Inflation rate vs Norwegian prices

[Peachypooh]

I don't have an apples to apples comparison but thought this

was interesting. I rounded for simplicity.

 

2012 end of August 7 day inside passage out of Alaska in

an owner's suite on the Pearl base rate before tips, etc.

I paid $6800

 

Looking to go again I priced the joy end of August in a

2 bedroom Haven cabin and the base price before tips, etc.

is $15,498.

 

According to a calculator found online I would need aprox.

$7500 to buy now what $6800 bought in 2012. So the difference

is definitely not inflation.

 

Again, different ship different type of cabin (although at the time

the 2 bedroom Haven cabin was less than what I paid for the

OS so I thought the comparison was fair.)

 

Not worth it anymore to me. I will probably not stop sailing NCL

but after my Encore cruise it probably won't be in the Haven anymore.

I don't see the value unfortunately.

 

 

[Wedgie23]

Well supply/demand, you know that whole dance. If you check out the thread about them removing the open bar from Sun sailings apparently they are moving it to do Alaska runs. So that would be 3 (or is it 4?) ships just for Alaska that's how popular it apparently is. I imagine once the Sun starts doing runs a slight reduction in fare. 

 

I get what you're saying and while I don't disagree I think the Alaskan itinerary isn't really the best way to make a fair comparison. 

[Peachypooh]

5 minutes ago, Wedgie23 said:

Well supply/demand, you know that whole dance. If you check out the thread about them removing the open bar from Sun sailings apparently they are moving it to do Alaska runs. So that would be 3 (or is it 4?) ships just for Alaska that's how popular it apparently is. I imagine once the Sun starts doing runs a slight reduction in fare. 

 

I get what you're saying and while I don't disagree I think the Alaskan itinerary isn't really the best way to make a fair comparison. 

My original cruise that cost $6800 was the same Alaska itinerary vs the one I priced up. However I think you are right

that it has gotten very popular over the years so perhaps not a good comparison.

[4774Papa]

43 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

I don't have an apples to apples comparison but thought this

was interesting. I rounded for simplicity.

 

2012 end of August 7 day inside passage out of Alaska in

an owner's suite on the Pearl base rate before tips, etc.

I paid $6800

 

Looking to go again I priced the joy end of August in a

2 bedroom Haven cabin and the base price before tips, etc.

is $15,498.

 

According to a calculator found online I would need aprox.

$7500 to buy now what $6800 bought in 2012. So the difference

is definitely not inflation.

 

Again, different ship different type of cabin (although at the time

the 2 bedroom Haven cabin was less than what I paid for the

OS so I thought the comparison was fair.)

 

Not worth it anymore to me. I will probably not stop sailing NCL

but after my Encore cruise it probably won't be in the Haven anymore.

I don't see the value unfortunately.

 

 

Prices zoomed when NCL started price bundling with promos like the ridiculous beverage package that doesn't even include a good cabernet.  Also, the absurd 20% gratuities charged on the overpriced amount of $99 per day.

We are moving more to Royal C. that has no bundling and better prices.

[arpie05]

Well, my comparison is even worse 🙂 (Apples and Pineapples worse) in 2008 on the NCL Star we paid $2500 for three in an interior JJ and that was in May because it was a cheap week.  This time we're going in July on the NCL Joy and the rate was $2500 pp for a CC.  It took me 12 years to sail NCL again because of their bait and switch. It has happened again. I don't know if I will be back. We'll see after the trip.  (Last time in 2008 they were rolling out their 2.0 upgrades. So when we booked a lot of the restaurants were free. Then with the upgrades they started charging. I just have issue paying more to eat on a ship for the same food I can get at home for a lot less.   This time when we booked the Concierge rooms were included in the free room service. Now they have changed it and it says only Haven. Also, it was confusing when booking because it said there was a concierge area and there is not. It went away with the Americanization).

Edited June 28, 2019 by arpie05

[littlelulu01]

Vacation costs don’t necessarily follow inflation. They’ll make hay while the sun shines. 2012 we were in a pretty big recession.  I got a villa at the Fairmont Kea Lani for around $500/night in 2012. Today they’re $2500/night.  Our first Haven 2 bedroom on the Pearl Alaska in 2013 was $4200. Disney vacation club was selling for half what it is today. Right now folks are traveling so companies are trying to get what they can.  Alaska, Hawaii, Europe seems to be the most lucrative cruise markets. Something like a volcano erupting, hurricane, political unrest, war, terrorism...  brings prices way down.  The higher priced suites on ships, hotels... are often the rooms that see the deepest discounts in an economic downturn. 

