Is NCL Pricing themselves out of business?

[Married90]

Currently at sapphire level so have traveled NCl many times.   Due to COVID had multiple different cruises cancelled, luckily never had to deal with the FCC mess .   One of those cancelled was a 2020 Alaska cruise.   Rebooked it for Sept of 2022 at a much higher cost last year but said to myself , well everything is going up, I best lock in a price while I can....   10 night  standard balcony on the Spirit.   Final payment is due next month and have watched the price go up from what I have locked in..  I know NCL has stated they will not lower prices just to fill rooms but...    Received an email promotion the other day from my TA for Celebrity.   I have wanted to try Celebrity as many seem to state it is a step up from NCL.   Bottom line I was able to book 2 balcony back to back 7 day cruises (same ship) on slightly different itineraries hitting all but one port from our 10 night NCL cruise for Almost $1200 less and got $400 onboard credit on top.   The fair includes "classic beverage",  unlimited Wifi, and gratuities.   Bottom line is it just me or are NCL's prices just not staying competitive with the other cruise lines?   I will admit I will miss the specialty dining package and Latitudes perks but I won't miss them $1600 worth...   

[BirdTravels]

Supply and demand. While they are filling rooms, they have no incentive to reduce prices. 

[Married90]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Supply and demand. While they are filling rooms, they have no incentive to reduce prices. 

Well they now have an extra room to fill...   

[Rob-Bob]

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Supply and demand. While they are filling rooms, they have no incentive to reduce prices. 

FCC's.  Once those are used up either prices will come back down or NCL will not be sailing with full ships.

[MNcruisingcouple]

I keep hearing this so last week I priced out Caribbean cruises we were considering for Feb 2023.  The prices between NCL and Celebrity ranged from close to the same to $1000 more on Celebrity.  Plus, we would want to upgrade Celebrity's drink package and they have a $500 non-refundable deposit.  

 

The price/value really varies between sailings.  It's hard to make a blanket statement that NCL is overpriced or not competitive. 

[Married90]

4 minutes ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

I keep hearing this so last week I priced out Caribbean cruises we were considering for Feb 2023.  The prices between NCL and Celebrity ranged from close to the same to $1000 more on Celebrity.  Plus, we would want to upgrade Celebrity's drink package and they have a $500 non-refundable deposit.  

 

The price/value really varies between sailings.  It's hard to make a blanket statement that NCL is overpriced or not competitive. 

I also booked a Feb 2023 Caribbean cruise.   It was a 10 day on Celebrity Equinox including Premium Beverage package (not classic), WIFI, on board credit and fully refundable.  Before I booked it I ran numbers on all the NCL's around the same time and they couldn't touch it.   I figure I have till November to find a better deal and cancel.  Now I will be honest, the bookings I have been finding are "special group rates" and are considerably less then advertised.    Both this one and the Alaska were 48 hr specials...   

[SeaShark]

It bears repeating...

 

In 2015, FDR announced that NCL was switching from "price to fill" to a "market to fill" model. They aren't using a price basis in the same way that other lines are...yet people still react as if they do. 

[complawyer]

personally, i find the only outrageous prices are on the prima. we just got off of a 9 day  jade cruise from athens, have  10 day cruise on the star from london, and another 14 day transatlantic  cruise from lisbon this nov. i thought the price for a 2 bedroom suite was amazing. 

 

i have no complaints about the prices, we're sapphire and have sailed with ncl 18 times since 2010.

 

i just think the prima has locked me out of any of their itineraries

[tallnthensome]

The OP is right. Anyone that has cruised with NCL in the past and is cruising now and is booking cruises with them aren't shopping all lines. If they were they wouldn't be booking NCL right  now. They were my go to line but their pricing value went from the best to the absolute worst. NCL is a total ripoff now. No deals at all. 

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Supply and demand. While they are filling rooms, they have no incentive to reduce prices. 

But are they really filling rooms? Sure the spring break and Easter cruises got a good boost in passenger count, but have you checked last minute pricing? 7 nights in a balcony on the breakaway for $700 indicates to me there are  lots of cabins remain unsold. Last minute Alaska pricing is also attractive. My belief is that NcL’s high pricing is about maximizing FCC while also  “cooking the books” so that quarterly financial releases look good. The stock reacts to projection just as much as the current balance sheet. 

 

53 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

It bears repeating...

 

In 2015, FDR announced that NCL was switching from "price to fill" to a "market to fill" model. They aren't using a price basis in the same way that other lines are...yet people still react as if they do. 

 

I am not sure the pricing strategy pre-covid is still relevant for any cruise line, but I do agree that there is a reason NcL is pricing high and then deeply discounting last minute.

 

 

 

 

[tgloersen]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Supply and demand. While they are filling rooms, they have no incentive to reduce prices. 

Respectfully i disagree, these ships are not sailing full by a long shot.  My opinion, there is allot of cruise credits out there and NCL is pricing it so they all get used up.

[complawyer]

As an aside, on our moist recent cruise (jade 9 day from athens) there didnt seem to be a whole lot of people on board with us. i spoke with t he concierge and he told me there were about 1000 people on board and the capacity for the jade was 3,000.

[tgloersen]

2 minutes ago, complawyer said:

As an aside, on our moist recent cruise (jade 9 day from athens) there didnt seem to be a whole lot of people on board with us. i spoke with t he concierge and he told me there were about 1000 people on board and the capacity for the jade was 3,000.

