I've decided not to book any NCL cruises for 2015 and 2016

[SissasMomE]

Sorry Dave :( I did price the Sky for this December and next December, both in the same cabin, and next year's cruise was cheaper ... so maybe it was just the date you were looking at?

[El_Rolfo]

and I'll take a cruise anytime! No hotels, rental cars, cramped air travel, horrible airports, greasy food, OMG a cruise is the absolute BEST vacation I can think of, and how else can you visit so many interesting places without having to pack and unpack every day? You can have your land packages. Cruising is still the best bang for the buck IMHO and it's so much fun! Give me a ship, any ship!

 

Seems I'm looking into a mirror here! :)

[dexddd]

Sorry Dave :( I did price the Sky for this December and next December, both in the same cabin, and next year's cruise was cheaper ... so maybe it was just the date you were looking at?

 

After I saw the Sky announcement I checked several dates out of curiosity. They were all over the place both up and down on the various dates I randomly picked. I'll have to do some checking over time to see what happens. My only take on the new program is to entice people to sail the sky possibly due to soft bookings and/or competition on those shorter routes out of Florida. We have no interest before or after the announcement to do that ship/route.

[david_sobe]

Thanks for all the well wishing. I don't think I was clear with my post. I am not upset at all at the NCL bombardment of cruise offerings. I love my NCL PCC (same one since 2009) and emails don't bother me.

I was trying to convey that all this slick recruitment does not appeal to me. A good way to describe it would be with an analogy. Has one shopped for a new house? Ever see those deals: Free swimming pool, plus free upgrades. What if you don't want a swimming pool? Will they subtract that from the total cost? I don't think so.

NCL is offering so many package deals and I don't want a package deal. That is why I said I am not a NCL target customer.

My PCC is honest. The prices went up again even AFTER the package offerings. Last month was the "last call" for the package deals. They have not went away. Now an entire ship is being promoted with them.

LOL I guess I will be old someday looking back and say.... boy I remember cruising when I was younger and if you wanted a drink you paid for it. NCL was selling the UBP for $750 per person. The UDP is over $140. Do you think NCL will subtract $900 from the price? Ha ha.... I don't think so :)

 

Happy Sailing everyone.

[maywell]

No, I get it, David_Sobe - I'm so use to paying/seeing lowest rate which usually a interior or studio, I really didn't see the math behind the other room promos til today. And I have to say is 'Wow, that is one big ripoff...'

 

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Edited April 24, 2015 by maywell

[NLH Arizona]

No, I get it, David_Sobe - I'm so use to paying/seeing lowest rate which usually a interior or studio, I really didn't see the math behind the other room promos til today. And I have to say is 'Wow, that is one big ripoff...'

 

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It seems like the cruise lines have figure a way to make people think they are getting something, when in actuality they are paying for it. Celebrity does the same thing with their promotions.

[maywell]

It seems like the cruise lines have figure a way to make people think they are getting something, when in actuality they are paying for it. Celebrity does the same thing with their promotions.

That's exactly what NCL did with all room categories but the interiors / studios - they made them pay for it, making those people think it was free when it was already included in the fare. All NCL had to do was apply the 'promo' portion to the appropriate places - UDP /UBP / DSC / Excursions and poof! Passengers paid it themselves and if their not in suite /Haven, them make even more money if the people buy a different package, while people in Suite/Haven already got hoodwink with all 4.

 

And saddest part about all this? NCL wasn't monitoring for the room service reactions here, they were looking to see if people caught on to the fact about the promos... And some posters negative reactions to room service fee and now the Sky news made it even more easier to slip it past even more further. Pretty much making people drink the Koolaid without themselves even noticing it - Damn that is evil and diabolical, I can't even be angry or upset, that's just 'Wow'.....

 

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[SissasMomE]

Thanks for all the well wishing. I don't think I was clear with my post. I am not upset at all at the NCL bombardment of cruise offerings. I love my NCL PCC (same one since 2009) and emails don't bother me.

I was trying to convey that all this slick recruitment does not appeal to me. A good way to describe it would be with an analogy. Has one shopped for a new house? Ever see those deals: Free swimming pool, plus free upgrades. What if you don't want a swimming pool? Will they subtract that from the total cost? I don't think so.

NCL is offering so many package deals and I don't want a package deal. That is why I said I am not a NCL target customer.

My PCC is honest. The prices went up again even AFTER the package offerings. Last month was the "last call" for the package deals. They have not went away. Now an entire ship is being promoted with them.

