help and advice to get the best price for a cruise for my wifes 60th

Giraffe76

Hi all,

Its my wifes 60th in january 2025 and im trying to plan ahead to book a cruise for us but the problem i have is that my income has been reduced recently and i dont know if i will be able to afford the prices as i looked just on the p&o website as some point of reference for prices and they want more than i think i could save up between now and then unless they do a monthly payments scheme

I was looking to go further afield than just europe especially as its a big birthday so If anybody could advice me or help in anyway then id be most grateful.

Kind regards Mark

newgirly

Hi, they do a monthly payment scheme but the balance would have to paid in full (usually three months prior to the trip) so that would not help if you don’t think you could save enough in that time frame. 

Is it your first cruise? Often the best deals are either very early (like when the new dates are released) or very late (like days or a few weeks before) Are you happy to have an inside cabin as they are much cheaper? Where is it you want to go and what’s the budget if that’s a question you don’t mind answering? 

Giraffe76

Hi,

This would be our 2nd cruise away as we went from florida down to mexico before.

When you say deals are best early..how early do you mean and when are they released?

We had an inside cabin on our last cruise so that wouldnt be a problem. I dont have a budget as this is my first time trying to pay for/organise a cruise and as i said p&o wanted just over 2k each for round the caribean.

As i said europe and america wouldnt be of any interest and id prefer to go further afield like round the caribean because as i said its for a 60th.

TELLIT01

If you are concerned about affordability I would reconsider going on the cruise at all.  Nice as the idea is to give your wife a special holiday, would it really be all that special if you were worrying about every penny whilst away?  Excursions are normally extra, and not cheap, tips are often mandatory.  Dining in the top restaurants on board can come at a premium too.

My wife wanted to repeat a holiday we had 20 years ago when she retired.  That was to Hawaii, San Francisco and Las Vegas.  When I investigated the cost it was well over £10k.  When I told her the cost she didn't want to spend that much either.

daveyjp

Find a cruise you like and track prices.  I still consider £100 a night each inside cabin on a mainstream operator such as P&O etc, £150 for a balcony as a typical advertised price.

This year there have been P&O cruises at £60 a night inside cabin, its only by tracking you notice these deals.

eskbanker

Giraffe76 said:

....as i said p&o wanted just over 2k each for round the caribean.

As i said europe and america wouldnt be of any interest...

For the record, you didn't actually say either of these things, on here at least!

TadleyBaggie

Did an inside cabin once, it was OK but wouldn't do it again. Especially when there is a Covid/Norovirus outbreak and cabin confinement in in place. Last minute deals can be very cheap, but you have to travel with a couple of days notice.

newgirly

Yes the discounts are often when the new dates are released, however they only apply to select prices (this is p&o) which are dearer then the saver prices-  where you choose a cabin level not an actual cabin itself, so it would be allocated on arrival. 

Personally I too wouldn’t want to spend too much if worrying about money, and you can get some great deals with some flexibility on destination. What about doing a cruise closer but on a new ship? They have their downside of course but there’s more choice of extra restaurants where you can pay for some really nice meals out at a good price. 

p&o currently have a two week Caribbean cruise flights included for £1399 if you could go early feb instead? Or there’s two weeks around the Canaries  mid Jan for £879 each at the moment, I’ve been on both ships ( Britannia and Azura) and loved both. 

Giraffe76

eskbanker said:

Giraffe76 said:

....as i said p&o wanted just over 2k each for round the caribean.

As i said europe and america wouldnt be of any interest...

For the record, you didn't actually say either of these things, on here at least!

My aplogies for my error.

daveyjp said:

Find a cruise you like and track prices.  I still consider £100 a night each inside cabin on a mainstream operator such as P&O etc, £150 for a balcony as a typical advertised price.

This year there have been P&O cruises at £60 a night inside cabin, its only by tracking you notice these deals.

How would i track the price please..if thats not a silly question?

newgirly said:

Yes the discounts are often when the new dates are released, however they only apply to select prices (this is p&o) which are dearer then the saver prices-  where you choose a cabin level not an actual cabin itself, so it would be allocated on arrival. 

Personally I too wouldn’t want to spend too much if worrying about money, and you can get some great deals with some flexibility on destination. What about doing a cruise closer but on a new ship? They have their downside of course but there’s more choice of extra restaurants where you can pay for some really nice meals out at a good price. 

p&o currently have a two week Caribbean cruise flights included for £1399 if you could go early feb instead? Or there’s two weeks around the Canaries  mid Jan for £879 each at the moment, I’ve been on both ships ( Britannia and Azura) and loved both. 

When are the new dates released please?  what are the saver prices? my wife has gone round the med lots of times so wanted to go further afield and do something different. I wanted to go in january as thats when her birthday is (12th).

when you say mid jan for £879 round the canaries at the monent.. when would that cruise take place?

Many thanks for everyones replies

eskbanker

Giraffe76 said:

when you say mid jan for £879 round the canaries at the monent.. when would that cruise take place?

https://www.pocruises.com/find-a-cruise/A502C/A502C is probably the one referred to, details all there....

newgirly

I’m not sure exactly when new dates are released but they already have been for jan 2025, you can sign up for email alerts with p&o I think. Yes that was the cruise I meant, thanks eskbanker 🙂