Historical last minute pricing out of NYC

[reeinaz]

If they don’t change the latitude tiers, I’ll be 9 points shy of platinum for my Prima cruise in September 2023. I could get in two 5-day Bermuda cruises in 2023 to get me there. One is $896 (cruise fare only). The other is $1091 (cruise fare only). Feb vs Aug dates.  I will also be on the lookout for extra point deals to possibly cancel one and reprice the other. 
I live in Philly so I can just catch the train or bus to the port. I know everything is in flux right now, but pre-covid, what did last minute deals out of NYC look like and were they readily available? and I guess it also begs the question if it’s worth it to try get to platinum status for that cruise specifically. I know it doesn’t make sense going by just the numbers. But this would be a bucket list cruise. Would it “feel” different?
 

[JIMESOPUS]

We had a similiar situation, short a few points to platinum and our next cruise was 15 days long. We figured that the extra free meals and free laundry was worth spending money on a short 5 day cruise out of NYC, we waited to almost the last minute to get the best deal ( GTY cabin ). Never hurts to have a reason to go on a cruise. 

[billslowsky]

I got a solo getaway rate on the Escape for $999 (plus taxes and fee); balcony, 7 nights.  I think oceanview was $799.  No free at sea.

 

I booked on July 2 for July 9 departure.  I recall prices yo-yo'd a lot in the week before, this was also back when they showed solo specials with other "deals" at the top of the home page.

[mking8288]

Only you know whether it's worth (by spending more now to cruise NCL) bumping your tier up to reach P status for the Prima's sailing, out of NY that's almost 2 years away.  

 

In the past several years, last minute NCL pricing deals out of NYC had been all over the charts, unpredictable and I think it was 2018-19, sold out sometimes weekly ahead of embarkation ... sometimes, the unsold "bulk" inventory going to TA's circles of friends & families (and, insiders)  Not sure if you are going see low prices & double Latitude points being offered at the same time, terms, etc. for the same last minute sailings, except during low/off and border seasons, maybe one of the repo next Fall or even Spring - just don't know.  You could luck out, or, not.  

 

If your schedule is flexible, NCL continues to sail the Gem next month to Bermuda, 5 nighters with an overnight - prices had dropped lately, and these should still be on reduced capacity ... if your can book and sail last minute, might not be a bad deal for the GTY no-frills categories.  Oceanview GTY (OX) is $698 for 2 + $524 port taxes, charges & fees, etc. plus GSC.  Balcony CTY (BX) is $896 only for base fare +   Assuming you have FCC or CruiseNext Certificates that can be applied (and, optionally - own 100 shares or more of NCLH stocks) - it can further lower your net costs to cruise.  

This is for the week before Christmas, the earlier 5 nighters to Bermuda is priced a little higher - you could make it easily a B2B, a total of 10 points for 10 nights, relatively inexpensive by eliminating two trips to come up from Phila ... 

 

But, downside is all the Bermuda testing requirements and travel authorizations, as well as those from NCL per CDC guidance ... and the fact that BDA is in it winter mode, with many shops finished for the tourism season and other stores on shortened, winter hours & there's not a whole lot to do in December.  If long & extended sea days and CTN (Cruise To Nowhere) are fine with you - do consider pulling the trigger for it, or, do a B2B while prices remain quite low, and you'll be Platinum before end of next month.

 

NCL isn't doing that many round-trips out of NY next summer, and if we managed to put C-19 in the rearview mirrors next year, more ships could be scheduled for rotating to serve the Northeast ... well, demand could go up and you might see less competitive pricing once travelers from abroad resume their pilgrimage, filling up Broadway show seats, hotels and ship cabins, etc. 

[reeinaz]

@mking8288I wish I could take advantage of the low prices now but I just cruised to Bermuda in September and have a B2B on Carnival in December. 2022 is all booked up for me also (I took advantage of the low pricing when the COVID cancellations first started).  

Actually, the September cruise was my 1st NCL cruise so I’m nowhere near platinum now. But all but one of my upcoming NCL cruises have double or triple points. I only have 2 cruises booked so far in 2023 (Black Sea and Iceland), so that’s where I have the availability. But it seems like last minute pricing wouldn’t be significantly less than the current price when looking at just cost and not category of room. My current pricing is for a studio. 

