Has anyone checked the NCL cruise prices today??

[karoo]

Sun 14 day South American cruise 12/5 still $399,$599, $799 for inside/outside/balcony plus extras sail free and free upgrades for inside and outside. Never gonna do better than these prices.

 

 

Yes great deals to be had on the South America itinerary. The cruise I'm booked on just keeps going down. I think it depends on the time of year and how well the cruise is selling.

[DMH15]

Sun 14 day South American cruise 12/5 still $399,$599, $799 for inside/outside/balcony plus extras sail free and free upgrades for inside and outside. Never gonna do better than these prices.

 

 

And that was an incrdible cruise. My favorite itinerary to date.

[SuiteRose]

Hello All,

So THANK GOD i'm already booked for our 7 day 3/6/16 cruise R/T NYC on the Breakaway. The prices for an inside cabin just jumped $300 per person overnight....WOW that is huge...Is this the trickle down effect of FDR (Frank Del Rio) taking over...lol

 

I thought it would be better to wait to "scoop" up last minute savings as the cruise got closer to sail date...obviously the only "scooping" will be to the un-booked potential passengers having to scoop a lot more money out of their pockets.

 

This will be our first cruise as a family/ large group/ wedding at sea...and if things continue as is...I hate to say this will most likely be our last with NCL...we are longtime platinum Princess loyalists who were looking for a change...well so far..we got the change we were looking for..I cant tell you in the last 9 months of being booked how many policy/ onboard changes I have bear witness to....and I didn't even step foot on the NCL ship yet...

 

Is anyone else seeing this pricing arbitrage on their already booked cruises? i guess the new motto is to book as early as possible..that way NCL gets to hold on to your deposit for a much longer period thus collecting millions in short term interest on a grand scale...

 

Stay tuned in March....I cant wait to give my review!!!!!

 

Enjoy the weekend...

-Mark

 

March from NYC is always like that... if you want to sail from NYC during spring break you better be one of the first to book...

[kpjb]

It has also been referred to as "price gouging"....

 

No, price gouging is charging $20 for a bottle of water when the city's reservior is contaminated. Price gouging is charging $10/gallon for gas after a hurricane. It's taking advantage of people who have no choice as to use your product.

 

This is no different than an airline raising prices when the plane starts to fill or a hotel in New Orleans charging more for a room during Mardi Gras.

 

I understand some peoples complaints about some of the overall changes, but come on...

[takeadip]

suiterose...yes that is exactly what i was thinking as well after reading the comments...i guess i have to take in consideration the popularity of the cruise and the ease of which to get to and from the port. NYC is easily accessible from millions of people within an effortless 2 hr drive in most cases..

 

Side note to others: I understand the supply vs demand model. I guess i just need to be "reprogrammed" from the days of old where last minute louie got the best deals...

 

its mirroring the business model of US airfare. if you are buying airline tickets last minute its probably a bit of an emergency...so the prices are sky high...kinda like buying sheets of plywood the day of the tornado.

 

I would like to spend less money on the cost of my cruise and have more money in my pocket so when I see the jewelry tables on the ship offering 14k gold chains for 3 dollars per inch I can buy a few yards of it as gifts for those who could not make the cruise with me. One year i bought enough to use as garland and wrapped it around my Christmas tree...oh the glimmer!!! just beautiful.

 

-Mark

[mking8288]

Part of the external forces in play is that in early 2016, NCL has little competition in the NYC market so they feel that they can raise prices now - Carnival's Splendor has been sailing year-round out of NY as its home port won't be here (besides, it's a "different" market) - it's going to Asia joining a 2nd. CCL ship with the affluent Chinese market in its sights.

 

Now, I would not be surprised if cruise lines, including NCL might have a few cancellations for some European sailings in the coming months due to "events" of the past week & the traveler's advisories & alerts, etc.

 

Whether it's flying or cruising, and falling gasoline/fuel prices (not all of it resulting in lower fares) - keep in mind that consumers got choices - there are very good airfares & vacation packages out there, including exotic & exciting and adventurous destinations - just do the maths.

[insidecabin]

One of the intended consequences of price rises is to trigger the fear and get some early bookers on other cruises.

 

Sometimes there are blanket adjustments ready for a promo or a cruise gets added to the kids sale free list after the 1-2 price adjustment.

 

Also $ changes need the context of total price +-10% is nothing 30% is significant.

[warriorking]

Just checked the prices on my March cruise on Epic..Wow!!!!

I have a Aft Balcony that I booked back in January for the same price they are now asking for a lowly inside cabin...

Regular balconies are over $400 more per person than I paid for the premier Aft one...:eek:

Glad I booked when I did...

When everything is added up with all the new increases my current aft balcony cabin would cost well over a $1000 more were I to book it today...

