NCLs policy on price drop

[nsitt]

I am affected by a remarkable price drop in the price of my cruise booked 4 weeks ago.Talking about 1400 Euros in a Haven suite. The internet is full of reports from folks who, in similar situations, got an upgrade, OBC or FCC and from some who were told "Sorry, there is nothing we can do". Same was told to my TA and by NCL directly to me. I am not particular mad about the fact that I accepted a price and would pay for it but more of the way NCL handles these situations. Why is NCL making these exceptions? What can one do, other than ask to remove gratuities at the end of the cruise? This may sound unfair but hey, NCL is playing stupid games why can't I do the same?

[mjkacmom]

I believe if you booked in the US, you can upgrade or get a FCC, but there are different rules here. Are you past final payment?

[julig22]

Playing silly games? First off, they owe you nothing, once you've accepted the final contract. And as far as I know, "similar" situations get similar results. UK bookings follow different rules than US, I'm only familiar with the policy for US bookings. 

 

Price drop means that there is an equal stateroom currently available, with the same perks, at a lower price. So if you booked with an airfare deal for example, they consider the CURRENT price of the airfare, as well as the price of the cabin.  In most cases, your deal with airfare was better.

Edited October 11, 2023 by julig22

[IAcruising]

25 minutes ago, nsitt said:

What can one do, other than ask to remove gratuities at the end of the cruise? This may sound unfair but hey, NCL is playing stupid games why can't I do the same?

 

That's right, stick it to the crew. Them and their stupid games.

 

[schmoopie17]

41 minutes ago, nsitt said:

What can one do, other than ask to remove gratuities at the end of the cruise? This may sound unfair but hey, NCL is playing stupid games why can't I do the same?

Can of worms in left hand.

Opener in right hand.

Better have your suit of armor ready.

Unfortunate first post...but welcome to CC.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by schmoopie17

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, nsitt said:

I am affected by a remarkable price drop in the price of my cruise booked 4 weeks ago.Talking about 1400 Euros in a Haven suite. The internet is full of reports from folks who, in similar situations, got an upgrade, OBC or FCC and from some who were told "Sorry, there is nothing we can do". Same was told to my TA and by NCL directly to me. I am not particular mad about the fact that I accepted a price and would pay for it but more of the way NCL handles these situations. Why is NCL making these exceptions? What can one do, other than ask to remove gratuities at the end of the cruise? This may sound unfair but hey, NCL is playing stupid games why can't I do the same?

From reading these boards, I have learned that different countries have different laws. If you were in the US, you probably would have received something. OTOH, by being in the UK, you have consumer protection laws that provide compensation for missed ports that we in the US do not have.

 

And what exactly has the crew done for you to stiff them because you can "play silly games"?

[nsitt]

25 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

From reading these boards, I have learned that different countries have different laws. If you were in the US, you probably would have received something. OTOH, by being in the UK, you have consumer protection laws that provide compensation for missed ports that we in the US do not have.

 

And what exactly has the crew done for you to stiff them because you can "play silly games"?

Of course, I understand this. But this is not what I am talking about. I am talking about bookings in the same country where NCL reacts differently. That's my point here. 

[nsitt]

26 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

From reading these boards, I have learned that different countries have different laws. If you were in the US, you probably would have received something. OTOH, by being in the UK, you have consumer protection laws that provide compensation for missed ports that we in the US do not have.

 

And what exactly has the crew done for you to stiff them because you can "play silly games"?

Well, If their employer, the cruise line can cut the cruise fair by so much why can't they pay the staff enough that they do not need mandatory gratuities?   

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 minutes ago, nsitt said:

Well, If their employer, the cruise line can cut the cruise fair by so much why can't they pay the staff enough that they do not need mandatory gratuities?   

I'm going to need a little help with this one.....

[nsitt]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

Playing silly games? First off, they owe you nothing, once you've accepted the final contract. And as far as I know, "similar" situations get similar results. UK bookings follow different rules than US, I'm only familiar with the policy for US bookings. 

 

Price drop means that there is an equal stateroom currently available, with the same perks, at a lower price. So if you booked with an airfare deal for example, they consider the CURRENT price of the airfare, as well as the price of the cabin.  In most cases, your deal with airfare was better.

That's what I said. I am ok about the drop in price, I accepted the T&Cs at booking time. I am annoyed because NCL is not firm in their handling of such situations. Either you go with "no, nothing we can do!" or give OBC, FCC...
There could be lots of reasons why people are removing gratuities. I have never done this but paid in advance.  

Edited October 11, 2023 by nsitt

[aggie311]

Other posters are likely correct in that it has something to do with what country you are in and the laws there. 
 

However, in some situations at work I have some leeway in how things are handled. If I have a customer bring a complaint to me and they are patient, willing to work with me, heck even just say “please”, I’m probably a lot more likely to go above and beyond. If they are rude and condescending I will still do my job but won’t make the effort to go above and beyond. The way you’re threatening to play silly games with the crews tips make it seem like you’d fall into the latter category. 

