German guests, NCL wants you!

[Froggitt]

I don't think it is a promotion but rather the new permanent way to sell cruises in the German speaking countries(Austria and Switzerland are included in that as well).

 

For most people it won't be such a great deal. I can see at the moment how less and how cheap drinks many of the guests with promotional UBP consume. The now included service charge was something German guests so far could get refunded which is probably not possible in the future.

 

Interesting will be if there are any exceptions, very last minute bookings, >20 days long cruises, ...

 

I know Michael speaks perfect English, but apart from Med cruises, I haven't heard any announcements in German, and I doubt many staff (wait/hotel) speak German. Unless NCL is going to invest more in its staff and their language training, I can't see how NCL is going to appeal other than to fluent English speaking Germans. What's your view Michael?

[Shawnino]

Everyone please look up a few cruises you're interested in on the NCL.de site right now and make a note of the prices today. On Monday, when this offer goes into effect, please look up the same cruises again and post the two prices here.

 

Here are some 2016 befores which I'll later pair with afters.

Tried to pick different itineraries and days-to-sailing.

All prices Euro

Cheapest advertised Inside/OV/Balcony/MS/Suite

 

Feb 14 Getaway 7 day Caribbean

969/1189/1439/1679/3089

 

Jul 13 Star 9 day Baltic from Copenhagen

1489/1899/2459/2859/4059

 

Aug 29 Sun 7- and 14-day Alaskas

929/1069/1729/2389/3359

1569/1919/2979/4119/7249

[Note that the 14-day is generally less than 2x the 7-day... but not in the Suite)

 

Nov 20 Star 21 day Repo from Dubai

1999/2199/2699/2959/4999

[littlelulu01]

So how does it work with booking? Call the German site? Do they have different cancel fees? What about last minute paid upsell? My cruise is coming in at a couple hundred less but if gratuity and coffees included it becomes quite a bargain .

[insidecabin]

So how does it work with booking? Call the German site? Do they have different cancel fees? What about last minute paid upsell? My cruise is coming in at a couple hundred less but if gratuity and coffees included it becomes quite a bargain .

 

Upsell will be rare/non existant.

 

Requests on price drops maybe.

 

there will be cancellation penalties(check the german T&C S.6).

http://www.ncl.de/nuetzliche-informationen/allgemeine-reisebedingungen/

 

Final 30 days.

 

 

Don't forget if you book far out you need to factor a potential change in the exchange rate, savings can be wiped out/get bigger.

[littlelulu01]

Upsell will be rare/non existant.

 

Requests on price drops maybe.

 

there will be cancellation penalties(check the german T&C S.6).

http://www.ncl.de/nuetzliche-informationen/allgemeine-reisebedingungen/

 

Final 30 days.

 

 

Don't forget if you book far out you need to factor a potential change in the exchange rate, savings can be wiped out/get bigger.

 

Thanks. I remember in the past UK site was often updated first when changes occurred. So I'm wondering if the drink package offered on the German site which includes coffees may be a test or indicator of an upcoming change to the package offered in the US. That would be very exciting.

 

I really like how Celebrity's classic package includes coffees, canned soda... It makes it more appealing for a cabin of occasional drinkers or if only one drinks alcohol the package can still benefit the cabin. If not it would still be really nice to add an expanded soda package.

 

A little leery about rebooking on the German site. Will have to see what the savings actually are next week.

[insidecabin]

There is an anomaly with the UBP and young adults on Europe cruises bought in UK.

 

If you buy it the 20yo in cabin have to buy corks an caps.

Get it as a perk they only get soda

[tallyho8]

I know Michael speaks perfect English, but apart from Med cruises, I haven't heard any announcements in German, and I doubt many staff (wait/hotel) speak German. Unless NCL is going to invest more in its staff and their language training, I can't see how NCL is going to appeal other than to fluent English speaking Germans. What's your view Michael?

 

I was just on the NCL Dawn repo from Boston to New Orleans and many of the announcements were made in English and then in German.

[insidecabin]

Looks like the premium coffee is only at meals.

 

as UBP was allready a choice option on all cabins this means a bottle of water and coffee with dinner are the extras.

 

Now if the choice option is still there then you can add something else like a UDP thats better.

 

In europe choice is now available on any length cruise.

Edited December 5, 2015 by insidecabin

[cavok]

i wouldn't sweat any of this...