Edited November 20, 2015 by warriorking

[Redheadtraveler]

Just joined the site and have only cruised once on Norwegian Majesty out of Charleston, Sc to Bermuda eight years ago. I do have a cruise coming up on Norwegian Star on January 31, 2015 out of Tampa. I plan on cruising more in the future. Just wanted to say hi.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm also on a March 6 sailing (but out of Barcelona not NYC). If I were to book today, I'd pay 250% of what I paid. I was hoping to upgrade but I'm very happy with the original cabin I chose and price I paid. My only reaction to the price increases was to be very happy I booked early!!:D

[newmexicoNita]

Hello All,

So THANK GOD i'm already booked for our 7 day 3/6/16 cruise R/T NYC on the Breakaway. The prices for an inside cabin just jumped $300 per person overnight....WOW that is huge...Is this the trickle down effect of FDR (Frank Del Rio) taking over...lol

 

I thought it would be better to wait to "scoop" up last minute savings as the cruise got closer to sail date...obviously the only "scooping" will be to the un-booked potential passengers having to scoop a lot more money out of their pockets.

 

This will be our first cruise as a family/ large group/ wedding at sea...and if things continue as is...I hate to say this will most likely be our last with NCL...we are longtime platinum Princess loyalists who were looking for a change...well so far..we got the change we were looking for..I cant tell you in the last 9 months of being booked how many policy/ onboard changes I have bear witness to....and I didn't even step foot on the NCL ship yet...

 

Is anyone else seeing this pricing arbitrage on their already booked cruises? i guess the new motto is to book as early as possible..that way NCL gets to hold on to your deposit for a much longer period thus collecting millions in short term interest on a grand scale...

 

Stay tuned in March....I cant wait to give my review!!!!!

 

Enjoy the weekend...

-Mark

 

Mark, give it up and find a new cruise line!!!! What goes up will come down and mid March is also mid spring break, espcially for college kids. The rates are always high. What you see today might be down again next week. If people are willing to pay the price, more power to the business, if they do not want to pay the price, the ship will sail 1/2 full or the prices will drop, Seasoned cruisers have seen this for many years. It has nothng to do with FDR.

[newmexicoNita]

suiterose...yes that is exactly what i was thinking as well after reading the comments...i guess i have to take in consideration the popularity of the cruise and the ease of which to get to and from the port. NYC is easily accessible from millions of people within an effortless 2 hr drive in most cases..

 

Side note to others: I understand the supply vs demand model. I guess i just need to be "reprogrammed" from the days of old where last minute louie got the best deals...

 

its mirroring the business model of US airfare. if you are buying airline tickets last minute its probably a bit of an emergency...so the prices are sky high...kinda like buying sheets of plywood the day of the tornado.

 

I would like to spend less money on the cost of my cruise and have more money in my pocket so when I see the jewelry tables on the ship offering 14k gold chains for 3 dollars per inch I can buy a few yards of it as gifts for those who could not make the cruise with me. One year i bought enough to use as garland and wrapped it around my Christmas tree...oh the glimmer!!! just beautiful.

 

-Mark

 

Sure, 14K for $3.00 per inch: OMG and sure last minute cruises cheap, you are not talking about last minute. If the ship doesn't fill up with a few weeks left, the prices will drop.

[sfaaa]

Some pretty good last minute deals to Mexico, Caribbean and Panama Canal recently. If you've missed them, it's not NCL's fault.

[SuiteCruiser]

One of the intended consequences of price rises is to trigger the fear and get some early bookers on other cruises.

 

Sometimes there are blanket adjustments ready for a promo or a cruise gets added to the kids sale free list after the 1-2 price adjustment.

 

Also $ changes need the context of total price +-10% is nothing 30% is significant.

 

Agreed. Supply and Demand here is BS. The demand for cruises across the board did not increase that much between yesterday and today. It's creating a false urgency so people think they'll go up again and better get in before that happens.

[fshagan]

Agreed. Supply and Demand here is BS. The demand for cruises across the board did not increase that much between yesterday and today. It's creating a false urgency so people think they'll go up again and better get in before that happens.

 

Well, let's say demand is absolutely static, that is 100 people are looking for mid-ship balcony cabins today.

 

Supply goes down every time someone books. A cruise ship has extremely limited supply, and the cruise line cannot make more in reaction to demand.

 

I would rather see the lines give the greater discounts to their most loyal customers, those who plan ahead for their cruise. I'm glad to see lower prices farther out (and it makes sense to book when a fare looks good to you, because you can always cancel and rebook any time before final payment).

