the price advertised at £399. You will find the prices fluctuate weekly. Our independent TA was only able to discount it by an additional £10 each due to the already low cost.

[monas queen]

I'm with the OP on this one. Any loyalty we had for Fred was lost years ago, when their penny pinching really started to bite. We have been on all of their ships, and used to enjoy being on them, but they steadily became less enjoyable - wine stewards were done away with, and waiters more to do with less time to do it. Cabin stewards were given more cabins to service, and when "tips" were automatically added to the onboard account we detected a completely different attitude towards the servicing of our cabin, and a substantial drop in standards.

Looking at the list of what you do not get if you book the (w)anchor fare, it's downright criminal. It's not just the petty £2 per night for being able to choose when you want to dine.

There are the cruises themselves, with fewer calls, and more places stayed at overnight.

Oh, there's so much....

I'm cruising elsewhere now. It's costing more up front (though by the time you've added up all of Fred's hidden and non hidden extras there's probably not too much difference) but I'm finding it much more of a pleasure.

Happy cruising, whatever you choose.

[RivaDiva]

I never bother with agents anymore. I saw it on the Fred site too

[1160451]

I'm with the OP on this one. Any loyalty we had for Fred was lost years ago, when their penny pinching really started to bite. We have been on all of their ships, and used to enjoy being on them, but they steadily became less enjoyable - wine stewards were done away with, and waiters more to do with less time to do it. Cabin stewards were given more cabins to service, and when "tips" were automatically added to the onboard account we detected a completely different attitude towards the servicing of our cabin, and a substantial drop in standards.

Looking at the list of what you do not get if you book the (w)anchor fare, it's downright criminal. It's not just the petty £2 per night for being able to choose when you want to dine.

There are the cruises themselves, with fewer calls, and more places stayed at overnight.

Oh, there's so much....

I'm cruising elsewhere now. It's costing more up front (though by the time you've added up all of Fred's hidden and non hidden extras there's probably not too much difference) but I'm finding it much more of a pleasure.

Happy cruising, whatever you choose.

 

Hi there....we have cruised with around 5 lines. Fred included, anchor fares and early fares . On the anchor fare cruise I can not for the life in me remember what we had to pay extra for, except to choose dining. We didn't choose we took what was given. But I still can not recall what we had to pay for that would have been included in a normal fare.

Would be interested to hear what you think there is.

Not disagreeing with you just that I must have missed something.

Anyway glad your having a good time on your cruise line of choice.

[1160451]

Bump......

[Allanann]

Hi katrus....sorry I didn't recall your post about the Balmoral. Did you enjoy it. Also I see you were on the Ryndam what did you think of HAL ?

We didn't like HAL at all, too sedate for us.

Take it easy.

 

Love Fred.... Hated HAL never again even if it was free!http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

 

Boudicca this Xmas and again on the " Big one" around Africa in Jan 16.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/smile.gif