Rude NCL Cruise Consultants

[SmartTraveler]

I love sailing NCL cruise line.  I enjoy the different ships they have and the specialty dining they offer.  I am almost in the Platinum category.  However I do not like there cruise consultants.  I called in today and spoke with one about taking a Western Caribbean cruise on the Breakaway.  I explained that the cruise I saw was in August or maybe September.  It offered Free everything including 3/4 guests and airfare.  The first consultant could not find the cruise and told me it would be sixty minutes to talk to a supervisor.  I asked to be transferred and he wasn't able to do that.  I called back in again and spoke with a rude person that was out of the corporate office.  He found the cruise and the correct cabin category.  It was priced at $666 mini suite for the first two guests.  But when he finished instead of being $666 for the first two passengers it was $999 not including the taxes and $299 for the 3rd guest airfare.  I asked him how it could change from being $666 to $999 for the first two passengers.  He kept saying he wasn't lying and that is what it is.  I tried to get him to understand the concept but he wouldn't listen.  I asked for his extension and he wouldn't give it to me.  He said he wasn't taking me on as a guest.  I asked to be transferred again to a supervisor and was told he could only do that if I booked a cruise.  I have never dealt with such rude consultants in my life.  I sent an email to guest relations on this.  Waiting to see if they respond.  

[Sauer-kraut]

So.....book it yourself online and see what the price comes out to be.

[SmartTraveler]

Yes I have tried doing that but the price still comes up the same way.  There is a problem in there system.  No one has been able to explain why this is happening.  

[jsn55]

Well, if you've called and looked online and are getting the same price ... what exactly are you looking for?  I just called NCL about a smoking question on their Dawn.  The guy didn't know where the areas were and had no interest in finding out.  I couldn't believe it.  He wasn't rude, he was just stupid.

[Arzeena]

10 minutes ago, SmartTraveler said:

Yes I have tried doing that but the price still comes up the same way.  There is a problem in there system.  No one has been able to explain why this is happening.  

Perhaps, the extras may be the gratuities you are paying on perks being offered?

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Arzeena

[kjquilts]

It would  be easier if you gave us the sailing date of the ship you are interested in but I'll give it a try.  Example,

Norwegian Breakaway   Sailing Date September 22, 2019

On cruise search put in 3 passengers.

On initial page (where it shows sailing date, stateroom classifications etc mini suite shows as $666.  Click on that and then on next page click on continue to stateroom options.  On next page pick your stateroom option that gives all perks.  Some of the mini suite categories are sold out so for discussion I picked the least expensive option at $753 (do you realize that this is the average for the cruise fare for 3 passengers not $753 for the first two passengers with the third person being free?) and click on that.  Selected M2 mini suite.   Price it out including your airfare and the all promo choice.  Cruise total is $3,502.36.  Click on view details.  A breakdown sheet for each passenger comes up.

 

Cruise fare is $1,129 for passengers 1 and 2 and 0 for passenger 3 for total of $2,258 divided by 3 equals the $752.67 rounded to the $753 shown on the page where you are picking stateroom category choice.  This confuses many people.  Hopefully my explanation makes sense even if you don't like how it works.

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by kjquilts

[SmartTraveler]

Thank you for going through that.  I understand that the $753 is the average of three people.  But it shouldn't be.  If they are offering the 3rd/4th guests as being totally free then the price should be based upon the average of two people.  The first and Second guests.  By doing it this way your still paying $753 for the 3 rd guest.   Even though its disguised under the first two passengers.   

[kjquilts]

11 minutes ago, SmartTraveler said:

Thank you for going through that.  I understand that the $753 is the average of three people.  But it shouldn't be.  If they are offering the 3rd/4th guests as being totally free then the price should be based upon the average of two people.  The first and Second guests.  By doing it this way your still paying $753 for the 3 rd guest.   Even though its disguised under the first two passengers.   

