GETAWAY FARES WHAT A JOKE??????

What is a Getaway Fare – A fare where it seems you can change the rules of the game whenever it suits leaving the customer confused, annoyed and disappointed.

Cunard describe the new set of rules as ‘Enhanced’ but I ask you are the New Enhanced August Getaway Fares which now offer On Board Credit on selected sailings ‘Enhanced’ or just mis-leading.

Wasn’t one of the benefits of booking early on a more expensive ‘Vantage’ fare with Cunard that a customer could choose to receive ‘On Board Credit’ and wasn’t it highlighted in every campaign that if you booked a ‘Getaway fare’  you couldn’t.

Customers are already disgruntled that after having booked a Vantage fare which enables them to choose extra benefits like On Board Credit, Free Parking or Free Coach Transfers ,that they can see their cruise has drastically reduced in price on a Getaway. Isn’t now offering On Board Credit onto a Getaway adding salt into the already flamed wounds.

The Price Promise promises that if the Vantage Fare comes down in price then the customer will receive the difference in On Board Credit, it would be interesting to know how often this happens.

After receiving many calls from customers I feel P&O and Cunard need to come up with another campaign which is fair and is willing to look after customers who book early and not just last minute.

Your thoughts please would be appreciated.

Holly

 

 

 

9 Comments on “GETAWAY FARES WHAT A JOKE??????

  1. I’m in a dispute with Carnival at the moment. Basically I have paid over £2000 for a £172 coach journey by booking a cruise with P&O 10 months early using a brochure that did not advertise Vantage/Getaway Fares or the absurd ‘Price Promise’. My case has gone to Trading Standards and they may decide to take it any further but at least I go on a datd base with other misguided customers. Still waiting for a reply to my letter of complaint to Carnival’s UK registered office.

  2. What is an “Enhanced August Getaway Fare” please? I can’t find any reference to such a fare on the Cunard website – or on any of the agents’ sites for that matter!

  3. We want to book a cruise for November. We’d would prefer to book a P&O but while the Getaway fare is competitive,the Vantage fare is too expensive compared with similar cruises with other lines. Why would I pay the whole fare in advance to P&O when for e.g. Celebrity I just pay a deposit and can select my cabin? P&O have shot themselves in the foot with Getaway/Vantage fares

  4. Vantage fares stink. We were caught out this year. After paying our final payment in March they suddenly brought out Gettaway fares, this was after being told that these fares would only be offered 2 weeks prior to a ship sailing. As a P&O Caribbean member I contacted P&O stating my disgust but received the usual standard reply. So much for looking after their long standing passengers. I will never pay full fare again should I continue with them and told them this.

  5. We always book early to ensure we get the cabin we want so end up with vantage fare prices. Whilst I understand the reasons for getaway fares I do feel that they should only include the cost of the cruise with no add ons or upgrades. Due to the price promise,on our next cruise (Azura in Sept) we have OBC of over £1100 which should ensure we have a great time but I would have been a lot happier if the price drop had been taken off our final balance for the cruise and only giving the refund in OBC if the final payment had been already paid. Hope this makes sense to you. Regards Richard

  6. I realise I am going to sound like a very sad individual but since March this year I have kept an almost daily record of changing Vantage and Getaway prices for balcony cabins on P&O cruises of 4 or more nights sailing any time from the beginning of April to the end of September 2013. This is a total of 98 cruises. I have kept a spreadsheet of the changes in prices and thought some other sad individuals may be interested in my findings:

    1) Vantage Fares
    a) There are only 4 cruises where the Vantage fare has dipped (at any time) below the Vantage fare stated at the start of my records (24th March 2013). Of these, 3 were Fjords cruises and the Vantage fare only dropped by £50. One of these has since returned to its original price. The fourth was a Caribbean cruise on Arcadia in April and the Vantage fare dropped by £500. In the 2 cruises which have already sailed (the Caribbean mentioned above and an Arcadia fjords cruise on 10th May) the fare bounced up and down between the lower and higher rates several times, but ended at the lower immediately before sailing. The remaining 2 (D310 and E318) have bounced less and only D310 is currently showing the lower rate.

    b) There are 83 cruises where the latest Vantage fare offered is now (or was on departure) the same as it was in March this year, although in 16 of these cases the fare has increased at some point and then fallen back to the same fare.

    c) There are 12 cruises where the Vantage fare is now, or was on departure, higher than the Vantage fare in March.

