Questionable NCL business practices

[erdoran]

I also work in IT and would guess (no idea about reality) that there’s a database with all cruises and promotions; probably a UI someone goes through to add/remove promotions.

[DaCruiseBug]

17 minutes ago, erdoran said:

I also work in IT and would guess (no idea about reality) that there’s a database with all cruises and promotions; probably a UI someone goes through to add/remove promotions.

 

Correct - and since some cruises do have the air promotion and some don't...they already have all the templates ready. It's mostly a matter of copy/paste plus a little coding.

 

The reality is that it's just NCL doing what they do best...mislead customers. False advertisement is illegal last I checked and you can't hide behind the "well my IT department couldn't get to it...".

[DaCruiseBug]

Another great example...same sailing:

Oh look a studio for $259 -

Then you click on it and it's $259 but when you go to actually select the studio category...boom...oops...we're charging you $359 now. No explanation.

 

 

[NLH Arizona]

6 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

False advertisement is illegal last I checked and you can't hide behind the "well my IT department couldn't get to it...".

Then file a claim with the FTC and when it is done, come back and tell us what happened, because complaining on here really isn't going to do anything to solve the issue.

Edited October 15, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[NLH Arizona]

,,,,

Edited October 15, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[DaCruiseBug]

39 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Then file a claim with the FTC and when it is done, come back and tell us what happened, because complaining on here really isn't going to do anything to solve the issue.

 

But it does bring awareness to the issue so others that are in the same boat know it’s not just them. Also, it could discourage others from booking the NCL promo knowing how many issues could arise from it.

 

It also doesn’t do any good to be a constant NCL cheerleader...

[SeaShark]

The only awareness that this issue brings is:

 

NCL will offer a price and included amenities on a cruise. This offer will vary at different times.

 

You cannot choose the price from one point in time and combine it with the amenities from a different point in time in order to create your own custom deal.

 

You cannot renegotiate your deal after the final payment date for a given cruise.

 

NCL's refusal to allow you cast aside the agreement so that you can do the above constitutes "questionable business practices".

 

It is easier to apply a negative label to someone than to refute what they have to say.

[4774Papa]

I would love it if cruise lines cut all the perk bundling and just sold us cruises.

[erdoran]

10 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

I would love it if cruise lines cut all the perk bundling and just sold us cruises.

That's called "sailaway rates".

[DaCruiseBug]

42 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

The only awareness that this issue brings is:

 

NCL will offer a price and included amenities on a cruise. This offer will vary at different times.

 

You cannot choose the price from one point in time and combine it with the amenities from a different point in time in order to create your own custom deal.

 

You cannot renegotiate your deal after the final payment date for a given cruise.

 

NCL's refusal to allow you cast aside the agreement so that you can do the above constitutes "questionable business practices".

 

It is easier to apply a negative label to someone than to refute what they have to say.

 

The perks were exactly the same before as they are now. The 4th rep we spoke to finally did it. 

 

Issue resolved.

 

its just sad that I had to waste a couple of hours calling back over and over until one rep did what the right thing to do is.

[NLH Arizona]

44 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

.It is easier to apply a negative label to someone than to refute what they have to say.

Well that is some posters MO....sad, but true. 

[SeaShark]

24 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

I would love it if cruise lines cut all the perk bundling and just sold us cruises.

 

Funny that you say that because I remember a time when people here would complain about drink prices, specialty restaurant prices, shore excursion prices, etc and they would always say "I wish NCL would just include these things in the cost of the cruise".

 

Just goes to show that you have to be careful what you wish for...

[SeaShark]

24 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

its just sad that I had to waste a couple of hours calling back over and over until one rep did what the right thing to do is.

 

Which brings out the awareness of another item...

 

A good TA is worth their weight in gold**. A good PCC is worth their weight in gold**. People who book themselves or simply call the 800 number to get whatever random person answers the phone are generally the ones who are experiencing issues and confusion. 

 

You don't see people with a good TA or PCC experiencing these types of issues.

 

 

**Especially given that they cost nothing to use.

[erdoran]

26 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Funny that you say that because I remember a time when people here would complain about drink prices, specialty restaurant prices, shore excursion prices, etc and they would always say "I wish NCL would just include these things in the cost of the cruise".

 

Just goes to show that you have to be careful what you wish for...

$50/cabin towards shore excursions, given the price now (no idea what they used to be) doesn't go very far....but the rest I agree have value.  I just think it's a shame about the booze pkg being so expensive to buy outright because if you think about it, those who want to share a cabin with another couple end up paying highly-inflated drink or drink pkg prices for the additional pax. 

