Never book early!

[mk717]

Hello. New to this board. I am looking at an NCL cruise 3 months from now. It's not a cruise I have to go on and we don't have to fly. I've been monitoring prices to see how much it would drop, and it seems to have dropped by ~$150 in the last few weeks. For the room type I am looking at, there were ~5-6 selectable rooms a few weeks ago, but now it's down to 2. Does this mean that this room type is about to sell out? Or do they hold some inventory for later. Also, since this is inside that penalty free cancellation window, I assume once I book it's not cancellable? No 24 hour free cancellation like airline tickets? Thanks for any advice.

[cruiseny4life]

28 minutes ago, mk717 said:

Hello. New to this board. I am looking at an NCL cruise 3 months from now. It's not a cruise I have to go on and we don't have to fly. I've been monitoring prices to see how much it would drop, and it seems to have dropped by ~$150 in the last few weeks. For the room type I am looking at, there were ~5-6 selectable rooms a few weeks ago, but now it's down to 2. Does this mean that this room type is about to sell out? Or do they hold some inventory for later. Also, since this is inside that penalty free cancellation window, I assume once I book it's not cancellable? No 24 hour free cancellation like airline tickets? Thanks for any advice.

Hey there, welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

There is no free cancellation. Once you're booked, you're committed. Look at travel insurance options - not saying you should/shouldn't, just educate yourself on the insurance out there. Here's the cancellation policy:

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

 

NCL does sometimes "hide" rooms from the listed availability. But, it's also totally possible there are only two rooms still available. What accommodation type are you looking to book? If it's Haven, likely you're just down to the two. 

 

If you call NCL, they may be able to tell you more about how many rooms are available. A travel agent could as well. 

[mk717]

Thanks. I am looking for a 5 person room so only Ocean View is available now. Haven was available before but I think it is sold out now, but I wouldn't have booked there anyway.

[cruiseny4life]

4 minutes ago, mk717 said:

Thanks. I am looking for a 5 person room so only Ocean View is available now. Haven was available before but I think it is sold out now, but I wouldn't have booked there anyway.

Given that, you're probably best off booking now. Those rooms go quick. There aren't giant numbers of Oceanview rooms on NCL ships. 

[mk717]

Are there any major disadvantages to a last minute booking? No more reservations available for specialty dining? No more seat reservations for entertainment? Excursions are all booked? Thanks.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, mk717 said:

Are there any major disadvantages to a last minute booking? No more reservations available for specialty dining? No more seat reservations for entertainment? Excursions are all booked? Thanks.

All of those are possible.

It's also possible that your prefered cabin will be sold out.

Or, the price may have increased.

[DCGuy64]

5 hours ago, mk717 said:

Hello. New to this board. I am looking at an NCL cruise 3 months from now. It's not a cruise I have to go on and we don't have to fly. I've been monitoring prices to see how much it would drop, and it seems to have dropped by ~$150 in the last few weeks. For the room type I am looking at, there were ~5-6 selectable rooms a few weeks ago, but now it's down to 2. Does this mean that this room type is about to sell out? Or do they hold some inventory for later. Also, since this is inside that penalty free cancellation window, I assume once I book it's not cancellable? No 24 hour free cancellation like airline tickets? Thanks for any advice.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Our next sailing is also about 3 months away and most cabins seem to be sold, but it's always possible some folks will cancel later on and free up some space.

[Ozzieru1e]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:32 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Wife and I can only cruise once a year.  Dogs.  Therefore we're not all that interested in very cheap cruises.  If we can only go once a  year, we'll go in a Haven.  We've got cruises booked in 24 and 25.

I agree with you.  For me it’s quality not quantity.  So what if I don’t get a great bargain; but, I know with the Haven I will have a very satisfying experience. 🥂 

[DMH15]

On 7/23/2023 at 7:37 AM, 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. 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.

 

But if you did this to help others you only gave one side of the picture.  Price.  
 

I would tell people many factors go into booking a cruise and sometimes it is best to book early, to choose a specfic cabin, lock in promos, get a good price.  Sometimes fares go up, sometimes fares go down.  You can either watch your early booking like a hawk and at 122 days out call for an adjestment if the fare ges down or do the happy dance if they have gone up.  Or you can book at a price you are happy with and not check fares if that is your thing.  Or you can wait and watch for rock-bottom price, see what cabins are left or watch them have risen. 
 

When I have cruised on the Sun I want a specfic aft suite with a huge balcony.  Waiting is not an option.  
 

iI once talked to a couple who booked last minute and got a deal and a half.   His wife laughed and said it was the very front cabin and that his long legs had to hang off the bed because it was so tiny with the layout. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by DMH15

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

A lot of factors here tbh. I always book 1 week-4 weeks before sailing simply due to getting the cheapest deal on the cabin as I have zero preference on location. I realize though my way of traveling  isn't for everyone. I'm sure I ended up spending a bit more on  airfare due to waiting longer and you may not get all the excursions you would have wanted (has never been a factor for me though as I travel alone). If you are particular about your room location then I probably wouldn't wait that late. 

[CCJack]

As others have said, no real drawback to booking early since you can get a refund or re-book before the final payment date.

 

However, I did run across one big drawback to booking too early on a Viking river cruise.   We booked about 14 months out.   Turns out we were the first cabin booked.    A couple months after we booked our TA called and said Viking had contacted them to tell us every other cabin on the boat (except ours) had been sold to a single group.  We would be the only people not part of the group.   Viking offered us nothing for the inconvenience other than we could cancel and take another cruise if we wanted to.   We did that.    It was quite inconvenient for us as we had scheduling issues we were working around with work, flights, family, etc. even a year out.   

 

I will never book the first cabin again.

 

 

[latebuyer]

So if you just book online, can you still get price drops? I had to due to amex promo.

