stevex

Ugh, not the answer I wanted to hear but thanks for the comments, sounds like I do need to move on it.

In a way I'm happy to hear the cruises are selling out at a price premium - that's good news for NCL.  Bad for my next vacation. 🙂

Hey everyone - Haven't been on a cruise in a while, it's time.

I'm looking at the Getaway from NYC in mid-March (March Break for schools in Ontario).  We're driving distance to NYC, and the Getaway has the bunk beds that we need (kids don't want to share a bed).  So it's an exact match for what we're looking for.

Prices seem rather up from what they used to be.  For the four of is in a family balcony looks like around $6k, where we're used to closer to $4k.

I'm wondering if we should be booking *now*, or watch the pricing as the date approaches. Also, whether to book through NCL or an agent.

Any suggestions?  Wondering if I should just watch the deals over the next few weeks.  Any way to tell how full the ship is?

Thanks

 -- Steve

We arranged to fly in the day before.

We're staying at the hotel they're choosing (not sure which one yet but we're not picky), and it's costing us $336 (Canadian). This includes removing the transfer from the hotel to the ship from the reservation, which I assume isn't a problem since we'll be in Miami already and getting a cab to the pier shouldn't cost anywhere near that, and we won't need the assurance of knowing it's an NCL transfer. 

I'm much more comfortable with this arrangement.

I'd suggest anyone taking NCL up on their free air offers make the arrangement to fly in the day before, and be sure to do it before ticketing!  (Our ticketing happened 54 days in advance of the cruise date). It may involve a significant extra charge if the tickets have already been issued.

Thanks -

I checked with NCL and it's $421 to arrive 24 hours earlier, including hotel.

Tough call.

NCL's BookSafe insurance costs $716 ($179/person) and says, of a missed cruise due to a flight delay, that they will give you up to $500 to cover a transfer to the next port of call. Doesn't really make sense here.

Has anyone had this happen?  I'm wondering how NCL would handle it.

I just got our air tickets, and they have us leaving Toronto at 7:25am and arriving in Miami for 11:45am.  Cruise departs at 4pm.  That seems tight to me.

Does NCL take care of the transfer from the airport to the pier?  The material I have isn't clear - it talks about being able to purchase a transfer, but then mentions meeting an NCL rep at the airport.  Is the NCL rep going to tell me to go get a cab to the pier?

If we do miss the sailing, the first two days are sea days and the first port is San Juan so it would no fun to have to try to catch up to it.

Is this usually fine or do most people alter the reservation to fly in the day before?  Would seem like a bit of a stealth fee to set everyone up with arrangements they're not going to like and then charge to change them.

Just curious to hear the experiences from other people.

Thanks!

That sounds like the way to go.  I don't mind paying for a hotel, and getting there the day before would make me feel a lot better.

I booked a cruise on the Encore in December (yay!) and booked airfare through NCL.  Don't know the flight arrangements yet so I don't know how much leeway there is for flight delays, but what happens if the NCL-booked flight is cancelled or late?

If it was me booking the flight, I'd make sure to arrive early enough that if there were delays, I could accommodate.  But I don't know how NCL does it.  Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks

 -- Steve

Here’s the coast guard info on the evacuation on the Breakaway cruise yesterday:

http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/virginia/2017/12/03/coast-guard-cruise-ship-chincoteague-medevac/917579001/

What sort of furniture do you get on the large balcony? I've seen photos with a table/chairs, I've seen photos with two loungers. Two loungers and a table would be nice...

Benefits of early booking are few:

Locking in price of cruise.

Selection of prime location cabins especially suites and the deluxe balcony cabins (Mini-suites).

Additional Latitudes Reward Points (booking more than 9 months ahead) does not mean much when you reach Platinum.

Chance to ride the roller coaster of price fluctuations - not so much for suites and havens.

Option to take advantage of promos if changing the booking PRIOR to the 90 day final payment - caution for hassles and restrictions.

And lastly the down payment tied up and not earning any interest.

You forgot .. 12 months of anticipation for a booked cruise. Saying that you'll take a cruise next March isn't the same as having a cruise booked. Silly I know. :)

Well, sure, but you can't act like NCL has no control here.

NCL offers upgrades and incentives all the time. It wouldn't cost them much to do *something* for people who paid significantly more than the going rate, to help make them feel less like they were taken advantage of.

NCL doesn't have to do this, but it would be good customer service. Retail stores have price protection and flexible return policies for a reason, and it's not because they like giving money away.

I wonder how much of it is at the discretion of your cruise consultant.

I haven't been impressed with mine. I've been through three - the last two moved to different positions apparently - and the guy I've got now doesn't answer my emails, and is the one who said, basically, "tough luck" when I called to ask about any sort of concession for the huge price drop.

Learned my lesson this time.

We're sailing on the Breakaway in March, and booked a year ago.

Today I can book the same cruise, same category on ncl.com for about $1200 less, and that includes the UBB, so about $2000 less.

I know it makes sense for NCL to lower prices and offer incentives to fill up the ship, but it sure punishes people for planning in advance. Shouldn't NCL be trying to encourage people to book in advance?

I'd be happier if they'd throw us a bone, like some discounted entertainment or bonus OBC or something, but I called in to ask and the answer was "no".

So, lesson learned, wait until a month before cruising to book.