Welcome to new NCL cruisers - are the promos attactring new customers?

[sctexan]

We were looking at Carnival Breeze vs. Escape and choose Escape because of the water park and the free beverage package.

 

That was one of our deciding factors too. Actually my son made the decision for us. We were looking online at all of the ships we had to choose from and as soon as he saw the Escape waterpark he said to me "That's the one we are going on!!" :rolleyes:

[Maddysdaddy]

I'm going on my first cruise next month. The deal of 3-8 passengers free plus the UBP free and the NCL exchange rate couldn't be beat. We were looking Disney cruises but I couldn't justify the cost. $7000 USD for Disney vs $2500 CDN for NCL for my family of 5.

 

This is my situation exactly, with the only tweak being that my daughter is now at an age where the youth clubs on Disney were no longer of interest to her, so if our new family norm is her joining my wife and I laying on loungers and reading books and listening to music all day, then there was no particularly compelling reason to go back to Disney (as much as we loved sailing on them).

 

To answer the OP's question - no, the promos had nothing to do with us choosing to sail NCL - rather it was simply a matter of seeing which cruise line was sailing on the date we were available, and seeing that NCL had a new ship which would fit the bill, and figuring "why not". It wasn't until after that I learned about being able to save a significant amount with the option to pay in Canadian funds.

[jmele999]

Thanks for all the responses. Very interesting to see that people have different reasons for jumping ship, but that at the end of the day getting the most bang for your buck appears to be a deciding factor.

[maywell]

It is rather shady, truthfully. I guess if they are being technical (and they are) you are getting "free" beverages but not the gratuity. So a "free" beverage promo is correct but misleading. If you go on the website it has a little asterisk after the UBP but I couldn't find the terms that match the promotion. You only find that out if you do a mock booking or actually book.

 

We had the UBP on Holland America and it was truly free, but I don't really mind paying the gratuity. That's much better than the $500 bar bill my husband and I racked up on our Radiance of the Seas cruise. Spent a lot of time in the champagne bar. :D

The terms & conditions link for the promo asterisk is all the way at the bottomof that webpage, beneath the video in blue. When I saw asterisk, I knew there was a catch too - that how free promos /deals when one see the *.

 

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Edited October 8, 2015 by maywell

[sctexan]

The terms & conditions link for the promo asterisk is all the way at the bottomof that webpage, beneath the video in blue. When I saw asterisk, I knew there was a catch too - that how free promos /deals when one see the *.

 

You are spot on. I was actually looking for another asterisk not a link to the terms and conditions. :)

[maywell]

You are spot on. I was actually looking for another asterisk not a link to the terms and conditions. :)

Considering there's 4 asterisks in the promos - I can understand the confusion. [emoji4]

 

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[abe3]

The terms & conditions link for the promo asterisk is all the way at the bottomof that webpage, beneath the video in blue. When I saw asterisk, I knew there was a catch too - that how free promos /deals when one see the *.

 

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Absolutely right.

[takeadip]

Thanks for the welcome!!!

 

we are long time Princess only cruisers..we chose NCL for (4) reasons:

 

1. No airfare needed to cruise out of NYC (we live in Northeast Pa )

2. Kids sail free promo we recieved

3. Unlimited Booze Package

4. Ship is only a few years old.

 

if we enjoy our time aboard this ship with the service and experience we expect from NCL we will cruise with NCL again. If not, its by by forever!!!

 

there are to many great cruise companies out there turning out a great product to have a bad experience on any of them is time to say buh-by.

 

i will give full detailed review of our experience once we sail in march 2016.

 

stay tuned!!!!!!

 

-Mark

[detroitlions]

We have been diehard Disney fans for a lot of years: cruises & parks. I'll just put that on out there. I've done 12 Disney cruises in 4 years. For me, I've been reading all the excitement with NCL's new ships, the prices are downright bargains compared to Disney, and the promos are generous even after paying the service fees for the UBP. Won't deny I've been getting bored with Disney's offerings. The menus, the activities, the shows, itineraries....it's grown repetitive. I'm not paying the obscene prices for the interesting itineraries. I'm not paying premiums for Star Wars or Halloween theming because I don't really care for either. And if I have to have Frozen garbage shoved in front of me one more time I think my head will explode. So there's that.

