Of course not free as advertised, but the $50 off excursions is really $45 for many

[ontheweb]

If you are at least silver, you get 10% off excursions as a perk. And this is after the $50 off for the "free" excursions.

 

An example, and I will use $100 as the cost of the excursion as it is an easy number to work with.

 

Passenger #1 would pay $100 less $50, so that would be $50. Then with 10% off pay $45.

 

Passenger #2 without the "free excursion would pay $100 less 10% for $90.

 

As you can see the savings for the $50 off is really $45. ($90 less $45 = $45.)

[DCGuy64]

Doesn't the fact that you ultimately paid less outweigh the amount of the savings? It seems to me you're focusing on the latter instead of the former. You still end up ahead, as I see it.

Edited May 11, 2023 by DCGuy64

[MoCruiseFan]

Wow some people just LOOK for reasons to complain, LOL.

Nice try but WRONG.

It works like this... They take the $50 off FIRST then apply the 10% to the remaining balance.

 

$75 excursion, less $50 is $25.  Less 15% (Sapphire) is another 3275 discount, remaining cost is 21.25.  You are getting the entire $50 discount and 15% discount off of what you would otherwise pay.

[MoCruiseFan]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Doesn't the fact that you ultimately paid less outweigh the amount of the savings? It seems to me you're focusing on the latter instead of the former. You still end up ahead, as I see it.

 

Ge is probably "demanding" $5.00 OBC!  HA HA HA

[ChiefMateJRK]

This one should be fun.

[hawkeyetlse]

6 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Nice try but WRONG.

Everyone is correct. NCL is applying a full $50 credit, but if you also qualify for a Latitudes discount, you won’t actually save $50 compared to what you would otherwise have paid. But that’s just how it is. NCL isn’t doing anything wrong, they just didn’t choose to do things in the most generous way. Oh well. 

[graphicguy]

Next time you’re ordering a drink on board, tip the bartender/waitstaff that extra $5 and tell them it’s courtesy of extra Excursion credit.  That way you won’t feel badly about not using the entire $50 excursion credit.

[bedfordmom]

To make it more interesting I have found that they add on $25 onto the excursion to make the free $50. Before you flame me, I have direct experience.  On RCCI, I did the waterfalls in the Dominican Republic which was like $75pp. Now NCL has the exact same excursion  at least $25 more, (maybe more)  so with my husband it would be $50 more, but whala with the free at sea, it was almost the same as RCCI.  Now thats Norwegian math.

[DCGuy64]

11 minutes ago, bedfordmom said:

To make it more interesting I have found that they add on $25 onto the excursion to make the free $50. Before you flame me, I have direct experience.  On RCCI, I did the waterfalls in the Dominican Republic which was like $75pp. Now NCL has the exact same excursion  at least $25 more, (maybe more)  so with my husband it would be $50 more, but whala with the free at sea, it was almost the same as RCCI.  Now thats Norwegian math.

That's crazy, next you'll be telling me that when NCL gives a person 10% off a future cruise, they raise the prices by 10% (or more). Impossible! 🤣

[hawkeyetlse]

I had a closer look at my folio from last week. My Latitudes discount didn’t get applied automatically, so I waited until all my excursions were done, all the $50 credits were applied, and then I went to the shorex desk to request the discount. It turns out that if you do it this way, you might get lucky and they apply the Latitudes discount to the full price of each excursion (while also leaving all the $50 credits in place)… 🤞 

[bedfordmom]

25 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

I had a closer look at my folio from last week. My Latitudes discount didn’t get applied automatically, so I waited until all my excursions were done, all the $50 credits were applied, and then I went to the shorex desk to request the discount. It turns out that if you do it this way, you might get lucky and they apply the Latitudes discount to the full price of each excursion (while also leaving all the $50 credits in place)… 🤞 

Yes that happened to me on my last cruise.  My excursion was cancelled and when I walked away, I realized it and there was a huge line. The cruise next (next to it) advised me to wait until the last sea days to address it.  I was so glad that I didn't listen to them as shore ex wasn't even open then (why would they), I basically got back in line to get my discount.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Doesn't the fact that you ultimately paid less outweigh the amount of the savings? It seems to me you're focusing on the latter instead of the former. You still end up ahead, as I see it.

