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Keep an Eye on Fares


AussieVoyager
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I booked a voyage on QE departing in May 2019, and I made the booking way back in mid 2017.

 

A couple of days ago I looked at the website and saw that the same class of stateroom is now on sale for $2700 per couple less.  I rang Cunard to see if I could price match but - as per the terms and conditions - I was told no.  Fair enough, they're the booking rules.  So I cancelled my original booking, made a new one in the same category, lost my $1000 deposit on the old booking, lost my OBC on the old booking, and I'm still $1400 ahead.  That's a bit of extra spending money on board!

 

The only slightly frustrating part was my shore excursions.  They can't be transferred to the new booking apparently, as they are booked on "separate systems".  They are simply cancelled and I get a refund from Cunard, and I rebook the same excursions.  I this day and age I'd have thought there was a simpler solution...

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Cunard's latest US promotion seems similar to what I booked in September for June: 

 

  • Free double category upgrade (e.g., Balcony for price of an inside)
  • 50% reduced deposit
  • Paid gratuities (for past guests)
  • Grills: Free drinks & paid gratuities

I should check my pricing with my travel agent.

 

 

 

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Which cruise?  We booked back in 2017 for May cruise on QE 27 nts and the price, right after we booked, was higher than we paid and has stayed the same since.  I check it almost daily waiting to see if it changes and when.  Maybe after final payments are made.

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8 hours ago, alibabacruisers said:

Which cruise?  We booked back in 2017 for May cruise on QE 27 nts and the price, right after we booked, was higher than we paid and has stayed the same since.  I check it almost daily waiting to see if it changes and when.  Maybe after final payments are made.

We’re on the 17 night Tokyo to Vancouver. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Same here, we booked the 31st May 2019 Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver on Queen Elizabeth about 6 months ago, cancelled and re booked today after i noticed the price drop and got on the phone!!! Lost my deposit and No OBC with the new booking, also had to pay in full and NO refunds, but still over $1000 better off.

 

Had a similar experience with flights as well, booked Air Canada from Sydney to Calgary/Banff as we are on the Rocky Mountaineer prior to the Cruise, 3 weeks after i booked on what i was told were very good rates they were cheaper, to late, as had to book and pay the full fare when booking, not a big issue really but from talking with Travel Agent today, the advise was whenever you can dont book so far out,  stay flexible and book cruises and flights within 6 months of departure. 

 

Only plus from all this, aside from saving $1000, was that the sailing on 21st May we originally wanted but the state room was not available has stayed unchanged in fares, must be more heavily booked? Strangely when we chose the 31st May instead, the room category we wanted on the 21st became available the following day!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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I made my QE booking for Christmas/New year for 2019/20 and I made my original booking in March 2018.  I checked again in November and the price had dropped and I contacted my TA and I saved just over $3500 on my cruise.  Mind you I did loose my $250 OBC.  Gee I think the saving more than covers that..LOL.

 

cheryl

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We are on the QE, but in June. It looks like it might have dropped a little, but I also noticed that our cabin number has changed from a BC to a BB. The BC was a hump balcony and the BB is right across from the laundry room. I'm assuming that the laundry room is only open during civilized hours, so noise shouldn't be an issue. Am I wrong in my assumption? Our old cabin is still showing as available. Hotel prices in Vancouver seem to be going up though, so you might want to book now, especially if you can cancel with no charge.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Appears there have been some sizeable reductions to the cruise prices today on the UK site.

Anyone in the uk had experience of cancelling and rebooking at the new price?

i guess we would lose deposit and obc but at the moment the prices are showing as £671 less each (like for like) for a cruise booked for October 2019 so we would be better off.

 

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Well as long as these price drops are not going to affect standards or service then its good news, otherwise I would rather be paying a bit more.

 

My guess is that bookings are slow, was also a bit strange that from talking to the Travel Agent, they seem to have 2 prices, one the much reduced fare that needs to be paid in full and non refundable and then a fare with OBC and deposit, that however is much more expensive, maybe this is just for the Cunard Australia website and bookings from this side of the world are slow???, the UK, USA and Canada maybe different.

Edited by Hammer61
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"they seem to have 2 prices, one the much reduced fare that needs to be paid in full and non refundable and then a fare with OBC and deposit, that however is much more expensive, maybe this is just for the Cunard Australia website and bookings from this side of the world are slow???, the UK, USA and Canada maybe different."

 

In the UK, we have three types of fare:

Cunard Fare - the most expensive but with either OBC, free parking or free coach and your choice of cabin. A non-refundable deposit, but booking can be exchanged for another at a cost of £50pp (I stand to be corrected).

Early Saver - cheaper fare but with none of the incentives and no choice of cabin. A non-refundable deposit.

(late) Saver Fare - cheaper late fare and full (non-refundable) fare to be paid at time of booking. (These fares seem to appear less and less these days).

 

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10 hours ago, Ray66 said:

Cunard Fare - the most expensive but with either OBC, free parking or free coach and your choice of cabin. A non-refundable deposit, but booking can be exchanged for another at a cost of £50pp (I stand to be corrected).

Early Saver - cheaper fare but with none of the incentives and no choice of cabin. A non-refundable deposit.

(late) Saver Fare - cheaper late fare and full (non-refundable) fare to be paid at time of booking. (These fares seem to appear less and less these days).

 

Both the Cunard Fare and Early Saver can be transferred at a cost of £100 per booking.

 

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/before-you-sail/transfer

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18 hours ago, Hammer61 said:

My guess is that bookings are slow, was also a bit strange that from talking to the Travel Agent, they seem to have 2 prices, one the much reduced fare that needs to be paid in full and non refundable and then a fare with OBC and deposit, that however is much more expensive, maybe this is just for the Cunard Australia website and bookings from this side of the world are slow???, the UK, USA and Canada maybe different.

As a point of reference, I checked my USA website, and I do not see any major price difference in our trip fare from when we booked our trip back in September. 

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