Price Reductions

[davecttr]

I just checked and a deluxe balcony on that Arcadia cruise is £8298 for double occupancy early saver. Select costs £9958. There are no standard balcony cabins available.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, davecttr said:

There are no standard balcony cabins available.

There are no standard balcony cabins on Arcadia. 

My apologies if that is what you meant.

[davecttr]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

There are no standard balcony cabins on Arcadia. 

My apologies if that is what you meant.

I just presumed there was no availability, they are all classed as deluxe, maybe a bit like Bolette and Borealis where the balcony cabins are all suites. Are they deluxe in size and amenities?

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, davecttr said:

I just presumed there was no availability, they are all classed as deluxe, maybe a bit like Bolette and Borealis where the balcony cabins are all suites. Are they deluxe in size and amenities?

I suppose it depends how you describe deluxe !

But they all have a sofa, and are bigger than standard balcony cabins on other P&O ships. And the majority have baths with shower over, rather than tiny cubicles with shower curtains.

[Yorkypete]

38 minutes ago, Pippa04 said:

Valid point.  A lot of cruise lines may be regretting the change to ever larger ships but it's difficult to see how giving unrequested refunds on those ships will help profitability.

I think it is a big mistake producing bigger and bigger ships. Surely they can see this from the problems Iona has. There are a number of ports/areas which cannot accommodate the ships of this size. I believe, and it is only a personal opinion, that the ships should be no bigger than the Britannia.

 

[davecttr]

9 hours ago, Pippa04 said:

Valid point.  A lot of cruise lines may be regretting the change to ever larger ships but it's difficult to see how giving unrequested refunds on those ships will help profitability.

Maybe the Arvia reduction are a one off exercise. The cruise, K308, is late April just after Easter so the kids are back at school and April may not be a month for guaranteed good weather. I also have an Iona cruise booked for January but no price reduction on that one although I do have £200 OBC contrasting with £60 for the Arvia cruise.

[Pippa04]

12 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Maybe the Arvia reduction are a one off exercise. The cruise, K308, is late April just after Easter so the kids are back at school and April may not be a month for guaranteed good weather. I also have an Iona cruise booked for January but no price reduction on that one although I do have £200 OBC contrasting with £60 for the Arvia cruise.

Possibly although it still doesn't explain giving a refund when they've already lured you in, and a cash one at that.  A thought that had occurred to me was are a lot of people cancelling and rebooking when the price drops due to the low 5% deposit although I can't imagine that causes too many administrative problems.

I'd certainly love to be a fly on the wall at strategy meetings because it all seems to have gone a bit haywire!

[davecttr]

This quote from the email might make things clearer, my emphasis

 

...........we hope you’re looking forward to your holiday on our brand-new Excel class ship Arvia. And as you’ll be setting sail on the ship designed to let the sunshine in, we’ve got something to make your days even brighter… a price reduction on your holiday.

 

Thry are expecting rubbish weather, maybe the met office has secretly bought a quantum computer, DEVS 😉

[Son of Anarchy]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

I suppose it depends how you describe deluxe !

But they all have a sofa, and are bigger than standard balcony cabins on other P&O ships. And the majority have baths with shower over, rather than tiny cubicles with shower curtains.

And you get a pair of threadbare dressing gowns, a dog eared atlas and a pair of binoculars out of a 70s Cornflake box.

[wowzz]

21 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

And you get a pair of threadbare dressing gowns, a dog eared atlas and a pair of binoculars out of a 70s Cornflake box.

How could I forget !

To be fair, the binoculars weren't too bad, but I really don't understand the need for a 20 year old atlas.

[Denarius]

11 hours ago, davecttr said:

I just checked and a deluxe balcony on that Arcadia cruise is £8298 for double occupancy early saver. Select costs £9958. There are no standard balcony cabins available.

Quite amazing. Hate to think what a single would cost. Makes the £5909 I paid for a single balcony cabin  on my forthcoming 17 night cruise on Spirit of Discovery (Saga) seem cheap by comparison.

[lincslady]

Hard to believe that P and O can be more expensive per day than Saga's new ships, all balcony and all inclusive, and IMO of a higher standard generally.

[davecttr]

Another possible reason for Arvia's price cut next April. She will be in the middle of crew rotation as described in the Ventura lack of staff topic. Several venues closed perhaps.

[molecrochip]

4 hours ago, davecttr said:

Another possible reason for Arvia's price cut next April. She will be in the middle of crew rotation as described in the Ventura lack of staff topic. Several venues closed perhaps.

That’s a misinterpretation of my post I’m afraid. Once a ship is fully staffed up, crew rotate in and off most weeks.

 

it’s been one of the difficulties of the restart, getting the crew all back into their staggered rotas.

[Harry Peterson]

10 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

And you get a pair of threadbare dressing gowns, a dog eared atlas and a pair of binoculars out of a 70s Cornflake box.

From which on the last occasion I picked up a very nasty eye infection by stupidly putting them to my eyes without first using an antibacterial wipe.  Quite difficult to get hold of the required medication in the Canaries without a prescription - though I'm sure the ship's clinic would have obliged at substantial cost.  I learned a lesson from that about using binoculars used by other unknown people.

[Harry Peterson]

8 hours ago, lincslady said:

Hard to believe that P and O can be more expensive per day than Saga's new ships, all balcony and all inclusive, and IMO of a higher standard generally.

Indeed - a very much higher standard.

[zap99]

3 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Indeed - a very much higher standard.

A very,very much higher standard. I just had a look. About double the price. Horses for courses.

[Fionboard]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:37 PM, wowzz said:

Sorry but that is sheer nincompoopery.  

There are fewer cabins available on the two adult ships,  the cabins sell out early, so P&O increase prices to reflect reduced availability. 

You are just starting a rumour with no factual evidence, just a lack of understanding of fluid pricing.

Rude

[Megabear2]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:37 PM, wowzz said:

Sorry but that is sheer nincompoopery.  

There are fewer cabins available on the two adult ships,  the cabins sell out early, so P&O increase prices to reflect reduced availability. 

You are just starting a rumour with no factual evidence, just a lack of understanding of fluid pricing.

The two smaller ships are also extremely popular with older retirees.  These people will not be so affected by income issues as many have private incomes and pensions.  Experience says they are generally happier on these ships.

[jeanlyon]

Well I am older, but not retired.  We are 75 and 83.  I just prefer the smaller ships for lots of reasons.  We did Azura once and just did not like her.  So I agree, we are still quids in from booking early, although this cruise next year (October 23) has been moved 3 times.

[paulatsea]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Well I am older, but not retired.  We are 75 and 83.  I just prefer the smaller ships for lots of reasons.  We did Azura once and just did not like her.  So I agree, we are still quids in from booking early, although this cruise next year (October 23) has been moved 3 times.

 

62 and 70 but we always liked the smaller/medium ships right from when we first started cruising - when we weren’t older !!

 

mainly because they were adults only but also we like the atmosphere better.

 

Tried Iona once but didn’t like it at all.

 

Next p&o booked is August 23 on Aurora - originally Christmas 2020 on Arcadia changed to Christmas 2021 due to covid and then cancelled by p&o so moved to Aurora Aug 23.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Well I am older, but not retired.  We are 75 and 83.  I just prefer the smaller ships for lots of reasons.  We did Azura once and just did not like her.  So I agree, we are still quids in from booking early, although this cruise next year (October 23) has been moved 3 times.

I wasn't looking at it from an age perspective per se rather the fact these retirees tend to have more disposable income than younger families and cost of booking may not therefore be such an issue.