Norwegian Cruise Boss Zeroes In on Higher Prices

[shof515]

Higher pricing for bookings and maybe things on board will be more expensive. interesting article: https://skift.com/2019/02/21/norwegian-cruise-boss-zeroes-in-on-higher-prices/?fbclid=IwAR1qDX24zyIZYRmjcPfLyHZeW3nFtYGQur4mNuOpLpmmy7rM3f1rs8kkBgw 

[ClarkBHM]

I understand that they have a business to run, but these higher prices will end up pricing us out of the market. Our upcoming cruise will be the most expensive vacation we've ever taken and I'm not sure we can keep this up.

 

[NYcruzzer]

1 hour ago, ClarkBHM said:

I understand that they have a business to run, but these higher prices will end up pricing us out of the market. Our upcoming cruise will be the most expensive vacation we've ever taken and I'm not sure we can keep this up.

 

Someone has to pay for the 11 new ships by 2027......

Edited February 22, 2019 by NYcruzzer

[Captain-John]

35 minutes ago, NYcruzzer said:

Someone has to pay for the 11 new ships by 2027......

 

Hope this results in overcapacity and therefore a reduction in fares in the long run. Capacity across the industry will be massive in the future, and if there is an 'economic knock' then they will struggle to fill them IMO, especially if pricing continues on its current trajectory.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Captain-John

[www3traveler]

Has nothing in your world gone up in price?

I went out to breakfast a few minutes and the price of my meal was up $2.00 from last.  

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the price of electricity has gone up, dairy will go up because so many cows have frozen to death.

Can not imagine things are any different for cruise ships. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Pretty disappointing, especially these lines:

 

“So we’re focusing on price; we’re pushing price higher everywhere we can both in 2019 and 2020,” he said. “While we still have a lot of cabins to fill, the emphasis will be on raising prices across all three brands.”

[Cruiser_1977]

Supply and Demand. If guests keep paying, the prices will keep rising. The only way prices will fall are if bookings decline. The cruise lines will for awhile try to reposition ships, change itineraries, etc. to try to fill them. When those don't work they will have to lower prices. I hope that they have their finances in order and when costs grow to a point that guests can't keep up with they can stay operational. As a single, it is getting harder and harder for me to sail under $3K (I prefer balconies and usually have to fly to my port).

[casofilia]

As the saying goes "Caveat Emptor".  Pay what you are happy with where you are happy.  If you consider NCL too expensive go elsewhere.

[tomservo]

Shouldn’t you improve your product before you raise prices? I’m going on my first NCL cruise in a few months, but from what I’ve read on here the quality of the overall product keeps declining while prices keep going up. 

[Phaedrus78]

This topic will only go well.

[tomservo]

32 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

Supply and Demand. If guests keep paying, the prices will keep rising. The only way prices will fall are if bookings decline. The cruise lines will for awhile try to reposition ships, change itineraries, etc. to try to fill them. When those don't work they will have to lower prices. I hope that they have their finances in order and when costs grow to a point that guests can't keep up with they can stay operational. As a single, it is getting harder and harder for me to sail under $3K (I prefer balconies and usually have to fly to my port).

This is why Disney gets away with charging such high prices for their product. Rabid Disney fans are willing to give them suitcases of money and Disney knows it. 

[ColinIllinois]

3 minutes ago, tomservo said:

Shouldn’t you improve your product before you raise prices? I’m going on my first NCL cruise in a few months, but from what I’ve read on here the quality of the overall product keeps declining while prices keep going up. 

 

 

I think NCL is a good product but I think every line has their pro's and con's.  I guess that's probably obvious enough that I didn't have to mention it.   Chances are you'll have a great time on your NCL cruise.   Don't judge it too much in advance by what you read on this forum.  Lately this place has become a huge whine fest.  There are some valid complaints but a whole ton of the posts are just nit picking.

[tomservo]

1 minute ago, ColinIllinois said:

 

 

I think NCL is a good product but I think every line has their pro's and con's.  I guess that's probably obvious enough that I didn't have to mention it.   Chances are you'll have a great time on your NCL cruise.   Don't judge it too much in advance by what you read on this forum.  Lately this place has become a huge whine fest.  There are some valid complaints but a whole ton of the posts are just nit picking.

I think it’s a good product as well, and I’ll have a better idea of its value to me after I’ve been on it, I’m just worried about possible decline in quality in certain areas (ie quality of food in the specialties). But you’re right, I will take a lot of the comments on here with a grain of salt and decide for myself!

[Kasry]

5 minutes ago, tomservo said:

This is why Disney gets away with charging such high prices for their product. Rabid Disney fans are willing to give them suitcases of money and Disney knows it. 

