Price Drops

[KPGirl]

Just wondering what happens with price drops with Norwegian ? I have only gone with Carnival which honours price drops right up until the day before the cruise. I am planning an Alaskan cruise next September but I want to get the best price, should I wait til next year to book ?? I am booking a balcony room.

[wichitastatecruiser]

Just wondering what happens with price drops with Norwegian ? I have only gone with Carnival which honours price drops right up until the day before the cruise. I am planning an Alaskan cruise next September but I want to get the best price, should I wait til next year to book ?? I am booking a balcony room.

 

If the price drops up to final payment all you need to do is call and they will give you the new price.

[KPGirl]

Thanks that is good news !! Does it say that on their website? I couldn't find it.

[Got Tequila?]

Thanks that is good news !! Does it say that on their website? I couldn't find it.

 

Up until final payment time you can cancel for any reason without a penalty right up until final payment time....so you could always cancel and re-book if you see a lower price, so Norwegian has no issues doing the price adjustment right up until final payment time. :)

 

 

Keep in mind you may lose out on any current promotions you may have on your reservation....if you have On board Credit, or kids sail free always have them check to see what you will lose in order to get the lower pricing.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Got Tequila?

[KPGirl]

This is what is says on their website

 

How To Claim Your Guarantee

 

Just complete the "Best Price. Guaranteed." claim form and submit it online within 48 hours of making your booking. If it meets the Guarantee criteria and you choose to receive an Onboard Credit, we will automatically attach that credit to your account. Once you are on board the ship, you can use the credit however you please. "

 

why does it say 48 hours ??

[Got Tequila?]

This is what is says on their website

 

How To Claim Your Guarantee

 

Just complete the "Best Price. Guaranteed." claim form and submit it online within 48 hours of making your booking. If it meets the Guarantee criteria and you choose to receive an Onboard Credit, we will automatically attach that credit to your account. Once you are on board the ship, you can use the credit however you please. "

 

why does it say 48 hours ??

 

That's really more for someone booking a cruise after final payment date.

[rvsullivan]

That's really more for someone booking a cruise after final payment date.

 

 

Well, maybe not quite. That is NCL's official Best Price Guaranty! It is good for 48 hours after your initial booking and will result in an OBC for the amount.

The policy that most refer to when talking about right up till final payment is the fact that you can cancel anytime up to final payment with no penalty. Most refer to the fact that if there is a better price for your room, you can cancel and rebook at the new rate. However, you may or may not lose any "perks" that were with your original booking. Ask first. There is nothing in writing stating any other sort of policy, just the cancellation policy.

After final payment, NCL typically tries to give a room upgrade but if pushed will sometimes give an OBC of about 25% of the difference.

[abisha]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Which is correct:

 

If I see a lower rate for my cabin category, and I haven't yet paid in full, I can call and :

 

1. get the difference refunded back to credit card?

2. Get back difference in the form of an OBC?

3. Have to cancel entire booking (get full refund) and rebook the same cabin (or better one if I want), but may lose any OBC or offer already on there?

 

If it's the latter, am I able to rebook the same cabin?

[mistshar]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Which is correct:

 

If I see a lower rate for my cabin category, and I haven't yet paid in full, I can call and :

 

1. get the difference refunded back to credit card?

2. Get back difference in the form of an OBC?

3. Have to cancel entire booking (get full refund) and rebook the same cabin (or better one if I want), but may lose any OBC or offer already on there?

 

If it's the latter, am I able to rebook the same cabin?

 

A couple of weeks ago our cruise price went down almost $200. I called our TA and for some reason she had to cancel our reservation and rebooked our same cabin. It didn't matter to me as long as we got the same cabin we had. I am just happy to get that much off our cruise.

[wichitastatecruiser]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. Which is correct:

 

If I see a lower rate for my cabin category, and I haven't yet paid in full, I can call and :

 

1. get the difference refunded back to credit card?

2. Get back difference in the form of an OBC?

3. Have to cancel entire booking (get full refund) and rebook the same cabin (or better one if I want), but may lose any OBC or offer already on there?

 

If it's the latter, am I able to rebook the same cabin?

