AFC04/03

this is an interesting idea, it would certainy be met with a warm reception over there. Hong Kong has a connection with Cunard aswell with the Original Queen Elizabeth having sunk there.

Great read!

Fred olsen's drinks package is £20.00 per person per night, IMO hardly over the top. I would be interested to know if the Fred's cruises on this forum also were victim to such a price hike for drinks and overall cruise prices compared to the celebrity/Rci crowd.

Thats exactly the thing, i think the all round product P&O offer is what would give the incentive for passengers to book, not the value of the 'perk' such as OBC, hence the reason for me saying it may be getting stale. its very rare people get excited for a new P&O promotion now IMO because it is repetitive.

The select fares are fine Davybe, but I think they are at risk of going stale. RCI and Celebrity tend to rotate their promotions quarterley, in order to target particular passenger groups. In my opinion the benefit is subjective I'd rather pay more upfront and have everything included than have a lower price with a predetermined amount of 'free' onboard money to spend.

It's true you cannot pick your clients and price doesnt always impact who books, I cannot see why P&O wouldn't be keen on the idea its not as if they have a notorious reputation for passenger trouble. As Davybe said above the prices are reasonable, perhaps its a fear of the bottom line that prevents P&O from making the jump.

Thanks for the input Sammy. If you look at the bigger picture there have long been 'premium' all inclusive resorts which don't have any ongoing problems. I do believe I read another forum member paying around £500.00 per person to stay at a Riu resort, surely if price was the big incentive for those who wish to abuse inclusive alcohol these resorts would be facing constant aggravation. I believe Holland America tend to offer a maximum number of their drinks when they have the promotions active, perhaps this would be a valid way to have the promotion, but without excessive abuse.

-To follow on I started an earlier topic about P&O launching drinks packages. surely this would be more enticing to the average cruiser?

When I first started cruising, on board credit was seen as a huge extra when booking. If you got a decent price and some on board credit, you were onto a good deal. Now though it seems to be very different. On board credit offers seem to be on all the time (a bit like a DFS sale) and the amounts are much lower than they once were, unless you’re booking a suite that it. Am I the only one nowadays that would just prefer a better overall price on the cruise?

Are there any rumblings about P&O offering drinks packages? Princess have already launched their packages, Holland America have been offering them free of charge on selected promotions and even Cunard are offering free drinks in their Grills. With all of these Carnival branded (and UK based) companies offering them, not to mention Fred Olsen (also sterling onboard) having a very successful daily package will P&O follow suit?

Please correct me if I am wrong, I am sure I have read somewhere that back in the 70's-80's cruisers were assigned a sun bed corresponded to their cabin?

We had an amazing seafood melody at the fish market, they also have a hop on hop off bus in the town centre (one of those little trains). If you want to stay closer to the ship but eat well and see the sights this could be an option.

Hi Charlielou Go for it! its great value for money

I'm sure I read somewhere all of the balconies have a sofa, so they cant be too small!