Best guess of upcoming sales

[complawyer]

well for a change i was actually surprised. yesterday morning i booked a cruise for next july. copenhagen to london, british isles. i needed the 2 bedroom, and it was $17,000. after reading the post indicating the 40% off, my boyish curiosity got the better of me so i checked at around 10 last night. Low and behold, it went down to 15,000! i guess miracles do happen (sometimes)

[davencl]

41 minutes ago, complawyer said:

well for a change i was actually surprised. yesterday morning i booked a cruise for next july. copenhagen to london, british isles. i needed the 2 bedroom, and it was $17,000. after reading the post indicating the 40% off, my boyish curiosity got the better of me so i checked at around 10 last night. Low and behold, it went down to 15,000! i guess miracles do happen (sometimes)

What I find a bit humorous is: For my NZ AUS cruise in January this "sale" hasn't been updated yet on the confirmation page.  It shows a regular price that is lower than when I booked last week by about 5%.   It does not show 40% off yet as the system hasn't upped the price to then show a 40% discount.  Hope this explanation made sense... 🙂 

[CrazyTrain2]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

well for a change i was actually surprised. yesterday morning i booked a cruise for next july. copenhagen to london, british isles. i needed the 2 bedroom, and it was $17,000. after reading the post indicating the 40% off, my boyish curiosity got the better of me so i checked at around 10 last night. Low and behold, it went down to 15,000! i guess miracles do happen (sometimes)

Shhhh, you might see a mystery $2000 port fee suddenly appear.

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

@ChiefMateJRK, I priced out a cruise to the Western Caribbean about an hour ago and got to the screen where I would normally see the summary of charges - alas, I received a similar error message as you. NCL must really not want to give that extra 5% off. 

It's working for me this morning.  As a result of shuffling some long term travel plans, I had six new reservations to book this morning.  They all went through without complications.  It appears that the initial cruise pricing screens (the ones with the various sailing dates and cabin prices) still shows higher prices, but upon selecting one and moving through the process the new and improved prices show up. 😎  I was beginning to think yesterday that I was a day too late, when in fact I was really a day too early.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Like ChiefMateJRK, I checked into this (although I had done the math earlier).  Our cruise now reflects the 40% off.

 

That being said, two weeks ago I saw a price drop and grabbed it on our existing booking.  Then, twice this week, there was an increase.  Now, with the increase discount, the new and improved fare is lower -- but still $9pp higher than it was with the lower rate I nabbed two weeks ago.

 

In other words, at least for my cruise, they upped the base price, then increased the discount and it basically come out the same after it's all done.  Of course, YMMV.

[RocketMan275]

I  have two Haven cruises booked for March 2023 and March 2024.  Both have increased in price since they were booked by about 8%.  This is after the 40% off was applied.

[ChiefMateJRK]

34 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I  have two Haven cruises booked for March 2023 and March 2024.  Both have increased in price since they were booked by about 8%.  This is after the 40% off was applied.

Yes.  This is the key to understanding pricing.  Just book early and often and ignore all the marketing hype.  You can always reprice if the price drops, but you at least have one price point locked in and you can always cancel right up until final payment due date.

 

Of course, there's now another thread running where three out of four posts are basically saying that NCL is the very incarnation of evil and that they'll avoid NCL like the plague.  I wish they would avoid this sub-forum as well, but that's just not how some folks roll.

[deliver42]

I always book early, regardless of cruise line. That's usually the best price before FP, though sometimes you get a pleasant surprise. We''re booked on the Bliss for Alaska in May, 2024, and about one month later, we got a $400.00 reduction. I called and no problem at all. 

[spanishguy1970]

17 hours ago, complawyer said:

if youve been following these amazing (sarcasm intended) sales for the past few years, you will notice that any amount off doesnt change the cost of the cruise. they just jack up the price and claim it's a sale. for the generous 3rd and 4th guests are free, ncl just redistributes the costs between the 1st 2 people and calls it a sale.  

finally, someone who gets it.

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, spanishguy1970 said:

finally, someone who gets it.

Do you realize that after posting that original post, @complawyerreturned and posted the following?

9 hours ago, complawyer said:

well for a change i was actually surprised. yesterday morning i booked a cruise for next july. copenhagen to london, british isles. i needed the 2 bedroom, and it was $17,000. after reading the post indicating the 40% off, my boyish curiosity got the better of me so i checked at around 10 last night. Low and behold, it went down to 15,000! i guess miracles do happen

 

[complawyer]

2 hours ago, spanishguy1970 said:

finally, someone who gets it.

hey, spanish guy1970. i think a whole lot more people actually get it, im just more vocal about it. about a year or so ago, i posted a question "is this really a sale"? 

 

all you have to do is follow the numbers when trying to book and you'll see what ive always said "ncl doesnt give away ice cubes in winter"  although, to be fair, having researched other cruise lines, cabin choices and itineraries, i still feel ncl gives it passengers the best bang for the buck , i just wish they would be more transparent with  their so called sales. one of my main pet peeves is the free excursions. $50 off is such a far cry from free

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 minutes ago, complawyer said:

$50 off is such a far cry from free

It makes the tram in Juneau free!  🤣

[complawyer]

that's great if youre traveling alone. we're booked on the star from london to copenhagaen sept 16th to 26th. 1st port is paris. i want to take the seine river cruise. its like $250 per person or more. the $50 off will bring it down to $450, and we get the additional 15% off for being sapphire. so figure another $75. making the cost $375. while the $50 beats a stick in the eye, even with the additional 15%, $375 still is a long, long  way from "FREE" shore excursions.

 

realize, i'm not bitching about it, i always sail with ncl, it's just a little frustrating that what they offer and what you actually get arent even close

 

i'd still like to buy you a beer one day. we seem to be on the same page more often than not!

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 minutes ago, complawyer said:

that's great if youre traveling alone.

Actually.  Last cruise DD was in a separate cabin so we BOTH got free Juneau tram rides!  😎The Ketchican boat rides too/from Ward Cove are also 100% FREE. 🤣

4 minutes ago, complawyer said:

it's just a little frustrating that what they offer and what you actually get arent even close

I'm sure it can be frustrating for those who simply read the home page/brochure, whip out their credit card and then try to cash in all those free Shorex's once on board.  For the rest of us who've been around the block (or simply down to the corner), we know all of that and it should just be like water off a duck's back.  I know it still brings pleasure/entertainment for some to b&&ch about it.  To each their own.

 

7 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i'd still like to buy you a beer one day. we seem to be on the same page more often than not!

That would be a lot of fun. 🥳

[complawyer]

well, we'll be on the bliss to alaska in about 3 weeks, im anxious to see where i get get my free "excursions"  . just what i want is a tram ride free or otherwise.

[RocketMan275]

15 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Of course, there's now another thread running where three out of four posts are basically saying that NCL is the very incarnation of evil and that they'll avoid NCL like the plague.  I wish they would avoid this sub-forum as well, but that's just not how some folks roll.

For every post condemning NCL you can find an equal number in other boards condemning RCCI, Princess, Holland, etc., for doing the same things.