Booking a P&O Cruises holiday involves two layered decisions, not one. First you pick a fare type (Select Price, Early Saver or Saver), that determines whether you choose your cabin location, how much flexibility you have to change the booking, and how brutal the cancellation policy is. Then you decide whether to add a bundled package (Classic or Deluxe), that adds drinks, a speciality dining credit and Wi-Fi on top of the fare.
This guide walks through both decisions. If you want to see live prices on a specific sailing, our P&O Cruises page lists every voyage we hold. For the drinks element specifically, the P&O Cruises drinks packages page covers all four options including the standalone Refresh and Alcohol Free tiers.
Call our specialists on 020 7947 0270 once you have a shortlist.
30-second view: which P&O fare suits which guest?
| You want… | Fare type to book |
|---|---|
| Choice of cabin, dining priority and full flexibility to change | Select Price |
| A discount, willing to let P&O assign your cabin | Early Saver |
| The lowest possible fare, willing to accept full cancellation risk | Saver (but read the cancellation small print) |
| Drinks, speciality dining and Wi-Fi bundled in | Add Classic Package to any fare type |
| Premium drinks, enhanced dining credit and unlimited Wi-Fi | Add Deluxe Package to any fare type |
The bundled package decision is separate from the fare decision. A guest can book Select Price without a Classic Package, or book Early Saver with a Deluxe Package, every combination is possible.
The three P&O fare types
Select Price is the most flexible option and the one most P&O specialists recommend for first-time bookers. You choose your specific cabin number, get first priority for dining time and table size, and benefit from first priority for any cabin upgrades on offer. The deposit is 15% with the balance due closer to sailing, and you can change your booking up to the balance due date. Select Price also includes a chosen benefit: onboard spending money, free car parking in Southampton, or a return coach transfer to Southampton (available on cruises of seven nights or more). Complimentary shuttle buses are included in ports where they operate. Available on every P&O cruise.
Early Saver is the mid-tier option. Available on selected cruises at selected times, and on selected cabin types, P&O assigns your cabin number rather than you choosing it. Second priority for cabin upgrades and dining seating. The 15% deposit and balance structure is the same as Select Price, and Early Saver bookings can be upgraded to Select Price if you change your mind. Suits guests who don’t mind which exact cabin they get, as long as they’re on the ship they want.
Saver is the cheapest fare, and the most restrictive. Available on selected cruises at selected times and selected cabin types. Third priority for everything. The cabin number can be allocated anytime up until one day before departure, so you might not know your cabin location until the eve of the cruise. Crucially: the full balance is payable at the time of booking, not as a deposit-plus-balance structure. And the cancellation policy is 100%, there’s no refund at any time prior to your holiday if you need to cancel. Saver only makes sense if you’re absolutely certain you’ll travel and you don’t care which cabin you end up in.
The two P&O bundled packages
Separately from the fare type, P&O offers two bundled packages that can be added at the time of booking. These layer on top of whichever fare you’ve chosen.
Classic Package bundles the Classic drinks package (cocktails, beers, wines by the glass, standard spirit measures and Costa Coffee), a speciality dining credit (one meal at one of P&O’s speciality restaurants), and Essential Wi-Fi (browsing, email and social media). Children in the same cabin get free soft drinks as part of this bundle.
Deluxe Package upgrades all three elements. The Deluxe drinks package adds premium spirits, craft beers, extended wine pours and larger measures; the dining credit is enhanced to cover more speciality restaurant visits; and Wi-Fi steps up to Ultimate (streaming, video calls and sharing).
The four standalone P&O drinks packages are also available without the dining and Wi-Fi bundle. Classic and Deluxe are the alcoholic tiers. Refresh covers fountain sodas, juices and squash (ideal for kids). Alcohol Free adds Costa Coffee, speciality teas, hot chocolates, non-alcoholic cocktails and zero-alcohol wines and beers.
Cancellation and flexibility: the most important difference
The cancellation policy is where the three P&O fares differ most starkly, and it’s the part many guests don’t read carefully enough.
Select Price and Early Saver follow standard P&O cancellation terms with a 15% deposit and graduated cancellation fees the closer you get to sailing. You can change the booking up to the balance due date.
