What is the advantage to purchasing Cruise Next certificates

[Beer Belly]

Just curious. We purchased a few thinking it doubles the value of your dollar ?. Example $500 gets $1,000 in certificates ?.

[n4w]

Correct.

[Oceansaway17]

Wonder if this practice is next to be cut.

If I buy at $500 and it doubles then you would think everyone would do this

[hawkeyetlse]

It doubles your money (assuming you don't spend all the OBC on a bunch of frivolous stuff the way they encourage you to) but you can only redeem it $250 at a time (sometimes $500).

 

So depending on your booking habits, purchasing 4 deposits at one time may be too much. You get the exact same deal (double your money) if you just get 2 or 3. You will also get a pitiful/annoyed look from the CruiseNext person, and one last hard sell, but power through it.

[swmichigan cruiser]

We don't always buy them but a lot of time we do. Just used two of them today for a Panama Canal cruise next spring. Actually the two we just used we bought them on Panama Canal cruise this past fall and one reason we bought them was to increase our cash back from our TA for that cruise. We are going to give one of the certificates to our oldest granddaughter.

[Brian V]

We got 6 on our first cruise..."Oh, no problem, book a balcony and you can use 2 at a time!" they said.

Well, only if you book a long ways in advance, or if you catch a promo. We tend to book kind of last minute (like "Final payment due now" last minute) so only got to use one at a time.

 

We did manage to use the last 2 for our next cruise (4 cruises later) thanks to a 50% off coupon pushing us to book earlier than usual. Guess we are going to have to restock 😉

 

Probably not 6 this time though 🙃

[Ellis1138]

I've sat and done the math. The Cruise Next are a good deal if you plan to splurge a lot on the current cruise you're on and if you can get a double up promotion.

 

I still wind up choosing the Cruise First certificates because you also get double what you paid, but not as OBC. Like, I got one of the $250 Cruise First and it counted as a $500 deposit for my upcoming cruise in September. (I booked in March so it was beyond the 120 day minimum.)

[ChiefMateJRK]

8 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

I've sat and done the math. The Cruise Next are a good deal if you plan to splurge a lot on the current cruise you're on and if you can get a double up promotion.

 

I still wind up choosing the Cruise First certificates because you also get double what you paid, but not as OBC. Like, I got one of the $250 Cruise First and it counted as a $500 deposit for my upcoming cruise in September. (I booked in March so it was beyond the 120 day minimum.)

You don't understand.  You don't have to splurge on anything.  At the end of the day (cruise), you pay $125 per CN and can use it as $250 payment on a future cruise.  The OBC that your receive counts as payment towards your CN purchase.

[carohs]

If I'm understanding this, CF is either $300 for $150 or $500 for $250. Can only apply to brand new bookings and the sail date has to be more than 120 days after the CF purchase date. You're saving either $150 or $250 depending on the promo at the time of purchase. 

 

CN is supposed to be a deposit for a new cruise but people have reportedly applied it to an existing booking. They're usually worth $250 but with the obc they're a $125 net cost. Essentially only saving $125 on a booking or $250 if there's a double up promo. 

 

In summary without any promos CF is the better value, and comparing a $500 CF vs CN double up promo you come out even, assuming you are booking a cruise 120 days past purchase date.

 

CF and CN are not combinable. 

[julig22]

1 hour ago, carohs said:

In summary without any promos CF is the better value, and comparing a $500 CF vs CN double up promo you come out even, assuming you are booking a cruise 120 days past purchase date.

I think the $500 CF value is a promo as well, so not always available.

Also, you lose the CF if you cancel the cruise.  CNCs are returned to your account.

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, carohs said:

CF is the better value

It's not.  You may wish to study this more. 

[mistertomatoe]

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

It's not.  You may wish to study this more. 

 

It is for me when they have the $500 CF because I only book inside or oceanview so the double up (or triple) CN which requires balcony or above is useless to me. I know sometimes they make it all cabins but that seems rare. Of course I have to make sure I understand the terms (120 days, 6 days or longer cruise, no refund, etc.) so yeah, always study more. NCL likes to complicate and change things and confuse people.

 

Other benefits of CF is you can buy online (no sales pressure) and it counts towards Amex Offers since it’s not onboard spending. Just avoid the $300 and wait for the $500 promo if you can.

[dbrown84]

6 hours ago, julig22 said:

I think the $500 CF value is a promo as well, so not always available.

Also, you lose the CF if you cancel the cruise.  CNCs are returned to your account.

you don't lose the CF if you cancel.  It also goes back to your account.

[dbrown84]

5 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

It's not.  You may wish to study this more. 

why do you think CF is not a better value?  CN saves you $125 per cert.  CF saves you $150 per standard cert, or $250 when they offer the higher certs.  I'm only looking at the straight $$$ savings on the cruise, but am I missing something?  I do understand the limitations of CF, but I've decided to buy CF over CN, but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something

[cruisinmeme]

10 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You don't understand.  You don't have to splurge on anything.  At the end of the day (cruise), you pay $125 per CN and can use it as $250 payment on a future cruise.  The OBC that your receive counts as payment towards your CN purchase.

It images me how so few people truly understand CN. If you plan to cruise again it is a real good deal. I gave one to my GD. She could only use one since she book sorta last minute.

[dcipjr]

From what I can tell, CF is currently a better deal than CN, as long as you can wait out the 120 day period from when you purchase the certificate.

 

CN only allows you to stack 2 certificates for $500 under certain conditions (currently 4 months prior to sailing).

 

CF always lets you get $500 off the cruise, as long as the 120 day waiting period has passed.

