Pricing on NCL Has Gotten Outrageous

[JamieLogical]

My husband and I had a moment of nostalgia for NCL last night. Specifically Pincho on the Escape. The Escape was my very first cruise ship and it will always hold a special place in my heart. We decided to see what itineraries the Escape is up to later (I didn't even know where it was sailing now) and saw a 10-day sailing out of NYC for August 2025. We usually try to avoid sailing in August because of school breaks, but this cruise ended August 30th, so we thought most parents probably wouldn't want to be vacationing right up against the start of school? The cruise goes to Bermuda, Tortola, St, Maarten, San Juan, and Puerto Plata. The itinerary looked great, so we decided to price it out.

 

This is where things got shocking. Two people in a regular balcony cabin with FAS, port fees & taxes, and DSC comes out to $5,427.46!!! That comes out to $271.37 per person per day!

 

Usually, when we price out cruises, we are looking for a balcony with drinks and wifi for ~$150 per person per day. This is $120 more per person per day than that.

 

We are sailing in two weeks on the Enchanted Princess (one of Princess' newer ships) on a 14-day cruise that goes to the ABCs, San Juan, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Maarten. We were originally booked into a Deluxe Balcony and won an upgrade bid to a Mini-suite. Our total price for that sailing with Princess Plus (includes drinks, wifi, gratuities) and port fees is $3998. That's only $142.78 per person per day. That's coming extremely close to half the cost of the Escape cruise! And to compare apples to apples, I looked up this cruise for NEXT August when that Escape cruise is sailing and the pricing is very similar. It would be just under $4k for a deluxe balcony.

 

But my favorite comparison is a 10-day sailing we are sailing on in January. The MSC Meraviglia out of NYC, going to St. Thomas, San Juan, St. Maarten, and Puerto Plata. On that sailing, we booked a Whirpool Balcony Suite, which means we have our own private hot tub on our own GIANT balcony. We have been in this room on the Meraviglia before and it was amazing. We felt like this was an extravagant booking, way over our usual $150/person/per day, but well worth it for that hot tub. Did I mention the suite also has a separate living room and bedroom with a real door between them? And both the living room and the bedroom have sliding doors out onto that giant balcony? Oh, and don't forget that it includes thermal spa access. Anyway, the grand total for that cruise with drinks, wifi, DSC, and port fees is $5286.66. We also have a whopping $650 of OBC on that cruise. That's $140.80 less than the Escape sailing in a normal balcony.

 

I can't wrap my brain around how NCL is filling ships at these prices. Over $250 per person per day in a normal balcony is just completely nuts!

 

And then when I think about the fact that price doesn't include room service breakfast, evening turn-down service, Bailey's in the drink package, or unlimited wifi like MSC and Princess do, it really just blows my mind.

 

I used to be such an NCL cheerleader and I know that there are still a lot of them around. I just don't understand how they are willing to continue to WAY overpay for what has become an inferior product.

[luv2kroooz]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

I used to be such an NCL cheerleader and I know that there are still a lot of them around. I just don't understand how they are willing to continue to WAY overpay for what has become an inferior product.

Could be uninformed first timers, blind loyalty or some combination. I think NCL missed revenue projections a few months ago, though, so not sure how that happened given the current environment. But, yes, much better values to be had elsewhere. To each their own....good luck to all with NCL.

[pghflyer]

Big NCL fan and appreciate their product and culture on board, but yes....they have previously always been priced similar to and classified like Carnival and RCL....but now their prices are more in the range of Celebrity and Holland and Princess, and I don't feel like they have added to their product (actually, my last few cruises seem to be a lowering of their product in standard food and entertainment, IMO).  I have some standard cruise searches for balconies saved (sorted by low price) and for the last 18-months, I see pages and pages and pages of results for MSC and Carnival and some RCL and Princess....but really NCL isn't even in the ballpark on pricing.  What they do have going for them, is they have the most diverse itineraries of most of those companies I would argue, so that is worth something.

[kasimir]

We feel the exact same way when recently looking for future cruise options in 2025 that NCL prices have gone up quite significantly. 

We have tried all major cruise lines in various cabin categories during the past 20 years (except for MSC), but became very loyal to NCL during the past 4 years as we really liked them overall and they offered good prices. 

And we wouldn't mind price increases, if the service and quality levels would have remained similar to what we have seen until 2023. But drastic price increases paired with the recent cost-cuttings across the board which are very noticeable are leaving a very sour taste. 

