NCL current 30% off and 5 free deals

[Jota62]

Hi! I'm new to NCL, I've previously only sailed on carnival. My husband and I would like to take a cruise around Hawaii in the future and have been looking at the NCL sailings. I was pricing some of the dates in late 2022 or 2023, but the sale doesn't seem to actually be that much less. For those of you familiar with NCL, is the current deal that good? Or did the original price listing for the cruises just be marked for higher to show some false savings?

 

Curious as to others thoughts and what great deals from NCL I should try to catch. Thank you! 

[complawyer]

you got it. ncl plays this game regularly. they jack up the price and then the 30% off  is still even more than the prior price.  the drink, dinner, wi-fi and shore excursion offers, are almost always available when you book with ncl. it says free shore excursions, but in reality, they only take $50 off per excursion, (not per person) 

 

so i would recommend you just wait until this "fantastic offer" goes away and then check the prices.

 

i have nothing against ncl, in fact i always sail with them. i enjoy the ports, and when there is no sale, i get pretty good prices. i have, however, commented many times in the past, norwegian dont give away ice cubes in winter

[Jota62]

@complawyerthank you very much for the reply and confirming my suspicions! 

[MeHeartCruising]

I look at it differently, especially for a cruise that far out.  Plus, that’s a very popular cruise.  Why not make your reservation now?  NCL let’s you reprice it to whatever new price and perks are in effect any time you want up until final payment.  So if a better price/perk combo pops up in 3 months, you call them and get it.  
 

If you’re certain you want that cruise, go for it.  The only reason I might not do a booking right now is if you fear the cruise line May go bankrupt and not refund your deposit.  Which is a valid concern these days.

 

I booked 2 cruises in July and have now repriced them 4 times as better pricing or perks came along. 
 

And for what it’s worth, the current 30% off discount got me a better deal for my cruise, so I repriced on Monday. 

Edited December 11, 2020 by MeHeartCruising

[WYB!]

I might not be correct, but I don't see much change in price for cabins other then the Sail away cabin category cabins.

 

For example, I will typically book a Family Oceanview cabin and then do a 30k point meta upgrade to a Balcony cabin. In the past I usually book a cruise perhaps at least 2 months in advanced however I've also found that my chances of successfully doing the meta upgrade increase the more ahead of time I book.

 

Also does anyone have experience in repricing a cabin that they also meta upgraded?

 

As I do my math calculations for my discounts (30% NCL Black Friday & 10% NCL Cancelled Cruise) my cruise fare price discount seems to be closer to 32.25% off and not (30% & 10%), but well, my 30k meta room upgrade from O4 to BA makes up for that (kinda).

 

Lastly, am I wrong that when I book a back to back cruise (b2b) under 1 reservation I only pay 1 gov taxes, port exp and fees once as opposed to booking 2 one after another voyages with different reservation numbers? In the case of the latter do you also pay the full amount of gov taxes, port exp and fees on both voyages?

 

Stay well & Happy Holidays!

Edited December 11, 2020 by WYB!

[step78]

We booked a TA NY-Barcelona in '22 with the Black Friday offer. Got the 10% additional. There is no 40% discount in total.

 

Cabin (IA) was ~20% more expensive than a week before. But we need a studio too and this cabin was the same price Like the week before. So we saved a little and got the 4 perks. Now there are 400+ days too reprice/Upgrade.

 

 

[Jota62]

Ok, thank you for the various points of view and considerations. I did not realize that I could call and get a better deal if I saw one as time passed. The bankruptcy concern is definitely there, but I think that if all I would lose is $250 that isn't terrible. I would not want to lose a huge deposit though. Ideally, I'd lose nothing and go on the cruise, but these are definitely interesting times! 

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, Jota62 said:

Ok, thank you for the various points of view and considerations. I did not realize that I could call and get a better deal if I saw one as time passed. The bankruptcy concern is definitely there, but I think that if all I would lose is $250 that isn't terrible. I would not want to lose a huge deposit though. Ideally, I'd lose nothing and go on the cruise, but these are definitely interesting times! 

