Why is it more expensive to book the 3rd person in the same room ?

[Tinkerbell8]

We are considering to book the Getaway and we are first time NCL cruisers.

I was pricing the cruise for June 7 and was surprised to see that the third person gets charged much more that the first and second passenger.

 

For example, first and second pax would cost $579pp but third pax costs $829.

 

I would expect that the third pax would cost less. Is this an usual thing for NCL. Looks like they don't encourage you to book more than 2 in a stateroom.

[Va. Plumber]

No offense, but I suspect you are looking at something wrong.

Normally, third person just pays port taxes.

[LrgPizza]

I see what you mean. No clue, but it stinks. Sorry.

 

[peg013]

Inside Guarantee:

Guest Guest 1 Guest 2 Guest 3

Cruise Fare $579.00 $579.00 $829.00

Gov't Taxes,

Fees & Port

Expenses $114.92 $114.92 $114.92

Total per Guest $693.92 $693.92 $943.92

 

 

Payment Schedule

 

Balance Due $2,331.76

Final Payment $2,331.76

Final Payment Date May 10,2014 23:59 PM EDT

 

Ship is almost sold out for inside and outside cabins (didn't look at the rest) so they would rather have 2 per cabin so the 3rd rate goes up to encourage booking another cabin instead of putting 3 in one. Life boats will be "filling" up too so eventually you may not be able to book 3 in a cabin at all.

 

I have actually seen the 3rd price as $9,999. before - think they didn't want to sell that one???

Edited May 9, 2014 by peg013

[sparks1093]

No offense, but I suspect you are looking at something wrong.

Normally, third person just pays port taxes.

 

The only time I've ever seen that is when they have a kid's sail free promotion. Normally the third person pays less than the first two, but as pointed out sometimes they can charge more for the third person if the demand warrants. (When we booked our upcoming cruise we paid a total of $669 for the first two and $449 for the third. The third person pays the same amount of government taxes and fees as the first two.)

[Fishbait17]

As the ships fill up, especially with extra passengers rather than new ones in new cabins, the prices for third thru eighth passengers goes up. I was booked on a Gem sailing last summer and considered adding a couple people to our reservation (plenty of room in the suite) about a month prior to sailing. The ship was getting close to selling out and the price for those extra passengers in every category was over $1600 per person, before port charges. It happens often on cruises and times popular with families.. We ended up canceling the cruise anyway, so it didn't matter.

 

Robin

Edited May 9, 2014 by Fishbait17

[time2cruise1]

Normally you can't book the GTY rate for more then 2 passengers. This may be the booking engines way off addressing this. Add the 3 passenger and the total I bet equals the lowest non GTY rate.

[triptolemus]

Normally you can't book the GTY rate for more then 2 passengers. This may be the booking engines way off addressing this. Add the 3 passenger and the total I bet equals the lowest non GTY rate.

 

I just tried a mock booking on the date/ship OP indicated w/ non-gty and came up with the same numbers as OP did.

[dalgirl]

Although it is not possible for you on this cruise, I would wait for a "3rd person sales free" promotion - they do this several times a year.

[Casino Comp Chick]

:eek:

Pricing Details

Guest Guest 1 Guest 2 Guest 3 Guest 4

Cruise Fare $729.00 $729.00 $1,149.00 $1,149.00

Gov't Taxes,

Fees & Port

Expenses $189.91 $189.91 $175.91 $175.91

Total per Guest $918.91 $918.91 $1,324.91 $1,324.91

Payment Schedule

Balance Due $4,487.64

Final Payment $4,487.64

Final Payment Date May 10,2014 23:59 PM EDT

Edited May 9, 2014 by iimmie

[MeHeartCruising]

It's actually quite common to see the additional cabin members have a higher charge unless there is a sale. I'm sure the cruise line capacity optimization software that determines pricing probably has determined that they will get more revenue from an adult or two in a NEW cabin rather than from a 3rd/4th passenger (probably children a majority of time) in an existing cabin. So they make putting 2 people in a new cabin more attractive than putting 2 more in an existing cabin. To say it another way... If the ship only has room for 150 more people, they would much rather have those as money-spending adults in their own room (assuming there are empty cabins) instead of not-so-spending children in someone else's cabin.

Edited May 9, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

[GeezerCouple]

:eek:

Pricing Details

Guest Guest 1 Guest 2 Guest 3 Guest 4

Cruise Fare $729.00 $729.00 $1,149.00 $1,149.00

Gov't Taxes,

Fees & Port

Expenses $189.91 $189.91 $175.91 $175.91

Total per Guest $918.91 $918.91 $1,324.91 $1,324.91

Payment Schedule

Balance Due $4,487.64

Final Payment $4,487.64

Final Payment Date May 10,2014 23:59 PM EDT

 

This absolutely makes NO sense.

