NCL no longer giving OBC for price drop?

[trbarton]

I was after final payment & noticed that an inside stateroom was cheaper than my studio on the Getaway for a February cruise. My T/A called NCL & I was given a complimentary upgrade to an inside. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

8 hours ago, CRUZERWANNABE said:

Has anyone tried for an upgrade instead? Pre-pandemic we either got OBC or an upgrade. I wouldn't mind an upgrade on my next cruise.

 

I was after final payment & noticed that an inside stateroom was cheaper than my studio on the Getaway for a February cruise. My T/A called NCL & I was given a complimentary upgrade to an inside. 
 

Now I have 3 bids for an upgrade, Ocean View, Balcony & Club Balcony Suite. I’m new to NCL so I’m curious as to what might happen. I would be extremely happy if I got the suite, a present for myself, just once. 
 

Tom😀

[jean95404]

Over $1,5K price drop in the room we reserved.  We asked for onboard credit, NCL said "no" so we asked for an upgrade.  They hemmed and hawwed, but we did  get a very nice upgrade

[sacteach]

14 hours ago, njkate said:

Yes, been this way since the restart. It expires in one year, can not be transferred and regardless of who paid it is split between the first and second passenger.

 

I went on the Bliss in July with a friend. The price dropped $1393 each after final payment. We each got the FCC once our cruise ended and my friend was able to transfer her credit to me. The rules stated that it could be transferred one time. 

I used my credit to book Prima in March (made my cruise fare only $30) and I used my friend's credit to book Jewel in May reducing my part of the cruise fare to $100 I think. 

[njkate]

6 hours ago, sacteach said:

 

I went on the Bliss in July with a friend. The price dropped $1393 each after final payment. We each got the FCC once our cruise ended and my friend was able to transfer her credit to me. The rules stated that it could be transferred one time. 

I used my credit to book Prima in March (made my cruise fare only $30) and I used my friend's credit to book Jewel in May reducing my part of the cruise fare to $100 I think. 

Hmmm not so for me: The below is for price drop FCC doesn’t apply to other FCC;

 

Effective 
The FCC will be available for the guests to use upon completion of the sailing on their current reservation.
It may not be applied to the reservation that the price drop took place on.
The price drop amount will be tied to pricing on the reservation at the time the request was submitted. 
Guest must apply the FCC to a new reservation , and sail, within 1 year from the end of the voyage that the price drop occurred on. 
Sailings less than 6 days are not eligible for consideration.
Reservations within 14 days of sailing are not eligible for consideration.
FCC applicability:
FCC to be issued is not combinable with suspended sailing discount FCCs (10%, 25% or 50%)
FCC to be issued will only be applicable towards sailings 6 days or longer
FCC is non-transferable and non-refundable
Only 1 price drop FCC may be issued per qualified reservation
FCC will be issued to guests 1 and 2 on the reservation only
There will be NO exceptions to the above.  Please remember that price drops are done as a courtesy for our guests and that this is not an official policy.

Edited January 7, 2023 by njkate

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, njkate said:

Hmmm not so for me: The below is for price drop FCC doesn’t apply to other FCC;

 

Effective 
The FCC will be available for the guests to use upon completion of the sailing on their current reservation.
It may not be applied to the reservation that the price drop took place on.
The price drop amount will be tied to pricing on the reservation at the time the request was submitted. 
Guest must apply the FCC to a new reservation , and sail, within 1 year from the end of the voyage that the price drop occurred on. 
Sailings less than 6 days are not eligible for consideration.
Reservations within 14 days of sailing are not eligible for consideration.
FCC applicability:
FCC to be issued is not combinable with suspended sailing discount FCCs (10%, 25% or 50%)
FCC to be issued will only be applicable towards sailings 6 days or longer
FCC is non-transferable and non-refundable
Only 1 price drop FCC may be issued per qualified reservation
FCC will be issued to guests 1 and 2 on the reservation only
There will be NO exceptions to the above.  Please remember that price drops are done as a courtesy for our guests and that this is not an official policy.

That last line is weird.  If they have terms and conditions that they send out, it is an official policy.

[njkate]

21 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

That last line is weird.  If they have terms and conditions that they send out, it is an official policy.

