Spirit Repo 4/11/10 NOL to Boston

[mrclean1]

My wife and I have been booked for a while, some friends checked today and there are no cabins available, what's up with that....

 

We have non-refundable air and hotels booked in New Orleans already, did I miss something or is it sold out this early? Just kind of weird to be un-available this early, is there something else going on. My NCL still shows the reservation, so that part is OK.

 

Steve

[Don Haynes]

I doubt the ship is sold out this soon, possibly some travel agents have overbooked and may return some of their cabins back to NCL at a later date. But these reposition cruises that have Aruba and other southern Caribbean ports of call on their itineraries are very popular. Many cruisers see a bargain as their costs are considerably less per day than the weekly cruises, although having more days they are more expensive. How should I say it, more bang for the buck, a better overall value.

 

You might check the websites of the internet travel agencies. Surely some of them will have some cabins available if NCL doesn't....

[scchasgal]

My wife and I have been booked for a while, some friends checked today and there are no cabins available, what's up with that....

 

We have non-refundable air and hotels booked in New Orleans already, did I miss something or is it sold out this early? Just kind of weird to be un-available this early, is there something else going on. My NCL still shows the reservation, so that part is OK.

 

Steve

 

Repo cruises are popular and April is not that far away. My guess it would be sold out or there are rooms blocked by TA's that will be released once the final payment period has passed.

[joejoemcd]

It seems to me that whenever a cruise leaves Boston for the Caribbean it sells pretty quickly, I've always hoped for a last minute deal on one, but have never come across one.

[mrclean1]

I checked on-line for them and no one has availability, so DW started to get nervous, thinking about a cancellation. In this case no news is good news and what the heck if something happens with the cruise we will just extend in New Orleans, we are flying in on 4/7 anyway...

[cod]

Curiosity killed the cat so they say! NCL's website plus a couple of my favorite online sites showing 'no cabins available' drove me to call NCL and PRETEND (we're booked already). They do have SOME availability (I enquired about an ocv and was quoted an E price with an upgrade to a C) but it looks like cabins are getting scarce and the way to book here-on-out is directly with NCL via phone, not on their website.

 

Very interesting. It's unusual for a repo this length to sell out (or be close to selling out) 4 months in advance. Wow!

[cod]

I wanted to add that I booked an ins JJ months ago at was the lowest price I'd seen up to then...and haven't seen since. I had PLANS of upgrading on my own if rates close to sailing went way down or of being offered an upsell down the road. I think those chances are slim to none at this point but I guess time will tell. Yet I am happy with what I have and for what I paid which is the main thing. When I booked, an ocv was about $250 more pp and I thought about the excursions (and maybe a couple of specialty restaurant dinners) that could be purchased with all the money saved.

 

I've never been to a couple of these ports, including Aruba. And I'm looking forward to Bermuda..we were there one day a few years ago on a transatlantic and I thought it was a beautiful place.

[mrclean1]

Wow, Cod thanks for the input... That will make my DW feel better.

[kdg51]

mrclean1---you might want to check out our roll call for the Spirit repo. Very popular with CC members with a lot of activity (and activities planned). Many of us have been on the Majesty repos several times and some were on the Spirit last Spring. Very relaxing with a lot of sea days. We did a 7 day Alaska cruise this year and had a great week but are looking forward to the longer cruise.

 

One member has been able to get a special price for hotel for before the cruise which is listed in the roll call.

 

Last I checked it appeared that all the balcony cabins were booked but like they said...that could change when TA release cabins they are holding.

 

cod--I would be very surprised to see the price go down now. I saw it go up and hung in there for a while but I don't think it's going to happen so we booked about 2 weeks ago. An airfare on SW that would have cost us a little more than $50 at one point for spring of 2009 is costing us about $200/person this time and no free seats available. Someone said there is some type of music festival happening that weekend next year. I was very tempted to change our plans for Alaska this year but had rescheduled Jury Duty for that week in April...who knew the judge would be on vacation that week and all jurys were excused. :( Not a big deal...we had no rain and 80-90 degree temps in Alaska. They say that doesn't happen too often. :D

 

mrclean1...just noticed you did a B2B on the Spirit. We went that route too but doesn't compare to a repo. Cruise was longer and we got to watch others pack and leave but unlike the repo, the entertainment and meals will be different every night and not just a repeat of the 1st week.

[cod]

Yes kdg51, I am not getting my hopes up. Would I have liked an ocv or a balcony? Yes! But hundreds more for an ocv and more than double for a balcony made our decision easy. We are retired and what we have is it, so we are trying to spread it out over what we hope will be the number of our remaining years.

 

Yikes, that sounds so dire even to me..and I wrote it!!lol

 

See you all on board. (Also, someone has to be an ins for the cabin crawl right?...how boring if we only got to visit suites, balconies and the like!!)

[kdg51]

cod...I agree. And you forgot that ---it's dark enough to take a nap during the day if you stay out too late and there is plenty of sunshine on the pool deck.....

[Don Haynes]

Very interesting. It's unusual for a repo this length to sell out (or be close to selling out) 4 months in advance. Wow!

 

This shows that the Spirit is a unique, wonderful ship very much liked in each of her markets: New Orleans and Boston. She is a huge improvement over the Majesty with plenty of restaurants, lounges, and balconies. While she isn't the newest or largest ship in NCL's fleet, and for some may not match the Star and/or Jewel class ships, she is the finest NCL ship ever in both of her markets. I am sure many New Englanders and Southerners would love to do a long reposition cruise with her doing a Southern Caribbean itinerary....

[cod]

How true kdg5. In fact, our days are planned around 2 main events...cocktail hour and nap-time!

 

And yes, we did a 7 night on the Spirit last November and share your opinion of her, Don Haynes. It's a beautiful ship with a very nice crew.