Time for my second NCL cruise

[be4life182]

Last spring I went on an NCL with 8 of my friends and fell in love with cruising in general, and was very pleased with the NCL freestyle experience.

 

Now I am getting ready to book my second cruise and have a few basic questions I was unable to find using the search.

 

What is the best way to get OBC currently? I know if you book through expedia they give you some but I imagine ncl has a promo code for booking directly through them? Last year all the arrangements were taking care of for me so I'm not sure what they did.

 

How does the price guaranty work? I assume if you find a cheaper price for a similar room prior to date, you can call and they basically treat it as a rebooking?

 

Thanks in advance. Cruice critic seems like one of the most helpful forums I have ever visited (out of many) and has already answered so many questions of mine last year.

[sparks1093]

Last spring I went on an NCL with 8 of my friends and fell in love with cruising in general, and was very pleased with the NCL freestyle experience.

 

Now I am getting ready to book my second cruise and have a few basic questions I was unable to find using the search.

 

What is the best way to get OBC currently? I know if you book through expedia they give you some but I imagine ncl has a promo code for booking directly through them? Last year all the arrangements were taking care of for me so I'm not sure what they did.

 

How does the price guaranty work? I assume if you find a cheaper price for a similar room prior to date, you can call and they basically treat it as a rebooking?

 

Thanks in advance. Cruice critic seems like one of the most helpful forums I have ever visited (out of many) and has already answered so many questions of mine last year.

 

Best way to get OBC? Wish I knew a definitive answer but all I can suggest is shop around (NCL will typically only offer it during sales). The only price guarentee I know of is the one where if you find a lower price within 24 hours (or 48 hours) of booking you get the lower price (their website has the details). After that if you see a price drop you will have to call your TA if you booked through one or NCL and ask for it, which is sometimes treated as a cancel and re-book (which means if you received OBC from NCL then you might lose it).

[be4life182]

Thanks. I know NCL has certain promo codes for OBC, but I dont know any.

 

I am looking to go on March 18th on the Gem out of NYC. I know it is a little late so Id like to at least get the best deal possible, considering my tab usually runs pretty high on board.

[nikimouse]

there is a website where you receive quotes from several different travel agents and then you can see what they are each offering and decide who is offering the most and book with them. They compete for your buisiness and then you just email them once you have the quotes.

Expedia does have some good deals but I cant book through them as im in the UK. I saw a cruise last week for $58 but it was going to colon and another bahamas cruise was $129 then it went up! I cant belive some of the deals out there for this month I might have to do a last minuit booking next time..... anyway Im going off topic ....

I hope you find a good deal for your next cruise on the gem and have a great time :)

[be4life182]

Do you know what the website is? I will try kayak right now, although I always thought it was cheaper to go directly through ncl.com.

 

Thanks for the wishes. I see you are doing the same itinerary on the pearl this spring, hope you enjoy as well. I know I did. Couldnt have asked for better weather. I went during spring break week so I had a lot of fun but we also did a fair amount of drinking, but there were still a good time had by all.

[be4life182]

I cannot find any OBC deals at this time. I am a little bummed by this.

[nygvic1950]

It is called CRUISE COMPETE (WWW.*************.COM). Put in the particulars of the cruise you are looking at and you will typically get 4-5 bids from TA's. Just make sure when you get you are comapring apples to apples (ie. category codes)

[JMHAM1]

We do not sail without OBC's. I feel like it is free money. You have to wait and watch. We have an online TA that we use that runs specials with OBC's and extras like dinner for 2 in a specialty restaurant, spa treatments, etc.

 

CRU

 

My advice is check around ANY upcoming holiday. I got an email regarding cruises with OBC as a Valentine's day sail. Also booked one time around St. Pat's Day and got excellent deals with OBC's for a cruise in Europe.

 

CON

 

There is one now (I think it is still ongoing) for $500 OBC if you pay with your AMEX card.

 

Read between the lines and try that. Good Luck!

[mizLORInj]

Ditto on shopping around. I have used the site referenced that competes for your business with good results. Just check the fees of the TA you decide to use. Some have fees, some don't.

We have had OBCs on all of our last, say, 20 cruises. Even one nighters. And they're all through a TA.

Have fun!

[be4life182]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Now i have something to look into.

 

The problem I recently realized was my old email server I had from college started blocking NCL emails so I havent gotten a deal email in a while, although I have recently changed to my msn email.

 

I agree that OBC is a great incentive becuase I know I will rack up a couple hundred at least! I really dont want to book without it, but I would if need be.

[johnsak123]

You should shop around. I suggest if you book thru a TA have them specifically ask for an bigger OBC. I booked thru amex and as a repeat customer I received an additional 50 bucks. Every little bit helps so I was thrilled

Enjoy!!

[be4life182]

I signed up for cruise compete. We will see what TA email for quotes. I appreciate the help a lot.

[Cmdr Cody]

We book suites so we can use our AMEX card and get $500 OBC. We can use that up pretty quick through the cruise though.

[Cmdr Cody]

Have't tried the TA thing but have always called and gotten the best deal for our cruises from the PCC. If the price drops I cal again to get the new price.