Yep.  Since NCL’s deposits are refundable up until the cancellation policy kicks in you could, if desired, cancel it and rebook to get the better pricing.  NCL doesn’t make you do that, however.  They will just reprice it for you if you ask them to.   Keep in mind, that if you do this, you effectively lose the perks from the original booking.  They are replaced with the perks in place at the time of your reprising.  Sometimes a lower cruise price isn’t worth it if you would also lose a perk that has value to you.  
 

This last time I repriced, I lost several perks that were previously included.  However I was able to upgrade myself to a balcony cabin for several hundred dollars less than had been possible in the last few months.  I value balcony living more than their Free at Sea perks. 

[BirdTravels]

On 12/10/2020 at 2:51 PM, Jota62 said:

Hi! I'm new to NCL, I've previously only sailed on carnival. My husband and I would like to take a cruise around Hawaii in the future and have been looking at the NCL sailings. I was pricing some of the dates in late 2022 or 2023, but the sale doesn't seem to actually be that much less. For those of you familiar with NCL, is the current deal that good? Or did the original price listing for the cruises just be marked for higher to show some false savings?

 

Curious as to others thoughts and what great deals from NCL I should try to catch. Thank you! 

NCL is the only way to cruise Hawaii. You don't waste time with sea days transiting from the west coast and rushing through the islands. NCL offers a 7-day Hawaiian cruise with the ship in port every day. And with 2 over-night port calls allowing you to experience diners/luaus ashore and maybe sunrise from the top of a volcano and a bikeride down. You can tack on your own pre-/post-cruise land segment to spend more time in Hawaii. The drink package is great value (enjoy those umbrella drinks from morning 'til night). 

[sirenitas]

Who knows what prices will be like the next couple of years but here is what I have -   We are booked on the PoA for May '21 (hopeful but not convinced that we will go). I booked it in August 2019 (21 months out) when the offer was $50 deposit and we could use 2 Cruise Next certificates for any cabin. No other discount, but it worked for us as we had bought a couple of certificates on a cruise we took that May and since this itinerary is so port intensive we were ok with an inside. I was also thinking we might upgrade closer to sail date if prices dropped.

 

I have checked at least a couple of times a month since I booked, plus whenever I get a "sale" email from NCL.  Not once has the price dropped. Not on BF or CM 2019 (before Covid) nor this year, not on their recurring 30% plus extras sales. The best I've found is $400 more - yes it includes the extras but we are not interested in those for this specific cruise. It actually is more than that since my total includes grats but when I price out new cruises I do not get as far as adding them.

 

Basically, book as early as possible (since it's a very popular cruise and prices will probably increase) and hope for a drop between when you book and final payment. The big issue I see is all the people with Future Credits from cancelled 2020 cruises booking for the next couple of years and NCL not lowering prices at all.

 

This is the only Hawaii cruise I would take - we really dislike sea days and it has 2 overnights.

[Envelope21]

Also I would add this: I've found that whenever NCL advertises some new promo, it rarely has dropped the price of a cruise that I was interested in. I am booked on an August 2021 cruise and the price has dropped twice since I booked. But the price drop was not advertised in any type of promo. I only found out about it from my Roll Calll when an eagle-eyed fellow passenger spotted it. So I would suggest that yes, go ahead and book a cruise you are interested in, but check back frequently to see if there is any price drop. When you do that, you will easily see the shenanagins NCL plays when they start a new 'promo'.

[dh1drill]

Marketing BS theirs no deal.

[sfaaa]

Raw deal. Zero saving.

[vswan]

After my Jan. 2021 was canceled, thought I would just look and book for 2022. Don't have the option of a refund since this was booked with FCC from a March 2020 cruise. Looking at the options available things have increased in price dramatically. From what I'm seeing I can get the balcony cabin for about the same rate as I got the cabin, port fees and taxes and gratuities on some of the promo items - not to mention the OBC which was part of my rebooking deal. 

 

Considering booking knowing I can always cancel and rebook at a better deal, but having a hard time doing that at these new prices. Plan to just wait it out for now.

[complawyer]

i just noticed that this "remarkable offer" is still in effect after almost an entire month.

