Shame on you NCL

[sparks1093]

I wish people would stop calling this customer service. It is a pricing issue. Simple stuff.

 

If the rate did not drop, the early booker would not complain.

If the rate went up, early bookers would not complain.

 

They priced it at a rate that seemed to work - for many people, like the OP. They decided to do a fire sale. If they were forced into lowering everyone else to the fire sale price, they would just skip it and sail with empty cabins. Then they would have to raise other rates to make the business work.

 

Why am I typing this. Nobody is gonna listen.

 

Yep.

Your first paragraph is right on point!

 

There are way too many people who do not understand what makes up "good customer service". Many of these people are of the mistaken belief that "good customer service" means "I got my way".

 

Providing good customer service means providing the correct information to the customer in a professional manner.

 

People have to accept that sometimes the answer is "no", and just because it is, doesn't mean the customer service was bad.

 

 

The proof of this is in how you almost never see people tell about a problem that was resolved in their favor the way they wanted and they still say the customer service was bad.

 

And yep again.

[Dawnmcl123]

I wish people would stop calling this customer service. It is a pricing issue. Simple stuff.

 

If the rate did not drop, the early booker would not complain.

If the rate went up, early bookers would not complain.

 

They priced it at a rate that seemed to work - for many people, like the OP. They decided to do a fire sale. If they were forced into lowering everyone else to the fire sale price, they would just skip it and sail with empty cabins. Then they would have to raise other rates to make the business work.

 

Why am I typing this. Nobody is gonna listen.

 

Once again, missed my point. See my posts above. Yes it is excessive overpricing, very simple. Customer service was the wrong word I used.

[greekmike]

Jake,

 

This is my first time posting here; I have been a reader of cruisecritic.com of and on for a few years and I do find that it is a pretty good resource.

I hope you keep posting because I found your information very valuable.

 

I want to thank you for confirming my thoughts that booking cruises early is usually a benefit only to the cruise lines and people that want to go on inaugural sailings or during high-season (Christmas, New Years...etc) on the more sought after ships.

One of my relatives booked a Disney cruise 2 years ago claiming he got a huge deal. I priced it last week for the same sailing he is on which is in March and it was a little less then what he paid; so where is the HUGE discount by booking 2 years in advance?

I put a courtesy hold on the Epic for the March 23rd sailing but I'm not going to get pressured to pay for it now until I feel I'm ready.

I'm not a frequent cruiser so it was very helpful to read your post; on the flip side; I am a frequent flyer and always assumed it was similar to airlines where you save big when you book early, thanks to your post; and responses you received from people that clearly know this happens I am much better informed that cruise lines are nothing like airlines and it pays to wait if it's some of the not-so-popular ships.

[DrNora]

Jake,

 

This is my first time posting here; I have been a reader of cruisecritic.com of and on for a few years and I do find that it is a pretty good resource.

I hope you keep posting because I found your information very valuable.

 

I want to thank you for confirming my thoughts that booking cruises early is usually a benefit only to the cruise lines and people that want to go on inaugural sailings or during high-season (Christmas, New Years...etc) on the more sought after ships.

One of my relatives booked a Disney cruise 2 years ago claiming he got a huge deal. I priced it last week for the same sailing he is on which is in March and it was a little less then what he paid; so where is the HUGE discount by booking 2 years in advance?

I put a courtesy hold on the Epic for the March 23rd sailing but I'm not going to get pressured to pay for it now until I feel I'm ready.

I'm not a frequent cruiser so it was very helpful to read your post; on the flip side; I am a frequent flyer and always assumed it was similar to airlines where you save big when you book early, thanks to your post; and responses you received from people that clearly know this happens I am much better informed that cruise lines are nothing like airlines and it pays to wait if it's some of the not-so-popular ships.

 

 

Hi, Greek Mike:

I'm Greek Nora!!

 

 

I have always booked well in advance to get the S4Haven suite that we need, and on RCL the RFS, and on Disney the 2BR suites..On Royal you must book the suite early as they have very few in that category. On Disney, the same. On NCL, although the new Havens have many more suites, we book early and have only watched prices go UP. Our currant reservation has increased by over $1000 since booked, and there are no more suites on deck 16 available that would suit us. We also received a very generous OBC that is now not available. Our prior crusie on Pearl went up over 2400 dollars for the suite after we booked it!!

 

If you are talking about March cruise THIS year- aren't you at or almost at final payment time?

