Should I try NCL?

[Sailing12Away]

8 hours ago, farjar said:

NCL was always out "go-to" cruise line until they began offering their "Free at Sea" package.  We are non-drinkers and get 2 free specialty meals because of our platinum status.  You are lead to believe if you decline the dining & drinks you are somehow "saving money" due to not having to pay the gratuities. You're not.  We now have to book a "sail away/guarantee" cabin to avoid the hidden increase.  Since the restart we have sailed Carnival twice and Holland once plus have two upcoming Carnival cruises.  In all cases we were able to pick our cabin without having to buy a drink package.  We do have an upcoming NCL cruise but only to use up a FCC due to our last January Getaway trip getting cancelled. We also just learned NCL is no longer giving latitude members free internet only a discount. 😡

 

Too bad, we really liked them.  Our situation is a bit unique so I would still recommend them to others. 

As others have said, before checking out just decline the drink package. My folks did that and simply added on the soda package for our upcoming September trip and saved about $200, while still picking the exact room they wanted.

 

As for internet, we've never come close to using our 'free' minutes because we tend to only log in when we need to check something. By switching it from a minute base to an outright 'discount', it satisfies what the majority of people were asking for - the unlimited package. Having xxx free minutes means nothing if you want/need the unlimited package. By now offering a discount on it it makes the majority of people happy. For those who want just a few minutes, guess what... they're free with your free at sea promo and there's no hidden fee for that. (except a $5 activation fee which I don't think I was ever actually charged for)

[farjar]

22 hours ago, FlGoodShips said:

You don't have to book sailaway cabin . We always book balcony and decline beverage package which saves approx. $300. 

 

18 hours ago, complawyer said:

same  as the others, you can decline the drink package with no penalties, and you DONT have to book either the guarantee or sailaway cabins.

The $300 you are "saving" is the gratuities charge.  On our upcoming cruise for example a sail away interior cabin is $1802 where the least expensive "pick your cabin" interior cabin is $2222 with dining & drinks declined.  For a balcony it is $3962 for a sail away and $4842 for the least expensive "pick your own balcony cabin" with the dining & drink declined.  Try it, I think you'll be surprised.

[DrSea]

I have been getting better deals on RCL than NCL since after the restart. So it might be cheaper to stay on RCL. Actually, my Thanksgiving cruise is actually cheaper than CCL with the same itinerary, same departure date/city. The ships are of comparable class (kinda, the RCL has 30 more tonnage than the CCL ship).

[nferr]

3 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I have been getting better deals on RCL than NCL since after the restart. So it might be cheaper to stay on RCL. Actually, my Thanksgiving cruise is actually cheaper than CCL with the same itinerary, same departure date/city. The ships are of comparable class (kinda, the RCL has 30 more tonnage than the CCL ship).

 

Same here. Out of NY I'm getting much better deals on RCL right now.

[complawyer]

how about rhe sq footage in the cabins. are they equal?

[DrSea]

38 minutes ago, complawyer said:

how about rhe sq footage in the cabins. are they equal?

lol. funny. both are I let the cruise line choose for me. So IDK.

[nferr]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

how about rhe sq footage in the cabins. are they equal?

 I guess it depends on the ship and class of cabin obviously. I did an 11 night cruise in February on the Anthem of the Seas and a 15 night transatlantic in April on the NCL Epic. Both in standard balcony cabins. The Anthem cabin felt larger and had more storage. Was definitely a step nicer IMO.

Edited July 17, 2022 by nferr

[ColdCruise]

On 7/16/2022 at 2:27 PM, farjar said:

NCL was always out "go-to" cruise line until they began offering their "Free at Sea" package.  We are non-drinkers and get 2 free specialty meals because of our platinum status.  You are lead to believe if you decline the dining & drinks you are somehow "saving money" due to not having to pay the gratuities. You're not.  We now have to book a "sail away/guarantee" cabin to avoid the hidden increase.  Since the restart we have sailed Carnival twice and Holland once plus have two upcoming Carnival cruises.  In all cases we were able to pick our cabin without having to buy a drink package.  We do have an upcoming NCL cruise but only to use up a FCC due to our last January Getaway trip getting cancelled. We also just learned NCL is no longer giving latitude members free internet only a discount. 😡

 

Too bad, we really liked them.  Our situation is a bit unique so I would still recommend them to others. 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 2:58 PM, spanishguy1970 said:

us too we have never taken the beverage or dinner package and we do just fine. We usually have onboard credit and we pay for our drinks when we want to.

 

Nothing “at Sea” is truly “Free” - the wholesale cost (at a minimum) of the drink package and other package contents is baked into the cabin price.  The only way you can truly avoid it is to book “sail away” and forego cabin selection. 
 

That being my opinion, we still (mostly) book FAS cuz we drink, often take NCL’s “BOGO” air if significantly cheaper than what I can book myself, and mostly we want to pick our room location. However I usually price out the sail away + expected usage of the package before deciding (with reduction of FAS value in prep for FAS+ the math might change). It’s all about the destinations tho

[davesgirl51]

On 7/16/2022 at 12:35 AM, jbrinkm said:

I'm looking at a Spring Break cruise for next year with my husband and my 2 teens. Our last three cruises (the only ones we've done with the kids) have been on Royal Caribbean, and we've been happy, but the prices are SO HIGH for April 2023. I started looking around at some other options and found a really fabulous itinerary on Breakaway. Prices seem lower on NCL, or at least you get more for the same price.

 

Anyone else switched from RCCL? Thoughts/comparisons? Also thoughts on Breakaway for teens? Seems like there is plenty to do!

NCL is awesome. ❤️