P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

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Kendhni
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P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#1

Post by Kendhni »

It under the new rules the customer will only have two weeks to change their booking (as long as it is of the same or higher value). I assume after the two weeks normal cancellation/change rules will kick in.

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=7924

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Stephen
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#2

Post by Stephen »

I heard about this the other day on Facebook. No great loss

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towny44
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#3

Post by towny44 »

Maybe not a big loss Stephen, but another example of cruise lines nibbling away at some traditional perks, even it is only amounted to an extra £25 - £100 OBC.
Last edited by towny44 on 01 Jul 2017, 10:50, edited 1 time in total.
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CaroleF
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#4

Post by CaroleF »

We have always bought a FCD on our last few cruises. John and I were trying to work out in what way it was saving P&O money by discontinuing them. I can only think that it means they may have a longer gap without a firm booking being made therefore longer before a proper deposit is paid. I think it's a shame but will it make any difference to us, no.

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david63
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#5

Post by david63 »

I wonder, in the grand scheme of things, how may actually knew about it - let alone used it. It could be that it was costing more to administer it than the benefits that were gained.

Never used it myself so as far as I am concerned it will not be a problem.


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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#6

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david63 wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 11:29
I wonder, in the grand scheme of things, how may actually knew about it - let alone used it. It could be that it was costing more to administer it than the benefits that were gained.

Never used it myself so as far as I am concerned it will not be a problem.
I have heard from a TA that it was a pain to administer.

I look at it as just a marketing tool, like the discounts for booking early or the extra OBC if cabins are not shifting. Of course you only give extra OBC once you have raised the base price above the cost of the OBC.


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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#7

Post by zumbaqueen »

On our cruise in May they were offering a £50 deposit on a confirmed booking, I'm not sure whether this was on all cruises or just specific to certain cruises, you paid the balance on the due date. This option means an onboard cruise sale rather than a future cruise downpayment. You could still have the option of transferring it back to a travel agent.

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#8

Post by towny44 »

P&O's FCDs have always had tighter terms than many others, Princess last 4 yrs and the deposit is refundable, Celebrity's last indefinitely bu no refund.
The FCD info was input to the P&O computer and allocated to your Peninsular account and always popped up automatically when you booked a new cruise, so don't see why anyone thought it was a pain to administer.
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#9

Post by daib GC »

towny44 wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 15:50
P&O's FCDs have always had tighter terms than many others, Princess last 4 yrs and the deposit is refundable, Celebrity's last indefinitely bu no refund.
The FCD info was input to the P&O computer and allocated to your Peninsular account and always popped up automatically when you booked a new cruise, so don't see why anyone thought it was a pain to administer.
Because the default on the system is for all FCD's to go to the first cruise booked. Whereas the passenger may want them spread over 2/3 cruises, if they have a number of them.

It then becomes a manual task.

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#10

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daib GC wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 23:53
towny44 wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 15:50
P&O's FCDs have always had tighter terms than many others, Princess last 4 yrs and the deposit is refundable, Celebrity's last indefinitely bu no refund.
The FCD info was input to the P&O computer and allocated to your Peninsular account and always popped up automatically when you booked a new cruise, so don't see why anyone thought it was a pain to administer.
Because the default on the system is for all FCD's to go to the first cruise booked. Whereas the passenger may want them spread over 2/3 cruises, if they have a number of them.

It then becomes a manual task.
From my memory Dai, I think you were only allowed 1 FCD per person per cruise and it always applied the oldest FCD first.
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#11

Post by GillD46 »

towny44 wrote: 02 Jul 2017, 08:23
daib GC wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 23:53
towny44 wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 15:50
P&O's FCDs have always had tighter terms than many others, Princess last 4 yrs and the deposit is refundable, Celebrity's last indefinitely bu no refund.
The FCD info was input to the P&O computer and allocated to your Peninsular account and always popped up automatically when you booked a new cruise, so don't see why anyone thought it was a pain to administer.
Because the default on the system is for all FCD's to go to the first cruise booked. Whereas the passenger may want them spread over 2/3 cruises, if they have a number of them.

It then becomes a manual task.
From my memory Dai, I think you were only allowed 1 FCD per person per cruise and it always applied the oldest FCD first.
That's what always happened to us.
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#12

Post by daib GC »

towny44 wrote: 02 Jul 2017, 08:23
daib GC wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 23:53
towny44 wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 15:50
P&O's FCDs have always had tighter terms than many others, Princess last 4 yrs and the deposit is refundable, Celebrity's last indefinitely bu no refund.
The FCD info was input to the P&O computer and allocated to your Peninsular account and always popped up automatically when you booked a new cruise, so don't see why anyone thought it was a pain to administer.
Because the default on the system is for all FCD's to go to the first cruise booked. Whereas the passenger may want them spread over 2/3 cruises, if they have a number of them.

It then becomes a manual task.
From my memory Dai, I think you were only allowed 1 FCD per person per cruise and it always applied the oldest FCD first.
A couple of times we have bought 4 FCD's as we book so many cruises. Each time our TA has told us that all 4 FDC's have been allocated to the first cruise instead o being spread. Now our TA knows the system and can get in and re allocate them. If you go with a non specialist it has caused problems.

