Any word on September Promo?

Thought it was going to be announced on the TA webinar today?

Would be interested to find this out early as well, but I guess it's a well guarded secret.

Would love an excursion credit option to replace the internet option personally.

Dom

I would just like a cruise fare that is not jacked up in order to cover the freebies

Case in point. I booked my 10 day jan gem last April. True ksf rock bottom price for an inside triple

Every single promo since then for what I booked has been approx $500 to $700 more for the cabin....of course that higher price did include some freebie promos. Lol

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I would love ksf and UBP together. Not just pick one or the other.

Maybe it'll include Pride of America sailings so that I can cancel and rebook. Wishful thinking, I know!

I would just like a cruise fare that is not jacked up in order to cover the freebies

 

Case in point. I booked my 10 day jan gem last April. True ksf rock bottom price for an inside triple

 

Every single promo since then for what I booked has been approx $500 to $700 more for the cabin....of course that higher price did include some freebie promos. Lol

 

 

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I want the same thing!

Hope someone clues everybody in!

It's been posted on this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2252253

I would just like a cruise fare that is not jacked up in order to cover the freebies

 

Case in point. I booked my 10 day jan gem last April. True ksf rock bottom price for an inside triple

 

Every single promo since then for what I booked has been approx $500 to $700 more for the cabin....of course that higher price did include some freebie promos. Lol

 

 

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I don't think the fares are necessarily jacked up for the freebies. Right now the fares on a Feb Breakaway cruise to the bahamas are pretty much the same as paid for that trip in 2014. Back then I got a small amount of OBC, but there were no freebies on offer. If I made the same booking now, I would get a nice perk (UBP, SDP, etc.).

As always, a lot of it is the luck of timing. I booked upcoming bermuda cruise about a month ago and am paying less for a balcony than you could currently pay for an inside, and I got free UBP to boot. My Feb 2016 was booked in April 2015 with more valuable perks than currently on offer, but the price right now is substantially higher.

I think NCL is more interested in filling the ships in advance so as to not have to do big discounts at the last minute than they are in jacking up the prices overall.

I don't think the fares are necessarily jacked up for the freebies.

Yup. I just booked a 7 day for late fall that is only around $100 each if you take the value of the UBP away. It totally depends on the sailing.

Would be interested to find this out early as well, but I guess it's a well guarded secret.

 

Would love an excursion credit option to replace the internet option personally.

 

Dom

Shore excursions replace the gratuities, although I couldn't find out how much shore excursion. Still only one offer unless you are in. Suite or Haven.

Thank you for the updates. If it doses stop free ubp for ocean views that would be a big change I guess.

UK sill has Premium Choice on all grades on cruises up to 31st March 2016.

With the 18% CHoice grats included(UK/EU) and the prices including port/tax on some sailing the UK price are far better than the US.

Also check EU prices some of those are good also.

Thank you for the updates. If it doses stop free ubp for ocean views that would be a big change I guess.

I've always wondered why oceanviews were included anyway. In the past they never seemed to get the same level of promos. But we were more than happy to oblige and get our first NCL oceanview with UBP :) One other past promo I liked was balcony for same price as oceanview...

It seems last minute prices on Brekaway are significantly higher than prior 2 years- any chance they will come down with the summer promo expiring?

I would just like a cruise fare that is not jacked up in order to cover the freebies

 

Case in point. I booked my 10 day jan gem last April. True ksf rock bottom price for an inside triple

 

Every single promo since then for what I booked has been approx $500 to $700 more for the cabin....of course that higher price did include some freebie promos. Lol

 

 

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Amen.

Scrap the promos.

Give us your best offer.

Amen.

 

Scrap the promos.

 

Give us your best offer.