 

While we are talking about the ideal perk type of thing, I wish they'd price the booze pkgs comparably to other cruise lines, and then offer some dollar credit towards the price of the booze pkg - they could still net the $20/person/day they have targeted but the additional pax would be much more likely to also buy the booze pkgs, rather than balk at $120/day each!  For a 14 day cruise it's cheaper to buy an inside cabin with perks for two and not use it, because the value of the perks is more than the cost of the cabin!

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

The perks were exactly the same before as they are now. The 4th rep we spoke to finally did it. 

 

Issue resolved.

 

its just sad that I had to waste a couple of hours calling back over and over until one rep did what the right thing to do is.

Great news!  Glad it worked out.  

[bmwman]

9 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Which brings out the awareness of another item...

 

A good TA is worth their weight in gold**. A good PCC is worth their weight in gold**. People who book themselves or simply call the 800 number to get whatever random person answers the phone are generally the ones who are experiencing issues and confusion. 

 

You don't see people with a good TA or PCC experiencing these types of issues.

 

 

**Especially given that they cost nothing to use.

Sorry sir but we had the worst PCC ever this year - although they are now gone - I think. Never again voted with my feet. 

Edited October 16, 2019 by bmwman

[travelgals]

I agree, I am booked and called to try and upgrade. The website lists haven for 2099 per person. They quoted me over $7600 for two for the upgrade! I asked them why it would cost me more to upgrade than if I just booked the cabin and they we t round in circles and really couldn't answer me. But she did tell me she was getting a headache trying to explain it to me!! There is no logic that makes sense. They also quoted about $3900 (for 2 people) for a balcony room, yet online it was $599 PP

[4774Papa]

15 hours ago, erdoran said:

That's called "sailaway rates".

Does NCL always offer sailaway rates?   For some years, they either did not, or only offered them close to the cruise sail date.

 

Also, the ones that I have found with sailaway rates, the fares didn't come down as much as I expected.

[luv2kroooz]

17 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Another great example...same sailing:

Oh look a studio for $259 -

Then you click on it and it's $259 but when you go to actually select the studio category...boom...oops...we're charging you $359 now. No explanation.

 

 

Yes, this is so annoying with NCL website. You actually have to click through the booking to get a real price. I've seen it work the other way, too. I'll see $599 on the first screen and think, too much. But, after clicking through, the second screen shows $449. 

[erdoran]

5 hours ago, travelgals said:

I agree, I am booked and called to try and upgrade. The website lists haven for 2099 per person. They quoted me over $7600 for two for the upgrade! I asked them why it would cost me more to upgrade than if I just booked the cabin and they we t round in circles and really couldn't answer me. But she did tell me she was getting a headache trying to explain it to me!! There is no logic that makes sense. They also quoted about $3900 (for 2 people) for a balcony room, yet online it was $599 PP

Try again and ask for a supervisor!

[4774Papa]

16 hours ago, erdoran said:

That's called "sailaway rates".

I just checked five transatlantic NCL cruises for 2020 that I might be interested in doing.  

ALL FIVE had sailaway cabins SOLD OUT.

 

So much for options on NCL!

[SeaShark]

6 hours ago, bmwman said:

Sorry sir but we had the worst PCC ever this year - although they are now gone - I think. Never again voted with my feet. 

 

No need to apologize to me...I clearly said "A good PCC". If you had a bad one, then that is completely on YOU. 

In my experience, thinking with your brain will require much less reliance on the voting of your feet.

[buckeyefrank]

19 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Correct - and since some cruises do have the air promotion and some don't...they already have all the templates ready. It's mostly a matter of copy/paste plus a little coding.

 

The reality is that it's just NCL doing what they do best...mislead customers. False advertisement is illegal last I checked and you can't hide behind the "well my IT department couldn't get to it...".

They aren't misleading customers.  Good lord.  It's a simple case of supply and demand.  Pricing changes, pricing structure changes, get over it.  If you're buying a car and trading in a used one and you negotiate, what happens is they give you a better price for your used car at the expense of a little worse interest rate.  The dealership will get their revenue either way.  Same with all the cruise lines.  

[travelgals]

No, it is not supply and demand. It should be, but this is different. If i go on the website today and see a price, why is is thousands more for me to upgrade, than it would be if I just booked the additional cabin? 

My cabin is 499. Pp

Haven is 2099 pp

they quoted 3800 pp to upgrade. 

Way cheaper for me to just book haven on the web and lose the 499 cabin

Nothing to do with supply and demand- makes no business sense. 

[smplybcause]

$600 more than the price (assuming by my cabin you mean you paid 499pp)...did you book promo airfare? Do you have more than 2 people in the cabin? Does the Haven option include the drink/dining package that the other one didn't? Has the taxes/fees gone up?