 

while i'm not knocking the offer (ok. maybe a little) i guess people are finally getting wise that this isnt such a hot deal. the prices x'd out were artificially raised so the 30% price shown looks like a major deal. all ncl did was jack up the prices .  check the prices again after this fabulous offer ends.

 

it doesnt seem like there is an overwhelming rush to book, corona-virus not withstanding

[cruisinmeme]

BTW this sale is not going away.  I booked the other day and was told it will still be rocking on. My February 2021  cruise that was cancelled was a good deal but what i booked was up in price. I am using cruise next certificates so not out any money (so far)

[EllieinNJ]

I'm waiting until March when my cruise next expires to book.  An agent told me they would extend the cruise next for 2 years but only once but I would have to actually book.  Hopefully some prices come down by then.

[DaCruiseBug]

On 12/10/2020 at 2:51 PM, Jota62 said:

Hi! I'm new to NCL, I've previously only sailed on carnival. My husband and I would like to take a cruise around Hawaii in the future and have been looking at the NCL sailings. I was pricing some of the dates in late 2022 or 2023, but the sale doesn't seem to actually be that much less. For those of you familiar with NCL, is the current deal that good? Or did the original price listing for the cruises just be marked for higher to show some false savings?

 

Curious as to others thoughts and what great deals from NCL I should try to catch. Thank you! 

NCL is a joke when it comes to pricing and "sales". The 30% off comes after they raised their fares by much more then that in most cases. They also keep cutting corners and downgrading quality of food etc. I'd say stick with Carnival or try Royal. Once my FCC is used up NCL isn't getting a dime from me.

[HuliHuli]

14 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

NCL is a joke when it comes to pricing and "sales". The 30% off comes after they raised their fares by much more then that in most cases. They also keep cutting corners and downgrading quality of food etc. I'd say stick with Carnival or try Royal. Once my FCC is used up NCL isn't getting a dime from me.

Interesting @DaCruiseBug since elsewhere on CC I see where you've posted “I'm not a real big fan of Carnival,” and on Celebrity, “The prices seem to be all over the place.”Is there a cruise line where you think the pricing is always fair and equitable? Just curious.

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, HuliHuli said:

Interesting @DaCruiseBug since elsewhere on CC I see where you've posted “I'm not a real big fan of Carnival,” and on Celebrity, “The prices seem to be all over the place.”Is there a cruise line where you think the pricing is always fair and equitable? Just curious.

 

Not being a fan of Carnival or Celebrity having variations in pricing because of their new "all-inclusive" program is quite different than NCL taking it's customers for a ride. Quite a bit of a difference actually.

 

While i'm not a fan of Carnival, their pricing is substantially lower than anything NCL offers. As a matter of fact, I just booked the Mardi Gras on a 7 night in a Spa Balcony with a beverage package for $2,400 out the door for 2 people. You can't find anything similar on NCL within $1,000 of that price.

 

I also have the Celebrity Apex booked on a 7 night in an Aqua Class cabin (Spa balcony) with a beverage package for $2,200 out the door for 2 people. That's a FAR superior product for considerably less than anything NCL has to offer.

[Acruzaholic]

Hey DacruiseBug-would love to know where you found such a deal for Celebrity Apex-what are the dates or that cruise. Hope its not for January 2021.😆

[DaCruiseBug]

4 hours ago, Acruzaholic said:

Hey DacruiseBug-would love to know where you found such a deal for Celebrity Apex-what are the dates or that cruise. Hope its not for January 2021.😆

 

It's for April 2021 - even if it cancels I can lift and shift to the following year and keep that price. I booked it back in October before they switched to their all-inclusive pricing model.

[Acruzaholic]

Did you book thru Celebrity or a travel agent? Celebrity site is double what you paid? Thank You-Have been on Celebrity Edge-Aqua Class Cabin. 

[DaCruiseBug]

3 hours ago, Acruzaholic said:

Did you book thru Celebrity or a travel agent? Celebrity site is double what you paid? Thank You-Have been on Celebrity Edge-Aqua Class Cabin. 

 

It was thru one of the big box travel agencies.

[pghflyer]

Sure wish NCL would drop the BOGO flight in the current package, I would rather have the cruise at a lower rate and book my own flights.