End of the All-Inclusive type Promotions?

[Kingmaker_inc]

So, here we are at the end of March and it seems that it might be the last day for the Pick One, Two, Three or Four perks.

 

The all-inclusive type perks promotion has been going on for what seems a long, long time... months and months, if not already about a year.

 

Anyone have any idea what's coming next?

[Into Cruising]

Booking Window: March 16, 2016 - April 10, 2016 11:59 pm EST

Applicable Sailings:Select 5 night or longer sailings booked greater than 30 days prior to sailing

Pick One: Studios, Insides, Oceanviews

Pick Two: Balconies & Mini-Suites

Get All Four: Suites & Haven

 

Pride of America sailings are not eligible for the offer.

Not valid 30 days or less from sailing.

Valid on 5+ night sailings.

Offer must be booked greater than 30 days based on EST.

Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Escape, and Norwegian Getaway can be booked 30 days or less from sailing.

 

but they have been known to change horses in midstream before

[CruisingFireMedic]

I have a semi related question. When I booked on the getaway for 5/15/16 I got the pick two. Now they are offering on board credit. If I called them would they give it to me or anything?

 

 

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[Kingmaker_inc]

I have a semi related question. When I booked on the getaway for 5/15/16 I got the pick two. Now they are offering on board credit. If I called them would they give it to me or anything?

 

 

Probably not if you've already paid the final amount. But it can't hurt to call...

[Kingmaker_inc]

Personally, I'm hoping for an extension of the Canada at Par deal into 2017.

 

The exchange rate is killing my plans for my next cruise, and either I need a deal or the Cdn currency to make a sharp bounce back upwards!!

[grouchomarx]

I don't think they're going to end it. They just always say "last day..." and then the same promotions come around again and again. It's like how Lord and Taylor always has a 15-20% off "sale" that claims to end on a certain date but it's always back again, over and over forever.

[pmoniz]

I was hoping they'd come out with 2018 itineraries before the Pick Perks expired, but not such luck! Hopefully they'll bring it back!

[Into Cruising]

I just wish they would settle on an offering and not tweak it each week or month. They are so intent on maintain price control, that the primary method is to keep the prices steady, and adjust promos to drum up business.

 

And by keeping prices steady I mean steadily going up.

 

By making you cancel and rebook, you really have to understand the entire package and exactly what you lose and what you gain by rebooking for each new promotion.

 

Things seem to cycle....if booking well in advance, the initial booking perk is going to be the best you can get for a bit..there will be more promotions but seldom will it be worth your while to rebook for them. Their intent is to drum up new business not rebook old business.

 

as you get closer to your date, you may see a price decrease that will offset the change in what promo you originally got compared to any new offering.

 

When cancelling and rebooking I am always told there is a distinct possibility of losing my assigned room, which can also be a show stopper for some

[LemonLorraine]

Probably not if you've already paid the final amount. But it can't hurt to call...

 

I was wondering the same thing.. booked mine and now there's an on-board credit available. Blargh. I'm going to call today and see what they can do.

[Kingmaker_inc]

I just wish they would settle on an offering and not tweak it each week or month. They are so intent on maintain price control, that the primary method is to keep the prices steady, and adjust promos to drum up business.

 

And by keeping prices steady I mean steadily going up.

 

By making you cancel and rebook, you really have to understand the entire package and exactly what you lose and what you gain by rebooking for each new promotion.

 

Things seem to cycle....if booking well in advance, the initial booking perk is going to be the best you can get for a bit..there will be more promotions but seldom will it be worth your while to rebook for them. Their intent is to drum up new business not rebook old business.

 

as you get closer to your date, you may see a price decrease that will offset the change in what promo you originally got compared to any new offering.

 

When cancelling and rebooking I am always told there is a distinct possibility of losing my assigned room, which can also be a show stopper for some

 

 

Since I've attained Platinum status, I don't care about the extra points for booking 9 months +, and so I feel quite free to change my booking when a better deal comes up... and for me, that has happened several times in the past. I saved a bunch (and didn't lose much at all) when I switched to a Kids Sail Free deal, and at that time it included all 4 kids!! That saved a lot of $$, but only lost me a small OBC. But you are completely correct - you need to do the math and understand the points allocation as well.

