CruiseNext Bait & Switch tactic

Recently I was on the Breakaway and decided to take advantage of the CruiseNext promotion. The day I went down to purchase the certificate, the promo ad in the Freestyle Daily said "buy one $250 certificate and get one free". The standard $250 certificate came with a $100 OBC so I figured it was a great deal..... two $250 certificates for $150... why would I think it wasn't a deal considering everything else on the ship was being marked down... what a great way for NCL to increase CruiseNext purchases \ metrics while locking in future revenue from passengers by discounting them. NOPE! It turns out that NCL's definition of buy one and get one free is completely different than the the real world.

NCL requires you to buy TWO $250 certificates for $500 and get a $250 OBC.... wait, the ad said buy ONE not TWO...this actually cost me $100 more than the ad read. So I talked to the CruiseNext Manager and gave her an example using the CruiseNext ad's wording.... "the Best Buy ad says buy a $250 television and get a second for free. You would walk into Best Buy with $250 and expect to walk out with TWO tvs..... not walking into Best Buy and pay $500 and being issued a $250 store credit".... she agreed with my Best Buy example but could not understand her own ad....... I then gave an example "NCL is running a promo where the first two guests pay and the third \ fourth are free..... NCL doesn't charge full price for the third \ fourth and then issue an OBC for that amount, right?".... of course she said that they don't charge for the third \ fourth.

While in the big picture, it's not a huge deal..... but considering NCL is nickel and diming us, increasing prices quarterly, holding the passengers accountable for all their T&Cs that are out there, and I'm sure their legal counsel ok'd the ad..... I expected it to be honored. According to her, I am the only one who has ever read the buy ONE get ONE free exactly as it was written....or the first to challenge the promo ad.... she seemed out of sorts that someone actually was standing in front of her complaining. She did not have a viable solution other than comping me a specialty dinner, however this offer wasn't made until 7:30pm on our last night and logically impossible to use.

I had submitted a card to the Hotel Director and he referred me to Guest Services..... while I appreciate his response... the CruiseNext Manager reports directly to him.

Make sure you have NCL explain their promos before you do anything... it was a great cruise and didn't really ruin anything but I was not pleased with the "bait and switch" tactics and the "dismissive" attitude from the CruiseNext staff

Recently I was on the Breakaway and decided to take advantage of the CruiseNext promotion. The day I went down to purchase the certificate, the promo ad in the Freestyle Daily said "buy one $250 certificate and get one free". The standard $250 certificate came with a $100 OBC so I figured it was a great deal..... two $250 certificates for $150... why would I think it wasn't a deal considering everything else on the ship was being marked down... what a great way for NCL to increase CruiseNext purchases \ metrics while locking in future revenue from passengers by discounting them. NOPE! It turns out that NCL's definition of buy one and get one free is completely different than the the real world.

 

NCL requires you to buy TWO $250 certificates for $500 and get a $250 OBC.... wait, the ad said buy ONE not TWO...this actually cost me $100 more than the ad read. So I talked to the CruiseNext Manager and gave her an example using the CruiseNext ad's wording.... "the Best Buy ad says buy a $250 television and get a second for free. You would walk into Best Buy with $250 and expect to walk out with TWO tvs..... not walking into Best Buy and pay $500 and being issued a $250 store credit".... she agreed with my Best Buy example but could not understand her own ad....... I then gave an example "NCL is running a promo where the first two guests pay and the third \ fourth are free..... NCL doesn't charge full price for the third \ fourth and then issue an OBC for that amount, right?".... of course she said that they don't charge for the third \ fourth.

 

While in the big picture, it's not a huge deal..... but considering NCL is nickel and diming us, increasing prices quarterly, holding the passengers accountable for all their T&Cs that are out there, and I'm sure their legal counsel ok'd the ad..... I expected it to be honored. According to her, I am the only one who has ever read the buy ONE get ONE free exactly as it was written....or the first to challenge the promo ad.... she seemed out of sorts that someone actually was standing in front of her complaining. She did not have a viable solution other than comping me a specialty dinner, however this offer wasn't made until 7:30pm on our last night and logically impossible to use.

