CAS Offer?

[phillygwm]

I just returned from my week on the Bliss.  When I picked up my mail, there was an invitation for a free week for myself and a guest (NBD) but it included a room for another friend and a guest.  It's only an indoor and I'll have to upgrade but never got that offer before.  Only catch is having to book before 12/30 and travel before 12/10/22.  There were, of course, a handful of restrictions (no Prima, PoA, "exotics", etc.) but seemed like a decent offer.

 

Did anyone else receive this?

Edited December 20, 2021 by phillygwm
typo

[SplashOfWater]

I received an offer too. It was for a free 4-10 day cruise for two (no Prima, etc.), book by 12/30, sail by 4/30. It included a free upgrade from inside to oceanview.

[Beach Life 1]

5 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I just returned from my week on the Bliss.  When I picked up my mail, there was an invitation for a free week for myself and a guest (NBD) but it included a room for another friend and a guest.  It's only an indoor and I'll have to upgrade but never got that offer before.  Only catch is having to book before 12/30 and travel before 12/10/22.  There were, of course, a handful of restrictions (no Prima, PoA, "exotics", etc.) but seemed like a decent offer.

 

Did anyone else receive this?

Yes,  I received this same offer.

[dbrown84]

All of my cruises have been on CAS offers.  Once you get over that it isn't really free, you realize that its still a great deal.  It's a room for $20 a day, plus port fees and taxes.  The three things I like the best are:

 

1. I can hold out for the best offers before booking since I don't have to worry about price changes

2. No single supplement if you're traveling solo

3. Free drinks in the casino and at the casino bar.  I decline the free at sea drink package (thus not paying the taxes on the package price) and get all my drinks in the casino.  You can also get bottled water which you can't with the free at see drink package

[phillygwm]

1 minute ago, dbrown84 said:

All of my cruises have been on CAS offers.  Once you get over that it isn't really free, you realize that its still a great deal.  It's a room for $20 a day, plus port fees and taxes.  The three things I like the best are:

 

1. I can hold out for the best offers before booking since I don't have to worry about price changes

2. No single supplement if you're traveling solo

3. Free drinks in the casino and at the casino bar.  I decline the free at sea drink package (thus not paying the taxes on the package price) and get all my drinks in the casino.  You can also get bottled water which you can't with the free at see drink package

Yeah, all my cruises except for my very first were CAS.  I travel in a cabin by myself so #2 is especially important to me.  

 

And yes, I know I'm paying for the room.  Just finished a week on the Bliss, the taxes and port fees for a Club Balcony were $500.  Since I had that much in Cruisenext value, it was actually $250 "real" cost.  I thought that was more than reasonable.  And I DO buy the drink package (P+) because I don't live in the casino; I come and go.  I also buy 4 nights premium dining to round out the two I get plus the 2 premium meals.

 

The only difference to this offer versus just calling and asking is that this includes a second room for friends/family  Never saw that previously.

[Russiamomm]

27 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Yeah, all my cruises except for my very first were CAS.  I travel in a cabin by myself so #2 is especially important to me.  

 

The only difference to this offer versus just calling and asking is that this includes a second room for friends/family  Never saw that previously.

I had the same offer - “free” OV for any 4-10 night booked before 12/31 and sail before 4/30.  I never saw the actual certificate.  I may have thrown it away thinking it was just more marketing material.  😂. Anyway, I also travel solo and it was a great deal.  I booked a nine night on the Getaway on January 5.  I have a friend that wants to go, but needs another room.  The rep at CAS was willing to give him 10% off the internet fare.  No second room at CAS rates.  There is still no solo discount for this sailing.  I wonder if there are variations on the theme to this offer, or if it’s worth calling the rep back and asking again.

[phillygwm]

26 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

 I wonder if there are variations on the theme to this offer, or if it’s worth calling the rep back and asking again.

