I Get It

[Smitheroo]

I'm making this post to say that I finally get "my account confusion"  Please, no arguments.  Even comments arent necessary.  This is just an explanation of Why and How I finally get it.

 

In my defense:  On an earlier cruise I listened to the CN presentation which I understood to be :   Buy x number of CN certificates (I forget the exact number, and the certificates were full price) and we will give you $1,000 OBC. (and it was nonrefundable at that time)  You can use this OBC to pay off your shipboard expenses. f you dont use all of it, you lose it.   Good for someone who has spent a lot of money in the gift shop or the bar and hadnt purchased a drinks package.    It is  meant as an incentive for you to commit to cruise with us in the future.   My travel partner explained to me that this was not really a good deal for us because we had very little in the the way of shiipboard expenses. (our DSC had been pre-paid. There was a small amount of tax on a drink I bought in port, which was never charged to my credit card. I'm assuming charges are disregarded below a certain level).    it would be like spending $250 now in order not to spend $250 later.  (but getting your shipboard expenses paid)  I fully understand this deal.

 

Advance to last cruise with the "Free Money" deal:

 

Only I know what I heard explained to me and yes,  I misunderstood.    Now, had I been charged $2000 for the 8 certificates and given 1,000 free money to be used on board that would have been the same as the presentation deal I heard on my first cruise, explained above.   I could use it to pay shipboard expenses I had incurred and if there were none, the $1000 would have come off the price of the CN certificates.  What did happen was that the $1000 came off the CN certificates which left the shipboard expenses (some of which I wouldnt have if I didnt  want to buy CN certificates in the first place.) for me to pay. Some of the shipboard charges would have been there anyway, some were only there because I misunderstood the deal.

 

My take from this experience:

 

1) I most likely will never buy 8 CN certificates at one time again. For some people they might be a good idea but it does tie up a lot of money. I wont get my money back for them for as long as it take me to go on a lot of cruises.

2)  "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" is once again reinforced.

3) if still interested , question everything but I thought I understood 

4) Even the unnecessary spa services werent a total waste because now I know I will never  go near the spa/salon. This was not a costly lesson. I doubt that this is the conclusion that NCL would want me to come to   Marketing strategies can backfire.  I am now less likely to make extra charges on board.  

 

So, I get it and I am fortunate it was not a much more costly misunderstanding I had.   

Edited November 14, 2023 by Smitheroo

[cruisinmeme]

Your 1000.00 OBC should of gone towards the purchase of all the cruise next you bought.

[Asawi]

And, FWIW, you didn't actually lose anything. OK, you're not getting the discount you "should" when using the CN certificates, but at least they will be worth the 250 you paid for them if you're able to use them as part payments.

[kylenyc]

Cruise Next reps seriously upped their sales pitch. They first look at your cruise history and then adjust their sales pitch accordinly. If you're a new cruiser they pitch fewer certificates ($500). If you cruise a lot with NCL, they start with a higher amount ($2000) and keep lowering it until you agree or walk away.

 

The sale pitch if you continued to listen and say you're not interested.

 

CN: "$2000 in CNs will only cost you $1000" followed by the many reasons to do it.
You: "Oh that's too expensive" or "I can't commit to that many cruises" etc.
CN: "What about $1500 in CNs will only cost you $750. You can certain take six cruises and there's double up offers all the time, etc.

 

Rinse and repeat until you agree to an amount or walk away.

 

Also, at $2000 costing $1000 i'm getting a minimum 25% annualized return assuming I take only two cruises a year. Certified financial analysts please do the real maff and chime in. 🤪

 

Year 1 - $500 in CNs that cost $250 over 1 year - 100% annual return
Year 2 - $500 in CNs that cost $250 over 2 years - 50% annual return
Year 3 - $500 in CNs that cost $250 over 3 years - 33% annual return
Year 4- $500 in CNs that cost $250 over 4 years - 25% annual return

 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by kylenyc

[ready2cruzagain]

I just can't understand why people just don't "get" the cruise next when bought on the ship.

 

We purchase $1000 worth. Receive a $500 obc. If we don't have any charges other than that then our total bill at the end when getting off the ship is $500. You buy $1000, you get a $500 credit. You don't have to buy anything else for that credit. In the end it is a great deal. You pay $500 for $1000 worth of cruise certificates. We usually buy a $1000 every time we go and end up paying $500. Win, win situation! 

 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I just can't understand why people just don't "get" the cruise next when bought on the ship.

I  just can't understand why people just don't "get" the cruise next is marketed in a most deceptive manner.   Why doesn't NCL cut the sales pitch and market cruise next as a Half-off?  Spend $500 and get a cruise credit of $1000 instead of the way they do it.

[ChiefMateJRK]

We bought 16 CNs on our July cruise (8 by me, 8 by DW).  They were all applied to future cruises during double up offers.  We'll likely buy 16 more on our next cruise.  For frequent cruisers, the money is not really tied up.  I spend $125 now and apply it to a cruise in 12 months.  That's a 100% ROI.  You won't get than anywhere else, even during the market's best years.

[kylenyc]

19 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I  just can't understand why people just don't "get" the cruise next is marketed in a most deceptive manner.   Why doesn't NCL cut the sales pitch and market cruise next as a Half-off?  Spend $500 and get a cruise credit of $1000 instead of the way they do it.

Just a guess. They want you to spend the OBC on board where they have the highest margins.

[ChiefMateJRK]

25 minutes ago, kylenyc said:

Just a guess. They want you to spend the OBC on board where they have the highest margins.