 

I've never had a question of my cabin assignment being changed, but perhaps that is a H4 thing. Another H4 thing is that the cabin price never goes down closer to sailing because they are generally all booked well in advance.

[Arzeena]

So, here we are at the end of March and it seems that it might be the last day for the Pick One, Two, Three or Four perks.

 

The all-inclusive type perks promotion has been going on for what seems a long, long time... months and months, if not already about a year.

 

Anyone have any idea what's coming next?

 

Lower prices hopefully!:D

[Into Cruising]

Yep each offer and promo needs to be evaluated and taken advantage of if possible and feasible.

 

Just wondering if your experience is recent, or not. I

 

I feel things have changed dramatically over the last year. Prior to this past year when I would arrange Groups, I always told the people up front, that I would constantly check for lower prices, and that the prices almost assuredly come down before final payment. Now some of these groups are booked 12-18 months ahead of the sailing date. Usually this proved true in the past

 

I have a group on the Escape coming up in June that was started 15 months ago, and not a single person has seen a lower price, even though they have seen changes in promos. Our promo was the beverage package with gratuities paid. Once getting that, no future promo offered value enough to make a change. and the price of our room increase a lot, and came back down right before final payment, but not lower than our original prices.

[Kingmaker_inc]

Just wondering if your experience is recent, or not.

 

I have a group on the Escape coming up in June that was started 15 months ago, and not a single person has seen a lower price, even though they have seen changes in promos. Our promo was the beverage package with gratuities paid. Once getting that, no future promo offered value enough to make a change. and the price of our room increase a lot, and came back down right before final payment, but not lower than our original prices.

 

 

My switch was made in the summer (perhaps August) of 2015, for a March 2016 cruise. I hit a sweet spot of Passenger 3-6 sailing free AND the cruise base didn't go up.

 

Your advice is sound. Everyone needs to check the math before changing anything.

[Kingmaker_inc]

Today is apparently the last day for the increased OBC... according to the NCL site.

[newmexicoNita]

I was hoping they'd come out with 2018 itineraries before the Pick Perks expired, but not such luck! Hopefully they'll bring it back!

 

2 years out is, normally a little far. the schedule 2018 will probably be out in a few months: usually 18 months before the beginning of a new year.

[newmexicoNita]

I just wish they would settle on an offering and not tweak it each week or month. They are so intent on maintain price control, that the primary method is to keep the prices steady, and adjust promos to drum up business.

 

And by keeping prices steady I mean steadily going up.

 

By making you cancel and rebook, you really have to understand the entire package and exactly what you lose and what you gain by rebooking for each new promotion.

 

Things seem to cycle....if booking well in advance, the initial booking perk is going to be the best you can get for a bit..there will be more promotions but seldom will it be worth your while to rebook for them. Their intent is to drum up new business not rebook old business.

 

as you get closer to your date, you may see a price decrease that will offset the change in what promo you originally got compared to any new offering.

 

When cancelling and rebooking I am always told there is a distinct possibility of losing my assigned room, which can also be a show stopper for some

 

you are dreaming if you think they will not continue to tweek and change promos. All companies do this regardless.

[Into Cruising]

I understand what you are saying, but the CEO is intent on maintaining pricing. He has gone on record as this being a priority. That is why you see the adjustments being made mostly to the promotions, not to the actual listed prices. It was not unusual in the past to see promotions once a year or twice or maybe quarterly or for a limited time.

 

For sure the prices were adjusted much more often then.

 

Now there are fewer price adjustments, but constant promo tweaking.

 

What to expect? maybe they will add on coffee or water to the beverage package, no wait, we can stretch this out...add only decaf coffee first then maybe just capucinos, then we can add water, wait we can raise the limit to 16 dollars per drink.....hey this is working well, let's tighten up a bit and only offer drinks above $10. Hey, but what the heck, the base price is still the same.

