Select price vs saver

[Vampiress88]

So both cruises I have actually been on, the ones I’ve booked and got cancelled and my upcoming one next year are all savers.

 

ive never found that the little extra with the select are on par with the difference in money. 

 

I also book direct- not quite sure why

 

anyway my question is which one do you book and why?

 

am I also correct in thinking that the onboard credit when they say they will give me £45 pp for example that this is only for the two adults in the room as we are a family of four. 

 

Some very good prices for p&o currently and it’s obviously wishful thinking with everything that could happen but it’s nice to dream and have a good nosy. 

[Harry Peterson]

Select for me, but only really to be certain of the cabin we're getting.  For us that's critical, and it's narrowed down to just a handful of cabins.

 

I'd never book direct now.  Find the right agent, has to be a cruise specialist, and you'll never go back to booking direct. Also,  there's a negotiable discount of around 5% to be had, and although the percentage is small, the cash saved isn't.  Not on a full cruise anyway. 

[Pine Man]

2 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Select for me, but only really to be certain of the cabin we're getting.  For us that's critical, and it's narrowed down to just a handful of cabins.

Same for me and in the past I haven't noticed much diffence in cost between ES and Select taking into account the financial benefits of Select.

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Pine Man

[ann141]

We nearly always book Select mainly to ensure we get freedom dining but I usually weigh up the price difference including extra OBC etc.You also sometimes have to pay a larger deposit if you book Saver and don t get the shuttle buses included.I think its only by booking Select that you can change to a different cruise in normal circumstances.If there was a last minute bargain and Saver was a lot cheaper I may book it but as we usually book cruises a long way in advance we nearly always book the Select Fare

[pete14]

We always book select to ensure we get the cabin we want. We also say we don’t want any upgrade because it may be into a cabin we don’t want. Choice of dining and cancellation policies are also important.

[fue-fue]

Given the choice we book select and book via a cruise agent for a little saving on price.  But will book saver if the price is right .

 

Last year we booked select as we booked back to back cruises and you don't get a discount on back to back saver fares.

 

Note that on some cruises there aren't any shuttle buses needed or they are free to all.

Never had any problems with cabins provided on saver fares

Edited May 27, 2020 by fue-fue

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Select for me, but only really to be certain of the cabin we're getting.  For us that's critical, and it's narrowed down to just a handful of cabins.

 

I'd never book direct now.  Find the right agent, has to be a cruise specialist, and you'll never go back to booking direct. Also,  there's a negotiable discount of around 5% to be had, and although the percentage is small, the cash saved isn't.  Not on a full cruise anyway. 

It has to be select for us because we need an accessible cabin and we know which ones we prefer.

[SeaJane]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

We always book select to ensure we get the cabin we want. We also say we don’t want any upgrade because it may be into a cabin we don’t want. Choice of dining and cancellation policies are also important.

We always book select for the same reasons and all our cruises have been booked direct with P&O.

[Josy1953]

We always book select and no upgrade because we know where on the ships we like to be and don't like to take a chance of getting a cabin in what we consider to be a poor position such as under the buffet or above the theatre.  We prefer aft with cabins above and below.

[Vampiress88]

So nearly everyone but me does select! But it seems that it’s due to what cabins we want. Interestingly I wonder if you guys are all liking the same cabins. 
 

I just basically go where the price is. 

[bee-ess]

In normal times, we would always book Select to choose cabin and dining with no upgrade and where possible on launch day for the best price. We have always used the same TA but am thinking of booking direct next time.

Edited May 27, 2020 by bee-ess

[Harry Peterson]

25 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

So nearly everyone but me does select! But it seems that it’s due to what cabins we want. Interestingly I wonder if you guys are all liking the same cabins. 
 

I just basically go where the price is. 

Very much price for me too, but only if it’s combined with getting the right cabin. If both factors aren’t there (and that’s likely only to be on the first day bookings open) we don’t book at all.

