Is there any Value left in an NCL Cruise?

[david_sobe]

Short answer: Not really and depends

 

For the suites absolutely not. They have went up in price 50% to 80% more. You can get an all inclusive exclusive private resort on St John for a week for the same price. You can rent a private ocean access house there too for the same price.

 

Balcony cabins - depends There are some dates where you can score a balcony for a reasonable price. But some of the prices don't have the value they once did.

 

If you stick to an extremely strict budget it can happen. Cruising used to be the best value vacation ever. But the prices are higher with other lines too. Its just that NCL is not just raising prices. They are cutting back on every corner and also raising auto gratuities and even created "service fee" on top of daily auto gratuity and gratuity added for each item ordered.

 

The good deals are harder to find especially with all the phony "free" offers that jack up the basic price of the cruise price. I don't want to be forced to buy alcohol that I may not drink or pay for internet that I may not use. Just give me the bottom line price and let me splurge on board if I want.

 

When I look back only 5 years ago and the value it was incredible. In 2009 you could eat a Porterhouse in Cagneys with jumbo shrimp as an appetizer and get dessert for only $20. Your cruise price gave you some compensation for dinner even if you decided to upcharge at the steakhouse. In 2010 you could get a week pass in the Epic spa for $99. I believe Epic still has the largest spa at sea. I think a spa pass today is $219 per person and it probably has went up. Just 2 small details of many more I could list.

[deliver42]

I don't know when you were on CCL, but they no longer allow water to be brought on board. NCL followed them, but then raised their price on the water. Carnival lowered theirs.

[david_sobe]

NCL takes a big hit in the value for the money in reviews even from Cruise Critic writers. Most people rate NCL ships 3 to 5 stars. The entertainment get high stars too. However if you notice even the reviewers that give the ship 4 or 5 stars the "value for the money" is usually the lowest rated category. Just look at the newer NCL ships and the value part is consistently the lowest rated category even from those who loved their cruise. I too am in that camp. Its a great vacation, fantastic ship, amazing crew but the value for the money is not there that much. But I think its because I tend to splurge on cruises. I like to book suites and spend lots of money. I suspect if you are very disciplined you can get lots of value out of the cruise. Its tough to do because you rationalize you are on vacation and you waited so long to take this cruise, etc. I suspect that is a reason myself and others don't see such value :eek:

Edited July 10, 2016 by david_sobe

[4774Papa]

Mark,

Enjoyed reading your thoughtful post as well as the responses.

 

Our first cruise was on NCL and soon after we discovered Celebrity, which had far more worldwide itineraries.

 

Since then we have don 9 Celebrity and 5 NCL cruises. We have one NCL booked and one Celebrity booked. We pick our cruises based on price and itinerary. We won't cruise with HAL due to the smoking policy and Carnival is not our style. I still check Princess every now and then, but haven't seen a cruise that beats NCL or Celebrity.

 

Celebrity is our first choice, based on higher food quality, a better benefits package for elite vs. NCL Platinum. Also, Celebrity's service tends to be more consistently better.

 

NCL has better entertainment and more variety for specialty restaurants. Also, its prices are generally better than Celebrity, except for excursions where NCL's prices are generally higher.

 

Another factor is there is a bit more irritation on some of NCL's policies. Photographers are more pushy, especially getting off the ship. The room service for breakfast has no hot food. The ship design of some of NCL's ships are poor: Epic, Star and Sun.

 

We drink the tap water onboard. Been doing that for six years and we are still very healthy. We don't drink cokes or diet cokes (that's what we call soda in Georgia). My doctor advises me that sodas are not healthy, especially multiple sodas in one day.

 

We never buy the drinks packages and very much dislike NCL charging the 18 percent on them (Celebrity does not).

 

Having said all that, we continue to cruise on NCL when the right cruise with the right price comes along. That is the bottom line.

