What a difference a year makes!

[Walt724]

I have been reading all about the price increases and other changes that have taken place at NCL over the past few months, but I really didn't pay attention to them. After all, they didn't affect me. I booked my cruise almost two years in advance and I've been "locked in" ever since. It's actually still almost a year away! Yes, I plan things in advance whenever possible.

 

With that in mind, I was wondering just what all of the "improvements" actually meant in real dollars. What I discovered floored me.

 

Here are the numbers:

Current Booking - Booked 4/28/2015 Sail Date 3/12/2017

Ship NCL Dawn

Stateroom Category SF

Cruise Fare - $1813.30 per person (AARP Discount)

Taxes & Fees - $119.56 per person

Total Cruise Fare - $3865.72

 

Offers

Prepaid DSC - $209.30

UBP - $1305.08

SDP - $359.24

ShoreEx Credit - $300

Total Value of Offers - $2173.62

 

Net Cruise Fare - $1692.10

 

Today I did a mock booking of the same cruise date and stateroom category:

Cruise Fare - $2764.05 per person (AARP Discount)

Taxes & Fees - $134.89 per person

Total Cruise Fare - $5797.88

 

Offers

Free Wifi - $125.00

UBP - $1305.08

SDP - $359.24

ShoreEx Credit - $200

Total Value of Offers - $1989.32

 

Net Cruise Fare - $3808.56

 

Net Increase - $2,116.46

 

All I can say is WOW!!! My next cruise may wind up being my last on NCL if this is their new strategy.

[LMaxwell]

Similar situation here. Booked in Jan 2015 for Dec 2016 on Escape; three in a Balcony.

 

Price when booked: $2205 with UBP and $75 OBC

 

Price if booked today: $2855 with UBP and SDP, no OBC.

 

That's nearly a 30% hike regardless of any other changes or takeaways from what I thought I was getting.

 

Not saying NCL is "off the table" but before our next NCL cruise we are trying MSC at half the price to see how it is. NCL will be a consideration in the future for longer or unique itineraries when they offer 3/4 guest free (such as Panama Canal).

[mpk218]

Afraid so... NCL is now pricing out similar to Royal Carib.

Was looking at booking for next December , Getaway..

Now Im looking at Royal .. Its been a nice 20 years NCL ;)

 

Nothing is ever more expensive as when it is Free ..

[TheDougOut]

For OP's sailing, it appears all of the suite categories saw a single price increase: $1,000 per person on 9/20/15.

 

Categories below suites saw a much smaller increase (100-200), with some decreases of $100 thrown in as well. Right now, booking an aft-facing balcony will cost your $20 per person LESS than it would have if you booked back in 2014.

 

OP - did you receive all 4 offers when you originally booked? I was wondering if the 9/20/2015 date was significant in regards to promotions offered, which caused NCL to bump suite category pricing across the board for your sailing.

[Walt724]

Yes I received all 4 offers when booking. Standard rooms were able to select any 1 offer with Suites and Haven receiving all 4.

[Sotermarler]

Similar story here, I booked back in April 2015 for Nov 2016 on the Jade.

For a balcony for 3 of us, which included KSF& UBP (original) it was a total of $1980.

Doing a mock booking now on the same cruise with out perks is $2343, if I add UBP (and Internet because no svc charges) it goes to $2542! That's almost a $600 difference.

I don't dare ask for an upgrade or make any changes to my reservation. I don't want to lose my perk or pay more. This is for 2016.

From what I've seen posted so far for Nov 2017, it looks like I'm sticking with my Carnival Vista booking.

 

 

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Edited March 22, 2016 by Sotermarler

[TheDougOut]

Yes I received all 4 offers when booking. Standard rooms were able to select any 1 offer with Suites and Haven receiving all 4.

 

Interesting. I wonder what the significance is of that 9/20/15 rate hike for suites. It appears non-suites may price out better today than back in 2014, especially when considering some may have the pick-2 perks as well.