 

When i was comparing various cruise options for next year, a lot of NCL cruises were coming into Celebrity price ranges. At that price point I will just outright book a Celebrity cruise over a NCL cruise any time of the day, which we did. 😉 

[njkate]

I totally agree Jamie! I have a 4 day cruise from Orlando end of August, that was only because my grandson kept bugging me to go on a cruise before school and for me no air involved!

 

Then I’m taking a break from NCL as their pricing has gone nuts, plus they seem to be the leader in canceling/switching ports for no legitimate reason! They did it to me back in June based on guest feedback,BS, to enhance guest experience again BS!! Always always after final payment! I had no desire to go to Mexico if I did would of booked a cruise with Mexico 

I booked a land vacation in France for spring of next year and I’m looking at Iceland, Norway, Greenland on Princess 

I know Greenland gets canceled a lot but at least it’s a legit reason Ice/Wind 

 

Ill have to look at MSC website and see what they have!

My status on NCl, well a free bag of laundry and some chocolate strawberries is not enough to entice me to pay their ridiculous fares!

Edited July 27 by njkate

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, njkate said:

Ill have to look at MSC website and see what they have!

My status on NCl, well a free bag of laundry and some chocolate strawberries is not enough to entice me to pay their ridiculous fares!

 

MSC has a status match program to entice people from other cruise lines. No free laundry, but their top tier does have some decent perks, including a free Specialty Dining meal.

[njkate]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

MSC has a status match program to entice people from other cruise lines. No free laundry, but their top tier does have some decent perks, including a free Specialty Dining meal.

Good to know! A 10-14 day cruise on Princess, they have self service laundry 

[shof515]

it not just NCL with crazy pricing, Royal Caribbean also has ridiculous pricing and its even worse on the 3 days cruises they do on the new ships

 

its just a sign of the times we live with inflation and how everything is going up in pricing

[Two Wheels Only]

41 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I can't wrap my brain around how NCL is filling ships at these prices. Over $250 per person per day in a normal balcony is just completely nuts!

 

It's just like prices at Starbucks. If people continue to pay the higher prices, the company will continue to raise the prices.

[mjkacmom]

We live very close to nyc, we like to sail out of nyc, it’s significantly more expensive to sail out of nyc, especially during prime times (we have 5 kids, when they were younger we’d vacation during school breaks, students in the northeast don’t go back to school until after Labor Day, so this ncl sailing sounds perfect). It’s probably cheaper to sail out of Florida even with airfare, but the convenience of driving 20 minutes to the ship can’t be beat.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

And then when I think about the fact that price doesn't include room service breakfast, evening turn-down service, Bailey's in the drink package, or unlimited wifi like MSC and Princess do, it really just blows my mind.

 

Forgot to mention that NCL also doesn't include bottled water and specialty coffee in their drink price like every other line does either.

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

We live very close to nyc, we like to sail out of nyc, it’s significantly more expensive to sail out of nyc, especially during prime times (we have 5 kids, when they were younger we’d vacation during school breaks, students in the northeast don’t go back to school until after Labor Day, so this ncl sailing sounds perfect). It’s probably cheaper to sail out of Florida even with airfare, but the convenience of driving 20 minutes to the ship can’t be beat.

 

The cruises I mentioned in my OP are also associated with NYC. The Escape and the Meraviglia are both 10-day round-trip sailings out of NYC. The 14-day Enchanted Princess sailings this August and next August are repositioning cruises out of FLL to NYC, so for NYC cruisers, only a one-way flight to FLL would be required.

 

Edited July 27 by JamieLogical

[Travelling2Some]

I was looking to make bookings for 2025 into 2026 too and ended up booking nothing because NCL's pricing has gotten too high.  Decided to do land trips instead and just watch for bargains going forward.  The serious losses in entertainment and the bogus excuses for port cancellations have also soured us.

 

We just took side-to-side cruises in May.  One on Celebrity Constellation and the second one on the Viva.  Same amount of days, both very good Med itineraries.  I am aware that this compares Celebrity's oldest ship with NCL's newest, so it is not "apples to apples".  However, considering that we enjoyed both cruises equally and the Viva cost more than twice as much as the Celebrity ship, the Celebrity cruise was a MUCH better value.  The cost of the Viva cruise gave me  "buyer's remorse" and I would never have paid that but my husband was very keen on it and I'm very keen on him, lol. 

[JamieLogical]

15 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

I was looking to make bookings for 2025 into 2026 too and ended up booking nothing because NCL's pricing has gotten too high.  Decided to do land trips instead and just watch for bargains going forward.  The serious losses in entertainment and the bogus excuses for port cancellations have also soured us.

