wowzz Posted April 23, 2022 #1 Share Posted April 23, 2022 We are booked on SoD's Baltic cruise this September, and will be going despite SPB not being on the itinerary. We booked more or less at launch, and got the 35% discount on our fare. Out of interest, I looked at the cruise today, and there are 158 standard balcony cabins available, equating to 300 pax or so, or 30% of the capacity of the ship ! And yet, the discount on the full fare is only 5%. I appreciate that Saga need to keep a number of cabins empty for quarantine purposes, but it seems as if the pricing is being deliberately set high so as to dissuade people from booking. Surely Saga should be dropping prices so as to get occupancy rates up to 75% or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twotravellersLondon Posted April 24, 2022 #2 Share Posted April 24, 2022 8 hours ago, wowzz said: We are booked on SoD's Baltic cruise this September, and will be going despite SPB not being on the itinerary. We booked more or less at launch, and got the 35% discount on our fare. Out of interest, I looked at the cruise today, and there are 158 standard balcony cabins available, equating to 300 pax or so, or 30% of the capacity of the ship ! And yet, the discount on the full fare is only 5%. I appreciate that Saga need to keep a number of cabins empty for quarantine purposes, but it seems as if the pricing is being deliberately set high so as to dissuade people from booking. Surely Saga should be dropping prices so as to get occupancy rates up to 75% or so? SAGA have reported that they have recently been running at a 68% capacity. (far more than some other comparable lines) Traditionally SAGA's prices increase towards the sail date rather than decrease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ighten Posted April 24, 2022 #3 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Never seen a Saga cruise drop towards the cruise. To me it seems the best possible pricing policy rewarding rather than not becoming a lottery gamble. Just about to disembark ouf first Saga on SoA on what is probably the best cruise we have taken since we started; but looking for a quick fix in green next few weeks I thought I would check Fred's last minute deals. They have terraces coming up in the next few weeks where if I compare orig brochure price the saving is over 50% which seems a way of giving me no incentive to ever deposit with them in advance. I see your point re the Baltic one but I'm guessing they also limit the number of cabins at 35% regardless of the total percentage of pax sold and are just sticking with that system. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david05 Posted April 24, 2022 #4 Share Posted April 24, 2022 The only time prices tend to drop is when they introduce a guarantee fare, when you don't get to choose your cabin. So there is a real incentive to book early. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted April 24, 2022 Author #5 Share Posted April 24, 2022 49 minutes ago, captain_pugwash said: if you are not happy with the pricing don't book If you read my post, you will see that I booked months ago, and got 35% discount. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted April 24, 2022 #6 Share Posted April 24, 2022 This cheapest at the beginning almost always applies. However, we were once surprised when, on a cruise, a flyer came round offering a very cheap deal on another, departing a couple of months later. We did take it up, and were able to choose our cabin and pay for it . A man I spoke to while waiting to see the Cruise Sales person had booked and paid already, and was hoping they might help out with a reduction - but I am afraid they did not. He was sanguine about it. I am sure this was a most unusual happening, and it was a few years ago on Sapphire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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