There may also be different "flavors" of offer.  I used to always travel with another friend, in different staterooms.  He would get 10% off AND his SS waived based on my play.  But a number of years ago they stopped waiving his SS, only waiving mine.  It was too good to be true anyway 🙂  

[Russiamomm]

8 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

There may also be different "flavors" of offer.  I used to always travel with another friend, in different staterooms.  He would get 10% off AND his SS waived based on my play.  But a number of years ago they stopped waiving his SS, only waiving mine.  It was too good to be true anyway 🙂  

It seems they’ve kept the 10% but are still charging the SS.  I’m going to call my rep tomorrow, maybe they will be more flexible in this environment.  There’s plenty of cabins available and they’re getting the same amount of $ as they would if we were sharing a cabin.

[bdette4]

Okay so masks now required which is okay with me as working in Boston am used to it. Now just got this from NCL.

 

Dear Valued Guests,

Thank you for choosing Norwegian Escape for your vacation at sea.

We continuously aim to offer an enhanced experience for all our guests, and we strive to provide a world-class product consistent throughout our fleet. As part of this commitment, Norwegian Escape Sports Complex, including The Ropes Course and other activities, are undergoing maintenance to better serve our guests, and therefore will be closed during your cruise. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.  

We remain at your service and cannot wait to welcome you aboard for a vacation of a lifetime.

[KarimaJ]

I got this too but not sure of the particulars. Does anyone have a CAS rep they really like? When I just booked a quick 3 night cruise I didn’t care for the rep I got. He seems apathetic and didn’t give me much info, I had to ask everything. Feel free to message me.

[phillygwm]

I just booked a 10 day to Canada on the Joy next October on this offer.  My friends upgraded their half of the offer to a balcony which would have come to ~$2700 with the premium (basic) drink package.  They dropped that since they're not huge drinkers and got down to $2300.  Hardly "free" but a decent value and they could have gotten the price down further if they dropped the balcony upgrade.

Edited December 21, 2021 by phillygwm

[Russiamomm]

I talked to my rep today.  There are definitely different “flavors” to this offer.  Mine was just for one cabin.  No option to book a second.  The best he can do is still 10% off the second cabin.  Oh, well, it was worth asking.

[tumblew467]

On 12/21/2021 at 1:33 PM, KarimaJ said:

I got this too but not sure of the particulars. Does anyone have a CAS rep they really like? When I just booked a quick 3 night cruise I didn’t care for the rep I got. He seems apathetic and didn’t give me much info, I had to ask everything. Feel free to message me.

Hi  I have used Alan for the last 10 years he is in the corportate office in Miami,He is not back in though till jan 3rd. 

 

 

[Cuedon]

I snagged one of these too (somewhat surprisingly, as I haven't sailed with NCL in maybe 5 years)... is this offer subject to that ~200$/pp 'Experience Surcharge' (or some equivalent thereof) that they used to for offers from other sources?

[Krazy Kat]

5 hours ago, Cuedon said:

I snagged one of these too (somewhat surprisingly, as I haven't sailed with NCL in maybe 5 years)... is this offer subject to that ~200$/pp 'Experience Surcharge' (or some equivalent thereof) that they used to for offers from other sources?

 

There is an administrative fee of $20 per day in addition to port fees and taxes.

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, Krazy Kat said:

 

There is an administrative fee of $20 per day in addition to port fees and taxes.

So my 10 day cruise cost $700, after fees, taxes, and grats on the dinner/bar package.  I used a couple CruiseNext certs, which I purchased for $250 ($500 value) so net $450.  Not terrible for a 10 day vacation.

 

Of course I'll spend additional money on more premium dining, P+ beverage, Internet, etc.  Still not bad.

[Krazy Kat]

Phillygwm - a good deal indeed!  CAS certainly has its benefits.

[MoCruiseFan]

When I called CAS prior to the cruise that I just got off of today I was told I have a standing offer for  a balcony on any cruise any date.

[vadersprincess12]

We have done the CAS offers; received through our land-based casino.  Our upcoming cruise on January 2 is a CAS offer that was supposed to be in 2020 but rescheduled many times because of Covid.

 

If you also sail other lines you can send copies of your land-based casino cards to Carnival (and possibly Royal) to get offers as well.  They DO NOT charge a daily administrative fee of $20 per day, per person like NCL does.