 

We just took side-to-side cruises in May.  One on Celebrity Constellation and the second one on the Viva.  Same amount of days, both very good Med itineraries.  I am aware that this compares Celebrity's oldest ship with NCL's newest, so it is not "apples to apples".  However, considering that we enjoyed both cruises equally and the Viva cost more than twice as much as the Celebrity ship, the Celebrity cruise was a MUCH better value.  The cost of the Viva cruise gave me  "buyer's remorse" and I would never have paid that but my husband was very keen on it and I'm very keen on him, lol. 

 

I am looking at a Celebrity Silhouette repositioning sailing at the end of April. It's 10 days out of FLL to NYC with only stops in the ABCs. With drinks, wifi, port fees, and gratuities, it comes out to $159 per person per day, so a little over our usual target of $150, but still WAY below that Escape sailing per person per day. I have sailed on the Equinox and the Solstice, so I am very familiar and comfortable with that class of ship. Celebrity is definitely a much better product than NCL's current product, so for over $100 less per person per day, it would be an extremely easy choice between Celebrity and NCL.

[Asawi]

Unfortunately it's not just NCL. At least not for the destinatiuons I'm interested in (Europe). All cruiselines have outrageous prices! Actually, for me as a solo traveller NCL is the least outrageous. Still super expensive though!

I have three budget friendly Europe landbased trips planned so far for 2025. One NCL cruise and Hurtigruten Norway. (Hurtigruten is seriously expensive, but now that other cruises have gone up so much it doesn't feel as bad any more. Yeah, I'm fooling myself into believing something is "good value" even though it's actually not. At least Oslo/Bergen are near enough so I don't have to fly anywhere.)

[Oakman58]

I love cruising, but with the prices getting so high, I'm considering going back to land based all-inclusive vacations.

[Saint Greg]

I think it's everyone. With 25 Carnival cruises under my belt, four of my next six are on NCL. Carnival prices have been up for over a year. I've seen times where Princess is cheaper...especially when you add in Princess Plus vs. adding everything ala carte on Carnival.

 

Being a solo cruiser the solo rooms on NCL are helpful and I find the overall price is lower and value is better when you add in the drinks which are $70-80/day now on Carnival.

 

Edited July 27 by Saint Greg

[PartyPlannerLady]

5 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

My husband and I had a moment of nostalgia for NCL last night. Specifically Pincho on the Escape. The Escape was my very first cruise ship and it will always hold a special place in my heart. We decided to see what itineraries the Escape is up to later (I didn't even know where it was sailing now) and saw a 10-day sailing out of NYC for August 2025. We usually try to avoid sailing in August because of school breaks, but this cruise ended August 30th, so we thought most parents probably wouldn't want to be vacationing right up against the start of school? The cruise goes to Bermuda, Tortola, St, Maarten, San Juan, and Puerto Plata. The itinerary looked great, so we decided to price it out.

 

This is where things got shocking. Two people in a regular balcony cabin with FAS, port fees & taxes, and DSC comes out to $5,427.46!!! That comes out to $271.37 per person per day!

 

Usually, when we price out cruises, we are looking for a balcony with drinks and wifi for ~$150 per person per day. This is $120 more per person per day than that.

 

We are sailing in two weeks on the Enchanted Princess (one of Princess' newer ships) on a 14-day cruise that goes to the ABCs, San Juan, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Maarten. We were originally booked into a Deluxe Balcony and won an upgrade bid to a Mini-suite. Our total price for that sailing with Princess Plus (includes drinks, wifi, gratuities) and port fees is $3998. That's only $142.78 per person per day. That's coming extremely close to half the cost of the Escape cruise! And to compare apples to apples, I looked up this cruise for NEXT August when that Escape cruise is sailing and the pricing is very similar. It would be just under $4k for a deluxe balcony.

 

But my favorite comparison is a 10-day sailing we are sailing on in January. The MSC Meraviglia out of NYC, going to St. Thomas, San Juan, St. Maarten, and Puerto Plata. On that sailing, we booked a Whirpool Balcony Suite, which means we have our own private hot tub on our own GIANT balcony. We have been in this room on the Meraviglia before and it was amazing. We felt like this was an extravagant booking, way over our usual $150/person/per day, but well worth it for that hot tub. Did I mention the suite also has a separate living room and bedroom with a real door between them? And both the living room and the bedroom have sliding doors out onto that giant balcony? Oh, and don't forget that it includes thermal spa access. Anyway, the grand total for that cruise with drinks, wifi, DSC, and port fees is $5286.66. We also have a whopping $650 of OBC on that cruise. That's $140.80 less than the Escape sailing in a normal balcony.

