New to Norwegian- Is this a good deal?

[flipflops84]

Hi everyone! We have been on two cruises and are looking for a third. We've never been on NCL and figured we should give it a try next! I dont know much about pricing for NCL so I was hoping to get some advice.

 

We are looking at sailing on the Jan. 4th, 10 night cruise on the Gem. This will be our second cruise of the year so we are thinking inside cabin. We have always done balcony in the past, but figure that since this boat leaves from NY in Jan we won't be able to use the balcony for the full 10 days anyhow. The pricing for the highest category inside cabin comes to about $1200 total per person. (Balcony is about $1900 pp)

 

Please, could some advise if this is a good price? We are not looking to pay as little as possible, I just would like to know the general consensus on whether this is a good deal or if you think the price will drop (or go up!) It seems good, but Ive never really tracked Norwegian pricing and therefore dont know what kinds of deals they do.

 

Thank you all for any help! :):rolleyes:

[Tucker in Texas]

While that price doesn't seem too bad, you might want to track it for awhile before booking. Many times, NCL will not give you a price adjustment once you book and the price goes down. They will not let you cancel and rebook because they "flag" your name. A lot of times they have a "sale" for new bookings only which might be a good time to book.

 

However, the street runs both ways. The price could go up and they won't come after you for the difference if you have already booked (lol).

 

January 4 is the beginning of a slow season for cruise lines. The holidays are over. If you are really willing to throw the dice, after final payment is due is when the prices start adjusting to the market. In the meantime, you can watch and see if they are going up or down. If they are going up, then start bird dogging a sale by checking their web site.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Addictedtwo]

Hi everyone! We have been on two cruises and are looking for a third. We've never been on NCL and figured we should give it a try next! I dont know much about pricing for NCL so I was hoping to get some advice.

 

We are looking at sailing on the Jan. 4th, 10 night cruise on the Gem. This will be our second cruise of the year so we are thinking inside cabin. We have always done balcony in the past, but figure that since this boat leaves from NY in Jan we won't be able to use the balcony for the full 10 days anyhow. The pricing for the highest category inside cabin comes to about $1200 total per person. (Balcony is about $1900 pp)

 

Please, could some advise if this is a good price? We are not looking to pay as little as possible, I just would like to know the general consensus on whether this is a good deal or if you think the price will drop (or go up!) It seems good, but Ive never really tracked Norwegian pricing and therefore dont know what kinds of deals they do.

 

Thank you all for any help! :):rolleyes:

 

The best way to see what your money is getting you is figure out what your per day cost is and then compare it to other cruise lines that have similar itinerary.

If you shop specifically NCL direct or through TAs your not going to find much of a difference in price.

Also for inside cabin you could probably do the "wait and see game" as usually they are never 100% filled. Go back and look at the cruise date you want , go as far as picking the room # in order to get to the final cost, you can then click on the total and see the breakdown taxes etc. you will also see when the final payment is due. It's usually around 75 days prior to sailing date. If prices are going to drop they will drop right after final payment.

 

The disadvantage to this is getting airfare at reasonable cost.

 

But I have to agree on the no balcony out of NY. in Jan.

 

We are pro NCL and haven't cruised any other lines. What we really like is the freestyle dining in that we don't have to eat at the same time or sit with the same ppl. and because resort casual is just fine for dinner.

 

We also find that it's a non intimidating cruise line, if that makes any sense.

[vivian02]

I have done eight cruises four of them with NCL. For a 10 day cruise out of NYC this sounds alittle high. Here are my thoughts.....When you decide book an "inside guarantee" There is a very good chance you can get upgraded. Check for Military Discouts, Senior Discounts, and State Discounts. Who knows if you don't ask. If and when you book and you see a price drop call your TA immediately. On the past two bookings I have received as much as $400 for OBC. Even after final payment I have been able to receive OBC. There is nothing wrong with an inside cabin, the entertainment and the food are still the same. Tim

[DocJohnB]

I have done eight cruises four of them with NCL. For a 10 day cruise out of NYC this sounds alittle high. Here are my thoughts.....When you decide book an "inside guarantee" There is a very good chance you can get upgraded. Check for Military Discouts, Senior Discounts, and State Discounts. Who knows if you don't ask. If and when you book and you see a price drop call your TA immediately. On the past two bookings I have received as much as $400 for OBC. Even after final payment I have been able to receive OBC. There is nothing wrong with an inside cabin, the entertainment and the food are still the same. Tim

 

I agree. Seems a bit high to me, also. Especially for this week of the year . . . normally pretty slow.

[weloverunning]

I also use the per person per day price to determine if it is an okay, good, or great deal. Right now we are booked on the Sun for October for 11 days at $81 pp pd total (including all taxes ands surcharges). Our last cruise was $73 pp pd but that was before the $7-$9 pp pd fuel surcharge so I think we are right in line with a good deal. January should be about the least expensive time to cruise except for maybe sept-oct because of hurricane season. I would shop around for a while before committing.