 

I'm a huge Disney fan and will gladly pay the prices for their parks and resorts because its a unique experience that you can only get at Disney World. That said, I would never pay what they charge for cruises. Their cruises are easily 3x the price of NCL. I can get a Balcony room on NCL for half of what DCL charges for an inside stateroom. And my drinks on NCL are already paid for with that. 

[fshagan]

Del Rio has stated this was his goal from the very beginning, and he has done exactly what he said he would do. All of the dire predictions of his ouster due to failing business because of the higher prices haven't come true. Bookings are up, profit is up, and the future is bright.

 

The fact that some people can't afford it doesn't mean that NCL will lose business. Cruising was traditionally a rich person's vacation.

[DaCruiseBug]

As long as there are dummies out there that buy into the “free” perks nothing will change. I’m not giving NCL a single dollar anymore but clearly many people are ok with paying higher prices and higher fees. Enjoy! I’ll be on MSC & Celebrity. Once Virgin enters the market I bet NCL will start seeing their record revenue numbers disappear. MSC is also adding another ship to the Caribbean and Celebrity is modernizing their fleet and marketing younger crowds.

[tomservo]

8 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

As long as there are dummies out there that buy into the “free” perks nothing will change. I’m not giving NCL a single dollar anymore but clearly many people are ok with paying higher prices and higher fees. Enjoy! I’ll be on MSC & Celebrity. Once Virgin enters the market I bet NCL will start seeing their record revenue numbers disappear. MSC is also adding another ship to the Caribbean and Celebrity is modernizing their fleet and marketing younger crowds.

 

I have my first NCL cruise booked in a few months and several X cruises booked over the next 2 years. I’ve been noticing that X’s prices are pretty competitive (sometimes even cheaper) than NCL for certain itineraries. But of course on the X board people have been complaining of declining quality over the last few years as well, so go figure. 

[Oldgoat61]

We have been sailing NCL (almost exclusively) for 11 yrs, and I too have been watching the prices continue to go up.  I know the "free" stuff is part of the reason, and I too am looking at other lines to cruise.  The cruise that we took 8 yrs ago has the same value that my last cruise did, but for double the cost.  NCL continues to do away with any incentives for us to remain "loyal".  We will continue to look at the cruises they offer, but other cruises lines are now drawing our interest.

[Captain-John]

Yes - another point on this - I have sailed the majority of my cruises (75%) with NCL over the past 15 years. NCL has always been reasonable value (price vs. experience offered).

 

Traditionally, Celebrity (for example) was pitched at a higher level than NCL - yet NCL's prices are now higher than Celebrity in the same destination market. I acknowledge the comment about Celebrity's declining quality, but it was starting from a much higher base than NCL, and NCL hasn't 'upped' it's game enough to balance everything out.

 

I have booked 11 nts on X (with a drinks package, in a balcony stateroom) for the same price as NCL wanted for a week (with the 'free' perks). Sure, this is an anecdote, but NCL was always my 'go to' line for the price vs. experience proposition. Now it's more price for the same experience, I'm broadening my cruising horizons.

 

People who have never cruised before, or believe that 'prices go up over time' and are happy to keep paying NCL rates that have increased well beyond inflation - I have no issue with. But part of being on a forum like this is for people to share their views and perspective. I'll never understand why people will defend a company to the death that they are 'loyal' to. As mentioned, I've given a fair chunk of ££ to NCL over the years so I think I can have a say on this, without believing that everything NCL do is wonderful.

[newmexicoNita]

3 hours ago, www3traveler said:

Has nothing in your world gone up in price?

I went out to breakfast a few minutes and the price of my meal was up $2.00 from last.  

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the price of electricity has gone up, dairy will go up because so many cows have frozen to death.

Can not imagine things are any different for cruise ships. 

This has been my argument for years: everything goes up and hopefully so do wages We just checked our COX internet statement this morning. It has gone up twice since the beginning of the year: once in Jan and now again. Ok, only a few $$s but still an increase. Hubby checked with 2 other companies, they were even more expensive. How about hotel prices? It wasn't long ago when we could get a basic room at a mid priced hotel like Hampton Inn for about $125 to $150 depending on where we were staying. Sometimes even cheaper. Now we try to stay under $200. 

[newmexicoNita]

1 hour ago, tomservo said:

Shouldn’t you improve your product before you raise prices? I’m going on my first NCL cruise in a few months, but from what I’ve read on here the quality of the overall product keeps declining while prices keep going up. 