Read here why that's not likely to happen:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3164486-norwegian-cruise-lines-nclh-ceo-frank-del-rio-on-q1-2015-results-earnings-call-transcript

It's part of Frank Del Rio's (FDR) New Deal. This is actually the nickname for it under NCL corporate mentioned in his May 2015 stakeholder call. Bottom line: NCL' new deal has left the "discount to sale" model and moved to a "market to sale" model. The promos are not going anywhere. It's part of the marketing model and is used to attract new sales. And I must admit that for me it worked. I was so concerned that the promos were going away earlier this year that I booked my cruise very early on. Matter of fact I booked two. $500-$600 is what I've found to be the difference between inside and OV (perk eligible) on many sailings for the newer ships. The market to sale strategy has worked for NCL's bottom line (that and the 6.7% increase in the cost of alcohol and the new room service fees which is directly quoted in the transcript). According to the transcript, NCL will, in almost most instances, not discount cruises after final payment time. Disney was the forerunner in this approach. The best discounts are found early on, the cruise get more expensive the closer to sail date (regardless of capacity), and unless the ship is really underselling their will not be any discounts to fares.

Actually, I feel better after reading this. At least I know where NCL is coming from now. The lack of communications to the actual customer left me feeling uncertain as to if there would be additional changes that I felt impacted my wallet. Now I know that it's not an "if" thing but a "when" thing in terms of NCL working to make more money off of customers than the past throughout the cruise process, from booking to during the cruise. NCL is a company so I get it but only the test of time will show whether this approach will improve the product while improving the bottom line. I can use my upcoming cruise as my data point as to whether I will keep my next cruise. At the end of the day, if my experience is enhanced I will be less inclined to be agitated by the "out of the blue" changes after booking (or more precisely entering into a contract) with NCL.

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According to the transcript, NCL will, in almost most instances, not discount cruises after final payment time. Disney was the forerunner in this approach. The best discounts are found early on, the cruise get more expensive the closer to sail date (regardless of capacity), and unless the ship is really underselling their will not be any discounts to fares.

RCL calls it by a different name, "Price Integrity" I think, but the same idea. They have been using it successfully for about a year, with a "lock in" period on pricing to avoid the bargain hunting behavior. In their conference call they stated that the lock in period was only 10 days as they move towards longer lock ins.

Some cruisers got used to booking fares at the last minute, below cost. The lines then had to figure out a way to get to a profit point. There's only a couple of choices. You could raise early booked fares so your most loyal customers pay a lot more, or squeeze more revenue out of customers on board which some people call "nickle and diming". Or, you could move to a marketing model that encourages early booking with promos that your higher spending customers will really appreciate: it is almost all-inclusive when you get a beverage and a dining plan.

Given that inside get the biggest value(to a lot of people) promo the UBP and prices are sitting a OK levels on a lot of trips it is unlikley to change.

Thats for US booking into late Dec and UK/EU to end of March.

When some trips are $510 inc tax and UBP for 13nights where the tax is $70, thats $34pppd including UBP and UBP 18%

Take the UBP off and they have to give the cruise away for taxes only.

Earlier in the spring I did see some decent 7-14 day out discounts, is it possible we could still see a few of these in isolated cases? He is assuming market-to-fill is what everyone wants, but not everyone is interested in the promos.

There is always a segment of the customer base that doesn't drink, care about eating at speciality restaurants everynight nor excursions.

He could also be giving the impression there won't be any discounts and introduce them anyway

There is always a segment of the customer base that doesn't drink, care about eating at speciality restaurants everynight nor excursions.

That kind of passenger does not generate a lot of revenue and hence is not desirable clientele. A big part of cheap base prices is the revenue generated onboard.

Bottom line is some people will find they are priced out as there are plenty around that are willing to pay.

The ships won't be sailing empty but as long as there are enough people that see the value in the package at a slightly higher price, that means all the drinkers(even lightweight) and people that do like speciality will be booking ahead of those that don't.

Drop over to RCI and Celebrity they offer No frills pricing with their GTY rates.

^this was FDR's point. Ppl who are willing to spend more upfront are the target audience for NCL. I wouldn't expect 2014 prices anytime soon. Thus far, NCL is looking towards record breaking profits this year (or in 2016). Only time will tell if this new approach will work over the long haul.

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For me last year, I paid around $789 for a Balcony and was so pleased with the rate I paid something like $130 for 3 mornings in the Bingo Suite lol., Iam going to book a Studio for the Escape next December- its decent- $849- $25 OBC -for example a $50 credit for dining to push it to around $774 net of incentives.

I am still holding out hope for Columbus day though for a last minute deal.

The earlier you book the better. If there is a decrease, which will be rare now, you can ask for an obc or cancel and rebook.

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