 

Not that it matters, but my Dawn 11/27/15 sailing never saw a significant ($1000) rate hike for suites.

[david_sobe]

Strange.

A few weeks ago I thought about writing a similar thread since it has been one year since my last NCL cruise. But I thought I would be flamed too much. 2 weeks after I got home from my last NCL cruise FDR became the new CEO. I priced the exact suite on a ship that was one year older. The price was over $2000 more in just one year. I even subtracted the alcohol bill from the price since the UBP would be part of the deal. We had a free meal at Cagneys with unlimited appetizers and dessert too LMAO ;)

Now our meal at Cagneys would be over $200 alone.

I am not expecting huge price discounts the following year. But it would be reasonable for a similar price. Paying $2500 more one year later for the same cabin plus all the cut backs i.e. no fireworks, added gratuities, meal plan changes, etc.

A cruise is a great vacation. But NCL has removed any value and bang for the buck. NCL profits are way up. With all the cut backs and price increases its a no brainer. Its still early but I am hoping FDR's plan eventually backfires and consumers are out priced on NCL ships.

Edited March 22, 2016 by david_sobe

[philatiger]

We have always sailed in suites with NCL, but they have priced us out of even considering it. Just can't justify the huge gap between the mini and the cheapest suite. Been seriously considering trying Carnival.

[watchdiva]

We booked our next 2 cruises with great pricing and perks but looking to book 2018 the prices are CRAZY! We're probably heading to Celebrity for their 11 day Caribbean. Their AFT suite is actually larger than NCL's Deck 10 AFT.

 

 

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[mpcaruth]

We sailed the Getaway this past January and got a great deal. I just checked the price for the Getaway for next January and the price has literally increased over 60%. The "value" of the free perks for both cruises are about a wash.

 

Honestly, we did not drink much under the UBP, and would say that we would probably not even drink enough to pay for the mandatory upfront 18% gratuity charge. We booked our last cruise prior to NCL adding pre-paid gratuity fee the UBP. I would much prefer a cruise discount for not taking these "free perks"

[jmele999]

We have observed the same trend that others have described.

 

We rebooked our Escape January 2016 in January 2015 are received the UBP, UDP (no longer available), pre-paid DSC, and $300 OBC. I just looked at pricing for January 2018 on Escape and the same Spa Suite is now $600 more per person and the perks are not the same (UBP, 3 meal SDP, 250 minutes WiFI, and shore excursion).

 

Another example is our Deluxe Owner's suite for January 2018 on the Dawn. We booked in January 2015 ($1749 pp) and received the same perks as for our Escape cruise (UBP, UDP, DSC and OBC). The price of the suite has now increased by $1000 pp and the perks are not the same.

 

NCL has significantly increased the prices of the suites and decreased the value of the perks. I don't think that the price increases are a product of supply and demand as all of the suites (within the same class) are priced around the same price regardless of the sailing date or number of suites available.

 

We love NCL, but have already booked a cruise on MSC for 2018.

[pateng]

Pricing for all cruises that I am currently looking at (Breakaway or Gem from NYC to anywhere) are anywhere from 50 percent to as much as double the price that I paid for my November 2015 Breakaway cruise and upcoming May 2016 Gem cruise (both booked in January 2015). It is a shame as I have only cruised NCL and I am now going to look to try other cruise lines as NCL no longer provides any reasonable value for any type of rooms. It is outrageous to increase prices by this amount.

Edited March 22, 2016 by pateng

[negn]

We usually do 2-3 cruises a year Always on NCL. This is the 1st year we have 2 land vacations planned instead. Leave for Aruba next week.

[meglet]

Yup. Usually I have my summer Dawn to BDA booked by now. Aft suite. But prices are higher, the perks are cut down (no UDP, so I'd have to pay for 3 nights in specialty,) no gratuities paid like years before. I'm waiting a few more weeks before I book an all inclusive land vacation. I will really miss that sailaway feeling though.

