What is the advantage to purchasing Cruise Next certificates

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

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

It can't.

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 hours ago, mistertomatoe said:

I know sometimes they make it all cabins but that seems rare.

They've offered it twice since February.

[KeithJenner]

47 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

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

 

Don't complicate it. The way they sell it does that, but it really is simple.

 

When you but CruiseNext you just get them at a discount. If you buy two CN £250 vouchers then they will cost you $250 in total, so you save $250.

 

That's it. Forget talk of OBC etc.

 

As for using them, the standard is that you can apply one per cabin, but the double up deal (allowing you to apply two per balcony and above) runs so often that I can't remember the last time I couldn't use two. If you are booking an inside or Oceanview the deals come up less often. Last time we booked an Oceanview we could apply two.

[mistertomatoe]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

They've offered it twice since February.

 

Yet when I'm ready to book, the promo isn't running. Maybe I cruise too much and my timing is off. Anyways, for me CF works better. I actually was talked into CN but ended up getting a refund. Full disclosure, I was a little drunk when I stopped by the CN desk. At least I didn't fall for the free OBC trap. They really do confuse everyone including their own people with how they set up CN. Just look at the posts in this thread.

[Beer Belly]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Don't complicate it. The way they sell it does that, but it really is simple.

 

When you but CruiseNext you just get them at a discount. If you buy two CN £250 vouchers then they will cost you $250 in total, so you save $250.

 

That's it. Forget talk of OBC etc.

 

As for using them, the standard is that you can apply one per cabin, but the double up deal (allowing you to apply two per balcony and above) runs so often that I can't remember the last time I couldn't use two. If you are booking an inside or Oceanview the deals come up less often. Last time we booked an Oceanview we could apply two.

Not according to the email response from NCL. They claim that I bought 4 x 250 = 1,000, minus 500 OBC, brings my out of pocket to 500. If not for the 500 OBC, I would of paid the full 1,000 for 4 x 250 CND

[ngrund]

4 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

Not according to the email response from NCL. They claim that I bought 4 x 250 = 1,000, minus 500 OBC, brings my out of pocket to 500. If not for the 500 OBC, I would of paid the full 1,000 for 4 x 250 CND

it comes to the same result-you pay half the face value of the Cruise next.

[KeithJenner]

14 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

Not according to the email response from NCL. They claim that I bought 4 x 250 = 1,000, minus 500 OBC, brings my out of pocket to 500. If not for the 500 OBC, I would of paid the full 1,000 for 4 x 250 CND

I mean forget about it being OBC. You get $1,000 for $500. The fact that they originally charge you $1,000 and then deduct the $500 by applying it as OBC is irrelevant. They could just as easy have just charged $500.

 

As I say, forget about it being OBC. It is just a $500 discount.

[LadyZolt]

14 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

Not according to the email response from NCL. They claim that I bought 4 x 250 = 1,000, minus 500 OBC, brings my out of pocket to 500. If not for the 500 OBC, I would of paid the full 1,000 for 4 x 250 CND

Right -- but it's not like you could have spent that OBC on something else.  It immediately goes toward the CN. I think that's where people get confused.  They are calling it OBC, but it's not actually OBC the way that most of us think of OBC.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, mistertomatoe said:

Yet when I'm ready to book, the promo isn't running.

You can always apply one CN as the deposit for a new booking.  Then, when the promo runs, you can apply a second provided you're before final payment.

[3dogmom]

Thanks for this thread! I applied 1 CN at time of booking and just applied my 2nd CN today, right before my final payment is due on June 4th. I didn't know you could only do this during a "promo".

 

Also, so glad I'm not the only one completely confused by the CN reps onboard. 

[Ellis1138]

1 hour ago, LadyZolt said:

Right -- but it's not like you could have spent that OBC on something else.  It immediately goes toward the CN. I think that's where people get confused.  They are calling it OBC, but it's not actually OBC the way that most of us think of OBC.  

 

Thank you! That must have been where I got confused, where they call it an OBC for your current cruise.

[ChiefMateJRK]

6 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

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.

I believe that some have had problems.  That said, I only know of my own personal experiences.  Two cruises ago, I pre-filled a form to purchase 4 CNs.  I handed it to the CN person, told her I knew how it all worked, and she said "thanks."