 

Deals can can still be had.  The Joy Alaska had some great rates on Haven Alaska this year. The Jade Europe had some Haven prices that verged on reasonable for this year. When they moved the Pearl to Europe for this year Haven suites were really high but I see the prices going down now and suspect many Haven suites on the Pearl will end up going to upgrade advantage whereas the Jade pretty much sold out the season at list prices. We paid more than I’d like for our Jade Haven this year but it wasn’t too far outside the comfort window. 

 

Last year i really wanted a haven suite on the bliss alaska but prices were insane. We ended up with a mini suite.  Bid unsuccessful for Haven and ended up having a great time. I now know husband will have just as nice a vacation in non Haven so It’s no longer haven or nothing if traveling with him.

[david_sobe]

The price of the Haven doubled in price several years ago.  Although the sticker shock lingers 🙈

[SeaShark]

2 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

I don't have an apples to apples comparison but thought this

was interesting. I rounded for simplicity.

 

2012 end of August 7 day inside passage out of Alaska in

an owner's suite on the Pearl base rate before tips, etc.

I paid $6800

 

Looking to go again I priced the joy end of August in a

2 bedroom Haven cabin and the base price before tips, etc.

is $15,498.

 

According to a calculator found online I would need aprox.

$7500 to buy now what $6800 bought in 2012. So the difference

is definitely not inflation.

 

Again, different ship different type of cabin (although at the time

the 2 bedroom Haven cabin was less than what I paid for the

OS so I thought the comparison was fair.)

 

Not worth it anymore to me. I will probably not stop sailing NCL

but after my Encore cruise it probably won't be in the Haven anymore.

I don't see the value unfortunately.

 

 

 

 

Aside from different ship and different cabin type (both of which you already acknowledged), is the price difference caused by the Free @ Sea offers taken into account in this comparison?

 

Also...is the conclusion from all of this that the current pricing is higher than it should be, or is the conclusion that the 2012 price was under the actual market value??

[FLAHAM]

So it was a bargain 7 years ago and now it isn't. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by FLAHAM

[bostongal965]

In 2010 I booked an aft balcony (at the time a BD) for $599 for a 7-day Western Caribbean on the Sun. No drink package, but I did get $100 onboard credit from Tropicana (raise your hand if you remember that promotion, lol). Gratuities were $10 a day, and our bar bill was probably $500 by the end of the week.

 

I just booked a sailaway inside on the Sun for $599 for a 5-day Key West/Cozumel (two of the four stops on my first cruise, strangely enough). I booked while the Open Bar for the Sun was still in effect, so my gratuities are $20.50 a day, but we probably will have a very small bill by the end of the week - we're content with well drinks, lol. 

 

I'm not unhappy with the price I paid (I wouldn't have booked it if I were), but I'm not sure if my dollar is going further or not. NCL has changed a lot since that first trip - it really is hard to compare, even for the same ship on a similar itinerary. Best deal I ever got, IMO, was when they first offered the free drink package, but you didn't have to pay the gratuity - we paid around the same price for a 7 day Western Caribbean in an oceanview on the Getaway in 2016.

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

I don't have an apples to apples comparison but thought this

was interesting. I rounded for simplicity.

 

2012 end of August 7 day inside passage out of Alaska in

an owner's suite on the Pearl base rate before tips, etc.

I paid $6800

 

Looking to go again I priced the joy end of August in a

2 bedroom Haven cabin and the base price before tips, etc.

is $15,498.

 

According to a calculator found online I would need aprox.

$7500 to buy now what $6800 bought in 2012. So the difference

is definitely not inflation.

 

Again, different ship different type of cabin (although at the time

the 2 bedroom Haven cabin was less than what I paid for the

OS so I thought the comparison was fair.)

 

Not worth it anymore to me. I will probably not stop sailing NCL

but after my Encore cruise it probably won't be in the Haven anymore.

I don't see the value unfortunately.

 

 

 

I'm sure that the bidding system is one of the reasons. They try to sell it for $15,498 and if noone wants to pay that someone can bid for it.

