Price drop day before cruise???

[HZ1112]

I am looking to book a last minute cruise leaving on Sunday but the price seems way to high. We do not have to fly to the port as it is only about a 30 minute drive away so we can wait till the day before to book. There seems to be a lot of cabins left on the ship so I am wondering why not drop the price to sell out the cabins?? Is it possible that they still might tomorrow or do they not care to sell out? Anyone have any experience with waiting till the last minute to book a cruise and get a great deal? TIA

[Starry Eyes]

It may soon disappear from the website. You may have to call tomorrow if you want to book. If NCL has not dropped the price by now, perhaps they do not intend to drop it.

[drumexpert510]

If it was going to drop it would have already done so. You are pushing your luck but waiting so long.

 

Have you posted on here before asking a similar question? If it wasnt you it was someone else trying to do the same thing. The reason why they will not drop the price because for them to sell a few extra last minute cabins cheap would cause problems for them. When they drop the price they have to offer OBC to others who payed higher prices... its not worth it to them.

[bones774]

If it was going to drop it would have already done so. You are pushing your luck but waiting so long.

 

Have you posted on here before asking a similar question? If it wasnt you it was someone else trying to do the same thing. The reason why they will not drop the price because for them to sell a few extra last minute cabins cheap would cause problems for them. When they drop the price they have to offer OBC to others who payed higher prices... its not worth it to them.

 

That was me posting several days ago, had to take the plunge and pay the fare! We are onboard.

[willysgrandma]

This is also a holiday week - the kids here are all off from school next week. So those cruises get top dollar.

[Tatka]

When they drop the price they have to offer OBC to others who payed higher prices... its not worth it to them.

 

Really? I don't remember ever getting OBC for lower price after final payment. How is this done? By request?

[garycarla]

...he reason why they will not drop the price because for them to sell a few extra last minute cabins cheap would cause problems for them. When they drop the price they have to offer OBC to others who payed higher prices... its not worth it to them.

 

No,they do not have to give anyone else an OBC or anything. You might want to read from thousands that post here totally jerked out because NCL or most other cruise lines offer the last few cabins on sale.

[jame_g]

No, actually after final payment they do not have to offer anyone an upgrade or an OBC. Sometimes they will, but most of the time they will not.

 

However, I suspect that making a significant price drop to sell a few cabins creates issues such as customers getting upset because they aren't able to get an upgrade or OBC, and people who expect to get last minute cruises at unreasonable rates. So it may just not be worth filling the cabins below a certain rate.

 

Plus, as others have stated, this is spring break where they can often fill the ship to capacity or very near at good rates while still showing available cabins. just look at all the recent posts complaining about the high 3rd and 4th passenger rates right now.

[tfrcal]

Just because there appear to be cabins does not mean the ship is not close to sold out. The ship can only hold so many people and since it is a holiday week a lot of the booked cabins have 3d/4th passengers and the ship is near people capacity although cabins are available. No need for dramatic price drops.

[drumexpert510]

I have always received OBC for that... I just called and asked... They DON'T give you the difference but if you are NICE they will give you like $25-$50 depending on your cabin. Better than nothing.... It pays for the auto gratuity.

[rsinj]

I have always received OBC for that... I just called and asked... They DON'T give you the difference but if you are NICE they will give you like $25-$50 depending on your cabin. Better than nothing.... It pays for the auto gratuity.

 

But you wrote "they have to offer OBC to others who payed higher prices" and that is simply not the case. They don't have to offer anything to anyone after final payment.

 

Howard

[ttnc4me]

When they drop the price they have to offer OBC to others who payed higher prices... its not worth it to them.

Not true. The price of my cabin dropped by more than $150 a few weeks after I booked (but < 90 days before sailing) and I called nicely and got nothing. Furthermore, when I booked they were offering "upgrade for free" but nothing was available. A few weeks later, suddenly OV & Bal became available, but I still wasn't given the upgrade. Luck of the draw I guess.

[armwinder]

We have a cruise booked for November and just noticed a credit of up to $250;00 is now been offered to latitudes members. Not sure if we can cash in but our TA is working on it.

[peg013]

Not true. The price of my cabin dropped by more than $150 a few weeks after I booked (but < 90 days before sailing) and I called nicely and got nothing. Furthermore, when I booked they were offering "upgrade for free" but nothing was available. A few weeks later, suddenly OV & Bal became available, but I still wasn't given the upgrade. Luck of the draw I guess.

 

Did you book with NCL or a TA? Was it before or after final payment? If before there is no reason you couldn't have cancelled and rebooked for the new rate. (Unless you booked with a TA that has a cancellation fee.) But if you got OBC and it was no longer offered when you would have rebooked - you wouldn't get to keep what you had. New price = current promos only.

[Tatka]

There is no way to predict if the prices will be down or up.. Sometimes they not only not dropping, but actually much higher for the worse cabins. It is not worth to wait. We only do it if we have other reasons.

[bones774]

Looks like the prices for tomorrows' Gem sailing just went up a small bit, according to my online t/a.