NCL 30% Off Sale -- Virus Hitting Sales?

[vicpylon]

I assume that purchases of cruise cabins dropped off precipitously after the Yokohama incident. Even though I am fully paid for my May cruise, I am going to call and politely ask for a discount tomorrow. Not expecting much, but some onboard credit might be nice. I will post if I get lucky.

[timf2001]

The 30% off fake sale has been going on since November, long before Coronavirus was even in the news.  I have not noticed any new discounts in the recent days.

[vicpylon]

Thank you. I had not been paying attention that closely. Still, it was not running when I bought my cabin about 7 months ago, so I will still try and see if I get anything.

[mnventure]

The 30% off “sale” started around Thanksgiving....a few days after they raised their prices about 30%. 

[tallnthensome]

It was a legitimate, dare I say, 30% off for a while back for latitude members. That stopped about a month ago. They, as previously stated, marked up the prices sky high and offered the fake 30% off to everyone just recently. Prices have never been higher then they are now so NCL doesn’t appear to be lowering anything due to the virus. I would not book any cruise with NCL right now. My cruises are up about 40% from when I booked them .

[vswan]

Watch your individual sailing pricing. I am about 40 days out and prices dropped dramatically. Was originally booked in an OV sailaway and the price of a balcony was now nearly $100 lower than my OV. Called and was told that they wouldn't offer a refund but would upgrade me to a cabin costing at least as much as I had spent. Am now in a balcony and qualified for the perks. Not sure if they will start dropping prices for sailing further out until closer to the time.

[tallnthensome]

Prices drop many times the day after final due date for the sailing. 

[Liljo22]

7 hours ago, vicpylon said:

Thank you. I had not been paying attention that closely. Still, it was not running when I bought my cabin about 7 months ago, so I will still try and see if I get anything.

Do a mock booking for your cabin and see what the current price is.  If it’s lower, you can call and they will offer either a cabin upgrade or 25% of the difference in OBC.  You can only get the OBC once though so be careful about jumping the gun.

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, vicpylon said:

I assume that purchases of cruise cabins dropped off precipitously after the Yokohama incident. Even though I am fully paid for my May cruise, I am going to call and politely ask for a discount tomorrow. Not expecting much, but some onboard credit might be nice. I will post if I get lucky.

The 30% off promotion started on November 24, 2019 and has run continually since then. It has nothing to do with COVID-19. 
 

Like any product, once it gets close to its “use by date”, they will drop prices to get it out of inventory. The cruise fare is a small portion of the revenue derived from each stateroom. 
 

Or, if the cruise is full, the prices will steadily increase for those who want a last minute booking. 
 

While we have been looking for cruises this summer, we have not seen any dramatic impact due to the COVID-19. 
 

wrt calling NCL, make sure you know exactly what you paid for the cruise fare and exactly what the current pricing for your room and the next cabin class are before you call. Just asking for a discount,politely, won’t get you anything. 

[vicpylon]

Therein lies the rub. I have no way of determining the current price of my cabin. It is sold out. 😞

[tallnthensome]

2 minutes ago, vicpylon said:

Therein lies the rub. I have no way of determining the current price of my cabin. It is sold out. 😞

If your cabin category is sold out there's nothing for them to give to you ....... 

[Windsorontario]

Be careful with the 30% off. For my cruise in December with the discount it is still more expensive then when I booked it months before that.  

[littlelulu01]

47 minutes ago, vicpylon said:

Therein lies the rub. I have no way of determining the current price of my cabin. It is sold out. 😞

I assume you are speaking of your cabin category currently sold out and not the entire sailing.  If there’s a higher cabin category for less $ and you are outside final payment the price adjustment/cabin category move is an easy phone call. After final payment you can call and ask for an upgrade.

 

Our upcoming sailing is seeing major price reductions.  Airfare has also been slashed making it one of the least expensive spring break options I’ve ever seen. We made our final payment pre Coronavirus. The 30% off “sale” is just a hold over booking gimmick pre Coronavirus.   
 

 

[Nn2036]

The total for my cabin is $1000 less than when I booked it. I will call tomorrow to see if I can get anything.

What is a number to call?

[BirdTravels]

11 minutes ago, Nn2036 said:

The total for my cabin is $1000 less than when I booked it. I will call tomorrow to see if I can get anything.

What is a number to call?

If you booked through a travel agent call them. NCL won’t talk to you. Otherwise call your personal cruise consultant. 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, vicpylon said:

Therein lies the rub. I have no way of determining the current price of my cabin. It is sold out. 😞

You know how much you paid. And you can look for available cabin classes above you. If you are just looking for a discount on your current cabin, it is sold out and you won’t get anything for calling. The cruise is in high demand and NCL is going to keep their $$$$.  

[vicpylon]

My attempt, as expected, failed. That said, it sounded like if there was a cabin above my class available I could have it for an up-charge.

 

Oh well. Still got a good deal on a great room.

[Cb2534]

I called my TA last week and received about 30% in onboard credit (the "purchased" kind, not the "non-refundable" kind which is a big win) in recognition of a price drop on my April cruise.     I'm happy with that.   I'll continue to watch prices to see if categories above mine (Haven) come down.     If they drop low enough I may upgrade but that category is fairly booked up so I'm not counting on it.   

[Cb2534]

PS - Be careful about upgrading.   I could have gotten into a spa mini-suite for a small upgrade but they were all under the pool area.   No thanks.  I'll pass and stay in my spa balcony in the location I want.   

[coloradocruiselover88]

As a surprised I upgraded my brother and his  wife to a mini suite on our TA crossing in April.  It cost me a whopping $30.  I know it is not much different than a balcony, but now they are in the same category as me and a little bit of extra room is nice.

 

Today I noticed the same cabin was $140 less per person and we are past final payment.  I called NCL and they gave my brother $315 in onboard credit as a one time only thing.  So if the price is reduced further, they are out of luck.  I doubt the price will go down further at this point. $315 is more than they needed to do.  

I will note that he is in a sail away cabin rate and no perks were lost or gained at this time.

 

So call, but ask all the questions and make sure you comfortable with that being the final price (if you after final payment).

 

Cheers!

[Nn2036]

I am currently have a regular balcony on Epic. I don't see much difference for the mini-suite. I don't care much for location either. May be I should ask for on board credit.

[Bradysgirl1232]

My cruise was 500 cheaper  1 week after booking.... I called and got an upgrade to mini suite. Other option was 130 in onboard credit. We are now under the garden cafe.  Hope we made the right choice 😐

[elwood_98034]

I saw a 7 night $899 special the other day, with kids travel free. Once I added the two kids it came to $4,700. I don't know whether it was bait and switch, or the website was broken, but along with Wubolia, I just gave up entirely at that point. We have a couple of cruise credits that don't expire for a while, so we might give it 12 months and see if there is even a cruise industry left by then. I don't fancy getting stuck in quarantine somewhere.