Over the years I've noticed it all depends on what rep you get,  you can call 3x get 3 different reps and 3 different answers, In any case I had called for something else and rep noticed the price drop, I don't check after final. It was a $1600 drop, so $800 was put in my account and $800 went to my sons account.

I applied mine to my Dawn cruise in March, my sons will just sit and expire as he doesn't cruise much and it can't be transferred, no biggie as I had not even been looking and t was a nice little bonus

Edited January 7, 2023 by njkate

[disneylover89]

23 hours ago, trivimp said:

 

This has been true since the restart.  In honesty, "no adjustments after final payment" had been the rule since forever, but NCL made so many exceptions that everyone had come to expect OBC after the inevitable price drop.  I'm kind of glad they are holding somewhat firmer now.  It still seems wishy-washy to me that people routinely expect FCC after they have entered a contract to pay such-and-such price.  

Not true.  I sailed on the Encore to Alaska last year and the cost decreased by $1,250 after final payment. I had 2 cabins and all 4 of us received a FCC good for 1 year of $625.  We are sailing this summer because of this credit on the Escape. 

[vacation44]

2 hours ago, njkate said:

Hmmm not so for me: The below is for price drop FCC doesn’t apply to other FCC;

 

Effective 
The FCC will be available for the guests to use upon completion of the sailing on their current reservation.
It may not be applied to the reservation that the price drop took place on.
The price drop amount will be tied to pricing on the reservation at the time the request was submitted. 
Guest must apply the FCC to a new reservation , and sail, within 1 year from the end of the voyage that the price drop occurred on. 
Sailings less than 6 days are not eligible for consideration.
Reservations within 14 days of sailing are not eligible for consideration.
FCC applicability:
FCC to be issued is not combinable with suspended sailing discount FCCs (10%, 25% or 50%)
FCC to be issued will only be applicable towards sailings 6 days or longer
FCC is non-transferable and non-refundable
Only 1 price drop FCC may be issued per qualified reservation
FCC will be issued to guests 1 and 2 on the reservation only
There will be NO exceptions to the above.  Please remember that price drops are done as a courtesy for our guests and that this is not an official policy.

These are the terms and conditions I received this week when I received $640 FCC this week for our upcoming March cruise.   The only noticeable difference from the last FCC we received is that it cannot be used on a 5 day cruise.  We were allowed to last year and did.   But still thrilled as we plan to apply it to our August cruise when we get back from our March sailing. 

[njkate]

29 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

These are the terms and conditions I received this week when I received $640 FCC this week for our upcoming March cruise.   The only noticeable difference from the last FCC we received is that it cannot be used on a 5 day cruise.  We were allowed to last year and did.   But still thrilled as we plan to apply it to our August cruise when we get back from our March sailing. 

That’s great! I enjoyed applying a $800 FCC when I received it last July to my March cruise on Dawn.

I do think some people get confused as an FCC given because of a price drop after final has different terms and conditions from an FCC due to cancellation 

[Blueberry89]

20 hours ago, fox02554 said:

we had a huge price drop with one of the holiday sales , was offered FCC or upgrade , after COVID i am sick of dealing with FCC's we took the upgrade 😄

I’m looking at upgrading as well but I’m concerned about losing some perks. My cruise was booked 18 months ago when Platinum Plus was still a thing (and before they reduced some benefits) It’s a 15 day cruise so I think I get 5 specialty dining.

 

Do they still consider an upgrade a new booking?

[trivimp]

5 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

Not true.  I sailed on the Encore to Alaska last year and the cost decreased by $1,250 after final payment. I had 2 cabins and all 4 of us received a FCC good for 1 year of $625.  We are sailing this summer because of this credit on the Escape. 

 

Then you are agreeing with me, I said they are giving FCC now instead of OBC 

[Vegasgreg19]

That's what happened to us. Our price dropped so they submitted it and told us it would be a FCC not OBC. We then received an email saying that they reviewed it and the price drop was not the same for the offer we booked on so not FCC or anything. 

[TrumpyNor]

To me, 100% FCC instead of 25% OBC (percentage of course of the actual price drop) is a better deal - no question about that! I am very happy with the change! 