 

It is the way NCL shows their pricing.  Go in and price the same cruise for 2 passengers, not 3 and see what you come up with. 

Edited July 8, 2019 by kjquilts

[hallux]

The $666 price is the one that doesn't include any perks, of which the 3rd/4th passenger free is one.  Take a rate that gets perks and you pay more...

[kjquilts]

4 minutes ago, hallux said:

The $666 price is the one that doesn't include any perks, of which the 3rd/4th passenger free is one.  Take a rate that gets perks and you pay more...

 

The $666 is sailaway (no perks) price but it is the average of the cruise fare for 3 passengers divided by 3, not the cruise fare price for passengers 1 and 2 with 3rd passenger being 0.  You need to go through the entire booking and look at the price breakdown shown to come up with the pricing by individual passenger.

[SmartTraveler]

16 minutes ago, kjquilts said:

 

It is the way NCL shows their pricing.  Go in and price the same cruise for 2 passengers, not 3 and see what you come up with. 

Okay I ran through it with two passengers.  Same cruise.  Same category.  So the 3rd guest is paying around $500.  Which includes $299 air fare plus taxes and fees.  

Pricing Details

Item	Guest 1	Guest 2
Cruise Fare	$1,129.00	$1,129.00
Govt Taxes,  Fees & Port Expenses	$177.52	$177.52
Free at Sea Offer Gratuities:	$158.40	$158.40
Transfers	$32.00	$32.00
Air	$0.00	$0.00
Total per Guest	$1,496.92	$1,496.92

Payment Schedule

Balance Due	$2,993.84

[kjquilts]

2 minutes ago, SmartTraveler said:

Okay I ran through it with two passengers.  Same cruise.  Same category.  So the 3rd guest is paying around $500.  Which includes $299 air fare plus taxes and fees.  

Pricing Details

Item	Guest 1	Guest 2
Cruise Fare	$1,129.00	$1,129.00
Govt Taxes,  Fees & Port Expenses	$177.52	$177.52
Free at Sea Offer Gratuities:	$158.40	$158.40
Transfers	$32.00	$32.00
Air	$0.00	$0.00
Total per Guest	$1,496.92	$1,496.92

Payment Schedule

Balance Due	$2,993.84

 

Correct, they would be paying $299 for air, $32 for transfers and $177.72 for govt taxes, fees etc for total of $508.72 or just over $500.

 

[imacruiser99]

There is no such thing as free on any cruise line.  The customer will always be responsible for taxes, port fees and gratuities.  The cruise fare may be a perk, but all the other items are charge.  I had a CAS free cruise via a land based casino and even after combining them to get a cabin upgrade, so far it was cost me over 1600.  This does include the admin fees, small change for a cabin upgrade, but over 75% of the cost are taxes, port fees and gratuities.

[SmartTraveler]

2 minutes ago, imacruiser99 said:

There is no such thing as free on any cruise line.  The customer will always be responsible for taxes, port fees and gratuities.  The cruise fare may be a perk, but all the other items are charge.  I had a CAS free cruise via a land based casino and even after combining them to get a cabin upgrade, so far it was cost me over 1600.  This does include the admin fees, small change for a cabin upgrade, but over 75% of the cost are taxes, port fees and gratuities.

Yes I agree.  I had the same type of thing from a casino free cruise my butt.  It was cheaper not using the voucher the casino gave us.

[imacruiser99]

6 minutes ago, SmartTraveler said:

Yes I agree.  I had the same type of thing from a casino free cruise my butt.  It was cheaper not using the voucher the casino gave us.

Luckily my local casino did foot the entire bill on a cruise out of NOLA where they paid 100% of everything, including gratuities.  This was the only cruise where I walked on not having to pay anything.  Needless to say, best cruise ever, but the casino (both land based and NCL) did make up for it in my losses.

[Birdie And Sue]

As usual rude now means "I didn't get my way"...  Even if there is an issue with THEIR system.

