??? looking for input

[hallux]

You'll find similar discussion in this thread from less than a month ago -

 

Deals can be had - As a solo I booked an inside guarantee with FAS perks for under $1600 before taxes and fees, for a 15-night Panama Canal cruise!  That cruise is still almost 6 months away, it's in January...

[smillerholmes]

2 hours ago, laudergayle said:

So I put it out there about 3 o’clock ET and it continues to be top trending with over 50 comments almost all favorable for solo and several (those who understand) for main international.  I even had a confirmation that the group is administered by Delta.  Fingers-crossed. Would be a great enhancement for 2024.  I also shutdown a stockholder who claimed it would give him less of a return.  I shared how he would make 50% more when he sold your companion seat st full fare.  

Who says FB is the devil?!? - Good job!  

[njkate]

Cruises across the board and all lines have indeed gone up. So has gas, food, utilities, rents, mortgage , air fare, just about every consumer service/product has been raised by the global inflation and I don't see any light at end of tunnel just yet.

 

I've downgraded haven to club to balcony and now my alaskan cruise end of month I'm in an OV, the difference in price was more then air for 2 from Savannah to Anchorage, no brainer for me

 

As long as one is totally flexible about where you want to cruise to, which departure port etc you can find some good deals.

Edited August 4, 2023 by njkate

[wolft927]

On 8/3/2023 at 9:51 AM, MsTabbyKats said:

Two words: Yacht Club (MSC).   You get a lot more bang for your buck  (24/7 internet , drink package, spa....all included).  One sailing in YC and I was sold.  Buffet breakfasts and lunches on pool deck (not in the Haven)....personalized pizza delivery (not in the Haven)...add to the value.

 

 

We are Haven Cruisers, have our next in January on the escape but will most likely be our last as we have MSC Yacht club booked for our next one. We were able to get an Inside YC suite ( i know no balcony) cheaper then a regulars balcony on NCL. 

MSC Tier Matched us so we will be Gold after just one cruise with them. I am hoping the YC lives up to what i hear from everyone else. 

 

 

[mugtech]

       Right now the Sky from Baltimore to Quebec on 9/1/23, 10 nights, is listed at $569pp for an inside, and the return Quebec to Baltimore on 9/11/23 is also 10 nights and selling for $550pp for inside.  Hard to beat those prices any time.  We paid $669 each way two months ago,  gonna give a call to get some FCC.  Been watching the prices creep down the last two months, trying to time it to get the max FCC. 

[eileeshb]

Honestly it’s just keeping an eye on cruise pricing as it does change on certain itineraries if the demand is looking low. I booked my cruise for this October in January ‘22, I booked a friend on the same cruise as me in December’22 because I had a cruise next voucher that was about to expire. Her fare was a few hundred € cheaper than mine even with the increased service charge that was in place by then. However the FAS terms had also changed so she only gets 1 specialty dining credit and 150mins of WiFi whereas I got 2 SDPs and 250mins of WiFi. I will be making a call to see if they’ll give me OBC or FCC for the difference in fare as it’s now past final payment date for the North American customers. 
NCL were running a bunch of promos specifically for the Alaska itineraries which was why I got a cheaper rate for my friend. I have also noticed in the past the longer itineraries are often much better value than the 1 week or less itineraries and obviously you need to avoid family vacation time which does limit the potential market for those cruises and keeps the prices a little lower. 

[MsTabbyKats]

6 hours ago, wolft927 said:

We are Haven Cruisers, have our next in January on the escape but will most likely be our last as we have MSC Yacht club booked for our next one. We were able to get an Inside YC suite ( i know no balcony) cheaper then a regulars balcony on NCL. 

MSC Tier Matched us so we will be Gold after just one cruise with them. I am hoping the YC lives up to what i hear from everyone else. 

 

 

Seriously....no real need for the balcony.  There is a dedicated elevator for the YC inside; we went from our cabin to the pool deck in about 60 seconds.  The cabin itself was adequate, but the storage is limited.  If you need 3 outfits a day with accessories you could have a problem, so pack light and you'll be fine.  When I compared the price of the interior YC to the NCL "sailaway balcony" price....booking YC was a no-brainer.

[wolft927]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:46 PM, MsTabbyKats said:

Seriously....no real need for the balcony.  There is a dedicated elevator for the YC inside; we went from our cabin to the pool deck in about 60 seconds.  The cabin itself was adequate, but the storage is limited.  If you need 3 outfits a day with accessories you could have a problem, so pack light and you'll be fine.  When I compared the price of the interior YC to the NCL "sailaway balcony" price....booking YC was a no-brainer.

