WOW! another overwhelming sale!

[complawyer]

i note that the newest ncl advertised "sale" ( and i use the term in the very broadest sense of the word) is:  drum roll please,  small print "up to", large type  $1,000 off. imho, that covers a lot of territory.  

has anyone yet found a listed cruise that actually gives you the 1000 off, or that shows any significant amount being deducted from the fare as a new sale price?

 

and if so, has ncl jacked up the so-called original fare to make it seem like they're giving us something.

 

gotta love their advertising guys!

[Asawi]

There was a similar "sale" here in Europe a few months ago. All prices (as in what I would pay after any "sale" applied) I checked went up during that "sale". Couldn't wait for it to end and see prices back to what they were before it. Sure, just €20 here or €50 there in most cases, but still thoroughly annoying!

[complawyer]

amen! brother

[cruiseny4life]

With the $1,000 off, the cruise we booked for February is now about $100 per person more expensive than when we booked it. So, we saved $2,200 by not booking during this sale.

 

Yay sales!

[complawyer]

as i always say "God bless the NCL sales dept"

[cruiseny4life]

19 minutes ago, complawyer said:

as i always say "God bless the NCL sales dept"

John Chernesky outdoes himself with blabber and bobbleheads.

[Bulk-head]

NCL found a different wording for the 35 percent off sale

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

I keep a spreadsheet of prices so I know when there has been a price drop that I can take advantage of.

 

During August the price of two cruises we are doing was all over the place.   Firstly they removed the USD100 OBC; then put it back and soon removed it again.

In 8 days there were 5 price changes.

Late in August and Early in September when this "sale" occurred there was a drop of about NZD500 on each cruise  and then a further NZD150 before the NZD150 was removed one day later.

 

I did manage to get the price drop on each when it was a minimum price!!

[ChiefMateJRK]

Cruise Plum is a much better way of finding sale prices than going to NCL's landing page.

[deliver42]

I guess it depends on itinerary and date. I just priced Alaska on the Bliss for May, 2026 with a balcony, the free at sea, prepaid gratuities, and R/T airfare from Oklahoma City for $4600 and change. This is $1000.00 better than Princess and HAL without the air fare, which, by the way, would be over $1200.00. Of course, all prices are for 2 people. NCL's was the only refundable deposit, and the least amount. $250.00

[mking8288]

Gosh, maybe I will take a look after our next 2 Royal Caribbean cruises coming up soon, 😂 after we rest up from Cunard. Wait, let me message our NCL cruise consultant to re-price our two 2025 NCL bookings to see what they got ... extra Latitudes points ? 

 

Faster Starlink WiFi or 200% refund guaranteed 😬 

[david_sobe]

While I agree with the sentiment of this thread that the sale is not a sale if the price is increased before the sale, IMHO its a more believable than the 50% off sale they had a short time ago.  That "sale" was based on the fact if you bought a cruise for double occupancy at full price, your second occupant sailed "free."  I found that extremely misleading since you must always buy double occupancy for cruise cabins.  I notice it went away. Maybe they too thought it was a bridge too far.  A few years ago I remember they had to clarify their "free" excursion claim.  It only meant $50 credit per cabin.  In theory I suppose one person in the cabin could get a free excursion if they take the cheapest bus tour excursion.  But this marketing really takes the truth right up to that fine line.  But it works! 🤑

[detroitlions]

The cruise industry is like the jewelry stores every thing is always on sale but every one know what they claim is the original price is way more than you would pay for a cruise or a diamond ring. 

[erisajd]

I received a mailing about 3 weeks ago that details the 70% off the second party plus the usual FAS - and the brochure has NO expiration date anywhere - 

[deliver42]

Just an update of my previous post about my Alaska sailing in 2026. I booked it today, just changing from May to September, since it gave us, both retired, an additional 4 months before final payment. We can't wait to go on the seemingly beautiful Bliss. The price was just too good to pass up. This will be our 4th Alaska cruise, and the second with NCL. Our previous NCL cruise was on the Jewel, with additional cruises on Princess and Royal Caribbean.

[itsnotjustme]

There was a company in the U.S. that got into legal trouble for advertising as a sale something that was always at the lower price.  Some guy named Mike with a pillow company agreed to pay $1M in fines for deceptive advertising.