[zqvol]

Hello All,

So THANK GOD i'm already booked for our 7 day 3/6/16 cruise R/T NYC on the Breakaway. The prices for an inside cabin just jumped $300 per person overnight....WOW that is huge...Is this the trickle down effect of FDR (Frank Del Rio) taking over...lol

 

I thought it would be better to wait to "scoop" up last minute savings as the cruise got closer to sail date...obviously the only "scooping" will be to the un-booked potential passengers having to scoop a lot more money out of their pockets.

 

This will be our first cruise as a family/ large group/ wedding at sea...and if things continue as is...I hate to say this will most likely be our last with NCL...we are longtime platinum Princess loyalists who were looking for a change...well so far..we got the change we were looking for..I cant tell you in the last 9 months of being booked how many policy/ onboard changes I have bear witness to....and I didn't even step foot on the NCL ship yet...

 

Is anyone else seeing this pricing arbitrage on their already booked cruises? i guess the new motto is to book as early as possible..that way NCL gets to hold on to your deposit for a much longer period thus collecting millions in short term interest on a grand scale...

 

Stay tuned in March....I cant wait to give my review!!!!!

 

Enjoy the weekend...

-Mark

 

 

Price might be down $500 next week. There is really no way to tell, but an increase of this magnitude in neither unusual nor unexpected.

[insidecabin]

Another reason you get price rises is to trigger the price monitor engines when they reset the price. CC price monitor is full of false drops.

[jonbgd]

FDR wants to charge RCCL prices while offering a CCL product:p

[Granny DI]

Travel agent told me there is across the board raise in prices effective Monday. She is trying to book cruises before then. RCL CEO said no more last minute fares...they'll just let the cabins stay empty. Cruising is much cheaper today than it was 17 years ago when we first started cruising....everything has gone up in price.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Granny DI

[insidecabin]

They will dump the cabins to the trade and or do selective dumping through TAs keeping the cruise line prices static.

 

Some will just pay asking prices, supply will exceed demand at the higher pricing.

[jonbgd]

RCL CEO said no more last minute fares...they'll just let the cabins stay empty. .

 

Here is what he said

 

"As a result in March we adopted a new policy that we would not do any last minute discounts on bookings in North America. Depending on the type of cruise, that last minute may be 10, 20 or 30 days out, but from that point on we will hold our price at the prior level,” Fain continued.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/04/21/royal-caribbean-axes-last-minute-discount-cruise-fares/

[perditax]

Here is what he said

 

 

 

"As a result in March we adopted a new policy that we would not do any last minute discounts on bookings in North America. Depending on the type of cruise, that last minute may be 10, 20 or 30 days out, but from that point on we will hold our price at the prior level,” Fain continued.

 

 

 

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/04/21/royal-caribbean-axes-last-minute-discount-cruise-fares/

 

 

I know this is getting way tangential, but after nearly a year in the cruise game now, I know one thing for sure: the cruise lines are all NUTS if they think I'm going to play their "book years in advance" game with the way they change things on a weekly basis--especially NCL right now.

[fshagan]

I know this is getting way tangential, but after nearly a year in the cruise game now, I know one thing for sure: the cruise lines are all NUTS if they think I'm going to play their "book years in advance" game with the way they change things on a weekly basis--especially NCL right now.

 

There is that! I like being able to plan a year ahead and get the best price. Always thought it seemed "unfair" to let locals get great deals at the last minute while my higher fare "subsidized them" (I actually don't believe any of that because markets don't work that way ... the cheap fare at the last minute prevents my NEXT cruise from costing even more, but I have heard that sentiment).

 

But you are right, even though I like being able to book a year in advance, there is an awful lot of change that can happen. Because of the contract you are only guaranteed lodging and food for the fare price, everything else could change. I don't mean things like .20 increases in soda prices but things like changed itineraries, shortened times in ports, cancelled cruises, etc.

 

This year those changes have happened to people a day after they purchased, or within the final payment period, so I'm not sure you're safe booking at the last minute either! Small consolation.

[aubreyc1988]

cruise pricing is always crazy to me - must be set by an automated algorithm based on number of bookings, but up until a few days ago, it was only 50.00 total difference between an oceanview and a balcony and right now its only 50.00 difference from a balcony from a mini suite.

[anonmom]

If you really can sail last minute, there are still plenty of deals. In the next 5 weeks, there are various 7-day cruises on the Breakaway, the Dawn, the Jade, and the Star where you can get a balcony for under $650. Or the Epic for 10 days for $659. Or 14 days on the Sun for $799. All balconies.

 

7-day insides are as low as $379, or $54/night. You'd be pretty hard pressed to find a city in the US where $108 would get you a night's stay in a safe hotel, 3 full meals for 2, and unlimited snacks. And while you could easily find such a thing outside of the US, then you have to pay the airfare to get there.