NCL Sky - Feeling Used

[krj9999]

The website of the promoter for this college party cruise (as well as the prior week and cruise departing today) indicated a "limited number of cabins at our promotional pricing" which inferred a discount to regular pricing. But exactly how many cabins is not clear.

 

One of the FAQs also addressed expected proportion of college students on the ship (as well as why they don't just charter the entire ship):

 

<<Is the entire ship college students?

Although it will be mostly college students on board, the entire ship is not all college students. You can expect it to be about 85% college students. We had the option to charter the cruise-ship to make it all college students, but we decided against it. Why? Chartering would double the prices! Doing it this way keeps the prices low compared to if we were to charter the whole cruise-ship. Regardless, everyone on a cruise is there to party, and this has yet to be an issue.>>

 

They also noted private events onboard the ship (for those that booked through them). How extensive (and disruptive) these events were is unclear.

 

Would they be better off chartering the entire ship, yes, but obviously it is not financially attractive for them to do so.

 

Should NCL have advised other guests? Certainly debatable at minimum. I can empathize with the OP. I did not see a roll call for the first 2 cruises, and the few posts on the one leaving today didn't have any reference to the college aspect.

 

Did the college kids get a lower rate that was subsidized by raising the fares on non-college cruisers?

[CruisinHarvey]

There's a thread on here where people submit what they know to be groups scheduled on NCL ship. It only has several groups listed and the spreadsheet is by ship. It's specifically intended to help people avoid bad cruises. If you know of any large groups booked on NCL in the near future, anyone can add to the list.

2016-2017 incentive/group cruises on NCL

 

 

 

I do know there was a religious group that cruised the Gem yearly. From reading reviews, it would have been much worse than these spring breakers. Kids running around unsupervised, parents running around unsupervised, etc.I understand they have been banned from another cruise line. I can't remember the sect. NCL or any other cruise line won't tell you when a group reserves part of the ship. In some cases they are large enough to close down the theater, or dining venues for private events.

 

So as you all can see if look at the thread, this is nothing new. Just new to the poster.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

. Regardless' date=' everyone on a cruise is there to party, and this has yet to be an issue.>>

 

.[/quote']

 

 

Ummm...no. Sheesh.

[hawkeyetlse]

The website of the promoter for this college party cruise (as well as the prior week and cruise departing today) indicated a "limited number of cabins at our promotional pricing" which inferred a discount to regular pricing. But exactly how many cabins is not clear.

It looks like they were offering group rates, which would be lower than regular fares. But anyone can get group rates if they find an agent who has a block of rooms reserved.

 

For that matter, I guess anyone (including the OP) could have booked with this promoter, if they had known about it. I wonder what would have happened if an older couple or a family with young kids had tried to book this college party cruise… :D Can they refuse to sell rooms to non-college students?

[Liljo22]

With UBP, it's not limited to short cruises. We did the Dawn for Spring Break last year and it was mostly college kids. It didn't really bother us other than the lines at the bar being long. They mostly slept in so breakfast lines were short and it was fun to have crowded venues at night.

 

One thing I will say is that they didn't understand the tipping policy. Went the last night to put what cash I had left onto the ship account and the line was fully of breakers upset that they were charged a daily gratuity.

[hawkeyetlse]

One thing I saw on the agency website for the college party cruise was that everyone booking with this group was required to add the pre-paid gratuities at the time of booking. I wonder if this was part of their agreement with NCL, because otherwise I'm not seeing a lot of financial incentive for NCL to work with this group (as opposed to a real charter where the participants pay a premium).

[yaletownboy]

Be glad you didn't get used by NCL after this today;

 

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is making a nominal adjustment to its daily service charges, effective April 1, 2017. Norwegian's discretionary daily service charges make it easy for guests to provide gratuities to key onboard staff who provide superior guest service during the cruise, including their room steward, restaurant servers and behind-the-scenes support staff.

 

The new rates for all ships, except Norwegian Sky are:

$13.99 per person per day for any category up to a mini-suite stateroom

$16.99 per person per day for any suite or Haven category

 

Any guest that has made a booking by March 31, 2017 will have the option of prepaying their service charges at the current rate if done prior to sail date. Guests with existing cruise reservations who have already pre-paid their service charges at the current rate are not affected.