LOL I guess I will be old someday looking back and say.... boy I remember cruising when I was younger and if you wanted a drink you paid for it. NCL was selling the UBP for $750 per person. The UDP is over $140. Do you think NCL will subtract $900 from the price? Ha ha.... I don't think so :)

 

Happy Sailing everyone.

 

I remember when cruising was an upscale vacation, including fine dining, room service, and etc., all included in your fare ;)

[NLH Arizona]

Damn that is evil and diabolical, I can't even be angry or upset, that's just 'Wow'.....

 

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Not evil or diabolical, just business!!!

[maywell]

Not evil or diabolical, just business!!!

I know that why it so evil and diabolical plus one can't even be angry about it because it is business! Lol.

 

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[sparks1093]

That's exactly what NCL did with all room categories but the interiors / studios - they made them pay for it, making those people think it was free when it was already included in the fare. All NCL had to do was apply the 'promo' portion to the appropriate places - UDP /UBP / DSC / Excursions and poof! Passengers paid it themselves and if their not in suite /Haven, them make even more money if the people buy a different package, while people in Suite/Haven already got hoodwink with all 4.

 

And saddest part about all this? NCL wasn't monitoring for the room service reactions here, they were looking to see if people caught on to the fact about the promos... And some posters negative reactions to room service fee and now the Sky news made it even more easier to slip it past even more further. Pretty much making people drink the Koolaid without themselves even noticing it - Damn that is evil and diabolical, I can't even be angry or upset, that's just 'Wow'.....

 

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And this is why Del Rio is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. This is the same type of marketing they do on his other lines and it's a complete turn off for me. With that said I will of course still sail NCL if their base fare is equal to or less than the competitions, but I'm not going to be swayed by a bunch of "free" stuff included in the price since in many cases I wouldn't have bought that stuff to begin with.

[hpecorari]

I remember when cruising was an upscale vacation, including fine dining, room service, and etc., all included in your fare ;)

 

Agreed. I can remember that as well. Not today, however.

 

Harriet

[maywell]

And this is why Del Rio is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. This is the same type of marketing they do on his other lines and it's a complete turn off for me. With that said I will of course still sail NCL if their base fare is equal to or less than the competitions, but I'm not going to be swayed by a bunch of "free" stuff included in the price since in many cases I wouldn't have bought that stuff to begin with.

 

Which is why I said don't sail NCL because they'll get you in one form or another. Even the lower fare is it own hook /noose because they already accounted you and whomever with you in the numbers on the complimentary side, let alone on the extras. In some cases its - Damn if do you, better off not going if you don't.

 

 

Edit- The only people who truly got the best deal are those in the interior /studio rooms that didn't pay for any of the extra packages except for maybe the DSC.

 

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Edited April 24, 2015 by maywell

[TardisDance]

Honestly I don't know why there are so many complaints. When I get quotes for other cruiselines, they still come out to be more expensive than NCL even with all these packages added. But then again, I'm a new cruise, so what do I know?

 

The prices for the RCCL mega ships simply horrify me.

[maywell]

Honestly I don't know why there are so many complaints. When I get quotes for other cruiselines, they still come out to be more expensive than NCL even with all these packages added. But then again, I'm a new cruise, so what do I know?

 

The prices for the RCCL mega ships simply horrify me.

 

You're not the only one horrify by RCCL prices - I'm trying to figure out how to do solo cruise on it but I keep running into snags like timing, iternary length, airfare, etc. I'll figure it out eventually. [emoji39]

 

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[flag fan]

This is an interesting thread. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that there are a lot of different cruisers out there with different things they look for. (USA Today (online) had an article today about six different types of travelers--none of them seemed to describe me.)

Among cruisers, some are very concerned about cost (of course everyone is, but for some it is the primary factor); others about convenience (they just want to pay once and get it over with--all-inclusive); others are more focused on variety of options (food, drink, entertainment, ports of call); others on a particular environment (fun party atmosphere vs. relaxing golden-age of cruising); and others on a mix of those (or traveling in a group that has a mix of interests).

There is no perfect choice for cruising--no ship or cruise line will appeal to everyone. When NCL changes its marketing or product it is going to alienate some cruisers while attracting others; the only way to really influencing a cruise line is by doing what the OP is doing--taking her money elsewhere, but this is effective only if enough people do it and there are other choices out there.

Personally, I think you should not go on a cruise if you don't think you will enjoy it, but should not expect too much or get too nostalgic of the past or resent changes--they will happen. Taking a break from cruising if you are tired of it or annoyed at company practices is a good idea.

I am looking forward to my first (non-charter) NCL cruise and suspect that I will enjoy it (as I have all the cruises--about 2 per year since 2009 as well). Good luck to the OP for trying something a little different.