"Always working to raise prices"

[NLH Arizona]

6 minutes ago, Deeliteful said:

I expect better service and I don’t expect the product to be worse.

Maybe I don't have the same expectations as many, but I've had great service.  Maybe it is because I sail in suites, I don't know, but in all my cruises, I think the only bad service I've had was from a Concierge on one of my cruises.  If I thought the service had declined a lot, I'd write a letter to NCL's management voicing my concerns and maybe if enough passengers do that, there might be some changes...who knows.

 

If they needed to employee more crew members to increase the service to where some would feel it is good, it would probably mean that $299 price raise would then become $999, as no company is going to absorbe the cost of more employees if it takes away from their profits that their shareholders want.

[ray98]

1 hour ago, Deeliteful said:

I think we all understand capitalism but the comment from the CEO was arrogant.

Yes raise prices but give your customers something in return.

 

 

 

No....that is not how it works at all in the corporate world.  Raising prices can be a response to a whole litany of factors.  In the end the market drives the cost.  If you offer an underpriced product you leave profit for your shareholders on the table, if you are overpriced the consumer will vote with their wallet.

 

So....the statement was factually correct.  If you are able to raise your prices without impacting your demand then you are doing everything anyone could ask.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

18 hours ago, eroller said:

I'm also very impressed with the refit details on NORWEGIAN SPIRIT.  It looks wonderful and very adult oriented.  Perhaps she will get me back to NCL prior to the Leonardo Class?   

I was very impressed with the renderings of Spirit. I'm also very intrigued by the itineraries. NCL's biggest discounts right now are on Australian and Asian itineraries. I'm looking at an 8-night from Singapore on Jade, as it's $599 base fare, even with the solo supplement.

 

13 hours ago, mugtech said:

Was interested in Spirit itineraries, but prices are way too high.  Still enjoy Jewel class ships  for the right itinerary at the right price. Leonardo class sounds interesting, thinking the initial prices will be prohibitive.

For whatever reason, NCL seems to have difficulty holding prices in Australia and Asia. I think those Spirit prices will come down a lot in time.

[mugtech]

3 minutes ago, Cruiser Bruiser said:

 

For whatever reason, NCL seems to have difficulty holding prices in Australia and Asia. I think those Spirit prices will come down a lot in time.

Yes, but it is very difficult for many to do a last minute Asia or Australia cruise.  Flying into or out of Hong Kong not looking too tempting right now, agree the current Singapore cruises are looking good.

[HowardK]

NCL is becoming like Live Nation- stretching the limits on everyone's patience, and when the product is no longer there- their luck will run out.

For example, Live Nation charges ridiclous prices for arena concerts- lower level tickets in the back for lets say $180 and then closer to the stage for $300. Aisle seats- $20 premium (although having to get up for people isnt)

Eventually, they won't have the acts to sell arenas and their amphitheaters. 

 

It will get to the point where with prices on NCL exponentially increasing that people won't want to pay $2,500 for a Studio to Alaska or how many more thousand(s) for a balcony.

 

The other lines will come up with better ideas for same or less money.

 

 

[HowardK]

I'm sorry to be so cynical tonight but I'm just waiting for the day where they charge $9.95 for the lunch buffet and $12.95 for the dinner-I'm worried they will copy Las Vegas casinos. 

[fshagan]

One thing I think hasn't been mentioned is that the earnings call follows a specific format. The comment in both the NCL and RCCL earnings call about raising prices is in the first section, dealing with their revenue. In that context, they don't use "marketing language" at all. Only revenue items would be included that section. They are boring to read, and even more boring to hear, and you appreciate them getting to the point.

 

 

 

[dexddd]

18 hours ago, graphicguy said:

True....I status batched from NCL Platinum to MSC Black.  Now, if you held my feet to the fire and made me remember what the MSC Black Status netted me, I'd be hard pressed.

5% discount as a starter?

[DrSea]

I didn't know that NCL gave OBC for share holders. 

 

I always use the free at sea benefits, so it wouldn't benefit me at all. Meh. 

Edited November 13, 2019 by DrSea

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, NLH Arizona said:

Maybe I don't have the same expectations as many, but I've had great service.  Maybe it is because I sail in suites, I don't know, but in all my cruises, I think the only bad service I've had was from a Concierge on one of my cruises.  If I thought the service had declined a lot, I'd write a letter to NCL's management voicing my concerns and maybe if enough passengers do that, there might be some changes...who knows.

 

If they needed to employee more crew members to increase the service to where some would feel it is good, it would probably mean that $299 price raise would then become $999, as no company is going to absorbe the cost of more employees if it takes away from their profits that their shareholders want.

