Has anyone got a price adjustment from NCL

[welovecruising2]

So,I have a question for the smart folks here.

 

Let's say you are sitting at NCL Corporate Hdqtrs. You are reviewing sales numbers and realize some of the ships are going to sail less than full. For example, ship "A" is going to sail with 100 of her 1000 cabins empty, with an average cabin price of $2,100. (approx numbers, please).

 

So, you decide to run a sale and reduce the prices 25%. But then somebody else says, we should reduce the prices for those people that already booked, it is only fair.

 

The math whiz in the back of the room does some quick math and figures out that they would forfeit. If we run the sale and fill the rooms, it will cost us $52,500 in reduced fare, but we do gain $157,500 in revenue we would not get if they sail empty.

 

If we run the sale AND honor the same price reduction for the other 900 rooms it will cost us another $472,500 for a total of $525,000. And Mr Smarty from the other side of the room mentions that we take that kind of hit, we should start planning to close this down!

 

So, if you were the mgmt of this company, what would you do?

 

 

This is a question for the "smarter" folks here. Let's just say that there are other cruise lines out there (with great customer service and beautiful ships and reviews) who listen to their customers and offer them the best deal and are willing to discount or upgrade when necessary....wouldn't you want to cruise again with that company? There are still cruise lines out there that do this and as a "smart" person I would be loyal to them.

[YOW]

There are still cruise lines out there that do this and as a "smart" person I would be loyal to them.

 

Such as?

[newmexicoNita]

Whether to return to the store and excercise the sale price option is everyone's personal choice. I'm only saying what I would do. I'm not suggesting that people return Christmas presents, so this needn't be made personal or sarcastic.

 

Nita does indeed bring a professional opinion to the boards, and I can respect that. It's the way that she conveys her opinions that I have a problem with. All I can say is what I would do, and how I feel. No need to make this personal. That's all.

I will say this much: yes, my comments probably do come across as being sarcastic from time to time, but only when there are issues that some of you just don't seem to understand. Frustrating, I am sure, but every line has policies that you may not like, coming on these boards to rant once in awhile may even be understandable, but to carry on and on accomplishes nothing. My real frustration lies with people (not you btw) who make statements that are flat out not true.

 

Nita

[rsinj]

Is the "Pity the Procrastinator" promo for new bookings only? There are people on these boards who had existing bookings and still received a reduction for this promo... not all, but some, and that inconsistency is not going to help NCL's customer service issues.

 

Oh - you just wait till it's 6 or 8 weeks before the cruise and they're selling cabins for less than those who bought during "Pity the Procrastinator" - I can't wait to see the fireworks!

 

Howard

[welovecruising2]

Such as?

 

Rccl, Holland, Celebrity and Carnival. I've received a reduction or upgrade many times from them. Listen...I am still excited about my upcoming cruise on the Dawn and am not going to let this bother me, but in the future I will think twice about booking a cruise with Nccl regardless of how great the vacation was. There are too many other "fish" in the sea!!

[6rugrats]

Is the "Pity the Procrastinator" promo for new bookings only? There are people on these boards who had existing bookings and still received a reduction for this promo... not all, but some, and that inconsistency is not going to help NCL's customer service issues.

 

I purchased my cruise several months ago. I have received two price reductions. The price again went down, but NCL refuses to adjust now, because they state the new price reduction is due to the "Pity the Procrastinator" promotion.

 

I can't cancel and rebook at the new price, even though there are many cabins in our booking class available, because they will just be rebooked at the original price.

 

What a ridiculous name for this promotion! I wish I had procrastinated because I would be paying much less. It makes no sense.

[lvtotrvl1]

Rccl, Holland, Celebrity and Carnival. I've received a reduction or upgrade many times from them. Listen...I am still excited about my upcoming cruise on the Dawn and am not going to let this bother me, but in the future I will think twice about booking a cruise with Nccl regardless of how great the vacation was. There are too many other "fish" in the sea!!

