Prices come crashing WAY down

[david_sobe]

I received an email promo from my NCL PCC today with insane prices especially for April and May. You can get an inside cabin as low as $469 pp on Escape and as low as $649 pp for a balcony on Escape. The prices creep higher after May. Balcony prices on Escape were about $1100 to $1400 pp just months ago. They are almost back to normal after spiking several times over the past 16 months. Even the Haven prices have been majorly reduced (but they are still a bit higher than 2014).

 

I know NCL stopped the "free" promos but the prices are insane for April and May. With prices this low there must be a huge need to fill the ship. I hope this is a swing back towards normal pricing without gimmicks. If anyone has time to cruise in April and May you cannot beat these prices especially for a new ship like Escape.

 

With these huge price slashes there are many that are going to be looking for upgrades of those who probably paid double for this April and May (although they can drink for free and get free internet).

 

Its very tempting :eek: These insane deals are better than the Epic deals they had about 2 years ago.

Edited April 19, 2016 by david_sobe

[Daddyrob81]

Hey, I got a week on the Epic 2 years ago in a Studio for $399...

 

 

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[LrgPizza]

In February, a standard balcony for my May 21, 2016 Escape cruise was $949, plus pick 2 (we took UBP and 4-SDP), plus KSF. This was before final payment, so we canceled and rebooked. It was 13 months after we'd originally made the booking.

 

 

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[SuiteCruiser]

They looked at my calendar and knew I couldn't take advantage of it ;) Congrats to those who can take advantage of it, I love to hear these stories.

 

I blew Escape v2 by spending most of my week in the infirmary in March with a stupid throat infection that caused me to not be able to breathe. I would love to hop back on and enjoy the Escape for another week, though I think maybe it doesn't like me too much!

Edited April 19, 2016 by SuiteCruiser

[cruis247g]

I would love to be able to take advantage of these prices, but unfortunately I can't. "Enjoy the voyage" to all who can sail now!

[mking8288]

Been watching that for the past 2 weeks - port of Miami got all these ships running in circles ... cruiselines either adjust their pricing scheme to realign supply (cabin inventory) with demand (# of available pax to cruise last minute) to fill them, upsell to those already booked, or, sail with unsold cabins.

 

NCL apparently re-discovered :rolleyes: Sail Away Rates with no frills - also seeing some deals out West, on the Mexico runs before they sail them northbound coastal ... before doing the Alaska season.

 

Not exactly surprised to find some deals sailing out of NY, among the competition - for both Bermuda & Bahamas. Just priced out a Bermuda run on X's Summit for mid May 2016, comparable to the Dawn in size ( ... demographics discussion aside) - Inside GTY cabins @ 170 sq. ft. (that's roughly 40 sq. ft. bigger over the Breakaway) still cheaper on X (by over $400 for 2) :p

 

We nailed a super deal to sail the BA earlier, substantially way below the best available rack rate for NCL with a choice of staterooms - or else, we could've given our business to X. No wonder the NCL agent immediately try to upsell us on doing an upgrade.

 

Not to mention, tons of Upsell to Haven with negotiated counter-offers for those who've done their homework.

[LrgPizza]

They looked at my calendar and knew I couldn't take advantage of it ;) Congrats to those who can take advantage of it, I love to hear these stories.

 

I blew Escape v2 by spending most of my week in the infirmary in March with a stupid throat infection that caused me to not be able to breathe. I would love to hop back on and enjoy the Escape for another week, though I think maybe it doesn't like me too much!

 

With a burned bum on trip #1 and throat infection on trip #2, are you thinking 3rd time might be a charm, or are you going to run from the bad luck?

[Budget Queen]

PLUS- the added discount of being able to use 2 deposits. :) :) I picked up, less than 2 weeks ago, the Spirit, sailing this Saturday. Final cost, for a single (no supplement), $351. :) 14 days.

[fshagan]

I wonder how much of it is due to fears about the Zika virus among men and women of child bearing age? Bookings to the Caribbean could be down because of that ... while I have heard Euro bookings are down due to terrorism fears. Might not be a good time to be a cruise company CEO!

[sfaaa]

Where did all the NCL bashers suddenly go?

[AdoraBelle]

Meh, I knew this was going to happen. I tried to wait out NCL on my $350-more-than-last-year studio on the same ship, paying for my "free perks" that I don't want. I finally blinked last week. I need to go take my price alerts down so I don't get annoyed. (Inside PIF.)

[SuiteCruiser]

With a burned bum on trip #1 and throat infection on trip #2, are you thinking 3rd time might be a charm, or are you going to run from the bad luck?

 

I might be a sucker for punishment, but I still love this ship! Third time has to be the charm, or I have a medevac in my future, one of the two!

[Adam0626]

I took advantage of this and took a 7 day Bahamas on the Breakaway on the 10th for $449 a person.

[mianmike]

Let's hope this signal's a change in Frank Del Rio's marketing strategy.

 

Pricing is a result of supply and demand. Apparently demand has at least temporarily stalled in spite of his marketing gimmicks of "free" drinks et al. with their associated mandatory fine-print fees. I hope this drop in demand causes him to reevaluate his strategy.

