Great time to book a cruise!!

[mjcatlvr]

So with all of the virus hysteria nobody is looking at the positive. Prices are down right now and OBC is offered. After this virus passes through, NCL will have to make up some ground and cruising might become less affordable, right? Tonight ,we are looking into late 2020 and all of 2021 and placing deposits on future cruises. YEA!

[sfaaa]

Don't get too excited. Most deals right now are for March to June sailings only.

[david_sobe]

Yes the March deals from Miami are the lowest I have seen from NCL.  NCL Escape 7 nights, 5 ports from Miami:  Inside $287 and balcony as low as $457.

The Princess ship off Japan was in the news every day.  Now another ship off CA is in the same predicament with more testing positive tonight.  I wonder if this will change the cruising industry for at least a year.  Many people are trying to cancel or postpone and very few are trying to book.  It will take sometime for the masses to feel comfortable to book cruises again.  We were asking how much higher the prices will go not long ago.  Not only have prices crashed but it could be some time for the prices to go back to where they were.  That is good news to all frequent cruisers.

[mjcatlvr]

1 hour ago, sfaaa said:

Don't get too excited. Most deals right now are for March to June sailings only.

We are looking at August of 2021 and see these great deals there!!

[fstuff1]

1 hour ago, sfaaa said:

Don't get too excited. Most deals right now are for March to June sailings only.

and only from FL.

None of the non-TA sailing from NY (my nearest port) are on fire sale 😞

 

[kaprin02]

The "take all free" promo right now seems to be for the vast majority of sailings.  If you usually book an inside stateroom, this could be a really good deal, because you'll get all FAS perks, plus some OBC - it may not seem like such a difference if you're used to booking balcony or higher and are used to getting all FAS perks.  Base fare prices for cruises in inside staterooms I've looked at for spring 2021 have seemed decent, but not crazy cheap (like some of the sailings coming up soon) - but with the FAS promo and OBC, it becomes a much better deal overall.  But YMMV based on how much you value the FAS perks.

[Gershep]

Without a doubt once this virus passes cruise prices will be sky high.

[jfio1021]

encore out of nyc for august is very low i upgraded to balcony for an extra 300 bucks when they wanted a 1000 for it in october 

[julig22]

54 minutes ago, Gershep said:

Without a doubt once this virus passes cruise prices will be sky high.

I agree.  I got a good deal on my upcoming cruise and FCC probably won't buy me anything close to what I have. 

 

Then there is the issue of perks and OBC that you might have as a result of booking during a sale - all that could be lost - I lost my airfare perk when NCL canceled a cruise and the OBC/FCC that I got then is now all tied up in a cruise in 2 months - what a nightmare if I need to apply all of that to a different cruise, especially when everyone with FCC is trying to book the same cruises.

[ray98]

Yup....there are some great prices out there now for the next couple of months especially.  The Escape is really good.

[tallnthensome]

Just wait ...... NCL will get their money back from them cancellations and future cruise credits somehow. They will give all people who cancel their cruise the future cruise credit for their cruise and then NCL will just raise all future cruises to ridiculous prices to where the people with credits won’t even be able to cover the costs. They’ll incur a huge difference which they’ll have to pay if they want to use their credit ..... use it or lose it. What was booked for at $3000 will now be $5000 for the same cruise at a later date ..... screwed. Mark my words .....this is NCL. 

[ray98]

Never happen.  This will probably slow the cruise industry for months.  Slow sales mean lower prices.  You can just one day jack up the prices and think people will pay it, the market drives it.

[Oakman58]

Looking at the positive, this is a great time for the long term investor to buy stock in the cruise industry.

[tallnthensome]

18 minutes ago, ray98 said:

Never happen.  This will probably slow the cruise industry for months.  Slow sales mean lower prices.  You can just one day jack up the prices and think people will pay it, the market drives it.

People with future cruise credits won’t be using them in the next couple months while this is still going on . It will be next year at the same time where prices will rise when people will rebook and reuse their credits. They won’t raise prices immediately because no one who cancelled will book for a new cruise immediately .

[ray98]

Just now, tallnthensome said:

People with future cruise credits won’t be using them in the next couple months while this is still going on . It will be next year at the same time where prices will rise when people will rebook and reuse their credits. They won’t raise prices immediately because no one who cancelled will book for a new cruise immediately .

