Norwegian Prices

[LuCruise]

I'm looking at a cruise for future for March 2019. We have done Royal Caribbean cruises and love them but am also looking at Norwegian for the water slides for our kids, etc. March 2019 Norwegian cruises are already released (I think Royal is releasing this week) and I see a Norwegian Escape cruise that might work for us.

 

It's a bit more than I'm hoping for (about $1000 more than we paid for our Allure of the Seas cruise last April). I have a few questions

1. When were 2019 cruises released?
   
2. Do Norwegian prices tend to drop before final payment? Or do they tend to go up and up?
   
3. What is Norwegian's policy on price drops? Royal will let you rebook at no cost if it's before final payment.
   

Note that we're Canadian and so I'm not sure if the higher prices are due to the bad exchange at the moment, which probably has no near relief.

[roger001]

There's no predicting prices from cruise to cruise as the cruise date approaches. Some continue to climb as cruise approaches, even selling out. Some don't and the cruise remaining rooms are offered at big discounts. However, before final payment you can rebook if you wish. If a promo package was included in the first price though, you would probably lose it if it is not part of the new price. So you have to do the math carefully.

[AnitaVacation]

We like to book way in advance...best choice of cabins.....and sometimes the best prices....if the price does drop, and you are outside final payment time, you can cancel and rebook, but you will be held to whatever the specials are at rebooking time....so, if you are getting 2 choice freebies today, you could loose them if they are not offered when you rebook....

[LuCruise]

Thank you. So sounds very similar to Royal where you can rebook before final payment without any penalty but any original promos are lost.

[sanger727]

Thank you. So sounds very similar to Royal where you can rebook before final payment without any penalty but any original promos are lost.

 

 

Yes, across all the mass market lines it's standard that cancellation penalties kick in at final payment, and prior to that you can cancel/rebook to take advantage of price drops. I know U.K. Bookings are excluded from that; don't know how Canadian bookings work but if you can do that on royal you should be fine doing it on NCL too. The main exception to all this is carnival offers a non refundable rate called early saver that lets you take advantage of price drops after final payment.

 

Whether or the price will drop on your cruise in the future, no one knows. There's a price monitoring website you can find through google - often referred to as the fishy site on here. That will let you see ever price your cruise had sold at so you have some idea if prices are high or low. NCLs promos don't change much, so you don't have anything to lose by booking now and rebooking if the price or promos become more favorable later. You mentioned that this cruise is more expensive than royal. Keep in mind you are most likely getting free perks with your booking like the beverage package and dining package so that might help even out the price difference (and if you aren't, look into that, you should be)

 

Also, while there often are price drops close to sailing those are almost always on guarantee cabins which come with no perks, again, helps even out the price difference.

 

 

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[Mom2B&Z]

Since you're Canadian, check out the Canada at par promotions. They come up occasionally and aren't always obvious if checking prices online. You lose the free at sea perks (beverage package, dining package etc) that are usually offered, but you save 40%. Depending on your drinking and eating habits, it could be well worth the difference.

We use a Canadian TA who is great about calling NCL and getting these deals for us. He often tells us NCL tries to talk him out of it, but my DH doesn't drink alcohol, and I don't drink enough to cover the gratuities on the beverage package, so it work out well for us.

 

 

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[AnitaVacation]

yes....that fishy site works well.....I just saved $40 on my upcoming CCL cruise...a price drop that I probably would have missed....

[quillwercruisers]

I've heard the fishy site referenced before, but no clue as to what it is....

[LuCruise]

Since you're Canadian' date=' check out the Canada at par promotions. They come up occasionally and aren't always obvious if checking prices online. You lose the free at sea perks (beverage package, dining package etc) that are usually offered, but you save 40%. Depending on your drinking and eating habits, it could be well worth the difference.

We use a Canadian TA who is great about calling NCL and getting these deals for us. He often tells us NCL tries to talk him out of it, but my DH doesn't drink alcohol, and I don't drink enough to cover the gratuities on the beverage package, so it work out well for us.