We have never had a suite and have rarely had bad service or even so so compared to other lines we have cruised. Some cruises have a weak spot here and there, not all service has been top of the line but over all I don't know what people expect. Twice I did complain about overall service, once was our cabin steward and the other was service in Le Bistro. My complaint about Le Bistro got us another dinner in the restaurant with the same waiter but very different results. The cabin steward complaint was too late to do anything. It was just the day before the cruise ended. Oh and we did get very upset with the spa on the Dawn many years ago. NCL didn't do anything about that as the spa is not really run by the ship. That was the one time we were really upset with NCL. 

 

If service is so bad I will say,  as I have before why are people coming back to NCL and if the business starts to slip the stock holders will stop making money and something will be done at that time. 

[newmexicoNita]

7 hours ago, HowardK said:

I'm sorry to be so cynical tonight but I'm just waiting for the day where they charge $9.95 for the lunch buffet and $12.95 for the dinner-I'm worried they will copy Las Vegas casinos. 

I hear ya, but do you  think Vegas is suffering much? Vacations period are not cheap and none of what we remember will ever return. AI have gone up, land escorted tours have gone up and look at the cost of hotel prices? WOW, what do you get for $200 a night this year that you didn't get last year for maybe $150? 

 

Dr sea: 100 shares gets you the stockholders OBC 

[eroller]

On 11/12/2019 at 11:11 PM, HowardK said:

I'm sorry to be so cynical tonight but I'm just waiting for the day where they charge $9.95 for the lunch buffet and $12.95 for the dinner-I'm worried they will copy Las Vegas casinos. 

 

 

I'm sure they have already thought of this.  They are just trying to figure out out a way to present it as an "enhancement" that is "for your convenience".  Of course the cheerleaders will say "oh I never use the buffet so the charge doesn't bother me".  LOL. 

[sparks1093]

On 11/11/2019 at 9:59 AM, eroller said:

I know this is true of all cruise lines, but NCL and its leader FDR seem much more arrogant and blatant about it.  It's very off-putting to me.  Personally I feel NCL is already overpriced, but obviously people are willing to pay more since according to FDR they have the highest per diems in the industry.  Unfortunately no mention of trying to improve the customer experience to justify the higher per diems, just that they are willing to spend on marketing and deploy ships strategically to earn the highest yields.  

 

This quote in particular speaks volumes:  "It happens because we work every hour of every day, always looking for opportunities to raise prices across our three brands.”

 

Perhaps that line should become the new NCL brand slogan?  

 

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/21890-always-working-to-raise-prices.html

Del Rio did me a big favor because his arrogance really made me look at the competition back when he took over. I still include NCL in my search when I'm pricing a cruise but so far they haven't come close to the competition in pricing. When we booked our Anthem cruise NCL was twice what we paid for Anthem. His quote back then was something along the lines of "Can I get you and your spouse to spend $5 to $10 more onboard?" and my response was "not without increasing the value that you offer". 

[PortFees45]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Del Rio did me a big favor because his arrogance really made me look at the competition back when he took over. I still include NCL in my search when I'm pricing a cruise but so far they haven't come close to the competition in pricing. When we booked our Anthem cruise NCL was twice what we paid for Anthem. His quote back then was something along the lines of "Can I get you and your spouse to spend $5 to $10 more onboard?" and my response was "not without increasing the value that you offer". 

As a Platinum Plus, NCL-only cruiser, I just booked a RCL cruise for the very first time thanks to Frank Del Rio.

[DrSea]

On 11/13/2019 at 5:48 AM, newmexicoNita said:

Dr sea: 100 shares gets you the stockholders OBC 

Thanks. I plan to buy some stock from carnival and maybe ncl in the near future, as I speculate prices may go down across the board. 

 

The problem is that the shareholder OBC is less than the free at sea. I always use the 3/4 person being free. So it wouldn't make sense for me to get the shareholder OBC bc the free at sea is just a better deal, IF I am reading the terms and conditions correctly. That is a big if on my part

[julig22]

33 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Thanks. I plan to buy some stock from carnival and maybe ncl in the near future, as I speculate prices may go down across the board. 

 

The problem is that the shareholder OBC is less than the free at sea. I always use the 3/4 person being free. So it wouldn't make sense for me to get the shareholder OBC bc the free at sea is just a better deal, IF I am reading the terms and conditions correctly. That is a big if on my part

NCL shareholder OBC is not connected to free at sea.  It is in addition to the perks you get at booking.

[HowardK]

6 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Del Rio did me a big favor because his arrogance really made me look at the competition back when he took over. I still include NCL in my search when I'm pricing a cruise but so far they haven't come close to the competition in pricing. When we booked our Anthem cruise NCL was twice what we paid for Anthem. His quote back then was something along the lines of "Can I get you and your spouse to spend $5 to $10 more onboard?" and my response was "not without increasing the value that you offer". 

Oh good- so its not just me thinking the same thing; I remember him saying about the $5 a day- well how quickly as that now become $50 a day it seems. I mainly go on NCL because of the studio cabins and music venues I can play at as a guest; but I'm sure at some point other cruiselines might hopefully follow suit. 