 

Mike is now bankrupt.

 

 

 

 

[david_sobe]

This board is mostly full of experienced cruisers.  We don't fall for slick advertising.  We know the best cruise prices are hidden in plain sight sometimes.  If you are cruising for best price book in February.  You can always find that good price on a cruise that for some reason is not selling that much and the cruise fares are very reasonable.  Its the same with airlines.  If you are flexible with your travel dates and airline, you can save money.

These 50% off sales and "free" stuff is marketed to people that may have not cruised before.  Many years ago when the Free At Sea program started, the NCL executive in charge of travel agents was talking how successful the program was.  She had a spontaneous utterance where she said "this program really works with our customers because they think they are getting free drinks and other free stuff"   Once she said it she tried to backtrack.

In the year leading up to the pandemic, NCL was advertising on lots of Miami radio stations.  Their commercials were very appealing if you did not know better.  "Book now with our 30% off sale with free drinks, free specialty dining, free excursions and free wifi."
If only 🤔

When the free at sea program started sometimes it would come and go before it became permanent.  There was a Jade cruise I was watching for pricing.  In the week the Free At Sea program was not in effect, the price of the cruise went down $250.  Once the Free At Sea program started again, the cruise went back up $250.

The old saying is true.  Nothing in life is free.  In 2022 I bought a new car and the dealership told me they were going to do something really special for me and give me "free" car mats.  They were the ones that came with the car anyway.  Sure enough for the customers that irked them, they would remove them from the vehicles.

Edited September 12 by david_sobe

[PhillyTravelBug]

I usually just wait until Black Friday / cyber Monday. Even those aren’t spectacular. They should be offering triple cruise next deposits relatively soon. It’s been a while.

[deliver42]

It has nothing to do with sales. I've been on over 25 cruises, and to me, if the price seems right, I book it. If not, then I don't regardless of the "sale" This goes on all cruise lines, not just NCL.

[herbanrenewal]

I've never found the advertised "sales" to make a difference. What does make a price difference is how well its booking - near sold out, not much chance of price drop; not selling well, decent price drop. Since you can cancel without penalty until a couple months before its easy to get a re-pricing when there's a drop. I book as soon as I find a cruise I want. I'm currently booked through 2026. I get the room location I want. Then I check prices. My next cruise is Africa b2b in January. I've had total for b2b $1800 price drops since I booked over a year ago. We're getting close to final payment so I'm checking price fairly often but I don't think I'll get much lower since my category is low inventory.

[ontheweb]

44 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

It has nothing to do with sales. I've been on over 25 cruises, and to me, if the price seems right, I book it. If not, then I don't regardless of the "sale" This goes on all cruise lines, not just NCL.

When we have a cruise in mind, we check with our TA. If the price seems reasonable, we book it.

[Asawi]

A cruise I was interested in for 2025 was €17xx (don't remeber exactly) before we had this "up to €xxxx off" sale earlier this year. A bit high for me, but maybe... Then this "sale" came along and it went up to €18xx. I got pi-ed off and planned a land trip instead. That sale lasted for way to long, but when it finally got away during the summer price dropped to €1460.

(I booked and got a great location solo inside. The last in that location. To book anything similar to what I have would now be a lot more. Sale or not. Book what you want when price is what you're prepared to pay!)

[elcuchio24]

I'm not really convinced any of the lines ever actually have 'sales'!

[davencl]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:11 AM, complawyer said:

 

has anyone yet found a listed cruise that actually gives you the 1000 off, or that shows any significant amount being deducted from the fare as a new sale price?

 

 

My experience is seeing a $1000 "savings" after they increased the price by $1000 the day before. 🙂 🙂 

[complawyer]

davencl of, course, that goes without saying! LOL!

 

obviously,  even though I continue to cruise with NCL, my point is regardless of what they may call it, (and there may actually be a slight drop in price, especially after final payment date) there isnt a sale, of any significant savings to the average cruiser. maybe for a 1st time person, it sounds like the deal of a lifetime, but after sailing with ncl more than a couple of times, you realize that you are not going to save any type of real money, unless you choose an indoor or ocean view cabin. I\m  not knocking these choices by any means, it just seems that these are always the lower priced cabins, and even they dont go down much (if at all ) when ncl announces a| "sale"