Cruise Price Changes Due to Coronavirus?

[Zippeedee]

27 minutes ago, blcruising said:

They aren't really cancelled. They are just repositioning the ship to a different geographic location.

Well, my November cruise was cancelled. Yes, they can still sell the new itineraries, but they have three months to start filling an extra ship in Greece if they are starting in April.   I'm not waiting for those to open, Greece is not what I was looking for this year, but I am looking at other cruise lines for the first time in a long time.

[njkate]

35 minutes ago, blcruising said:

They aren't really cancelled. They are just repositioning the ship to a different geographic location.

Still going to cost them money

[luv2kroooz]

3 minutes ago, njkate said:

Still going to cost them money

 

I never said it wouldn't and I happen to agree with your statement. When you wrote.....

...."NCL is probably already figuring out how to minimize"...their losses, I just got confused.

I think they've already figured out how they are going to minimize their losses. They are going to reposition the ship to a new market where demand is presumably greater than Asia. But, yeah, they have a compressed time period.

 

[beerman2]

4 hours ago, Nola26 said:

Were you in Yacht Club on MSC?

Post. #9 it was an inside.

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, blcruising said:

They aren't really cancelled....

 

Really?? 🤣

 

Well, here's a whole thread confirming they really are!!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2732246-important-information-from-norwegian-cruise-line-norwegian-spirit-04152020-12072020-cancellation/

[Farts]

6 hours ago, blcruising said:

While that may be the model of other businesses, that does not accurately describe the historical  pricing model of the cruise industry.  Carnival, Royal, Princess, or Celebrity don't subscribe to that model....if they did, I'd be sailing them, too. Their prices are more consistent and steady.... a few hundred up or down, often selling out weeks before the cruise. NCL has extreme price fluctuations with regular cabin dumping and waiver of single supplement. It's an interesting pricing structure and, as the beneficiary of countless bargains, I've saved thousands of dollars by booking three days before instead of three months before the cruise, while greatly reducing the possibility that I am adversely impacted by changing ports and itineraries, or fears of viruses that are unknown at booking time.  No complaints here. 

I wish I had that flexibility. I have to plan out months ahead. 

[luv2kroooz]

7 minutes ago, Farts said:

I wish I had that flexibility. I have to plan out months ahead. 

I know, and that is the case for so many. Hard to take advantage of them because they are so last minute.

Edited February 10, 2020 by blcruising

[mking8288]

Here comes those last minute Norwegian covid-19 specials ... this & next month, sailng out of NY on the "newish" Bliss, 7 days miky route - Florida/GSC & Nassau, i.e. SailAway Balcony GTY specials for two, $1,448 with port taxes/fees - DSC not included. 

 

Interesting enough, even the April Bermuda sailings, short 4 days and 5 days (these are a "first" with NCL for these quick ones out of NY for pre/early Spring ... ocean is still chilly & weather can be so-so - prices are dropping as well.  

 

But, but, but - absolutely make sure you get cancel for any reason insurance that cover and won't exclude covid-19 and other similar outbreak.  

 

 

[JamieLogical]

19 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Here comes those last minute Norwegian covid-19 specials ... this & next month, sailng out of NY on the "newish" Bliss, 7 days miky route - Florida/GSC & Nassau, i.e. SailAway Balcony GTY specials for two, $1,448 with port taxes/fees - DSC not included. 

 

Interesting enough, even the April Bermuda sailings, short 4 days and 5 days (these are a "first" with NCL for these quick ones out of NY for pre/early Spring ... ocean is still chilly & weather can be so-so - prices are dropping as well.  

 

But, but, but - absolutely make sure you get cancel for any reason insurance that cover and won't exclude covid-19 and other similar outbreak.  

 

 

 

I am on two of those sailings next month on the Bliss. Despite the recent price drop, prices are still higher than what I paid in November, long before anyone heard of Coronavirus. I think this is just their last-minute sale pricing because remaining inventory was still too high. My March 22 sailing still had 334 rooms left with 39 days to go as of this morning.

Edited February 12, 2020 by JamieLogical

[IrieBajan54]

But, but.... the Norwegian Getaway is even better out of New Orleans:

 

February 23 - March 1

7 days

Drum roll..... Sail Away Inside $300 double occupancy. Total $913 all in plus a $50 shore excursion credit

.....................No single supplement for solos.

[Zippeedee]

5 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am on two of those sailings next month on the Bliss. Despite the recent price drop, prices are still higher than what I paid in November, long before anyone heard of Coronavirus. I think this is just their last-minute sale pricing because remaining inventory was still too high. My March 22 sailing still had 334 rooms left with 39 days to go as of this morning.

Do you by any chance know how many cabins are still unsold on the Bliss Panama Canal in April?

[Nn2036]

31 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am on two of those sailings next month on the Bliss. Despite the recent price drop, prices are still higher than what I paid in November, long before anyone heard of Coronavirus. I think this is just their last-minute sale pricing because remaining inventory was still too high. My March 22 sailing still had 334 rooms left with 39 days to go as of this morning.

How can you check for open inventory?

[JamieLogical]

26 minutes ago, Zippeedee said:

Do you by any chance know how many cabins are still unsold on the Bliss Panama Canal in April?

 

234. Mostly balconies, but a surprising number of Havens left! 26 Haven rooms left whereas my March sailings Havens have been sold out for months.