[laudergayle]

12 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

So if you just book online, can you still get price drops? I had to due to amex promo.

So which ship did you finally decide on?  Yes, you can get the price drop FCC if the promos are the same and you didn’t take the NCL airfare.  With the Amex promo you probably shouldn’t do a cancel/rebook as it might trigger a credit back to your credit card.  My suggestion is call NCL and ask if they can assign your booking to one of their PCCs. I don’t know if they can…but worth a try.  Then when you have questions about changes you can ask them. 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

So which ship did you finally decide on?  Yes, you can get the price drop FCC if the promos are the same and you didn’t take the NCL airfare.  With the Amex promo you probably shouldn’t do a cancel/rebook as it might trigger a credit back to your credit card.  My suggestion is call NCL and ask if they can assign your booking to one of their PCCs. I don’t know if they can…but worth a try.  Then when you have questions about changes you can ask them. 

Why is a credit back an issue?

[latebuyer]

Thanks laudergayle, i thought i was able to switch sailings without cancelling the cruise. I decided on the mexican riviera bliss, but if the caribbean epic cruise in nov 25 (i assume released this november) has san juan then i'd consider switching to that.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

So which ship did you finally decide on?  Yes, you can get the price drop FCC if the promos are the same and you didn’t take the NCL airfare.  With the Amex promo you probably shouldn’t do a cancel/rebook as it might trigger a credit back to your credit card.  My suggestion is call NCL and ask if they can assign your booking to one of their PCCs. I don’t know if they can…but worth a try.  Then when you have questions about changes you can ask them. 

For US bookings it is never necessary to actually cancel and rebook. Nor would you ever want to do it after final payment, as that would trigger cancellation fees - so you answer is confusing. If prior to final payment due date, you get a refund/statement adjustment.  If after final payment due date, you get FCC.

A price adjustment does act like a cancellation/rebooking within the NCL system with respect to current prices and available promos but you retain your original booking date (valuable for a few line items, like DSC).  Any payments/deposits will carry over. With respect to your Amex promo, it depends on the terms of the promo.  If it is date-sensitive, then retaining your original booking date might save the promo.

And yes, you can completely transfer an existing reservation to a different itinerary.  Having a PCC is your best option in that case.  The person who does the transfer won't get any credit for the booking but if they think they'll possibly get future bookings from you they might willingly do the work.

[laudergayle]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

For US bookings it is never necessary to actually cancel and rebook. Nor would you ever want to do it after final payment, as that would trigger cancellation fees - so you answer is confusing. If prior to final payment due date, you get a refund/statement adjustment.  If after final payment due date, you get FCC.

A price adjustment does act like a cancellation/rebooking within the NCL system with respect to current prices and available promos but you retain your original booking date (valuable for a few line items, like DSC).  Any payments/deposits will carry over. With respect to your Amex promo, it depends on the terms of the promo.  If it is date-sensitive, then retaining your original booking date might save the promo.

And yes, you can completely transfer an existing reservation to a different itinerary.  Having a PCC is your best option in that case.  The person who does the transfer won't get any credit for the booking but if they think they'll possibly get future bookings from you they might willingly do the work.

Well, I will say latebuyer has me totally confused…lol.  Latest thread he/she was asking about solo inside on Epic or Encore.  I also thought the cruise was soon.  My comment about cancel/rebook was due to Amex promo…Spend X get Y.  I think the current Canadian offer is Spend $1000 on NCL get $250 credit on Amex. And the deadline to use/lose was coming up soon.  I believe if an NCL credit lowers the $1000 spend then Amex takes the credit $250 back.  Latebuyer was also going to do the most recent Cruise First offer for $250/$500.  Since they are sailing inside solo, and using CF, they are likely near that $1000 threshold…thus my warning about doing that.  

Edited August 21, 2023 by laudergayle

[laudergayle]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Why is a credit back an issue?

Only when using certain Amex promo offers.  See my post #176 for details.

[laudergayle]

2 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks laudergayle, i thought i was able to switch sailings without cancelling the cruise. I decided on the mexican riviera bliss, but if the caribbean epic cruise in nov 25 (i assume released this november) has san juan then i'd consider switching to that.

Congrats on deciding.  Wherever you go, it will be fun.  Enjoy.

[latebuyer]

Hi laudergayle. Sorry for the confusion. I had a separate thread on bliss vs epic. I liked that the bliss is a new ship and that as i am from vancouver i am closer to la. I decided not to do cruise first as some people seem to think it can be added later.

[laudergayle]

1 minute ago, latebuyer said:

Hi laudergayle. Sorry for the confusion. I had a separate thread on bliss vs epic. I liked that the bliss is a new ship and that as i am from vancouver i am closer to la. I decided not to do cruise first as some people seem to think it can be added later.

All good.  I just wanted to be helpful.  You will enjoy The Bliss if that’s where you end up.  We took it last May to Alaska and we’re doing Bliss to Mexican Riviera in November.

[latebuyer]

Thanks. I may take the epic yet at some point so your comments will not go to waste! It still seems to have the most reasonable price to go to the caribbean (this includes other cruise lines)  Sorry to take the thread off track. I did book early despite my name but i had a bad experience with a horrible cabin booked at the last minute before so i am cautious.

[pholst]

After my final payment the price dropped. I called customer service and they refunded the difference to my credit card. I think it just depends if the NCL rep "wants" to do it. So like everything else on a cruise just be nice to the employees and less of those pesky NOs will happen.

[LobsterStalker]

I just booked yesterday for 547 days out !!

thrilled to add it to the list

 

Cheers

[Peachypooh]

We always cruise in the same cabin on the Jewel class ships. As soon as we can we reserve that cabin. On occasion the price has dropped and it was not a problem getting a price adjustment before final payment.