New to NCL: Booking questions

[CrusingwithM6]

Hello, everyone! I'm an experienced cruiser with Carnival but am looking at a European cruise on the Norwegian Epic next summer for my honeymoon.

 

I know there's currently a promotion for perks if you book before the end of the week. The perks they are offering for my room category really don't interest me, so I'm not in a huge rush to book before tomorrow. Does NCL typically offer any other booking promotions?

 

Also, I'm used to booking the Early Saver rate with Carnival, where I get refunded the difference if the price drops in the form of on board credit. Does Norwegian have anything like this? Does the price usually drop or is it in my best interest to book now to lock into current rates?

 

Lastly, I'm comparing the Norwegian Epic 7 day Western Med to a similar itinerary on the MSC Musica (which is muuuuch cheaper than Epic). Any opinions on the comparison between the two cruises? I realize Epic is better but the price difference is about $1,300.

 

Thanks for your help!

[VickiD59]

Also, I'm used to booking the Early Saver rate with Carnival

I don't have many cruises under my belt, but the ones we have taken have always been with Carnival - this will be my first NCL cruise as well. I LOVE the Early Saver fare and we've always managed to get quite a bit of OBC because of it; gotta love it when you can get price deductions up until 2 days before sailing! Unfortunately NCL doesn't offer an equivalent. You'll need to monitor the fares and hope that they decrease before your final payment. I've read on here where people have seen price drops after final payment, and were able to switch cabins/categories should they be priced less than their original room, but... and don't quote me on it, but I think that resets your reservation and any prior perks you might have received are forfeited.

[Cubechick]

NCL runs sales and promotions all of the time.

 

If you do see a price drop before final payment you can call to have your price adjusted (unless the drop is due to a sale for new bookings only). However by doing so, you could lose whatever perks you got when you booked if they aren't being offered with the new promotion. So you do have to weigh whether an adjustment actually saves you money in the end.

 

As the other poster said, if the price drops after final, you can usually upgrade your room, but you won't get a price adjustment.

[LPYRCRUISER]

I'm in the same situation. Want to do 40th anniversary cruise to Med with DH. Carnival isn't sailing. I'm used to their pricing structure, love early savings and usually get OBC. I probably will go with Epic but I want the best bang for my buck. If I see prices drop, I will expect an upgrade if they don't offer OBC. How diligent need I be? BTW, our very first cruise back in the 80's was NCL. It got me addicted, it just seems we haven't booked NCL again. No big reason why.........

[VickiD59]

As the other poster said, if the price drops after final, you can usually upgrade your room, but you won't get a price adjustment.

And unfortunately it seems after final payment is when the price drops are more likely to happen; not always, but usually. We cruise with a group of family and friends, and our cabin locations are well thought out and are almost always right next to, or very near one another; I probably wouldn't want to move, even for an upgrade. So with NCL I won't concern myself with looking at prices after final payment, and I'll have to be satisfied with the fact that I paid what I was willing to pay when we booked and that's that. :p

[CrusingwithM6]

Thanks for your replies. It looks like we might just need to bite the bullet and book. I'm excited about trying a new cruise line but I'm really bummed that Carnival isn't sailing in Europe next summer. Their early saver rates are usually pretty darn good!

[ibcnusoon]

Thanks for your replies. It looks like we might just need to bite the bullet and book. I'm excited about trying a new cruise line but I'm really bummed that Carnival isn't sailing in Europe next summer. Their early saver rates are usually pretty darn good!

 

You could wait for promotions to pop up and then book. I was able to book with a TA who gave us delayed deposit until 2 weeks before final payment, $100 on board credit for booking an Oceanview or higher 9 months out, plus another $25 credit for something else. Upon our return, we will get a $75 cashback to our credit card rebate. On top of that, HSN ran another promotion where we were able to get $100 OBC. They ran the same promotion last year. So, we are currently at $250 OBC plus $75 rebate. I didn't get anything close to that on any of my past Carnival cruises, even with booking early saver, which now that I think about it, makes me nervous to give us so much money for a non-refundable deposit. At least with NCL and RCL, if you need to cancel before final payment, you'll get a full refund.

 

Just keep an eye out for promotions and specials and then book.