[Sailor75]

I understand your situation, I've had that happen to me before as well. Can you not cancel and rebook? Have you paid in full? One time I cancelled 6 bookings to get a lower price on one cruise, but the deposits I lost were less than what I saved when I rebooked the one cruise. I wouldn't take it out on the crew though, it's not their fault.

[julig22]

22 minutes ago, nsitt said:

That's what I said. I am ok about the drop in price, I accepted the T&Cs at booking time. I am annoyed because NCL is not firm in their handling of such situations. Either you go with "no, nothing we can do!" or give OBC, FCC...
There could be lots of reasons why people are removing gratuities. I have never done this but paid in advance.  

And my answer is that, as far as I can tell, they ARE firm in their handling of such situations.

Although you insist that the internet is full of examples, I'm not personally aware of any discussions regarding price drop policy in the UK, so can't speak to that. 

Yes, in the past it did seem to be up to the person you spoke to but they implemented a uniform policy, sometime spring/summer of 2022 if I recall correctly, that has been posted here and there by a TA or 2. And when push comes to shove, it is usually revealed that they did adhere to that policy. With a few modifications, such as 100% FCC now vs 50% initially. OBC in pricing situation hasn't been given for years, might want to check the dates on the stories you refer to. Sure, I was able to upgrade for free on my last cruise before the shutdown. But things have changed...

 

[SoloAlaska]

If you can cancel and rebook then do that. If you have a non refundable deposit and it’s less than the difference then it’s worth it. Anything other than that can be a hit or miss. I am in Canada so my experience is different than your would be. 

[hallux]

3 hours ago, Sailor75 said:

Can you not cancel and rebook?

 

1 hour ago, SoloAlaska said:

If you can cancel and rebook then do that.

OP is in the UK, they have different rules on that and I don't think they can...

[Back to school]

I hate fire sales!  No discipline for business.

[IAcruising]

56 minutes ago, Back to school said:

I hate fire sales!  No discipline for business.

 

How else would a business dispose of excess inventory?

 

[Ima Ginaree]

You state in comment #10 that you’ve paid the gratuities in advance, which suggests you have paid the total outstanding cruise fare already. If so, that may be a factor in their decision.

 

Some travel companies give early bird passenger discounts if they pay in full early. Therefore, when I recently booked with NCL for a cruise which is over 12 months away, I specifically asked whether there was a discount for early payment. The advice I was given was essentially, think twice about paying earlier than you have to, because once you’ve paid in full the cruise price is locked in and therefore any future discounts can’t/won’t be passed on.
 

 

[si_boy]

I am also in UK, spotted a lower price before final payment was due and telephoned them.
We had booked direct with NCL.

Very helpful agent who was able to verify the price had dropped and that we would get the new price, without cancellation or losing deposit.
Even better we kept the same balcony cabin number. We are on the cruise now!

The reduction to us was £1,000 so not insignificant.

My advice would be to try calling again.

[julig22]

54 minutes ago, si_boy said:

I am also in UK, spotted a lower price before final payment was due and telephoned them.
We had booked direct with NCL.

Very helpful agent who was able to verify the price had dropped and that we would get the new price, without cancellation or losing deposit.
Even better we kept the same balcony cabin number. We are on the cruise now!

The reduction to us was £1,000 so not insignificant.

My advice would be to try calling again.

Huge difference in how a price drop is handled before final due date and a price drop after. My comments are assuming OP is referring to a drop after final payment.

[si_boy]

29 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Huge difference in how a price drop is handled before final due date and a price drop after. My comments are assuming OP is referring to a drop after final payment.

Not necessarily, NCL agent said at that the time when I called if the price dropped further closer to the departure date and after final payment was made to call again and they would look into OBC and/or cabin upgrade.

Of course upgrade would depend on how full the ship was.

[julig22]

12 minutes ago, si_boy said:

Not necessarily, NCL agent said at that the time when I called if the price dropped further closer to the departure date and after final payment was made to call again and they would look into OBC and/or cabin upgrade.

Of course upgrade would depend on how full the ship was.

I think you misunderstood my comment.  Prior to final payment, they can adjust the pricing, so you pay less.  After final payment, they might give you FCC (No OBC in the US anyway) or an upgrade. 

2 completely different ways to make adjustments, depending on when the price drops.

[si_boy]

Agree, different arrangements in different locations.
Quoting experience in UK which is where I though OP was based.

[julig22]

5 minutes ago, si_boy said:

Agree, different arrangements in different locations.
Quoting experience in UK which is where I though OP was based.

Not my point. Difference is whether or not you are before or after final payment.  Your experience was before final payment, I believe OP is after final payment. Looking into possible compensation after final payment is a courtesy, not an absolute.

[si_boy]

Since the OP has not clarified, we can only speculate.
You have missed my point which was the advice of the NCL agent on what would happen after final payment had been made.

In the UK of course, which appears to differ from US.