So far I think Cunard don't want sales - they hide the brochures and only open the sales office for about 2hrs in a week.

P&O had a desk that was unmanned

NCL offered an upfront discount ($100 I think) for specific ship.

Easycruise did nothing - but then would they really expect repeaters?

Other than the $100. from HAL, I received nothing else. At the time I booked there was a Cruise Consultant on board, but it was her first contract and she really didn't know what she was doing and freely admitted it, so she gave me the 1-800 number to call direct from the ship - which I did from my cabin - no charge for the call.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tom Burke:
Matts - did you go to the sales presentation on Sunday on Norwegian Jewel? I remember hearing the announcements but didn't go.

---

The deal on Norwegian Jewel was 10% off a 7 or 12 night cruise aboard Jewel in 2006 and a US$50 OBC [per stateroom, not person]. Not exactly eggciting. The 10% vouchers are still valid until 26 August, but with various terms attached.

FOCL offered something tempting, but not so tempting that I can recall what it was. Cunard had some offer, but the rate was still above what I knew I had seen pricing for anyway, likewise on an NCL cruise, the price given was higher* than I had already worked out previously.

So just take along the pricing that is available from ordinary means, and see if when aboard it can be bettered. You do get a cooling off period, allowing you to come home and think about it. *NCL could not give me air pricing either when aboard, so really the exercise was pointless.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dolphins:
Past NCL cruises have offered a $100. to $250. per cabin shipboard credit for a future NCL cruise depending on the cabin category you booked. The credit cannot be applied to the mandatory per day gratuities.

---

Surely a good TA can easily beat that?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Matts:
Do these sales drives assume that people have done no research and just get carried away on board?

---

I would think that is probably the main target area. Some people will obviously not even be aware of rough pricing for other cruises and may well get carried away.. however, they might also find themselves a bit disillusioned when they do get home and look things up. I expect there are some who don't even check prices elsewhere, just happy to believe the hype. I wonder what the cancellation rate of booked aboard cruises is?

On the other hand there must be some good deals out there aboard, as I have often read of quite savvy well cruised people booking their next trip in such a way.

Let us know what you discover and how you get on aboard Brilliance. Have an enjoyabke trip too

quote:

---

Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Surely a good TA can easily beat that?

I'd rather book after the cruise when I have a range of brochures in front of me from the different cruise lines, than book in the heat of the moment onboard.

---

I think what you need to consider when booking onboard is this (please CHECK each cruise lines policies - but these are general statements).

a) Most onboard deposits are completely refundable and are often "open bookings" - that is no specific sailing - it is more symbolic than anything

b) Travel Agents doing large volumes w/ the cruise line can often secure higher than the onboard savings - it's easy enough to just switch to the better rate upon your return.

c) I always view onboard bookings as the chance to secure A SAVINGS - it may be the best discount you will see on a particular sailing you want (yes - some cruise lines are selling out at FULL Brochure rate)...or there may be something better coming along.

They have expos 3or 4 times a year and have reps from most cruise lines there to help you decide what will work for you. Best time to book when these are going on-check site.

Keep in mind that if you are flexible as to dates they have some good deals. If you are sailing on a line that you have been on before some discounts are available plus seniors get some perks. Always ask your agent to review what is offered. This can really add up.

As of now it requires almost a year in advance to get the cruise you want with cabin location/type,dining time.etc.

Also make sure that if you are a cruise line member eg. Crown and Anchor that you get your status noted on booking to receive the dicount and perks--be sure to also check your equal status on Celebrity as RCL and Celebrity offer equal status on their cruises.eg.Diamond = Elite.
Anyone add to this ??
F4

[ 08-27-2005: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]

N.American's often get better prices than us Brits can on the same cruise (excluding the airfare). Cunard for example, sometimes has better fares for American guests.

If we cancel a booking we lose at least 10% of the total fare - more as the time gets nearer. Therefore booking a cruise a year in advance can be an expensive mistake, for us.

Expedia.com has different prices from Expedia.co.uk. I saw some internal US flights cheaper on com than they were on co.uk. Unfortunately your CC must have a US address for it to be used on .com.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Unfortunately there are some different rules that govern overseas bookings.

N.American's often get better prices than us Brits can on the same cruise (excluding the airfare). Cunard for example, sometimes has better fares for American guests.

If we cancel a booking we lose at least 10% of the total fare - more as the time gets nearer. Therefore booking a cruise a year in advance can be an expensive mistake, for us.

Expedia.com has different prices from Expedia.co.uk. I saw some internal US flights cheaper on com than they were on co.uk. Unfortunately your CC must have a US address for it to be used on .com.

The global village has many walls!

---

Malcolm, no matter how you cut this cookie you are (I think) comparing apples with oranges - your refer to North Americans thereby lumping Americans and Canadians together - that's not accurate - we're apples and oranges when it comes to pricing.

It's true that Cunard has different fares for Americans - Canadians are not included unless we pay in US$ - that increases our cost. Cancellation penalties apply to us too.

The UK£ right now is in good shape when you're buying US$ - think you just about double your buying power! - buying CA$ is not quite as good. Right now, as Canadians, we're doing well when we buy US$ and not so badly when we buy £'s.

The £ ( for us Canadians) is better than it's been for quite a few years - last time I visited my native land I paid CA$2.67 for £1.00......ouch!

I do believe that we Canadians benefit by HAL's (can't speak for other Lines) cancellation policy - we can book, pay the required deposit and cancel, without penalty, at any time prior to making final payment. After final payment, we are subject to the stated penalty scale. Insurance may or may not cover the penalty imposed. Not sure if this also applies to US residents but I'm pretty sure it does.

As to 'on board booking' credits, we booked our upcoming trip last year whilst on board - US$100.00 per person - no big deal - we made the required deposit, CA$1,200.00 as I recall. Circumstances dictated that that reservation be changed to another date - our 'booking on board' credit was transferred to the new booking - I did have to specifically request it!

Customer loyalty is not a factor these days!

It's all relative Malcolm!!!!!!!

[ 08-27-2005: Message edited by: Green ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Green:

It's true that Cunard has different fares for Americans - Canadians are not included unless we pay in US$ - that increases our cost. Cancellation penalties apply to us too.

---

I have to disagree w/ this point...w/ the current exchange rate being as good as it is there are a number of instances where it is CHEAPER for CDNs to pay in USD than it is for them to book w/ a CDN Operator given their FIXED rates of exchange - one really has to do the math these days...

quote:

---

Originally posted by Matts:
[QB]
Do these sales drives assume that people have done no research and just get carried away on board?
QB]

---

Princess Cruises has an excellent future-cruise department on board. For a minimal deposit ($100 per person) you can take advantage of the ship-board credits offered, and make a "floating booking", for no specific cruise. I believe within a year's time you must decide upon a particular ship and sailing to apply this to, but it does give you time to get home, think about it, consult an agent, look for deals, etc.