[HowardK]

4 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

As a Platinum Plus, NCL-only cruiser, I just booked a RCL cruise for the very first time thanks to Frank Del Rio.

I totally understand- after so many cruises you can see how everything is becoming an angle. i.e. the service fees went up since I booked a few times.

 

One time I upgraded and was charged and extra $20 because the grauity rate on my UBP increased since my booking.what about ever grandfathering people into their rates?

I like going on NCL, but its becoming difficult to watch every little ploy.

[PortFees45]

36 minutes ago, HowardK said:

I totally understand- after so many cruises you can see how everything is becoming an angle. i.e. the service fees went up since I booked a few times.

 

One time I upgraded and was charged and extra $20 because the grauity rate on my UBP increased since my booking.what about ever grandfathering people into their rates?

I like going on NCL, but its becoming difficult to watch every little ploy.

They did it for your convenience. 

[eroller]

4 hours ago, HowardK said:

Oh good- so its not just me thinking the same thing; I remember him saying about the $5 a day- well how quickly as that now become $50 a day it seems. I mainly go on NCL because of the studio cabins and music venues I can play at as a guest; but I'm sure at some point other cruiselines might hopefully follow suit. 

 

I agree the Studio cabins are excellent, but often times I find they are priced higher than paying double for an inside standard double cabin.  To me that means NCL isn't doing me any favors as a single.  

 

The latest MSC ships have single studio cabins, as does Royal Caribbean.  Even HAL has put some on its latest ships as well as Celebrity Edge class ships.  So the trend is spreading, but NCL is still the only one with a complete singles complex which is nice.  On MSC, they often charge $0 as the single supplement in a double cabin.  To me that is the most single-friendly policy afloat.  

Edited November 15, 2019 by eroller

[newmexicoNita]

On 11/14/2019 at 11:21 AM, DrSea said:

Thanks. I plan to buy some stock from carnival and maybe ncl in the near future, as I speculate prices may go down across the board. 

 

The problem is that the shareholder OBC is less than the free at sea. I always use the 3/4 person being free. So it wouldn't make sense for me to get the shareholder OBC bc the free at sea is just a better deal, IF I am reading the terms and conditions correctly. That is a big if on my part

The terms and conditions are very unclear. We always do "free at sea" as well as usually have OBC from our TA. Even with that we get our OBC from NCL> So don't let that stop you. I think as it has been explained to me, the only time the OBC is not applied if you are a stock holder is if you are on a program like  a Travel Agent special rate, It has nothing to do with "free at Sea" 

 

You mention Carnival; We have been thinking the same, but his yer their stock, pretty much sucks, where NCL and RCI is doing exceptionally well. I have no idea why. 

[luv2kroooz]

On 11/11/2019 at 10:25 AM, eroller said:

 

 

To each their own.  My opinion is that NCL currently is a not a good value compared to other lines.  To much inching up of pricing and nickel and diming the customer.  As I mentioned in my original post, obviously others feel differently as NCL is doing well. 

It can be a good value if you can score a last minute deal with zero onboard spending. It's the only way I cruise NCL. Otherwise, I agree. Dining room selections have declined recently, good luck trying to find a shrimp entree in the MDR. You get cheap whitefish, chicken, pork, and pasta all with fancy names. Drinks, shore excursions, internet way overpriced and noncompetitive.

[PortFees45]

15 minutes ago, blcruising said:

It can be a good value if you can score a last minute deal with zero onboard spending. It's the only way I cruise NCL. Otherwise, I agree. Dining room selections have declined recently, good luck trying to find a shrimp entree in the MDR. You get cheap whitefish, chicken, pork, and pasta all with fancy names. Drinks, shore excursions, internet way overpriced and noncompetitive.

all the MDR fish except the salmon has gotten verrrrry sketchy

[Turtles06]

On 11/14/2019 at 12:21 PM, DrSea said:

Thanks. I plan to buy some stock from carnival and maybe ncl in the near future, as I speculate prices may go down across the board. 

 

The problem is that the shareholder OBC is less than the free at sea. I always use the 3/4 person being free. So it wouldn't make sense for me to get the shareholder OBC bc the free at sea is just a better deal, IF I am reading the terms and conditions correctly. That is a big if on my part

 

On 11/14/2019 at 12:56 PM, julig22 said:

NCL shareholder OBC is not connected to free at sea.  It is in addition to the perks you get at booking.

 

julig22 is correct -- the shareholder OBC is given to you regardless of whether you have "free at sea" perks.  We've just had our shareholder OBC applied for a cruise in late 2020, and a while ago for a cruise in early 2020, and we have "free at sea" for both cruises.

[luv2kroooz]

4 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

all the MDR fish except the salmon has gotten verrrrry sketchy

Agree, the salmon is good. Actually, I think the everyday flounder is decent too. But I just noticed this rainbow trout, corvina, boston bluefish, coalfish garbage within the last month or two. Same with the removal of the shrimp dishes.