[mking8288]

2 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

My current pricing is for a studio. 

 

Gotcha ... Studio pricing on NCL's fleet of newer mega ships have historically held its pricing strength, except for rare & off-peak times, if memories are correct (other regulars here that cruise solo will & can help out on their)   Sometimes, you can book a last minute (truly, a last minute ... 2 weeks out, could be as little as 3 to 5 days out) Inside or OV without the extra penalty or at a single's rate, get that extra space (minus the access/use of the Lounge ... but you can still join & attend events for singles/solo cruisers) at a very good & low price.  Just have to keep track & refresh, and be prepare to book quick (as low as your personal/work schedule is flexible) - this sometimes happened when those Upgrade Advantage bookings are taken/relaxed & cabins become available from the musical room dance.  

 

Some of the P perks are good but most aren't - don't "chase" blindly for P status itself - we barely managed to give away several extra, unwanted bottles of sparking bubbles that other CC'ers donated as giveaway door prizes at one of the larger CC Meet & Mingle/Greet on the Escape 3 years ago - the two downsized water eco-packets were nice, but really not worth anything - it's doesn't replace the BPA-free water bottles that always go with us.  

[HowardK]

6 hours ago, reeinaz said:

If they don’t change the latitude tiers, I’ll be 9 points shy of platinum for my Prima cruise in September 2023. I could get in two 5-day Bermuda cruises in 2023 to get me there. One is $896 (cruise fare only). The other is $1091 (cruise fare only). Feb vs Aug dates.  I will also be on the lookout for extra point deals to possibly cancel one and reprice the other. 
I live in Philly so I can just catch the train or bus to the port. I know everything is in flux right now, but pre-covid, what did last minute deals out of NYC look like and were they readily available? and I guess it also begs the question if it’s worth it to try get to platinum status for that cruise specifically. I know it doesn’t make sense going by just the numbers. But this would be a bucket list cruise. Would it “feel” different?
 

Hello, I am right outside Philly myself so would always take the bus to the port (usually stayed overnight  in NYC). I believe my last NCL Bermuda 5/18 was around $1149 (but I got $200 of more for using the NCL credit card as I had racked up points and a bonus for signing up).

However, whatever I truly paid for $50 the week before I was able to upgrade and get a balcony as there was no single supplement. 4 out of the 5 times I went from NYC there were good last minute deals on balconies for solos (they waived the single supplement)- the only time it didnt work was when NCL Escape went to Canada which had higher demand due to only 3 sailings.

 

[billslowsky]

Downside to the last minute booking is that you pay in full, not a down payment and pay the balance later.

[reeinaz]

Thanks for the replies. They really did help clarify things for me. I was chasing platinum status and it really isn’t worth it. I’ll be platinum after the Prima cruise anyway without any extra effort/expense. The 2 cruises that I have booked in 2023 are pretty big ticket items for me expense wise, and it makes more sense to put my money towards those. 

[julig22]

19 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

Thanks for the replies. They really did help clarify things for me. I was chasing platinum status and it really isn’t worth it. I’ll be platinum after the Prima cruise anyway without any extra effort/expense. The 2 cruises that I have booked in 2023 are pretty big ticket items for me expense wise, and it makes more sense to put my money towards those. 

Just an fyi - I got the NCL MC with all the extra points several years ago.  For 30,000 points, you can upgrade (inside to OV or OV to balcony) or inside to balcony for 60,000.  Just saved me well over 2K (OV to Balcony) for a cruise that "needs" a balcony to view all the sights.  And you get 3x points for anything NCL-related, so I'll have enough points to upgrade my next cruise as well (and that cruise has skyrocketed in price, so the balcony is now about $6k over my OV booking).  Pay for your Prima cruise with the card, you'd have enough points to upgrade your next cruise.

 

So if you are content to stay out of the suites/haven and are booking ov or inside, it's something to consider.  And no, I don't work for NCL or MC or anybody else - It's been a good deal for me - no annual fee, their current offer is 25,000 points, close to what's needed for an upgrade.