 

Could it be that cruisers are more perceptive and recognize the difference between perceived value and actual value . . . at least better than FDR thinks?

[LrgPizza]

I might be a sucker for punishment, but I still love this ship! Third time has to be the charm, or I have a medevac in my future, one of the two!

 

 

You'd better not curse this ship, because I love her, too!

 

 

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[sfaaa]

NCL has never stop doing last minute discounting if you look hard enough. It's just that the deals are not as frequent or as good as it used to be.

[sparks1093]

Let's hope this signal's a change in Frank Del Rio's marketing strategy.

 

Pricing is a result of supply and demand. Apparently demand has at least temporarily stalled in spite of his marketing gimmicks of "free" drinks et al. with their associated mandatory fine-print fees. I hope this drop in demand causes him to reevaluate his strategy.

 

Could it be that cruisers are more perceptive and recognize the difference between perceived value and actual value . . . at least better than FDR thinks?

 

Del Rio is finding out that it's harder to fill a 3500 passenger ship than it is a 1200 passenger ship. Only time is going to tell how all this is going to affect NCL's marketing strategy going forward but I've always suspected that NCL would have to come up with some mechanism to fill the ships, at least during some part of the year. Savvy cruisers will come to realize that booking too far in advance with NCL could cost dearly, even with perks.

[CP3o]

Del Rio is finding out that it's harder to fill a 3500 passenger ship than it is a 1200 passenger ship. Only time is going to tell how all this is going to affect NCL's marketing strategy going forward but I've always suspected that NCL would have to come up with some mechanism to fill the ships, at least during some part of the year. Savvy cruisers will come to realize that booking too far in advance with NCL could cost dearly, even with perks.

 

Zika may affect all cruise line demand at some point in the future, if it hasn't already. In addition to all the lines bringing out larger ships in the past 5 years, Florida really has a lot of capacity once the Harmony arrives in Nov. Prices may get "good" but may be followed by further cutbacks on the ship.

[Casino Comp Chick]

PLUS- the added discount of being able to use 2 deposits. :) :) I picked up, less than 2 weeks ago, the Spirit, sailing this Saturday. Final cost, for a single (no supplement), $351. :) 14 days.

 

They have the (2) FCC deal going again? I didn't see anything about that.

[biker@sea]

PLUS- the added discount of being able to use 2 deposits. :) :) I picked up, less than 2 weeks ago, the Spirit, sailing this Saturday. Final cost, for a single (no supplement), $351. :) 14 days.

 

Nice. Good for You!!!

 

.

[biker@sea]

NCL has never stop doing last minute discounting if you look hard enough. It's just that the deals are not as frequent or as good as it used to be.

 

Ya they did!

 

Dawn sailed last summer without discounting with empty cabins available.

 

That 's when FDR lost me , as he said he did not want discount cruisers.

 

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[david_sobe]

Yes the last minute deals are incredible. But NCL prices were slashed everywhere including the Haven. I saw Haven prices slashed $1000 per person for 2017 sailings. NCL used to charge about $700 for the UBP with gratuities. They added the price of it and called it "free." I am a big drinker on vacation but could never drink 8 drinks every day to get any value out of that program. I would rather pocket $600 and spend $100 on alcohol on the cruise. If you double that you would save $1200 for you and your cruising mate.

I wonder if the Sky will continue to be all inclusive or that will change too.

 

Long story short....its nice to see NCL pricing come back to normal and see value in taking a NCL cruise again.

[Sissaaaaaa]

Del Rio is finding out that it's harder to fill a 3500 passenger ship than it is a 1200 passenger ship. Only time is going to tell how all this is going to affect NCL's marketing strategy going forward but I've always suspected that NCL would have to come up with some mechanism to fill the ships, at least during some part of the year. Savvy cruisers will come to realize that booking too far in advance with NCL could cost dearly, even with perks.

 

Agreed. I am planning on looking to see how many cabins are still available before final payment for our NYE cruise. If a lot, I am going to cancel and rebook as it gets closer. For a holiday cruise the price isn't too bad, but it's still on the high side.

[watchdiva]

Prices came down slightly for our Jewel PC cruise 2/17 and slightly for our 5/16 Alaska cruise. Not enough for us to change our Jewel cruise - we have outstanding perks for that and the lower price just didn't offset the value of our booking perks.

[jmele999]

I think that there are several reasons for the decrease in prices.

 

1) The value of the "free" perks have significantly decreased since early 2015 when services charges, or whatever is called, were included.

 

2) People are getting tired of going to the same places - How many times can I visit Cozumel or Nassau.

 

3) The prices for Haven suites have increased by about 20 - 30% since last year and the perks decreased in value. I was willing to pay the price for a Haven suite back in 2015 because it included OBC and pre-paid DSC, but I am not willing to pay a higher price and only get a limited number of dinners at the specialty restaurants, limited wifi and a $50 credit per port for overpriced excursions. As a result of the changes, we have also witnessed that there has been an increased in the number of upsells to the Haven in the last few months.

 

4) NCL used to heavily depend on people who booked last minute to fill their ships. However, at the current prices, I think that there are less people booking last minute cruises.

Edited April 20, 2016 by jmele999