NCL upgrade issues

[Medtech2]

Maybe, maybe not. My point is that the policy MAY result in 1) people delaying booking until the last minute or 2) choosing to spend money with a line other than NCL. If either of those things happen more frequently so it now tips the financial formula they use now, then something may change. Again, maybe my perspective is skewed as I book mostly NY market cruises, but it seems this is happening much more frequently lately so time will tell how/ if NCL responds.

 

And I disagree that their only concern is maximizing today's profits. Companies of course want that but they also need to have policies in place that ensure their future financial strength, not just today's profits. They need to have loyal customers to generate growth in the future. Repeat business is a critical component of that model. If that falls off (in part because of dissatisfaction with how they handle price- drops), they may re- consider the policy.

I cruise with Norwegian because of their employees and the overall culture of the crew on the ship. The bright and happy faces I see who take the time to say good morning to me as I walk down the hall. The eagerness to please and provide me with an enjoyable experience.

There are cheaper cruises out there from the get go. Their business model in this regard works. My only complaint thus far has been the stubbornness to not enclose the casino smoke. So, even with the smoke and middle of the road pricing I am still choosing them to cruise. If I wanted to pay more I might try Disney, but that price point is above my means.

The wonderful thing about vacations in general is that there is something out there for every budget, from tent camping to a penthouse in New York.

My brother manages to stay in wonderful places all because his employer allows him to keep the business credit card points. We vacation at very different price points and the kicker is that his is free for him! Should I whine about that? No! It is what it is. If I worried about what everyone else has or doesn't or what they paid compared to me, I'd be one unhappy mess.

[skateycat]

i am trying to understand all this. i just booked through a TA for a 2015 cruise. now i am wondering if i should have waited because i may have unfairly been taken advantage of. hmmmm....i DID get some obc and other stuff for signing up this early. and...i will tell you that when we were looking at rooms (and it ended up we were going to book 3 of them side by side and ended up upgrading ourselves to mini suites) there were few of them left. this early. so, as a relative newby (this being only my second cruise) i have to ask you all if :

#1 did i jump the gun in reserving (not paid in full yet, did not sign any contract yet, but did make a deposit)

#2 will the TA be able to get me the better rate if it comes out? (i already asked this and she says it never...yes she said never....happens, that the only thing that goes down is the port fees.)

i agree...i paid and i am getting what i wanted. if i had waited longer, i might not have gotten what i wanted, esp. when we are looking at several people in a group wanting their rooms together. i also agree that if i cannot get a better deal IF one comes along, so be it. help me understand all this a bit better so maybe next time i won't come on here, read this and feel screwed.

[DorothyB]

Skateycat - I book direct with NCL, but suspect that it would be similar with a TA

 

- depending on the cruise, type of cabin, etc, you will have a period of time that you can cancel with full refund - if you find a better overall deal before that time, it is relatively easy to change to that deal.

 

For my Feb 2016 Hawaii cruise, I can cancel with full refund up to 75 days prior so if I find a better overall deal before then, I can get it switched easily.

 

If your current "good deal" is $999 with $100 OBC and you find a $799 deal, you will likely lose the OBC because you will be doing the new deal.

Edited June 13, 2014 by DorothyB

[garycarla]

i am trying to understand all this. i just booked through a TA for a 2015 cruise. now i am wondering if i should have waited because i may have unfairly been taken advantage of. hmmmm....i DID get some obc and other stuff for signing up this early......

 

 

You did not jump the gun.

You were not taken advantage of.

You can cancel at the 60/75 day mark if you want as discussed my many posters above. Read the cancel policy.

You generally can get a lower rate prior to that as mentioned in posts above.

And, since you are new at this - you do know that a mini suite is really a deluxe balcony, right?

[conandrob240]

Well, you most certainly are being taking advantage of if your TA is telling you she can NEVER get you a better price. It should be very easy for her to book you at a new better price (but you may lose some OBC or perks, depending on new offer) up until final payment is made/due. After that, best NCL will do is upgrade or small % ( usually 25% of price diff) in OBC

[mugtech]

There are other advantages to booking more than 9 months before sailing, such as the AARP discount, the extra latitudes points, and if any flights or hotels are involved a much wider time frame in which to determine when is the best (cheapest) time to buy them.

[skateycat]

i thank you all for your responses. i contacted my TA and yes, IF the price goes down, she is keeping an eye on it all automatically. :D. as for the mini-suite being a glorified balcony or whatever you called it, no, i do not think that 85 sq ft more as just being a glorified balcony. i see you have cruised wayyyyyyy more than me and that may be your opinion. just having a bit more space and a nicer bathroom with a tub is worth the little bit more we are paying. i do appreciate everyone's opinion as it gets me thinking and keeps me on my toes.

