Sale Away Rate

Are promotions ever included in sale away rates ?

No and it is always a guaranteed category as well, with no cabin assignment at booking.

I've never seen it. They can be a great bargain IF you aren't a drinker. We are on a two-week cruise and chose the OV sail away. We hardly ever drink at home but are Platinum Latitudes so we get two bottles (wine and something else in our cabin. We also get two specialty dinners.

The cost of the gratuities is quite hefty for a two-week sailing and was almost half of the price of our cruise.

We were assigned our cabin within five months of sailing and it was twice the cost of what we originally paid, so we are happy. If you are on a budget, sail away rates are a great deal.

Some TAs do offer perks on Sale Away Rate. Shop around.

We had an inside cabin booked for our Med cruise because when we booked last April, the balcony was $600pp more. Figured we could try to bid to upgrade when the time came. Then a week before final payment, the Sailaway balcony rate came down to $135 total more than what we paid for the inside. We knew that we would lose our three specialty dinners and $50 OBC but in the end rebooked for the Sailaway and not having to worry about bids being accepted or not. We were assigned a BC category the next day.

I have been able to get a perk with a sale away rate BUT only through the Casinos at Sea booking.

After final payment the sailaway "teaser" rates are significantly lower than min rate with perks. As others have said if you are not a drinker then sailaway rates can be a great option.

Are promotions ever included in sale away rates ?

No... BUT our first NCL was a a sail away rate, I picked the cabin category based on the fact I liked where all of the rooms were (we went with a mini suite over a balcony for this reason about a $200 difference in price) and I wasn't disappointed. I'm not a huge drinker, so the unlimited drinks aren't a perk I really care about. We did book a dining package, but the additional wasn't great enough to outweigh the cost benefit of doing a sail away rate, as it was about $800 cheaper than picking a stateroom.

It will happen on a very rare occasion. They are few and far between, and often you just have to get lucky and be looking at the right time. It is certainly not something to count on.

No and it is always a guaranteed category as well, with no cabin assignment at booking.

That's not always true I was able to choose my MX mini suite on the Bliss. I was doing a mook booking looking to upgrade from a BD and when I clicked on the MX sailaway cabin 4 cabins came up to choose from 8136, 8736, 10290, 10890 which are the only dedicated MX cabins on the ship and you are able to choose and book any of those 4 cabins.

We are going with friends on the Escape this summer and they booked a sail away mini suite, still no cabin assignment, but they did get to choose two free at sea options. They took the free drinks and three specialty dinners. Now it is possible that they just happened to book during a special promotion OR that he upgraded during the booking process since he booked directly through NCL. Anyway, after reading through this thread I told him to double check his reservation because now I'm not so sure...

I just booked two balcony cabins for end of May cruise on the escape, using the sail-away rate. I assumed we would get the lowest balcony category, and it wouldn't be assigned until just before boarding (which really didn't matter regardless), but they assigned us cabins right away and they were Cat BB, mid-ship on 12th floor (which it looks like have a little larger balcony than most). Our cabins are only a few away from each other which is cool too.

The promotions dont apply to the sail-away rate. It would have been nice to have those as well, but the price is so much better that for us we are fine with giving up the promotions. We got emails to bid on upgrades, and I think the mini-suites wouldn't cost much to get, but honestly, we like the cabins we got so we will pass. We have stayed in the Haven suites twice before (on the Gem and Jewel), and loved it, but I dont think we will even bid on one this time. We literally booked this as an afterthought (picking up son from West Point which is 45 minutes from NY City, so decided to see if any cruises leaving from there at same time). The Sail-away deal was too good to pass up. Ill pay for my beer and wine as we go.

We are going with friends on the Escape this summer and they booked a sail away mini suite, still no cabin assignment, but they did get to choose two free at sea options. They took the free drinks and three specialty dinners. Now it is possible that they just happened to book during a special promotion OR that he upgraded during the booking process since he booked directly through NCL. Anyway, after reading through this thread I told him to double check his reservation because now I'm not so sure...

They probably did not actually book a sailaway rate, but a guarantee. While almost all sailaways are guarantee, there are other instances where a cabin class is sold out or almost sold out where they will still price it but as a guarantee with promotions. For instance you may book a BD price but get assigned a BC or above cabin and get to choose promos. But if you booked BX you would not get the promos.

They probably did not actually book a sailaway rate, but a guarantee. While almost all sailaways are guarantee, there are other instances where a cabin class is sold out or almost sold out where they will still price it but as a guarantee with promotions. For instance you may book a BD price but get assigned a BC or above cabin and get to choose promos. But if you booked BX you would not get the promos.

Thanks, I checked with them and it was the guarantee not the sail away . I just assumed since he didn't have the cabin number that it was a sail away. Note to self...never ASSUME anything.lol

I booked two cabins at the Sailaway rate on the NCL Sky for May 14. Noticed a price drop today for the oceanview guarantees. Only $20 total per cabin to change so I called and made the switch.