 

Footnote: I do think that NCL management has established itself as highly negative with some of its policies. The water policy is terrible and will probably hurt them more in the long run. We never try to smuggle in booze, but the people that I know that have done so, never do it with cases of water.

[Demonyte]

We never try to smuggle in booze, but the people that I know that have done so, never do it with cases of water.

 

 

I have to agree with this completely, there are a lot easier and reliable ways to smuggle liquids onboard.

 

First thing I did learn from this forum before our first cruise was rum runners, bought a pack and did use those on couple of our first cruises - not out of being cheap, but for convenience of not having to leave the cabin or wait for butler/room service to serve those drinks. (Our first cruise was in a fwd suite on Jade.)

 

After having never made more than one or two drinks in the cabin during a cruise and hauling the rum runners and most of the liquor within back home, I realized it was not worth the trouble, and haven't bothered to do that since. But I never had any problems getting properly filled rum runners through the security and haven't heard of many that would have.

[Crusin6]

I book the cheapest non guarantee insides

 

We rarely have more than 2/3 drinks each per cruise

 

2 bottles of wine max purchased onboard

 

Water will be purchased onboard though at their ridiculous prices....but that is one reason why after our cruise next certs are used up that I will be looking into celebrity. I'll even pay a bit more to try them out. This wouldn't be the case though if ncl wasnt so obvious in their disdain toward their paying long time pax

 

Ncl obviously wants newbie pax with no preconceived notions about what to expect from ncl only a fool doesn't see that.

 

No pix anymore

 

No casino

 

No specialty restaurants. Been there done that and not worth the money or time involved

 

 

Don't take any perk that costs us money so we took the wifi for next cruise

 

Leave dsc in place but only tip the steward $20/$30 extra

 

 

Use ncl excursions only in certain ports...but still rarely

 

So yes it's a good value for us.....for our upcoming cruise ....but going forward it's doubtful we will remain on ncl

 

 

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[Crusin6]

Short answer: Not really and depends

 

 

 

For the suites absolutely not. They have went up in price 50% to 80% more. You can get an all inclusive exclusive private resort on St John for a week for the same price. You can rent a private ocean access house there too for the same price.

 

 

 

Balcony cabins - depends There are some dates where you can score a balcony for a reasonable price. But some of the prices don't have the value they once did.

 

 

 

If you stick to an extremely strict budget it can happen. Cruising used to be the best value vacation ever. But the prices are higher with other lines too. Its just that NCL is not just raising prices. They are cutting back on every corner and also raising auto gratuities and even created "service fee" on top of daily auto gratuity and gratuity added for each item ordered.

 

 

 

The good deals are harder to find especially with all the phony "free" offers that jack up the basic price of the cruise price. I don't want to be forced to buy alcohol that I may not drink or pay for internet that I may not use. Just give me the bottom line price and let me splurge on board if I want.

 

 

 

When I look back only 5 years ago and the value it was incredible. In 2009 you could eat a Porterhouse in Cagneys with jumbo shrimp as an appetizer and get dessert for only $20. Your cruise price gave you some compensation for dinner even if you decided to upcharge at the steakhouse. In 2010 you could get a week pass in the Epic spa for $99. I believe Epic still has the largest spa at sea. I think a spa pass today is $219 per person and it probably has went up. Just 2 small details of many more I could list.

 

 

Everything is so true you posted......except....

 

The cagneys shrimp cocktail used to be 6 colossal shrimp....not anymore!!!!!

 

 

Lol....but only the veteran ncl cruisers know that. 😎

 

 

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[Cruiser Bruiser]

If you look at my signature, you see I have sailed 12 NCL cruises and a combined eight with HAL and Princess. Furthermore, I have six more cruises booked; three on NCL and one apiece on P&O, HAL and Princess. And I have a Cruise Next certificate burning a hole in my pocket. As I've been shopping for a December 2017 cruise to fill a hole in my cruise calendar, I've observed two things:

 

1. Cruising is much more expensive than it was during the Great Recession. It's almost impossible for me to pay less than $1,000 for a 7-night cruise anymore including taxes and port fees and charges for "free" amenities. But with two caveats: on NCL that typically includes UBP, and I now sail solo almost exclusively.