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, Nn2036 said:

How can you check for open inventory?

 

It is a very tedious process. There is one TA site that I know of that shows up to 100 remaining rooms in a category when you go in to do a mock booking, whereas NCL's site only shows 15 rooms. You have to click into each category and add up all the rooms. I keep them in a spreadsheet for my upcoming sailings. But every time it takes a good 10 minutes to click through all the categories.

 

Edit: I should note that it's not completely accurate, because there could be some booked GTYs that have yet to be assigned.

Edited February 12, 2020 by JamieLogical

[Zippeedee]

16 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

234. Mostly balconies, but a surprising number of Havens left! 26 Haven rooms left whereas my March sailings Havens have been sold out for months.

Thank you!!

 

[ssfarle]

I just noticed that the price on our March sailing on the Encore dropped $550 total from what we paid!  I'm pretty upset.  I'm not sure if it's due to the Coronavirus or the really bad reviews the Encore has been getting since she launched in Nov.

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, ssfarle said:

I just noticed that the price on our March sailing on the Encore dropped $550 total from what we paid!  I'm pretty upset.  I'm not sure if it's due to the Coronavirus or the really bad reviews the Encore has been getting since she launched in Nov.

 

You can call and ask to be upgraded, get 25% of the difference in OBC, or 50% of the difference in future cruise credit.

[fstuff1]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

234. Mostly balconies, but a surprising number of Havens left! 26 Haven rooms left whereas my March sailings Havens have been sold out for months.

Oh no. That doesn't bode well to huge price drops and without solo supplement a week before sail. 

i want that cruise 😞

Edited February 12, 2020 by fstuff1

[vswan]

Sailing on the Getaway out of NOLA late March/early April. Booked last summer at $699pp for a sailaway OV. Still more than 40 days out, but have been watching the prices drop. Looked last night and it was at $594 OV, and a sailaway balcony was $601. I called. They were very polite and helpful. Said couldn't refund dollars, but could upgrade me if I went above the $s I spent. Got a guarantee (not sailaway) balcony for 30 cents more per person. That made me eligible for all of the offers also. So for 30 cents pp I got the internet, specialty dining, etc.

 

What I don't understand. I had gotten the upgrade bid emails and had submitted several, including for a balcony. (The intitial email was at a higher rate then they later offered - glad I checked.) If they knew they were going to be drastically dropping prices, why didn't they accept the upgrade offers prior to doing that? If I hadn't been watching the fares I never would have known they dropped and they would have made more dollars...

[gmbhardy]

On 2/10/2020 at 12:15 PM, Nola26 said:

Were you in Yacht Club on MSC?

 

I’ve  stayed in the Haven four times and the Seaside YC twice. Needless to say, they are both wonderful experiences but value wise the YC can’t be beat. 

[IrieBajan54]

Is it coronavirus or just the usual last minute cabin dump?

 

Escape out of Miami on February 22 - 29 is $250 double occupancy for insides. A balcony is $649.

[MadManOfBethesda]

5 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

But, but.... the Norwegian Getaway is even better out of New Orleans:

 

February 23 - March 1

7 days

Drum roll..... Sail Away Inside $300 double occupancy. Total $913 all in plus a $50 shore excursion credit

.....................No single supplement for solos.

$913 all in for two people for a 7-day cruise?  So roughly $130/night?

 

Oh, I can beat that, lol!

 

Come sail away with us on our 20-day cruise on Jade departing from Singapore on Feb. 27th.

 

Drum roll......

 

$461pp for an inside guarantee, so a total of $922.60 + $394.74 taxes, etc., for an all-in price of $1,317.32 for a three-week cruise.

 

Which works out to: $65/night  (32.50/night/pp all in)

 

Coronavirus bonus: possible upgrade to an unknown number of nights in quarantined status!  

[vswan]

When I called last night about changing to a balcony, I asked if the ship was pretty full. The rep said no, with a chuckle. Guessing it's a combination of factors, but if I hadn't already booked (and paid for) a cruise for for next month, I would consider a land vacation for now.

[blueslily]

On 2/9/2020 at 3:35 PM, blcruising said:

I hope you get the time to do a comparison. I just can't pull the trigger on giving them a try to a lot of bad reviews.... it sounds like you had a decent experience.

 

I just sailed on MSC last week. Sailed NCL in in October so able to do a recent comparison. Was concerned about MSC due to the bad reviews as well. But, had a great time. embarkation was bad due to some circumstances. But, that can happen to any ship from time to time. Sailed on the Meraviglia. No major concerns. Did not experience most of what people put in their "horrid" complaints, lol. Will sail with them again if price and destination is right for me. Glad I was brave to give them a try, lol. Had a balcony, not YC. I went with an open mind, knowing some things would be different since it's a different line, and focused on my goal of having a relaxing vacation. Goal was met! 

 

[luv2kroooz]

9 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

Is it coronavirus or just the usual last minute cabin dump?

 

Escape out of Miami on February 22 - 29 is $250 double occupancy for insides. A balcony is $649.

Wow great pricing! I think it is a combination of both....intentionally holding pricing too high for too long requiring the expected cabin dump....coupled with a lack of demand for the "dumped inventory" due to uncertainty of the virus. Might be why they have made the offers 10 days prior to sailing, instead of the usual 3-5.