Does NCL just cancel a cruise that's extremely undersold? (I never see drastic last minute discounts!)

[RumRunner2021]

21 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I live in MIchigan, but I did live in Anchorage Alaska back in 1989. I've also lived in Oahu in the mid-80's and currently spend 4 months a year in Maui. There is a reason pre-covid Alaska tourism closes up shop by October. Let's just see what they do with the October cruises. I hope I'm wrong. 

I personally couldn't care less if any shops are open when I cruise.  I hate shopping.  I don't go on a cruise to buy crap to haul home.  I've also been on all the AK shore excursions I wanted to do.  I think that those on this October's AK cruises will have a great time.  It's too bad that the later cruises aren't going to Skagway as I've always considered that and Glacier bay to be the highlights.  After two plus years of no cruising, a lot of us will welcome all the ship time we can get.  😎

[BermudaBound2014]

31 minutes ago, RumRunner2021 said:

I personally couldn't care less if any shops are open when I cruise.  I hate shopping.  I don't go on a cruise to buy crap to haul home.  I've also been on all the AK shore excursions I wanted to do.  I think that those on this October's AK cruises will have a great time.  It's too bad that the later cruises aren't going to Skagway as I've always considered that and Glacier bay to be the highlights.  After two plus years of no cruising, a lot of us will welcome all the ship time we can get.  😎

LOL- I said “closes up shop” (as in… ends activities), not “closes up shops” as in shopping. Made me giggle, Ty. Sorry for not being more clear.

 

No doubt those on late October sailing can have a great time. I’m actually price watching and may jump onboard when/if balcony cabins drop below $500.

 

Time will tell, I do hope I’m wrong 🙂
 

 

[RumRunner2021]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

LOL- I said “closes up shop” (as in… ends activities), not “closes up shops” as in shopping. Made me giggle, Ty. Sorry for not being more clear.

 

Yeah, I was probably reading between the lines a bit there.  In a lot of these threads, folks express concerns that their AK cruise will be tainted because all the small shops will be closed.  For many with a DW et al, that can be more of a blessing than a curse.  🤣  Sure, shore excursions might be reduced so a person won't be able to go to that Salmon bake, gold panning or lumber jack show.  Honestly, is there any great loss here??

[RVACruiser43]

19 hours ago, markdunn said:

Thanks to you both for those insights.

 

Sounds like NCL wouldn't just bail on Alaska and hightail it to the Caribbean. (But I do wonder where the Encore will be between its final 10/23 arrival in Seattle and first 11/14 departure from Miami since the Panama Canal was canceled)

 

Given that only one(!) of the twenty four cabins we're interested in are booked, I may continue to just monitor prices. I know they don't do huge discounts, but seems like prices may budge a bit since we're already less than three months away. 

NCL would probably wait until after the 60day payment in full date to reduce the prices of the unsold rooms.  That way they would not have a huge number of booked rooms getting repriced.

Tom

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, RVACruiser43 said:

NCL would probably wait until after the 60day payment in full date to reduce the prices of the unsold rooms.  That way they would not have a huge number of booked rooms getting repriced.

Tom

 

I am booked on the October 3 sailing on the Breakaway out of NYC to Bermuda and we have already had a price drop prior to final payment.

[julig22]

22 minutes ago, RVACruiser43 said:

NCL would probably wait until after the 60day payment in full date to reduce the prices of the unsold rooms.  That way they would not have a huge number of booked rooms getting repriced.

Tom

Several of the fall cruises had reduced solo supplements (150% vs 200%) a few weeks back, all before final payment.  That's a 25% discount (on top of the current 30% "sale") and it got me to bite...

 

Also, they don't reprice booked rooms unless you specifically ask - and I suspect that not a lot of people know that repricing is possible.

Edited July 21, 2021 by julig22

[ChiefMateJRK]

I just saved some money on an October Encore cruise due to a price drop.  It's before final payment date, so it just took a ten minute phone call to save $$$.  They just repriced the existing reservation.  I didn't even lose my dinner reservations!

[markwfpb]

Thanks for all the input!

The chill and rain (and sleepy - or even totally asleep - ports) aren't an issue for us.

So, we're going to take a wait and see approach. 

Sounds like any significant price drop would happen after the 60 day out final payment and more likely, a couple weeks after that.

 

[RVACruiser43]

13 minutes ago, markdunn said:

Thanks for all the input!

The chill and rain (and sleepy - or even totally asleep - ports) aren't an issue for us.

So, we're going to take a wait and see approach. 

Sounds like any significant price drop would happen after the 60 day out final payment and more likely, a couple weeks after that.

