Never book early!

[Bandit2301]

This is the first time I am cruising with NCL and I don't think I will ever be booking again with them.

I booked my cruise about 8 months in advanced as sometimes cabins sell out. I just looked at the exact same cruise. There is a price drop of over $600 and since you're within the 110-day window you get nothing for this price drop. I spoke with customer service and that's the line they gave me is it is NCL's policy within 110 days they won't do anything for you.

Wondering if anybody's had this happened to them? 

I'm just a little frustrated that I get penalized because I wanted to book early. 

 

[hallux]

Try again.  It may depend on some other factors but if a comparable cabin with comparable perks can be booked you should be able to get a one-time adjustment in the form of a future cruise credit.  Don't expect to get another adjustment once you've gotten one.

 

29 minutes ago, Bandit2301 said:

I'm just a little frustrated that I get penalized because I wanted to book early.

To be fair, though - you booked the cruise at a price you were happy with, NCL doesn't REALLY owe you anything.  If the roles were reversed and the price had gone up would you be happy if NCL came to you asking for more money?

[drpclarke]

I THINK.........if you booked with a cruise agent, that agent is able to get the better price for you. I just saw something about it two days ago - I should have paid better attention. Ask your agent!

 

[Savmom9801]

You said never book early - I have been waiting for a price drop for our May 2024 Mediterranean cruise and it is currently $5K more than we booked last summer. You can always get a price adjustment up until the day before final payment. I think the best rates are by booking early. 
 

[mskaufman]

We received a future cruise credit when the price dropped.  That was this past spring.

[luv2kroooz]

If you are price sensitive, flexible with your travel dates, and indifferent about cabin location, the title of this thread is some of the best booking advice when choosing NCL for your cruise vacation. Never book early!!

[julig22]

When did the price drop?  You can always request a refund if the price drops before final payment (US bookings), which is 120 days.  After final payment DATE, you can request a one-time courtesy adjustment, depending on the terms in effect when you originally booked.

I book early most of the time but I monitor the prices and request adjustments if the price goes down - never an issue.  And prices do increase, so there is no reason that I can think of to not book early.

[phillygwm]

There's no downside to booking early.  If there's a price drop >120 days out, you can rebook at the lower rate.  Conversely, you're protected if prices go up over that period.

 

Yeah, you take your chances within 120 days.  If you're super flexible, you can probably wait until you're within that window and pick something that is relatively inexpensive if it hasn't booked up as much as anticipated.  It works particularly well if you're retired and live close to a port. By the time I'm that close to my sail date, I've blocked off my vacation, made my flight arrangements, maybe prepaid a hotel, etc. so changing all that in the hopes of getting a better deal just wouldn't work for me. 

[hallux]

29 minutes ago, julig22 said:

And prices do increase, so there is no reason that I can think of to not book early.

Yup - my next cruise went up $100 over the course of a week (two $50 increases) before I decided I'd seen enough increases and put it on hold at that price.  It hasn't moved since I put the deposit down 2 or 3 weeks ago.

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by hallux

[debenson0723]

It's not just NCL...it's all cruiselines, hotels and flights.  I am looking at a flight in October that I thought was just a bit too high. Then 2 weeks ago, it dropped almost $100 round trip and I was going to book it but life got in the way.  Now it's up $50 and today went up another $10. I am still hoping for another price drop as there are plenty of seats available but if there isn't, then that's on me. I monitor everything and when I see a price I like, I book it and don't look back. 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Bandit2301 said:

This is the first time I am cruising with NCL and I don't think I will ever be booking again with them.

I booked my cruise about 8 months in advanced as sometimes cabins sell out. I just looked at the exact same cruise. There is a price drop of over $600 and since you're within the 110-day window you get nothing for this price drop. I spoke with customer service and that's the line they gave me is it is NCL's policy within 110 days they won't do anything for you.

Wondering if anybody's had this happened to them? 

I'm just a little frustrated that I get penalized because I wanted to book early. 

 

If you wanted to make a change, you should have done it before final payment. Then, the worst you could do is cancel and rebook. 

[dobiemom]

I try to book as early as possible. My next NCL cruise was booked 506 days in advance. 😉 

[Turtles06]

Just to add another benefit of not waiting until the last minute to book is that you’ll very likely have a much better choice of cabins. Some folks don’t care about that, others do. 

[ready2cruzagain]

I have to disagree. I have a cruise that is still 545 days away and we booked 3 months ago. Have you ever cruised on a different line? All cruise lines I have ever sailed have this same policy. It is not just NCL.

 

We have 6 cruises booked right now and all were booked early. The price on our cruises have done nothing but gone up.  I sure wouldn't want NCL charging me more because the cruise went up.  