My post was just more a matter of stating facts than making a complaint.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, hawkeyetlse said:

Everyone is correct. NCL is applying a full $50 credit, but if you also qualify for a Latitudes discount, you won’t actually save $50 compared to what you would otherwise have paid. But that’s just how it is. NCL isn’t doing anything wrong, they just didn’t choose to do things in the most generous way. Oh well. 

Right I was just stating the facts of what they do rather than making a complaint. At least calling the excursion department we got our 10% off. I have read that this is often not done onboard.

 

And i did ask if the 10% off was before or after the $50 off. I wonder how often they get that question.

[hawkeyetlse]

14 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And i did ask if the 10% off was before or after the $50 off. I wonder how often they get that question.

They used to say explicitly in the Free at Sea terms that they would do it in the "bad" order (–$50 first, then Latitudes percentage discount), but that statement seems to have disappeared.

 

And this post from a year ago suggests that they apply the discounts in the "good" order if you wait to book on board, but I don't know how accurate that is. Personally, I wouldn't count on it, and just feel pleasantly surprised if it happens that way.

[dachengdao]

2 hours ago, hawkeyetlse said:

I had a closer look at my folio from last week. My Latitudes discount didn’t get applied automatically, so I waited until all my excursions were done, all the $50 credits were applied, and then I went to the shorex desk to request the discount. It turns out that if you do it this way, you might get lucky and they apply the Latitudes discount to the full price of each excursion (while also leaving all the $50 credits in place)… 🤞 

Thank you for this tip because we didn't see our latitudes credit applied to our $50 off excursions for our December cruise either until receiving the invoice after we paid in the app. However, there was just a free excursion to St. John's Beach that popped up in the app and I grabbed it.  The invoice I received had it at a total of $129 at a $129 discount.  Is there an excursion fairy??? 

[julig22]

5 hours ago, hawkeyetlse said:

They used to say explicitly in the Free at Sea terms that they would do it in the "bad" order (–$50 first, then Latitudes percentage discount), but that statement seems to have disappeared.

 

And this post from a year ago suggests that they apply the discounts in the "good" order if you wait to book on board, but I don't know how accurate that is. Personally, I wouldn't count on it, and just feel pleasantly surprised if it happens that way.

As written in the Promo T&Cs:

 

In the case of multiple excursion credits or discounts, the $50 Shore Excursion Credit will be applied first followed by any additional shore excursion discounts

[The Traveling Man]

9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

If you are at least silver, you get 10% off excursions as a perk. And this is after the $50 off for the "free" excursions.

 

An example, and I will use $100 as the cost of the excursion as it is an easy number to work with.

 

Passenger #1 would pay $100 less $50, so that would be $50. Then with 10% off pay $45.

 

Passenger #2 without the "free excursion would pay $100 less 10% for $90.

 

As you can see the savings for the $50 off is really $45. ($90 less $45 = $45.)

Google Wikipedia "missing dollar riddle."

[Ozmodiar]

Although it would obviously save some money for those of us with Latitudes standing to apply the Latitudes percent discount first, then the $50 off, the way they do it actually matches what is promised. 

 

$100 excursion, first person in the cabin gets $50 off.

New or Bronze pays $50.00.

Silver/Gold/Platinum pays $45.00, or an additional 10% discount (compared to new/Bronze).

Saphire/Diamond pays $42.50, or an additional 15% discount (compared to new/Bronze).

Ambassador pays $40.00, or an additional 20% discount (compared to new/Bronze).

 

If they did it the other way around (and note the additional discount will vary based on the cost of the excursion):

New or Bronze pays $50.00.

Silver/Gold/Platinum pays $40.00, or an additional 20% discount (compared to new/Bronze).

Saphire/Diamond pays $35.00, or an additional 30% discount (compared to new/Bronze).

Ambassador pays $30.00, or an additional 40% discount (compared to new/Bronze).

 

As a solo traveler soon to be Saphire, this is probably the most valuable perk I get from NCL - so let's not even discuss changing it lest it gets watered down... 😏

[casofilia]

The $50 off is always $50 off (for the first person in the booking), the difference is what the %age off for latitudes comes out at.