 

There could be unlimited perks offered that people will find as a great incentive... I see head of line privledges for the Ropes course in the future, ooops, hasn't Disney already thought of that angle.

 

 

Removing tongue from cheek.....he has the price maintained, and he is simply adjusting the promo to maintain his cash flow or revenue.

[Kingmaker_inc]

Now there are fewer price adjustments, but constant promo tweaking...

 

No doubt, the perks are being watered down in some areas.

 

I mind the changes in the UDP. Getting 3 dinners out of a 7-9 day cruise is not the right ratio. It should be more like 4 or 5 at the least! The Shore Excursion Credit has been reduced by $25 per port. I am disappointed, but not really up in arms about it.

 

The biggest change for me is the Canadian Dollar and the new policies. I would take the Canadian at Par right now over all of the various perks put together. I can use the extra funds to buy the packages I would actually use and still save a bundle.

[chefrubba]

Booked on the Gem out of San Juan in November in a mini suite. Had the 2 offers but not the OBC. Just checked to see if it was worth it to make a change for the OBC and it wasn't.

OBC per person was $70 per person however I would have lost one night on the SDP and the price increased on the fare by $50 a person...so not really worth it to me.

 

 

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[Justaddvodka68]

They've changed things today. Now you pay $200 PP more for the promos on any rates marked with a yellow bar. "Sail away rates." It's not on every ship, date or cabin type. Very random and strange.

 

I started a new thread to discuss!

[luv2cruisecats]

Carnival just announced huge margins of 3 times what this quarter produced a year ago. The reason is the big drop in bunker oil cost. Why would any cruise line not continue to increase our costs in various ways when they know their bottom line is bolstered by this savings?

Therefore the mindset is let the price increases go on and if a few of us rebel and put off cruising so what? The bottom lines will still be fantastic due to the drop in oil price.

[Nola26]

I have a semi related question. When I booked on the getaway for 5/15/16 I got the pick two. Now they are offering on board credit. If I called them would they give it to me or anything?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

The promotion applies to new bookings. So you would have to cancel your current trip, pay cancellation fees to get the promotion on a new booking.

 

Not likely a great deal. Our balcony OBC was $100 under the promotion. An inside is $50.

[fshagan]

Carnival just announced huge margins of 3 times what this quarter produced a year ago. The reason is the big drop in bunker oil cost. Why would any cruise line not continue to increase our costs in various ways when they know their bottom line is bolstered by this savings?

Therefore the mindset is let the price increases go on and if a few of us rebel and put off cruising so what? The bottom lines will still be fantastic due to the drop in oil price.

 

That's interesting ... fuel costs are only about 8% of the operating cost of a ship, and fuel costs are hedged so a recent drop in price isn't automatically realized. Did CCL announce this in an earnings call or something?

[littlelulu01]

That's interesting ... fuel costs are only about 8% of the operating cost of a ship, and fuel costs are hedged so a recent drop in price isn't automatically realized. Did CCL announce this in an earnings call or something?

 

Considering that in 2008 ships fuel cost was around 25% of ships operating cost I would say that if it's now only 8%, the cruise lines profits are quite directly related to the low cost of fuel. Even united airlines, which by anyone's account, was terribly mismanaged and hedged oil in the wrong direction, made profits last year. I know airlines fuel cost are a much bigger portion of operating costs but fuel costs now only being 8% of ships operating costs only reinforces the fact that low oil costs have been quite a boon to the cruise industry.

 

Regarding the perks going away; can't imagine going back to not offering UBP as a perk. At almost $200/day per couple if purchased, very few would actually purchase. As a perk it seems to be a good deal for NCL and customers.

[luv2cruisecats]

The call on 3/30 is when they discussed the earnings. For anyone with the time you can read it but like all of these a bunch of corporate speak is in this. I happened to catch a synopsis on CNBC after the release and their take was that fuel savings was a big part of the EPS jump.