 

Anyway- booking early has never hurt us..I have only seen the suites disappear or prices go way up. I would never take the chance of not having the room that we wanted by waiting for price drops. We are frequent cruisers as well.

 

Have an amazing day, all!!

 

Nora and niles

 

also, for those who are in to the Latitudes thing- you get an extra point per night by booking 9 months or more in advance..this wouldnot be a reason for me to book early, but it has been discussed on these boards

Edited January 9, 2014 by DrNora

[newmexicoNita]

Jake,

 

This is my first time posting here; I have been a reader of cruisecritic.com of and on for a few years and I do find that it is a pretty good resource.

I hope you keep posting because I found your information very valuable.

 

I want to thank you for confirming my thoughts that booking cruises early is usually a benefit only to the cruise lines and people that want to go on inaugural sailings or during high-season (Christmas, New Years...etc) on the more sought after ships.

One of my relatives booked a Disney cruise 2 years ago claiming he got a huge deal. I priced it last week for the same sailing he is on which is in March and it was a little less then what he paid; so where is the HUGE discount by booking 2 years in advance?

I put a courtesy hold on the Epic for the March 23rd sailing but I'm not going to get pressured to pay for it now until I feel I'm ready.

I'm not a frequent cruiser so it was very helpful to read your post; on the flip side; I am a frequent flyer and always assumed it was similar to airlines where you save big when you book early, thanks to your post; and responses you received from people that clearly know this happens I am much better informed that cruise lines are nothing like airlines and it pays to wait if it's some of the not-so-popular ships.

 

First of all, it is important to realize there are many reasons for booking early, not just the ones you list: there are also reasons for waiting, it depends on what you hope to achieve and you will always find someone who got a better deal or claims they did than you got: so what? Reasons for booking early can be cabin choices, which are not always as good toward the last few weeks, if available at all. We booked our next cruise a few weeks ago, it is late April, a repo cruise and we did not have a lot of cabin choices. Booking late is great if you are flexible on dates and are not cruising with a lot of others. We happen to be cruising with 4 other people, which we usually do.

 

As for your holding a cabin for a late March sailing, You really are not going to have much more time to wait and see what happens with prices. As we all know final payments are due 75 days out. You can only hold a cabin for a few days, this late, so how much longer are you going to wait before you commit?

[hawkeyetlse]

Unfortunately, though, for me to get it so cheaply, someone else has to pay over the odds to subsidise my holiday. And that person is the guy who books early.

Yes, you can look at it that way. All other things being equal, someone who pays more for the same cabin category is obviously a more profitable customer, and I can understand the opinion that NCL should somehow show their appreciation (except that for most people who start these threads, "appreciation" means "matching the lower price", which undermines the whole reason they are being appreciated…)

 

Anyway, if NCL lost money by offering last-minute vacancies at fire-sale prices, they wouldn't do it. They must figure that they would lose more money by leaving those cabins empty. So you can take that cheap holiday without feeling guilty about your fellow passengers subsidizing it. Especially if you buy all of their shore excursions, run up a big alcohol bill, lose a couple thousand in the casino, buy two or three "Rembrandts", etc.

[Crusin6]

I paid $35 for the CTN this Saturday and the price dropped to $22. After four hours on hold , I now have $7.50 OBC. :)

 

I saw that price and actually entertained doing this with dh. We came to our senses though. Lol. I seriously can't imagine the zoo an overnight would be like.

 

Lol

 

Enjoy it and I am sure it will be an experience to remember.

 

Fwiw. What did the total cost per person come to with tips tax and port fees? They are doing one a month until may I believe so it really should be a popular thing as an overnight booze cruise!! Lol

[triptolemus]

Once again, missed my point. See my posts above. Yes it is excessive overpricing, very simple. Customer service was the wrong word I used.

 

Is it any wonder folks are missing your point when you yourself admit you're not even speaking clearly?

[Winston Wolf]

As others have said, you book early to get exactly what you want, and you knowingly pay extra for that. I don't see the big deal here. Personally for me, if I'm planning a trip months out, I want exactly what I want and not gamble that there will only be crappy cabins left to choose from if/when the price drop comes. It's like buying a car. You can order it from the dealer with all the specific things you want, or you can take what's on the lot and probably get a consierably better deal. I've done both depending on my circumstances.