[be4life182]

Got some good quotes but our third person bailed! AHHH. Looking for replacement

[EaglesWin]

We book suites so we can use our AMEX card and get $500 OBC. We can use that up pretty quick through the cruise though.

 

We just got that $500 AMEX one. Is that just a limited-time promotion or is it pretty much a standing offer?

[marelind]

Just talked to my PCC and she said the AMEX promotion is good through 3/31/12. That doesn't mean they won't continue after that, but that's what she could guarantee.

[palmyrafan]

We do not sail without OBC's. I feel like it is free money. You have to wait and watch. We have an online TA that we use that runs specials with OBC's and extras like dinner for 2 in a specialty restaurant, spa treatments, etc.

 

CRU

 

My advice is check around ANY upcoming holiday. I got an email regarding cruises with OBC as a Valentine's day sail. Also booked one time around St. Pat's Day and got excellent deals with OBC's for a cruise in Europe.

 

CON

 

There is one now (I think it is still ongoing) for $500 OBC if you pay with your AMEX card.

 

Read between the lines and try that. Good Luck!

 

Not sure how long the promo lasts, but we booked with AMEX (not knowing of the promo) and were given $500 OBC for our cruise for later this year.

 

Usually, once you are a Latitudes member and have 1 cruise under your belt, they tend to send you either emails or snail mails with their brochure, ports and special codes to get the best deals and some OBC. Make sure you sign up as a Latitudes member though to get the mailings.

 

Another way to get OBC is to register for another cruise (usually in 2 year time frame) while you are aboard NCL while cruising. We are usually able to get between $250-$300 OBC by doing this, depending on the promo they are running.

[be4life182]

Not sure how long the promo lasts, but we booked with AMEX (not knowing of the promo) and were given $500 OBC for our cruise for later this year.

 

Usually, once you are a Latitudes member and have 1 cruise under your belt, they tend to send you either emails or snail mails with their brochure, ports and special codes to get the best deals and some OBC. Make sure you sign up as a Latitudes member though to get the mailings.

 

Another way to get OBC is to register for another cruise (usually in 2 year time frame) while you are aboard NCL while cruising. We are usually able to get between $250-$300 OBC by doing this, depending on the promo they are running.

I am a latitude member, but like I said my old email server started blocking the emails for some reason. I have fixed it recently but no new emails.

 

Also I have recently read that you can no longer book future cruises while on a cruise, which is very unfourtunate.

[phillygirl63]

I was able to get $250 OBC by applying for the NCL Worldpoints credit card. You can apply on-line on NCL's website. They approved me within 24 hours, sent me the card and after I made one qualifying purchase with the card, I received 15,000 bonus points which is good for $250 OBC. You earn 1 point for every dollar spent on the card (2 points if spent with NCL). Every 5,000 points is good for $50 OBC. My next cruise isn't for another 15 months so I figured I would start racking up the points now.

 

As some of the others have said, putting a deposit down for a future cruise while you are on your current cruise gets you automatic OBC to spend on the current cruise (I think $250 but not positive).

[Cmdr Cody]

I was able to get $250 OBC by applying for the NCL Worldpoints credit card. You can apply on-line on NCL's website. They approved me within 24 hours, sent me the card and after I made one qualifying purchase with the card, I received 15,000 bonus points which is good for $250 OBC. You earn 1 point for every dollar spent on the card (2 points if spent with NCL). Every 5,000 points is good for $50 OBC. My next cruise isn't for another 15 months so I figured I would start racking up the points now.

 

As some of the others have said, putting a deposit down for a future cruise while you are on your current cruise gets you automatic OBC to spend on the current cruise (I think $250 but not positive).

 

Putting $250 deposit for future cruise gets you $100 OBC during the present cruise.

[Cmdr Cody]

We just got that $500 AMEX one. Is that just a limited-time promotion or is it pretty much a standing offer?

 

The offer early last year was $300. The $500 started in the fall. I have $500 OBC on all 4 cruises I have booked from now until Feb 2014. I also get 2% rewards for using my AMEX for travel. I used to pay for everything from checking. Now I use Amex and then pay if off with no interest and get rewarded.

[phillygirl63]

I was able to get $250 OBC by applying for the NCL Worldpoints credit card. You can apply on-line on NCL's website. They approved me within 24 hours, sent me the card and after I made one qualifying purchase with the card, I received 15,000 bonus points which is good for $250 OBC. You earn 1 point for every dollar spent on the card (2 points if spent with NCL). Every 5,000 points is good for $50 OBC. My next cruise isn't for another 15 months so I figured I would start racking up the points now.

 

As some of the others have said, putting a deposit down for a future cruise while you are on your current cruise gets you automatic OBC to spend on the current cruise (I think $250 but not positive).

 

I was not able to edit. 15,000 bonus points earns you $150 OBC, and as CmdrCody said, putting a deposit down would get an additional $100 OBC.

[be4life182]

Shouldve really looked into that, just got a new credit card last week :( Thanks for the help everyone. We found a new third and then the 2nd person bailed. The joys of planning a vaction