 

I had submitted a card to the Hotel Director and he referred me to Guest Services..... while I appreciate his response... the CruiseNext Manager reports directly to him.

 

Make sure you have NCL explain their promos before you do anything... it was a great cruise and didn't really ruin anything but I was not pleased with the "bait and switch" tactics and the "dismissive" attitude from the CruiseNext staff

Not a good way to do business, that is for sure.

I am going to suggest that you misread the promo. I just bought two myself, and it was clear that I was paying $250, or buying one and getting one free. In fact, that is the only reason I bought two of them. It was clearly the better deal. I normally only buy one at $150. For $100 more, I received two, which is exactly the same as buying one and getting one free.

Why in the world you would believe that a deal or promo would be on top of and in addition to another deal/promo is beyond me?

Buy one $250 get one free.

You spend $500 but get $250 back in OBC, hence you pay ($250) for ONE certificate and receive TWO certificates (worth $500). Sounds like a legitimate way to advertise buy one get one free, being that is actually what is happening.

They are not advertising pay 60% of one cruise certificate and get 2 certificates.

I am going to suggest that you misread the promo. I just bought two myself, and it was clear that I was paying $250, or buying one and getting one free. In fact, that is the only reason I bought two of them. It was clearly the better deal. I normally only buy one at $150. For $100 more, I received two, which is exactly the same as buying one and getting one free.

exactly. How I read it as well. Not a bait and switch if don't read the terms and conditions, plus regardless of that a person tells you ultimately the T&C are going to rule the day.

I believe these are pretty much the same promos you saw (especially since the first one says Breakaway even though I was on Getaway):

Here is the other CruiseNext info from my cruise on Getaway two weeks ago:

It seems pretty clear - you spend $250 to get two certificates ($250 each x 2 = $500 minus $250 instant OBC), and they are worth $500 in cruise deposits.

Recently I was on the Breakaway and decided to take advantage of the CruiseNext promotion. The day I went down to purchase the certificate, the promo ad in the Freestyle Daily said "buy one $250 certificate and get one free". The standard $250 certificate came with a $100 OBC so I figured it was a great deal..... two $250 certificates for $150... why would I think it wasn't a deal considering everything else on the ship was being marked down... what a great way for NCL to increase CruiseNext purchases \ metrics while locking in future revenue from passengers by discounting them. NOPE! It turns out that NCL's definition of buy one and get one free is completely different than the the real world.

 

NCL requires you to buy TWO $250 certificates for $500 and get a $250 OBC.... wait, the ad said buy ONE not TWO...this actually cost me $100 more than the ad read. So I talked to the CruiseNext Manager and gave her an example using the CruiseNext ad's wording.... "the Best Buy ad says buy a $250 television and get a second for free. You would walk into Best Buy with $250 and expect to walk out with TWO tvs..... not walking into Best Buy and pay $500 and being issued a $250 store credit".... she agreed with my Best Buy example but could not understand her own ad....... I then gave an example "NCL is running a promo where the first two guests pay and the third \ fourth are free..... NCL doesn't charge full price for the third \ fourth and then issue an OBC for that amount, right?".... of course she said that they don't charge for the third \ fourth.

 

While in the big picture, it's not a huge deal..... but considering NCL is nickel and diming us, increasing prices quarterly, holding the passengers accountable for all their T&Cs that are out there, and I'm sure their legal counsel ok'd the ad..... I expected it to be honored. According to her, I am the only one who has ever read the buy ONE get ONE free exactly as it was written....or the first to challenge the promo ad.... she seemed out of sorts that someone actually was standing in front of her complaining. She did not have a viable solution other than comping me a specialty dinner, however this offer wasn't made until 7:30pm on our last night and logically impossible to use.

