Is NCL abandoning US

[SteveH2508]

On some trips the prices are sometime around equal once you include the taxes. but sometimes some grades are cheapoer UK so you have to check them all.

 

 

There do tend to be bigger difference at the higher grades especialy villas) but we have booked suites cheaper through the UK before.

 

 

UK prices HAVE to include taxes in the prices you see but as long as the tips/grats/service remain discretionary they can leave them out of the up front pricing.

 

 

picking the Jade Feb 25 9 night

 

cabin inside OV balcony mini

UK£ £409 £539 £609 £729

US$ $586 $666 $886 $1316

US£ £377 £428 £570 £846

 

the other thing you have to watch out ofr is hte 3+pax pricing these can be very different, UK often has differnt(increasing) prices as you go up the grades US tend to be equal all grades.

 

 

trick is to check both an booke cheapest, but beware if you book early the FOREX rate can swing the deal by the time you get to final payments

 

these are all before the travel agent discounts which can swing it againg UK tends to be 10% of total US 16% of commisioned fare.

 

Thanks for that - food for thought. We did try to book via the US web site last year because it was showing as cheaper for our W Med cruise but we got stopped at the 'select a State' stage.

 

We have a good PCC who seems to be able to find us a few quid off. We are restricted in the times we can sail and we like to have certain cabins (well the same BA one 3 times now!) so we just need to save up a bit harder!

 

The FOREX rate kicks in wth the onboard bill ($2 to £1 when were in the Baltics :D - $1.50 to £1 in the W Med :() With the amount of Martinis we get through it makes a difference!

[SteveH2508]

Hi Guys

 

I find your comments very interesting but not completely understood. When I went to book my upcoming Epic Trans Atlantic from Miami to Barcelona (May 2011) several UK residents posted on the Roll Call that the sailing was not for sale on the NCL UK website.

 

Trying to be helpful, I found out that they could book throguh NCL USA's website but have to pay the credit card exchange from Dollars to Pounds.

 

Your comments raise another dimension. If I understand your observations correctly, for the same NCL cruise on its USA & UK websites, the USA price will not have any gratuity built in (anticipating the on board $12 ppd) but the UK price will include a pre paid gratuity which is much less than $12 ppd ?

 

These could be important factors if NCL is in the process of a big transfer of product from US to Eur. Assuming NCL continues to allow a booking by UK & US residents on their counterpart's website, a US resident might be able to pay a smaller gratuity but pay currency conversion charges.

 

I find this most intriguing, since a cruising pal of mine carries dual citizenship and dual credit cards and it seems he's postitioned to get the best deal. Am I understanding the situation correctly ?

 

John

 

The quoted price in UK does not include the DSC but it appears on our Invoice in GBP so we can pre-pay. See my earlier post where I said we could not book through the US web-site. I believe there are certain EU consumer protection rules which may have a bearing on this.

[Uniall]

Thanks for that - food for thought. We did try to book via the US web site last year because it was showing as cheaper for our W Med cruise but we got stopped at the 'select a State' stage.

 

We have a good PCC who seems to be able to find us a few quid off. We are restricted in the times we can sail and we like to have certain cabins (well the same BA one 3 times now!) so we just need to save up a bit harder!

 

The FOREX rate kicks in wth the onboard bill ($2 to £1 when were in the Baltics :D - $1.50 to £1 in the W Med :() With the amount of Martinis we get through it makes a difference!

 

Hi

 

I don't understand being stopped by "select a state" on NCL's US website. I NEVER fill that in. But, I've been informed by my NCL US Personal Cruise Consultant that she books UK folks by phone.

 

John

[Uniall]

Thanks for that - food for thought. We did try to book via the US web site last year because it was showing as cheaper for our W Med cruise but we got stopped at the 'select a State' stage.

 

We have a good PCC who seems to be able to find us a few quid off. We are restricted in the times we can sail and we like to have certain cabins (well the same BA one 3 times now!) so we just need to save up a bit harder!

