US SDP promo just got worse.

[clivep]

I've not seen it posted here before but I see that the SDP promo for March 16, 2016 - April 10, 2016 US bookings has been changed to:

 

Sail Length/Meals

5-9 Nights/3 meals

10+ Nights/4 meails (THEIR spelling!!!)

 

SDP promo for UK/EU bookings has not changed (up to 7 nights for 17+ nights sailings).

[backsbanny]

And most important that for uk eu you DONT pay their ridiculous "gratuities"

[Jezo]

How do I know what mine is? We booked back in January for 14 night and the NCL website just says:

 

Specialty Dining Package

Dining Package - Promo

 

Nothing about the number of nights included.

[zuke2323]

How do I know what mine is? We booked back in January for 14 night and the NCL website just says:

 

Specialty Dining Package

Dining Package - Promo

 

Nothing about the number of nights included.

 

 

Do you know how much you paid in gratuities for it? With that information you could probably work backwards and figure out how many nights the promo is for.

 

Not sure if this is relevant, but we booked a 7-night in December and got four meals. So I would assume you got at least 8.

[Jezo]

Do you know how much you paid in gratuities for it? With that information you could probably work backwards and figure out how many nights the promo is for.

 

Not sure if this is relevant, but we booked a 7-night in December and got four meals. So I would assume you got at least 8.

 

SDP and UBP for 2 people on a 14 night (plus a child so I dont think that counts):

 

Choice Promotion Service Charge: $385.20

[zuke2323]

SDP and UBP for 2 people on a 14 night (plus a child so I dont think that counts):

 

Choice Promotion Service Charge: $385.20

 

 

Hmm... I'm not able to make the numbers work perfectly. Do you have the Promo Service Charges broken out between the UBP and SDP? Sorry for the inconvenience.

Edited March 18, 2016 by zuke2323

[TNCruzer56]

And most important that for uk eu you DONT pay their ridiculous "gratuities"

Thanks a lot-Now you`re giving them ideas!

[CruisinMaterial]

Thanks a lot-Now you`re giving them ideas!

 

Ha ha... truth. Be careful what is said on CC. They don't listen to the gripes but do take our ideas and turn them on us! :eek::D

[Regguy]

Hmm... I'm not able to make the numbers work perfectly. Do you have the Promo Service Charges broken out between the UBP and SDP? Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

The math looks to work out to 6 dining credits. UBP service charge would be based on $69 because it only just changed recently. So, $69x2x.18 is $24.82 per day. For 14 days it's $347.76. OP paid $385.20, so that means OP paid $37.44 for dining. Six nights under the old promo was $18.72 per person. $18.72x2=37.44.

[zuke2323]

 

The math looks to work out to 6 dining credits. UBP service charge would be based on $69 because it only just changed recently. So, $69x2x.18 is $24.82 per day. For 14 days it's $347.76. OP paid $385.20, so that means OP paid $37.44 for dining. Six nights under the old promo was $18.72 per person. $18.72x2=37.44.

 

That sounds right to me then. I think I was using $64 pp/pd for UBP because that's what I paid in December. Completely off-topic but that means UBP has gone up $15 pp/pd in two separate chunks within the span of 3 months.

 

Seems like it would've been much easier to just keep the UBP at $64 and market the UBP promo as "select this promo and you can purchase the UBP package for a discounted price of xxx". But I'm not in marketing so what do I know.

[hawkeyetlse]

In the unlikely case there is a discrepancy on board with the number of meals you booked, and the number of meals they think you are entitled to, I would want to be able to show them more than just the service charge amount. The people on board have zero knowledge/memory of past promotions and past prices (or they pretend to), and they are not good at math problems.

 

Call NCL and get your amenity confirmation. It will specify the number of meals in plain language.

[Regguy]

Seems like it would've been much easier to just keep the UBP at $64 and market the UBP promo as "select this promo and you can purchase the UBP package for a discounted price of xxx". But I'm not in marketing so what do I know.

 

Yeah, it's interesting -- I think this must be economically advantageous or they wouldn't be doing it this way. I think at $79, they are making an awful lot of money just on the "service charge," and my guess is they are banking on the fact that some people won't even really notice what the $300 extra is for since it gets tacked on during a later stage of the booking, or that they can simply pretend "well, this is just what you'd pay in tips anyway," leading many people to say, "hmm, ok, I guess that's legit," without realizing they would never pay that much in tips because they will never order $158 in booze for two people every single day of the cruise. I guess it's sort of like luggage charges or hotel "resort fees" where the idea is to make the initial price of the cruise look low to those who are comparing it to other lines -- "$699 per person" -- but then to tack on charges when they actually book and hope they are no longer in comparison mode.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Regguy

[janpo]

Cruising should not be this hard.