 

I had submitted a card to the Hotel Director and he referred me to Guest Services..... while I appreciate his response... the CruiseNext Manager reports directly to him.

 

Make sure you have NCL explain their promos before you do anything... it was a great cruise and didn't really ruin anything but I was not pleased with the "bait and switch" tactics and the "dismissive" attitude from the CruiseNext staff

I am sorry but I believe you read it wrong, if you buy one deposit for 250 you get 100 obc, if you buy 2 deposits you pay 250. so you are getting 2 future cruises for $100 more vs buying the 1 deposit. I was a tad confused at first but I asked questions and bought 2. later in thread someone posted a pix and better defines it. So with your best buy definition, you payed full price for next deposit and got one free. Hope that helps happy next 2 sailings to you

You read the Buy 1 Get 1 Free & assumed you could get 2 for $150 without reading any of the rest of the sheet. Buy 1 Get 1 Free is what you got. You spent $250 and got 2 cruise rewards - it cost $500 minus the immediate $250 onboard credit applied toward their purchase. Your thinking that they were doing a last minute fire sale on cruise rewards like they are cheap watches and jewelry is kind of ridiculous. They run the same exact promo for the whole cruise.

Your thinking that they were doing a last minute fire sale on cruise rewards like they are cheap watches and jewelry is kind of ridiculous. They run the same exact promo for the whole cruise.

I appreciate everyone's take on the situation and the dialogue... I understand and respect that there is always a second way to look and read into things.. I read the T&Cs fully and the promotion was buy ONE free get another ONE free.... no where did the T&Cs say "you are actually going to buy TWO and get a credit for the other" .. this is where I think the disconnect is because if you buy four and get a credit of $500 you are mathematically getting 2 for 1.... but the ad specifically said "buy ONE $250 reward and get another free" (no gray area there)

and as far as being ridiculous to think this was a "fire sale" on cruise rewards... what the heck do you think a 2 for 1 sale is?? or comped rooms through CAS?? or offering OBC for booking rooms?? or getting DSC promo?? etc.... it's all marketing money to get people back on the ship for more revenue so why wouldn't I take a sale of this kind at face value

Heck, NCL just realized that they should raise the price of Vibe cabanas because the old deal actually was so pro-customer.... so corporations do make bad promos.

I still bought the one and will go in November.... I just felt that the wording should have been very clear and if you read the enclosed T&Cs, it still refers to buy ONE... this one sentence would have covered it for me: "must by a minimum of TWO $250 certificates to qualify 2 for 1"

I still bought the one and will go in November.... I just felt that the wording should have been very clear and if you read the enclosed T&Cs, it still refers to buy ONE... this one sentence would have covered it for me: "must by a minimum of TWO $250 certificates to qualify 2 for 1"

Everyone here has explained it to you. Buy 1 get 1 free - you would have paid $250 for 2. The onboard credit they give you can be used towards the purchase of the credit itself. If you bought nothing else for the whole cruise, your bill would have said:

2 cruise rewards $500

2 onboard credits -$250

Final Bill $250

You were thinking that you could get 2 for $150 - no. Someone even posted the terms above so you can reread them. It's the same paperwork they give out on every cruise. Or maybe you got something different? Maybe post a picture of what you received?

We've almost always purchased a future cruise deposit, now called CruiseNext, on each of our NCL cruises...sometimes more than one. I never had any confusion about the program or how it works. Either way, it's still a great deal if you KNOW you'll be cruising again. On one cruise, we actually bought four future cruise deposits.

When I was on the POA in December the Latitude person explained it to me this way - if I didn't have any onboard credit to use then it would be buy 2 and get $250 onboard credit. But if I already had a pretty hefty onboard credit and didn't need anymore than they would charge me a straight $250 and give me two certificates. I wasn't interested then but asked if this would be the situation on my upcoming cruise where I do have a huge onboard credit and doubt I will use it all. She said that it would probably be the same unless NCL puts out a change. So there is a possibility that everyone is right and it all comes down to how the NCL personnel interpret it. Imagine that.