 

2. Given No. 1 above, as I've been shopping for that December 2017 cruise, the NCL options are always much cheaper than comparable options on HAL and Princess even though they include the extra ~$100 for the "free" UBP. In fact, NCL cruises are so much cheaper that I can add the now-more-expensive spa package, the now-more-expensive SDP, and still be substantially under the HAL/Princess price without the booze or the spa.

 

So, in response to the OP: cruising generally is no longer the value proposition it was during the Great Recession. Therefore, you are correct in your assertion that the value isn't what it was. HOWEVER, NCL still represents a better value than comparable brands in most cases. So, in most cases, I will continue to sail with NCL.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Cruiser Bruiser

[san92103]

Very interesting discussion!

 

I've only gone on one cruise, NCL JADE Eastern MED 26sep-03oct2015 for my honeymoon in a Penthouse suite-Haven. Worth every penny! In fact, it's to date the best trip my (now) wife and I have ever taken, and being an Airline employee, travel is something we do frequently....

 

I thought about your points you made and do see that there is some value left in the cruise. That is, NCL wants to fit a certain mold in their product. They want the customer to have a certain experience and desire to go back and PAY for it. Did NCL achieve that with us? YES. Now, can I compare that to an interior room or regular room experience- no. Only because that was my first cruise and we have agreed, "it's Haven or NOTHING". So, I better go lift up sofa cushions for every penny I can find LOL.

 

I do feel there is some excessive 'cookie cutter' aspects to cruising I feel odd about.

 

1) They have a list of greetings or gestures they must give customers. Being culturally aware of other nationalities on board. (definitely smart)

 

2) While some employee's rotate job functions to reduce boredom, I observed many going thru the motions day after day, never getting a break.

 

I feel there is still quite a lot of value left in a cruise and the value is as much as you wish to get out of it. If you spend your entire time eating, then you'll miss everything else... If you spend your entire time in the spa, you'll be relaxed, but broke. If you spend your entire time gambling, ya, you're definitely gonna be broke.

 

Plan your cruise based on your desired experience and plan for how you wish to enjoy your time. Once you disembark for good- that's it. It's over and some other lucky guests get to partake.

[sjbdtz]

Short answer: Not really and depends

 

For the suites absolutely not. They have went up in price 50% to 80% more. You can get an all inclusive exclusive private resort on St John for a week for the same price. You can rent a private ocean access house there too for the same price.

 

 

 

I don't understand how the price of a resort in the Caribbean is an adequate comparison to a cruise in the Mediterranean?

 

Even if it WAS, the resort doesn't take me exploring to 3 or 4 places, included.

 

 

The only way the comparison makes sense is if a person is looking for a week at the beach, in which case why not just go to Florida, and save the airfare too?

 

 

.

[san92103]

I don't understand how the price of a resort in the Caribbean is an adequate comparison to a cruise in the Mediterranean?

 

Even if it WAS, the resort doesn't take me exploring to 3 or 4 places, included.

 

 

The only way the comparison makes sense is if a person is looking for a week at the beach, in which case why not just go to Florida, and save the airfare too?

 

 

.

 

 

For some, they like the idea of being in one spot doing nothing for days on end. Perhaps their lives are hectic and this is something they need. So be it....

 

Personally, if you want to be transported to your locations, not have to really do much thinking about where to eat, how and how much, then a cruise is in your alley.There is truly nothing more annoying than walking around aimlessly for ever looking for a restaurant ALL agree on.

 

I am not a fan of the Caribbean resorts as it's not my taste. I find it difficult to travel 2,500 miles to MIA when I live in San Diego and the beach is 5 minutes away. When I lived in Chicago 15 years ago, anything with palm trees and water (preferably clear type) is a MUST.

