Who Will Book For 2022

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, Bazrat said:

Not really comparing like with like plus the prices on saga are truly painfull

 

1 hour ago, Glenndale said:

Prices on Saga include drinks, 24 hr. room service, speciality restaurants, gratuities, some excursions, insurance and transport to and from the ship, so not comparing like for like.

 

 

 

I think I  agree with both of you, if you add a drinks package,  and a few nights per week speciality restaurants,  transport etc  to P&O then for a similar sized cabin Saga is still  significantly more expensive,  but maybe not painfully so. What you are paying for is the public space per passenger, 50% more deck space per head, and much more internal space per head. Whether it is worth it i will have to wait for 18 months to find out

[jeanlyon]

My cruise in april for 19 nights on P&O to the Med is £1450 pp.  there is no way all that extra stuff on Saga would compensate for double the price.  I also have no interest in being driven all the way from Devon to Southampton.  Much prefer to drive myself.

Edited October 9, 2020 by jeanlyon

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

My cruise in april for 19 nights on P&O to the Med is £1450 pp.  there is no way all that extra stuff on Saga would compensate for double the price.  I also have no interest in being driven all the way from Devon to Southampton.  Much prefer to drive 

Jean, currently there is no way that you will get 19 days in a balcony cabin on P&O for £1450 pp.

Since the pandemic, previous prices have gone out of the window.

So, as an example, our 16 day cruise to the Canaries in March 2022, balcony cabin on Arcadia,  is currently priced at £5000 or so. Our Saga 16 day cruise to the Baltic  in September 2022 is priced at £6000.  With Saga we are driven to and from the ship, with no need of an overnight stay. Saves us £250. We don't need to buy drinks. Saves us £800. We don't need to pay for speciality dining. Saves us £100. We have a bigger cabin on a smaller ship - can't put a price on that.

So, Saga works out cheaper and a more intimate environment- priceless.  

Which is why P&O have an issue with their pricing architecture. 

 

[Glenndale]

12 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

My cruise in april for 19 nights on P&O to the Med is £1450 pp.  there is no way all that extra stuff on Saga would compensate for double the price.  I also have no interest in being driven all the way from Devon to Southampton.  Much prefer to drive myself.

The price for our 17 night Sardinia, Corsica cruise on Spirit of Discovery was around £3200. We pre-registered to get the maximum discount. 

Our 29 night cruise for next September 🤞🏻cost us £5600, again with maximum discount.

Since Artemis and Adonia left P&O we have discounted them as a cruise line.

However, lots of cruisers love the big ships which is great, there is so much choice for us cruisers.

It is about choosing what is right for you, it’s your holiday and money after all.

🙂

Prices pp.

Edited October 10, 2020 by Glenndale

[wowzz]

34 minutes ago, Glenndale said:

The price for our 17 night Sardinia, Corsica cruise on Spirit of Discovery was around £3200. We pre-registered to get the maximum discount. 

Our 29 night cruise for next September 🤞🏻cost us £5600, again with maximum discount.

Since Artemis and Adonia left P&O we have discounted them as a cruise line.

However, lots of cruisers love the big ships which is great, there is so much choice for us cruisers.

It is about choosing what is right for you, it’s your holiday and money after all.

🙂

Prices pp.

The prices you quote come out at just under £200 pp pn, which I reckon is pretty good value for an all inclusive cruise on a small ship.

[Bazrat]

Probably just us we don’t mind the drive down from the Midlands, bit of shopping in Southampton overnight stay than on the ship, as for the price i still would not pay the extra for saga but that’s us.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Bazrat said:

Probably just us we don’t mind the drive down from the Midlands, bit of shopping in Southampton overnight stay than on the ship, as for the price i still would not pay the extra for saga but that’s us.

Some Saga cruises are now cheaper than P&O, once you take the extras into consideration  - will you still choose P&O over Saga?

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, Glenndale said:

The price for our 17 night Sardinia, Corsica cruise on Spirit of Discovery was around £3200. We pre-registered to get the maximum discount. 

 

 

 

Glendale , I know this is wrong forum , but what did you think of Spirit of discovery,  especially food and what was the all inclusive wine like thanks 

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Glendale , I know this is wrong forum , but what did you think of Spirit of discovery,  especially food and what was the all inclusive wine like thanks 

You might also ask on the Saga forum.  

[Windsurfboy]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Some Saga cruises are now cheaper than P&O, once you take the extras into consideration  - will you still choose P&O over Saga?

I think P&O is only dearer for 2021 because it's nearly fully booked The initial offerings for 22 could be less , depends how much 125% FCC P&O know is waiting to be used for 2022,  if it's significant expect higher prices.

[wowzz]

Just now, Windsurfboy said:

I think P&O is only dearer for 2021 because it's nearly fully booked The initial offerings for 22 could be less , depends how much 125% FCC P&O know is waiting to be used for 2022,  if it's significant expect higher prices.

Our 2022 16 day Canary cruise on Arcadia now costs £5000 or so for a balcony cabin. Our  16 day cruise to the Baltics with Saga costs £6000. Taking drinks,  travel costs etc into consideration, I reckon the there is little to choose between the two in terms of final overall price.  

