Thoughts on a phone call I just got from NCL

[Suze10860]

So, what do you think?

 

I just got a call from NCL (personal cruise consultant, blah, blah, blah) and I basically told him that there's no way I'm going to book the exact same cruise I took 3 years ago at a price increase of 25% - it's just too much. (I've been spending a lot of time in my NCL account online researching the price of the Getaway from NY on April 13.)

 

He looked at my information and told me yes, that is a very large price increase! He then told me that the reason for it was because they are currently running a "free airfare" promotion and that they need to make the money up elsewhere. While it doesn't help someone like me (very close to the port) it's a good incentive for lots of people. He then said that the airfare promotion is ending at the end of February, and I should call him back on March 1 to see what they can offer me.

 

Does this actually sound like a thing that NCL might do? At this point I'm just going to play it by ear, and if something last minute works out with cruising the week of April 13 I'll be thrilled, but if it doesn't, I'll survive.

 

Has anyone ever had something like this happen that really worked its way into being a good/better price on a cruise? Thanks.

[Alegeeter]

I'm surprised he admitted that NCL increases their prices so they can then say something is free. To all of us here that's obvious but you can bet NCL doesn't want to advertise that or have their frontline staff touting that. 

[Suze10860]

1 minute ago, Alegeeter said:

I'm surprised he admitted that NCL increases their prices so they can then say something is free. To all of us here that's obvious but you can bet NCL doesn't want to advertise that or have their frontline staff touting that. 

That's actually what I thought too. It's why I felt that the call itself was surprising. I guess I'll see what comes of it.

[mjkacmom]

That’s the week before Easter, lots of schools are out for that reason, plus the 3rd week in April is the normal spring vacation for many NE schools regardless of when Easter is. I’d expect high fares.

[adam_s_allen]

I wouldn't count on the free airfare actually ending at the end of the month. I'm hoping it does though because it's not something I'm interested in using.

[CozGurl]

I was talking to a consultant the other day who also said the free air was ending at the end of the month.  I went ahead and booked it to lock in a pretty good price but I can always cancel. Curious to see how much/if cruise pricing goes down when this promo is over. 

[Suze10860]

My husband and I both work in schools so we're very familiar with the popularity of this particular week. It is, in fact, the week we always have off from school so it's the same week we cruised last time - at the much cheaper price, 3 years ago.

 

I'm really not "expecting" anything as far as high fares or low fares. My attitude is that it is what it is, but I'm definitely not willing to pay 25% more than I did last time. That cruise was worth what we paid for it, not substantially more.

 

I guess I'm really just asking if anyone more familiar with NCL than I am has ever gotten a call like this, and if it ever did actually lead to a cheaper price. Just curious.

[Turtles06]

It’s not that the call might lead to a cheaper price, it’s that the “free” perks are not free.  They are built into the cruise price. It’s entirely possible that when this promo ends, prices on some sailings may go down (but maybe not over spring break).  

 

Good luck!

[tel2]

I hope it ends too!   I have looked at about 12 different cruises, different weeks, different ports, and I did not find one single cruise that actually gave me Free Airfare  from Philadelphia to anywhere -- for every single one there was a "supplement" which in every single case amounted to more than it would cost me to pay in full for airfare booking it through the airline.  Not exactly a useful perk for me. 

[graphicguy]

The PCCs for any cruise line are actually just paid sales people.  The phone call you received was just them following up with a past customer.  

 

As far as the fare prices, I always shop different cruise lines to see what kind of “deals” I can score for when I’m ready to cruise.

 

There are so many variables in cruise pricing....new vs old ships, dates of cruise, where you’re cruising to, no perks vs all perks, cabin class selection, etc.  It’s common knowledge you can choose a guarantee or “sail away” rate, which will be less expensive than one that includes perks.

 

It’s not unusual that experienced cruisers are aware of how the pricing works, too.  Your PCC is trying to sell you a cruise, hoping to put you at ease....hoping to make a commission.

[mjkacmom]

According to your siggy, your cruise was a different week three years ago, the week after Easter. Our district has off the 3rd week in April regardless of when Easter is, this year it’s Easter week so travel is more expensive than other weeks. I’d expect th3 ship to have Christmas week pricing (and with nicer weather).

[WickedRed]

I usually get a call from my PCC when I've suddenly been looking through my account.  A few years ago I was looking to book a last minute solo cruise Boston to Bermuda in July.  The choices I was looking at were either getting off the ship on my birthday or getting on during my birthday.  At that time they were both about the same in price.  When I told him my thinking, but how I wasn't sold on either weeks if I could get a good deal on a different week in the near future.  He told me he had heard the solo supplement was about to be dropped on this cruise for the last week of July, but it wasn't going to drop for a few days.  I told him I'd wait and call back in a few days.  They did drop the solo supplement for that week 3 days later.  It was a great deal, so I booked and had a wonderful time.  I know the situation is a tad different, but it does show they will tell you you could get a better deal if you wait.  