 

You are totally incorrect here...all 3 of these cruiselines also offer promos for new bookings only. One example...Celebrity's Exciting Deals for September 25th clearly states in large Capital letters...FOR NEW BOOKINGS ONLY! Again, it's the rules of the game. Yes people are getting price reductions or OBC at times, but these are with standard price reductions...not a promo for new bookings only.

[Lulley766]

Nita,

 

Your comments are not limited to "policies" that we may like or dislike about cruise lines. You are well within your expertise to comment on that. What I take exception is to the nasty, (sorry no other way to say it), comment about returning Christmas gifts for lesser prices. There was clearly no need for that. If you feel that we are "carrying on" too much about one issue, I have a solution for you - log off.

[welovecruising2]

You are totally incorrect here...all 3 of these cruiselines also offer promos for new bookings only. Again, it's the rules of the game. Yes people are getting price reductions or OBC at times, but these are with standard price reductions...not a promo for new bookings only.

 

I didn't say it was a promo for new bookings only. I have seen many times where it says that on the website but I am talking about regular rate reductions. On ALL of my cruises (except Disney) I have been either upgraded or received the new rate. Never have I had a problem...and in some cases I have received multiple discounts. I think this is where part of the disappointment lies. Speaking for myself I am new to Norwegian.....perhaps I am spoiled by being able to get the reduced rates from the other cruise lines and am just surprised that Norwegian isn't doing it too. Yes, I am still excited about my upcoming cruise but like I said earlier....there are other lines with great ships, customer service and reviews and are willing to reduce or upgrade.

[newmexicoNita]

You are totally incorrect here...all 3 of these cruiselines also offer promos for new bookings only. One example...Celebrity's Exciting Deals for September 25th clearly states in large Capital letters...FOR NEW BOOKINGS ONLY! Again, it's the rules of the game. Yes people are getting price reductions or OBC at times, but these are with standard price reductions...not a promo for new bookings only.

I am not certain there is anything anyone can say to make some of these people realize the policies are about the same on all lines. They are upset with one line and think others are different. I think I will give up on this for awhile. It's like beating our heads against a brink wall sometimes.

 

You know I feel for those who are having trouble understanding what is happening, but for those who are downright wrong and won't admit it, I want to scream!!!!!

 

Nita

[GrannyMouse]

Depends on the store. A lot of the big-box stores (Best Buy comes to mind, and it's a fair analogy since their reputation among customers is mixed) have some sort of price protection policy, where they will refund the difference if the price drops within a certain time period and/or if the competition offers a lower price within that same period.

 

This is travel, however, and as NCL explained to me yesterday, cruising is a "commodity product". So is air travel. And yet the airlines have a fairly clear policy about price: you lock in when you buy it; if the price goes up, you don't pay more; if the price goes down, you don't get money back. Just like the price of gas or the stock market. The cruise industry today, OTOH, seems to be plagued with inconsistency.

 

 

Apparently you never booked with SWA. They ALWAYS adjust prices if your flight price goes down. The only stipulation is that you must be able to book the same exact flight to receive the price reduction. They will credit the difference back to your credit card or give you SWA credit. Guess which airline I pick!!

[newmexicoNita]

Nita,

 

Your comments are not limited to "policies" that we may like or dislike about cruise lines. You are well within your expertise to comment on that. What I take exception is to the nasty, (sorry no other way to say it), comment about returning Christmas gifts for lesser prices. There was clearly no need for that. If you feel that we are "carrying on" too much about one issue, I have a solution for you - log off.

I am so sorry you were unable to accept my apology.

 

Nita

[welovecruising2]

I am not certain there is anything anyone can say to make some of these people realize the policies are about the same on all lines. They are upset with one line and think others are different. I think I will give up on this for awhile. It's like beating our heads against a brink wall sometimes.

 

You know I feel for those who are having trouble understanding what is happening, but for those who are downright wrong and won't admit it, I want to scream!!!!!

