Norwegian to no longer offer UBP as of May 1st??

[UPNYGuy]

Haven't seen the Gem, but have read reviews like this one for April 1st cruise: ...Bathrooms: no noticeable changes and the sinks are cracked (have been this way for years) and our shower head was separating from the hose and spent a lot of time spraying the wall. We did have nice new carpeting in our cabin, however, some cabins still had the old carpeting. Bow cam tv channel kept pixelating after a few minutes.

 

 

 

I cruise on Celebrity as well and even with the the renovations to the existing ships, I would not consider NCL a premium line competing with Celebrity. There is a lot more to a premium line, then the look of the interior of the ships. Time will tell, if (1) NCL will make the improvements that they must make to be considered a premium line and then (2) if they can convince the public that they have drastically changed.

 

 

 

The most important piece of the puzzle is the public and it will take a lot to change their perception from seeing NCL as a budget/mass-market cruise line to a premium line. You can say you are one thing, but if you don't make all the necessary changes and don't get those new premium line customers in the ships, it is all for nil.

 

 

I am aware of the public perception. I have had several cruises on lines that many would consider a grade above Celebrity, but was left wondering what the fuss was about, and how they commanded the per diem they did. Azamara was the most recent example.

[kdzkatz]

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There are multiple people on the Holland America board that would disagree with you on this one ;). Holland America is commonly considered a premium tier cruise line, but several that were exclusive to HAL have switched over to NCL due to the superb food and service, myself included.

 

And yes, you can include NCL in the premium tier. The Haven accommodations compete quite nicely even with Viking Ocean cruises, Oceania, and Regent.

 

And this is coming from someone who was just on Star, so I am well aware of the changes and trends. The cruiser that FDR is going after...the premium level cruiser... appreciates the changes by and large.

 

but enough of that.

 

There is a flaw in what you state. There are only a handful of rooms on the ships with the Haven experience. If the Haven experience was ship wide then I would agree they had become a premium cruise line. The problem is what is costs for a Haven room and with the number of rooms they have to sell, they would cruise very empty many times and would bleed money if all the rooms on NCL ships were provided this experience.

[Cmdr Cody]

NCL owns two lines that are more premium than the NCL line. Due to that I would never expect them to move up to premium. They make money filling all cabins. They do make more off me and the other Haven/Suites cruisers per person. For some people it's not worth the extra cost, but for me and the wife we earned it and can afford to do it, so it's our choice.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

NCL owns two lines that are more premium than the NCL line. Due to that I would never expect them to move up to premium. They make money filling all cabins. They do make more off me and the other Haven/Suites cruisers per person. For some people it's not worth the extra cost, but for me and the wife we earned it and can afford to do it, so it's our choice.

 

 

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Yes, NCL does own two premium lines and Del Rio wants to position NCL so that it is the stepping stone to those two lines. As stated only time will tell if he will be able to pull it off.

[UPNYGuy]

Yes, NCL does own two premium lines and Del Rio wants to position NCL so that it is the stepping stone to those two lines. As stated only time will tell if he will be able to pull it off.

 

 

He wants NCL to be premium family friendly, and Oceania and Regent to stay where they are. They are in near-luxury and luxury class.