$299 for an 11 day TA on the Epic??!!??

[Va. Plumber]

Epic will do April 2014 October 2014 and April 2015 transatlantics

 

It is my understanding that Epic will be in Europe permanently.

[KeithJenner]

It is my understanding that Epic will be in Europe permanently.

 

 

Yes, from 2015 onwards. It's going back to Miami next winter.

 

 

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[JuneauWhatIMean]

If you look at this cruise purely as transportation to Europe, it is a fantastic deal that provides far more than first-class air transportation would at far less cost. We have been traveling to Europe by ship at incredibly low prices for years, and can't believe how many people have not yet figured this out.

 

That's fine if time is of no concern to you. A flight from LAX to Heathrow is 11 hours, give or take. Miserable time yes, but I'm jess sayin........:cool:

[newmexicoNita]

Agreed. Which is why I posted the OP. WHY can't they - when other cruise lines with similar TA's can and do?

 

In other words: What is so different about NCL from other mass market cruise lines that they have to lower the prices this much to get a cabin sold? (I have my own opinions, but I'm curious what others have to say).

 

Epic is a love/hate ship and from what I have heard, the inside cabins are really, really small. Not all NCL prices are that low; you know some others that are lower for other sailings. This particular sailing isn't all the popular for the Epic.

[jannandjohn]

That cruise is always a hard sell for Epic, it might help if they added more ports of call.

.

 

Maybe they could tow a pop-up-port for the odd stop..;)

[mrobstad]

Can't wait to retire! Love the epic!

 

 

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[Markanddonna]

Well, maybe... I checked out what my one way flight back to Columbus, Ohio would be: $900 + and I'd still have to get to Miami. It all depends if you live in one of the great cities for cruising.

 

I read that the Epic doesn't do well on the Atlantic because of the configuration on the decks.

 

Still, if you wanted to go to Barcelona (I don't) it might be a great deal. On the other hand, I bet your flight back would be a lot cheaper if you booked earlier.

[jkgourmet]

I certainly agree that the airfare cost is crucial to this being a deal or not a deal. But that's not the point.

 

NCL is selling cabins at roughly $26 DOLLARS A DAY PER PERSON. They can't possibly make a profit. And that's considerably less than any other mass market line.

 

Why does NCL have to discount more than other cruise lines?

 

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[cruiseblues2013]

I certainly agree that the airfare cost is crucial to this being a deal or not a deal. But that's not the point.

 

NCL is selling cabins at roughly $26 DOLLARS A DAY PER PERSON. They can't possibly make a profit. And that's considerably less than any other mass market line.

 

Why does NCL have to discount more than other cruise lines?

 

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Check out 90 day Ticker RCCL has cabins for TA in April for $23 a night....so what is your point? So not less then any other...

 

 

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Edited March 16, 2014 by cruiseblues2013

[Demonyte]

I certainly agree that the airfare cost is crucial to this being a deal or not a deal. But that's not the point.

 

NCL is selling cabins at roughly $26 DOLLARS A DAY PER PERSON. They can't possibly make a profit. And that's considerably less than any other mass market line.

 

Why does NCL have to discount more than other cruise lines?

 

Epic is a big ship and TAs never ever sail full so it's better to get at least some money from otherwise empty cabins. As said by other posters, this is also how other cruise lines do it and it's definitely not a matter of "NCL having to discount more than other cruise lines".

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

I certainly agree that the airfare cost is crucial to this being a deal or not a deal. But that's not the point.

 

NCL is selling cabins at roughly $26 DOLLARS A DAY PER PERSON. They can't possibly make a profit. And that's considerably less than any other mass market line.

 

Why does NCL have to discount more than other cruise lines?

 

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Did a repositioning on RCI in November for $25 pp/per night. Ship was just over half full even at those rates. Repos and TA's regardless of line just don't sell out and you will see cut rates.

 

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[commodoredave]

That's fine if time is of no concern to you. A flight from LAX to Heathrow is 11 hours, give or take. Miserable time yes, but I'm jess sayin........:cool:

 

Very true. When we were working full time, we never did a TA. Now that we have more leisure time it is at the top of our list. It is one of the great rewards of having more time.

[ECCruise]

I certainly agree that the airfare cost is crucial to this being a deal or not a deal. But that's not the point.

 

NCL is selling cabins at roughly $26 DOLLARS A DAY PER PERSON. They can't possibly make a profit. And that's considerably less than any other mass market line.

 

Why does NCL have to discount more than other cruise lines?

 

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We've done 12 Transatlantics but never have seen one this cheap.

I really do believe that it has to do with the lack of port stops. On the TAs we've done, we've probably averaged 4 port calls (up to 9) so you get the advantage of both a number of sea days AND fairly frequent stops. And we've never been on a TA that hasn't been sold out and many that are $4000 plus for a balcony. (NCL, Princess, Celebrity, RCCL and Oceania).

[cruiseblues2013]

We've done 12 Transatlantics but never have seen one this cheap.

 

I really do believe that it has to do with the lack of port stops. On the TAs we've done, we've probably averaged 4 port calls (up to 9) so you get the advantage of both a number of sea days AND fairly frequent stops. And we've never been on a TA that hasn't been sold out and many that are $4000 plus for a balcony. (NCL, Princess, Celebrity, RCCL and Oceania).

 

 

Don't forget one of the reasons it is lower is the 11 days instead of 12-16. We just passed on X for TA for the same price per night, but more nights....easy to do the math :)

 

 

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[graphicguy]

I've been tempted a bunch of times to do a TA repositioning cruise. I've seen those great prices on NCL, RCCL, really all the cruise lines who do TA repositioning cruises.

 

I try to do repositioning cruises whenever I can. The biggest reason they're less expensive and tend to be a harder sell is they end in a different place than where they started. That disadvantages of that are obvious.

 

The other reason is timing. Using Barcelona as the embarkation point as an example, it would certainly take a U.S. passenger 2 days tacked on to get to Barcelona, at least 24-36 hours before the cruise.

 

Having flown a lot (million miler on two seperate airlines), generally speaking, it's more expensive to buy two one way flights than one round trip. So, there's the flight cost component.

 

That said, if I had the time, and I found the kind of deals they have going on with NCL and RCCL repo TA cruises right now, I'd be all over them.

 

As others have stated, it's cheaper for the cruise lines to have at least some passengers sail on a repositioning cruise, than to have it sail totally empty.

 

The ones I've checked out (RCCL, NCL, and Celebrity), those repo cruises all end up to be somewhere in the $25-$30/nite price range.

Edited March 17, 2014 by graphicguy

[Arubamoose]

I would have JUMPED on this one if I could only get the time off.

Spend a few more weeks in Europe some where bumming around and reposition myself somewhere where the airfare is cheap to come home.

A girl can only dream!