Cruise first/cruise next

[Languageman]

What it the difference between Cruise First and Cruise Next and can you use more than 1 certificate at a time?

[phillygwm]

9 hours ago, Languageman said:

What it the difference between Cruise First and Cruise Next and can you use more than 1 certificate at a time?

CruiseFirst certs are purchased online, generally in increments of $150 (for a $300 credit.)  Occasionally, NCL will run a special where it's $250 for $500.  The certs are not stackable.  

 

CruiseNext certs are only purchased onboard.  You can buy up to 4 $250 certs for an average of $125 each (if you only purchased one, it's a bit less than 50% discount...maybe $150 for $250 IIRC.)  Except for the lowest categories, you can generally stack two of these together.

 

I always made sure I had several CN certs in my account.  Now, I'll try to jump on a $250/$500 CruiseFirst opportunity if I'm thinking about planning a cruise making it less important that I buy CN certs onboard.  But if I'm onboard anyway and I know I'll be planning another NCL cruise soon, I'll usually pickup a couple.

 

Edited June 13 by phillygwm

[MathMusic]

CruiseFirst you buy online, and can only ever apply one to a booking. Can be $150 for $300 voucher or less often $250 for $500 voucher (running now).

 

CruiseNext you buy on ship on they quite often run a Double-Up promo (and rarely a triple up) where you can apply multiple vouchers. They give you on board credit for the vouchers you pay face value for.

 

CruiseFirst and CruiseNext cannot be combined. To use a CruseFirst it must be applied at time of booking. An agent will let you buy one on the phone when making the booking if you ask.

 

Cruise next can be applied later after booking if before final payment date, say when they run a double-up or triple up promo you can add the third voucher etc. 

 

Both count as the deposits for a new booking so its easy to book a new trip without initially paying cash out of pocket.

Edited June 13 by MathMusic

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, MathMusic said:

Cruise next can be applied later after booking if before final payment date.....

 

Is this new(ish)?  I remember I was given a hard time when I tried to apply one after my deposit (years ago.)  Since then, I usually keep some (or CFs) in my account so I just apply it as my deposit anyway.  Good to know for those triple-ups!

[MathMusic]

@phillygwm I'm still new to cruising so I haven't had the change to try it personally, but have read reports of people adding the extra cruisenexts during a tripleup. I think they end up repricing the trip based on the current promos, so it might not always be worth it if the room prices have gone up a lot or you have some perks you really don't want to lose that are no longer offered for new bookings.

[gzmtlock]

6 hours ago, phillygwm said:

  You can buy up to 4 $250 certs

 

FYI, on Encore last month, I was offered 8 $250 certificates.

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 hours ago, phillygwm said:

You can buy up to 4 $250 certs for an average of $125 each

Each person in the cabin can buy up to 8.  On two cruises, my wife and I both maxed out, so we came home with 16.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, MathMusic said:

I think they end up repricing the trip based on the current promos, so it might not always be worth it if the room prices have gone up a lot or you have some perks you really don't want to lose that are no longer offered for new bookings.

This is incorrect.

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, gzmtlock said:

FYI, on Encore last month, I was offered 8 $250 certificates.

 

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Each person in the cabin can buy up to 8.  On two cruises, my wife and I both maxed out, so we came home with 16.

I stand corrected.  Not sure how I came up with that, aside from that I've never bought more than 4 at a time.  I like having enough for a couple cabins but don't want so many that they might expire before I can use them (though I rarely cruise more than once a year.)

 

@ChiefMateJRK Just genuinely curious, why the need for 16?  Were you planning a family outing or something?  

[Nilbog]

9 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

I like having enough for a couple cabins but don't want so many that they might expire before I can use them (though I rarely cruise more than once a year.)

They've removed the expiration dates recently, so you no longer have to worry about that, at least for the CruiseNext certs.

[ChiefMateJRK]

17 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

 

I stand corrected.  Not sure how I came up with that, aside from that I've never bought more than 4 at a time.  I like having enough for a couple cabins but don't want so many that they might expire before I can use them (though I rarely cruise more than once a year.)

 

@ChiefMateJRK Just genuinely curious, why the need for 16?  Were you planning a family outing or something?  

It's just math.  16 future bookings x 2 CN/booking (double up) = 32.  I just bought four more in May because I was down to two and the 2026 AK itineraries should be showing up any day now.

 

I like to book B2B's, so it's basically 4 CNs per cruise.