 

IF NCL's goal is to "force a third passenger into a separate cabin to pay the full single supplement", that at least makes some sense.

If the "3rd person charge" is high enough, then sure, it makes sense (to the extent any of this makes sense) to make the difference between "3rd in a cabin" and full single in a separate cabin small enough, to maximize revenue.

 

However, WHY would 3rd AND 4th pay MORE to crowd into a cabin with 1st and 2nd, when for *less*, they could get a full cabin of their own...!?

 

All I can think of is there are enough singles already booked that they still have lifeboat capacity for more passengers, but no more cabins, so they are, er, gouging for whoever still wants to sail, even if only availability is a shared cabin.

 

GeezerCouple

[peg013]

This absolutely makes NO sense.

 

IF NCL's goal is to "force a third passenger into a separate cabin to pay the full single supplement", that at least makes some sense.

If the "3rd person charge" is high enough, then sure, it makes sense (to the extent any of this makes sense) to make the difference between "3rd in a cabin" and full single in a separate cabin small enough, to maximize revenue.

 

However, WHY would 3rd AND 4th pay MORE to crowd into a cabin with 1st and 2nd, when for *less*, they could get a full cabin of their own...!?

 

All I can think of is there are enough singles already booked that they still have lifeboat capacity for more passengers, but no more cabins, so they are, er, gouging for whoever still wants to sail, even if only availability is a shared cabin.

 

GeezerCouple

 

Question: Does anyone know if these cruises were offered in the Kids Sale Free Promo? If so my theory is they already have too many 3rd & 4th etc. cabin guests so this forces people into two cabins instead of one where lifeboats are nearly full but the ship isn't.

Edited May 9, 2014 by peg013

[Tinkerbell8]

Question: Does anyone know if these cruises were offered in the Kids Sale Free Promo? If so my theory is they already have too many 3rd & 4th etc. cabin guests so this forces people into two cabins instead of one where lifeboats are nearly full but the ship isn't.

 

I am not sure for the June 7 cruise but I am sure the July cruises (where the same more expensive pricing logic appears for the 3th person) did not qualify for the kids free promo.

 

I guess only NCL revenue department knows why this is done ! I can't find any logic behind it. From what I can see, there are still many rooms available on the cruise.

[awatt]

Could there be some form of computer glitch going on?

 

I've been watching rates on an inside cabin for 3 in July and suddenly today almost all insides are GTY, whereas yesterday there was plenty of availability.

[Casino Comp Chick]

Question: Does anyone know if these cruises were offered in the Kids Sale Free Promo? If so my theory is they already have too many 3rd & 4th etc. cabin guests so this forces people into two cabins instead of one where lifeboats are nearly full but the ship isn't.

 

Hi Peg!

The sailing I pulled the figures from is still only 50% capacity. (6/29/14). No reason for that kind of pricing IMO. I have been tracking that sailing as I am going to do that same sailing next year and I won't see price movement on that 1 for a while, trying to figure out if I should book now or wait till final payment. (Lots of things to factor in, I have 4FCC's, 4 HSN OBC which would have to be booked by the end of the month) the way the pricing is going I may book 1 adult & 1 child in every room whether we use them or not).

 

The only categories sold out are T1, H2, H3, H6 H7 & H9, everything else has plenty of availability.

Edited May 10, 2014 by iimmie

[chengkp75]

Question: Does anyone know if these cruises were offered in the Kids Sale Free Promo? If so my theory is they already have too many 3rd & 4th etc. cabin guests so this forces people into two cabins instead of one where lifeboats are nearly full but the ship isn't.

 

Lifeboat capacity is based on total occupancy, not double occupancy. If there is a passenger bed (be it a twin, queen, Pullman, sofa bed, trundle, or roll away (for those "4 person" cabins with only one Pullman and one rollaway)), then there is a seat in a lifeboat. The only exception is for infants, where they would be in a "pack n play" or playpen, so not an "official" bed, but they do count towards lifeboat capacity, and this would restrict 3rd/4th guest capacity.

[LrgPizza]

Hi Peg!

The sailing I pulled the figures from is still only 50% capacity. (6/29/14). No reason for that kind of pricing IMO. I have been tracking that sailing as I am going to do that same sailing next year and I won't see price movement on that 1 for a while, trying to figure out if I should book now or wait till final payment. (Lots of things to factor in, I have 4FCC's, 4 HSN OBC which would have to be booked by the end of the month) the way the pricing is going I may book 1 adult & 1 child in every room whether we use them or not).