Where are you reading this and give us examples. The prices rising, yet but the quality has not gone down. I think it is interesting you have never sailed the line, are about to try it for the first time and you are assuming, based on something you have read the product is deteriorating. I certainly do not think NCL is perfect and yes, some cuts have hurt the line, but for every down side there is an up side. We have sailed every mass marketed line except MSC. I know a lot of people are praising MSC. I think one of the reasons we have not is,, of those we know personally who have sailed them, they have been a bit disappointed. I do think every line has pros and cons. We do not care for Princess while others wouldn't even consider another line. We do like Celebrity and HAL> RCI ,to us is nothing special. I could go on and on.  

[Phaedrus78]

5 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

Yes - another point on this - I have sailed the majority of my cruises (75%) with NCL over the past 15 years. NCL has always been reasonable value (price vs. experience offered).

 

Traditionally, Celebrity (for example) was pitched at a higher level than NCL - yet NCL's prices are now higher than Celebrity in the same destination market. I acknowledge the comment about Celebrity's declining quality, but it was starting from a much higher base than NCL, and NCL hasn't 'upped' it's game enough to balance everything out.

 

I have booked 11 nts on X (with a drinks package, in a balcony stateroom) for the same price as NCL wanted for a week (with the 'free' perks). Sure, this is an anecdote, but NCL was always my 'go to' line for the price vs. experience proposition. Now it's more price for the same experience, I'm broadening my cruising horizons.

 

People who have never cruised before, or believe that 'prices go up over time' and are happy to keep paying NCL rates that have increased well beyond inflation - I have no issue with. But part of being on a forum like this is for people to share their views and perspective. I'll never understand why people will defend a company to the death that they are 'loyal' to. As mentioned, I've given a fair chunk of ££ to NCL over the years so I think I can have a say on this, without believing that everything NCL do is wonderful.

 

I can understand this perspective, but it's hard for me to make comparisons between Celebrity and NCL when there's such a difference in the ships themselves.  The only ship Celebrity has introduced since 2012 is the Edge, and the prices for sailings there... whew.  

[KevInPitt]

4 hours ago, ClarkBHM said:

I understand that they have a business to run, but these higher prices will end up pricing us out of the market. Our upcoming cruise will be the most expensive vacation we've ever taken and I'm not sure we can keep this up.

 

 

While you may feel priced out of the market, there are still millions filling ships despite the rising prices.

 

It would surprise me if the vision was “We’re focused on price and will be lowering it so people don’t feel they are paying too much. Even though our product consistently sells out, lowering our price will help our customer’s pocketbook.  Of course, those customers want a premium product so we must spend more on our offerings to further please their sense of value.  The result will be lower profits for the company and its shareholders.   Remember - the customer is always right and must be satisfied at all costs because they claim to be ready to leave in droves if not, even though decades of growth statistics prove otherwise.”

 

Understanding the differences between how a business us run and how a charity it run is imortant to balance what we want against what we need.

[tomservo]

39 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

This has been my argument for years: everything goes up and hopefully so do wages We just checked our COX internet statement this morning. It has gone up twice since the beginning of the year: once in Jan and now again. Ok, only a few $$s but still an increase. Hubby checked with 2 other companies, they were even more expensive. How about hotel prices? It wasn't long ago when we could get a basic room at a mid priced hotel like Hampton Inn for about $125 to $150 depending on where we were staying. Sometimes even cheaper. Now we try to stay under $200. 

Yes, for the most part everything does increase in price over time due to many factors (inflation, reduced supply, increased demand, etc). I don't think people are upset that the prices have increased and that they should stay static, I think people are upset at the rate that prices are increasing. As Oldgoat mentioned above, prices seemed to be double compared to what they were 8 years ago. People on here have mentioned seeing significant increases from even a few years ago.

[ClarkBHM]

21 minutes ago, KevInPitt said:

 

While you may feel priced out of the market, there are still millions filling ships despite the rising prices.

 

It would surprise me if the vision was “We’re focused on price and will be lowering it so people don’t feel they are paying too much. Even though our product consistently sells out, lowering our price will help our customer’s pocketbook.  Of course, those customers want a premium product so we must spend more on our offerings to further please their sense of value.  The result will be lower profits for the company and its shareholders.   Remember - the customer is always right and must be satisfied at all costs because they claim to be ready to leave in droves if not, even though decades of growth statistics prove otherwise.”

 

Understanding the differences between how a business us run and how a charity it run is imortant to balance what we want against what we need.

Oh, I fully understand that. My comment was more of a disappointment that I won't be able to cruise as often as I will personally be priced out of the market. If they can still fill up the ships with people that have deeper pockets than me, they certainly should do that.