Sail away insides?

[emarismom]

I will be retiring soon, so I have been searching lots of longer, more exotic cruises.  I have noticed that on almost all of them the sail away inside category is sold out.  Do these cabins really sell out 1 to 2 years in advance, or is NCL only selling them as part of a Free at Sea Package, thus upping the price of the cruise?  We are not real drinkers and would not benefit from these packages or the extra service charges attached to them.  How can I get the sail away inside prices?

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, emarismom said:

Do these cabins really sell out 1 to 2 years in advance, or is NCL only selling them as part of a Free at Sea Package, thus upping the price of the cruise?  We are not real drinkers and would not benefit from these packages or the extra service charges attached to them. 

I often notice them showing sold out, even on newly released itineraries.  Do you realize that you can book a "normal" FAS cabin and opt out of the beverage package?

[emarismom]

No, I didn't know that,  Let me play with that!!

 

[MeHeartCruising]

Sail Away rates are definitely not always available. I have yet to crack the code on the reasoning that makes them come and go.  But, For a cruise that is quite away out, I can see the logic in not offering these lower rates.  There is plenty of time for them to (hopefully) sell the more expensive rate rooms. 
 

Definitely look at how much the Free at Sea rate is when you deselect the beverage package.  It will reduce by the amount of the package gratuities.  You can also remove the dining plan, but that doesn’t really amount to much difference.   These lower amounts will not be as low as a Sail Away rate generally is, but at least it’s an improvement.  

[dbrown84]

25 minutes ago, emarismom said:

No, I didn't know that,  Let me play with that!!

 

the problem is you're only opting out of the gratuities.  You're still paying for the drink package in the cruise fare

[ChiefMateJRK]

16 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

the problem is you're only opting out of the gratuities.  You're still paying for the drink package in the cruise fare

Which leads to the unsolvable debate of how much of the delta between sail-away and "normal" is for the "free" beverage package (and other perks) and how much is for the ability to actually choose your cabin of choice.  It will never be solved.  For those times I book insides, I absolutely want to be able to select my cabin (i.e. ones without unneeded beds hanging off of the walls).

[YangtzeCruiser]

We've done FAS when we've traveled with family @ 3 people per cabin (using 3rd person free), but otherwise, it's sail-away for the two of us. For the amount we drink, it's not worth having a drink package, and we already get two nights of specialty dining with our Platinum status. And we don't feel the need to select our cabin. Cruises tend to be last-minute vacations for us - we typically book 30-45 days out.

[GreenFamily]

On 12/6/2022 at 4:13 PM, emarismom said:

I will be retiring soon, so I have been searching lots of longer, more exotic cruises.  I have noticed that on almost all of them the sail away inside category is sold out.  Do these cabins really sell out 1 to 2 years in advance, or is NCL only selling them as part of a Free at Sea Package, thus upping the price of the cruise?  We are not real drinkers and would not benefit from these packages or the extra service charges attached to them.  How can I get the sail away inside prices?

 

We opted out of the drinks package because the gratuities for the four of us would be $600. We can drink lemonade and ice tea. 

[cruisinmeme]

On 12/6/2022 at 5:16 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I often notice them showing sold out, even on newly released itineraries.  Do you realize that you can book a "normal" FAS cabin and opt out of the beverage package?

 

On my upcoming cruise the only difference between sail away and regular balcony was 50.00 so taking away the drink package…..do the math.

[MsTabbyKats]

On 12/6/2022 at 7:12 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Which leads to the unsolvable debate of how much of the delta between sail-away and "normal" is for the "free" beverage package (and other perks) and how much is for the ability to actually choose your cabin of choice.  It will never be solved.  For those times I book insides, I absolutely want to be able to select my cabin (i.e. ones without unneeded beds hanging off of the walls).

Had "those beds" once....never again.  It was a Family Inside on the BA.  Besides the "hanging bed issue" there was a complete lack of closet space.  The cabin was supposed to hold 4....we were only 2 and our luggage consisted of one carry-on each. It was really enough room for one!   Never again!

 

Keep in mind....you'll still get internet even if you don't want dining/drinks.  

 

My other plan...book sail away....but plan to upgrade yourself if you're unhappy with the location.

[BenDover]

Also check the sail away price for an outside view.

You can never assume one cabin type is cheaper than another cabin type with NCL.

[YangtzeCruiser]

9 hours ago, cruisinmeme said:

 

On my upcoming cruise the only difference between sail away and regular balcony was 50.00 so taking away the drink package…..do the math.

On our upcoming cruise, Inside SailAway vs, Inside+FreeAtSea was $499 vs. $609 (plus $218 in drink package gratuities). Definitely a do the math situation.

[Jerseygich]

On 12/6/2022 at 7:12 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Which leads to the unsolvable debate of how much of the delta between sail-away and "normal" is for the "free" beverage package (and other perks) and how much is for the ability to actually choose your cabin of choice.  It will never be solved.  For those times I book insides, I absolutely want to be able to select my cabin (i.e. ones without unneeded beds hanging off of the walls).

Agreed. If don’t want the drink or dining package (for us a bargain)

you are just paying extra to choose your room. And there are definitely some that are better than others. Experienced cruises know this.

[EllieinNJ]

I also looked at cruises far in advance where there were no sailaway rates and only free at sea rates.  When the sailaway rates were finally added they appeared to be the same or more than the FAS rates were then and now the FAS rates were at least $100pp more than they were previously.  I once took a balcony sailaway rate and got stuck with the privasea balcony at the very front of the ship.  Never again.  Thankfully that cruise was cancelled because of covid.