 

NCL was a breath of fresh air for me. We booked our first NCL cruise on the Getaway about a month of so prior to sailing. We took the "free" UBP promo. I knew going in that I had to pay the service charge for it. I knew we'd get our money's worth. (We did. Saved receipts. Bar drinks came up to over $800. I didn't pay that much in fees so we did fine.) I have no problem paying the service fees/gratuities. I prepaid mine so it was done and I didn't have to think about it again. And Freestyle dining! I LOVE this! I am sick to death of eating at an assigned time & place. I love having choices. Lots of choices. We had a fabulous time for 7 glorious nights as opposed to the 3 nights the same money would've gotten us on Disney.

 

So for us, we jumped over because of price & value. The promos are lagniappe!

I have some of the same views. The only thing I did not like on my last NCL cruise was 5 out of the 7 nights the dining was so slowwwww at the special restaurants the other two I walked out before the desert cause I was sick of sitting in the same spot. I do not know how you tolerated 12 Disney cruises plus parks I would have died. I live about 1.5 hrs from Disney and I stop going to any of the parks I did it for about 4 years when my DS was 5-9 he is almost 13 now and I will not spend another dime there. Although I must admit my DW would go in a heart beat and has been to the parks a couple times with out me like 1 day deals. As for OP your right on with the MD it is much better on Carnival. And if it was not for the UBP I might not have booked this next trip coming up I get carnival much cheaper for a better room but carnival dropped the ball on no packages and over priced limited drink packages plus they do not have all the dinning venues and there entertainment on the large scale stinks.

[Bobstam]

New to this site and NCL, have sailed with carnival 4 times in past but no since 2007. We are booked on the Escape for Feb 6- 13. Seemed like a great deal, my "guy" at NCL have me choose 3 & 4 guest as free over the UBP but my "guy" does'nt work there anymore, just found out as of yesterday. We have 2 cabins and 8 guest, I ran the numbers and it seems that we will save $400 by choosing the UBP for the first 2 adults in each cabin and pay full fare for 3 & 4th guest. I can still change till I pay in full, any thoughts?? :)

Edited October 8, 2015 by Bobstam

[maywell]

New to this site and NCL, have sailed with carnival 4 times in past but no since 2007. We are booked on the Escape for Feb 6- 13. Seemed like a great deal, my "guy" at NCL have me choose 3 & 4 guest as free over the UBP but my "guy" does'nt work there anymore, just found out as of yesterday. We have 2 cabins and 8 guest, I ran the numbers and it seems that we will save $400 by choosing the UBP for the first 2 adults in each cabin and pay full fare for 3 & 4th guest. I can still change till I pay in full, any thoughts?? :)

How much drinking are the 1st 2 guests in each room planning to do? If all of them is doing more than 3 drinks a day, keep the promo. If at least 2 of them(hopefully in the same room) are not drinking that much, then see if you can switch to 3rd-4th passengers free fare.

 

This is a tough call because only you know or at least assuming, your fellow guests drinking habits.

 

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[Sand and Seas]

Welcome to all you new NCL cruisers! We had gotten tired of set dinner times, etc, and have really enjoyed FreeStyle cruising. We have loved our cruises on NCL's 'smaller' ships like Dawn and Pearl. And after sailing on Getaway, Epic and Breakaway, can't wait for our January Escape cruise! These are great ships with wonderful entertainment. Hope you all have a great time:D

[MechE31]

We booked our first NCL, and part of it was the kids sail free, but not really the other promotions. We will be traveling with 2 kids.

 

We had a set time we wanted to go, wanted to leave from any Florida port and wanted to have a nicer boat. We wanted a room with enough space to have both kids sleep and not have to be in a pull down bed. That means a minimum of ocean view.

 

For a similar price, we could've gone on the Carnival Magic or the NCL Getaway. Royal Caribbean was ridiculously priced (65% more). Having experienced Carnival (and liking it), it was a tough decision, but we ultimately decided to try something new.

[helen haywood]

We've done over 30+ cruises on Royal, HAL, Carnival and Celebrity. We are Diamond on Royal and Elite Plus on Celebrity. We recently sailed our first NCL on Getaway. The reason I initially booked Getaway for September is that Celebrity doesn't sail in the Caribbean in September. We had the truly free UBP. That probably swayed me into doing NCL vs Royal at that time.

 

We LOVED Getaway!! We loved the Waterfront. My husband loved being able to smoke cigars in an air conditioned room. We loved that NCL has a MDR open for embarkation day lunch. We loved the coffee machine in the cabin. We loved that you could get a cooked to order hamburger 24/7. We loved the smaller dining rooms Savor and Taste. The specialty restaurants cost much less than Celebrity's.