 

Last cruise, I was expecting the DoubleUp promo to still apply to insides.  I was told by NCL on the phone that this promo had ended.  I asked the CN rep if that was her understanding.  She said yes.  I told her I had bought 4 CNs the previous week and in the absence of the promo thought I should be good for now.  She agreed and didn't try to sell me anything.

[PATRLR]

8 hours 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

Sounds like the classic timeshare sales approach.  It's a shame these CN sales droids need to feel pressured into acting like slimy timeshare sales droids.  You are purchasing a portion of your next cruise for 50% off, it's simple and should sell itself.  But no, they need to talk fast and confuse the customer into purchasing more than they probably need.
 

7 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

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.

Exactly.  Excellent advice. 

[pcakes122]

Slightly off topic, but while we're on the subject of certificates.... the new CAS Next certificate terms specifically state that you can't combine them with Cruise Next certificates. Not true. On my recent cruise I bought CNs and also received a CAS Next certificate. When I got home I was able to place one of each on the same existing booking at ncl.com. (Something tells me if I called to have that done I would have been told I couldn't do it 😉.) 

[ChiefMateJRK]

39 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Excellent advice. 

I will add that the "excellent advice" is to educate yourself here on the forum BEFORE getting on the ship.  That's what I did. 😎

[mistertomatoe]

Just to add.. In Jan, a CN person said the current promo was all cabins. I showed her on my phone the terms on the website said balcony and up. She said she just did a double on a lower cabin category and then she showed me the terms on some internal website she had access too. What the heck.

[julig22]

27 minutes ago, mistertomatoe said:

Just to add.. In Jan, a CN person said the current promo was all cabins. I showed her on my phone the terms on the website said balcony and up. She said she just did a double on a lower cabin category and then she showed me the terms on some internal website she had access too. What the heck.

Info about CNs is in 2 places.  And they don't always agree.

[AKR2011]

I'm jumping in and trying to follow. As someone who books inside, Cruise First right now let's you buy $500 for $250. I could also get two Cruise Next certificates on my next cruise for the same deal, but I can only apply one for my next sailing. So, Cruise First is a better deal, right? I'm thinking that I may buy the Cruise First and still book my next one while on board so I can get the free upgrade. Does this make sense?

[mistertomatoe]

26 minutes ago, AKR2011 said:

I'm jumping in and trying to follow. As someone who books inside, Cruise First right now let's you buy $500 for $250. I could also get two Cruise Next certificates on my next cruise for the same deal, but I can only apply one for my next sailing. So, Cruise First is a better deal, right? I'm thinking that I may buy the Cruise First and still book my next one while on board so I can get the free upgrade. Does this make sense?

 

The CF $500 deal expired and based on the current dates in the terms it MIGHT be back in 5 days (the current "promo" for $300 CF ends 5/25). Your cruise does have to be 120 days from purchase and 6 or more days in length.

 

CN right now can only double up (i.e. $500) for balcony and up and the cruise is 4 months in advance.

Terms: "Book a balcony or above on any sailing at least 4 months in advance and apply TWO CruiseNext, CruiseNext Haven or CruiseNext Lite deposits"

Sometimes they have it for ALL categories including inside so it really depends on your situation and what promos are available.

 

CN are refundable within 30 days. CF is not refundable. Both are transferable to other people.

 

However, as stated before sometimes what they say isn't what's happening so I would check when onboard for CN and actually go to the CF webpage and see what it lets you buy.

[dbrown84]

1 hour ago, AKR2011 said:

I'm jumping in and trying to follow. As someone who books inside, Cruise First right now let's you buy $500 for $250. I could also get two Cruise Next certificates on my next cruise for the same deal, but I can only apply one for my next sailing. So, Cruise First is a better deal, right? I'm thinking that I may buy the Cruise First and still book my next one while on board so I can get the free upgrade. Does this make sense?

I also book insides and feel CF makes more sense because I can buy a $500 CF when available and know that I can use it when I'm ready.  The CN double up promo is usually for balcony and above and has a requirement for the sailing to be 4 or 6 months out.  It's not unusual for me to book 2 or 3 months out from sailing

[graphicguy]

I have to look at the CNs I have in my account. but in addition to getting double value, I believe they are good for 4 years and are transferable.  So, if you decide you aren’t going to cruise in the next 4 years, you can actually sell them.

