NCL "Free Cruise"

[TheBestCruiser]

Hi All, 

first time poster, long time lurker, but I recently just got an NCL free cruise offer in the mail. This past summer i went on the Escape and loved it and spent a good amount of time in the casino -- Didnt lose so it was a good trip -- But my question is how much of this "free cruise offer" is actually free. Now i see a lot of you guys discussing about the fees/taxes/grats etc. but if any of you have actual amounts for how much all in everything would be, that would be much appreciated. The cruise offer is for the Escape out of NYC in March or the Getaway out of Miami also in March. Now it would be me and another person on the trip, we would stay in the comped inside room and we would use the UBP as the free at sea and i know im going to have to pay taxes or something on that. So just if anyone could tell me how much it would be per person for port fees/taxes/grats/admin fee and UBP or whatever else that would be super helpful

Thanks!

[Tutontow]

I upgraded from an inside to a midship balcony.  I did a mock booking to see what this cruise would have cost, including the beverage package gratuities, insurance, taxes etc.  This cruise would have cost me around $3500.00.  This was a seven day cruise on the Bliss.

 

Anyway here is what I paid.  It lost the formatting but you get the idea. The first number is the total and the second two numbers is the total divided by the two guests.

 

                         Total Guest 1 Guest 2

Admin Fees 280.00  140.00 140.00

Upgraded 500.00 250.00 250.00 (This is the balcony upgrade)

Gov Tax/Port Exp/Fees 261.72 130.86 130.86

Insurance 124.00 62.00 62.00

Bev Srv Charge 199.08 99.54 99.54  (UDP)

Din Srv Charge 24.84 12.42 12.42  (This was for Cagneys, LeBistro, LaCucina)

Gross Total 1,389.64 694.82 694.82
Admin Fee contains upgrade charge if applicable and not listed separately.
AMOUNT (USD)PAYMENTS 

 

[kwokpot]

23 hours ago, TheBestCruiser said:

Hi All, 

first time poster, long time lurker, but I recently just got an NCL free cruise offer in the mail. This past summer i went on the Escape and loved it and spent a good amount of time in the casino -- Didnt lose so it was a good trip -- But my question is how much of this "free cruise offer" is actually free. Now i see a lot of you guys discussing about the fees/taxes/grats etc. but if any of you have actual amounts for how much all in everything would be, that would be much appreciated. The cruise offer is for the Escape out of NYC in March or the Getaway out of Miami also in March. Now it would be me and another person on the trip, we would stay in the comped inside room and we would use the UBP as the free at sea and i know im going to have to pay taxes or something on that. So just if anyone could tell me how much it would be per person for port fees/taxes/grats/admin fee and UBP or whatever else that would be super helpful

Thanks!

If you do a mock booking you will see what the taxes,port fees and any other fees associated with and of the free offers are. These fees are what you will be responsible for. Usually not listed is the gratuities which you will also be responsible for. What will be different is the actual cruise fee that a mock booking would list.  Instead of the cruise fare you will be responsible for an Administration Fee which varies but will be around $140/pp. In the previous poster's (Tutontow) example they also paid for Insurance which is totally optional along with the cabin upgrade. But you can see that using the free cruise certificate can save you lots of money. Unfortunately NCL is the ONLY cruiseline that charges an Administration Fee when booking comp Casino at Sea cruises (Fee applies whether you receive an offer from a land-based casino or directly from NCL's Casino at Sea Program). While the fee is always under $200/pp it still adds extra costs that no other cruiseline has. It's annoying (Just like NCL's FEE to setup WiFi !!!!) 

[Casino Comp Chick]

The beverage package has gone up to $138.60 per person and the dining plan is $13.80 per person for a 7 night cruise.

[Spidybabe1]

Take a screenshot of your certificate and send it to URCOMPED and see what they offer you.  After 26 NCL comped cruises that is what we did and have sailed 3x on MSC for free and 1x on RC for only taxes.  Plus you can still use your certificate.  We have booked New Years eve again for free.  URCOMPED is great 

Safe sailing