[terrymtex01]

Hi everyone! We have been on two cruises and are looking for a third. We've never been on NCL and figured we should give it a try next! I dont know much about pricing for NCL so I was hoping to get some advice.

 

We are looking at sailing on the Jan. 4th, 10 night cruise on the Gem. This will be our second cruise of the year so we are thinking inside cabin. We have always done balcony in the past, but figure that since this boat leaves from NY in Jan we won't be able to use the balcony for the full 10 days anyhow. The pricing for the highest category inside cabin comes to about $1200 total per person. (Balcony is about $1900 pp)

 

Please, could some advise if this is a good price? We are not looking to pay as little as possible, I just would like to know the general consensus on whether this is a good deal or if you think the price will drop (or go up!) It seems good, but Ive never really tracked Norwegian pricing and therefore dont know what kinds of deals they do.

 

Thank you all for any help! :):rolleyes:

 

I'm torn on how to answer your question because I have two different thoughts..

 

Do I think it is a good deal as far as cost? Honestly, not that great of a deal.. $120.00 PP PD seems high to me for an inside stateroom. But then again, we just booked a 14 day repo and it was 250.00 PP PD for the Penthouse suite we booked.

 

Overall do I think it is a good deal?? Yes.. if right now you have a choice of which room to choose and you find one in the location that you like. If you are ok with paying that price and enjoy the peace of mind that no matter what happens to the price.. going up or going down.. you are booked no matter what.. If all of that has a value to you, as it does to me, then yes, I think it is a good deal.

 

If you are one of these people who books something and then keeps going back to see if the price dropped, etc, then I recommend you book the trip and wait until final payment due, that way if the price does drop before you make final payment, NCL will give you the cruise at the reduced rate.

[newmexicoNita]

My rule of thumb: $100 per day per person is a good deal, more probably is not. I agree with trying a guaranteed rate. One thing, no one has pointed out, even though we all have our ideas on pricing, you are paying more in fuel charges today than even a few weeks ago and depending on the ports those charges can affect the price. You do have the right attitude about inside and leaving out of NYC> Be prepared, inside cabins are a big come down from balconies, so do not judge your cruise or the cruise line by the cabin. We have only had 1 inside and would not do it again, but that is us. We also rarely get balconies.

 

I do not know where you got your pricing but if I were you I would try a local travel agent. There are many companies now that specialize in cruises. You can ask friends for names, look in the Sunday paper or check out the companies that advertise on Cruise Critic. A good Travel agent may be able to get you a better price or give you advise on cabins etc.

 

Nita

[mpk218]

The current discount rate seems to be around $1226. total pr. person inside Gar. .

I'd wait , that seems high.

And as noted above its an extra $110 per person fuel sc.

mpk

[Cubechick]

I saw this post earlier and wanted to chime in on two points.

 

First is that I disagree that a balcony is "out" because the ship sails in January from NYC. We sailed this itinerary last January 16th (and are doing so again January 14th) and found that we were able to enjoy our balcony 8 out of the 10 nights. Really it's the first night at sea and the last that the balcony isn't comfortable to use. I found that to be more than worthwhile for me. Especially since it felt like we were cheating Old Man Winter! :D

 

Second is that you may not see a lot of fluctuation in pricing. Although these cruises would logically be considered "off-season", this winter, NCL has no competition (at least last year the HAL's Noordam was sailing from NYC to the Caribbean). Also, the Gem is still a "new" ship and that alone holds a lot of appeal to people when they consider booking her. (Okay, I guess that's three points!)

 

Not that I'm saying the prices won't go down, but you can't count on it.

[mbisson]

My rule of thumb: $100 per day per person is a good deal, more probably is not.

 

Nita

 

Hi Nita

I've seen that before but have wondered---is that $100 total or before NCF/taxes etc?

[chrisbd1]

On a certain online site dealing with cruising the highest inside catagory is $2488.74 total for 2, this includes port charges, taxes and fuel supplement for that cruise.

[saabgal]

Ok, so I am between cruise planning for myself so I felt a little bored... I went to a site (which rules don't allow me to mention) that I have used before to find the best prices. It is actually a site that many online agencies use to offer you the best deal they can at that time. You enter what you want, and they respond. In essence the the cruise agencies are compete-ing. ;)

 

I put in your cruise, for a category K, I received 3 offers: 1140.97 pp, 1100.06pp, and 1115.95.

 

I will say I did use one of these online agencies for our March cruise. Had no problems, in fact I think it was the one with the lowest price here.

 

I gave you a hint above for the website, it is a dot com.

 

If you do decide to hang in there and wait, good luck! It's always great to get a good deal. Just keep watching the prices, I know when I was looking I just watched the site that had the lowest prices. I checked every day, and then one day--BAM, really low and I booked. Next day, the prices were back up.

[saabgal]

Just received another offer: $1,082.59 pp