 

The best you could probably do, is book a cabin you like, hold it until you have to cancel it. Then hope and pray it's still there when the price drop comes. You'd probably lose your deposit, but I imagine the proce drop would make up for that.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Winston Wolf

[triptolemus]

I don't see the big deal here.

 

Because there isn't one. :)

[garycarla]

Because there isn't one. :)

 

Exactly!

 

Too much of "it's not fair" going on these days.

[PDIDDYwife]

exactly!

 

Too much of "it's not fair" going on these days.

 

 

amen!!!

[greekmike]

First of all, it is important to realize there are many reasons for booking early, not just the ones you list: there are also reasons for waiting, it depends on what you hope to achieve and you will always find someone who got a better deal or claims they did than you got: so what? Reasons for booking early can be cabin choices, which are not always as good toward the last few weeks, if available at all. We booked our next cruise a few weeks ago, it is late April, a repo cruise and we did not have a lot of cabin choices. Booking late is great if you are flexible on dates and are not cruising with a lot of others. We happen to be cruising with 4 other people, which we usually do.

 

As for your holding a cabin for a late March sailing, You really are not going to have much more time to wait and see what happens with prices. As we all know final payments are due 75 days out. You can only hold a cabin for a few days, this late, so how much longer are you going to wait before you commit?

 

Yes, I agree there are many more reasons to book early. I still learned something from the OP: cruise prices can drop and if you are flexible enough it pays to wait and see.

I'm not a frequent cruiser so reading HIS point of view is more valuable to people like me then the replies he has received from others.

[newmexicoNita]

Yes, I agree there are many more reasons to book early. I still learned something from the OP: cruise prices can drop and if you are flexible enough it pays to wait and see.

I'm not a frequent cruiser so reading HIS point of view is more valuable to people like me then the replies he has received from others.

 

But the one thing you are not considering or it appears you are not: not always does the price drop. In fact it probably goes up as often as down. it is like airfares, the chance you take waiting versus early booking. Everyone has to decide what is best for them, but don't take a couple of examples and think they will always work.

 

Most of the time the best plan is to decide what price you can be happy with, book your reservation and certainly after final payment don't look back. Think about how you would feel if the price were to go up and the cruise line expected you to pay the higher price?

Edited January 9, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[greekmike]

Think about how you would feel if the price were to go up and the cruise line expected you to pay the higher price?

This example is given over and over on this thread. I don't have to think about it because it doesn't happen and will probably NEVER happen.

 

Same with comparing it to the airline industry. Airline industry is not hospitality; cruising is best compared to the hotel and resort industry.

 

If people accept things the way they are and chastise people for making an effort to change what they think is a bad business practice then things don't get better do they?

Let's look at it this way. How about if you paid $10,000 for a cruise and it dropped to $5,000, you call the cruise company and they happily refunded you the difference? What is wrong with that picture??? NOTHING RIGHT? Is that a bad thing? Would it be horribly wrong if the cruise industry eventually got to that point?

 

Yes, they are in the business to make money and I whole-hardheartedly think they should make as much money as they can so they can keep building newer ships. But a post like the OP's shouldn't be harassed because people don't agree with him. I learned something from reading this thread and that is that I have option to book in advance and risk the price going UP or DOWN; if it goes either direction after I have paid in full I will not get compensated for the difference and may end up with a small OBC. To me that is a BIG DEAL knowing that in advance.

Edited January 9, 2014 by greekmike

[Ilovesailing]

This example is given over and over on this thread. I don't have to think about it because it doesn't happen and will probably NEVER happen.

 

Same with comparing it to the airline industry. Airline industry is not hospitality; cruising is best compared to the hotel and resort industry.

 

If people accept things the way they are and chastise people for making an effort to change what they think is a bad business practice then things don't get better do they?

Let's look at it this way. How about if you paid $10,000 for a cruise and it dropped to $5,000, you call the cruise company and they happily refunded you the difference? What is wrong with that picture??? NOTHING RIGHT? Is that a bad thing? Would it be horribly wrong if the cruise industry eventually got to that point?

 

Yes, they are in the business to make money and I whole-hardheartedly think they should make as much money as they can so they can keep building newer ships. But a post like the OP's shouldn't be harassed because people don't agree with him. I learned something from reading this thread and that is that I have option to book in advance and risk the price going UP or DOWN; if it goes either direction after I have paid in full I will not get compensated for the difference and may end up with a small OBC. To me that is a BIG DEAL knowing that in advance.