[Presto2]

Is there any gossip re what the plans for 2022 look like for the cruises? Can see us using our FCC as a deposit on something as late in the year as possible

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Glendale , I know this is wrong forum , but what did you think of Spirit of discovery,  especially food and what was the all inclusive wine like thanks 

Pictures on other social media sites, show Banrock Station being poured as a house wine. This sells at around £7 a bottle in JS, and is perfectly quaffable  (I'm a social drinker and not a wine critic!).

I'd say it is on a par with P&O house wine.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I think P&O is only dearer for 2021 because it's nearly fully booked The initial offerings for 22 could be less , depends how much 125% FCC P&O know is waiting to be used for 2022,  if it's significant expect higher prices.

I agree, and wowzz's Saga price has the maximum discount as well. So we will see how that compares with a similar launch price for 2022 in November.

[wowzz]

26 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I agree, and wowzz's Saga price has the maximum discount as well. So we will see how that compares with a similar launch price for 2022 in November.

The 2022 pricing will be interesting when it comes out.  As I posted previously,  P&O have to be careful. If the prices are too attractive, many people will be tempted to switch their expensive 2021 cruises to cheaper 2022 cruises. 

Or, do we suspect that P&O will stop their current policy of being able to switch cruises f.o.c. by then? 

[Windsurfboy]

My suspicion is enough FCC knocking around that no bargins for 2022 , 2023 may be different,  less FCC in the system and economies in worse state.

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

My suspicion is enough FCC knocking around that no bargins for 2022 , 2023 may be different,  less FCC in the system and economies in worse state.

I suspect you might be right. Certainly, if I had the unenviable job of determining 2022 pricing policy, I would be minded to keep prices in line with current 2021 prices, albeit perhaps with some decent obc. If bookings look weak after 3 months, prices and obc could be tweaked as required.

[Bazrat]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

Some Saga cruises are now cheaper than P&O, once you take the extras into consideration  - will you still choose P&O over Saga?

Hi we don’t do brand loyalty hence why we did a marella cruise our next one is princess than p&o, itinerary is everything and cost

[wowzz]

Just now, Bazrat said:

Hi we don’t do brand loyalty hence why we did a marella cruise our next one is princess than p&o, itinerary is everything and cost

That is our approach as well.

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

The 2022 pricing will be interesting when it comes out.  As I posted previously,  P&O have to be careful. If the prices are too attractive, many people will be tempted to switch their expensive 2021 cruises to cheaper 2022 cruises. 

Or, do we suspect that P&O will stop their current policy of being able to switch cruises f.o.c. by then? 

Think it might be in P&Os interest if some people switch their 2021 cruises to 2022 if P&O allow them to get levels of highly booked 2021 lower so they are at a level to get permission to operate with less capacity.

[Windsurfboy]

Going back to saga, I like their promise if they drop prices , they will give you difference. Suppose it strengthens early prices are best.

 

I think to much of a gamble to book for 2021, by the time you get bumped then waiting for 2023 cruises

[zap99]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Our 2022 16 day Canary cruise on Arcadia now costs £5000 or so for a balcony cabin. Our  16 day cruise to the Baltics with Saga costs £6000. Taking drinks,  travel costs etc into consideration, I reckon the there is little to choose between the two in terms of final overall price.  

Is that each?.Currently a deluxe balcony on P&O Arcadia is showing as £4400 for the cabin. 2 people. Saga is £5900 for 2 in a standard cabin. Both Canaries. I guess booking at the right time changes things.

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Is that each?.Currently a deluxe balcony on P&O Arcadia is showing as £4400 for the cabin. 2 people. Saga is £5900 for 2 in a standard cabin. Both Canaries. I guess booking at the right time changes things.

When I checked yesterday the select price for a balcony cabin in a slightly worse position than ours, for our March 22, was just over £5000 for the two of us. Interestingly, there was no obc on offer, even at that price, compared to the £370 we got in July. 

I probably wouldn't book Saga with £1500 price differential.  Once the difference is less than £1000, the extras provided by Saga tend to compensate for the price difference.

Edited October 10, 2020 by wowzz

[Britboys]

On 10/9/2020 at 4:24 PM, jeanlyon said:

Hmmm, just had a look at Saga for next year.  They are mostly 5, 7 or 9 nights.  Huge prices and not going anywhere I would want to go.

You and I are in similar circumstances Jean, particularly in respect of choosing to cruise in inside cabins. That makes Saga a very expensive proposition. I do however agree with Wowzz that if you normally have a balcony and enjoy a few tipples across the day, then Saga start to look reasonable value for a higher quality product.

I'd love to try the new Saga (my one cruise on Saga Ruby was fabulous) but a 14 night cruise with them would probably be at least double what I pay for a 19 night one with P&O on Aurora or Arcadia. 

[Britboys]

On 10/9/2020 at 6:40 PM, zap99 said:

When we rebooked our 2020 Iona cruise to same time 2021 we paid about £100 more, that was in June. Just had another look and it's about the same as we paid,  but no mention of Gary.🤔

Iona will be priced more keenly than the other ships - she has up to (probably - and in normal circumstances) 6000 berths to fill every week in the Summer and she is the new ship which they want to be very successful...