[NLH Arizona]

Just curious. Do promotions at other places always stay the same or improve? I've noticed that there are ups and downs when offering promotions; sometimes it is really good and other times it is much less of a value. I always book if I feel the promotion is a value to me, instead of waiting for a better one or hoping that it stays the same.

[bruadhin]

Yeah, it's interesting -- I think this must be economically advantageous or they wouldn't be doing it this way. I think at $79, they are making an awful lot of money just on the "service charge," and my guess is they are banking on the fact that some people won't even really notice what the $300 extra is for since it gets tacked on during a later stage of the booking, or that they can simply pretend "well, this is just what you'd pay in tips anyway," leading many people to say, "hmm, ok, I guess that's legit," without realizing they would never pay that much in tips because they will never order $158 in booze for two people every single day of the cruise. I guess it's sort of like luggage charges or hotel "resort fees" where the idea is to make the initial price of the cruise look low to those who are comparing it to other lines -- "$699 per person" -- but then to tack on charges when they actually book and hope they are no longer in comparison mode.

 

I suspect you are over thinking it.

 

When I booked last June, I could not find anything comparable on RCCL or CCL. Nothing that met the dates I could cruise and a ship and itinerary I thought was interesting. This was even after accounting for the service charges on the promo.

 

There is no way on earth I would ever order enough alcohol to make it a worthwhile purchase. But we most definitely can and will drink enough alcohol when compared to what we are paying in service charges.

 

So while NCL is no saint, it definitely can be a worthwhile promotion. Now, only the UDP and UBP are of interest to me, they can keep the Shore Excursions and internet. So depending on where the promos and pricing go, we may or may not be back, even if we enjoy our cruise.

[GUEST080219]

Just curious. Do promotions at other places always stay the same or improve? I've noticed that there are ups and downs when offering promotions; sometimes it is really good and other times it is much less of a value. I always book if I feel the promotion is a value to me, instead of waiting for a better one or hoping that it stays the same.

 

The problem I have with that is that they keep the name of the promotion the same and just change the details. I wouldn't mind either if they called the promotion "3/4 free specialty restaurant meals" promotion.

[mking8288]

Cruising should not be this hard.

 

:D This - ;)

 

First, you deal your TA and/or PCC, then, you consult your own legal counsel on TOC a/k/a cruise contract documents & fineprints. Next, you see your budget analyst and/or financial analyst to review ... then, export all that data to your favorite digital calendar on Google, MSN or Apple Store, etc. Proceed as checked off, loop back when cautioned and sidetrack if uncertain :confused:

 

Otherwise, just sign (digitally or otherwise) on the charge slip (Misc. MCO in good old days) and call your bank (private banker for the select few) to alert them about pending charges & hold.

 

Not difficult at all, really. NOT :rolleyes:

Edited March 18, 2016 by mking8288

[NLH Arizona]

The problem I have with that is that they keep the name of the promotion the same and just change the details. I wouldn't mind either if they called the promotion "3/4 free specialty restaurant meals" promotion.

I guess to me, it is not the name that is important or is telling, it is the details and that is why I thought that is why they had the learn more button, so you could see the details of what the offer was.

[Regguy]

Just curious. Do promotions at other places always stay the same or improve? I've noticed that there are ups and downs when offering promotions; sometimes it is really good and other times it is much less of a value. I always book if I feel the promotion is a value to me, instead of waiting for a better one or hoping that it stays the same.

 

It seems like there used to be much more variability in NCL promos, and there would be better and worse ones depending on the time of the year. It wasn't too long ago that people booking during down times of the year, or on certain cruises that had unsold rooms, would get free beverages without surcharges (plus free soda for guests 3 and 4), 3d and 4th passengers sail free, prepaid gratuities, etc. Though, there was always a caveat with those, in that NCL would often change the price of the cruise in conjunction with the new promos. I remember once waiting for an OBC promo, and was looking at a specific cabin, and as soon as the new promo came on line, the price of the cabin for passengers 1 and 2 went up to almost offset the "savings."

 

The way I view the current rack of promos, the way they have them structured, they are not really costing NCL very much. Internet is free to give away, basically -- at most you're just depriving yourself of some revenue from someone who might have paid for it if you didn't give it away. The shore excursions are a loss leader, and they probably pay the vendors they contract with less than discounted rate. Even though there are some who will drink themselves silly, fleetwide, the surcharge on free booze is probably defraying a significant portion of the cost. And the dinners are also a loss leader -- especially now that they are not giving them out every night and maybe you go back to Le Bistro and pay once you get it for "free."