 

You booked at a price you were comfortable with therefore if I were you I would not be checking again after final payment if it is going to upset you that the price went down.  

[D_And_K_gocruising]

Yup, pay attention to the dates.  Now if the price dropped after the 120 day timeframe, then that's a bummer, but before, you can 100% change,  My 120 is coming up and I'm gonna have them run the numbers 1 more time before then.   Already got 1 drop of about 400 bucks.. 

[Sthrngary]

10 hours ago, Bandit2301 said:

This is the first time I am cruising with NCL and I don't think I will ever be booking again with them.

I booked my cruise about 8 months in advanced as sometimes cabins sell out. I just looked at the exact same cruise. There is a price drop of over $600 and since you're within the 110-day window you get nothing for this price drop. I spoke with customer service and that's the line they gave me is it is NCL's policy within 110 days they won't do anything for you.

Wondering if anybody's had this happened to them? 

I'm just a little frustrated that I get penalized because I wanted to book early. 

 

@Bandit2301 First you are new to CruiseCritic.com as of earlier this year, welcome.  Your post is similar to other post made on this and other boards.  Whether you never cruise with NCL or any other brand again, is a personal decision.  Why you choose to share this on a social media site for NCL is because you feel wronged.  All cruise brands including NCL get posts like this all the time.  Especially about when stateroom fair get reduced after final payment.  Common place.

 

You sound like you have cruised before but this is your first time on NCL.  I really can' tell.  Cruise brands are like hotels.  If the inventory is high and available, they reduce prices to fill them up.  Supply and Demand.  The majority of those reductions happen after the final payment and the penalty phase happens.  The reason why folks still to this day get upset is because they don't read the fine print.  I know, I made the same mistake and it does not feel good.

 

Yet it is NOT NCL or any other brands fault.  It is common knowledge and they make it clear in their contract with you.  That is why I ALWAY book WAY in advance and watch the prices and inventory right up to the last possible moment.  NCL did not do you wrong, other brands do the same thing.  You made a decision to get a stateroom because at the time you thought they might sell out.  You were wrong and now you want your cake and eat it too.  I feel for you and know this can make your vacation a little less enjoyable.  Just the way it is and no offence and this will NOT be a popular comment, you need to take some accountability also.  Play fair with comments on any brand.  The details are always in the Fine Print.  

[azappraiser]

6 hours ago, dobiemom said:

I try to book as early as possible. My next NCL cruise was booked 506 days in advance. 😉 

I booked our Alaska cruise 667 days in advance... I had a specific cabin in mind, on the itinerary and date that we want... the suite was available... now it's ours... & we have absolutely no regrets.

[mugtech]

I always book Asia cruises ASAP, the prices only go up.  Booked Baltimore to Quebec and Quebec back to Baltimore b2b, paid $669 p/p each way, price has dropped $100 p/p for each cruise.  Knowing I can only request FFC once, trying to figure the best time, cruise leaves 9/1/23.

[pghflyer]

Sorry you got stuck by this, the way cruise bookings work is very different and takes a little getting used to....BUT this is how almost all of them work. It is clearly listed in the rules on the website. If you had called them 10 days earlier, you could have cancelled or been adjusted easily.  Cruise ships aren't like hotels where last minute people may show up for the night, once they leave the departure port they are sailing with whatever empty rooms they have so they will ruthlessly cut prices up to the day of departure to try and fill every room.  I would say that more than 50% of the time, if you are wanting a balcony or suite, the prices will go UP towards departure and booking early is usually advantageous.  Inside and ocean view rooms have much less demand so will often drop more.  Anyhow, hope you have a great cruise and don't let this learning on a new travel option keep you from having a great trip.

[mertziek]

5 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

Just to add another benefit of not waiting until the last minute to book is that you’ll very likely have a much better choice of cabins. Some folks don’t care about that, others do. 

We are ones who cruise mainly first for our cabin and second for itinerary so we book early.  I have 3 cruises already booked for 2025 and 3 for 2024 all in the cabins we prefer.  If pricing drops before final payment, we have our TA reprice our cruise so it’s a win-win for us.  And if pricing drops after final payment, I’ll request a one-time FCC but recognize I may not qualify for it.  When we book we have already decided we are willing to pay the listed price so if we get an FCC for a price drop it’s icing on the cake for us.  YMMV

[Bandit2301]

45 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Bandit2301 First you are new to CruiseCritic.com as of earlier this year, welcome.  Your post is similar to other post made on this and other boards.  Whether you never cruise with NCL or any other brand again, is a personal decision.  Why you choose to share this on a social media site for NCL is because you feel wronged.  All cruise brands including NCL get posts like this all the time.  Especially about when stateroom fair get reduced after final payment.  Common place.