[Lupush]

Economy is the driving force behind the higher rates.  Stock market/economy is doing much better now than in 2012, therefore more disposable income, therefore more demand, therefore higher prices.  In 2012 the DOW closed at 13k, it will close likely over 26 or 27k this year.  That's the barometer for me.

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, Lupush said:

Economy is the driving force behind the higher rates.  Stock market/economy is doing much better now than in 2012, therefore more disposable income, therefore more demand, therefore higher prices.  In 2012 the DOW closed at 13k, it will close likely over 26 or 27k this year.  That's the barometer for me.

That's not all together true.  During the market crash and recession of 2008-2011 unemployment was way up and vacation destinations were down.  However, the cruising market did surprisingly well.  There was article after article trying to understand why this one industry was immune from the economic crisis. Bookings were strong and the ships full.  But clearly the economy impacts everything including cruising. Its the new NCL business model that doubled the price of the Haven among so many other fee increases.  FDR made it clear when he took over that increasing revenue was job #1.  Not customer satisfaction but increasing revenue at every level.

 

[gmbhardy]

2 hours ago, Lupush said:

Economy is the driving force behind the higher rates.  Stock market/economy is doing much better now than in 2012, therefore more disposable income, therefore more demand, therefore higher prices.  In 2012 the DOW closed at 13k, it will close likely over 26 or 27k this year.  That's the barometer for me.

 

Unless you own NCL stock.

[Lupush]

3 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

 

Unless you own NCL stock.

NCL IPO was in 2013 at $19 a share.  It closed today at $53.63.  That's a hell of a return in 6 years.

[Lupush]

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

That's not all together true.  During the market crash and recession of 2008-2011 unemployment was way up and vacation destinations were down.  However, the cruising market did surprisingly well.  There was article after article trying to understand why this one industry was immune from the economic crisis. Bookings were strong and the ships full.  But clearly the economy impacts everything including cruising. Its the new NCL business model that doubled the price of the Haven among so many other fee increases.  FDR made it clear when he took over that increasing revenue was job #1.  Not customer satisfaction but increasing revenue at every level.

 

Good point.  I wonder if it has something to do with fewer new ships coming online.  I'm willing to bet if you look at the ship builders financials from 2008-2011 they were pretty poor.  Interesting conversation/thing to think about none the less.

[david_sobe]

27 minutes ago, Lupush said:

Good point.  I wonder if it has something to do with fewer new ships coming online.  I'm willing to bet if you look at the ship builders financials from 2008-2011 they were pretty poor.  Interesting conversation/thing to think about none the less.

Many cruisers were retirees who were not impacted by the economic crisis in 2009.  Today the target market is not retirees or the loyal cruisers so any economic crisis would have a huge impact on cruising since young families are now the target market.

I booked Epic in January 2010 which was still in the middle of the economic crisis and paid a fortune for penthouse around 7k but it also was Christmas week.  

[gmbhardy]

48 minutes ago, Lupush said:

NCL IPO was in 2013 at $19 a share.  It closed today at $53.63.  That's a hell of a return in 6 years.

 

I bought it for $47 three years ago. It was $50 a couple days ago. If it wasn’t for the OBC, I would consider it a very poor investment.

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I'm sure that the bidding system is one of the reasons. They try to sell it for $15,498 and if noone wants to pay that someone can bid for it.

Why would you believe this?  Are you not aware that NCL has always sailed with their suites full? It use to be done via a manual call center. Call and get a steeply discounted suite 2 weeks before departure. As NCL began launching a new mega ship a year, the call center could not keep up and they got the automated system in place. Actually making more money than the manual call center.  This is nothing new. 

[sverigecruiser]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Why would you believe this?  Are you not aware that NCL has always sailed with their suites full? It use to be done via a manual call center. Call and get a steeply discounted suite 2 weeks before departure. As NCL began launching a new mega ship a year, the call center could not keep up and they got the automated system in place. Actually making more money than the manual call center.  This is nothing new. 

 

When the bidding system started and the prices raised a lot at the same time noone questioned when someone said that the prices were raised because of the bidding system.

 

I know that people could get an unsold cabin for a discounted price earlier too but that was far from the same thing as the bidding system they have now. 

 

I may be wrong. Maybe it was a coincidence that the prices were raised a lot exactly the same time as the bidding system started.

