P&O Price Checking

[anniec]

Sorry if this has been raised before, but can't find anything relevant. Having not booked P&O for over a year, we're looking at a cruise in January 2019 and wish to do the usual thing of monitoring prices. However, all I can get on the P&O site is "balconies from", whereas I want to monitor a particular grade on C deck.

Does anyone have a way of checking individual cabin grades, please? P&O do seem to want to make it difficult, but perhaps I'm missing the blindingly obvious.

[oldbluefox]

The only way I have found is to make a test booking which brings up the prices of different grades of cabin. Just don't press the 'Make this Booking' button!!!
It's a bit of a round about way but the only one I know of.

[Stephen]

The only way I have found is to make a test booking which brings up the prices of different grades of cabin. Just don't press the 'Make this Booking' button!!!
It's a bit of a round about way but the only one I know of.

You would have to put in your credit card details first, which of course you wouldn't on a test booking.

When doing a test booking and they ask for you name and address details I just put in XXXX for the name/s and address to go through to the next stage. It saves time having to faff about with full names for each person on the test booking and inputting full address details.

[oldbluefox]

I don't know why all the cloak and dagger stuff. Why not give further details of the prices and make it easier to decide whether to buy or not and what you are prepared to pay for your cruise.
I never understand shops which don't put prices on their goods. The old adage 'If you want to know the price then you can't afford it' is a load of nonsense. How do you know whether you can afford it if you don't know the price. Sometimes I wonder if shops are too embarrassed to reveal their prices hoping that you have to ask and are then too embarrassed to say no. It doesn't work with me. If there's no price I move on. which means a possible lost sale.

[Stephen]

I don't know why all the cloak and dagger stuff. Why not give further details of the prices and make it easier to decide whether to buy or not and what you are prepared to pay for your cruise.
I never understand shops which don't put prices on their goods. The old adage 'If you want to know the price then you can't afford it' is a load of nonsense. How do you know whether you can afford it if you don't know the price. Sometimes I wonder if shops are too embarrassed to reveal their prices hoping that you have to ask and are then too embarrassed to say no. It doesn't work with me. If there's no price I move on. which means a possible lost sale.

With you there Foxy.

[daib GC]

Sorry if this has been raised before, but can't find anything relevant. Having not booked P&O for over a year, we're looking at a cruise in January 2019 and wish to do the usual thing of monitoring prices. However, all I can get on the P&O site is "balconies from", whereas I want to monitor a particular grade on C deck.

Does anyone have a way of checking individual cabin grades, please? P&O do seem to want to make it difficult, but perhaps I'm missing the blindingly obvious.

Try a TA website. I know that Iglu will give you current prices for each grade I am sure others will do so as well.

BTW now is far too late for the best price for Jan 19. We are now looking at Jan 20.

[anniec]

Very many thanks, all, and thanks for the suggestion about Iglu - they do, indeed, publish all the prices. Most useful. Who knows when the best time to book is - for me, it's when it suits me to book, price-wise it depends how the cruise is selling.

Anyone would think P&O were privy to some great national secret, not the prices of their products!

[oldbluefox]

I always thought the best prices came out about 12 weeks prior to sailing. However I have noticed some cruises go UP in price. You win some and you lose some I suppose.

[Stephen]

End of the day, if your happy with the price at the time, then book, but don't then whinge if goes down at a later date.

Just saying

[Quizzical Bob]

Our local TA has access to a different, more direct, booking system and can usually tell me how many cabins are left at each grade. This is a guide but not much more.

Best prices are usually very early or very late. Very late means playing price chicken with P&O.

[anniec]

I always thought the best prices came out about 12 weeks prior to sailing. However I have noticed some cruises go UP in price. You win some and you lose some I suppose.

In the last year or two, we've found the best prices around 6 months before the cruise, which took us by surprise - we've just booked a Cunard cruise for October this year; the balcony prices were far lower than the launch price, much lower than any subsequent price, and it wasn't an early saver, so we could choose our cabin etc. All depends on how the bookings are going - I didn't expect this one to fill up quickly, and it didn't, but we had personal reasons for wanting this particular cruise.

Unusual cruises fill up quickly, as do the suite categories, so perhaps worth booking them at launch; believe those are Dai's cabins of choice, hence his good advice to book early if that's what you want.

[trinityboy]

Why not just use your travel agent or contact p and o directly. They both will give you prices on as many cabins as you want

[anniec]

Why not just use your travel agent or contact p and o directly. They both will give you prices on as many cabins as you want

Because I like to check several times a week - prices sometimes change on a daily basis. P&O, my t/a, and I have better things to do.

[oldbluefox]

I agree with Annie.

Why not just publish them? No need to keep ringing anybody up to get the information you want. They're not exactly state secrets.

[david63]

I don't think that there is any hard and fast rules as to when the best price for a cruise is available as it quite often depends on the cruise, with the more popular ones selling out quickly with a rise in price - less popular ones then waiting might pay off.

I have noticed in the last couple of years with the cruises that I have booked that the opening price has never been beaten, even with saver prices.

[towny44]

I agree with Annie.

Why not just publish them? No need to keep ringing anybody up to get the information you want. They're not exactly state secrets.

Neither are they difficult to find, a quick search on the P&O website and you can check the price anytime.
However there is a website which purports to provide this sort of service, Cruiseville.co.uk
I have a couple of requests that pop up weekly but not much good to us as we need to book on launch to get an accessible cabin.

[oldbluefox]

Not impressed by the P&O website for browsing or finding anything out. I have never known a site which is so convoluted so no, the official site is not a good option for finding anything out. TA sites are a lot better organised.

Just as a test I looked for a Mediterranean cruise in July/August 2019. The P&O site gave me three short cruises to Guernsey!! There were no options for longer cruises on any P&O ships. Not good P&O.