 

Its always hard to predict.  I got a terrific deal on the Dawn repositioning from Boston to San Juan a few years ago.  No single upcharge at all on inside/OV/Balcony.  I ended up in a Penthouse aft suite after starting with a Guarantee balcony cabin and winning an upgrade bid.  In the end the Penthouse cost was about equal to one person fare in the cabin since you pay for 2 on the bid, this was about 30 days out.  Our last cruise was Feb 29th 2020 Buenos Aries to Santiago on the Star, I started out with a balcony cabin and the prices came down on the deck 12 family suites enough I went for the paid upgrade and within the next few weeks the prices dropped twice by a total of $700pp prior to payment in full date.  I had prepaid the cabin, but NCL was great at repricing and crediting my card both times the price went down.  In the end, that suite was about the same price as my original balcony reservation.  And if you ever get a chance to book on the Dawn or Star those deck 12 suites (forward) are terrific, no balcony, but a full wall of floor to ceiling windows and huge bathroom, and lots of floor space.  Nice partitions separate the bed, and the living area with a pull out sofa, and a pull out bed in the other corner.

Tom

[ChiefMateJRK]

28 minutes ago, markdunn said:

Sounds like any significant price drop would happen after the 60 day out final payment and more likely, a couple weeks after that.

 

Nobody knows.  The prudent thing is to keep checking prices and, upon any meaningful drop, call them and have them reprice.  They're very nice folks and it only takes a few minutes.  Once the final payment date passes, it's not necessarily as straightforward.  My AK room recently dropped $100 and the next lower sub-category dropped much more.  I repriced to the same basic room for $430 cheaper.  I still have a number of weeks until final payment so I'll just keep checking.

[RVACruiser43]

2 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Nobody knows.  The prudent thing is to keep checking prices and, upon any meaningful drop, call them and have them reprice.  They're very nice folks and it only takes a few minutes.  Once the final payment date passes, it's not necessarily as straightforward.  My AK room recently dropped $100 and the next lower sub-category dropped much more.  I repriced to the same basic room for $430 cheaper.  I still have a number of weeks until final payment so I'll just keep checking.

I have upgraded to an Aft Penthouse after Payment in Full when the prices dropped.  I had a bid in and was checking the prices, and ooops the full price was less than my bid, I quickly cancelled that bid and did a paid upgrade which also gave me a number of added perks I didn't have with the balcony cabin on that cruise.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, RVACruiser43 said:

I have upgraded to an Aft Penthouse after Payment in Full when the prices dropped.  I had a bid in and was checking the prices, and ooops the full price was less than my bid, I quickly cancelled that bid and did a paid upgrade which also gave me a number of added perks I didn't have with the balcony cabin on that cruise.

Yep.  I think others have mentioned this in similar threads.  Once final payment passes, you're not going to get money back but the upgrade deltas may become much more favorable.  Best just to stay awake and check current pricing from time to time.  To be honest, on cruises I've taken in the past I've been much to busy with life to really keep up with this type of stuff.  Not so much anymore.  😎

[Named-Tawny]

7 hours ago, julig22 said:

Will they automatically give you a refund - NO!

Can you ask for consideration - yes.  You can upgrade and pay any difference OR you can get a 25% OBC for the price difference.  And usually you only get one bite of the apple, although I was able to smooze a double upgrade once (inside to OV to balcony).  On another cruise I simply upgraded to an aft balcony when the price for it dropped below what I had paid.

What happens with your incentives when you do that?  I know if the price drops pre-final payment and I want to take advantage of the lower price, I need to give up my current incentives and get whatever incentives the current offer has (eg maybe no double points, or airfare, or etc...)

Is it the same when the price drops post-final payment?  If you're upgrading, or getting OBC do they recalculate your benefits, or do you get to keep the ones you already had?

[BermudaBound2014]

8 hours ago, RumRunner2021 said:

Yeah, I was probably reading between the lines a bit there.  In a lot of these threads, folks express concerns that their AK cruise will be tainted because all the small shops will be closed.  For many with a DW et al, that can be more of a blessing than a curse.  🤣  Sure, shore excursions might be reduced so a person won't be able to go to that Salmon bake, gold panning or lumber jack show.  Honestly, is there any great loss here??

This girl won’t even walk into a cruise ship stop shop. I actually think diamonds international takes away from the beauty in ports and would love to see cruisers supporting local mom and pops. It’s the least we can do. I also agree that a cruise ship salmon bake and gold panning add zero to an authentic Alaskan vacation, but I suspect we are in the minority as these are wildly attractive events for many.
 

I do wish the best for your trip :). 

Edited July 22, 2021 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, Named-Tawny said:

What happens with your incentives when you do that?  I know if the price drops pre-final payment and I want to take advantage of the lower price, I need to give up my current incentives and get whatever incentives the current offer has (eg maybe no double points, or airfare, or etc...)

Is it the same when the price drops post-final payment?  If you're upgrading, or getting OBC do they recalculate your benefits, or do you get to keep the ones you already had?

Repricing pre-final payment is entirely different than repricing  post final payment. As you know, if you reprice before final payment you reprice with the current promotion (which typically means you lose the promotion you booked under). It’s simple and cruise lines will just give you back the price difference in a refund. 

 

Repricing post final payment doesn’t typically get you money back but you may be able to secure a room upgrade and possibly obc. It is not considered a “rebooking” so promos don’t change.  
 