 

The FOREX rate kicks in wth the onboard bill ($2 to £1 when were in the Baltics :D - $1.50 to £1 in the W Med :() With the amount of Martinis we get through it makes a difference!

 

Steve

 

I wonder if my dual credit card friend provides an answer to this problem. If a Yank booked (is it allowed?) a Euro cruise by phone to NCL UK could he use a US Dollar credit card for on board purchases ? Alternatively, can a Yank get an BPS credit card from a Brit bank? (I think my friend indicated Guernsey Bank - Maybe I could find bank card tied in with ancestral MacNeill's of Isle of Bara?)

 

Also, can Canadian mates work the system both ways? I know they book NCL US but are they also allowed to use NCL UK.

John

[insidecabin]

Never had a problem booking through US direct or via US PPC or TA.

 

We have a US and a UK PPC(NCL personal cruise consultant or TA if you l).

 

UK protections are not a lot of use for cruise only ATOL does not apply so you have to use the CC protection. UK NCL flights tend to be expensive.

 

US you get full refund up to final which is a good trade off.

 

prepaid grats are at a exchange rate set in advance so it is not always cheaper to prepay on a UK.

 

Having just tried the UK web site for a booking it ha gone down hill a lot on the booking side with the info needed. why does it have to be so different to the OK(with problems) US site?

[Uniall]

... The answer to the question posed in the thread title is, simply, no. Time to send the thread to oblivion and write about something relevant.

 

Before reporting today's good news, regarding NCL's continued use of New Orleans as a cruise base, I'd like to reply to the above post by "Marinaro44". Appointing oneself as the arbiter of what issues are relevant and worthy of discussion seems a bit much. Suggesting that such discussion be sent to oblivion sounds in arrogance. I, respectfully, suggest in the future, if you don't believe a subject is worthy of discussion don't interfere with others who find it worthwhile.

 

Now, the good news. Today, NCL published the sailing calendar through April 2013.

 

NCL Spirit will continue its 7 day sailings from New Orleans to the Western Caribbean until April 15, 2012, when the Spirit will relocate to Barcelona.

 

There will be a 6 month suspension of sailings from New Orleans until Oct 21, 2012 when the Star will repo from New York to New Orleans.

 

The Star will then commence weekly sailings from New Orleans to Western Caribbean until April, 2013, the last date of the newly published calendar.

 

Thanks to all of you who joined in with positive input to discuss the issue.

 

John

[williamsk]

I for one am a little sad. Is NCL going to place another ship in New Orleans? It was one of the only decent ships in a day's drive from our house.

[Planer's Edge]

I for one am a little sad. Is NCL going to place another ship in New Orleans? It was one of the only decent ships in a day's drive from our house.

 

Yes, as was stated in the post right above yours, the Star will be porting in New Orleans starting in November of 2012.

 

PE

[RareBird]

I don't see abandonment at all.

 

NCL is a great line and we sailed Dawn many times, will go on Gem next year and on Star year after that, all out of NYC, our home port :)

[bob brown]

There is one thing I wondered about....why doesn't NCL have a ship homeported in Norway one summer? After all, they are NORWEGIAN Cruise Line!:D

Most of us probably forget that little tidbit left over from their Kloster origin.:cool:

[swedish weave]

There is one thing I wondered about....why doesn't NCL have a ship homeported in Norway one summer? After all, they are NORWEGIAN Cruise Line!:D

Most of us probably forget that little tidbit left over from their Kloster origin.:cool:

 

Maybe not enough Krones!:D

[Uniall]

There is one thing I wondered about....why doesn't NCL have a ship homeported in Norway one summer? After all, they are NORWEGIAN Cruise Line!:D

Most of us probably forget that little tidbit left over from their Kloster origin.:cool:

 

Maybe not enough Krones!:D

 

 

What's really odd is NCL's Baltic Capitols Cruises (we did Jewel last year) include 3 of the 4 Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden & Finland) but do not visit Norway.