Black Friday - Deal or No Deal

[Eglesbrech]

I am sure you have all seen the offers for cruises flying into your inbox over the last few days offering Black Friday special deals for cruises. We have had a number in for P&O cruises, particularly for longer cruises and those early next year and actually the prices look quite good eg £71 pppn balcony etc.

 

i do wonder however if these are actually bargains or if those who booked early have still had the best deal.

 

Has anyone noticed a cruise they have booked that is better on the “Black Friday” offers or is early still best? Has anyone bagged a bargain?Interestingly P&O have not pushed this event but many of their usual travel agents have.

 

 

[Josy1953]

I just took a look at my TA's site and none of our 5 currently booked cruises with either P&O or Princess are in the Black Friday sale.

[jeanlyon]

I have 4 booked and none are available.  One is for april 2020.  We paid about 70 pppn and it's now over £100.

[oxygenbanditnot]

£71pppn for a balcony is a very good price.

I often see insides available for under £60pppn. If you are flexible and Ok with allocated cabin then that can be the most cost effective. Recently noticed cruises at 54,57 & 58pppn, insides.

Booking on launch day is not necessarily the best time.  

[tartanexile81]

I've only got 2 cruises booked with P&O at present and neither is in the Black Friday deals. However, one is now £3000 more expensive (for 2 of us) and the other £3200

[Ranchi]

How did you get on in the casino last night?

I won.

Me too.

And me, big time. 

etc.

Rarely meet people who don’t win in the casino ( wonder why cruise companies operate casinos just to give away £)

 

Not a lot of replies to this post about Black Friday deals. 

Should we infer from this that very few people have got a better deal by booking earlier than BF ( well done, you!) and that all the rest of the Critic community have their heads in their hands and have real salty tears trickling over their keyboard?

On the other hand perhaps their were loads of excellent deals around but being sensitive and empathetic, Critic posters don’t want to upset us by telling us about their brilliant cruise purchasing skills.

I guess this is the type of post where you’ll never find out what you were looking for. 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by Ranchi

[Windsurfboy]

6 hours ago, Ranchi said:

How did you get on in the casino last night?

I won.

Me too.

And me, big time. 

etc.

Rarely meet people who don’t win in the casino ( wonder why cruise companies operate casinos just to give away £)

 

Not a lot of replies to this post about Black Friday deals. 

Should we infer from this that very few people have got a better deal by booking earlier than BF ( well done, you!) and that all the rest of the Critic community have their heads in their hands and have real salty tears trickling over their keyboard?

On the other hand perhaps their were loads of excellent deals around but being sensitive and empathetic, Critic posters don’t want to upset us by telling us about their brilliant cruise purchasing skills.

I guess this is the type of post where you’ll never find out what you were looking for. 

 

 

[Windsurfboy]

My cruise was on offer, didn't have my exact suite,  but looking at prices were a little more than at  launch , but significantly cheaper than a month ago

[Eglesbrech]

Booking a cruise at any point in the booking cycle is now a bit of a gamble as a result of the fluctuating prices. There is no guarantee that booking early, late or on a special offer like Black Friday will pay off.

 

I think the cruise lines like confusion this causes.

 

He ho, as long as people don’t let it spoil their cruise whatever situation they find themselves in re price drops / rises.

 

 

 

 

[daiB]

13 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Booking a cruise at any point in the booking cycle is now a bit of a gamble as a result of the fluctuating prices. There is no guarantee that booking early, late or on a special offer like Black Friday will pay off.

 

I think the cruise lines like confusion this causes.

 

He ho, as long as people don’t let it spoil their cruise whatever situation they find themselves in re price drops / rises.

 

 

 

 

Like many others we book on day one we get the cabin and dining arrangements we want. From what I have seen over the last 5/6 years our initial price has not been beaten.

 

in the vast majority of cases booking on realise has been the cheapest way to cruise.

 

However, if you are totally flexible on ship, destination, length of cruise, type of cabin, dining arrangement and date of travel. There will be bargains. But not necessarily ones which will suit.

[Josy1953]

Our cruise is not in the Black Friday deals but it is currently £650 each mote than we paid at launch.

[Eglesbrech]

6 hours ago, daiB said:

Like many others we book on day one we get the cabin and dining arrangements we want. From what I have seen over the last 5/6 years our initial price has not been beaten.

 

in the vast majority of cases booking on realise has been the cheapest way to cruise.

 

However, if you are totally flexible on ship, destination, length of cruise, type of cabin, dining arrangement and date of travel. There will be bargains. But not necessarily ones which will suit.

I tend to agree that the early prices are the best. That said the recent £50 deposit makes it easier for people to cancel and rebook if the price does change significantly downwards, which in some cruises it does (also goes up as others have highlighted).

 

Dining is less of an issue now for us as we tend to use the select dining a lot and the discounts available often pay for this and the cost of the shuttles (where applicable).

 

I think that Black Friday was a bit of a con for many cruises as the price difference was only ten or twenty pounds or in some cases the same price but with an added benefit like champagne and chocolates etc.

 

 

 

 

[TheWaterDoc]

I was interested to read this as I never know when the best time to book is. Generally I am not fussy about Cabins and an inside guarantee works for me as it is just somewhere to sleep (I even shower at the Gym, although on Britannia that is not a good experience!)

I have booked early with a good deal and last minute with a good deal and have had upgrades too, but I guess it is just pot luck.