I appreciate everyone's take on the situation and the dialogue... I understand and respect that there is always a second way to look and read into things.. I read the T&Cs fully and the promotion was buy ONE free get another ONE free.... no where did the T&Cs say "you are actually going to buy TWO and get a credit for the other" .. this is where I think the disconnect is because if you buy four and get a credit of $500 you are mathematically getting 2 for 1.... but the ad specifically said "buy ONE $250 reward and get another free" (no gray area there)

 

and as far as being ridiculous to think this was a "fire sale" on cruise rewards... what the heck do you think a 2 for 1 sale is?? or comped rooms through CAS?? or offering OBC for booking rooms?? or getting DSC promo?? etc.... it's all marketing money to get people back on the ship for more revenue so why wouldn't I take a sale of this kind at face value

 

Heck, NCL just realized that they should raise the price of Vibe cabanas because the old deal actually was so pro-customer.... so corporations do make bad promos.

 

I still bought the one and will go in November.... I just felt that the wording should have been very clear and if you read the enclosed T&Cs, it still refers to buy ONE... this one sentence would have covered it for me: "must by a minimum of TWO $250 certificates to qualify 2 for 1"

It is buy one get one free though...you're not understanding because you're leaving out the words (at normal price)

One at normal price = $250 (net -250 charged to onboard account)

2nd at normal price = $250 (net -500 charged to onboard account)

Immediate OBC credit = $250 (net -250 charged to onboard account)

So when the transaction is completed...you have spent $250 (1 at normal price) and walked away with 2 certificates (total of $500 worth of merchandise). Buy ONE get ONE FREE (or spend 250 for 500 in items)

What you wanted is buy one (at 250 less 100 OBC so 150 total) AND get another one for 250 free). That is buy one at 60% get 1 plus 40% of another one free. not the promo or offer

The purchase price for the CruiseNext certificates is $250. Period. So if you buy one at $250, indeed you do get a second free that is also worth $250.

The "buy one get one free" does not say, "Buy one, get $100 OBC and ALSO get a second certificate worth $250 free". It is simply another way of stating, "Buy 2 at $500 and get $250 OBC". Either way, two only cost you $250 when they are worth $500 towards deposits.

It's unfortunate that many people only read what they want to read. I've taken advantage of the offer and knew exactly what I was getting. It was in plain English, no hidden meanings, no ultra fine print you would need a microscope to read.

Everyone who has responded to this post had no issue with the offer and understood it as it was presented. Instead of explaining to the CruiseNext Manager how you felt it should read, you might have asked her to explain it to you with an open mind, not a preconceived notion of want you wanted it to be.

p.s. FYI.......bait-and-switch

noun

noun: bait-and-switch

the action (generally illegal) of advertising goods that are an apparent bargain, with the intention of substituting inferior or more expensive goods.

"a bait-and-switch scheme"

cheers...the Ump...:D

No bait and switch. I bought two and with the OBC one was free. Paid $250 for 2.

Sounds like it is a matter of interpretation but if you ever want clarification or lodge a complaint with some one higher up, you can email Steve Stitt sstitt@ncl.com or Katty Byrd Kbyrd@ncl.com they run the cruise next program from Miami.

Sounds like it is a matter of interpretation but if you ever want clarification or lodge a complaint with some one higher up, you can email Steve Stitt sstitt@ncl.com or Katty Byrd Kbyrd@ncl.com they run the cruise next program from Miami.

Good luck dealing with Stitt !!!! He refused to honor an email offer to my son that stated they were reinstating his expired cruise rewqard and he could use it or transfeer it to someone else. When he tried to transfer it to me, Stitt refused to honor the terms of the email and didn't have the courtesy to talk to me or my son.

