Loyalty obviously means nothing to P&O

[pacificlover]

I have been checking out a Coastal cruise on P&O Pacific Adventure for August this year.  As a past passenger of more than 30 plus cruises with P&O alone (more than 50 cruises in my lifetime) I was disappointed to find that P&O will not allow a solo passenger to take an inside cabin. In fact only cabins on offer are top of the line Suites.  If I wanted to take an island cruise they are happy to take my money.  Not Happy Jan!!!

 

[Muffinz]

Perhaps all the inside cabins are already sold out?

you could phone P&O to check

[pacificlover]

No they are available if 2 passengers

[ozdevil]

16 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

No they are available if 2 passengers

I would be ringing P&O     as the cabins dont appeared to sold  for an interior cabin , like what you said 
the 25th of August cruise  to barrier reef  cruise you can't select a interior  for individual

it appears on most cruises they want balcony or better for single person.

on the cruise i am going on  it shows for singles  sold out  but if you are a 2  person    you can aquire a interior cabin

 

 

[rkmw]

47 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

No they are available if 2 passengers

I saw a Princess cruise this coming December from Sydney and any solos can’t book an inside cabin , you can book for 2 and maybe the 2nd person can be a no show and get your fees and taxes but no use ringing p&o or Princess because it gets you no where, they want to fill up the ship with 2 or more people per cabin 

 

just had a look at the cruise again and solos can’t get an oceanview or a balcony but if they wish to pay $4000 for an 11 night cruise to the South Pacific they can get a mini suite 

Edited February 19 by rkmw

[Ondine]

I was told years ago by P&O to book a double and have the other person a no show.  If it is a coastal then you wouldn't need many particulars for that person so no passport details etc.  Use a friend or family details.  There is usually no difference in pricing.

 A year ago one of my grandchildren was a no show on our NY cruise and much to my surprise a few months later  I received the port fees (more than $400) in my bank account.

[pacificlover]

Thanks for reminding me of this loophole, and if I was really desperate for that particular cruise I would consider doing the dummy second person.  My point of this post is, you have to "work the system" to be able to book solo.  I think that having to lie about my circumstances is just so sad.  I may just make do with my 3 cruises already booked for this year and save my money for another cruise line in the future.

[rkmw]

9 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

Thanks for reminding me of this loophole, and if I was really desperate for that particular cruise I would consider doing the dummy second person.  My point of this post is, you have to "work the system" to be able to book solo.  I think that having to lie about my circumstances is just so sad.  I may just make do with my 3 cruises already booked for this year and save my money for another cruise line in the future.

This is the first time I’ve seen this with Princess not allowing solos to book a cruise unless they want to cruise in a mini suite 

 

RCL have solo cabins but their not cheap,and not many of them available unless you book very early 

[boeckli]

1 hour ago, rkmw said:

This is the first time I’ve seen this with Princess not allowing solos to book a cruise unless they want to cruise in a mini suite 

 

RCL have solo cabins but their not cheap,and not many of them available unless you book very early 

 

For Princess, get yourself a  CVP and they'll be able to book for instance a deluxe balcony as a solo (when online you can only book or check availability for THREE pax). 

 

ETA: On Princess,  you can online book a balcony  or a minisuite as a solo no problem  but not a deluxe  balcony, for that you  need a  CVP or probably call princess .

 

Edited February 19 by boeckli

[robncruise]

I have a solo balcony on a Princess  cruise booked for Dec. and now solos can only book interior or minisuite,  So it varies. Their algorithms must allow for only a certain no of solos in each category just as they monitor the no of children in each age group on board.  I guess at the end of the day the ship could not sail with a single in every cabin. Onboard revenue would plummet.

[boeckli]

3 hours ago, robncruise said:

I have a solo balcony on a Princess  cruise booked for Dec. and now solos can only book interior or minisuite,  So it varies. Their algorithms must allow for only a certain no of solos in each category just as they monitor the no of children in each age group on board.  I guess at the end of the day the ship could not sail with a single in every cabin. Onboard revenue would plummet.

