Confused

[getupgo]

We have reservations on Sun for Feb 22. There are a lot of cabins open in my category. I was hoping for a price drop before my final payment but the price has increased $150 pp. That seems very strange to me. Does NCL have an equivalent to Early Saver? Too late for now but wondering for the future.

[cliffd64]

I would wait until around 40 days till cruising time before you see price drops.

 

That's usually when the cruise line will usually try to fill unsold cabins and prices drop. However, if that is a school holiday week, you might not see any reductions.

[sparks1093]

We have reservations on Sun for Feb 22. There are a lot of cabins open in my category. I was hoping for a price drop before my final payment but the price has increased $150 pp. That seems very strange to me. Does NCL have an equivalent to Early Saver? Too late for now but wondering for the future.

 

NCL does not offer anything like Early Saver. Generally speaking any price drops that occur after final payment date do not result in any type of credit for booked passengers although it could result in an upgrade. If one is persistent enough a small OBC might be given.

[garycarla]

GREAT NEWS!

 

The price went up, but they are not asking you for more money.

 

Yea!

[AuntieBarb]

Years ago it seemed the best fares were obtained by booking way ahead; like 1 year or more in advance. Not seeing much of that anymore. I think they're on to us! :eek: Seriously though, there are many methods to this madness with fares; to entice bookings to certain ships over others, to fill ships last minute, to keep that revenue coming in during slow seasons. It's a gamble sometimes. One simply needs to be content with the fare they get and be thankful for any type of credit they receive thereafter....if any.

[sparks1093]

Years ago it seemed the best fares were obtained by booking way ahead; like 1 year or more in advance. Not seeing much of that anymore. I think they're on to us! :eek: Seriously though, there are many methods to this madness with fares; to entice bookings to certain ships over others, to fill ships last minute, to keep that revenue coming in during slow seasons. It's a gamble sometimes. One simply needs to be content with the fare they get and be thankful for any type of credit they receive thereafter....if any.

 

I just did a faux booking for the Sky and the fare for a 3 day in two weeks is $129 per person. The same time next year it's $279. (That is of course the lowest inside cabin rate.)

[johnql]

We have reservations on Sun for Feb 22. There are a lot of cabins open in my category. I was hoping for a price drop before my final payment but the price has increased $150 pp. That seems very strange to me. Does NCL have an equivalent to Early Saver? Too late for now but wondering for the future.

It shouldn't seem strange because it's a myth that prices always go down. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don't.

 

Here's an example of one cruise that I've been tracking: the Gem's Jan 15, 2015 sailing. Back in June, an inside IF cabin was being offered for $599. Last week, the same category was going for $1269 after going through a steady climb all summer. This may be an extreme example but it shows that prices are unpredictable and will go up or down as the market dictates.

 

My rule of thumb is to book if you're happy with the price. If you're able to take advantage of any ensuing price drops, great. But if not, it shouldn't bother you either.

[fergusonvt]

On my upcoming NCL cruise the fare went down about 6 months after I booked. I don't look often because there are not many suites on the Sun and they get filled up fast however I just happened to look while I was waiting on the phone for a credit from JetBlue for our airfare this year and saw it had dropped around $80pp and had $400 in OBC instead of the $300 when I booked. I called and got the new pricing right away. I doubt it will go down again and most likely all of that category suite are probably gone at this point.

[Love my butler]

Booking last minute (15-30 days out) will almost always get you the best price. The downside is your selection is more limited and you could possibly get shut out of a certain ship/week.

[Susie51]

Booking last minute (15-30 days out) will almost always get you the best price. The downside is your selection is more limited and you could possibly get shut out of a certain ship/week.

 

I must choose popular cruises, because usually they sell out before 30 days.

[mugtech]

I must choose popular cruises, because usually they sell out before 30 days.

 

They sell out early because word gets out that you will be on that cruise!!

:D