 

Nita

 

I know you are not talking about me Nita!!! I book at least 2 cruises a year for my family and in laws and there's no confusion on my part.....EVERY and I mean EVERY....I can't spell it or say it any clearer (except Disney) cruise line that we have been on has either reduced or upgraded us. You can beat your head against the wall all you want....there's nothing to admit or understand. This is a discussion board and we are here discussing that we are surprised that Norwegian isn't doing the same thing that the other lines do. That's it...it's simple...either we are all dumb and can't understand the policies or we are liars!!! Come on!!! Scream away!

[lvtotrvl1]

I know you are not talking about me Nita!!! I book at least 2 cruises a year for my family and in laws and there's no confusion on my part.....EVERY and I mean EVERY....I can't spell it or say it any clearer (except Disney) cruise line that we have been on has either reduced or upgraded us. You can beat your head against the wall all you want....there's nothing to admit or understand. This is a discussion board and we are here discussing that we are surprised that Norwegian isn't doing the same thing that the other lines do. That's it...it's simple...either we are all dumb and can't understand the policies or we are liars!!! Come on!!! Scream away!

 

Sorry, but I don't think booking two cruises a year is grounds for an expert opinion. Not sure about Nita, but I book on average 75 cruises a week and have done so for 13 years. I will say, I am out of here now, and you can discuss your expert opinions forever.

[newmexicoNita]

I know you are not talking about me Nita!!! I book at least 2 cruises a year for my family and in laws and there's no confusion on my part.....EVERY and I mean EVERY....I can't spell it or say it any clearer (except Disney) cruise line that we have been on has either reduced or upgraded us. You can beat your head against the wall all you want....there's nothing to admit or understand. This is a discussion board and we are here discussing that we are surprised that Norwegian isn't doing the same thing that the other lines do. That's it...it's simple...either we are all dumb and can't understand the policies or we are liars!!! Come on!!! Scream away!

no I certainly am not talking about you particularly.. But I will say again then drop the subject, promos are different. Regular price reduction will be honored by any line prior to final payment, after that it can be hit or miss, depending on the mood of the agents or superviors I guess. When there is any promo involved everything is different. I don't think you are a liar and certainly I wouldn't call anyone dumb. As TAs we get reductions for our clients all the time, not on promos of any kind. There isn't really anything more to say.

 

Nita

[welovecruising2]

Sorry, but I don't think booking two cruises a year is grounds for an expert opinion. Not sure about Nita, but I book on average 75 cruises a week and have done so for 13 years. I will say, I am out of here now, and you can discuss your expert opinions forever.

 

Wow....since I am an expert now after expressing MY OPINIONS & EXPERIENCES I need to say something else! There's no need for personal attacks here. The real truth is we all have a right to our opinion and I don't believe anyone here is trying to cause problems. But there is another world out there where price adjustments are being made, a man has walked on the moon and we have color tv.....shocking to some I am sure.:D

[Lulley766]

I do wonder why highly experienced travel agents would spend their time trolling message boards and arguing with people. Since your business is commission based, I would think you might have more profitable things to be focused on. At least the other folks on the boards have a vested interest in the discussions taking place here.

 

I guess I can file this under "Things that make me go hmmm...."

[Lulley766]

I will say this much: yes, my comments probably do come across as being sarcastic from time to time, but only when there are issues that some of you just don't seem to understand. Frustrating, I am sure, but every line has policies that you may not like, coming on these boards to rant once in awhile may even be understandable, but to carry on and on accomplishes nothing. My real frustration lies with people (not you btw) who make statements that are flat out not true.

 

Nita

 

 

Nita,

 

If I could find an apology in here, I would gladly accept it.

[katiel53]

My husband and I have been on over 50 cruises. Most of our cruises have been on Celebrity, RCCL, Princess, HAL and a few on Carnival.

 

We went to Alaska 2 years ago on NCL Star. We loved it. We are now booked, with other family members again on Pearl for next May. We are happy with our cabins. We booked with the procrastinator sale.

 

Having said all this, if prices go down, we would hope to be able to take advantage of them. I know on Celebrity and RCCL we could, UNLESS IT'S FOR NEW BOOKINGS ONLY. We know we can't get reduced prices, but I will tell you many times, even this time for Mariner, the prices went down after final payment and we have gotten the reduced rates.