 

The only categories sold out are T1, H2, H3, H6 H7 & H9, everything else has plenty of availability.

 

Where can I look to see what the capacity is for an upcoming sailing?

[peg013]

Lifeboat capacity is based on total occupancy, not double occupancy. If there is a passenger bed (be it a twin, queen, Pullman, sofa bed, trundle, or roll away (for those "4 person" cabins with only one Pullman and one rollaway)), then there is a seat in a lifeboat. The only exception is for infants, where they would be in a "pack n play" or playpen, so not an "official" bed, but they do count towards lifeboat capacity, and this would restrict 3rd/4th guest capacity.

 

Good to know. Wonder why they use that as an excuse then when they won't let those that have a cabin for 3 or 4 add a passenger but offer to book another cabin for them?

[pisenor]

We are considering to book the Getaway and we are first time NCL cruisers.

I was pricing the cruise for June 7 and was surprised to see that the third person gets charged much more that the first and second passenger.

 

For example, first and second pax would cost $579pp but third pax costs $829.

 

I would expect that the third pax would cost less. Is this an usual thing for NCL. Looks like they don't encourage you to book more than 2 in a stateroom.

 

I think this is only a case of the NCL website displaying the "average" per person. In actuality the rates for person 1 & 2 are actually higher than what you are seeing and the 3rd person (and beyond) are actually only $249 which includes the cost of the taxes and port fees.

 

For example, I currently have a booking for a 7 day cruise where the website showed me the average price per person to be $815. After I completed my booking with my PCC and received the email receipt/confirmation, were the true prices revealed. The actual cost for person 1 & 2 was $1099 each and the 3rd person was $249. The rate of $249 is the regular fee for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th passenger for a seven day trip.

 

The NCL website is very misleading with regard to pricing. I asked my PCC why NCL chose to show their pricing in this fashion and was told they chose to display the average price pp to help people see what the pp rate will be for any given cruise.

 

I hope this helps and makes sense. :)

[peg013]

I think this is only a case of the NCL website displaying the "average" per person. In actuality the rates for person 1 & 2 are actually higher than what you are seeing and the 3rd person (and beyond) are actually only $249 which includes the cost of the taxes and port fees.

 

For example, I currently have a booking for a 7 day cruise where the website showed me the average price per person to be $815. After I completed my booking with my PCC and received the email receipt/confirmation, were the true prices revealed. The actual cost for person 1 & 2 was $1099 each and the 3rd person was $249. The rate of $249 is the regular fee for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th passenger for a seven day trip.

 

The NCL website is very misleading with regard to pricing. I asked my PCC why NCL chose to show their pricing in this fashion and was told they chose to display the average price pp to help people see what the pp rate will be for any given cruise.

 

I hope this helps and makes sense. :)

 

Did you read the whole thread to see all the examples detailing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rates directly from NCL? This is not the usual average cost confusion. After you get to the total cost on NCL.com they detail all three actual costs (click on "Details" under the total cost to see). See above - several samples including "copy and paste" from NCL and screen shots from NCL of the details. Since so many cruises are showing this - I would guess a glitch in their system.

Edited May 10, 2014 by peg013

[peg013]

Hi Peg!

The sailing I pulled the figures from is still only 50% capacity. (6/29/14). No reason for that kind of pricing IMO. I have been tracking that sailing as I am going to do that same sailing next year and I won't see price movement on that 1 for a while, trying to figure out if I should book now or wait till final payment. (Lots of things to factor in, I have 4FCC's, 4 HSN OBC which would have to be booked by the end of the month) the way the pricing is going I may book 1 adult & 1 child in every room whether we use them or not).

 

The only categories sold out are T1, H2, H3, H6 H7 & H9, everything else has plenty of availability.

 

Hi Cathy, if you looked at the fish, they show percentage of cabin categories left - not ship capacity.

Edited May 10, 2014 by peg013

[bambilin]

No offense, but I suspect you are looking at something wrong.

Normally, third person just pays port taxes.

 

 

We have sailed many times with third and or fourth passenger. (Our boys). While we have never been fortunate enough to pay only taxes and port charges, (except on NCL when under two used to be free) we never paid more for the third or fourth than the first and second.

 

Sometimes it was not much less but never more.....check it again maybe the website was having difficulty?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[bambilin]

I see what you mean. No clue, but it stinks. Sorry.

 

 

 

Wow! Weird!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Casino Comp Chick]

Where can I look to see what the capacity is for an upcoming sailing?

 

 

Google "fishing for a cruise"