 

my background: native (swiss) german speaker, well travelled, lived for 1 year in the states as an exchange student, now permanently living in switzerland

 

from our experience, you pay it somehow, somewhere, in another form... in general, there's nothing as low and competitive as american cruise fares, enjoy! (you just have to add everything up and know what you're getting into. we book via the u.s. since about our second cruise and after somewhat figuring out how all of this works and which fees and gratuities and charges have to be summed up and budgeted)

 

likely those "german fares" are just going to be higher by a comparable amount at the base. to me, this appears to be mainly psychology and maybe somewhat tipping related.

"germans" or western europeans (us included) in general simply don't enjoy to spend valuable time and thoughts on holidays figuring out all the tipping and what not. at least not in that excessive, integral-part-of-the-economy/wages U.S. style. it's just a chore, which you have to get used to. so any product offering this "flat" is going to have a very nice appeal to travellers here.

 

also, the public image of cruising in the german speaking region is mainly defined by products MeinSchiff1-4 by travel giant TUI (which are freshly painted second hand celebrity ships) and AIDA, which is an all inclusive subsidiary of carnival corp, with a really strong brand and marketing.

though we've not sailed on either line yet (too expensive, not in the "we speak german" faction), the prices to me appear in general quite high for what you get compared to other mainstream lines. AIDA: only buffet food (other than in upcharge) restaurants, fewer balcony cabins vs insides and oceanview, lower crew/pax ratio, higher pax/BRT ratio etc... and them just plain taking advantage of being one of the few "we speak german" offerings in the market, both what crew and what fellow pax are concerned.

you would not believe by how much and to how many people, the language barrier still is a huge issue. they would be completely lost if noone spoke any german around them... while we always get annoyed when the lines try to give us the "german rub", with poorly translated dailies etc... simply based on our nationality ;-)...

what AIDA does really well is media presence. they practically "own" german television. with behind-the-scenes documentaries all over, giveaways in game shows etc... that's really why the brand is so strong and allowed it to become the "hoover" of cruising in germany.

plus it's got a "young and fresh" image, good for party and also features some rather european things like a clothing optional deck and such.

 

by the way, we as swiss have to be extra careful not to be screwed over since a lot of companies try to charge premium for the same or no extra service/products simply based on nationality and the fact that our economic key figures are and continue to be quite excellent. the problem is, that as middle class, in the end, you get little of that benefit when price-fixing, "geo-fencing" etc... are actively skimming the topping of the cake :-(

globalization must not be a one-way deal...

[SullytheBFG]

I am in the UK and booked through the UK for two weeks on the Escape we got the UBP and DSC included. We do not get any price drops as the US does, also if you want to upgrade the price will be as when you booked not any new prices.

 

Prices vary per country as do the T&Cs, just the way the things are. We also don't tip the way Americans do it's a cultural difference.

 

I am English but speak reasonable French and some German. My other half is Swedish and speaks Swedish, English, German and Norwegian.

 

You book a holiday and that is the price.

 

Just my opinion ;-)

[Jbrattoncruise]

Funny you said that, since my price dropped below book in price today, called, and was told I would have to cancel (at 75% penalty) and rebook. So, I'm not exactly sure what perk you are referring to about US price drops.

[SullytheBFG]

Funny you said that, since my price dropped below book in price today, called, and was told I would have to cancel (at 75% penalty) and rebook. So, I'm not exactly sure what perk you are referring to about US price drops.

 

Just based on what other US posters have said - the price dropped so I called NCL or my TA and got the new price. We are the same as you have said you want the new price you cancel and re-book and lose whatever you have paid.

[Demonyte]

also, the public image of cruising in the german speaking region is mainly defined by products MeinSchiff1-4 by travel giant TUI (which are freshly painted second hand celebrity ships)

 

 

 

Only 1 and 2 are "recycled" ships. 3 and 4 are built for TUI in Finland in the last couple of years.

[Demonyte]

Funny you said that, since my price dropped below book in price today, called, and was told I would have to cancel (at 75% penalty) and rebook. So, I'm not exactly sure what perk you are referring to about US price drops.

 

 

Just that: cancelling and rebooking with new lower price.

 

People that book through UK or CE offices can not cancel for free ever (they would lose their deposit even two years out), for US booked customers the non-free cancellation period only starts quite close to the cruise (usually less than 100 days before).

[dub237]

German here!

 

 

 

Crew Gratuities included, wow, that is good deal along with the UBP and the included drink-gratuities.

 

 

 

They were running a promo with the option to choose from WiFi, UDP, UBP or OBC. We booked a M6 and an interior room and got the UBP with drink-gratuities included. That was one reason we booked NCL.

 

 

 

NCL is rather unknown here in Germany, along with Carnival, Royal Caribbean etc.

