Before I call my TA once more

[Firepath]

I originally booked a guaranteed inside on POA. Price dropped and my TA call NCL and good me moved to an obstructed OV.

Now less than 30 days as expected, the price has dropped again. Now I could get unobstructed OV plus two adds for what I paid. Should I bug my TA again,

or will NCLs answer be no. I'm happy with that cabin we've been assigned to, but if I can get free stuff too, why not? 

 

 

[lambs2]

I would try and contact my TA, You just might be surprised, and if not, you are happy, anyway, Right?!

[xitappers2bx]

3 hours ago, Firepath said:

I originally booked a guaranteed inside on POA. Price dropped and my TA call NCL and good me moved to an obstructed OV.

Now less than 30 days as expected, the price has dropped again. Now I could get unobstructed OV plus two adds for what I paid. Should I bug my TA again,

or will NCLs answer be no. I'm happy with that cabin we've been assigned to, but if I can get free stuff too, why not? 

 

 

Your TA works for you... ask them to call and see what NCL will do; they won't give you a refund, but they should absolutely move you.

[Firepath]

4 minutes ago, xitappers2bx said:

Your TA works for you... ask them to call and see what NCL will do; they won't give you a refund, but they should absolutely move you.

Thank you. I surely don't expect a refund but moving to unobstructed would be very nice.

Edited September 21, 2019 by Firepath

[casofilia]

As you have had one "extra" from NCL as there has been a price drop don't be too unhappy if they say, "once was enough".

[newmexicoNita]

5 hours ago, casofilia said:

As you have had one "extra" from NCL as there has been a price drop don't be too unhappy if they say, "once was enough".

you are right, I was going to post the same thing: normally there is only one price adjustment of OBC offer. this is why many hold off before requesting an adjustment. I think it is fine for the OP to, at least give her agent a call, but they should be prepared for the NO answer. 

[tomk3212]

Your TA should have told you that you get one and only one "adjustment" when you experience a price drop, such as yours.  It's kinda like "Deal or No Deal"...lol

 

We had a similar experience when we booked and the price dropped like a rock 2 weeks later.  TG we had a better-than-average PCC who got us bumped up from a GTY Inside to a Balcony.  He told us up front that if the price dropped any further that we would NOT get any additional perqs/adjustments.

 

In any case, hope you have a great cruise!

[Firepath]

That's what I figured from reading here previously. Unfortunately, our TA didn't tell us that but fortunately, I booked when I was happy with the price and options, so it's all good, and I'm sure we will have a wonderful cruise!

[Starry Eyes]

Now that prices have dropped again, is there a slightly higher category (with perks) with only a slightly higher fare than you are currently paying?  If so, would the perks be worth those extra dollars in fare?  If yes ask your TA you may be able to pay for that upgrade.  though NCL have you a freebie, they may be happy to take a bit more of your money.

[Firepath]

Not at the moment, but I'm watching for that! Thanks for the reminder.

[Firepath]

So, here's another question for all the wise NCL contributors. I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying for an upgrade from obstructed OV to guaranteed balcony. I already upgraded once free from guaranteed inside. The difference between my original payment and the balcony is $750 pp but now includes the perks: drink, dining, wi-fi, & excursion credits (I currently have none). Would there be additional fees on top of that, and gratuities, and additional for insurance? We already bought a soda package and water (about $100) so could cancel that. We already have 4 NCL excursions booked at different ports. Would those have to be cancelled and rebooked onboard to get the credit or how does that work? We currently have $175 obc from our on-line TA. Would we lose that? Also, it doesn't look like there are many dining reservations left for the specialty restaurants, so I'm not sure how valuable that perk would be. It seems like a worth-while upgrade but I don't know enough about all the costs on board. We aren't big drinkers, but maybe a glass of wine with dinner, specialty coffee in the morning, and maybe a drink by the pool. We are on the POA. I know their drink package is different. Thank you!

[woodz]

Cruising on the Joy in a couple of weeks and NCL was willing to upgrade us for $50 to a mini- suite from our balcony but when the tips for the "free" perks were added it would have been more than I paid for one fare. 

[CarnivalCruiser32]

wait so I'm confused. I just saw a price drop and called NCL and asked if we could adjust our pricing to the price drop. She did me one better and added the 20% NCL lat discount in addition to the price drop and we kept our same room number and pre-paid grat. and so on. Does that mean if there's another price drop I can't call to try and adjust pricing because I already did it once? Obviously, the 20% off won't last forever and that's something to take into consideration (aka not having it if we tried to adjust due to another price drop) in the future but are you guys saying that's it? That they won't adjust it again because we already asked them to adjust it once? 

[ColeThornton]

12 minutes ago, CarnivalCruiser32 said:

wait so I'm confused. I just saw a price drop and called NCL and asked if we could adjust our pricing to the price drop. She did me one better and added the 20% NCL lat discount in addition to the price drop and we kept our same room number and pre-paid grat. and so on. Does that mean if there's another price drop I can't call to try and adjust pricing because I already did it once? Obviously, the 20% off won't last forever and that's something to take into consideration (aka not having it if we tried to adjust due to another price drop) in the future but are you guys saying that's it? That they won't adjust it again because we already asked them to adjust it once? 

 

Yep, that's it.   It's not a written rule that they have to do anything for you but historically they will do something ONCE to help out.  That may for instance, be an upgrade or an OBC.

 

It wouldn't make business sense for a company to continue to adjust your fare.