 

It's number 3, I have re-booked my cabin 3 times. My initial price drop was $2400 to $1800 (lost $70 OBC). Second the price stayed at $1800 and got $70 OBC, third time price stayed the same but OBC had gone up to $140. They cancel the booking then put you back in the same cabin unless you want to move cabins.

[KPGirl]

So I'm thinking then it makes sense to wait to book ?? Just want to get the best bang for my buck.

[MeHeartCruising]

So I'm thinking then it makes sense to wait to book ?? Just want to get the best bang for my buck.

 

Your strategy works well... unless the price rises or they sell out of the cabin you want to have.

[mistshar]

So I'm thinking then it makes sense to wait to book ?? Just want to get the best bang for my buck.

 

We always book really early and get the cabin that we want. Then watch the prices and when they fall we get a reduction. The price usually does not go any lower than what we end up paying and we get exactly what we want. It's kind of a gamble either way but it is worth it to me to get the cabin I need.

[SuiteCruisin14]

We always book as soon as we see something we want. That way we have the cabin we will be happy with and the stress is gone wondering if it is available last minute.

 

Having said that, we watch for price drops, sales and other ways to get OBC or upgrades if they become available.

 

We have also seen something last minute that we were able to book within a month of departure and still be happy.

 

Lynda

[Freckles_51]

You might want to take into consideration that you get double Latitude reward points if you book more than 9 months ahead. However I'm not sure what happens in the event that you cancel then rebook to get a price drop - would you still get double points if it is within 9 months from sailing even though you originally booked further out?

 

Just also be aware that if you call in for a price drop, you do risk losing your cabin during those few minutes that the first booking is cancelled and then rebooked. It happened to me, someone else booked the original cabin that I had while we were going through the rebooking process, but we got same cabin on the opposite side of the ship and I wasn't too bothered.

[DaisyL]

We usually book our cruises early (1 year in advance) and only a few times have the prices decreased before final payment; (most times they have gone up). In our case they readjusted the amount due for final payment.

 

I check the rates every few weeks after booking and call if I see the price go down or if I see another desirable cabin become available. I've snagged an aft balcony cabin at good rates doing this twice.

 

Good luck.. if you really want to book a particular cruise I suggest you do so at a rate and cabin you can live with, and just keep checking the rates in case it goes down. BTW, the cabin I just booked 2 weeks ago for a Nov cruise has already increased... but it may go down at some point too.

[Siora7777]

After final payment (date) they don't have to do anything for you. They could upgrade or give you obc but they don't have to. Sometimes they will upgrade you for a small fee or the price difference of the upgrade. I found this out last year when prices had dropped substantially a couple months before sail. The price dropped so much we added five more people to the cruise at the same price for my one balcony cabin for two people. I could have had my own stateroom and still have paid less had I waited, in a balcony cabin. I had several long conversations with multiple reps about this very same topic. When the price dropped again, they offered $50 obc but I paid more than the cruise was worth. I had a great time but it pays to wait sometimes. Not always but sometimes. All lines work different. Sometimes you save when you book early too. It's a gamble.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Siora7777

[Jan_In_Maine]

If they have a promotion (after originally booking) such as "kids sale free" it will not be honored if you are in a cabin type that is sold out. One would have to cancel the booking and then re-book .... according to NCL we would not be able to get the cabin back again if we tried to re-book. Too bad as it would have saved us $798.00 --- Jan

[KPGirl]

What are latitude points ?? All I know is that to go to book now for next September it is $1398 per person, if I was to book it now for this September it would cost me $781 per person (that's an Oceanview but free upgrade to balcony) Still undecided !! Thanks for all of your opinions.

[CruzLover80]

KPGirl... what you are comparing to Carnival is the early saver rate, where they will match up until the time of cruising. Any other rate from Carnival does not honor the same price match guarantee... BUT they will offer upgrades etc. (at their discretion) From my understanding, NCL only does price match within 48 hours of initial booking BUT will relock your rate if a lower rate has become available up until final payment. You will not even notice the "cancellation" and it's typically rebooked immediately with the same cabin. Sometimes you will lose some of the "perks" when rebooked, if certain items are not available. After final payment date, it is at the discretion of NCL to make any adjustments, but they are not under any obligations to do so.

