NCL Please raise all prices 20% at least!!

[Driberif1]

I was killing time on Youtube the other day and a video popped up that said "cruise fight" so I was curious and opened it and it turned out to be about 10 against 10 fight on a Carnival Cruise ship so that made me do a search for "Carnival cruise fight" and hundreds of videos are posted so I searched for NCL/Norwegian cruise fight and 1 fight of a few 14 year olds showed up from 5 years ago and I searched Royal also and they only had 1 fight. It is clear that if Norwegian does not continue to raise prices as inflation happens Norwegian is doomed to be a lowlife cruise line like Carnival. For me to take 3 people for a 7 day vacation and visit 3-4 exotic islands in the Caribbean for under $5,000 is amazing, and when I am spending that kind of money it makes no sense to cry about having to pay an extra $68.00 for a bottled water package once on board or $40.00 for a soda package etc. It is amazing how people are willing to spend thousands of dollars and then cry about a little extra. And the people who complain about gratuity being included and not wanting that are the same people that go to dinner and leave a dollar for a $100.00 meal.

Stop being so cheap and pay for the services provided, Cruises are a business and they are here to make a profit and all the employees that are away from families for months at a time also deserve to make a living. k, done with my rant...sorry

[GUEST080219]

I prefer to cruise for less than half per person and have the UBP and DSC included. But I am a huge fan of the idea that those who want to throw the money away subsidize my vacation.

Edited July 7, 2016 by micm

[UKLloyd]

I was killing time on Youtube the other day and a video popped up that said "cruise fight" so I was curious and opened it and it turned out to be about 10 against 10 fight on a Carnival Cruise ship so that made me do a search for "Carnival cruise fight" and hundreds of videos are posted so I searched for NCL/Norwegian cruise fight and 1 fight of a few 14 year olds showed up from 5 years ago and I searched Royal also and they only had 1 fight. It is clear that if Norwegian does not continue to raise prices as inflation happens Norwegian is doomed to be a lowlife cruise line like Carnival. For me to take 3 people for a 7 day vacation and visit 3-4 exotic islands in the Caribbean for under $5,000 is amazing, and when I am spending that kind of money it makes no sense to cry about having to pay an extra $68.00 for a bottled water package once on board or $40.00 for a soda package etc. It is amazing how people are willing to spend thousands of dollars and then cry about a little extra. And the people who complain about gratuity being included and not wanting that are the same people that go to dinner and leave a dollar for a $100.00 meal.

 

 

Stop being so cheap and pay for the services provided, Cruises are a business and they are here to make a profit and all the employees that are away from families for months at a time also deserve to make a living. k, done with my rant...sorry

 

I see where you are coming from. Dont completely disagree with you. However, I purchased my cruise back in Feb 2015 for my December 2016 cruise, The product I am getting now is a very different product to what I was originally paying for. No bother, It is what it is and I shall run with it. Not everybody has the same mentality however.

 

I do feel as though you are going to get flamed for this post. Ive just put my popcorn in the microwave. Lets see where this goes. :D

Edited July 7, 2016 by UKLloyd

[Driberif1]

Also when you search carnival on youtube there is about 20 videos of "how to sneak alcohol in water bottles", although it would be good to think most people are honest you can find hundreds of comments of people bragging how they do it and get away with it. With a sealed case of water they just simply pry one bottle from the outside and the rest are easily removed and then they simply fill them all with any clear alcohol and they buy new caps online they can reseal the bottles with and slip them back in the case. Most of us would not think of anything like this but it appears to be extremely common which would be very understandable why any cruise line would not permit cases of water.

[BrandoMan13]

You seem like a really wonderful guy.

 

You can call me cheap if you'd like. I worked in the service industry and know what its like to be stiffed or get a 5% or 10% tip after working my butt off. I reward hard work with tips even when gratuities are included in my vacation pricing.

 

I also have no problem paying for the SDP and gambling in the casino. What I do have a problem with is being asked to pay for something that is so obviously and obscenely marked up. I also didn't care for the way they made a policy and rather than have a few months before it went into effect, it begins 14-15 days later. In addition, there rationale for the change in policy is questionable at best.