    2) Getaway Fares
    Although I am still maintaining my spreadsheet, it is impossible to predict how low Getaway fares will fall on future sailings, so I have prepared the following using information only in respect of cruises which have already departed as at 27th July 2013.
    a) The smallest Getaway reduction initially offered was only 8.14% on an Azura cruise to the Canaries in May, however, this reduction was subsequently improved to 51.64%.

    b) The smallest final Getaway reduction was 21.42% on cruise X309, Oriana to the Central Mediterranean in May. The Vantage fare was £3,689 (which never changed) and the only Getaway fare offered was £2,899.

    c) The best Getaway reduction was a massive 72.26% on an Adonia round Britain cruise in May. The Vantage fare was £2,069 or £2,159 (depending on date booked) and the Getaway fare reached a low of only £599!!

    d) The average best Getaway deal over the 64 cruises since April is a 49.5% reduction against the highest Vantage fare for the same cruise.

    e) The average best Getaway fare reduction against the Vantage fare by ship was as follows:
    Average Ship
    Reduction
    35.70% Oceana
    48.21% Azura
    48.83% Oriana
    49.24% Aurora
    50.40% Ventura
    56.38% Arcadia
    61.00% Adonia
    Does this list show which ships are the slowest selling and therefore ranks the ships in order of popularity, i.e. most popular Oceana, least popular Adonia?

    f) The average best Getaway fare reduction against the Vantage fare by destination was as follows:
    Average Destination
    Reduction
    37.68% Central Mediterranean
    41.50% Short cruise break
    45.29% Canaries
    45.90% Western Mediterranean
    49.85% Iberia
    49.93% Fjords
    55.95% Caribbean
    59.44% Baltic
    60.61% Iceland
    63.38% North Cape
    72.26% Round Britain
    Does this list show which destinations are the slowest selling and therefore ranks destinations in order of popularity i.e. most popular Central Mediterranean, least popular Round Britain?

    3) General
    a) Both Vantage and Getaway fares can and often do change on a daily or weekly basis. If you are thinking of booking a cruise and have a few in mind it is worth checking their fares regularly to make sure you get the best price.

    b) Don’t assume that when a Getaway fare is offered this is the lowest it will ever be. The Getaway fare may fall lower over time.

    c) Beware, Getaway fares may rise as well as fall. Although Getaway fares often fall further as the date of departure approaches, this is by no means true in every case. For instance, cruise A314N which sailed on 17th June, initially had a Vantage fare of £1,509, which later rose to £1,819, then fell to £1,619. The first Getaway fare offered for this cruise was £899. This dropped to £749 then £699, before rising to £999, falling back to £699, then rising steadily to £749, £899, £999, £1049, £1,199, £1,249 and finally £1,299 on 30th May, just over 2 weeks before departure! The cheapest Getaway fare of £699 was available on 26th and 28th April, rising for one day only to £999 on 27th April!

    d) The best advice I can give you when wanting to pay a Getaway fare is to pick a few cruises you are interested in, and decide the maximum price you would be willing to pay for each. Check the fares regularly and, if one of your options reaches your target price consider booking it at that point then don’t check the prices again.

    If anyone is still awake after reading this, I hope you have found it useful.

  7. For a world cruise segment on Getaway, P&O require the full payment upfront. This for a cruise in 8 month’s time. The maximum they want as a deposit on a full world cruise is £750, so the full £2100 each from me is ridiculous.
    Just wait until the P&O policy of no free shuttles for Getaway passengers becomes general practice. Riots on the Quay?
    Lee Joy

  8. I booked two balcony cabins on QM2 for the June North Cape cruise using the Getaway fare offer, booking through Iglu.com. Prior to booking I asked if the balconies were obstruction free as we wanted a clear view of the spectacular fjords and was assured they were and said they even checked with Cunard. Alas, we had superb views of the side of lifeboats. Great ship and cruise, pity about the agent’s inability to understand a simple enough question!

  9. I booked two balcony cabins on QM2 for the Booking ‘Getaway’ beware.I booked two balcony cabins on QM2 for the June North Cape cruise using the Getaway fare offer, booking through Iglu.com. Prior to booking I asked if the balconies on offer were obstruction free as we wanted a clear view of the spectacular fjords and was assured they were and said this had been checked with Cunard. Alas, we had superb views of the side of lifeboats. Great ship and cruise, pity about the lifeboats!!

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