New to NCL, Can someone explain the good and bad of current Promotion?

[Jimbo]

58 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Aft-Facing Suite with Large Balcony that connects to a Club Balcony "suite". One is a suite and the other is not. 

Think I would be better off booking an MA Club Balcony Suite, The  other is about $3000 more for not much larger cabin space, the difference is the other has a much larger balcony, But I'm sure we would be fine with pretty  much the standard balcony size of an MA

[The Traveling Man]

On 5/14/2022 at 3:47 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

ShoreEx as stated. $50 off per cabin per port. Use or lose at each port. 

Actually, it’s $50 per shorex.  In some ports, it’s possible to take a tour in the morning and then another in the afternoon.  The first passenger listed on the room manifest gets $50 off each tour.

[binro01]

On 5/14/2022 at 7:32 AM, Jimbo said:

I have a  regular Balcony Cabin on hold on the new ship Prima. 7 day cruise

Is this a good deal or is there a lot of restrictions associated with the FREE items listed below. There was an additional charge on my invoice for the Open Bar(Beverage Service charge) ($277) and Specialty Dining (Dining Service charge) ($35.60)........I assume these charges were for tips...........Dining, can you go all 7 nights to the speciality Dining Venues are is there a limit how many nights you can go? Wifi seems limited to150 minutes per guest, Is that right? Talkto me about the air fare, 2nd passengers flies free if I use NCL air, so is the first persons air price going to be sky high?

 

So over all is this a good deal or not?

 

GET ALL FREE OFFERS

Free Prepaid Gratuities too

•  

• FREE OPEN BAR

  Save up to $1,400 on all the spirits and cocktails, wines, draft beer, juice and soda for all guests 21 years or older.

• FREE SPECIALTY DINING

  Save up to $180 on meals at our Specialty Dining venues for Guests 1 & 2.

• FREE EXCURSIONS

  Save $50 per tour with Shore Excursion Credits.

• FREE WIFI

  Save up to $200 on internet you can use throughout the ship.

   

   

  

  FREE AIRFARE FOR 2ND GUEST

  Buy our airfare for one guest, and the second guest flies FREE. Offer includes roundtrip flights to and from where this cruise departs. Airfare is refundable under our risk-free cancellation policies.

Hi Jimbo. Seen you a lot over on the Royal board. I have a pretty popular video on my new YouTube channel breaking down the Free at Sea Promo. Give it a watch.
 

 

[dltvermont]

On 5/14/2022 at 3:36 PM, Jimbo said:

Big savings since RCCL charges $65 to $80 a day for the drink package.

The drink package doesnt only cost $20/day, that is the gratuities or service charges per day you are paying if you take their perks offer. If you were to drop the perks and get the Sail Away, your actual fare would be lower. As you know, nothing in life is truly free, NCL is charging you for all those perks, its just included in your fare.

 

That being said, we just take the perks and dont look back. I like not having to worry about my drink bill etc. I look at the fare as it is, and dont compare it to what it would be without the perks.

[binro01]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:06 AM, dltvermont said:

The drink package doesnt only cost $20/day, that is the gratuities or service charges per day you are paying if you take their perks offer. If you were to drop the perks and get the Sail Away, your actual fare would be lower. As you know, nothing in life is truly free, NCL is charging you for all those perks, its just included in your fare.

 

That being said, we just take the perks and dont look back. I like not having to worry about my drink bill etc. I look at the fare as it is, and dont compare it to what it would be without the perks.

This is very true. NCL pushes you heavily to the Free at Sea package. Their Sail Away price is usually only around $20.00/day per person cheaper than the Free at Sea package, so it really makes no sense to not get the Free at Sea package on NCL. Even if you do not drink alcohol, but do drink soda. Between that and the specialty dining, you are able to cover the cost.

 

If you are comparing to other lines, you have to look for similar itineraries, and similar ship size and age, and you will still find NCL's overall value pretty darn good for what they give you with the Free at Sea package.

If you are looking for a pure cheapest fair with no perks, NCL's value proposition starts to fall off since their Sail Away prices are usually significantly more expensive than other lines for similar itineraries on similar size and age ships with no perk package, since they are trying to push people to the Free at Sea package.

[nferr]

On 5/14/2022 at 1:55 PM, mjkacmom said:

Since the drink package only costs about $20 per day, if you drink 2+ drinks a day, it’s worth it.

 

Exactly, two cocktails are about $30, maybe more with tips. If you drink at all the package is a no brainer.

[Steam]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:06 AM, dltvermont said:

The drink package doesnt only cost $20/day, that is the gratuities or service charges per day you are paying if you take their perks offer. If you were to drop the perks and get the Sail Away, your actual fare would be lower. As you know, nothing in life is truly free, NCL is charging you for all those perks, its just included in your fare.

 

That being said, we just take the perks and dont look back. I like not having to worry about my drink bill etc. I look at the fare as it is, and dont compare it to what it would be without the perks.

Yes, technically you are being charged for the additional perks of Free at Sea but you are getting a considerable break on the actual price of those amenities. When bundled, the cost savings is considerable versus buying each piece individually. 

You're not wrong, I just wanted to clarify. 

[nferr]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:06 AM, dltvermont said:

The drink package doesnt only cost $20/day, that is the gratuities or service charges per day you are paying if you take their perks offer. If you were to drop the perks and get the Sail Away, your actual fare would be lower. As you know, nothing in life is truly free, NCL is charging you for all those perks, its just included in your fare.

 

That being said, we just take the perks and dont look back. I like not having to worry about my drink bill etc. I look at the fare as it is, and dont compare it to what it would be without the perks.

 

You're not only giving up the drinks package, you're also losing the option to pick your own location, losing specialty dinners, and losing discounted wi-fi with the sail away option. And if there's flights involved you lose the 50% off airfare. Usually not worth it unless you're absolutely looking for the bottom line price.

Edited May 27, 2022 by nferr

[hallux]

3 minutes ago, nferr said:

 

You're not only giving up the drinks package, you're also losing the option to pick your own location, losing specialty dinners, and losing discounted  wi-fi with the sail away option. And if there's fights involved you lose the 50% off airfare. Usually not worth it unless you're absolutely looking for the bottom line price.

Don't forget the $50 per port excursion credit for the first guest...

[nferr]

Just now, hallux said:

Don't forget the $50 per port excursion credit for the first guest...

 

I think that's included with Sail Away, unless they've done away with it.

[hallux]

1 minute ago, nferr said:

 

I think that's included with Sail Away, unless they've done away with it.

ahh, so it is!