Do you buy the Cruise Next certificates?

[havanadaydreaming]

First time buyer here. 

 

First cruise on NCL was 7 nights on the Escape.  At that point I had only been on Carnival and I kinda thought NCL was more expensive than CCL...was likely a one time booking.  But, I LOVED NCL.  We couldn't pass up a 4 nighter on the Sky this past February for $199 OV, our first non-balcony.  Had tons of fun!

 

My wife and I started thinking that NCL was our new preferred cruise line. Just got off the Epic two days ago and we bought $1000 Cruise Next certificates and received a $500 OBC.  Passes can be used within four years and are fully transferable, can use two certificates for a balcony+ room if booked six months in advance of departure.  Hard to pass that deal up moving forward, I'd say. 

 

(we still have $1200 of Carnival gift cards we've accumulated past couple years so we shall do one more Funship cruise.  I read the small print on the $100 NCL gift card I forgot in the car and learned it charges $3/mo fee if not activated in 12 months.  that's unfortunate!)

 

 

[luv2kroooz]

Yes, buy some every cruise. I believe they can  be used on cruise that are six days or longer.

They are currently running a promotion through 12-31-2018 that allows them to be used on Sun and Sky Cuba Cruises.

 

"For a limited time, you can apply a $250 CruiseNext Deposit toward booking a Cuba cruise on Norwegian Sky or Norwegian Sun. This promotion is applicable to all open reservations booked by December 31, 2018."

[xcell]

I love the FCC -- where else can you get $500 for $250?

[gmbhardy]

What’s even better is using your OBC to purchase the certificates.

[BirdTravels]

We always max out the use of FCC on bookings (sometimes 1, sometimes 2 depending on promotions going on). Free money.

[casofilia]

Regularly and the number depends on the number of cruises we are also booking on board!!

[dolita22]

Yep, we always buy them! We used to just purchase 1, but on our cruise in October, we bought 2. Hard to pass that kind of deal up, especially since you can use both of them on the balcony (when booking out 6+ months, which we usually do). My parents buy them as well, and we'll transfer them back and forth if needed (they cruise more often than we do). Our PCC is great about doing that for us. I'd LOVE to be able to use the CruiseNext certificates on shorter cruises, but doubt they'll change the program to allow that.

[jjlen11]

My first cruise on NCL was the 9/30 Bliss sailing from Vancouver-when I went to Cruise Next, I believe I asked too many questions and the consultant became rude and walked away......I booked the April 7 Dawn from Miami and my NCL agent advised that the only thing I should have done was buy into the Cruise Next....so I explained.....next time I cruise I will however the agents demeanor left a sour taste in my mouth

[bones774]

It's a no brainer if you intend to sail NCL. Half price discount, good for years and transferable. You can easily sell them for what you paid.

[judytata11]

I never realized that they could be bought in denominations greater than $250!

[bones774]

47 minutes ago, judytata11 said:

I never realized that they could be bought in denominations greater than $250!

You can buy 4 @ $125 out of pocket cash for a total value of $1000.

[xcell]

Best deal is when you buy 2 or more...

 

 

[kpjb]

In the same boat (haha) as the OP.  We did our 4th NCL cruise last week, and we decided that this is our thing now.  We've never bought them before because we were never sure if we'd be doing it again or how soon, but after 4 in the past 4 1/2 years, we figure it's stupid not to take advantage of the program.

 

It's like free money if you don't use the OBC for something else.  Got $1000 certificates last week on the Getaway, and just applied the $500 right to them.

 

I'm sure they'd prefer you think of the OBC as free spending money so they get the money back another way, but there's no need to spend it on anything besides the Cruise Next certificates.

[cathi007]

15 hours ago, casofilia said:

Regularly and the number depends on the number of cruises we are also booking on board!!

I have purchased the FCC before, but this time I am thinking of booking my next cruise while on board. I'm curious though, what the advantages are. I have never booked a cruise on a cruise. Am I better off doing it on the cruise, or waiting until I get home? I am still going to buy 4 FCC

[johnlcruise]

Will be on the Epic in 4 weeks. And we already booked a NCL cruise for next October. If I purchase more FFC can I apply it to the cruise I already booked for October?

[casofilia]

"cathi007"

 

Buy the cheapest cabin in the type you want to cruise in and you will get an upgrade within that cabin class.  Also a good consultant will work with you to get you the best deal possible.   If you don't understand the paperwork provided then it will be explained fully.  Get a "penciled" booking, read the paperwork and then firm up the booking.  If you get on well with the consultant see if he/she will check later in the cruise if there has been a change that would benefit you, works well on a long cruise as changes do take place.