[ChiefMateJRK]

25 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

I like having enough for a couple cabins but don't want so many that they might expire before I can use them (though I rarely cruise more than once a year.)

They no longer expire.

[DorothyB]

I successfully applied a second cruise next certificate as a partial payment to a cruise booked with a cruise next certificate as the deposit back in early May.  So, now two cruise next certificates have been applied.  I did it online and have received my confirmation.  The cruise was NOT rebooked at the current rate so all is great.

[stinkyharriet]

1 hour ago, Nilbog said:

They've removed the expiration dates recently, so you no longer have to worry about that, at least for the CruiseNext certs.

CruiseNext now expire December 31, 2099.  I think everyone here on Cruise Critic now won’t have to worry about the certificates expiring before they do!  CruiseFirst still expire in 3 years.

[Nilbog]

I think NCL entered 2099 simply because their system can’t handle 2100 or later yet. 😄

[jmw1975]

Can Cruisenext certificates be combined with future cruise credits? I have some FCCs I need to use in the next 2 years and if they can be combined, I'll definitely purchase some CN on my cruise next month.

[Asawi]

3 hours ago, jmw1975 said:

Can Cruisenext certificates be combined with future cruise credits? 

Yes

[PaperSniper4]

I booked a cruise for March 2025 two days ago. Today I was reminded about Cruise First.....wish I'd thought of it a week ago!

 

My March 2025 cruise is much more than 120 days in the future. I'd like to purchase a Cruise First certificate now for that cruise; is that possible? I know those certificates are valid for a few years, but I'd rather apply the certificate to a cruise I have booked already.

 

Anyone bought a cruise first after booking?

 

 Doug

[ggTexasGal]

20 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

I booked a cruise for March 2025 two days ago. Today I was reminded about Cruise First.....wish I'd thought of it a week ago!

 

My March 2025 cruise is much more than 120 days in the future. I'd like to purchase a Cruise First certificate now for that cruise; is that possible? I know those certificates are valid for a few years, but I'd rather apply the certificate to a cruise I have booked already.

 

Anyone bought a cruise first after booking?

 

 Doug

*CruiseFirst Credits can only be applied to new future cruise reservations of 6 days or longer. Only one CFC can be applied per stateroom. CruiseFirst Credits purchased on or after 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, January 9, 2024 are issued by Goodwill Credit, Ltd.

[PaperSniper4]

1 hour ago, ggTexasGal said:

*CruiseFirst Credits can only be applied to new future cruise reservations of 6 days or longer. Only one CFC can be applied per stateroom. CruiseFirst Credits purchased on or after 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, January 9, 2024 are issued by Goodwill Credit, Ltd.

I wonder if I can cancel the cruise I booked a few days ago, buy a cruise first certificate, get my refundable deposit credited to my cc, then re-book that cruise with the cruise first certificate. Seems like a PITA, but it would be nice to get the OBC. At my age and health, a certificate good for 3 years doesn't do me much good since I do not know for how much longer I will be cruising.

 

Sure wish I'd thought of the CF certificate BEFORE I booked!😩

 

 Doug

[ggTexasGal]

I understand how you feel about all of that.  I hope you are able to get your purchase corrected in your favor!

[dbrown84]

On 6/13/2024 at 7:04 PM, stinkyharriet said:

CruiseNext now expire December 31, 2099.  I think everyone here on Cruise Critic now won’t have to worry about the certificates expiring before they do!  CruiseFirst still expire in 3 years.

Cruise first certs no longer expire 

[Slyfox16]

Can you combine a cruise first and a cruise next certificate?

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

I wonder if I can cancel the cruise I booked a few days ago, buy a cruise first certificate, get my refundable deposit credited to my cc, then re-book that cruise with the cruise first certificate. Seems like a PITA, but it would be nice to get the OBC. At my age and health, a certificate good for 3 years doesn't do me much good since I do not know for how much longer I will be cruising.

 

Sure wish I'd thought of the CF certificate BEFORE I booked!😩

 

 Doug

Before you do anything else, call NCL and ask them to apply the CF to your existing reservation.  We have had reports of them doing this, despite the T&C's.

[PaperSniper4]

7 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Before you do anything else, call NCL and ask them to apply the CF to your existing reservation.  We have had reports of them doing this, despite the T&C's.

Thanks. I tried that, but since I booked with a non-NCL TA, I have to go through mine on Monday. Hopefully he can finagle something!

 

 Doug