 

Cabin choice will vary according to personal choice, but once you’ve discovered the perfect spot you tend to want to keep going to the same area or even cabin.

[kenhem]

Always Select for us, the main reason being able to select freedom dining. We are just not interested in club dining anymore, we would never choose a cruise line that didn't offer freedom dining. We are not too fussed about the actual cabin number as long as it is a balcony and is in the general position we want. Having said that with Iona being only freedom dining that may open up the option of Saver fares.

 

Likewise we only book via the good TA we use for the extra discount we get, plus if you occasionally use other cruise lines you can usually get a better discount through being a regular booker with the TA.

[kalos]

50 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Interestingly I wonder if you guys are all liking the same cabins. 

 

In our case I would think not .It can be dependant on where the ships going and time of year and cost.

A cruise around the Med and we could book an Aft facing cabin .If we are doing an Atlantic cruise we then move 

to a mid ship balcony and if it's a mid winter cruise then we go mid ship but inside as we have no use for the balcony .

The thing all those choices have in common is we know which cabin numbers and deck levels we want to book.

[Dorset cruise fan]

We have booked all types of fare: select, early saver and saver.  It depends when we book and what's on offer but we've always been happy with our cabin when it's been allocated for us.  Occasionally a select fare will come with a lot of onboard credit which is equal to the difference in price and when we've booked on launch then it's select but sometimes we just can't resist a bargain.

[Vampiress88]

Anyone know if the on board credit you get is capped at two people in the room? 

[majortom10]

2 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Anyone know if the on board credit you get is capped at two people in the room? 

Yes

 

[happy v]

15 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

Anyone know if the on board credit you get is capped at two people in the room? 

Also, I'm not sure if you know this or not, booking select entitles you to free parking or transport.

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

So both cruises I have actually been on, the ones I’ve booked and got cancelled and my upcoming one next year are all savers.

 

ive never found that the little extra with the select are on par with the difference in money. 

 

I also book direct- not quite sure why

 

anyway my question is which one do you book and why?

 

am I also correct in thinking that the onboard credit when they say they will give me £45 pp for example that this is only for the two adults in the room as we are a family of four. 

 

Some very good prices for p&o currently and it’s obviously wishful thinking with everything that could happen but it’s nice to dream and have a good nosy. 

I always book a select fare.

We want to pick the cabin location either mid ships or aft facing cabins with cabins above and below us.

A balcony cabin is a must for the view,fresh air and to sit and eat our breakfast in a morning, afternoon drink and a hot chocolate before bedtime.

We always get a decent obc with the cabin on select.

Freedom dining and free shuttle is a select choice too.

 

[Vampiress88]

3 minutes ago, happy v said:

Also, I'm not sure if you know this or not, booking select entitles you to free parking or transport.

I’ve seen it’s a choice of three. Coach, car park and obc. 
I haven’t been on a coach to get to holiday since I went to Isle of Wight when I was 14 and I just couldn’t cope with it. We have to stop for me for toilets couldn’t do that on a coach it’s bad enough on a plane!

the car park we price was £95 one week and £170 for two. I always compare this to the extra price for select and it’s usually twice as much more. 

[jeanlyon]

We always book Select and on launch.  Want to choose my cabin and my dining.  Also, refuse any upgrade.  Also take the OBC.  It then goes to our Agent who gives us another discount.

 

As you use Parking4Cruises, it's much cheaper than the parking at CPS, so we take the OBC.

Edited May 27, 2020 by jeanlyon

[pete14]

Quite often, the OBC offered is more than the cost of parking. Always good to check the parking cost before deciding. 

[Vampiress88]

Just now, pete14 said:

Quite often, the OBC offered is more than the cost of parking. Always good to check the parking cost before deciding. 

You only get obc for two people tho in a four bed cabin? 

[Josy1953]

7 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

You only get obc for two people tho in a four bed cabin? 

Yes

[happy v]

We always travel on the coach and as we come from Newcastle it usually makes up the difference between saver and select.