[garycarla]

...as for the mini-suite being a glorified balcony or whatever you called it, no, i do not think that 85 sq ft more as just being a glorified balcony. ...

 

The mini suite is nicer and worth the extra money to some folks. It gets pointed out here to help others know it is NOT a SUITE. Some think it is.

[mjkacmom]

i am trying to understand all this. i just booked through a TA for a 2015 cruise. now i am wondering if i should have waited because i may have unfairly been taken advantage of. hmmmm....i DID get some obc and other stuff for signing up this early. and...i will tell you that when we were looking at rooms (and it ended up we were going to book 3 of them side by side and ended up upgrading ourselves to mini suites) there were few of them left. this early. so, as a relative newby (this being only my second cruise) i have to ask you all if :

#1 did i jump the gun in reserving (not paid in full yet, did not sign any contract yet, but did make a deposit)

#2 will the TA be able to get me the better rate if it comes out? (i already asked this and she says it never...yes she said never....happens, that the only thing that goes down is the port fees.)

i agree...i paid and i am getting what i wanted. if i had waited longer, i might not have gotten what i wanted, esp. when we are looking at several people in a group wanting their rooms together. i also agree that if i cannot get a better deal IF one comes along, so be it. help me understand all this a bit better so maybe next time i won't come on here, read this and feel screwed.

 

In your case, it's best to book well ahead of time, because you have specific cabin needs (side by side). Our family books 2 connecting balcony mid-ship cabins. Even though we're 20 minutes from the port - no need for airfare - we book more than a year out, to get the cabins we want, whatever promotion is going on, and extra latitude points. I do check prices (ours have never gone down anyway), but I'm not in a position to ask for an upgrade, because we need our connecting cabins.

 

Now, when the kids are gone, DH and I plan on taking advantage of those last minute prices! His work schedule is pretty flexible, and since we will only need one cabin, we can do away with being picky, and grab a cabin (maybe not the ideal cabin...) last minute. And if there is nothing left, oh well, maybe the following week.

 

You can't have it both ways - either book exactly what you want ahead of time, at a price you can live with, or gamble, and risk having a cabin you don't love, or risk having the price actually increase, or the cruise sells out.

[agabbymama]

skateycat

 

When you make your deposit, you are in effect signing a contract. There won't be an actual contract that you sign.

 

Now there is a Cruise Contract that you can/should read. It gives just about all the rights to the Cruiseline. Most don't read it before something happens, then complain loudly.

 

I found Cruise Critic website after 4 cruises, and was astounded to read that cruiselines can/do change itinerary for weather, mechanical or any reason whatsoever. I was very fortunate that in my 8 cruises, there have been 2 that didn't make the itinerary I had signed on for.

 

I try to do my research before booking (cruise or land vacations) so that I am happy with what I'm paying, regardless of what others may pay.

 

There will always be someone somewhere somehow that may get a better price. Just an example, I booked a 7 day land vacation to Jamaica for $749

(1988) including airfare from Los Angeles. I thought that was a great price. My travel agent sent me a brochure (by mistake she sent me her copy, and there was an insert for her use and she would have paid $99 for that same trip). Was I upset? Nope, just figured that was her perk for being a travel agent.

 

 

On my flight to Paris for my Med cruise, my friend and I were upgraded to Business Class. I took the free perk, but would others in Business Class have been upset that I didn't pay what they paid for it? Probably.

 

If you're going to cruise/travel, just do your homework BEFORE booking, then be happy you are able to do the trip at all. There are a lot of folks out there that can't.

[dazza74]

Here in the UK we don't get any price drops with NCL.

[mrobstad]

I'm diamond on RCCL and have never gotten an upgrade. I've switched to NCL because they try to make you whole. Do other cruise lines make you whole with a price drop?

 

 

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[BadKitteh]

If the price went up, you wouldn't pay extra. It's after final payment so there will be lots of price changes over the next 2 weeks so they can fill the empty cabins.

 

 

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[luddite]

If the price went up, you wouldn't pay extra. It's after final payment so there will be lots of price changes over the next 2 weeks so they can fill the empty cabins.

 

 

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Around here it's called a fire sale.