 

Service charges can be prepaid on My NCL or by contacting our Reservations Department at 800-327-7030.

 

Sincerely,

Norwegian Cruise Line®

[ellis101]

You are kidding right? You booked a room on their ship, so now ncl have to run all advertising and marketing plans by you first to make sure you agree? Get real OP. Perhaps next time, stay clear of short cruises during spring break rather than blaming others for your poor decision.

 

 

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[newmexicoNita]

Be glad you didn't get used by NCL after this today;

 

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is making a nominal adjustment to its daily service charges, effective April 1, 2017. Norwegian's discretionary daily service charges make it easy for guests to provide gratuities to key onboard staff who provide superior guest service during the cruise, including their room steward, restaurant servers and behind-the-scenes support staff.

 

The new rates for all ships, except Norwegian Sky are:

$13.99 per person per day for any category up to a mini-suite stateroom

$16.99 per person per day for any suite or Haven category

 

Any guest that has made a booking by March 31, 2017 will have the option of prepaying their service charges at the current rate if done prior to sail date. Guests with existing cruise reservations who have already pre-paid their service charges at the current rate are not affected.

 

Service charges can be prepaid on My NCL or by contacting our Reservations Department at 800-327-7030.

 

Sincerely,

Norwegian Cruise Line®

Most of us got this notification a few days ago. We choose to pay ours up front. Not only caused we saved a few $$s but for convenince sake. It will be nice not to have it on our account at the end of the cruise. I think your post is about the 3rd or 4th on the subject of the increased charge. Our TA said RCI just did the same or she thinks they did.

[Herfnerd]

Can't blame NCL. Period. If the OP didn't do their due diligence, they have no one to blame but themselves and ignorance is no excuse. NCL didn't plan on ruining your trip by not telling you who the other people on the cruise are

 

My step-daughter is sailing on the Sky on 4/17 with her cousin. Asked her what ports of call they are visiting and they didn't know. Asked them why they chose the Sky (there were other cruises that were more wallet friendly for a couple of young adults) and the quick answer was plain and simple - because of the free booze.

[newmexicoNita]

The website of the promoter for this college party cruise (as well as the prior week and cruise departing today) indicated a "limited number of cabins at our promotional pricing" which inferred a discount to regular pricing. But exactly how many cabins is not clear.

 

One of the FAQs also addressed expected proportion of college students on the ship (as well as why they don't just charter the entire ship):

 

<<Is the entire ship college students?

Although it will be mostly college students on board, the entire ship is not all college students. You can expect it to be about 85% college students. We had the option to charter the cruise-ship to make it all college students, but we decided against it. Why? Chartering would double the prices! Doing it this way keeps the prices low compared to if we were to charter the whole cruise-ship. Regardless, everyone on a cruise is there to party, and this has yet to be an issue.>>

 

They also noted private events onboard the ship (for those that booked through them). How extensive (and disruptive) these events were is unclear.

 

Would they be better off chartering the entire ship, yes, but obviously it is not financially attractive for them to do so.

 

Should NCL have advised other guests? Certainly debatable at minimum. I can empathize with the OP. I did not see a roll call for the first 2 cruises, and the few posts on the one leaving today didn't have any reference to the college aspect.

I am not sure I can even empathize with the OP. I just think everyone cruising certain times of the year there will be a number of kids of some age.

[DMH15]

I am sorry you had a crappy cruise but you are asking us to blame the wall that you walked into even though you knew the wall was there and you walked into it anyway,

 

 

Post of the day.

 

 

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[Minneapolistraveler]

This is not just on NCL. My sister just got back from a 5 day on RCCL and said college kids dominated the ship. Spring break = college kids. Please do your research ahead of time people.

[aarepsl]

I am always shocked when people complain about traveling during peak times. We were once on a Carnival ship during GothFest .... It was an enlightening experience but the group was great. We had a blast watching them during the cruise. Lets just say it was the most spectacular deck party I have ever seen.