Best time to Book?

[Marietta]

We usually sail Carnival and Love the Early Saver (actually have a price drop being reviewed right now :-). I want to take the NCL Spirit out of NO in December but am not sure if we should book it now or wait. Do they have sales / specials very often? We are latitudes, senior, military and fire fighter but none of those seam to do us any good. Is it better to do it online - NCL.com or otherwise, or call and get a live person? Can I get a discount if the price drops after I book? I know the price was $30 cheaper a couple of months ago (may have been a sale)...

 

Thanks for any help or ideas!

[shof515]

Wait till the end of July. They might have another freestyle dash promo

[Marietta]

Thanks! What is Freestyle Dash?

[shof515]

Its a promotion they seem to be running at least monthly so far. Reduce deposits with onboard credit. Last week they had this promo, but it was on selected sailings only.

[ghulett]

We usually sail Carnival and Love the Early Saver (actually have a price drop being reviewed right now :-). I want to take the NCL Spirit out of NO in December but am not sure if we should book it now or wait. Do they have sales / specials very often? We are latitudes, senior, military and fire fighter but none of those seam to do us any good. Is it better to do it online - NCL.com or otherwise, or call and get a live person? Can I get a discount if the price drops after I book? I know the price was $30 cheaper a couple of months ago (may have been a sale)...

 

Thanks for any help or ideas!

I booked two cruises through a NCL Personal Cruise Consultant about a year ago...already cruised one, the other is in September. I don't know about other agents, but when you book directly through an NCL PCC if the price goes down before final payment, just give them a call and they will adjust it (not with OBC, but actually reduce your total). The only thing is that YOU have to watch the website for sales, it won't happen automatically. I called and asked my PCC for a reduction twice on the cruise I did in May. She took care of it immediately. The second cruise is in a sold-out category (only four cabins on the ship), so I haven't been able to take advantage of a reduction on that sailing.

[Marietta]

So if I call NCL and book it now and they have a special at the end of July I can get the price adjusted to the lower sale price? Does it work for OBC specials too?

[shof515]

some promotions is only valid for new bookings, be careful of the fine print

[Marietta]

I knew it sounded too good. :-)

 

They're gonna get you somewhere.

 

Thanks!

[fiftyguy]

As an earlier post stated I like to book early so I can get the cabin I want and then check into the ncl website to see if there have been reductions. I will call my pcc and she'll make the adjustment for me. She's good about crunching the numbers for me first to make sure I get the price reduction but don't lose obc's. All of my trips have gone down before I made final payment.

[Turtles06]

It's very hard to "time" the system. My philosophy is this: if there's a cruise you'd like to take, at a price you can afford, book it. Pick your cabin, be happy, and check NCL's web site from time to time to see if the price has gone down; call NCL if it does.

[SFO-F/A]

I booked our November cruises 10 and 9 months out. There have been no price drops. I booked our Baltic cruise 10 months out. When I booked there were promotions going on for all 3 cruises. I booked through a PCC with NCL.

 

On all three cruises, I've only seen the prices rise. From $400 to $900 per cabin. I check the NCL website about once a week, just to be sure there isn't a price drop. We are traveling in balcony cabins, one of them an aft balcony.

[ashley_and_jason]

I booked our cruise Feb of 2011 and it's for Nov 2011. When I first booked, I booked when there was the free upgrades for everyone. So I got a good deal on a balcony. Then another upgrade came along, I got a mini-suite upgrade for free. Then the promo for kids sail free came along and our TA adjusted our price for that. So we have a nice room in a nice location on the boat for an amazing price!!! I booked through a travel agent who is awesome!! It all depends when you book & where you want to go. I never had to cancel & rebook for any promos.