Saver requires the full balance at time of booking and applies a 100% cancellation fee at any time prior to your holiday. If life intervenes and you have to cancel, you lose the full fare with no refund. Comprehensive travel insurance covering cancellation for any reason is essential at this fare level, not optional.
Cost vs value: when each fare is worth it
Select Price vs Early Saver. The gap is typically £50-£150 per person, depending on cabin grade and sailing length. Select Price wins if a specific cabin location matters to you (sea side, deck level, near specific amenities), or if you value the chosen-benefit add-on (onboard credit, parking, coach). For most first-time bookers, Select Price is the recommended starting point.
Early Saver vs Saver. The gap is usually £100-£300 per person, sometimes more on Christmas Markets or peak Caribbean sailings. Saver only makes sense if you are 100% certain you’ll travel (because there’s no cancellation refund) AND you don’t care which cabin you end up in. For most travellers the Early Saver premium is worth paying for the insurance against life events alone.
Whether to add a bundle. Classic Package pays back if you’d drink 3+ alcoholic drinks per day, visit a speciality restaurant once, and use Wi-Fi to check email. Below those usage levels, paying for drinks and dining à la carte usually wins. Deluxe Package adds genuine value over Classic only on longer sailings (10+ nights) or for guests who specifically drink premium spirits or wines.
“The Saver fare looks attractive on price until you read the cancellation policy. Full balance at booking, 100% non-refundable from the moment you book. Life intervenes more often than guests realise, and I’d rather a client paid an extra £100-£200 for Early Saver and had the insurance of a normal cancellation structure, particularly on bookings 12 to 18 months out. For Select Price guests, the chosen benefit is the lever most people miss; if you’re driving down to Southampton, the free parking often outweighs the onboard credit by some margin.”
— Mo, cruise specialist at Paramount Cruises
How P&O’s fares and bundles compare to other lines
P&O’s two-layered structure (fare type plus optional bundle) is closer to Cunard’s Signature Package approach than to NCL’s Free at Sea single-bundle model. Where Cunard offers the Signature Package as a fare upgrade with everything inside, and NCL offers Free at Sea as one add-on per cruise length, P&O separates the booking-flexibility question (Select/Early/Saver) from the inclusions question (Classic/Deluxe/none).
The trade-off: P&O’s approach is more flexible at booking (any fare can be paired with any bundle), but harder to compare at a glance against competitors that offer one all-in price.
Talking to a specialist before you book
The right P&O fare and bundle combination depends on the specific sailing, your travelling party and how flexible you need the booking to be. Our specialists book P&O departures every week and can run the maths for your sailing.
The questions worth bringing to that conversation: how certain are you about the travel dates (this drives the fare type), how much do you drink and whether you’d visit speciality restaurants (this drives the bundle decision), and whether the cabin location matters to you (this drives the upgrade from Saver/Early Saver to Select Price).
FAQs
Select Price lets you choose your cabin number, gives you first priority for dining and upgrades, and includes a chosen benefit (onboard credit, Southampton parking, or coach transfer). Early Saver is cheaper but P&O assigns your cabin within your chosen grade and you get second priority for dining and upgrades.
Only if you’re absolutely certain you’ll travel. The Saver fare requires the full balance at booking and has a 100% cancellation fee at any point before departure. For most guests, Early Saver is the more sensible balance between price and flexibility.
Anytime up to one day before departure. You may not know your specific cabin until the eve of the cruise.
No. The bundled packages are optional add-ons on top of any fare type. You can book any fare without a bundle if you’d rather pay for drinks and dining à la carte.
On sailings of 10+ nights where you’d drink premium spirits or wines regularly, often yes. On shorter cruises, the Classic Package delivers most of the value and the Deluxe upgrade rarely pays back.
Children in the same cabin as adults with a Classic or Deluxe Package receive the Refresh (soft drinks) package at no extra cost.
Early Saver bookings can be upgraded to Select Price up to the balance due date. Saver bookings cannot be upgraded once booked.
Plan your P&O cruise with Paramount Cruises
Browse our full range of P&O Cruises for current itineraries and prices, or call our specialists on 020 7947 0270 to talk through which fare type and bundle suit your party best.
Browse P&O Cruises · Call our cruise experts on 020 7947 0270
By Josh Harris. Last updated: 20 May 2026.