 

I understand that there are different price points for different resorts and cruise lines, and these pricing differences might lead to certain types of people taking certain lines or staying at certain resorts, but it really isn't nice to stereotype an entire group of people who might enjoy one line over another.

[punkincc]

Also when you search carnival on youtube there is about 20 videos of "how to sneak alcohol in water bottles", although it would be good to think most people are honest you can find hundreds of comments of people bragging how they do it and get away with it. With a sealed case of water they just simply pry one bottle from the outside and the rest are easily removed and then they simply fill them all with any clear alcohol and they buy new caps online they can reseal the bottles with and slip them back in the case. Most of us would not think of anything like this but it appears to be extremely common which would be very understandable why any cruise line would not permit cases of water.

 

The number of people who would go to this trouble to get alcohol onboard are very few. This is absolutely NOT the reason NCL has banned water brought on, nor is it safety. It is always about the revenue. We drink the ship's water, so not a big deal to us. Refillable Brita water bottles with filters are cheap.

 

And also consider why most NCL cruisers would even be concerned with smuggling alcohol on. Virtually every person who books get the "free" alcohol package. Of course, you do have to pay the 18% gratuity and service charge on the price of a UBP, so again, NCL will pocket revenue before you even get on the ship. Some may get their monies worth, but some will not. We have a 29 day cruise booked with "free" UBP which will cost us $800 plus for two people.

 

All those little fees and add ons do add up. You can avoid some, but if they throw enough of them out there in one form or another, it's hard to avoid them all. At least without significantly altering the way you like to cruise, perhaps.

[Driberif1]

You seem like a really wonderful guy.

 

You can call me cheap if you'd like. I worked in the service industry and know what its like to be stiffed or get a 5% or 10% tip after working my butt off. I reward hard work with tips even when gratuities are included in my vacation pricing.

 

I also have no problem paying for the SDP and gambling in the casino. What I do have a problem with is being asked to pay for something that is so obviously and obscenely marked up. I also didn't care for the way they made a policy and rather than have a few months before it went into effect, it begins 14-15 days later. In addition, there rationale for the change in policy is questionable at best.

 

I understand that there are different price points for different resorts and cruise lines, and these pricing differences might lead to certain types of people taking certain lines or staying at certain resorts, but it really isn't nice to stereotype an entire group of people who might enjoy one line over another.

 

So you should be the first one to agree that it is wrong to be cheap when dealing with the service industry, the 18% they charge is the bare minimum anyone should pay for anything being done for them and many people would not pay that if they could avoid it. I can see your point with a policy changing so quickly and I was in the same boat when traveling on the Escape 2 months ago, they changed a lot to a la carte a week before our cruise and we were the lucky ones for it to start with. The fact we booked that cruise over a year earlier before the Escape was even built sucked even more but that also is a reason why they make changes effective immediately because some people book years in advance so if they had to wait for everyone who has reservations to sail then they would never be able to make a change.

We all have common sense and know nothing is "free" so when all these people make comments like "----- is included on --- cruise line" it is ridiculous. NCL should just trick all the confused people and add an extra $200 to the stateroom and "include" bottled water and soda and make all the complainers think it is "free". There is no way everyone can be happy, if they "include" everything then you will get the people who do not drink alcohol or bottled water or eat at specialty dining complain they would rather have a discount.

Even with all the add ons there is nothing better for the money, I can never complain about the cost of a cruise when the round trip airfare from Vegas to Miami costs almost to the dollar the same as the entire cruise and the flight is 6 hours and I get a bag of peanuts and 2 sodas. (Just making a point that if anyone steps back and looks at the situation it is really no big deal for the little things).

And in no way did I stereotype any group of people, I stereotyped the cruise line itself!