 

So, the bottom line is that while I bet there will be some tweaking with these current pick 2 "free" options -- the number of dining nights, whether they apply to inside cabins, the dollar amount of the port credit -- by and large this is starting to feel like the new baseline. I think you will still selectively see better, true cash savings promos, like OBC and 3d and 4th passenger discounts, and prepaid gratuities. But these are closer to hard costs to NCL and so I'd guess they will be more rare and truly designed to sell unsold cabins or on less desirable routes or to get revenue up during the quarters when people don't book cruises. Whether they will manipulate some of these baseline promos to offer some of the hard dollar discounts is a good question. We're still at the end of "wave season" right now -- when a large proportion of cruises tend to be booked. Offers made in the summer months and in the time around Halloween may be instructive about NCL's current approach to promos.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Regguy

[Regguy]

So while NCL is no saint, it definitely can be a worthwhile promotion.

 

Yeah, sure -- if you drink on average more than 3 drinks a day, it's definitely a good promo, although as I've mentioned before, you need to take into account the opportunity cost of not choosing one of the other promos (like if you would spend $50 on internet and choose beverages instead of internet). I wasn't meaning to bash on the promo -- choice is good and so long as you're not misled and can do basic math (and your eyes aren't bigger than your belly with respect to predicting how much you'll eat or drink) you can figure out what works best for you. I was just reacting more to the marketing aspect -- why they call it a "surcharge" off the base $79 fee instead of simply calling it a co-pay for the "free" beverages (which is what it is).

Edited March 18, 2016 by Regguy

[NLH Arizona]

The way I view the current rack of promos, the way they have them structured, they are not really costing NCL very much. Internet is free to give away, basically -- at most you're just depriving yourself of some revenue from someone who might have paid for it if you didn't give it away. The shore excursions are a loss leader, and they probably pay the vendors they contract with less than discounted rate. Even though there are some who will drink themselves silly, fleetwide, the surcharge on free booze is probably defraying a significant portion of the cost. And the dinners are also a loss leader -- especially now that they are not giving them out every night and maybe you go back to Le Bistro and pay once you get it for "free."

 

I totally agree with you that they don't cost NCL that much. Being from the music industry, our promotions didn't cost us much either nor do I think it cost much for any other business. It is just the way givaways or perks are; customers think they are getting something for free and the business is in hopes that the customers will spend more to offset the little it is costing them. Edited March 18, 2016 by NLH Arizona

[SteveH2508]

And most important that for uk eu you DONT pay their ridiculous "gratuities"

 

One good thing about having decent consumer protection legislation. They could not call them free and then add on 18% gratuities - they would get a smacked wrist for that!

[hawkeyetlse]

They could probably add it as a discretionary charge, if it was announced clearly in the booking terms, and hope that most people wouldn't bother asking for it to be removed. But I guess they know their European customers better than that…

[Brighton Line]

In the unlikely case there is a discrepancy on board with the number of meals you booked, and the number of meals they think you are entitled to, I would want to be able to show them more than just the service charge amount. The people on board have zero knowledge/memory of past promotions and past prices (or they pretend to), and they are not good at math problems.

 

Call NCL and get your amenity confirmation. It will specify the number of meals in plain language.

 

Booking thru NCL, I got two emailed PDF's. One wash my confirmation with a line "Din Srv Charge" at $30.24 total ($15.12 pp) for 7 day cruise.

Second PDF was titled "Amenity Invoice" listed for primary passenger two line both wtih $0.00 charge

CHI250 Internet Package 250 and DINPK4 4 Meal Specialty Dining Package. 2nd Pax has the DINPK4 line as well.

 

I'm just bringing that with me in case there is any issue.

FWIW

Edited March 18, 2016 by Brighton Line

[zuke2323]

Yeah, it's interesting -- I think this must be economically advantageous or they wouldn't be doing it this way. I think at $79, they are making an awful lot of money just on the "service charge,"

 

Of course; what I'm saying is they probably do not expect many (if any at all really) people to go out and purchase the UBP separately now, as $652.54 per person ($79*7 + the 18%) to drink is a prohibitive cost to most cruisers. They most likely keep raising the price of the UBP in order to subsidize the promo.

 

What I might have done is keep the UBP purchase price at $59 or 64 pp/pd, a price where some people would have actually bought it. Then change the terms of the UBP promo to read something like "selecting the UBP promo enables a guest to purchase the UBP for $100" (or $150, whatever). That way they are still accomplishing what I assume was their goal, which was to get more money out of people who select the promo without making a purchase of the UBP prohibitive in cost.

 

I guess they then wouldn't be able to advertise as "free UBP", but it isn't free anyways. The way they did it seems much more complicated than just setting a discounted price for people who select the UBP promo.