 

 

Rules are rules if it expires in 3/4 years then expires, done!

 

As for you example of a $10Kfor a cruise is totally unrealistic first if someone books this without doing homework ie: cancellation policies, competition then with in the cruise line and outside comptition then they deserve to get burned.

[shanefm3]

I saw that price and actually entertained doing this with dh. We came to our senses though. Lol. I seriously can't imagine the zoo an overnight would be like.

 

Lol

 

Enjoy it and I am sure it will be an experience to remember.

 

Fwiw. What did the total cost per person come to with tips tax and port fees? They are doing one a month until may I believe so it really should be a popular thing as an overnight booze cruise!! Lol

 

I actually didn't book as I balked at the taxes and fees of $187. Still cheaper than a NYC hotel but not big into the booze cruise scene

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I saw that price and actually entertained doing this with dh. We came to our senses though. Lol. I seriously can't imagine the zoo an overnight would be like.

 

Lol

 

Enjoy it and I am sure it will be an experience to remember.

 

Fwiw. What did the total cost per person come to with tips tax and port fees? They are doing one a month until may I believe so it really should be a popular thing as an overnight booze cruise!! Lol

 

my son was going to book it when he saw the $22 price but after a mock booking for 2 it came to $227.

 

He changed his mind. lol

 

Bill

[greekmike]

Rules are rules if it expires in 3/4 years then expires, done!

 

As for you example of a $10Kfor a cruise is totally unrealistic first if someone books this without doing homework ie: cancellation policies, competition then with in the cruise line and outside comptition then they deserve to get burned.

 

It was an EXAMPLE hence it wasn't realistic.

I find it great if people learn from websites like this. We are all human, last time I checked, and we all don't have time to read all the fine print as much as we try it may be time consuming.

I personally don't get pleasure out of peoples misfortunes, so for people to get burned because they misread or didn't do their homework is an opportunity to make things right so it doesn't happen to other good people. But that's just me.

[ellie1145]

As a Brit we would bite their hands off if we were offered $450! :D

 

We get nothing. Can't cancel without losing the deposit, can't get anything back if the price goes down even BEFORE final payment.

 

Why should you get a refund anyway? They are running a business, they will sell cabins for the maximum price they can get people to book for, then if they have too many cabins left after final payment they will drop the price. Makes sense.

If you book fights at a certain price the airline won't refund you if the price goes down later, so why should cruise companies.

 

That you got anything is amazing to us as we rarely even get OBC. Just booked a 2 week BTB cruise and got nothing whatsoever in benefits. :eek::(:mad: And we probably paid more than if we had been able to book with a

US travel agent....:(

 

Enjoy that $450 and have a great cruise! :cool:

Edited January 9, 2014 by ellie1145

[Dawnmcl123]

Is it any wonder folks are missing your point when you yourself admit you're not even speaking clearly?

I spoke very clearly, just used one wrong word. Please don't play semantics.

[greekmike]

Answers inline

Why should you get a refund anyway?

Because it would make the cruise company more desirable to travel with for future cruises and give them a better reputation then their competitors. Is it a horrible thing if the cruise company refunds the difference and STILL makes money?

 

If you book fights at a certain price the airline won't refund you if the price goes down later, so why should cruise companies.

I mentioned in a previous comment; the Airline industry is not the hospitality/hotel industry, they are not related except one can use the "word" travel in both.

:

[Crusin6]

my son was going to book it when he saw the $22 price but after a mock booking for 2 it came to $227.

 

He changed his mind. lol

 

Bill

 

I know the NYC port charges are so high!

 

I bet the ship still makes out well with alcohol cigarette etc sales. Not to mention the small fortune the casino brings in on a 12 hour binge!

 

 

But when you think about it For just a little over $200 you get dinner and entertainment and a bed to crash.

 

Even with booze cost the overnight is still not so bad for a couple.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Crusin6

[Crusin6]

I actually didn't book as I balked at the taxes and fees of $187. Still cheaper than a NYC hotel but not big into the booze cruise scene

 

That is exactly why we did not entertain the thought. A great weekend evening for us is definitely not a booze cruise!

[DMH15]

That is exactly why we did not entertain the thought. A great weekend evening for us is definitely not a booze cruise!

 

It is only a booze cruise if that is what you make it.

 

We did a 2 night CTN out of NYC. Same sailaway on our balcony, spa, Le Bistro, etc.

 

 

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