 

Cruising is a great convenience. I would only wish that you got longer in certain ports and that you were so locked to the tourist location you dock in.

 

Like Kusadasi, Turkey. Absolutely amazing! But, you walk around the shops next to the pier and they know you're not local.

[Sestar]

It's all depends on each individual.

 

You can still find good deal on inside cabins, Ocean view or even Balcony. Depends on the sailing. I tend to cruise during off season. Prices have been good. I rarely drink, and can survive on ship water. I do my own excursions. I do like their specialty restaurants. So, i have no problem paying for it. NCL can't get much from me. :D No matter how they try to "nickel & dime"

 

I have cruised 2 Havens before. The prices I got were amazing. I may be over reacting. But i feel like NCL has dramatically increased the prices of Haven. Same for those smaller ships with no proper Haven amenities.

 

Now, am I mad that their suite prices are not as competitive? No. Am i disappointed? Yeah, a little. But it doesn't mean I can't sail on Suite or Haven again. It seems like a NCL can't sell the suites fast enough. There have been a lot of upsell posts. "Smart shoppers" can strategically book their second choice cabin. If you are lucky, you will be able to upsell for Haven with HUGE savings.

[HowardK]

I feel as though if I have had a good time, feel relaxed and met nice people then it is worth it, but for the upcoming trip I am considering I am not only considering the cruise but the travel price as well.

 

I booked a studio last year and was able to receive 2 promotions (whereas now it is only 1). I selected the UDP for $80.63 as if I get 2 drinks per day I am coming out ahead of what I would pay and I won't cringe thinking each drink is $8.95 + 18%. I also selected the SDP and received 4 meals for $13.62 or so.

Considering those promos aren't available and the price of my studio is up $300 since I booked I feel as though I have a good deal.

However, I don't always enjoy sitting for hours in the MDR- this time around I might do specialities every night and pay for the 3 remaining meals.

 

Now the question becomes as well- is the cruise enough value that warrants me wanting to spend hotel and airfare for Miami? That I am wrestling with.

 

I could invest the money I would be spending for another time, but given I have the time off already it might be a better personal choice to go.

 

Yet there are some things that still bother me-

I notice in Cagney's the Waygu burger and beef sliders are gone.

I am not entirely pleased the ship sails 7PM vs. 4PM.

 

I am not please one of the shows has moved to another ship.

That being said, I am sure once I was on the boat I wouldnt care as much.

[toyotaford]

I don't know when you were on CCL, but they no longer allow water to be brought on board. NCL followed them, but then raised their price on the water. Carnival lowered theirs.

 

I am currently on a CCL cruise. I saw people bringing water on at check in and we brought some aboard from one of the ports. I didn't know it was against CCL policy until I saw your post.

[KeithJenner]

I don't know when you were on CCL, but they no longer allow water to be brought on board. NCL followed them, but then raised their price on the water. Carnival lowered theirs.

 

 

 

I haven't been following the discussions all that closely, but I didn't think that NCL had raised their water prices.

 

They have always been extremely expensive. Is it correct that they have raised them since announcing this policy?

[david_sobe]

I don't understand how the price of a resort in the Caribbean is an adequate comparison to a cruise in the Mediterranean?

 

Even if it WAS, the resort doesn't take me exploring to 3 or 4 places, included.

 

 

The only way the comparison makes sense is if a person is looking for a week at the beach, in which case why not just go to Florida, and save the airfare too?

 

 

.

I never mentioned anything about a Mediterranean cruise.

The thread is about value in NCL cruises. Some like myself are looking at better value at better places for the price of a NCL cruise. Its that simple.

You are entitled to your opinion. I am not the only one. NCL scores the lowest in value on cruise critic reviews even those who rave about their ships.

I understand threads like these keep you up at night but its a fair topic otherwise cruise critic would not ask its members to rate "value for your money" in the review section.

[don1976]

I never mentioned anything about a Mediterranean cruise.