 

I can't wrap my brain around how NCL is filling ships at these prices. Over $250 per person per day in a normal balcony is just completely nuts!

 

And then when I think about the fact that price doesn't include room service breakfast, evening turn-down service, Bailey's in the drink package, or unlimited wifi like MSC and Princess do, it really just blows my mind.

 

I used to be such an NCL cheerleader and I know that there are still a lot of them around. I just don't understand how they are willing to continue to WAY overpay for what has become an inferior product.

 

You do realize that in a free market system, it is the BUYER who sets the price.  Its the classic golden rule. he who has the gold sets the rules!  If you think something is being offered for sale at too high a price simply do not buy it.  As other consumers make their purchasing decisiond, the market will adjust accordingly.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

I think it's everyone. With 25 Carnival cruises under my belt, four of my next six are on NCL. Carnival prices have been up for over a year. I've seen times where Princess is cheaper...especially when you add in Princess Plus vs. adding everything ala carte on Carnival.

 

Being a solo cruiser the solo rooms on NCL are helpful and I find the overall price is lower and value is better when you add in the drinks which are $70-80/day now on Carnival.

 

 

I specifically listed three other cruise lines in my posts (MSC, Princess, and Celebrity) that have much more reasonable pricing, so it's not "everyone" or at least not every sailing.

[JamieLogical]

47 minutes ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

 

You do realize that in a free market system, it is the BUYER who sets the price.  Its the classic golden rule. he who has the gold sets the rules!  If you think something is being offered for sale at too high a price simply do not buy it.  As other consumers make their purchasing decisiond, the market will adjust accordingly.

 

Right. That is my point. Why are people continuing to pay these high prices on NCL when there are better prices to be had elsewhere for better products?

[david_sobe]

Cruise prices everywhere are high.  Post pandemic there has been a huge demand for cruises.  Its weird to think about because the pandemic was sort of the focal point of the pandemic in the beginning.

I am in no way saying the price was not high nor am I being a cheerleader for NCL. Those that know me over the years know I speak my mind no matter what.  Being the cruise is still in the summer when kids are out especially in NYC going south for 10 days does increase the price.  I can show you higher prices on other lines for similar itineraries.  What I do agree with NCL does have wacky pricing especially for older ships.  It used to be newer ships always got the high prices but not anymore with NCL.  If the NCL Sky was taking that cruise instead of the Escape, the pricing would have been almost identical.  Many cruise vlogs are pointing out how the demand for the new RCCL ships have pricing off the map.  You can score a similar but an older RCCL ship for much less but it seems NCL does not follow the same logic.  My next NCL cruise is on the Aqua and not until 2026 and the pricing for the same cabin now has went up $3000!

Cruising used to be the best vacation value ever but not so much anymore.  I see how MSC has lured away so many customers with their much lower pricing. 

[JamieLogical]

18 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Cruise prices everywhere are high.  Post pandemic there has been a huge demand for cruises.  Its weird to think about because the pandemic was sort of the focal point of the pandemic in the beginning.

I am in no way saying the price was not high nor am I being a cheerleader for NCL. Those that know me over the years know I speak my mind no matter what.  Being the cruise is still in the summer when kids are out especially in NYC going south for 10 days does increase the price.  I can show you higher prices on other lines for similar itineraries.  What I do agree with NCL does have wacky pricing especially for older ships.  It used to be newer ships always got the high prices but not anymore with NCL.  If the NCL Sky was taking that cruise instead of the Escape, the pricing would have been almost identical.  Many cruise vlogs are pointing out how the demand for the new RCCL ships have pricing off the map.  You can score a similar but an older RCCL ship for much less but it seems NCL does not follow the same logic.  My next NCL cruise is on the Aqua and not until 2026 and the pricing for the same cabin now has went up $3000!

Cruising used to be the best vacation value ever but not so much anymore.  I see how MSC has lured away so many customers with their much lower pricing. 

 

Land-based pricing is still higher than any of the cruises I am sailing. Every time I look at hotels in any decent city, they are over $300/night. I am still cruising at $150 per person per day (so $300 total per day for my husband and me) and cruising includes food, drinks, wifi, entertainment, tips, etc. That may not be achievable on NCL, but it certainly still is on other cruise lines.

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

My husband and I had a moment of nostalgia for NCL last night. Specifically Pincho on the Escape. The Escape was my very first cruise ship and it will always hold a special place in my heart. We decided to see what itineraries the Escape is up to later (I didn't even know where it was sailing now) and saw a 10-day sailing out of NYC for August 2025. We usually try to avoid sailing in August because of school breaks, but this cruise ended August 30th, so we thought most parents probably wouldn't want to be vacationing right up against the start of school? The cruise goes to Bermuda, Tortola, St, Maarten, San Juan, and Puerto Plata. The itinerary looked great, so we decided to price it out.