[phillygwm]

2 minutes ago, vadersprincess12 said:

We have done the CAS offers; received through our land-based casino.  Our upcoming cruise on January 2 is a CAS offer that was supposed to be in 2020 but rescheduled many times because of Covid.

 

If you also sail other lines you can send copies of your land-based casino cards to Carnival (and possibly Royal) to get offers as well.  They DO NOT charge a daily administrative fee of $20 per day, per person like NCL does.

Yeah, I got an offer through Boyd Gaming (which owns my local land-based) for a free HAL cruise.  Problem is it's for select Q1 cruises and between just getting off a cruise, COVID, and an upcoming (hopefully) Europe trip, the dates don't work.  

 

Even with the admin fee, I find NCL to be a good value overall.  I'd consider trying a different cruise line just to keep options open/have a rating elsewhere.  But generally love NCL.

[UKstages]

yes, i got this offer, too, when i returned last week from my cruise on the breakaway. it was in my snail mail, waiting for me...

 

as for flavors or variations of offers... yes, absolutely! the emails and direct mail pieces from NCL are intentionally vague... they just say you have a free room and invite you to call. then when you call, they tell you what you've been rated for... an inside or ocean view or balcony or suite or haven.

 

this particular offer was sent in the form of a holiday card, a "gift for you and yours,", which included the verbiage about a free room for you and a friend or family member, but it doesn't state which kind of room. if you peel off the pop-up card that says "pack your bags," all the fine print is there, including the bit about the "friend's" stateroom being for an inside cabin, regardless of whatever cabin you qualify for. it also says, naturally, that if you cancel, your friend's stateroom gets canceled, too.

 

this was an appealing offer, but there wasn't much time to act on it, so i passed.

[phillygwm]

3 minutes ago, UKstages said:

this particular offer was sent in the form of a holiday card, a "gift for you and yours,", which included the verbiage about a free room for you and a friend or family member, but it doesn't state which kind of room. if you peel off the pop-up card that says "pack your bags," all the fine print is there, including the bit about the "friend's" stateroom being for an inside cabin, regardless of whatever cabin you qualify for. it also says, naturally, that if you cancel, your friend's stateroom gets canceled, too.

 

this was an appealing offer, but there wasn't much time to act on it, so i passed.

Exactly.  My friends and I called.  As stated above, I got a balcony for an October 10 day to Canada/NE on the Joy.  After fees, grats, etc. it was slightly over $700 for me (I travel solo in my room.)  My friends' balcony room , upgraded from inside, was $2400 for two but that's still an excellent deal for them. We both reduced those numbers by $500 using CruiseNext certs so net $250 less since we paid $250 for those.  Sure, they'll get more money out of us.  We'll both have all premium meals, I'll upgrade to P+ bar, we'll do excursions, etc.  But it was the best offer I'd seen in a while.

 

And yes, it was a quick turnaround, but we did have almost a full year to travel and final payment isn't until June so there's flexibility.

[Russiamomm]

54 minutes ago, UKstages said:

yes, i got this offer, too, when i returned last week from my cruise on the breakaway. it was in my snail mail, waiting for me...

 

as for flavors or variations of offers... yes, absolutely! the emails and direct mail pieces from NCL are intentionally vague... they just say you have a free room and invite you to call. then when you call, they tell you what you've been rated for... an inside or ocean view or balcony or suite or haven.

 

this particular offer was sent in the form of a holiday card, a "gift for you and yours,", which included the verbiage about a free room for you and a friend or family member, but it doesn't state which kind of room. if you peel off the pop-up card that says "pack your bags," all the fine print is there, including the bit about the "friend's" stateroom being for an inside cabin, regardless of whatever cabin you qualify for. it also says, naturally, that if you cancel, your friend's stateroom gets canceled, too.

 

 

I finally got my Holiday Card” late last week after I had already called and booked for next week.  But my offer definitely didn’t include the second room - just my upgrade to a free OV.  Still a phenomenal deal, but I really wish I had the offer for the second cabin.  We leave next week.  I have a friend that really wants to go, but the prices for the solos are still outrageous.

 

So definitely variations on the theme.  I guess I need to gamble more.  😂