The thread is about value in NCL cruises. Some like myself are looking at better value at better places for the price of a NCL cruise. Its that simple.

You are entitled to your opinion. I am not the only one. NCL scores the lowest in value on cruise critic reviews even those who rave about their ships.

I understand threads like these keep you up at night but its a fair topic otherwise cruise critic would not ask its members to rate "value for your money" in the review section.

Albeit 3 out of 5 ships in the cruise critic ratings Best for Value (large ships) are all NCL.

 

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[rickechambers1@aol.com]

Thank You,

 

We have. We have one more NCL cruise booked that was such a good deal that it would be foolish to cancel.

 

Base Cruise fares for NCL Suites forced us to look elsewhere and now we have two additional cruises booked with Princess.

 

Mark

 

Interesting...NCL has a loss of value but the value of your next NCL cruise is too good to cancel it? If it were me and I felt strongly about it, I'd cancel for the principal.

[Annmeat]

I haven't been following the discussions all that closely, but I didn't think that NCL had raised their water prices.

 

They have always been extremely expensive. Is it correct that they have raised them since announcing this policy?

 

No, they have not. I ordered my water well before the announcement . No change in price.

[Annmeat]

I don't know when you were on CCL, but they no longer allow water to be brought on board. NCL followed them, but then raised their price on the water. Carnival lowered theirs.

 

This is absolutely false regarding NCL. The water prices have NOT been raised You can be angry at NCL, but please stick to facts.

[Regguy]

Thanks for a thought provoking post, Mark.

 

For those that jump on every one of these posts to say, "if you don't like it sail another line" or "you should have said it has no value FOR YOU," why do you even bother? Is it to get your post count up? I mean, obviously the poster is talking about his personal perception and the whole idea is to get others' perspectives to have a discussion. The original post was obviously not intended to be a "does NCL have value for you" poll, but a discussion starter.

 

I though Kathybelcher's response was great and exactly the way to think about the question and add to the conversation.

 

For me, personally, one big check mark for NCL is that their 3d and 4th guest prices are very low. As the ala carte pricing of features we like goes up and up, that feature tends to keep the value for us, but the margin is getting lower and lower. We tend to sail when school is out, so usually cannot take advantage of the discounted rates for 3d and 4th guests on RCCI and Celebrity because they usually don't offer them. It's hard to see sticking with NCL when we decide it's time to switch to a second cabin. Indeed, we're getting to the point where booking a second inside cabin is getting close to economical.

 

But we have recently discovered MSC, and they also excel in their pricing for third and fourth guests, and the charges on stuff we care about is also much lower. Lower DSC, and reduced DSC for kids. Much cheaper Internet packages. Coffee drinks in their drink package included in the "Aurea experience," and lower excursion pricing. So, we're giving them a try. There are some things we will miss I'm sure, and with several NCL cruises under our belt, there is a benefit to familiarity, but I'm actually excited to try a new line.

 

I tell you one thing that would add value to me is not having to worry about returning and keeping track of pool towels. There's not much we miss from Disney, but that and free fountain soda are up there. Not worth thousands of dollars though.

[david_sobe]

I think some view this thread in the wrong context. Value for the money is only a small part of the overall experience with cruising or any vacation.

Good example:

Last month I ate at the restaurant Golden Corral. It was my first time. Its an all you can eat buffet style restaurant. The menu is too big to even mention here. Some nights kids even eat for $1.99. Their dessert table includes a chocolate fountain with every dessert imaginable (pie, cake, ice cream, cookies, sundaes, etc.) The value for the money is definitely a 10. The food was good but the overall experience has me in no rush to go back. The food quality was not great and service was a bit lacking. But you get what you pay for and can eat like a pig for $8.99.

We at a famous chef restaurant in Miami ("Michy's). The service was great and the food was out of this world. It was so creative and good. However the portions were tiny and the price was 25% too high to call it "reasonable." While it was delicious and an overall good experience, the value for the money would be a 5 (on a 10 scale). We are in no rush to go back their either. However, if I was to return to either restaurant it probably would be Michy's over Golden Corral. So value for money is NOT the only experience to consider when booking cruises or reviewing them.