 

This is where things got shocking. Two people in a regular balcony cabin with FAS, port fees & taxes, and DSC comes out to $5,427.46!!! That comes out to $271.37 per person per day!

 

Usually, when we price out cruises, we are looking for a balcony with drinks and wifi for ~$150 per person per day. This is $120 more per person per day than that.

 

We are sailing in two weeks on the Enchanted Princess (one of Princess' newer ships) on a 14-day cruise that goes to the ABCs, San Juan, Dominica, Barbados, and St. Maarten. We were originally booked into a Deluxe Balcony and won an upgrade bid to a Mini-suite. Our total price for that sailing with Princess Plus (includes drinks, wifi, gratuities) and port fees is $3998. That's only $142.78 per person per day. That's coming extremely close to half the cost of the Escape cruise! And to compare apples to apples, I looked up this cruise for NEXT August when that Escape cruise is sailing and the pricing is very similar. It would be just under $4k for a deluxe balcony.

 

But my favorite comparison is a 10-day sailing we are sailing on in January. The MSC Meraviglia out of NYC, going to St. Thomas, San Juan, St. Maarten, and Puerto Plata. On that sailing, we booked a Whirpool Balcony Suite, which means we have our own private hot tub on our own GIANT balcony. We have been in this room on the Meraviglia before and it was amazing. We felt like this was an extravagant booking, way over our usual $150/person/per day, but well worth it for that hot tub. Did I mention the suite also has a separate living room and bedroom with a real door between them? And both the living room and the bedroom have sliding doors out onto that giant balcony? Oh, and don't forget that it includes thermal spa access. Anyway, the grand total for that cruise with drinks, wifi, DSC, and port fees is $5286.66. We also have a whopping $650 of OBC on that cruise. That's $140.80 less than the Escape sailing in a normal balcony.

 

I can't wrap my brain around how NCL is filling ships at these prices. Over $250 per person per day in a normal balcony is just completely nuts!

 

And then when I think about the fact that price doesn't include room service breakfast, evening turn-down service, Bailey's in the drink package, or unlimited wifi like MSC and Princess do, it really just blows my mind.

 

I used to be such an NCL cheerleader and I know that there are still a lot of them around. I just don't understand how they are willing to continue to WAY overpay for what has become an inferior product.

MSC offers some amazing deals!  We were on the Seascape in an Aurea lg balcony in March. We’ll be back on the Seascape in the YC next cruise. 

[Saint Greg]

46 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I specifically listed three other cruise lines in my posts (MSC, Princess, and Celebrity) that have much more reasonable pricing, so it's not "everyone" or at least not every sailing.

And as a solo the MSC rooms I’ve looked at don’t even have a bed. It’s a couch that folds out into a bed. Thank you no. I also said I’ve seen times when Princess is cheaper than Carnival and NCL but if that were consistent, 4 of my next 6 would be on Princess instead of NCL. If Celebrity is consistently better than NCL I’ll book with them. I’m willing to bet now they are not though. I know Princess isn’t consistently cheaper. I’ve been researching them pretty regularly.

 

 

Edited July 27 by Saint Greg

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

And as a solo the MSC rooms I’ve looked at don’t even have a bed. It’s a couch that folds out into a bed. Thank you no. I also said I’ve seen times when Princess is cheaper than Carnival and NCL but if that were consistent, 4 of my next 6 would be on Princess instead of NCL. If Celebrity is consistently better than NCL I’ll book with them. I’m willing to bet now they are not though. I know Princess isn’t consistently cheaper. I’ve been researching them pretty regularly.

 

 

 

Which ships are you looking at for solo on MSC? I have sailed solo on the Meravigia few times. Some of their studios have what you describe, but others have more like a daybed situation? It's a bed that is always made up as a bed, but it has a "back" and an "arm" like a couch would have? here's a picture:

 

 

I stayed in one of the cabins that had the pull-out sofa and I hated that when it was pulled out it blocked access to the closet and the mini-fridge, so I asked my room steward to just make up my couch as a bed (pretty similar to what NCL does for the third guest in a cabin) and that worked out fine for me. But if I were older or had back problems, it might not have worked. I have gotten good solo prices for balconies on MSC as well. I am going on a Halloween cruise on the Meraviglia this year and original looked at booking it solo (my husband decided to join me) and solo in a deluxe balcony with drinks and wifi would have been $793.