 

 

 

Popular cruise ships are "Mein Schiff (1-4)" or everything AIDA...

 

 

Good deal no , they just rised all the cruise prices and pût the promo !!!!!!!

[AllureOfVacation]

dub237, you are right!

 

I just checked our cabin category for the upcoming cruise in January and it is now about 250 € more!

[lachelli]

prices have increased by the same amount as if you where to add all of the extras into your booking, so no real saving here

 

I did notice that they have locked it down to only German, Austrian and Swiss residents as you can no longer select any other countries on the drop down menu that you need to select a country from before proceeding with the booking

[megaelch]

Well this is not a deal at all .. just compared prices for the Epic May 2016 and May 2015 when i sailed ..

I paid 2.800,- for a balcony for my family of four incl. dining and beverage package, right now the same cruise is up to 4.320,- incl. drinks and service charges, but no restaurant package , so basically 1000,- EUR more for the same cruise plus 500,- i need to pay for the dining package. No thank you .....

[GUEST080219]

As always it depends on the cruise.

For example the 31 day cruise on the Pearl from Miami to Alaska costs 3419€ and the UBP and DSC are worth 2543€.

[Shawnino]

...and, just like a Chancellor that won't take "nein" for an answer, a little while later we're back with "after" pricing. Sometimes the line was held on price, sometimes it was overrun. Seems fairly random in our small sample size:

 

All prices Euro

Cheapest advertised Inside/OV/Balcony/MS/Suite

 

Feb 14 Getaway 7 day Caribbean

BEFORE: 969/1189/1439/1679/3089

AFTER: 969/1189/1439/1679/3089 <= SAME

 

Jul 13 Star 9 day Baltic from Copenhagen

BEFORE: 1489/1899/2459/2859/4059

AFTER: 1651/2051/2621/3021/4251 <= INCREASES

INCREASES: 162/152/162/162/192

 

Aug 29 Sun 7- and 14-day Alaskas

7 DAY

BEFORE: 929/1069/1729/2389/3359

AFTER: 929/1069/1729/2389/3359 <= SAME

 

14 DAY

BEFORE: 1569/1919/2979/4119/7249

AFTER: 1569/1919/2979/4119/7249 <= SAME

 

Nov 20 Star 21 day Repo from Dubai

BEFORE: 1999/2199/2699/2959/4999

AFTER: 2377/2577/3077/3337/5377 <= INCREASES

INCREASES: 378 ACROSS THE BOARD

[littlelulu01]

Dates I was tracking: NCL Sept 24, 2016 and October 1, 2016. They don’t seem to be offering it as a two week cruise today but last week they were and the cabins were lower if booked as a b2b vs two separate cruises.

 

9/24/16 last week/this week prices in Euros: Inside: 779/905. OV: 1259/1385. Balcony: 1539/1665. MS: 1659/1785. Suite: 3159/3105.

 

10/1/16: Inside: 829/955. OV: 1319/1445. Balcony: 1709/1835. MS: 1869/1995. Suite: 3159/3285.

 

In comparing booked separately on US site the fares are less on the German site when factoring in perks and exchange rate across all categories but not a ton less. The fact that today I don’t see the option to book as a B2B makes the German site much higher across all categories.

[23words]

I booked my next cruise while still on the Jade in September ... the price I got back then included the UBP and gratuities.

Today I would pay 190 EUR more for my category. But prices went up even before the new all inclusive deal, it's roughly the same as when I checked last week.

Edited December 7, 2015 by 23words

[Richard_Claudia]

Well, we have travelled a lot with NCL and spent our summer holidays on the Norwegian Jade the last years - I really object to that all inclusive offer, because for me it's just a nice excuse to raise prices. The cruise on the NJ next summer is more than double price compared to last year ...

I am very happy to pay for the couple of drinks we have during a cruise, but this is much less than I have to pay for that all inclusive thing.

I would have loved going back to the NJ, but I am not prepared to pay that price - so we are looking for other interesting offers.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Richard_Claudia

[clivep]

The premium all-inclusive looks quite attractive to me.

 

It would appear that the ncl.de prices are €18 per day higher than the ncl.eu prices.

 

If you take out the daily service charge of about €12.30 per day then the rest of the package benefits are only costing €5.70 which is way less than the 18% gratuities on the "free" UBP that bookings in the US attract.

 

For bookings within 30 days of sailing it's even better. As these no longer qualify for the normal NCL UBP promotions then the premium all-inclusive is much better value.

[insidecabin]

Good point if the 30day does not apply that could make a .de booking a better deal, I have seen the epic Uk prices dropping within 30day but the loss of choice is a big loss.