[skateycat]

am wondering what that means, "make it whole".

and yes, i read the contract. ha ha ha. i am actually one of the strange ones who does. i want to know what i am getting myself in for. it is all so curious to me. for example, they might change the itinerary. yes, i am aware of that. wondering how and why they might change it for my upcoming new england/ canada cruise. also curious how you get the air/cruise deal...is this through your TA? we almost always will need this unless we want to go somewhere out of tampa or miami which are both driveable. after reading all the responses here i do believe that if you want a specific type of cabin and are eligible for some of the discounts early on (i am) then i think the prices are lowest the farther out you book in most instances for most cabins i would be interested in (balcony and mini suite). i think if i just wanted to get away, take my chances and get a sailing in last minute out of tampa or miami, then i would just wait for one of these "fire sales". btw, are there destinations that tend to have these "fire sales"? you know, maybe ones that at certain times of the year have trouble selling out? (i know this is probably a separate topic now.) anyway, i appreciate all the advice from the more experienced cruisers! that is what makes this site so valuable.

[Sauer-kraut]

. i think if i just wanted to get away, take my chances and get a sailing in last minute out of tampa or miami, then i would just wait for one of these "fire sales". btw, are there destinations that tend to have these "fire sales"? you know, maybe ones that at certain times of the year have trouble selling out? (i know this is probably a separate topic now.) anyway, i appreciate all the advice from the more experienced cruisers! that is what makes this site so valuable.

 

You just need to look for cruises that are OUTSIDE of school holidays and holiday sailings. The week before Christmas, the week after New Years Eve and such. Sometimes you can get great deals on trans-Atlantic cruises but you have to figure the one way flight involved.

 

With just a bit of diligence you can get some very good deals. If you're not fussy about the cabin you'll get, even better!

[jakeT]

Do not feel bad. NCL does it to all there guest

[jskinsd]

Just be happy you have a balcony and cross your fingers. My IX turned into a IA on my northbound trip on the Sun and my BX turned into a BA as I will be sailing back to Vancouver on deck 10 today.

[cocheese]

Pardon my ramble.

 

We have been planning on taking a land vacation with some friends for months. My cruise OCD always keeps me checking prices, so low and behold a week ago the cruise prices were cheaper then our land vacation were going to be. We discussed it and decided to go on a cruise instead. I should explain our cruising habits are not typical. This will be our 7th cruise in less that 3 years, but we have never taken anything longer then a 5 day cruise(my work will not let me be out of contact longer than that) this will be our 5th trip on the SKY, and we just this year took 2 cruises on the Carnival Victory.

 

As I was saying I watched as the prices kept dropping for our cruise next week, and we finally pulled the trigger and booked. I am paying for friends of ours to go(their first cruise) I booked them a guarantee Inside and us a guarantee balcony. We got our balcony assignment within a couple of days. In that time prices dropped again. Instead of being upset I used it to get them an assigned cabin only 2 doors down from us. Today I noticed if I would have waited I could have done the same thing and saved over $200 as prices dropped again. Moral of the story you have to be happy with what you booked originally or you will not be happy on your cruise.

 

But for those who want to be able to beat the system until you cruise, go to Carnival and book in Advance on the Early saver. I did this on our last cruise and was able to get price matching until 2 days before we sailed. http://www.carnival.com/specials/early-saver-how-it-works.aspx

 

So either stick with NCL and have better food, and friendlier staff and be stuck with the price of final payment. Or go to Carnival where you can get the absolute best price and still have a decent cruise.

 

My ramble and 2 cents are now over.

[roquejo]

I'm also the type who frequently monitors the price drops, in my experience, RCCL is more generous with upgrades after a price drop. I do have some frustrations with NCL in trying to secure an upgrade after price drops compared to RCCL.

 

Also I've realized that booking a back to back combined IT under one reservation number vs booking both legs separately under 2 reservations numbers has a less chances of upgrade.

 

As their system won't allow you to have 2 cabin numbers under one reservation number, so for you to get upgraded, a price drop should occur on a same cabin number that is available for both legs.

 

Even if the a drop happens on both legs but involves different room numbers, the system won't allow NCL to upgrade you without cancelling your combined IT reservation.

Edited June 17, 2014 by roquejo

[mayesq]

I think everybody is being really hard on the OP. Last year we booked a Disney cruise. Paid in full in May 2013 for a cruise in August 2013. Three weeks before the cruise Disney offered a Florida Resident Discount for our cruise. We called the TA and Disney ended up giving us $2200.00 dollars back. THAT is customer service and proof that Disney values the customer. Granted, we just had an amazing time on the 6/7 Getaway cruise. But NCL does have customer service issues. Working with their customers would go a long way towards people coming back. I would think that is what NCL wants, right?