 

You sound like you have cruised before but this is your first time on NCL.  I really can' tell.  Cruise brands are like hotels.  If the inventory is high and available, they reduce prices to fill them up.  Supply and Demand.  The majority of those reductions happen after the final payment and the penalty phase happens.  The reason why folks still to this day get upset is because they don't read the fine print.  I know, I made the same mistake and it does not feel good.

 

Yet it is NOT NCL or any other brands fault.  It is common knowledge and they make it clear in their contract with you.  That is why I ALWAY book WAY in advance and watch the prices and inventory right up to the last possible moment.  NCL did not do you wrong, other brands do the same thing.  You made a decision to get a stateroom because at the time you thought they might sell out.  You were wrong and now you want your cake and eat it too.  I feel for you and know this can make your vacation a little less enjoyable.  Just the way it is and no offence and this will NOT be a popular comment, you need to take some accountability also.  Play fair with comments on any brand.  The details are always in the Fine Print.  

I posted this to inform other cruisers of things that can happen and what they should be aware of. I have cruised many times and I understand policies. However other people might not know this. I usually cruise with Viking and with them you do book early as they sell out fast. 

I do apologize if you feel offended that I criticized NCL and you felt the need to reply back with this long post. 

Everybody has their opinion. That's why there is this forum.

 

[Agent999]

24 minutes ago, Bandit2301 said:

I usually cruise with Viking and with them you do book early as they sell out fast.

 

That is odd given that in another thread you started (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2934830-new-to-ncl-what-should-i-know) you clearly stated that you "always used Royal in the past".

 

 

24 minutes ago, Bandit2301 said:

I posted this to inform other cruisers of things that can happen and what they should be aware of. I have cruised many times and I understand policies. However other people might not know this.

 

Nice of you to think of other cruisers, but cruisers who get memberships, post to, and read forums like this one already now these things and really don't need to be educated on them.

 

24 minutes ago, Bandit2301 said:

I do apologize if you feel offended that I criticized NCL and you felt the need to reply back with this long post. 

Everybody has their opinion. That's why there is this forum.

 

Offended? Not sure where that came from, but "offended" is not a word that people use talking about Sthrngary. He just may be the least offended person on this entire forum.

 

 

That aside, have you really taken a look at your cruise? When you booked in AIRFARE was included in your purchase. At this point, the airfare is no longer offered. As a result, the amount charged goes down. You don't have a price drop, you have a change in cost driven by the fact that the offer has changed due to the airfare removal. So you're basically doing an apples to oranges comparison.

[herbanrenewal]

Like a lot of others here I don't consider your booking to be "early". Early booking is when new itinerary is added - 2025 booking now. Early booking gives you the most options for itinerary, pricing options since you can look for price drops up to final payment, cabin choices. In the USA market you can cancel any time up to final payment date and get your down payment back, so most fiscal flexibility too.  For best pricing you have two options - early booking 2+ years from now, or last minute booking, after final payment, but your ideal itinerary. Or cabin choice may not be available - and if its a popular cruise, prices may have gone up.

[Bandit2301]

11 hours ago, drpclarke said:

I THINK.........if you booked with a cruise agent, that agent is able to get the better price for you. I just saw something about it two days ago - I should have paid better attention. Ask your agent!

 

Sadly I stopped using a TA as everything I could do myself as last time I used a TA the cruise lines wouldn't allow anyone but the TA to call and make changes. Has that changed by chance cause it seems like a good idea to use a TA! 

[Sthrngary]

25 minutes ago, Agent999 said:

 

Offended? Not sure where that came from, but "offended" is not a word that people use talking about Sthrngary. He just may be the least offended person on this entire forum.

@Agent999 Well that was nice.  I wrote that reply to the author and attempted to be as balanced and fare as possible. I knew the author being challenged could lead to some pushback.  Part of the possibility of posting when someone is complaining.  My words as normal were chosen carefully to apply the authors issue as a Industry Issue and not just NCL.  

 

I have been reading and participating on CruiseCritic.com for quite some time.  The Words, "I will Never Cruise this Brand Again" happens more time than I can count.  It is always one sided, it is on all brands and it simply is the way it is.  We the cruise guest have an obligation to play fair. My message is and always will be realistic expectations.  Before you give your credit card, do your due diligence and learn the rules.  A search of your topic is all most of us need.  

 

Thank you again for your very kind words about my membership on CriuseCritic.com.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Edited July 23, 2023 by Sthrngary