Bingo!!!

[Capitan Obvious]

32 minutes ago, kylenyc said:

Just a guess. They want you to spend the OBC on board where they have the highest margins.

 

Well, it is ON BOARD credit after all, you kinda have to spend it on board by definition. Not like you can spend OBC off of the ship.

[kylenyc]

15 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

 

Well, it is ON BOARD credit after all, you kinda have to spend it on board by definition. Not like you can spend OBC off of the ship.

Except Cruise Next sales reps pitch that any unused Cruise Next OBC will be applied to the cost of the Cruise Next. If you use zero Cruise Next OBC on board, then the presumption is you've paid 50% of the face value and will use the certificate towards a future cruise fare. NCL has higher margins on this type of OBC spent on the ship as opposed to using it toward Cruise Next certificates which go towards future cruise fares (lower margins).

Sincerely,

Captain Confusion

 

P.S. It's a pretty slick sales pitch to for Cruise Next reps to say you can have a discount on your Cruise Next certificate OR use the onboard credit to spend on the ship. I'm guessing a good number of people subconscously "forget" you can't have both and just go ahead and spend the OBC more freely. I'm guilty of it.

Edited November 14, 2023 by kylenyc

[ChiefMateJRK]

8 minutes ago, kylenyc said:

Except Cruise Next sales reps pitch that any unused Cruise Next OBC will be applied to the cost of the Cruise Next. If you use zero Cruise Next OBC on board, then the presumption is you've paid 50% of the face value and will use the certificate towards the cruise fare. NCL has higher margins on this type of OBC spent on the ship as opposed to using it toward Cruise Next which go towards the cruise fare.

Sincerely,

Captain Confusion

You understand it perfectly.  I really don't understand why others are debating this.

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, kylenyc said:

Just a guess. They want you to spend the OBC on board where they have the highest margins.

IOW, they've deliberately choosen a deceptive way to sell cruise next?

[Asawi]

11 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

IOW, they've deliberately choosen a deceptive way to sell cruise next?

Yeah... kind of...
They do have this "I have a very special offer right now" thing going to get people to buy more than they planned to. Not actually lying or anything. Just muddying up things. Like when I bought 2 certificates on a cruise. "I have very special offer. Instead of the onboard credit I can give you TWO EXTRA FOR FREE! Isn't that great?"  Eeehhh... That would be the same thing as if I had come there to buy 4 and get 500 OBC. No better, no worse. Still 125/each. If I had wanted 4 then I would have asked for 4 in the first place...
On the next cruise I did buy 4, because my daughter "needed" some. "I have very special offer. Instead of the onboard credit I can give you FOUR EXTRA FOR FREE! Isn't that great?" Still 125/each... (But nice if indeed you want 8 of them). 

I have overheard conversations between other people actually thinking they made a better deal declining the OBC and getting extra certificates FOR FREE! Buying more certificates than they planned. Which I guess is exactly what the CN people wanted.

[RocketMan275]

5 minutes ago, Asawi said:

Yeah... kind of...
They do have this "I have a very special offer right now" thing going to get people to buy more than they planned to. Not actually lying or anything. Just muddying up things. Like when I bought 2 certificates on a cruise. "I have very special offer. Instead of the onboard credit I can give you TWO EXTRA FOR FREE! Isn't that great?"  Eeehhh... That would be the same thing as if I had come there to buy 4 and get 500 OBC. No better, no worse. Still 125/each. If I had wanted 4 then I would have asked for 4 in the first place...
On the next cruise I did buy 4, because my daughter "needed" some. "I have very special offer. Instead of the onboard credit I can give you FOUR EXTRA FOR FREE! Isn't that great?" Still 125/each... (But nice if indeed you want 8 of them). 

I have overheard conversations between other people actually thinking they made a better deal declining the OBC and getting extra certificates FOR FREE! Buying more certificates than they planned. Which I guess is exactly what the CN people wanted.

I'm convinced NCL recruits used car salesmen for their CN sales staff.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

On my next cruise, when DW and I again buy 16 CNs, I need to remember to ask them for any added perks.  I know that if I book a cruise at that point, they will often provide a cabin upgrade within the chosen category.  I book my cruises when I'm not enjoying my holiday, so that may not be an option.  We'll see.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@Smitheroo

 

Congratulations that you now understand but lots still don't; they should look at it this way

 

Day 5 your account is $543.

Day 6 you buy 8 FCC at $250 each ($2000) so your account now reads $2543 ($543 + $2000).

Day 7 The FCC people put a credit of $1000 in your account which now reads $1543 ($2543- $1000)

 

That means you have in your My NCL 8 FCCs worth $250 each for which you have paid $125 each.

 

FORGET all the rubbish they talk about Free Money and OBC.   They took $2000 with one hand and gave you back $1000 with the other.

Spend the $1000 on the COST OF THE FCCs not on overpriced "rubbish" on the ship they are trying to con you to do.

[RocketMan275]

13 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

FORGET all the rubbish they talk about Free Money and OBC.   They took $2000 with one hand and gave you back $1000 with the other.

Spend the $1000 on the COST OF THE FCCs not on overpriced "rubbish" on the ship they are trying to con you to do.

That only works if  you have zero spending on board.   You have to have prepaid  your DSC, prepaid your excursions, no extra beverages, etc., etc.  Otherwise, part of this OBC will be spent on other things. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by RocketMan275

[Smitheroo]

5 hours ago, cruisinmeme said:

Your 1000.00 OBC should of gone towards the purchase of all the cruise next you bought.

it did