Pick cabin without freebies ???

[alwalaska]

12 hours ago, StolidCruiser said:

What the OP wants is possible.  You just have to know how to get it.

Would you mind sharing how?

[erdoran]

6 hours ago, alwalaska said:

We aren't saying get rid of the perks. Just let those of us who don't find them beneficial to book at a lower cost without them and still pick our cabin number.

That would expose the deceptive marketing practice of calling the perks free!

[JohnIreland]

They have given all pretence in Europe now.  They call it free and list the price on the next line.

 

Free at Sea upcharge amounts pero person (1st and 2nd guest only) based on sail lengths:

Sail Length	FAS Upcharge EUR/GBP Per Person
1-6 Nights	€49
7-9   Nights	€99
10-13   Nights	€149
14-17   Nights	€199
18+   Nights	€249

[ziggyuk]

On 4/16/2019 at 4:30 PM, alwalaska said:

Am I the only person who wishes that we could go back to the days when there was only a reasonable size difference in the cost of booking a "sail-away" cabin vs the lowest category cabin in that same type?

 

I don't really want any of the freebies.  I'm too anal and picky to allow NCL to pick my flights and seats.  I don't drink, so the tips and taxes on the beverage package are more expensive than a soda package without a freebie. I am platinum, and our 2 specialty dining perks are sufficient for us.  Our self booked private shore excursions are typically cheaper than their NCL counterparts, even with a $50 discount. My data plan works in most countries and the WiFi is typically so slow, I don't care to use it any way.  

 

I wish there was a way to pick a room and bypass all the "free" perks and only pay something like $75 above the sail-away prices or something.  Am I really alone in thinking this way?

 

16 hours ago, SullytheBFG said:

I think our booking portal in the U.K. is different it clearly says here is the price for just the cabin. Would you like to have some extras it costs Y I.e £99 for the week and this is what you get for it.

 

Pricing in the EU must be transparent and clear. For example you cannot offer a “free” drinks package and then charge a gratuity against it as that would be illegal.

 

OP, this is a very good point the UK system changed a few weeks ago from the old all inclusive to something similar to the US system.

We have a base rate for the cabin and then, after choosing the stateroom we choose if we want to add 2x perks @ £99.

 

If you booked using a UK TA or a VPN to the UK site you would get pretty much what you ask for it's still not as low as the sail away rate (Just cruise for us) but is much closer as we add perks for a fee.

[erdoran]

LOL so much for "free at sea"!

[Nebr.cruiser]

For Norwegian, i agree with you; their 'free' perks just aren't worth that much to us.  We rarely drink, so the added gratuity to the so-called free perk is ridiculous.  We don't need the internet perk all that much, although will use it, the $50 excursion credit isn't useful as we haven't booked a cruise line excursion in years and although we will use a specialty dinner perk, we don't really care if we have it or not.

 

Sometimes we get a much better deal through a travel agent, otherwise, for NCL, we just book the sailaway category.  So far we haven't had a bad room with a guarantee, but of course it is possible.

 

The only perks we would really like our OBC and free gratuities, which we can usually get on other cruise lines for a similar or even less expensive price.

[fshagan]

4 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

Sometimes we get a much better deal through a travel agent, otherwise, for NCL, we just book the sailaway category.  So far we haven't had a bad room with a guarantee, but of course it is possible.

 

We have booked several guarantees, where you can't choose your cabin. A guarantee balcony on the Epic was one of the hull balconies; it was huge but also totally enclosed except for the port hold opening in the hull. Another ocean view guarantee was forward and low so that our alarm clock on port days was the noise from docking.

 

We don't mind this so much, so we'll do it again. But I think people who want to choose their cabins do so with an eye towards not being above a nightclub or the theater, not under the pool deck, etc.

[phillyguy31]

For me, I want to pick my cabin and since I do have a few drinks the perk is worth it to me. Now my question what would you pay just to pick your cabin and no perks? When I looked at the difference between GTY and a non GTY the max was around $700.00 PP and many were less than $300.00. Of course I didn't look at all cruises.

[graphicguy]

I've always looked at GTY and Sailaway fares where you take what NCL gives you (in the chosen category) and what it costs with perks and the ability to choose your own cabin.  For me, I rarely sail in anything less than a balcony cabin (although, I have sailed a couple of solo cabins).  The delta for me sailing solo is about +$200 to get the perks and choosing my own cabin.  So, well worth it as I use the drink package and pay for just the tips, as well as the specialty dining package, and just pay the tips.

 

You kind of have to add everything together to see what works for you.  I know I'll drink about 8-9 drinks/day.   And, I'll easily eat in 3 specialty restaurants.  Plus, the internet speed over the last couple of years has increased dramatically.  So, I use the 250 minute internet perk, too. I usually get OBC, too....which I would not get booking a GTY or Sailaway fare.  Add add all that up, and it's well worth the additional ~$200 for a cabin of my own choosing.

 

I love looking for deals, though.  I comb my online TA's web site for pricing and itinerary.  I compare similar cruises, on different cruise lines, similar dates, similar itineraries.  I add up the total costs of each (including what I might pay for drinks, eats and internet), and choose a cruise based on all of that.

[Nebr.cruiser]

11 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

We have booked several guarantees, where you can't choose your cabin. A guarantee balcony on the Epic was one of the hull balconies; it was huge but also totally enclosed except for the port hold opening in the hull. Another ocean view guarantee was forward and low so that our alarm clock on port days was the noise from docking.

 

We don't mind this so much, so we'll do it again. But I think people who want to choose their cabins do so with an eye towards not being above a nightclub or the theater, not under the pool deck, etc.

I do understand that.  We book guarantees if the price difference is substantial.  Leaving on April 28th in a guarantee balcony; got a slight upgrade, floor 9 right by the front stairs; more forward than we would pick on our own, but not bad at all.  Plus, we like being near the stairs/elevator because then there are no long halls to traipse down.  

 

In about 12 guarantees, we, luckily, have never had a 'bad' room.  It will probably happen someday!  Meanwhile, we've saved thousands of dollars.  Pricing out this coming cruise, to add the perks was almost $400!  Easy decision.