NCL no longer giving OBC for price drop?

[Miss Ellsworth]

2 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I must be missing something.  If I paid for a cruise, and then 3 months later, the price drops, why would I expect the discount to apply to me?  NCL drops the price to fill unsold cabins at a discount.  I paid what I thought my cruise was worth when I booked it.  I can understand giving price breaks to cruises that are not paid off yet ( once could cancel, then re-book...much more paperwork involved for the agent, so I can see a price match).  It would be like you buy a car, then after you paid it off, the dealer has a clearance sale to sell unused inventory.  Do you go back to the dealer and say " Hey....I paid off my car 4 months ago, now I see you selling the same car for $2,000 less.  I want cash back".  I think the dealer would say, you are out of luck.

I dont think NCL cares of a passenger does not come back because they were not given a price match for a paid off cruise.  They will always have other people to fill the rooms.  Before it was a nice PR stunt, they don't need that now.  Cruises are back to being almost full with good paying customers.  So, IMO, if I see a major price drop on a cruise that I had paid off, I would say to myself " Bummer, I should have waited, but then I would not get the cabin I had selected.  So its a trade off".

I don't think this is correct. I don't think it matters whether a cruise is paid or not because they can still be cancelled for 100% refund (minus just the non refundable deposit) up until the final payment due date regardless of whether you've paid for the entire cruise or just part of it

 

So long as anyone can cancel any cruise up until final payment date, then they would be able to simply cancel and rebook at the new lower price. NCL used to credit you the difference (or difference less any non-refundable deposit) if you called and asked for the lower rate bc it was easier than having everyone cancelling and rebooking, once NCL figured out that ppl would make them do the paperwork to cancel and rebook to get the lower rate. 

 

I'm not sure they still do that, but I think they do. That's why ppl don't like the big changes, be it to price or itinerary, right after final payment date

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 minutes ago, Miss Ellsworth said:

I'm not sure they still do that, but I think they do.

I have an upcoming cruise that I paid in full about a week before final payment due.  About three days later, I had an epiphany that perhaps I should reprice to the now-guarantee only rate, which was about $600 cheaper.  I called, rebooked/repriced and they refunded my credit card.  Later on, they assigned an actual cabin, which was about ten feet away from my original cabin.  Same deck.  Same room configuration.  So, I have that going for me. 😎

[9tee2Sea]

I think folks were missing my point.  First, Im not the original poster.  Second, I know folks can cancel the cruise up to the day final payment has to be made, and that they can cancel the cruise after the final date ( minus all the penalties, they MIGHT get some funds back, perhaps).    IMO, I just dont understand why the original poster would think they are deserving of any OBC because the cruise line is having a sale to fill unsold cabins, AFTER final payment had been made, by due date.  It's the a chance one takes by booking early.  Book early, you get great room choice and perks ( and the availability to get a price reduction).  Book 90 days before cruise date, you might get a better price, but you probably won't get a great cabin, and maybe lesser perks ( remember, I said MAYBE).  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I think folks were missing my point.  First, Im not the original poster.  Second, I know folks can cancel the cruise up to the day final payment has to be made, and that they can cancel the cruise after the final date ( minus all the penalties, they MIGHT get some funds back, perhaps).    IMO, I just dont understand why the original poster would think they are deserving of any OBC because the cruise line is having a sale to fill unsold cabins, AFTER final payment had been made, by due date.  It's the a chance one takes by booking early.  Book early, you get great room choice and perks ( and the availability to get a price reduction).  Book 90 days before cruise date, you might get a better price, but you probably won't get a great cabin, and maybe lesser perks ( remember, I said MAYBE).  

And also wait to book late, and the ship might have no more available cabins.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

IMO, I just dont understand why the original poster would think they are deserving of any OBC because the cruise line is having a sale to fill unsold cabins, AFTER final payment had been made, by due date.