 

For example, I booked my Epic sailing last year. I originally booked my rate at $2300 for 3 people... with price drops, I was able to get it down to $1350 and keep all my extra perks that I picked up along the way. I say go for it!!!

[khaide612]

You might want to take into consideration that you get double Latitude reward points if you book more than 9 months ahead. However I'm not sure what happens in the event that you cancel then rebook to get a price drop - would you still get double points if it is within 9 months from sailing even though you originally booked further out?

 

No extra point for 9 months out if you cancel & rebook. Booking date changes and that is what they go by.

[wichitastatecruiser]

What are latitude points ?? All I know is that to go to book now for next September it is $1398 per person, if I was to book it now for this September it would cost me $781 per person (that's an Oceanview but free upgrade to balcony) Still undecided !! Thanks for all of your opinions.

 

Latitude points is NCL's cruiser reward program.

[dolita22]

You might want to take into consideration that you get double Latitude reward points if you book more than 9 months ahead. However I'm not sure what happens in the event that you cancel then rebook to get a price drop - would you still get double points if it is within 9 months from sailing even though you originally booked further out?

 

Just also be aware that if you call in for a price drop, you do risk losing your cabin during those few minutes that the first booking is cancelled and then rebooked. It happened to me, someone else booked the original cabin that I had while we were going through the rebooking process, but we got same cabin on the opposite side of the ship and I wasn't too bothered.

 

To answer your first question, Freckles_51, we were able to keep our double Latitudes points when getting price drops for our cruise. Booked this past January for January 2015 and the price has dropped a couple times, OBC has been added, etc. The phone rep I spoke with one of the times we were requesting the price drop (just started using my PCC recently) said that as long as the original booking is not canceled, we would get the double Latitudes points. Each time the price drops, I check to make sure our original booking date is on the confirmation and it has stayed as the January date.

 

We had the same thing happen to us as you regarding the cabin in that we did loose our original cabin one time, but were able to get into a different one just down the hall.

 

Hope that helps!

[punkincc]

To answer your first question, Freckles_51, we were able to keep our double Latitudes points when getting price drops for our cruise. Booked this past January for January 2015 and the price has dropped a couple times, OBC has been added, etc. The phone rep I spoke with one of the times we were requesting the price drop (just started using my PCC recently) said that as long as the original booking is not canceled, we would get the double Latitudes points. Each time the price drops, I check to make sure our original booking date is on the confirmation and it has stayed as the January date.

 

We had the same thing happen to us as you regarding the cabin in that we did loose our original cabin one time, but were able to get into a different one just down the hall.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Just wanted to say this has pretty much been or experience as well. We have never had our original booking date change and never lost any 9 mo latitude points when making any changes to our reservations. We have always been able to keep the same cabin. Just be sure to ask the NCL rep what you will lose or gain before they actually make it official and stress that you do not want to lose your cabin. If you will lose some OBC, it might not make any sense to go with the lower rate, depending on the amounts. We always look at the bottom line and decide. But I don't think we've ever lost any OBC.

[Out to sea!]

You might want to take into consideration that you get double Latitude reward points if you book more than 9 months ahead. However I'm not sure what happens in the event that you cancel then rebook to get a price drop - would you still get double points if it is within 9 months from sailing even though you originally booked further out?

 

Just also be aware that if you call in for a price drop, you do risk losing your cabin during those few minutes that the first booking is cancelled and then rebooked. It happened to me, someone else booked the original cabin that I had while we were going through the rebooking process, but we got same cabin on the opposite side of the ship and I wasn't too bothered.

 

I can answer that. If you request a price reduction and are still 9 months or more out, you keep the double Latitude points. If you are less than 9 months out, you lose the double Latitude points. this just happened to me for my November cruise. Originally booked 665 days out so double Latitude. Noticed last month price for an OVX dropped more than $100 per person than what I paid for my Inside. Rep told me I would lose my double points but $200+ was worth more to me than 7 extra points.