[newmexicoNita]

21 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

I don't have an apples to apples comparison but thought this

was interesting. I rounded for simplicity.

 

2012 end of August 7 day inside passage out of Alaska in

an owner's suite on the Pearl base rate before tips, etc.

I paid $6800

 

Looking to go again I priced the joy end of August in a

2 bedroom Haven cabin and the base price before tips, etc.

is $15,498.

 

According to a calculator found online I would need aprox.

$7500 to buy now what $6800 bought in 2012. So the difference

is definitely not inflation.

 

Again, different ship different type of cabin (although at the time

the 2 bedroom Haven cabin was less than what I paid for the

OS so I thought the comparison was fair.)

 

Not worth it anymore to me. I will probably not stop sailing NCL

but after my Encore cruise it probably won't be in the Haven anymore.

I don't see the value unfortunately.

 

 

This is one of the reasons our last 2 cruises we went back to outside versus balcony. We are doing balcony on our Oct cruise. I do think though if you did have access to what other lines are charging now compared to 8 years ago you might find something similar. I know, there are going to be people who come here and will give you comparisons on what they paid then and now, but unless you have an actual comparison I am not inclined to believe all I read here, especially from some who would rather pick one line apart. 

 

I agree the value for the Haven may be over rated. 5 years ago our daughter with granddaughter, best friend (almost like a daughter) and or granddauther did a cruise in the haven. I was planning on going with them, but knee surgery ended my plans. The feedback from them: daughter loved the Haven, granddaughter said, she would not pay the money but because they got a special she enjoyed it, friend loved it but again, didn't think she needed the Haven or any suite to have a wonderful time and of course great granddaughter was to young (7) to really care on way or the other. 

[newmexicoNita]

14 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

 

Unless you own NCL stock.

off  topic but just thought I would throw this in: 2013 we bought our NCL stock: about $30 a share. Yesterday it was at around $54. That is quite an improvement in my book, I don't know abut yours?

[Peachypooh]

56 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

This is one of the reasons our last 2 cruises we went back to outside versus balcony. We are doing balcony on our Oct cruise. I do think though if you did have access to what other lines are charging now compared to 8 years ago you might find something similar. I know, there are going to be people who come here and will give you comparisons on what they paid then and now, but unless you have an actual comparison I am not inclined to believe all I read here, especially from some who would rather pick one line apart. 

 

I agree the value for the Haven may be over rated. 5 years ago our daughter with granddaughter, best friend (almost like a daughter) and or granddauther did a cruise in the haven. I was planning on going with them, but knee surgery ended my plans. The feedback from them: daughter loved the Haven, granddaughter said, she would not pay the money but because they got a special she enjoyed it, friend loved it but again, didn't think she needed the Haven or any suite to have a wonderful time and of course great granddaughter was to young (7) to really care on way or the other. 

Hi Nita, You are right about other line's rates have skyrocketed. 20 years ago we paid $1800 for a sky suite on Celebrity and the other day when I was pricing things out it was over $10,000 for basically the same 7 day Bermuda cruise.

[mugtech]

We don't drink alcohol, but every cruise we are helping to pay for the "free" drink packages for others, not to mention the two bottles of wine for Lattitudes status.  Just not worth it unless a last minute deal is .available.  We have done all the itineraries out of NYC, last minute flying is too expensive.

[zqvol]

On 6/28/2019 at 8:57 AM, Peachypooh said:

I don't have an apples to apples comparison but thought this

was interesting. I rounded for simplicity.

 

2012 end of August 7 day inside passage out of Alaska in

an owner's suite on the Pearl base rate before tips, etc.

I paid $6800

 

Looking to go again I priced the joy end of August in a

2 bedroom Haven cabin and the base price before tips, etc.

is $15,498.

 

According to a calculator found online I would need aprox.

$7500 to buy now what $6800 bought in 2012. So the difference

is definitely not inflation.

 

Again, different ship different type of cabin (although at the time

the 2 bedroom Haven cabin was less than what I paid for the

OS so I thought the comparison was fair.)

 

Not worth it anymore to me. I will probably not stop sailing NCL

but after my Encore cruise it probably won't be in the Haven anymore.

I don't see the value unfortunately.

 

 

You are not comparing apples to apples. The owner suite on the Pearl seven years ago is missing most if not all of the amenities that come with a Haven suite today.