 

When we got home I cancelled our January Celebrity Reflection cruise (previously our favorite ship of all times) and booked Escape. It is costing me a bit more on Escape as on Reflection our TA was throwing in the gratuities and Celebrity does not charge gratuities on beverage packages that are part of a promotion offer. Even though I am paying a bit more, I still chose Escape.

 

I still have deposits on several Celebrity cruises and I certainly appreciate all the loyalty perks X gives, such as the Happy Hour, the free specialty coffees, the internet package, the laundry perks.... I'm not saying (just yet) that I'm jumping cruise lines.

 

But for us it wasn't the beverage promo that caused the decision to book Escape, it was the unique factors of NCL in general and the Away and Away Plus classes.

 

And thanks for the welcome aboard!

[Bobstam]

I am figuring out the what some of the abbreviations are meaning but I do not know what the Away and Away is, can you explain.

 

I too am trying to learn more about NCL. Thanks :)

[maywell]

I am figuring out the what some of the abbreviations are meaning but I do not know what the Away and Away is, can you explain.

 

I too am trying to learn more about NCL. Thanks :)

Away in context is the Breakaway-class and Breakaway-class plus ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and currently being built Bliss, plus 2 unnamed ships).

 

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[DaniJo]

I'm new to NCL. My husband sailed on NCL when he was younger with his parents - so it doesn't really count. His parents have only sailed NCL, but we've been on Carnival twice and Royal once. We came to NCL because I wanted to try the line, the UBP, the port, the shows, itinerary and dates. We also wanted to try a big ship but didn't like Royal very much.

[Debde]

Away in context is the Breakaway-class and Breakaway-class plus ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and currently being built Bliss, plus 2 unnamed ships).

 

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Well, if my first NCL is a success, then I would love to be able to book some family cruises on them too. What keeps me away from that idea is how small the 2 bedroom family suites are. Wonder if that night be something they might address on the newer builds???

[2206]

Beginning May 1, 2016, the UBP is only offered for balcony staterooms and higher. We would like to book a cruise for the fall, and we really want the UBP. Any thoughts on our chances of NCL extending this offer for insides and oceanview cabins? Is 2015 the first year that NCL has offered the UBP?

[perditax]

Beginning May 1, 2016, the UBP is only offered for balcony staterooms and higher. We would like to book a cruise for the fall, and we really want the UBP. Any thoughts on our chances of NCL extending this offer for insides and oceanview cabins? Is 2015 the first year that NCL has offered the UBP?

 

 

I'm still somewhat new to the game, but Google "wave season." The beginning of the calendar year is typically when people book cruises for the summer/year, and I think that's when a lot of promos will start blowing up.

[jmele999]

Well, if my first NCL is a success, then I would love to be able to book some family cruises on them too. What keeps me away from that idea is how small the 2 bedroom family suites are. Wonder if that night be something they might address on the newer builds???

 

I don't expect the size of the two bedroom suites to change anytime soon as they were designed for families with small children (second bedroom is small). However, I have read about people who had 4 - 5 people in those suites. 3 adults can be comfortable in those suites.

 

When you say bigger, what do you have in mind?

[Debde]

I don't expect the size of the two bedroom suites to change anytime soon as they were designed for families with small children (second bedroom is small). However, I have read about people who had 4 - 5 people in those suites. 3 adults can be comfortable in those suites.

 

When you say bigger, what do you have in mind?

 

I'd love to see the second bedroom with enough room for a real bed. One that could sleep two adults comfortably. The way they are set up now you are correct, more for children. If they could design a room that could be good enough to handle a few kids or two adults comfortably, I'd be pretty happy!! :)

I'm hoping, at some time on my up and coming Breakaway, I could take a peak at one of those rooms to get the feel of it up close. That would help me vision the second bedroom space and living room floor space. I've seen pictures that make it look very, very small.

[cruise4family]

We took our first NCL cruise on the Breakaway in June. Got lured in with the 3rd and 4th passengers free, along with the full 7 day UDP for all 4 of us. Stayed in a regular balcony room. We had a wonderful time. So great that we've already booked the Breakaway for next August. The deal was so good we'll be in a Haven aft-penthouse.

[Bobstam]

Do you think you get a better deal if you book a future cruise while on a cruise? I have heard that recently and I might just try it out when we sail on the escape.

 

Any thoughts on best deals? I thought 6 months out was good enough but now I think not.

[LMaxwell]

100% without a doubt the promos got me to switch from Royal Caribbean. Not saying I won't go back to RC, and I have cruises booked with other lines, but the promos put NCL on the radar for me and got me to sign off on the bill. So...it worked here.