 

This will slow the industry for more than the next couple of months.  Something like this will create an aversion to travel for a time to come long after the immediate threat disappears.

[Travelicious]

It really is a good time because, in addition to lower prices, all the whiners who are vowing to never sail NCL won't be aboard.  I just hope they are true to their word.

[mjcatlvr]

56 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

It really is a good time because, in addition to lower prices, all the whiners who are vowing to never sail NCL won't be aboard.  I just hope they are true to their word.

Yes to all of this!!! Just booked a Baltic Cruise 30% off, $600 OBC extras 08/24/21. We are even talking about booking a couple more before NCL tries to make up ground financially, to protect ourselves. We love cruising and will go no matter the price, but I prefer to save a little bit especially since we are mostly Haven Cruisers.

[mjcatlvr]

1 hour ago, ray98 said:

 

This will slow the industry for more than the next couple of months.  Something like this will create an aversion to travel for a time to come long after the immediate threat disappears.

Good point, there will be some folks that get spooked from travel for a while, that happened after 9/11. It was several months before the travel loads returned to normal.

[pghflyer]

Honestly, prices 2021 are still worse than I was booking a few months ago, they are really holding the line. Late summer 2020 through Fall are starting to get a little better but still nothing that I would consider a motivating deal if I wasn't already wanting to go to those areas.  I think we haven't yet seen price adjustments reflecting their drop in demand, they are definitely hoping (and I don't blame them for trying, as a new stockholder, probably the right move) that the relaxed booking policy will make it up without having to drop  prices. I'm waiting (and will be looking since my cruise was cancelled in Asia).

[OceanBlueWaters]

I just booked on Sky as a Solo for 9/2021.  Inside room, with all the perks (Drink Package, Excursion credit, Wifi, Specialty Dining + $100 OBC).  Solo's never get this!

I LOVED the Sky!  The larger ships are beautiful, but I find smaller ships are better for me. No bells and whistles on this ship, just a small, intimate ship to get me from point A to Point B.

The only question I have is NCL's cancellation policy.  It looks like I will take take a 25% hit if I cancel before final payment.  Normally you would get back 100% before cancelling before xx amount of days.  I'm okay with that since I am trying to offload 2 CN Certificates ($250 x 2 = $500).

Maybe I am reading the cancellation policy wrong?

At any rate, safe travels to all! 🙂

[paulis]

8 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

Looking at the positive, this is a great time for the long term investor to buy stock in the cruise industry.

 

You would have to be insane to put any money in the travel and/or hospitality industry. There is way too much fear and uncertainty and we know how much the markets like those two words. RCL, CCL and NCLH have lost 45-60% of their value in two months...if anything you should be shorting.

[Oakman58]

37 minutes ago, paulis said:

 

You would have to be insane to put any money in the travel and/or hospitality industry. There is way too much fear and uncertainty and we know how much the markets like those two words. RCL, CCL and NCLH have lost 45-60% of their value in two months...if anything you should be shorting.

 

Nope sorry, I don't play that game.  I take a long position.  KISS, buy low, sell high.

[4774Papa]

23 hours ago, mjcatlvr said:

So with all of the virus hysteria nobody is looking at the positive. Prices are down right now and OBC is offered. After this virus passes through, NCL will have to make up some ground and cruising might become less affordable, right? Tonight ,we are looking into late 2020 and all of 2021 and placing deposits on future cruises. YEA!

NOT

[BoundForSea]

I've been watching fares between now and June very closely in the last week, as of this afternoon many of them are on the rise.  Some Haven's that were reduced are back to being close to regular rates (not all some).  I'm watching a lot of inventory disappear, so I'm honestly, in at least FL and NY markets, not seeing much in way of cancellations, quite the opposite!

Edited March 8, 2020 by BoundForSea

[Sand and Seas]

34 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

I've been watching fares between now and June very closely in the last week, as of this afternoon many of them are on the rise.  Some Haven's that were reduced are back to being close to regular rates (not all some).  I'm watching a lot of inventory disappear, so I'm honestly, in at least FL and NY markets, not seeing much in way of cancellations, quite the opposite!

Regarding cancellations, we won't see those cabins show back up in inventory until March 10th when the new policies go into effect.    It's going to be interesting to see how many choose to cancel, and are they going to wait until close to the 48 hour mark.