[April42749]

We sailed the Getaway this past January and got a great deal. I just checked the price for the Getaway for next January and the price has literally increased over 60%. The "value" of the free perks for both cruises are about a wash.

 

Honestly, we did not drink much under the UBP, and would say that we would probably not even drink enough to pay for the mandatory upfront 18% gratuity charge. We booked our last cruise prior to NCL adding pre-paid gratuity fee the UBP. I would much prefer a cruise discount for not taking these "free perks"

 

The TAs had a "no frills" option recently. We don't drink, never spent a penny on food, leave the electronics at home and already did all the excursions we wanted to do. So our fare was $300 less pp.

 

I wish they always had this option.

[denatravels]

I have a different perspective. I tend to travel solo, and pricing NCL is a significant savings if I can do a solo room (even compared to other solo bookings on other lines).

February 2017 I have breakaway and anthem double booked-- net value of NCL is about $600. While I'd rather do anthem, I cannot ignore that savings.

Summer 2017-- Norwegian fjords and baltics-- the savings is about $3000 to do NCL.

 

 

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[kdzkatz]

Our September 2017 cruise is a "definite maybe" cruise. If they price for the room we booked (SE forward penthouse) stays around it's current price, we will be cancelling before final payment. Our May 2015 9 day to Alaska was over $4K less.

 

We did not have or want the UBP, Wifi, joke credit towards overpriced excursions & we purchased the UDP out of our $850 OBC. We love the room and the itinerary but not at that price. If they don't change their ways I would sure hope there are many more cancellations and non bookings until they bring it down. I'm not holding my breath and already looking at other cruise lines after cruising exclusively with NCL (soon to be 8 times in 9 years).

 

We love the product just not the MASSIVE price increases.

Edited March 22, 2016 by kdzkatz

[sanger727]

We are currently planning a January cruise and think the inflation is across the board. We knew we didn't want to go to the same 2 standard itineraries that seem to be everywhere (st Thomas, st martin, Nassau and Cozumel, roatan, belize, and grand cayman). So we ended up looking at a handful of itineraries across Carnival, Norweigan, Royal, and Celebrity. For our dates and island preferences, Norweigan was only slightly more the cheapest carnival option, and the second cheapest option overall. By far the cheapest per night because it was a longer cruise, and with the UDP and UBP options thrown in, seems like a no brainer. We aren't "loyal" so whoever works best for us for where and when we want to go is where we end up.

[Sizzlechest]

Prices in August 2015 for the July 1 2016 9 day Breakaway cruise:

 

Interior: $1,359

Oceanview: $1,659

Balcony: $1,979

Suite: $2,279

 

As of today:

 

Interior: $1,699

Oceanview: $???

Balcony: $2,399

Suite: $2,599

 

That's just the "raw" room prices not including taxes, etc. I didn't actually attempt a mock booking, but I could only imagine the final price difference.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Sizzlechest

[NCLfamily]

Surely every cruise gets more expensive as the ship fills until near departure when it gets less expensive. Same with flights?

 

 

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[meglet]

You'd think so NCLFamily, but I've seen better rates on at least the SF category in mid April than I had before that. That's how I got hooked on suites. Before that had sailed balcony and mini suite on Dawn.

[NCLfamily]

Oh I get that there will be exceptions. The point I'm making that in general prices go up as a ship fills. It's standard practice. So to say that a particular cabin has went up in price doesn't prove much.

 

 

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[TowerOrchard]

Prices go up on specific cruises as they book - supply and demand. Every cruise line has their own algorithm they use for price increases based on # of cabins sold. Pricing the exact same cruise a year apart only tells you how popular that specific cruise is.

 

We've booked the Escape in 2017 for the same week & same category of our 2016 cruise, and we are only paying $80 more - plus in 2017 we will have the SDP in addition to the UBP. Our 2016 cruise only has the UBP. And I am including the service charges for our freebies. We haven't see the huge increases others report.

[vunico]

I've never seen more people complain about getting a bargain for planning ahead...I say kudos for a great strategy !