free cruise certificates NCL & Carnival

[boris53098]

This is just for info, as I had problems finding the differences between the two when I was researching them.

 

My husband and I each received free certificates from land based casinos for Carnival and NCL. All 4 certificates were for inside cabins. We wanted to do the Mexican Riviera in March. Here are the differences between the 2.

 

 

Norwegian would let us combine 2 certificates and get an ocean view cabin. But the price they quoted me was outrageous. $200 per person admin fee, taxes, port fee, and upgrade charge for balcony was a total of $1547....no thanks! When we used NCL certificates 2 years ago there was no admin fee. If we wanted the inside room our "free" cruise would have cost $708 :confused:.

 

Carnival would't let us combine certificates for an upgraded room, but would let us book 2 separate rooms (that would be great if we wanted to bring the kids). The price for taxes, port fees and upgrade to extended balcony room was $680 total for both of us. If we went with the"free" inside room it would have cost $210.

 

So we went with Carnival. Cant wait for the cruise in March!

Edited November 22, 2016 by boris53098

[dznymom]

I think it's really helpful to see the comparisons between the different cruise lines offers, so thanks for starting this thread. Obviously everyone has different offers based on play and other factors, so direct comparisons to other players is tougher.

 

I'm not all that surprised at your NCL numbers. We have always paid the admin fee and taxes and upgraded. The best thing about NCL is you can sail solo with these with no single supplement. I generally pay around $650 (I think) for a balcony when I am going solo on a 'comp'. It's not such a great deal when doing double occupancy.

 

I booked my first Princess cruise with a certificate I got from a land based casino. This one was unusual in that I could upgrade the cruise through my play in that casino while on my comped trip to pick up the certificate. I got lots of play and it worked out well as we booked a 15 night cruise to Hawaii in a mini suite for $430.

 

Last weekend I pick up a Celebrity certificate from a different casino. It was for an inside with a decent number of itineraries & ships to choose from. It was more like the NCL deal, with fees and taxes, but a much higher cost to upgrade. We did end up booking a cruise to Bermuda but I am considering it a nicely discounted cruise. I probably wouldn't bother picking up another certificate for Celebrity if it was offered.

 

It is very interesting how different the certificates are from cruise line to cruise line.

Edited November 25, 2016 by dznymom

[BirdTravels]

This is just for info, as I had problems finding the differences between the two when I was researching them.

 

My husband and I each received free certificates from land based casinos for Carnival and NCL. All 4 certificates were for inside cabins. We wanted to do the Mexican Riviera in March. Here are the differences between the 2.

 

 

Norwegian would let us combine 2 certificates and get an ocean view cabin. But the price they quoted me was outrageous. $200 per person admin fee, taxes, port fee, and upgrade charge for balcony was a total of $1547....no thanks! When we used NCL certificates 2 years ago there was no admin fee. If we wanted the inside room our "free" cruise would have cost $708 :confused:.

 

Carnival would't let us combine certificates for an upgraded room, but would let us book 2 separate rooms (that would be great if we wanted to bring the kids). The price for taxes, port fees and upgrade to extended balcony room was $680 total for both of us. If we went with the"free" inside room it would have cost $210.

 

So we went with Carnival. Cant wait for the cruise in March!

 

NCL has always had a fee plus port charges. Admittedly, the fee has gone up over the years (as has everything else in life). And the name has changed. But it has always been there.

 

We have done many cruise lines and will never sail carnival again.

[plane2port]

If you're interested, here was our experience with a casino "comped" cruise with Norwegian.

 

http://www.plane2port.com/the-true-cost-of-a-free-cruise-with-norwegian-casinos-at-sea/

 

Notice that the unlimited drinks package was comped, but that we paid for the gratuity on the package, which worked out to $80 pp on a 7-night cruise.

 

Food for thought--the unlimited drinks package is comped, but so are all drinks in the casino, where no gratuity in charged. Perhaps on our next CAS cruise, we'll do all our drinking (which is mostly wine) in the casino?

[gerig]

This is just for info, as I had problems finding the differences between the two when I was researching them.

 

My husband and I each received free certificates from land based casinos for Carnival and NCL. All 4 certificates were for inside cabins. We wanted to do the Mexican Riviera in March. Here are the differences between the 2.

 

 

Norwegian would let us combine 2 certificates and get an ocean view cabin. But the price they quoted me was outrageous. $200 per person admin fee, taxes, port fee, and upgrade charge for balcony was a total of $1547....no thanks! When we used NCL certificates 2 years ago there was no admin fee. If we wanted the inside room our "free" cruise would have cost $708 :confused:.

 

Carnival would't let us combine certificates for an upgraded room, but would let us book 2 separate rooms (that would be great if we wanted to bring the kids). The price for taxes, port fees and upgrade to extended balcony room was $680 total for both of us. If we went with the"free" inside room it would have cost $210.

 

So we went with Carnival. Cant wait for the cruise in March!

 

I understand port charges and taxes which is what celebrity and princess also charge but the fee of approximately $200 is really a fake charge.