Exactly what im talking about, our last cruise on the BA in November on 1700 on board a ship that supports over 4K.  My buddy just did a crusie onthe same ship a few weeks back capacity was still just over 2K.

[MsTabbyKats]

I did the GA in March.  I booked prior to 12/21/2021...using 2 cruisenexts and a 10% discount which had to be used by the end of the year.  Final payment was in Jan.  After final payment the price went down..down...down...until the week before they had "a fire sale".  It sailed at about 40% capacity.

 

I'm looking at a June sailing...but won't book more than 2 weeks out.

[Trimone]

55% of Haven capacity is upgrades….not nice if you have paid full price.

 

[swmichigan cruiser]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

 

 

 

 

i just think the prima has locked me out of any of their itineraries

 

I have to agree with you about the Prima pricing and I do realize that NCL has every right to set pricing. We have the Prima scheduled for 14 nights Sept 17 thru October 1, 2023, Last time I checked pricing is up 75% from when we booked. So glad we booked when we did and waited to see the date for the TA back to the states was but decided we probably couldn't afford it based on current prices so booked on Royal instead for two cruises after we get off the Prima and one is a TA back to the states. Like I say NCL has every right to set prices but doesn't mean I will pay those prices.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

personally, i find the only outrageous prices are on the prima. we just got off of a 9 day  jade cruise from athens, have  10 day cruise on the star from london, and another 14 day transatlantic  cruise from lisbon this nov. i thought the price for a 2 bedroom suite was amazing. 

 

i have no complaints about the prices, we're sapphire and have sailed with ncl 18 times since 2010.

 

i just think the prima has locked me out of any of their itineraries

A year ago we booked B2B cruises on the Prima for this September.  It was pricey, but not outrageous.  We then got the opportunity to take a cruise around Japan, so we cancelled the second of our two Prima cruises as it wouldn't have allowed enough down time in between.  When Japan tightened their rules for tourism and our cruise there was cancelled, we thought about reinstating our second Prima.  It had gone from $6785 to over $10,400.  No thanks.

[tgloersen]

20 minutes ago, Trimone said:

55% of Haven capacity is upgrades….not nice if you have paid full price.

 

Thats why i refuse to pay full price.  I been in Haven a few times, (bid accepeted) its really nice dont get me wrong, but i will not re-mortgage my house to stay there, steerage is fine for me.

[FLAHAM]

My PCC just rebooked my August Bliss Alaska cruise from a Studio (booked some time ago) to a Club Balcony Suite for $12.50.  She also got me the 3 Latitudes points per night and the $100 onboard credit promotion.  I am very pleased.  

[MNcruisingcouple]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

The OP is right. Anyone that has cruised with NCL in the past and is cruising now and is booking cruises with them aren't shopping all lines. If they were they wouldn't be booking NCL right  now. They were my go to line but their pricing value went from the best to the absolute worst. NCL is a total ripoff now. No deals at all. 

 

I absolutely shop other lines.  What I'm looking for in Feb 2023 is currently $300 more on Celebrity, I'd still have to pay to upgrade the drink package and I'd have to pay the non-refundable deposit.

 

I realize this isn't true on every sailing, but neither is NCL overpricing every sailing.  

 

Do your research and know what you are happy spending for each line.  

[IrieBajan54]

This is why I only book last minute. I get value for the price I pay!

[BamaCruiser39]

Yup. Used to be loyal to NCL but their pricing combined with CAS comp offers have gotten laughable.

 

I have a fully comped balcony room on 4 night with Royal Caribbean leaving soon. And, assuming I can make it work with my work schedule, I'm going to be paying less for a balcony room in "The Retreat" on Celebrity Millennium on a 7 night cruise than what NCL quoted me for a basic balcony room on the NCL Sky for a 5 night itinerary.

 

I love NCL, but they drove me elsewhere by trying to demand significant premiums over comparable (and "higher-end") lines.

Edited April 21, 2022 by BamaCruiser39

[FM]

6 hours ago, Married90 said:

I have wanted to try Celebrity as many seem to state it is a step up from NCL.   Bottom line I was able to book 2 balcony back to back 7 day cruises (same ship) on slightly different itineraries hitting all but one port from our 10 night NCL cruise for Almost $1200 less and got $400 onboard credit on top.   The fair includes "classic beverage",  unlimited Wifi, and gratuities.   Bottom line is it just me or are NCL's prices just not staying competitive with the other cruise lines?   I will admit I will miss the specialty dining package and Latitudes perks but I won't miss them $1600 worth...   

 

Will be interested in hearing your opinion about Celebrity compared to NCL after you cruise.  We enjoy Celebrity very much and would cruise with them again in an instant.

 

We are in the opposite boat and are looking at the Haven aboard the Bliss this fall for Alaska.  Last time we cruised Norwegian was when VHS tapes were in vogue - lol.  So extremely curious to see how NCL has changed since. 

[Liljo22]

I am always shopping cruises and have found Carnival to be offering dirt cheap cruises right now and then NCL is next in pricing and then Royal. I am only shopping Galveston and New Orleans though so I haven't looked at Celebrity.  NCL was a lot higher out of NO but they have come down in the last month.  A spring break cruise in a balcony for 4 was over $5k but is now sitting at $3,900.  Still about $900 more than the spring break cruise we took in 2020 but they were running the kids sail free promo at the time.  

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Liljo22

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

My PCC just rebooked my August Bliss Alaska cruise from a Studio (booked some time ago) to a Club Balcony Suite for $12.50.  She also got me the 3 Latitudes points per night and the $100 onboard credit promotion.  I am very pleased.  

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