Do you still not understand that this is NCL's policy?  Why would any poster in their right mind (OP and others) NOT take the free money?  It has nothing to do with anybody "deserving" anything.  Have you failed to take advantage of this in the past?  Is that why you're suggesting that none of the rest of us should take advantage of a generous corporate policy?

[yakcruiser]

I don't think I'm deserving but if they are offering I'm taking. Received $550 FCC for my two cruises in May. Could have received $1100 if I would have waited longer but that's on me. 

[9tee2Sea]

My understanding of reading the original post ( again, Im not the original poster) was that they were upset that NCL was only offering them a FCC, that was good for 1 year, instead of giving OBC, or price reduction.  I agree, I would take the FCC that is valid for 1 year, even if I cant use it.  My thought was why should NCL give dollars back for a cruise that was paid off 4 months ago, and then 30 days before, there is a price drop to fill unsold cabins.  And I have called to get a price adjustment before final payment was due, not months after final payment has been made.  

[Wendy&Grumpy]

On 1/7/2023 at 9:55 AM, Liljo22 said:

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

 

They don't "have terms and conditions that they send out." That's an internal memo that a rogue employee has shared. 

[david_sobe]

When I booked my Aqua cruise I happened to ask my NCL PCC about OBC.  She has worked for NCL for almost 20 years and told me its been years since they were allowed to give OBC.  Years ago NCL did most times give OBC usually half of what the price drop was.
I think people should try and upgrade instead of trying to get money back.  However if NCL is giving FCC is really nice because they are not entitled to give anything. If no OBC and I could not upgrade then I would gladly take FCC in a heartbeat. 

[julig22]

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Years ago NCL did most times give OBC usually half of what the price drop was.
I think people should try and upgrade instead of trying to get money back.  However if NCL is giving FCC is really nice because they are not entitled to give anything. If no OBC and I could not upgrade then I would gladly take FCC in a heartbeat. 

The FCC/upgrade offer is a pretty good win-win business decision IMHO, especially when you consider that they don't have to do anything. If you pay to upgrade, they get additional income from the upgrade to a stateroom that hasn't sold yet on the open market. And you're getting an upgraded cabin. 

If they give you FCC (which is now good for 2 years BTW) it lessens the perceived "sting" of thinking you might have overpaid. If you use it, you are going to spend more money on another cruise. If you don't use it, NCL loses nothing. Giving OBC doesn't get you on another cruise which is probably one reason they stopped giving it for price drops.

[david_sobe]

46 minutes ago, julig22 said:

The FCC/upgrade offer is a pretty good win-win business decision IMHO, especially when you consider that they don't have to do anything. If you pay to upgrade, they get additional income from the upgrade to a stateroom that hasn't sold yet on the open market. And you're getting an upgraded cabin. 

If they give you FCC (which is now good for 2 years BTW) it lessens the perceived "sting" of thinking you might have overpaid. If you use it, you are going to spend more money on another cruise. If you don't use it, NCL loses nothing. Giving OBC doesn't get you on another cruise which is probably one reason they stopped giving it for price drops.

NCL and other lines have found ways to maximize their profits over the years.  Fewer discounts, fewer perks and no more OBC.

I miss the OBC for the stories alone.  The lengths people would go to shaming themselves for OBC for the most ridiculous reasons was quite entertaining.  They had no hesitations to share those stories here.  Found a sock under the bed?  Where is my compensation and OBC.  Had a bad meal, where is my OBC.  Missed a port, where is my OBC. The toilet clogged, where is my OBC!!!

I remember getting $40 OBC for my first NCL cruise just for the booking. I knew someone that worked at a NCL call center talking to people complaining about their cruise.  The stories he would tell me.  A woman complained that her "single" cruise was a meat market and she never met anyone quality and demanded OBC.  Sure enough his job was to hand out OBC.  I think $40 OBC was the standard back then.  You could get $40 OBC for just about any complaint you called about.

 

Edited August 1 by david_sobe