[CaptainBazz]

Our upcoming South Pacific cruise fare dropped $2k after final payment...DW called and we got a FCC for $2k to be used within 12 months after the cruise.

[vacation44]

12 minutes ago, CaptainBazz said:

Our upcoming South Pacific cruise fare dropped $2k after final payment...DW called and we got a FCC for $2k to be used within 12 months after the cruise.

Nice!   

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

To me, 100% FCC instead of 25% OBC (percentage of course of the actual price drop) is a better deal - no question about that! I am very happy with the change! 

It’s only better if you can make use of the FCC. With the 12-month sail-by deadline, not everyone can. 

[eileeshb]

I’m curious have any European customers been given FCC for a price drop? Our t&cs have changed again to be final payment 30days before sailing (at least for a studio anyway). 
 

i don’t particularly want to do the cancel/rebook approach as the free at sea benefits and daily service charges have changed from when I originally booked. Also one of the cruise next credits I used was due to expire at the end of 2022 (a covid extended one) so I think it will disappear if I do a rebooking. 

[Hadacareer]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:29 PM, Boschmann said:

 

I had a price drop one month before sailing,  called in to NCL and was told I would get the difference as FCC after the sailing was completed.   Waited a month after sailing and no FCC.  Now NCL resolutions are saying I never requested it but my PCC can see the request in the system. 

 

[Hadacareer]

Weird, mine came as email before my cruise..another reason I have a great TA to run interference with NCL

[TrumpyNor]

On 1/6/2023 at 6:06 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Same thing happened to us, that is exactly the new procedure they are following now.  No longer OBC worth a % of the drop, but 100% of the drop as an FCC.  I was told the FCC would not be issued until the end of the cruise on which the price had dropped, AND not only has to be applied to a cruise within 12 months after issued, but that new cruise has to SAIL within those 12 months.   

This is the case for me: 

 I have currently a rather expensive cruise booked for August 4-15, 2023 - where it may be very possible that the price will drop significantly after the final payment date which is at the beginning of April 2023. My next NCL cruise is booked for August 15-26, 2024. 

 

So the important question in my case then would be as follows:

IF I received some FCC because of a price drop for the 2023 cruise, would I be able to apply that to the 2024 cruise, or would I just miss it by ONE day.....? 

Edited February 2, 2023 by TrumpyNor
misspelled

[Panhandle Couple]

On 1/6/2023 at 1:10 PM, schmoopie17 said:

Hit the nail on the head. Which is why they don't refund your money. Instead, they appear to be doing you a favor by moving money you already paid to partially pay for another cruise. That means you either book another cruise (more money for NCL) or you don't book another cruise within a year and they end up keeping your money. They win either way.

On the other hand, Tesla, and now Ford, has dropped their EV prices by $5,000 to $8,000 per car.  They are not offering any money back for someone who took delivery 2 weeks before the price drop.

 

The local store sells steak for $10.99 /lb.  On a 1 day sale it can drop to $6.99/lb.  Does anyone go back and ask for their $4 back per steak?

 

NCL policy here helps them and the consumer.  If I have a limited time FCC of over $1,000, I will find a way to spend it in 12 months, and I think most people will as well.

[Panhandle Couple]

7 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

This is the case for me: 

 I have currently a rather expensive cruise booked for August 4-15, 2023 - where it may be very possible that the price will drop significantly after the final payment date which is at the beginning of April 2023. My next NCL cruise is booked for August 15-26, 2024. 

 

So the important question in my case then would be as follows:

IF I received some FCC because of a price drop for the 2023 cruise, would I be able to apply that to the 2024 cruise, or would I just miss it by ONE day.....? 

I believe NCL wants you to use the FCC when you book the cruise, not on final payment.

But I could be wrong.  It would be better to ask a TA.

 

[victory2020]

I booked a cruise 2 days ago for this October.  today it was down $70.My agent got the reduction & told me NCL will only do one price drop - even before final payment. Is this true?

[vacation44]

25 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

I booked a cruise 2 days ago for this October.  today it was down $70.My agent got the reduction & told me NCL will only do one price drop - even before final payment. Is this true?

No.   I received eight price reductions before final payment for our upcoming March cruise. Then received $640 in FFC after final payment.