It is another example of the shoddy tactics the current NCL administration is using.

The $250 OBC they offer for the second cruise reward may be fine if you are intending to use it to purchase the second certificate, but they have such heavy restrictions on how your OBC can be used that it is worth very little to me. It can't be used in the casino or for the DSC, so you are left with the option of spending it for the overpriced merchandise in their shops.

The $250 OBC they offer for the second cruise reward may be fine if you are intending to use it to purchase the second certificate, but they have such heavy restrictions on how your OBC can be used that it is worth very little to me. It can't be used in the casino or for the DSC, so you are left with the option of spending it for the overpriced merchandise in their shops.

:confused: Since the two certificates cost $500, the $250 OBC credit you get from purchasing them is what reduces the price to $250 for two. If you have a ton of other OBC you can't use, I think that is a different problem.

This has to be the lamest complaint I have ever seen. There is absolutely ZERO difference between buying one item for $250 and getting as second one free AND buying two items at $250 each and getting $250 back. You still have two of the items in your hand and you still netted paying $250. Did you REALLY expect them to charge you $250, give you a second one at $0 AND credit you with $250? You were asking them to give you the certificates for free! :rolleyes:

I think it's a great deal ....and I always read the fine print before spending the $$ on something like this. Didn't find it misleading when I read the whole deal. Since I know I'm going to cruise again, why not get these at half price.

Good luck dealing with Stitt !!!! He refused to honor an email offer to my son that stated they were reinstating his expired cruise rewqard and he could use it or transfeer it to someone else. When he tried to transfer it to me, Stitt refused to honor the terms of the email and didn't have the courtesy to talk to me or my son.

 

It is another example of the shoddy tactics the current NCL administration is using.

 

The $250 OBC they offer for the second cruise reward may be fine if you are intending to use it to purchase the second certificate, but they have such heavy restrictions on how your OBC can be used that it is worth very little to me. It can't be used in the casino or for the DSC, so you are left with the option of spending it for the overpriced merchandise in their shops.

You could always try Katty Byrd who is Steve's boss I think or Bob Beck bbecker@ncl.com who is in charge of all sales departments.

You could always try Katty Byrd who is Steve's boss I think or Bob Beck bbecker@ncl.com who is in charge of all sales departments.

Thank you for the info, but I believe I have "balanced the scales" in my own way, and feel that Mr Stitt's decision has cost NCL far more than he saved them.

Since that incident, I have taken my cruise dollars to another company and have been able to see that they offer much more for the price than NCL. My future cruise budget will be directed to them unless NCL slashes rates to an irresistable level.

We average five or six cruises a year, and my previous cruising has been with NCL as my forst choice. That is no longer the case, so I will assist the current NCL management in their efforts to appeal to a "more affluent class".

Thank you for the info, but I believe I have "balanced the scales" in my own way, and feel that Mr Stitt's decision has cost NCL far more than he saved them.

 

Since that incident, I have taken my cruise dollars to another company and have been able to see that they offer much more for the price than NCL. My future cruise budget will be directed to them unless NCL slashes rates to an irresistable level.

 

We average five or six cruises a year, and my previous cruising has been with NCL as my forst choice. That is no longer the case, so I will assist the current NCL management in their efforts to appeal to a "more affluent class".

So, if you are such a frequent cruiser, why are you trying to recoup an expired certificate? Your kid had 4 years to give it to you. Expired is expired. Yes?

So, if you are such a frequent cruiser, why are you trying to recoup an expired certificate? Your kid had 4 years to give it to you. Expired is expired. Yes?

Not sure about the PP but my kids have much different travel patterns since turning 18 then DW and I have- we'll cruise once a year and fly to Europe once a year while they've never left the state. (And if one of my kids had a certificate I am sure they would have forgotten all about it and wouldn't have thought to offer it to anyone else.)