[casofilia]

"johnlcruise"

 

This is not set in stone.  If you book with NCL ask you PCC, if with a TA ask them to try.

 

However the best bet would be to talk nicely to the consultant on board when you are "discussing the possibility" of buying FCC.

[cathi007]

3 hours ago, casofilia said:

"cathi007"

 

Buy the cheapest cabin in the type you want to cruise in and you will get an upgrade within that cabin class.  Also a good consultant will work with you to get you the best deal possible.   If you don't understand the paperwork provided then it will be explained fully.  Get a "penciled" booking, read the paperwork and then firm up the booking.  If you get on well with the consultant see if he/she will check later in the cruise if there has been a change that would benefit you, works well on a long cruise as changes do take place.

Thanks, I will be on a 14 night cruise, so I will try that

[gmbhardy]

3 hours ago, johnlcruise said:

Will be on the Epic in 4 weeks. And we already booked a NCL cruise for next October. If I purchase more FFC can I apply it to the cruise I already booked for October?

Officially no (I called the CruiseNext department),, but most people report having no problem applying them to cruises already booked. I’ve done this a couple times through my TA. 

[disneykins]

We buy them every cruise. Problem is we now have 4 that expire in 2020 and 4 that expire in 2021. Have 2 more cruises booked and will probably buy more. Great strategy by NCL to keep us coming back. Don't know if we can cruise that much, and we want to try some other cruise lines too. First world problems I guess.

Tony

[ddlb]

22 hours ago, disneykins said:

We buy them every cruise. Problem is we now have 4 that expire in 2020 and 4 that expire in 2021. Have 2 more cruises booked and will probably buy more. Great strategy by NCL to keep us coming back. Don't know if we can cruise that much, and we want to try some other cruise lines too. First world problems I guess.

Tony

I buy mine off eBay when I need them.  Don't save as much but then I don't have to pay $500 for 4 which comes to $125 each.  So I bought one for $157 - one for $159 and one for can't remember maybe $161 - when I needed them .  Works for me.  Person selling on eBay just calls with your Latitudes number to transfer certificate to your NCL account - of course you need to make sure you are dealing with a reputable seller with good feedback etc!  

[ziggyuk]

On 12/8/2018 at 8:04 PM, johnlcruise said:

Will be on the Epic in 4 weeks. And we already booked a NCL cruise for next October. If I purchase more FFC can I apply it to the cruise I already booked for October?

 

Let me give you my experience as I had exactly the same concern.

In November I sailed the Jewel and bought a Cruise Next certificate, I asked the consultant if I could use it on an existing booking for March 2019 (I had only paid a deposit at the time), she told be it was not possible and could only be used on new booking.

Last week I made final payment on my March 2019, I did it all online, it allowed me to add my Cruise Next payment and pay the rest of the balance with a credit card.

So, although it says online you can't, consultants say you can't, in real life you can.

[The Other Tom]

22 hours ago, disneykins said:

We buy them every cruise. Problem is we now have 4 that expire in 2020 and 4 that expire in 2021. Have 2 more cruises booked and will probably buy more. Great strategy by NCL to keep us coming back. Don't know if we can cruise that much, and we want to try some other cruise lines too. First world problems I guess.

Tony

If they expire, don't you get your money back (less the OBC that they gave you) ?

[RedwingHockeyFan]

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 2:28 PM, cathi007 said:

I have purchased the FCC before, but this time I am thinking of booking my next cruise while on board. I'm curious though, what the advantages are. I have never booked a cruise on a cruise. Am I better off doing it on the cruise, or waiting until I get home? I am still going to buy 4 FCC

 

We purchased our next cruise (Getaway 13-20 January) on our last cruise.  At that time we got 1 free upgrade which was a regular balcony to a mid-ship balcony.  The information is on the last page of the cruise docs listed under CruiseNext Ultimate but it just says "additional offer".

[Mike_DeA]

On 12/10/2018 at 8:40 AM, The Other Tom said:

If they expire, don't you get your money back (less the OBC that they gave you) ?

No, if they expire they become worthless.  You can call and get an upcoming expiration date extended by one year though.  Otherwise it's best to sell them before they expire.

 

I believe Princess (or possibly RCCL) does or used to refund your purchase price on their Future Cruise Deposits if they go past their expiration.