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#13

Post by towny44 »

daib GC wrote: 02 Jul 2017, 19:22
towny44 wrote: 02 Jul 2017, 08:23
daib GC wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 23:53
towny44 wrote: 01 Jul 2017, 15:50
P&O's FCDs have always had tighter terms than many others, Princess last 4 yrs and the deposit is refundable, Celebrity's last indefinitely bu no refund.
The FCD info was input to the P&O computer and allocated to your Peninsular account and always popped up automatically when you booked a new cruise, so don't see why anyone thought it was a pain to administer.
Because the default on the system is for all FCD's to go to the first cruise booked. Whereas the passenger may want them spread over 2/3 cruises, if they have a number of them.

It then becomes a manual task.
From my memory Dai, I think you were only allowed 1 FCD per person per cruise and it always applied the oldest FCD first.
A couple of times we have bought 4 FCD's as we book so many cruises. Each time our TA has told us that all 4 FDC's have been allocated to the first cruise instead o being spread. Now our TA knows the system and can get in and re allocate them. If you go with a non specialist it has caused problems.
I don't doubt you for a minute Dai, but that clearly is totally at variance with the rules of the FCD as set out by P&O, but we all know how well their IT systems functioned so your experience comes as no surprise.
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#14

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CaroleF wrote: 03 Jul 2017, 12:12
We've never had a good experience when talking to the Future Cruise Consultant on board. Firstly, she didn't seem that interested, always off-putting; then when we started discussing the different cabins available she told us we couldn't book a specific cabin, only the grade. This was quite a long way in advance of the actual cruise, can't remember how long. So we said we wouldn't bother. When we got home I phoned Bolsover, chose which cabin we wanted, got the usual discount from Bolsover, a good amount of OBC and we were happy. Not sure we'd bother again to talk to the Future Cruise Consultant.
Carole posted this on the RCI thread and, whilst it is about FCD, I thought I ought to reply here or risk being accused of straying off-topic (again !!)

I have to say, we have always had nothing but good experiences with the P&O Future Cruises reps on board (apart from the queues !). They have always been more than willing to help and find the right deal for us and we have always been able to book the cabin of choice and the last time we received an absolutely huge OBC. It did seem a bit of a fuss for them to check the availability of particular cabins so it may be that Carole's lady couldn't be bothered. Not good - and always reflects badly on the company but maybe you caught her on an off-day

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#15

Post by david63 »

I notice in the "blurb" that P&O are introducing "senior loyalty and cruise sales manager" on all ships - is this to help in trying to get more business.

This also seems to coincide with the [alleged] discontinuation of "Cruise Specialists" at P&O who I have found to be very helpful, and even when people were complaining about not being able to get through on the phone I was always able to get through in under a minute.

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#16

Post by oldbluefox »

I have never really bothered with FCD. There always seemed tpo be so many rules and conditions surrounding them I didn't feel the hassle was worth it and have always preferred to wait for the Saver fares to come out which seemed a better option moneywise.
I have never managed to find anywhere which details the benefits and conditions surrounding FCD.

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#17

Post by Gill W »

No, we've never really bother with FCD either. Especially when we were working, there was always a chance that we wouldn't be able to book during the time period, so it always seemed a bit of a risk
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#18

Post by towny44 »

With only a 12 month life span they could be a problem for infrequent cruisers, but they were fairly simple, probably because they gave away very little. From memory you got an extra OBC of £25 for a 7 day cruise, £50 for 2 weeks and maybe £75 for longer cruises, this was over and above anything being offered at the time. I don't think they excluded anything except very cheap give away prices, which was never particularly clearly spelled out, and they could not be combined with Tesco vouchers.
We used them sparingly on P&O because of the time limit, but we did use them on Princess and Celebrity more regularly, and these did give much better benefits as well.
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#19

Post by oldbluefox »

I think this is part of the problem. If I remember correctly they can only be bought onboard which necessitates queuing for a future cruise you may not have intended booking with conditions you may not be able to meet for a downlay which is time dependent, a chance you may not get your money back if you don;t comply all for an extra £50 on a 14 night cruise.
If I have that right there's not enough benefit to tempt me although I can see there are benefits, however minimal, for those who may book two or three cruises a year.

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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

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Post by towny44 »

oldbluefox wrote: 03 Jul 2017, 16:44
I think this is part of the problem. If I remember correctly they can only be bought onboard which necessitates queuing for a future cruise you may not have intended booking with conditions you may not be able to meet for a downlay which is time dependent, a chance you may not get your money back if you don;t comply all for an extra £50 on a 14 night cruise.
If I have that right there's not enough benefit to tempt me although I can see there are benefits, however minimal, for those who may book two or three cruises a year.
For 2 of you on a 2 week cruise that's £100 OBC, a lot of people invest far more money and effort to get £150 OBC from their shareholder benefit. Since you only needed to fill in a simple form and drop it in the future cruise box, it was an easy process, and it probably was the final push that decided many to book P&O rather than another cruise line for their next cruise, which is why I don't understand P&O dropping them.
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Re: P&O Restructures Future Cruise Deposit

#21

Post by oldbluefox »

Thanks for the clarification John.

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