 

You can still easily book a balcony as a solo. If you want a deluxe balcony (which have a sofa on Majestic & Royal), you just need to book through a CVP. 

Not sure about oceanview, as I've only looked at those two ships (and Discovery)  which don't have oceanview.

[arxcards]

It is a weird thing they do and really hard to explain. P&O has no loyalty program, but they have plenty of loyal passengers because they are reliable and predicable.

 

Shortsighted, yes, but nothing to do with a lack of loyalty. The same dumb rules apply whether you are booking your 1st or 100th cruise with them. In the same sort of predicament, they now want to charge me $10 for eggs benny at breakfast, despite the number of cruises I have done with them. It is my choice whether to remain loyal with them, and we have decided to abandon ship on P&O.

[MicCanberra]

The only thing that P&O has for loyalty  is getting you some status on Princess.

[ceeceeDee]

9 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

The only thing that P&O has for loyalty  is getting you some status on Princess.

Yes, I only found that out when I signed up for Princess promotional emails a while back. P&O certainly don't share that information so I was a bit gobsmacked when I logged into my Princess account and saw all my previous P&O cruises listed.

[Bubbeh]

21 hours ago, rkmw said:

just had a look at the cruise again and solos can’t get an oceanview or a balcony but if they wish to pay $4000 for an 11 night cruise to the South Pacific they can get a mini suite 

That works out about $365 per night, a lot less than many hotel rooms and includes all your meals, entertainment etc.  I'd be grabbing it with both hands.  Compared to a Coral Coast Cruise we're doing in September on Princess, where we're paying around $3200 each for 10 days in an ordinary balcony cabin, I think it's a good deal.  Mind you, I don't know your personal circumstances and I acknowledge that.  As suggested by others, you can always manipulate the system.

[robncruise]

20 hours ago, boeckli said:

 

You can still easily book a balcony as a solo. If you want a deluxe balcony (which have a sofa on Majestic & Royal), you just need to book through a CVP. 

Not sure about oceanview, as I've only looked at those two ships (and Discovery)  which don't have oceanview.

I was/am referring to a specific cruise I booked last May - Crown Princess 3rd Dec 24. I was able to book a solo cabin in all categories  ( and booked a balcony cabin) but now interior, and balcony are not available to book solo but are still available for 2 guests per cabin. Which implies Princess have filled a quota for solos in some cabin categories.

[rkmw]

37 minutes ago, robncruise said:

I was/am referring to a specific cruise I booked last May - Crown Princess 3rd Dec 24. I was able to book a solo cabin in all categories  ( and booked a balcony cabin) but now interior, and balcony are not available to book solo but are still available for 2 guests per cabin. Which implies Princess have filled a quota for solos in some cabin categories.

That’s the cruise I was talking about, earlier you could book all categories as a solo and not now and I don’t want to spend $4000 on a mini  suite 

[arxcards]

On 2/19/2024 at 12:55 PM, pacificlover said:

I have been checking out a Coastal cruise on P&O Pacific Adventure for August this year.  As a past passenger of more than 30 plus cruises with P&O alone (more than 50 cruises in my lifetime) I was disappointed to find that P&O will not allow a solo passenger to take an inside cabin. In fact only cabins on offer are top of the line Suites.  If I wanted to take an island cruise they are happy to take my money.  Not Happy Jan!!!

 

As mentioned through the topic, they have a quota of solos in each cabin type, and once they have sold, they will not offer more.

 

If you are set on the cruise, don't give up on it. Revisit it in June, and if there are available insides, they will be eager to fill with anyone, including exceeding their solo quota. If you have a good T/A, you can also get them to go into bat for you.

[pacificlover]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.  I will certainly look again later in the year but really it is not so much of a disappointment missing the cruise but the frustration not being able to have the choice when I want it.  I have cruised all over the world in my lifetime and it is just now that I've become more restricted in my choices because of age and mobility.  I certainly could never afford suites or balcony cruising if I wanted to keep cruising every four months or so.  Cheap and cheerful is sufficient for me to allow me to keep my life interesting meeting people on board.  Thanks again for your interest.