NCL Complimentary Stateroom Casino Offer

[TravelScholar]

I received a postcard today from NCL offering a complimentary stateroom, and a choice from five free offers. Must book by 31 August.

 

I phoned them to see what was available, but they were less than helpful. They told me that I needed to give them a specific ship and sail date. So, I picked something out of the blue, a 04 December 2015 departure for Sky, 3-night Bahamas. The rep on the phone said it was available, so I asked her to quote it for me using the offer. She said it was over $700, which is far more than the port fees and taxes I was expecting, which were less than $200 last time I took this cruise.

 

So, my question is, what is the best way to check availability and use this offer? Do I just need to ask them to quote every possible cruise? That seems awfully silly. I just want to know which Friday, 3-night departure(s) for Sky are available on a complimentary basis, but I don't have all day to have the phone rep try every possible sailing.

 

Cheers.

[littlemeagain]

Although they're called complimentary there are additional fees besides the port charges and taxes. I think they're called non-commissioned fares? That is the case with the land based casino complimentary cruises from NCL. I have been on two and have one coming up in September. If you want to upgrade, there is additional cost as well. I hope this helps.

 

Liz

[Nola26]

You didn't say what kind of stateroom.

 

I booked that trip for in an inside cabin two weeks ago for the weekend prior (Departs day after Thanksgiving). For two adults my total is $778 without a free offer certificate. I used a certificate for the same trip last year and it was just under $500 for an inside.

 

If you're quoted $700 for an inside cabin perhaps the insurance and gratuities have been added?

 

Call back and get a line by line detail so you know exactly what you're being charged.

[Daghis]

I received a similar card from NCL last week. My card does say in the fine print:

Complimentary stateroom offer is not valid on sailings less than 3 days or greater than 11 days.

Perhaps yours says something like this, too, and will give you some better guidance about the kinds of cruises you can ask about.

 

When I did ask what I'd be able to get, I was told that I qualified for a balcony cabin, so I asked about the Norwegian Escape for an 8-night sailing next July. The price I was quoted, including NCF ($190), taxes ($132.24), and gratuities for the free beverage package ($77.76), was $400.00/person (even!).

 

I agree with the previous poster. Get a line-by-line detail so you can see how the amounts are adding up.

[TravelScholar]

Thanks for your replies. I phoned again this morning and asked for more details. The person I spoke with was MUCH more helpful.

 

My offer is also for a balcony. I have a young daughter in addition to my wife, so our total for 3 people (using the "Friends and Family Sail Free" selection from the 5 free options) ends up being $463.29, for a 3-night NCL Sky sailing at the end of September. OK--that's better, since I think the best I've done for the three of us was around $630 for an interior on a similar NCL Sky sailing last year.

 

However, now that I know it's a balcony stateroom, I'm very tempted to try to plan our 2016 holiday using this offer. The woman who was helping me said that an 11-night Panama Canal cruise R/T Miami is on the table for this offer. And, my wife and I have always wanted to do an Alaska cruise or a Europe cruise (we'd be limited to 7 days for either of those). So, I'm thinking that might be a better use of this offer.

 

That being said, does anyone know if once you receive this offer, you are likely to continue receiving similar offers until you book one? The 31 August deadline is really soon for us to be planning something for 2016.

[Daghis]

That being said, does anyone know if once you receive this offer, you are likely to continue receiving similar offers until you book one? The 31 August deadline is really soon for us to be planning something for 2016.

I have very limited experience.

 

I had received a free NCL cruise from my local, land-based casino. I sailed on Norwegian Getaway last September.

 

After I got back, I called CAS to ask about any promotions for future cruises. I was told that I could get a balcony cabin, so I booked Norwegian Escape for next March.

 

I then received the card in the mail like you did offering me another balcony cabin which I used to book Norwegian Escape for next July.

 

So, since my one and only NCL cruise, I did receive two comped cabin offers. I can't say whether that's typical or not, and I'm sure it has a lot to do with one's level of play on the previous cruise.