 

 

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Thank you. So the Canadian discounts are only available via TA? On our Royal cruise, DH just purchased the soda package since he drinks lots of cokes. I tend to drink wine or fun drinks...but not enough for the drink package purchase to be worth it. (We brought on 2 bottles of wine with us which is allowed on Royal...not sure about Norwegian). With Norwegian's current deal, we would select the drink packages, but definitely a Canadian discount would be more worthwhile.

[Mom2B&Z]

Thank you. So the Canadian discounts are only available via TA? On our Royal cruise, DH just purchased the soda package since he drinks lots of cokes. I tend to drink wine or fun drinks...but not enough for the drink package purchase to be worth it. (We brought on 2 bottles of wine with us which is allowed on Royal...not sure about Norwegian). With Norwegian's current deal, we would select the drink packages, but definitely a Canadian discount would be more worthwhile.

 

 

 

I don't think you have to use a TA, but you definitely need to call into NCL. You cannot book it through the website. Lately we've had some issues with NCL's booking department and our TA has been great at dealing with them instead of us :)

You can bring wine on NCL but there is a corking fee. I agree it's nice to be able to bring two bottles of wine fee-free on Royal.

 

 

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[dam64]

I say wait our dollar will get stronger that means prices will drop, unless you can check price often than book early. But sometimes when asking for the better rate you could lose the promos. I never book a year or more out always under a year and I always get a good price. I always call NCL and book directly with them.

[Tutontow]

We like to book way in advance...best choice of cabins.....and sometimes the best prices....if the price does drop, and you are outside final payment time, you can cancel and rebook, but you will be held to whatever the specials are at rebooking time....so, if you are getting 2 choice freebies today, you could loose them if they are not offered when you rebook....

 

There is another advantage to booking way ahead of time. More than likely everything will be paid for before you sail. My wife was pleasantly surprised. She was paying bills and we leave on a cruise in five days. She goes how about excursions, paid for. How about parking, paid for. How about drinks, paid for. How about specialty dining, paid for. How about gratuity, paid for. How about money for gambling and incidentals, all paid for. Essentially when I come back from what should be a great vacation it is all paid for.

[beerman2]

Thank you. So sounds very similar to Royal where you can rebook before final payment without any penalty but any original promos are lost.

 

 

And are you getting any perks like UBP and/ or SDP on NCL that you would pay for on Royal?

[victory2020]

I've heard the fishy site referenced before, but no clue as to what it is....

Me too, can we have more clues?

[yummysbakery]

Me too, can we have more clues?

Just google" monitor cruise prices. " You will see it

 

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[Scotchick]

When I booked my upcoming cruise, I saved a lot of money by taking the Canadian at Par perk, which was one of the perks offered at the time. This is only offered now and again. I had been following this cruise and it was a true Canadian at par for the exact same amount in US and I think worth much more than free beverage package or speciality dining package.

 

:D:D:D

[ready2cruzagain]

Me too, can we have more clues?

 

 

Try googling cruise and fish. You will get it.

[LuCruise]

I say wait our dollar will get stronger that means prices will drop, unless you can check price often than book early. But sometimes when asking for the better rate you could lose the promos. I never book a year or more out always under a year and I always get a good price. I always call NCL and book directly with them.

True. Our dollar is dropping again which would have an effect on the CAD price being shown.

 

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[LuCruise]

When I booked my upcoming cruise, I saved a lot of money by taking the Canadian at Par perk, which was one of the perks offered at the time. This is only offered now and again. I had been following this cruise and it was a true Canadian at par for the exact same amount in US and I think worth much more than free beverage package or speciality dining package.

 

:D:D:D

I've noticed this on a few cruises (only after someone on here mentioned it...Then started looking). The ones that I saw were not far out, meaning last-minute cruise.

 

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