[TomAndJane]

Also when you search carnival on youtube there is about 20 videos of "how to sneak alcohol in water bottles", although it would be good to think most people are honest you can find hundreds of comments of people bragging how they do it and get away with it. With a sealed case of water they just simply pry one bottle from the outside and the rest are easily removed and then they simply fill them all with any clear alcohol and they buy new caps online they can reseal the bottles with and slip them back in the case. Most of us would not think of anything like this but it appears to be extremely common which would be very understandable why any cruise line would not permit cases of water.

 

What you have forgotten to mention is that Carnival no longer allows any type of bottles to be brought on board but does still allow cans. In addition Carnival lowered the price of their water to $3.99 a 12 pack unlike NCL. I am platinum on both Carnival and NCL so I cruise a lot. NCL is just looking for another revenue stream because as Del Rio calls it, he has a captive audience and they will pay the additional charges.

[DMH15]

I cruise in NCL suites and they are already increased way over 20%.

[kcwingwalker]

I see where you are coming from. Dont completely disagree with you. However, I purchased my cruise back in Feb 2015 for my December 2016 cruise, The product I am getting now is a very different product to what I was originally paying for. No bother, It is what it is and I shall run with it. Not everybody has the same mentality however.

 

I do feel as though you are going to get flamed for this post. Ive just put my popcorn in the microwave. Lets see where this goes. :D

 

Have the same problem so certainly will not flame you. I am seriously considering cancelling. The cruise I was so happy to book has become somewhat of a dark cloud :(

[xeroxme]

Why have NCL raise prices?? Maybe you should just buy a yacht and forget the whole cruising with the masses thing.... Or skip NCL and at least move up to silver seas or the like?

[Driberif1]

I cruise in NCL suites and they are already increased way over 20%.

 

 

For me it has dropped a lot actually, I have always taken a cruise each March/April and the policy NCL had was the Ultimate Beverage Package was not available during my travel times which was during spring break. Prior to my last cruise on the Escape two months ago I was not able to get it and although the cost of the cruise was about 20% less as you mentioned, between the 3 of us we would build a $2,800-$3,500 alcohol bill alone.

[susique]

Also when you search carnival on youtube there is about 20 videos of "how to sneak alcohol in water bottles", although it would be good to think most people are honest you can find hundreds of comments of people bragging how they do it and get away with it. With a sealed case of water they just simply pry one bottle from the outside and the rest are easily removed and then they simply fill them all with any clear alcohol and they buy new caps online they can reseal the bottles with and slip them back in the case. Most of us would not think of anything like this but it appears to be extremely common which would be very understandable why any cruise line would not permit cases of water.

 

What concerns me is that someone who wanted to create havic or mass murder could easily put flammable liquid in them, reseal them and be delighted to set fire to the ship. I know it is a very low likelihood of that happening, but I do not want to be in the middle of the Caribbean with the nut that finds it easy to do.

[mking8288]

This, tongue-in-cheek, being some kind of joke, to raise NCL prices at least another 20% across the board - their ships are sailing this summer with empty cabins/staterooms and fire sale going on - right now at rock bottom prices, without all the "freebies" that some of us really don't care for or need.

 

Get a reality check about comparative pricing, Carnival & Royal are selling cabins at higher prices and reporting solid gains on their latest financials - how, fuel savings and ticket prices. Their minority shareholders, the little people are getting both their quarterly dividends and OBC's when they sail the products.

 

Meanwhile, NCL started more giveaways with their casino partners again - for sailings this November - to "qualified" players, of course - with the Drink Cards. Recently, on the *Away ships, it was pretty common for 10% or 400 guests to be sailing under the discounted casino progrmas.

 

Got a great deal - happy cruising & start packing until NCL decide to cancel your sailings because corporate like to do lots of ship charter - where they can negotiate the charges along with all the extras. Delays and changes to NCL's private islands, it doesn't affect us ... someone else affected by the changes can say a few words about how happy they are, or not.

 

If the problems that NCL is trying to address is rum runners, then why not face the music and say, we have a problem and here's why - instead of misleading lies about security matters.