[Birdie And Sue]

If you book three people and the average price per person is $666 then the total price is 1998.  You are paying 999 for 1 and 2 then 0 for three which (TA DA) 1998!  There is no error in THEIR system.

[beerman2]

OP there is nothing free, ALL business "builds" it in somewhere/somehow. You want a Sailaway rate AND get perks. That is not going to happen in any senario or talking with any NCL consultant/supervisor. Once they enter all info in computer , the computer finalizes the price.

 

Consultant doesn't have a say in that.

 

A 7 day cruise for 753.00 with taxes and fees is a great deal. 

 

Getting perks and it averages the higher price is because of grauity's and fees. The 3rd person getting air for $299.00R/T is a decent price.

[newmexicoNita]

op, there is no reason for anyone being rude to another person, especially a sales rep or whatever you want to call them. That being said, I think you are a bit confused or should I just say, advertising is made to sell a product and usually in the end isn't quite the way we read it in the beginning. 

[Peachypooh]

I don't know when you called but I always try to call during normal business hours on the weekdays.

I especially don't call on holiday weekends. I think that is when people with seniority get time off.

Calling the airlines is especially bad at those times. That said it is early here and I found it difficult

to follow your math but if you add a third person that cruises for "free" there will still be port charge

and taxes plus they have to get the beverage package if you picked it either full price or as a perk.

That will raise the overall per person price if divided by 3.

[newmexicoNita]

22 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

I don't know when you called but I always try to call during normal business hours on the weekdays.

I especially don't call on holiday weekends. I think that is when people with seniority get time off.

Calling the airlines is especially bad at those times. That said it is early here and I found it difficult

to follow your math but if you add a third person that cruises for "free" there will still be port charge

and taxes plus they have to get the beverage package if you picked it either full price or as a perk.

That will raise the overall per person price if divided by 3.

Very good post.. 

[REV_Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

I don't know when you called but I always try to call during normal business hours on the weekdays.

I especially don't call on holiday weekends. I think that is when people with seniority get time off.

Calling the airlines is especially bad at those times. That said it is early here and I found it difficult

to follow your math but if you add a third person that cruises for "free" there will still be port charge

and taxes plus they have to get the beverage package if you picked it either full price or as a perk.

That will raise the overall per person price if divided by 3.

The third person does not have to get the beverage package if taken as a perk by the first two passengers.

[jsn55]

Most passengers would benefit by using a travel agent who is a cruise expert.  They can find you just what you want and tell you the price in a way that is easily understood.  Cruise lines pay TAs a nice commission, so it's to your benefit to use their "free" services to help plan a cruise.  And TAs often come up with extra goodies.  I had no idea how beneficial a TA could be until I met one and she's booked our last 5 cruises.  The cost to me is nothing extra, the cruise line pays her agency a commission for my booking.

[Birdie And Sue]

51 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Most passengers would benefit by using a travel agent who is a cruise expert.  They can find you just what you want and tell you the price in a way that is easily understood.  Cruise lines pay TAs a nice commission, so it's to your benefit to use their "free" services to help plan a cruise.  And TAs often come up with extra goodies.  I had no idea how beneficial a TA could be until I met one and she's booked our last 5 cruises.  The cost to me is nothing extra, the cruise line pays her agency a commission for my booking.

 

 

Except now you have a third party stuck in between you and the cruise line.  Any time you need anything or have a question,  you have to call the TA, have them call NCL and discus the issue with them, then the TA has to call you back and discuss it with you, then if you have a follow up question the loop continues.  MUCH simpler to just get on line and find the cruise you want and book it.  A vast majority of the time you can just as good an offer (if not better) on your own.  Using a TA is a PITA.

[zqvol]

Noticing OP's mock booking, it is not at a sailaway rate and that is the price she wants to get. If you get teh least expensive price you do not get any perks, including the 3rd and 4th sail free.