You can have the price and no benefits, or pay more to get what you want

In the last couple of weeks many cruise lines have brought out some fabulous offers to help them fill the ships for the next couple of months. Most people when booking a late deal are happy knowing they have received a great price for the cruise and will often view it as quick getaway, and are happy with the terms and conditions that come with a late deal such as its a guarantee cabin will be allocated just before sailing and could be anywhere on the ship, and that the  dining time will be allocated once on board. Then there are other customers who like the price but want to receive the same benefits as if they had booked on a higher fare ie want to know their cabin is going to be mid-ship and on a certain dining etc.

I had one customer this week who had seen P&O’s fabulous offer to the Norwegian Fjords for £399 per person and was happy knowing she would be allocated her cabin and dining by P&O, but for her the most important thing was knowing she would be able to book on the Flam Railway excursion. After checking this out for her and advising that unfortunately this excursion was now fully booked through the cruise line, but why didn’t she try to do this independently she then decided not to proceed. Surely if that was something particularly important to your trip you would have booked the cruise a few months previous on the select fare?

Certainly when booking a late saver fare with P&O/Cunard I do get many people who don’t like the new notion of dining to be allocated on board – Fred Olsen have overcome this on their anchor fares by giving you the option to pay £2 per person per night to pick your dining time. Should the cruise lines take away your dining options? – some people need to eat on a certain dining for medical reasons (my mum is one of them for her diabetes) but there seems to be currently no allowance for medical conditions. So are the cruise lines saying to those who have a medical condition which requires a specific dining –  you can’t book on our late saver fares?

So in a nutshell – when booking a late deal yes the price looks great but be aware of the terms and conditions that come attached with it. If there is something that is important to you which could make or break your holiday ie cabin location, dining, excursions etc then don’t book on the late deal. Pay extra, get what you want and then your holiday will be more enjoyable. For me I am will continue to book on the late saver price and if I don’t get my dining time for the main dining room – then there are plenty of other places to eat in on board. I only sleep and shower in the cabin so I am not fussed what cabin i get, and shore excursions I tend to go independently.