NCL Cruise Deals after Final Payment

[meowgodde]

First time cruiser, NCLer, etc. etc. etc.

 

Does NCL do cruise deals after final payment is due?

 

We are considering NCL Jade cruise from Barcelona on April 29th... at this point, would it be better to wait a few weeks for the final due date to score a deal? Anyone "in the know" have an idea about what percentage of rooms need to still be available for them to discount? I may have gone from category to category counting.... :p

 

I understand that we will not get our choice pick on the room, its really all about the itinerary for us!

 

BTW CruiseCritic is awesome.

[polySeraph]

First time cruiser, NCLer, etc. etc. etc.

 

Does NCL do cruise deals after final payment is due?

 

We are considering NCL Jade cruise from Barcelona on April 29th... at this point, would it be better to wait a few weeks for the final due date to score a deal? Anyone "in the know" have an idea about what percentage of rooms need to still be available for them to discount? I may have gone from category to category counting.... :p

 

I understand that we will not get our choice pick on the room, its really all about the itinerary for us!

 

BTW CruiseCritic is awesome.

 

Hello Meowgodde and welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Will you need to purchase airfare? On our very first cruise to Norway, the prices dropped through the floor sometime after final payment. The ship departed from Southhampton and I met several people from the UK who told me they had indeed scored fabulous deals. For DH and me, however, it might have been tough to score that same deal because we would possibly have had to spend more on airfare for a last-minute trans-Atlantic flight. So, make sure to take airfare into consideration if you will be flying to Barcelona.

 

By the way, I'm on that April 29th Barcelona-Venice cruise and I'm counting the days! If you do decide to sign up, please be sure to check out our Roll Call. We have a very active group and we've made some great plans. Hope to see you soon!

[Clay Clayton]

I can only speak from personal experience but on cruises that had a number of cabins left a few weeks before final payment date, there always seemed to be either a sale, good OBCs, or something to fill the ship up. Several year's ago, DDP's Mom wanted to take us on a cruise for Thanksgiving. I fed her info on several cruises and she picked the one she wanted and over my suggestions went ahead and had me buy the three staterooms we needed in mid July. A month later in mid August, after final payment date, the prices fell - she would have saved $1800 if she had of waited. Sometimes NCL will deal with you if you have booked through them and the price falls, but our online discount TA will not.

 

That being said, we just booked for next October - but at the price we got our cabin- which is a really great and big balcony on the bow, there was no way the price would go down.....so you just have to look and see what you can live with. And of course PolySeraph makes a critical point too.

[Wingtips56]

A deal would be nice, but don't count on it if you really want a specific sailing and room type. We booked our September 2011 TA a year and a half out, wondering then if we should wait. Since then, the price went up a chunk, and now all balconies are sold out completely. So I'm glad we didn't wait, since we really want this cruise.

 

In line with what PolySeraph said, we also needed to book our Frequent Flyer award tickets to Europe as soon as they went into the airline's system, 330 days out. You'd never get those late in the game.

 

Our final payment isn't due until the end of June, so it's possible something could shake loose and we could rebook a lower rate or get some sort of OBC, but we aren't counting on it. Instead, we're looking for early booking deals on reputable non-NCL shore excursions and a much lower cost, but will watch for NCL deals there too. (We did the Jade in 2009 on B2B Western and Eastern from Barcelona and loved it. They offered a shore-excursion deal: book the overnight Casablanca-Marrakech excursion to get a free Madeira excursion. We'd already booked the Marrakech trip anyway, so it was a nice freebie! I think they offered a similar deal for the o'night Cairo/Pyramids trip too, but I won't swear to it.)

[cmdchiefthom]

Meowgodde,

 

Sure, you can wait beyond the 75 days for final payment and see what shakes out. You're considering an end of April-May cruise, which is not a peak time of year, there will most likely be empty cabins that must me sold closer to departure. However, there is a trans-Atlantic flight to consider, which typically becomes more expensive the closer to the departure date. You have to balance the risk between the cost of the cruise, and the cost of the flight. You may consider having NCL do your flight arrangements, however, that cost may negate any last minute savings you might get on your cabin.

 

My suggestion is to consider a "bird in the hand, is worth two in the bush". Wait a couple of weeks beyond the 75 day threshold, and call NCL to book. Don't wait until the last several weeks.

[meowgodde]

Thanks everyone. I tend to jump between anxious and easy going about the whole thing.