[Suze10860]

1 minute ago, mjkacmom said:

According to your siggy, your cruise was a different week three years ago, the week after Easter. Our district has off the 3rd week in April regardless of when Easter is, this year it’s Easter week so travel is more expensive than other weeks. I’d expect th3 ship to have Christmas week pricing (and with nicer weather).

 

 

Just out of curiosity, I checked pricing for the week AFTER Easter this year. It's the same price as the week before Easter - so still 25% more expensive. So I'm not totally positive that Easter is the ultimate deciding factor there.

 

Obviously I can only base my decisions on what works for us and our school schedules. We work for different districts, but our April breaks are always the same, and it's obviously not automatically the 3rd week of April or even connected to Easter for that matter. I think there are a lot of different variables involved.

 

But honestly, I'm not wanting to discuss why it's so much more expensive this year than 3 years ago. We have no wiggle room as far as when to vacation, so the "why" doesn't matter. Again, I'm not asking why it's more expensive. And I know that the guy I spoke with is a salesman and wants to make a commission. It's not like he's going to trick me into spending more money than I want to. I'm actually a pretty savvy shopper.

 

My original post here was just to see if getting a call like I did had ever ended up with an actual cheaper cruise price than what one sees on the NCL website. I've never gotten this type of call so I have no experience.

 

From the sounds of it, I'm guessing it will not result in a better deal. But that's ok. I know what the experience is worth for me and what I'm willing to pay.

[mjkacmom]

I think I saw a sail away balcony for 899 pp. We’ve been cruising NCL for over 10 years, prices have always gone up, especially with the new ships and perks.

[andymattmom]

I just booked this last weekend with a big online travel agent (who offered OBC). I took the “free” airfare perk (cost $149 pp from Indianapolis) because it was $200 pp cheaper than anything I could find.

 

It could have been free if I flew out of Chicago, but the drive, parking and probably overnight hotel the night before not worth it. 

[david_sobe]

I see nothing wrong with the call.  The PCC is just doing his job and calling current clients or former customers.  My PCC does the same thing.  I also admire his honesty about the pricing. My PCC is very sympathetic and when I vent to her, she states she completely understands.  Just remember it is their job to be nice and sell cruises.  No harm done.

Its also a way for the PCC to keep in touch with his client base.  Happens all the time.  I agree it could be annoying when life is tough and you have no money for a cruise. 

[Pens fan]

I really hope they do end the "free" air promo soon.  While we normally fly to port, we definitely prefer to book on our own.  We all know that nothing is actually free, so for us we'd definitely prefer to leave the airfare out of NCL's control (and out of the cruise fare). 

 

It will be interesting to see if cruise fares actually do go down when and if the air promo ends.

[mymirabella]

***double post**

Edited February 22, 2019 by mymirabella
double post

[mymirabella]

5 hours ago, Suze10860 said:

 

 

Just out of curiosity, I checked pricing for the week AFTER Easter this year. It's the same price as the week before Easter - so still 25% more expensive. So I'm not totally positive that Easter is the ultimate deciding factor there.

 

Obviously I can only base my decisions on what works for us and our school schedules. We work for different districts, but our April breaks are always the same, and it's obviously not automatically the 3rd week of April or even connected to Easter for that matter. I think there are a lot of different variables involved.

 

But honestly, I'm not wanting to discuss why it's so much more expensive this year than 3 years ago. We have no wiggle room as far as when to vacation, so the "why" doesn't matter. Again, I'm not asking why it's more expensive. And I know that the guy I spoke with is a salesman and wants to make a commission. It's not like he's going to trick me into spending more money than I want to. I'm actually a pretty savvy shopper.

 

My original post here was just to see if getting a call like I did had ever ended up with an actual cheaper cruise price than what one sees on the NCL website. I've never gotten this type of call so I have no experience.

 

From the sounds of it, I'm guessing it will not result in a better deal. But that's ok. I know what the experience is worth for me and what I'm willing to pay.

 

 

This year the week before Easter is school vacation for Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut , and the week after Easter is school vacation for NH so that may have some influence on the increase. New York also seems to be the week prior to Easter and if I remember correctly Vermont splits spring break between the weeks roughly half the schools having the week prior and half the week after.

 

[Yesimapirate]

Your consultant was absolutely unprofessional and in all honesty, doesn't have a clue about sales.

 

The call was fine, what he said wasn't. 

 

First of all,  prices are up so much because the economy is doing well and more people are trying to take vacations on cruises that have had a relatively small increase in capacity.   Basic economics and actually covered in dept yesterday in the companies 4th quarter earnings report. 

 

2ndly, you should NEVER speak badly about your employer to a customer.   While I'm sure he thinks he was bonding, you see the result here.  Worse, his information was wrong and I'm sure the exact, correct answer is proprietary and not to be told to a customer. 