Edited July 13, 2016 by david_sobe

[Warm Breezes]

I think some view this thread in the wrong context. Value for the money is only a small part of the overall experience with cruising or any vacation.

Good example:

Last month I ate at the restaurant Golden Corral. It was my first time. Its an all you can eat buffet style restaurant. The menu is too big to even mention here. Some nights kids even eat for $1.99. Their dessert table includes a chocolate fountain with every dessert imaginable (pie, cake, ice cream, cookies, sundaes, etc.) The value for the money is definitely a 10. The food was good but the overall experience has me in no rush to go back. The food quality was not great and service was a bit lacking. But you get what you pay for and can eat like a pig for $8.99.

We at a famous chef restaurant in Miami ("Michy's). The service was great and the food was out of this world. It was so creative and good. However the portions were tiny and the price was 25% too high to call it "reasonable." While it was delicious and an overall good experience, the value for the money would be a 5 (on a 10 scale). We are in no rush to go back their either. However, if I was to return to either restaurant it probably would be Michy's over Golden Corral. So value for money is NOT the only experience to consider when booking cruises or reviewing them.

 

I don't think I am viewing this thread in the wrong context. I just interpret the meaning of "value" different than you do. Personally I feel "value" for your money depends on what you value. You value the experience and taste over the price, so to you, Michy's offers you more "value" for your money than does Golden Coral. Value is highly subjective because we all value different things. That is why you are seeing such a difference in the answers given on this thread.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

1. Cruising is much more expensive than it was during the Great Recession. It's almost impossible for me to pay less than $1,000 for a 7-night cruise anymore including taxes and port fees and charges for "free" amenities. But with two caveats: on NCL that typically includes UBP, and I now sail solo almost exclusively.

 

2. Given No. 1 above, as I've been shopping, the NCL options are always much cheaper than comparable options on HAL and Princess even though they include the extra ~$100 for the "free" UBP. In fact, NCL cruises are so much cheaper that I can add the now-more-expensive spa package, the now-more-expensive SDP, and still be substantially under the HAL/Princess price without the booze or the spa.

 

So, in response to the OP: cruising generally is no longer the value proposition it was during the Great Recession. Therefore, you are correct in your assertion that the value isn't what it was. HOWEVER, NCL still represents a better value than comparable brands in most cases. So, in most cases, I will continue to sail with NCL.

 

I'm taking the liberty of resurrecting this old thread [see that? I'm acknowledging it's an old thread ;)] to prove the point I made earlier in the summer. On September 4, I'm embarking on a solo 7-night Getaway cruise to the Western Caribbean. I just paid for an upgrade from a studio to a spa balcony for less than the cost of a week-long thermal suite pass, and I got to keep my "free" booze at the pre-increase base rate and my 4 x $50=$200 shore excursion credit. So, for just under $1,500 for a week, I will have four NCL shore excursions, four nights of specialty dining (plus additional Latitudes meals), unlimited booze, unlimited access to the thermal suite, and a 170 sq. ft. balcony stateroom all to myself. That's what I call an excellent value. I guess I'll be buying a couple more Cruise Next certificates, especially if they are still two-for-one.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Cruiser Bruiser

[Sarae]

The value that I see on my next 2 cruises, both on NCL for the first time on the Escape is that NCL includes the UBP when you book a studio or inside cabin. When NCL copied Celebrity's offering of an included alcoholic drinks package, they made it better because you needed to sail in an OV or better cabin to get it with Celebrity. They did however make it worse by not including espresso based coffee drinks, bottled water and fresh squeezed juice like Celebrity. :(

 

I have booked a studio and have not gotten UBP included. I wish I could bring 1 16oz bottle of COKE. I take my migraine meds with it and PEPSI just doesn't work the same. Have no idea why.