 

Regardless I am checking the flight costs and NCL deals daily. I have resolved that if the flight fares are good, I'll jump on it and book the cruise at the same time. Lots of the flights deals are for "winter season" right now, so hopefully the next batch within our date range are promising.

 

I wouldn't push it much past the 75 day mark though, probably 60 is my limit. We'll see how long I hold out before I just ease my tension and just book it! (then deal with the buyers remorse if deals suddenly appear) :D

 

But it's nice to know that my "plans" are not ridiculous or crazy or just plain dumb.

[terrymtex01]

The best advise I can give you is no matter when you book, after final payment due date, don't look at the prices again. Yes, some folks will post that NCL has given them OBC for the difference or a better cabin, etc.. but more post that they get nothing.

[newmexicoNita]

First time cruiser, NCLer, etc. etc. etc.

 

Does NCL do cruise deals after final payment is due?

 

We are considering NCL Jade cruise from Barcelona on April 29th... at this point, would it be better to wait a few weeks for the final due date to score a deal? Anyone "in the know" have an idea about what percentage of rooms need to still be available for them to discount? I may have gone from category to category counting.... :p

 

I understand that we will not get our choice pick on the room, its really all about the itinerary for us!

 

BTW CruiseCritic is awesome.

 

This depends on inventory. If the ship is almost empty or only about 60 to 70% full deals might show up like crazy, if it is close to full don't expect anything. The cruise we are taking, out of NOLA has prices much higher than we paid when we booked 6 months ago.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

The best advise I can give you is no matter when you book, after final payment due date, don't look at the prices again. Yes, some folks will post that NCL has given them OBC for the difference or a better cabin, etc.. but more post that they get nothing.

 

Terry, great advise and remember, to all of you, no matter what kind of deal you get you will always find someone who got or claims they got a better deal. If you find a prcie you are happy with then just book it and forget it.

 

Nita

[wg6530]

Terry, great advise and remember, to all of you, no matter what kind of deal you get you will always find someone who got or claims they got a better deal. If you find a prcie you are happy with then just book it and forget it.

 

Nita

 

Amen.

Just like the airlines. somebody probably paid more, somebody probably paid less. If you are happy when you booked, be happy when you travel.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

The best advise I can give you is no matter when you book, after final payment due date, don't look at the prices again. Yes, some folks will post that NCL has given them OBC for the difference or a better cabin, etc.. but more post that they get nothing.

 

Not true. We almost always get upgraded or obc.... with our online TA... it doesn't hurt to call and talk to the TA IF the prices drop. All they can say is 'sorry'.... but our online TA will really work to get us what we want. I watch the prices like a hawk! We got upgraded to a mini-suite our first NCL cruise we did...

 

op- The type of cruise you are doing the prices may go up and not down... but IF they go drop, I'd call my TA regardless and let them know you noticed and see what they can do.

[sesasheep]

If you see a price you are happy without, book it then! We waited 24 hours to book our spirit cruise and it went up $50 per person. Good thing we didn't wait for it to come down again as it is now $200 more than when we booked. Als our sailing has gone up since final payment so it really depends on the cruise.

 

Whatever you do, dot check prices after final payment. You will feel awful if they went down and no need to put yourself in a bad mood about it. Just relax and have a great cruise!

[C Cruise Dude]

First time cruiser, NCLer, etc. etc. etc.

 

Does NCL do cruise deals after final payment is due?

 

We are considering NCL Jade cruise from Barcelona on April 29th... at this point, would it be better to wait a few weeks for the final due date to score a deal? Anyone "in the know" have an idea about what percentage of rooms need to still be available for them to discount? I may have gone from category to category counting.... :p

 

I understand that we will not get our choice pick on the room, its really all about the itinerary for us!

 

BTW CruiseCritic is awesome.

 

My cruise price went up, not too long, after the final payment date. Glad I booked it when I did. :D

[meowgodde]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. It will be hard NOT to check prices after booking... dang internet!

[tiyana4]

We were on the Jade's E. med cruise in Nov/Dec of last year and booked it 18 months out. The prices never went down. In fact, at one point, the prices almost doubled for some categories. The most desirable categories had sold out by final payment. However, I had family members who waited to book a 7-nighter after final payment on RCCL and they scored a balcony for a great price. I guess it depends on itinerary, time of year and ability to get air tickets at the last minute.