 

 

[Maya1234]

25 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

Your consultant was absolutely unprofessional and in all honesty, doesn't have a clue about sales.

 

The call was fine, what he said wasn't. 

 

First of all,  prices are up so much because the economy is doing well and more people are trying to take vacations on cruises that have had a relatively small increase in capacity.   Basic economics and actually covered in dept yesterday in the companies 4th quarter earnings report. 

 

2ndly, you should NEVER speak badly about your employer to a customer.   While I'm sure he thinks he was bonding, you see the result here.  Worse, his information was wrong and I'm sure the exact, correct answer is proprietary and not to be told to a customer. 

 

 

Worse, jacking up your fares so that you can claim the customer is getting something for “free” would be consumer fraud. Hard to prove but NCL certainly doesn’t want employees saying this. 

[newmexicoNita]

15 hours ago, Alegeeter said:

I'm surprised he admitted that NCL increases their prices so they can then say something is free. To all of us here that's obvious but you can bet NCL doesn't want to advertise that or have their frontline staff touting that. 

I would be very leary of that phone call truthfully. I can't believe a sales rep would make such a statement. Calling you is one thing and not a bad idea, but what he said makes me wonder if NCL is aware he would say such a thing. 

[pieshops]

16 hours ago, Suze10860 said:

So, what do you think?

 

I just got a call from NCL (personal cruise consultant, blah, blah, blah) and I basically told him that there's no way I'm going to book the exact same cruise I took 3 years ago at a price increase of 25% - it's just too much. (I've been spending a lot of time in my NCL account online researching the price of the Getaway from NY on April 13.)

 

He looked at my information and told me yes, that is a very large price increase! He then told me that the reason for it was because they are currently running a "free airfare" promotion and that they need to make the money up elsewhere. While it doesn't help someone like me (very close to the port) it's a good incentive for lots of people. He then said that the airfare promotion is ending at the end of February, and I should call him back on March 1 to see what they can offer me.

 

Does this actually sound like a thing that NCL might do? At this point I'm just going to play it by ear, and if something last minute works out with cruising the week of April 13 I'll be thrilled, but if it doesn't, I'll survive.

 

Has anyone ever had something like this happen that really worked its way into being a good/better price on a cruise? Thanks.

Not sure how accurate this is but the REAL reason the prices are increasing is because people are willing to pay it and the ships are sailing full. When the ships stop sailing full prices will drop.  It’s as simple as that. 

 

I remember an economics professor asking how much we should charge for a certain item, there were a bunch of answers with a bunch of formulas and the correct answer was as much as the market will bear, very simple 

[Suze10860]

1 hour ago, pieshops said:

Not sure how accurate this is but the REAL reason the prices are increasing is because people are willing to pay it and the ships are sailing full. When the ships stop sailing full prices will drop.  It’s as simple as that. 

 

I remember an economics professor asking how much we should charge for a certain item, there were a bunch of answers with a bunch of formulas and the correct answer was as much as the market will bear, very simple 

 

Thanks for this well thought-out answer. It's exactly what I assume to be true abut the price of this (and every) cruise. If the ship ends up fully booked, obviously there is no deal to be had. And I'm not talking on March 1 or 2 - I mean closer to sail date.  If, however, there are available cabins when April arrives, I think I might get a deal. Easy peasy. How good that deal is....well, who knows?

 

I guess my original question was sort of wondering exactly how much wiggle-room there actually is to work out a price with a customer. I mean, you book an airline ticket and that's it...you're paying rack rate no matter what. You can chat-up an agent all you want, but that's the price. Six months before you fly or 1 day before you fly. No one is making a deal.

 

Assuming the ship is not fully booked (and it probably WILL be fully booked - I get it!) I wonder if he can negotiate a bit. Can he work with me on a price, or does not that happen? Ever. Because let's face it, if that ship leaves the port with an empty cabin, it's not like someone is going to book it the next day to make up some money! On a much smaller level, my husband and I have pulled into hotels very late at night when traveling, and I've gotten steep discounts off the best already discounted rates they have available. Better to have someone in the room at a very cheap rate than to have it sit empty and get nothing, right? And yes, I realize that's certainly not an apples-to-apples comparison, but that's why I'm curious about cruise pricing.

 

I think that people are actually over-reacting a bit to the call itself. As someone said earlier, it was a sales call, and I certainly didn't think it was anything else. I personally don't think the guy said anything he's going to get fired for, or that I should be leary of, or that comes anywhere near the level of consumer fraud. I don't even think he was speaking badly of his employer, or at least I didn't think less of them after he spoke to me.

 

He just piqued my curiosity as far as the possibility of pricing.

 

 

[mjkacmom]

They will not negotiate, it’s just like the airlines.