 

Depending on the promotions at the time, you can use 2 CN certs for Club Balcony cabins and up.  You can use 1 cert for any category under those.

 

CN desk…..ask questions…lots of questions…..so you understand what you’re buying.  I don’t have any issues understanding the Ts and Cs, but certainly understand how things can get jumbled.  The last ones I bought I got from the CN manager on board.  Super nice lady and actually married to another CN Manager (on a different ship).  I had her slow down and explain everything.  I wrote down what I understood how the promo worked.  She agreed.  I agreed.  

 

Funny, just chatting, she said in addition to the presentations she does on every cruise in the Atrium, she does the same presentation at the CN desk probably a couple hundred times each and every cruise.  So, I think they tend to rush through it because they do it so much.

Edited May 20, 2023 by graphicguy

[Serengeti228]

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

I also book insides and feel CF makes more sense because I can buy a $500 CF when available and know that I can use it when I'm ready.  The CN double up promo is usually for balcony and above and has a requirement for the sailing to be 4 or 6 months out.  It's not unusual for me to book 2 or 3 months out from sailing

I agree with your cirucmstance.

 

I can see the merits of both CN and CF, as long as the buyer understands thoroughly the respective TnCs, plus the practicality of both instruments that might go above the TnCs (i.e. CN is able to be applied after the initial deposit, despite all the official channels say otherwise).

 

I have used CN several times and I sold my CN in social media before. I bought and used CF for the first time only this week. Without any CN sitting in my account and the timing of 3 new bookings (roughly 130 days out with good pricing for solo cruiser), I opted to immediately/speedily purchase CFs (which luckily happened to have $250/$500 promo) from NCL instead of getting CNs (3 or 6) from social media with some potential time lag, noting that when I made my courtesy hold bookings 2 weeks ago, the CN double up for lower cabin cat. was not available. I also assessed the possibility of fare reduction in the next 120 days. I would say yes, but then I am willing accept to that price reduction loss as I have got savings of $750 from 3x$250 CFs. On the bright side, I can still "try" to ask for FCC as the result of such price reduction.

 

I would say each instrument has its merits, depending on the individual circumstances, the timing of initial booking, how far out of the sailing, the likelihood of price drop that may trigger booking cancel and rebook etc... If I had both CF and CN sitting in account, I would apply one instrument or another after my assessment. No one size fits all for me.... 

[The Traveling Man]

20 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You can always apply one CN as the deposit for a new booking.  Then, when the promo runs, you can apply a second provided you're before final payment.

We have done exactly that several times.  Also have put down a cash deposit on a future cruise when I was temporarily out of CNs.  Prior to final payment on that cruise, we took a different cruise, bought some more CNs, then applied one of them to that future cruise.

[The Traveling Man]

17 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Sounds like the classic timeshare sales approach.  It's a shame these CN sales droids need to feel pressured into acting like slimy timeshare sales droids.  You are purchasing a portion of your next cruise for 50% off, it's simple and should sell itself.  But no, they need to talk fast and confuse the customer into purchasing more than they probably need.

CN staff are evaluated, among other criteria, by how many CN deposits they sell.  If they want to get ahead, be promoted, or earn rewards, they have to sell more CNs.

[julig22]

4 hours ago, mistertomatoe said:

 

The CF $500 deal expired and based on the current dates in the terms it MIGHT be back in 5 days (the current "promo" for $300 CF ends 5/25). Your cruise does have to be 120 days from purchase and 6 or more days in length.

 

CN right now can only double up (i.e. $500) for balcony and up and the cruise is 4 months in advance.

Terms: "Book a balcony or above on any sailing at least 4 months in advance and apply TWO CruiseNext, CruiseNext Haven or CruiseNext Lite deposits"

Sometimes they have it for ALL categories including inside so it really depends on your situation and what promos are available.

 

CN are refundable within 30 days. CF is not refundable. Both are transferable to other people.

 

However, as stated before sometimes what they say isn't what's happening so I would check when onboard for CN and actually go to the CF webpage and see what it lets you buy.

Current promo appears to be any cabin. For how long, nobody knows because there is no date and the info on the CN website conflicts with the info on the promo T&C page.  But several people have reported they successfully added a second certificate to their inside/OV rooms in the last few days.