Thanks for the info. We are long passed the days of three outifits. Wife and I live in the our bathing suits most of the day and then change into our night time attire. I will bring a suit or 2 as MSC seems to be a little more dressy then NCL. Wife wears a dress almost every night so easy to pack them lol

 

[Silverhairedbee]

I have found NCL’s prices as cheap as ever. Certainly at the lower end of the market.

 

£606 pound per person including drinks package for an inside cabin for 10 days.

When I booked that cruise there was a 9 day cruise selling for about £500 per person, including drinks, for a 9 day cruise.

This is certainly comparable with NCL cruises we were booking 10 years ago.

 

I know when they first went “ALL INCLUSIVE” prices shot up disproportionally but now they are very competitive.

 

 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

On 8/3/2023 at 9:51 AM, MsTabbyKats said:

Two words: Yacht Club (MSC).   You get a lot more bang for your buck  (24/7 internet , drink package, spa....all included).  One sailing in YC and I was sold.  Buffet breakfasts and lunches on pool deck (not in the Haven)....personalized pizza delivery (not in the Haven)...add to the value.

 

 

To add to what @MsTabbyKats has said, not only does the Yacht Club already offer great value for all the reasons she stated (and having experienced them myself, I can back her up), but MSC matches status with other lines, which means getting discounts faster. On our last MSC YC cruise, our TA got us a couple of discounts, I believe it was 10% + 5%.

[MsTabbyKats]

24 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

To add to what @MsTabbyKats has said, not only does the Yacht Club already offer great value for all the reasons she stated (and having experienced them myself, I can back her up), but MSC matches status with other lines, which means getting discounts faster. On our last MSC YC cruise, our TA got us a couple of discounts, I believe it was 10% + 5%.

They must give the TAs nice commissions for the YC bookings!  Between the MSC discounts and his discounts I got something like 20% off...so we sprung for the balcony (Caribbean cruise).  I have my eye on a Canadian cruise for next fall...and the interior will be just fine!

 

ETA...just realized this is the NCL forum.  We are going on the Escape next month, and DH (who doesn't get too involved with booking etc) was disappointed when he realized it's not gonna be YC.  I have a feeling that this one will be our final NCL sailing.  

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by MsTabbyKats

[wolft927]

8 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

They must give the TAs nice commissions for the YC bookings!  Between the MSC discounts and his discounts I got something like 20% off...so we sprung for the balcony (Caribbean cruise).  I have my eye on a Canadian cruise for next fall...and the interior will be just fine!

 

ETA...just realized this is the NCL forum.  We are going on the Escape next month, and DH (who doesn't get too involved with booking etc) was disappointed when he realized it's not gonna be YC.  I have a feeling that this one will be our final NCL sailing.  

 

We are on the Escape in January 2 bedroom Haven Suite. We booked with another couple who have never stayed in the Haven. Wife and I covered $5500 and the other couple covered $3500, so we get the master lol. But we will all enjoy the amazing bathroom in the 2 bedroom Haven suite. I swear I book this suite simply for the floor to ceiling windows in the bathroom 

[DCGuy64]

18 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

They must give the TAs nice commissions for the YC bookings!  Between the MSC discounts and his discounts I got something like 20% off...so we sprung for the balcony (Caribbean cruise).  I have my eye on a Canadian cruise for next fall...and the interior will be just fine!

 

ETA...just realized this is the NCL forum.  We are going on the Escape next month, and DH (who doesn't get too involved with booking etc) was disappointed when he realized it's not gonna be YC.  I have a feeling that this one will be our final NCL sailing.  

 

Just for kicks, I did a comparison now between our 5-day MSC cruise from Florida to Nassau and Ocean Cay, and NCL's comparable cruise from Florida to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. Both are for January 2024. NCL's cruise is 4 days, not 5 (although it works out the same because MSC includes disembarkation day as the 5th day and NCL does not), but the cheapest Haven cabin is $2649 pp, and that's before any gratuities. MSC's YC club is $621.82 per passenger (only thing missing with that is port fees, so drinks and Wifi ARE included). An important distinction: We're in a YIN cabin on MSC and the cheapest Haven is a courtyard penthouse. Big difference in cabin, obviously. But since NCL's Haven doesn't even offer inside cabins in the first place, that's even more of a point in MSC's favor. I did a mock booking on MSC for the same cruise in a comparable cabin (Yacht Club Deluxe Suite) and the price for TWO is $3038. (vs over $5,000 for Haven) Not even close.