The $50 off is taken off first as that applies to only 1 person and is part of the actual Free at Sea offer.

The Latitude %age only applies to certain passengers and is taken of after.

One has to come before the other after all.

[eileeshb]

I dunno about the North American site but the European site processed my latitudes discount in addition to the excursion credit on excursions no problems. Of course I’m dealing with prices being ever varied thanks to the €/$ exchange rates but for this booking I’m also managing the excursion bookings for a friend on her first cruise so she has no latitudes discount at all. Comparing the prices I’ve paid for each they appear to be in line with what they should be, of course we are in 2 separate cabins as we have each booked a studio hence the fact we’re both getting the $50 credit. 
One of the perks on FAS+ is that guest #2 also gets the excursion credit.

 

I also checked the excursion prices for booking independently and the excursion credit does make them cheaper, not massively so but enough that the assurance of the cruiseline coordination is a plus factor. I will say my upcoming cruise is Alaska in October so a lot of the usual excursion providers don’t even take bookings that late in the season which left independent options thin on the ground. But I could do a straight compare for the white pass railway in Skagway and the NCL price worked out cheaper. 

[jimsig]

So on my last cruise I did an excursion that was only $35 so in the end I got it for free.  I demand that $15 plus the Silver Lat discount I didn't get.  I'll take it in cash or refundable OBC on my next cruise.

🙄🙄🙄

[jimsig]

On 5/11/2023 at 12:53 PM, bedfordmom said:

To make it more interesting I have found that they add on $25 onto the excursion to make the free $50. Before you flame me, I have direct experience.  On RCCI, I did the waterfalls in the Dominican Republic which was like $75pp. Now NCL has the exact same excursion  at least $25 more, (maybe more)  so with my husband it would be $50 more, but whala with the free at sea, it was almost the same as RCCI.  Now thats Norwegian math.

They have been doing this for years.  Back in 2016 I did the Alaskan Crab Boat tour in Ketchikan.  I forget the exact numbers but NCL wanted say around $225 and someone posted the Princess price and it was about $190.  Booking directly was $175.  No transportation was needed as at the time the crab boat docked at the same dock as NCL.  Needless to say I booked directly.  

[julig22]

On 5/11/2023 at 9:53 AM, bedfordmom said:

To make it more interesting I have found that they add on $25 onto the excursion to make the free $50. Before you flame me, I have direct experience.  On RCCI, I did the waterfalls in the Dominican Republic which was like $75pp. Now NCL has the exact same excursion  at least $25 more, (maybe more)  so with my husband it would be $50 more, but whala with the free at sea, it was almost the same as RCCI.  Now thats Norwegian math.

Yea, that's not how it works.  They might raise the price, they might not.  But they don't just arbitrarily add $25 to everything.  Comparing exact same excursion, different cruiselines, can be a little difficult, due to differences in transportation logistics, etc. 

 

Simple example:

Goldbelt Tramway in Juneau - $50 ($35 child) if you buy online or onsite.  $49 ($29 child) with NCL. So actually free for #1 passenger, cheaper altogether for a child.  

[KeithJenner]

2 hours ago, jimsig said:

So on my last cruise I did an excursion that was only $35 so in the end I got it for free.  I demand that $15 plus the Silver Lat discount I didn't get.  I'll take it in cash or refundable OBC on my next cruise.

🙄🙄🙄

We didn't get it free in this situation. We were charged 1p each for the excursions. 🙂

[Panhandle Couple]

On 5/11/2023 at 11:23 AM, ontheweb said:

If you are at least silver, you get 10% off excursions as a perk. And this is after the $50 off for the "free" excursions.

 

An example, and I will use $100 as the cost of the excursion as it is an easy number to work with.

 

Passenger #1 would pay $100 less $50, so that would be $50. Then with 10% off pay $45.

 

Passenger #2 without the "free excursion would pay $100 less 10% for $90.

 

As you can see the savings for the $50 off is really $45. ($90 less $45 = $45.)

Amazingly, this is the exact same method Kohl's and any other department store, auto parts store, and grocery stores use for combining a cash discount and a percentage reduction.