 

Am I missing something? If so, please inform me! Since I am looking at buying a CF as opposed to a CN.

[Beer Belly]

What I was told by the person at the Cruise Next Desk during the purchase, is "You buy 4 Certificates x $250 for $500, this gives you $1,000 in value, on top of that, we will give you a $500 On Board Credit (OBC) during this sailing".....I told him "This is the last night of our sailing, I will not be able to use the $500 OBC", he stated "You can apply the $500 OBC when you use the Certificates on your next cruise". So, no brainer, $500 for $1,000 in Certificates, plus another $500 for future OBC....SOLD.....a bunch of bad goods, no truth to what I was told. I will be seeking my money back to use on our upcoming RCCL cruise.

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for reaching out to the CruiseNext Department. We apologize for any confusion or miscommunication, the CruiseNext Program does not offer onboard credit towards your future sailing. The onboard credit was applied to the onboard spending account of the sailing which the deposits were purchased.

 

When you purchased the CruiseNext Deposits, your onboard account was charged a total of $1000 (4 X $250 CruiseNext Deposit), and you received onboard credits totaling $500 ($100, $150, $125, and $125 Non-Refundable Onboard Credit), think if it like an instant rebate.

 

At the end of the cruise your credit card was charged a total of $500 for the $1000 value of CND, in addition to any other purchases made onboard, which is in accordance with the legal Terms and Conditions you were given and signed at time of purchase.

 

Here is a copy of your final bill showing what you were charged as well as the onboard credits received:

 

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

 

Best Regards,

 

Nikki  | CruiseNext Coordinator

cruisenext@ncl.com | www.ncl.com

Norwegian Cruise Line ®

7427 E. Hampton Ave Suite 121 | Mesa AZ 85209

 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Beer Belly

[KeithJenner]

Obviously we can’t comment on the specifics of your conversation onboard, but the deal is basically that you pay half price for your vouchers. So if you buy $1,000 of vouchers they will Cost you $500 (the discounts are different for Haven ones.

 

Sounds like either the rep explained it incorrectly or you misunderstood them.

Edited May 19, 2023 by KeithJenner

[Beer Belly]

1 minute ago, KeithJenner said:

Obviously we can’t comment on what you were told onboard, but the deal is basically that you pay half price for your vouchers. So if you buy $1,000 of vouchers they will Cost you $500 (the discounts are different for Haven ones.

 

Sounds like either the rep explained it incorrectly or you misunderstood them.

I wish I had saved the paper he used to explain how it works, he even circled the value of $1,500 in total value

[KeithJenner]

3 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

I wish I had saved the paper he used to explain how it works, he even circled the value of $1,500 in total value

That’s interesting. I had been thinking it was a shame that you hadn’t seen the paper as that would explain it.

 

Maybe there was a deal then, although I’d have thought it would have been mentioned here, as that sounds like exceptional value (basically free if you get both the discount and OBC).

 

Not wanting to doubt what you say, but that does sound too good to be true to me.

 

Posts from people who have been confused after a conversation with cruise next reps are not uncommon.

[di T]

26 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Obviously we can’t comment on the specifics of your conversation onboard, but the deal is basically that you pay half price for your vouchers. So if you buy $1,000 of vouchers they will Cost you $500 (the discounts are different for Haven ones.

 

Sounds like either the rep explained it incorrectly or you misunderstood them.

Hi Keith, on our last cruise in March I purchased two x$250 cruise next certificates  I was charged $250 from my onboard account so half price! Two weeks later I booked a 12 nt cruise inside cabin for next February they applied both certificates so $500 off the cruise, I then paid the balance in full with my Amex card and got the Amex offer of £350 back onto my card.I was happy with all this ,then the cruise reduced in price by £200 so I rang them expecting nothing, but they charged me2x£35 administration and put £130 back on my card! Well pleased😀

[cruiseny4life]

Never, ever believe what a Cruise Next person tells you. Ever. They will obfuscate the truth and you'll be sitting there trying to figure out what the actual facts are. Thankfully, I learned this prior to purchasing $2,000 worth of Cruise Next ($1,000 for me, $1,000 for my husband). We asked questions. Researched on the ship's internet, then asked more questions. That second round of questions enabled us to find out the rep, while not exactly lying, was not telling the entirety of the truth. We still purchased two Cruise Next certificates. Unfortunately, you have to educate yourself completely when it comes to anything NCL sells. Even then, you might get completely routed (see the alcohol thread as an example). 

 

Good luck!

[julig22]

5 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

you don't lose the CF if you cancel.  It also goes back to your account.

Depends on what you cancel.  While I wouldn't necessarily assume a price drop would count as a cancel/rebook in this situation, things like a name change might.

 

[dbrown84]

7 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Depends on what you cancel.  While I wouldn't necessarily assume a price drop would count as a cancel/rebook in this situation, things like a name change might.

 

ahh, I see. sorry.  you're talking about re-booking the same itinerary and losing the extra value, not the CF itself.  You'd still have the CF returned to your account, but if you re-booked the same itinerary, you'd lose the extra value.  But if you booked a different itinerary, you'd get the full value of the cert ($300 or $500)

[Ellis1138]

My head is spinning from this. Hah. I think I did ok. I had grabbed a $500 CF for $250, then applied it to a $1129 Studio cabin fare when booking. And I'm going on the cruise in that cabin, come heck or high water.

 

I still can't figure out Cruise Next, but am following this thread in the hopes it will sink in.

 

Sudden thought edit: I wonder if the $100 shareholder credit can go towards Cruise Next?

Edited May 19, 2023 by Ellis1138
afterthought