 

It's not a matter of being cheap with the extra 18% service charge - tipping goes directly to the service crew but the supplement isn't necessary so, but surely help explained the CEO's overall compensation in 2015, far above and out of line with the cruise industry's standards & benchmark.

 

Cheerleaders are entitled to waiving their pom poms and obviously, differences in opinions can & should be respected, a matter of agreeing to disagree.

 

DW & I, and quite a few members of our extended families, plus friends have sailed on different lines and given our business to NCL in the last 20 years or so - the products have changed for the worst lately and the problems aren't just about the pricing and the policies alone. Trust & respect are some of the important elements for us in choosing how we spend our discretionary dollars - what was hard earned are now eroding away, one little notch more at a time.

 

Rants about a few thoughts done - off to a land-based Hibachi dinner (a/k/a Teppanyaki) - with a full menu of choices & options, not a simplified short list on NCL - where we don't get doubled billed for tips and service charges after taxes; and, we have the full discretion to pay the suggested 15%, 18%, 20% or whatever filled in amount. We cruise to relax, not to worry about the changes & unknown, and making reservations under freestyle dining.

 

The way things are looking ahead, we will skip NCL again & look elsewhere this Fall - just like 2015 when we opted for fly-n-stay escorted tours abroad. Flame on !

[deliver42]

I just booked the Getaway for next year. The price and product seemed right for me. I do agree about the price for water, but I've never paid for a bottle of water on land either. As for adding the gratuity in on the drink and dining packages, I would normally give a 20% tip upon the service, and now I won't leave anything, at least in the dining rooms. I will tip $1.00 or $2.00 if drinks are brought to me by a server, but unless the bartender is excellent, he already has my tip.As to the automatic gratuity policy that just about all the cruise lines now have, I have no problem at all with it. Just my opinion.

[Mandy412]

Also when you search carnival on youtube there is about 20 videos of "how to sneak alcohol in water bottles", although it would be good to think most people are honest you can find hundreds of comments of people bragging how they do it and get away with it. With a sealed case of water they just simply pry one bottle from the outside and the rest are easily removed and then they simply fill them all with any clear alcohol and they buy new caps online they can reseal the bottles with and slip them back in the case. Most of us would not think of anything like this but it appears to be extremely common which would be very understandable why any cruise line would not permit cases of water.

 

I just heard of filling vodka bottles with water from a 50 something that cruises Carnival. I did that kind of mess in college. Soooooo low budg. But $68 for water is robbery without the gun and mask.

[Mandy412]

I just heard of filling vodka bottles with water from a 50 something that cruises Carnival. I did that kind of mess in college. Soooooo low budg. But $68 for water is robbery without the gun and mask.

 

Me and my roommate also went condiment shopping for A1 at Hoss's steakhouse or ketchup at Perkins until we did it in front of my mom and she died and took us grocery shopping.

[Driberif1]

I just booked the Getaway for next year. The price and product seemed right for me. I do agree about the price for water, but I've never paid for a bottle of water on land either. As for adding the gratuity in on the drink and dining packages, I would normally give a 20% tip upon the service, and now I won't leave anything, at least in the dining rooms. I will tip $1.00 or $2.00 if drinks are brought to me by a server, but unless the bartender is excellent, he already has my tip.As to the automatic gratuity policy that just about all the cruise lines now have, I have no problem at all with it. Just my opinion.

 

 

We were on the 2nd sailing of the Getaway in the Eastern Caribbean and the bartenders were so amazing I think if you are provided with the same service you will not have a problem adding to the gratuity. As I stated above, we tend to acquire high bar tabs and tip well but the attention we got was so amazing that a year later we went on the Epic and 2 bartenders remembered our names and 2 years later which was this April we went on the Escape and "Bong" still remembered our names after all this time. (Bong is probably the best known bartender on NCL).

We also just booked another sailing on the Getaway April 9-16 next year.

[NittanyCruise]

Tip: If you hate cellphone videos filmed vertically then do not youtube "cruise fights".

 

When will people learn to film sideways - you will get more into the frame without losing anything!

Edited July 7, 2016 by NittanyCruise