The biggest discounts always (like 99.9% of the time) come to those who wait to actually book after everyone else makes final payment. Sure you can get money back earlier as pricing changes, but the super deals come last minute when the ship has low occupancy. That is the sweet spot. It’s a gamble though, and if you only get one vacation a year it might not be worth the risk. But for those who are flexible the rewards are great. They were great before covid and I suspect they will be great during the transition back. But that’s just my guess 😉 
 

 

[Named-Tawny]

35 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

The biggest discounts always (like 99.9% of the time) come to those who wait to actually book after everyone else makes final payment. Sure you can get money back earlier as pricing changes, but the super deals come last minute when the ship has low occupancy. That is the sweet spot. It’s a gamble though, and if you only get one vacation a year it might not be worth the risk. But for those who are flexible the rewards are great. They were great before covid and I suspect they will be great during the transition back. But that’s just my guess 😉 
 

 

Yeah, I love the IDEA of booking last minute, but with needing an international flight for nearly any cruise, what I save on the cruise fare can come back to bite me in airfare.

[ChiefMateJRK]

32 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Repricing pre-final payment is entirely different than repricing  post final payment. As you know, if you reprice before final payment you reprice with the current promotion (which typically means you lose the promotion you booked under). It’s simple and cruise lines will just give you back the price difference in a refund. 

 

Why would they owe me a refund if I reprice before final payment.  I just did that today and it simply reduced my final amount due.

 

Also, are you sure that you lose a promotion in such a situation?  I kept my original promotions and even kept my dinner reservations and check-in progress.  The reservation number even stayed the same.  She just lowered my price and sent me an updated invoice.  I guess maybe the promotions are the same, so it likely didn't matter in my case.

[julig22]

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

The biggest discounts always (like 99.9% of the time) come to those who wait to actually book after everyone else makes final payment. Sure you can get money back earlier as pricing changes, but the super deals come last minute when the ship has low occupancy. That is the sweet spot. It’s a gamble though, and if you only get one vacation a year it might not be worth the risk. But for those who are flexible the rewards are great. They were great before covid and I suspect they will be great during the transition back. But that’s just my guess 😉 

 

I usually book the cheapest cabin that I know I'd be ok with in order to take advantage of promos like reduced air - which usually has to be booked 90 days out.  Then after final payment I wait for an upgrade, either by bid or because of a cost difference.  So far it's worked well for me.

[julig22]

7 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why would they owe me a refund if I reprice before final payment.  I just did that today and it simply reduced my final amount due.

 

Also, are you sure that you lose a promotion in such a situation?  I kept my original promotions and even kept my dinner reservations and check-in progress.  The reservation number even stayed the same.  She just lowered my price and sent me an updated invoice.  I guess maybe the promotions are the same, so it likely didn't matter in my case.

If the promos are different, you get the current promos. You could win, you might lose. If you made a recent change, you may have gained or lost the double points, something not that obvious.  Usually they will keep your existing reservation number but no guarantee.

 

Some people do pay before final is due, for whatever reason.  Although I wait until payment is due, the agency I used to use always wanted payment about a week in advance - and prices went down between then and the final due date - so I did get a refund in that case.

[RVACruiser43]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why would they owe me a refund if I reprice before final payment.  I just did that today and it simply reduced my final amount due.

 

Also, are you sure that you lose a promotion in such a situation?  I kept my original promotions and even kept my dinner reservations and check-in progress.  The reservation number even stayed the same.  She just lowered my price and sent me an updated invoice.  I guess maybe the promotions are the same, so it likely didn't matter in my case.

If you pre. Pay the cruise and price falls before the actual due date you get the refund.  

Tom

[ChiefMateJRK]

20 minutes ago, RVACruiser43 said:

If you pre. Pay the cruise and price falls before the actual due date you get the refund.  

Tom

To clarify.  If the price falls and you call to request a reprice than you get a refund.  If not, you're SOL.  Correct?

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

If the promos are different, you get the current promos. You could win, you might lose. If you made a recent change, you may have gained or lost the double points, something not that obvious.  Usually they will keep your existing reservation number but no guarantee.

 

While not obvious to many, I believe that many/most here are pretty keen on the promos both at original booking and at reprice.  My reprice today retained all original promos, but they are all still current (including the resurrected double bonus points).  In the past/future, I would certainly go in with my facts straight and my eyes open.  I think that's the message for us to send here.  😎

[julig22]

17 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

To clarify.  If the price falls and you call to request a reprice than you get a refund.  If not, you're SOL.  Correct?

Correct.  As long as you are before final payment.

Edited July 22, 2021 by julig22

[canadjineh]

Interesting topic....all this talk about bids....where/how do you bid?

And is this only applicable for NCL?

Thanks, crew!

[ziggyuk]

I agree, I have been finding it impossible to find operators who are open in mid October, for instance Harv&Marv who are well reviewed and offer whale watching replied with this:

 

Unfortunately our whale watching season only runs through the end of September. This is due to a couple of factors. The whales start to head down to Hawaii around mid-October, the weather drastically starts to change, and the daylight hours become shorter.

I hope this helps, we apologize for the inconvenience. We hope you still enjoy your time in Juneau, AK!

 

The Encore has it's own tours of course (multiple whale watching) but I wonder who is actually operating these whale watching boats as all the locals I have contacted will be closed after the first week of October.

I thought, after two bad seasons they would make the most of every day this year but it appears not.