[Starry Eyes]

20 minutes ago, CarnivalCruiser32 said:

wait so I'm confused. I just saw a price drop and called NCL and asked if we could adjust our pricing to the price drop. She did me one better and added the 20% NCL lat discount in addition to the price drop and we kept our same room number and pre-paid grat. and so on. Does that mean if there's another price drop I can't call to try and adjust pricing because I already did it once? Obviously, the 20% off won't last forever and that's something to take into consideration (aka not having it if we tried to adjust due to another price drop) in the future but are you guys saying that's it? That they won't adjust it again because we already asked them to adjust it once? 

Are you before final payment or after?  

 

As your cruise is on the 20% off list and your Pcc did not tell you it was a one-off, I will guess you might be before final payment.  If so, I think you can continue to monitor for price drops freely until final payment.  Thereafter, watch for opportunities for affordable upgrades or perhaps a one time adjustment.

 

If you are already post final payment, then you may well have used your only adjustment.  You could still watch for inexpensive upgrades opportunities if prices fall further on better cabins, though be careful to compare perks of new offer vs old.

[Starry Eyes]

11 hours ago, woodz said:

Cruising on the Joy in a couple of weeks and NCL was willing to upgrade us for $50 to a mini- suite from our balcony but when the tips for the "free" perks were added it would have been more than I paid for one fare. 

If you do not want certain “free” perks because the gratuities are too high for you (for example beverage package for non or very light drinkers....or perhaps less likely special dining tips if you won’t go to specialty restaurants) you might be able to call in (or have TA call in) to have that perk removed so you do not have to pay gratuities on unwanted perk(s).

[Starry Eyes]

11 hours ago, Firepath said:

So, here's another question for all the wise NCL contributors. I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying for an upgrade from obstructed OV to guaranteed balcony. I already upgraded once free from guaranteed inside. The difference between my original payment and the balcony is $750 pp but now includes the perks: drink, dining, wi-fi, & excursion credits (I currently have none). Would there be additional fees on top of that, and gratuities, and additional for insurance? We already bought a soda package and water (about $100) so could cancel that. We already have 4 NCL excursions booked at different ports. Would those have to be cancelled and rebooked onboard to get the credit or how does that work? We currently have $175 obc from our on-line TA. Would we lose that? Also, it doesn't look like there are many dining reservations left for the specialty restaurants, so I'm not sure how valuable that perk would be. It seems like a worth-while upgrade but I don't know enough about all the costs on board. We aren't big drinkers, but maybe a glass of wine with dinner, specialty coffee in the morning, and maybe a drink by the pool. We are on the POA. I know their drink package is different. Thank you!

How did you calculate the $750 difference?  Did you do a mock booking on the website?  If so, if you clicked through far enough, that mock booking fare should include line for service charges on your selected perks.  If you used that number to calculate the $750 difference, then your calculation should already include the perk gratuities.

 

They save some dining reservation slots to be made on board.  So as soon as you board, make reservations.

 

If you made your current shore excursion reservations online (prepaid), you could keep them....you will get $50 non refundable OBC for each eligible port/excursion.  You can phone to make shore excursion reservations; those are charged on board and credit is given on board.  There is thread or two you should read with tips.

 

I do not know much about POA drink package but I rather doubt specialty coffees are included.  Still, it does not take many drinks to make the package worthwhile on vacation for most people.  

[CarnivalCruiser32]

3 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

Are you before final payment or after?  

 

As your cruise is on the 20% off list and your Pcc did not tell you it was a one-off, I will guess you might be before final payment.  If so, I think you can continue to monitor for price drops freely until final payment.  Thereafter, watch for opportunities for affordable upgrades or perhaps a one time adjustment.

 

If you are already post final payment, then you may well have used your only adjustment.  You could still watch for inexpensive upgrades opportunities if prices fall further on better cabins, though be careful to compare perks of new offer vs old.

Yes we're still well before Final Payment (I'm just excited so checking it out on the NCL website all the time) and she mentioned I could call back if I saw another one but I know sometimes what you get told over the phone may not be the most accurate info. Thanks for letting me know! That's really helpful to know and I'll keep it in mind once we hit final payment

[Firepath]

I'm a little irritated with my TA for not getting back to me, so can someone answer this hopefully final question please?

We paid $1299 base and are currently in an obstructed OV. Category O1 Family OV picture window is now $1249. Once all the fees and gratuities are added in, the 01 is actually slightly more than what we paid total to NCL. Do they use the base price (which is less) or total price (which is more) to decide if I can just pay more to get the (slight) upgrade and two perks?

[DinaS]

They go by the base price.  If the Family OV is less expensive than the obstructed OV that you originally paid for, they may  upgrade you if you ask.  They may also offer 25% of the difference back as OBC.

 

It can't hurt to ask your TA, or call NCL if you went through them directly.  The worst they can do is say no.

[Firepath]

I finally got hold of my TA and he didn't know the answer either. He is going to call NCL and see what they say. Fingers crossed.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Firepath

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, Firepath said:

I finally got hold of my TA and he didn't know the answer either. He is going to call NCL and see what they say. Fingers crossed.

They use the base price, not the price plus gratuities(hypothetically you could change your perk options and get your gratuities right back).  As I recall, you’ve already had one free adjustment, so I doubt NCL  will grant a second free adjustment.  Still, i’m Glad your TA is trying; maybe it will work. Can’t hurt to ask.

[Firepath]

My TA called and confirmed they use the base price, so would not allow upgrade, even though it would've been slightly more money for NCL. Instead, they gave me more OBC! I'm not sure why they wouldn't allow me to give them money, and they instead give me money. Not that I'm complaining. It just doesn't seem to be a wise business decision. TA said to watch for increased price, then they might let me pay to upgrade and I assume, take back the OBC. But who am I kidding, they'll end up with it anyways in the long run!