 

Should NCL say, no way, then we will take our Alaska cruise as freestyle fits our plans for Alaska, but you can bet we won't take any other NCL cruise.

 

I also have to say, we wrote a letter to Mr. Veitch, and our letter was forwarded to customer service. That was OVER A MONTH AGO. Still no answer. I resent it over a week ago, nothing. I guess that kind of gives me an idea of what we should expect on our Alaska cruise.

 

This whole thread doesn't give me/us a warm happy feeling. Nita, I know you will defend NCL, and I guess that's your right. When we tried to book our cruise on NCL, we got a lot of flack from TA's asking WHY we would ever do NCL after our other cruises?

 

I thought we were making the right choice, but I sure am wondering. We will just have to wait and see.

[welovecruising2]

Katiel53-Our last cruise was on the Mariner of the Seas Western route in March. It is one of my favorite Rccl ships. If you haven't been on it yet you will have a blast. We didn't get to do everything and are planning on going again along with the Freedom. We too wanted to try Norwegian as we have tried many other lines (like you) but when the rates went down (not new customers) they would not reduce, match or upgrade at all. I just made my final pmt yesterday so there's no hope for me but maybe for you. We still plan on having a great time.....but it's not likely that we will cruise again with Nccl if in the future we were not able to take advantage of a discount. Most people here get it but there are a few dedicated to the line and deny it is happening. What is interesting is that some of them are travel agents and well I'm not suggesting that THEY do this but of course it would be in some agents best interest to not reduce the rate for the customer so then it would of course go back to the agency. AGAIN I am not saying anyone here would do this, it's just the nature of the business. Good luck!

[smeyer418]

There currently is a post on the RC boards because RC refused to lower a fare....

[welovecruising2]

There currently is a post on the RC boards because RC refused to lower a fare....

 

I can't find it....where is it? I only scrolled down 2 pgs though!

[welovecruising2]

There currently is a post on the RC boards because RC refused to lower a fare....

 

You must be having a hard time finding it!;)

[newmexicoNita]

My husband and I have been on over 50 cruises. Most of our cruises have been on Celebrity, RCCL, Princess, HAL and a few on Carnival.

 

We went to Alaska 2 years ago on NCL Star. We loved it. We are now booked, with other family members again on Pearl for next May. We are happy with our cabins. We booked with the procrastinator sale.

 

Having said all this, if prices go down, we would hope to be able to take advantage of them. I know on Celebrity and RCCL we could, UNLESS IT'S FOR NEW BOOKINGS ONLY. We know we can't get reduced prices, but I will tell you many times, even this time for Mariner, the prices went down after final payment and we have gotten the reduced rates.

 

Should NCL say, no way, then we will take our Alaska cruise as freestyle fits our plans for Alaska, but you can bet we won't take any other NCL cruise.

 

I also have to say, we wrote a letter to Mr. Veitch, and our letter was forwarded to customer service. That was OVER A MONTH AGO. Still no answer. I resent it over a week ago, nothing. I guess that kind of gives me an idea of what we should expect on our Alaska cruise.

 

This whole thread doesn't give me/us a warm happy feeling. Nita, I know you will defend NCL, and I guess that's your right. When we tried to book our cruise on NCL, we got a lot of flack from TA's asking WHY we would ever do NCL after our other cruises?

 

I thought we were making the right choice, but I sure am wondering. We will just have to wait and see.

There are agents out there that do not like to book NCL, my own boss has had some problems with the land part of the line, he does book them though and will continue. As for me, I will continue to defend them as long as I have no serious problems. They offer a good product for a good price. Today I had reason to call customer service, I was not altogether happy with the answer cause it wasn't exactly what my client wanted to hear, but he agent was polite, understood my concerns and did the best she could. this certainly wasn't a serious problem but she took time to ask and give me, what I hope was the right answer. 8 years in the business and I just haven't had any reason to complain.

 

Nita

[smeyer418]

You must be having a hard time finding it!;)

 

? here it is....its been removed....probably from all the people jumping on the poster...