Are P&O and Cunard playing late bookers at their own game?

A word of advice for all you ‘last minute Lucy’s’ out there who think you are doing the smart thing by waiting until the very last minute to bag a bargain, especially with Carnival brands such as P&O and Cunard. They have sussed you out and are playing you at your own game!

I am noticing more and more in recent weeks that Saver Fares are going up rather than down in the last few weeks. Early in May I had a client looking to book an obstructed Ocean View cabin on the Oriana sailing on 24th June. The price at the time was £799 per person and he was waiting for the price to drop to £699 before he booked. It didn’t drop, in fact he left it as long as he dared and ended up paying £899 per person, £200 per person more than he wanted to. The strange thing was that there were alot of cabins available on the sailing which makes you think that P&O would have dropped the price to try to fill them doesn’t it.

Today I took a call from a guy who had been keeping an eye on Aurora which sails to the North Cape on 1st July. He was waiting to book at the lowest price that he could and felt that the price of £519 per person , for an inside cabin, too much when he checked it 10 days ago. Today it had gone up to £799 per person! He had missed the boat so to speak.

I think Carnival Group have realised that even their most loyal of clients are being savvy and booking late these days to get the best possible price rather than booking early and paying top dollar. People are more relaxed about cabin location and are prepared to be flexible about dining times in order to bag a bargain. And of course, all these price reductions are having a significant impact on onboard experience too. Corners are being cut right, left and centre.

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out in the long term. Personally I think that these brands need to have a big rethink, after all they have plenty of competition in Southampton and if they don’t get their act together they are going to lose passengers.

In the mean time, my advice to you would be don’t leave it too late to book or you might end up paying much more than you want to, or end up not going at all!

For more info on cruise lines that sail out of Southampton please give me a call on 0800 408 6084 or email me at [email protected] and I will be delighted to help you.