Why I booked my family cruise for 2021 nearly 2 years in advance

This week has been a very busy one for us cruise agents.  Starting at 8am on the dot every morning to get cruises booked for customers as soon as they are released.  I’m talking about P&O cruises launch of course.  I’m very happy to say that I have had 100% success rate of getting my customers the cruises and cabin preferences they wanted.

Through my years selling cruises I have seen the benefits of booking at launch, so I decided to try it out for my family holiday.  Yesterday, after booking for my customers at 8am who had already pre-registered for their cruises, I booked my own cruise on P&O Iona.  We will be sailing the Norwegian Fjords in the Summer holidays in 2021!

So why did I feel the need to book so early?

A major thing for us is that we are a family of 5.  We need 2 cabins and it is very important to us to have interconnecting cabins.  I checked the deck plans and there are very few inside cabins with connecting doors (which we prefer).  There are only 3 sets in total on the ship!  Luckily, we managed to get the last set.  Families struggle to get rooms next to each other when booking nearer to the time, but interconnecting cabins are even harder to come by.

Another reason we booked so early was due the great prices.  There can be exceptions to the rule, but I generally see prices starting at base prices at launch and then creeping further and further up nearer the time.  We get 10% off as past passengers with P&O (it is 5% for new passengers so still some savings to be had).  Some cruises, called peninsular sailings even offer 15% off for passengers who have sailed for 15 nights or more with P&O.

The low deposit was another influencing factor in our decision to book so early.  The P&O deposit is only 5% so we can book it for a small amount and save for the next year and a half until the balance is due.

I’m very excited to tick the Norwegian Fjords and its stunning scenery off my bucket list after all these years of wanting to go.  The Iona looks fantastic for kids and with extra entertainment for children promised for Summer holidays the children should have a fantastic time on what looks to be shaping up to be a beautiful ship.

Let me know if you would like to book one of the new P&O sailings.  There’s still plenty of time to get the past passenger and new passenger savings. Call me on 03333002638 and I will be happy to find your perfect 2021/2022 cruise.