Pricing on NCL Has Gotten Outrageous

[dexddd]

Don't follow or see how MSC does solos, but we were lucky enough to book DM in YC on Mera last year sans a supplement.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

Not to mention the Veteran's discount (which is one key reason we stay with NCL).

?? Many lines offer veterans incentives, no?

[Seas2mountains]

I agree with points made by several others regarding why NCL can offer better value 

I think the NCL cruise you used as an example is still a peak summer time sailing as school doesn't start until after Labor Day in many parts of the country. Sometimes that is the best time for parents to take kids on cruises as there can be a mini-break between summer sports and school sports schedules. 

For someone traveling with kids, the Enchanted Princess does not have the water slides and ropes course that Escape offers. We have had our granddaughter on the Escape and she loved the slides and ropes course but was a bit disappointed when we took her on the Gem with no slides although she had a wonderful time. That is part of the reason why NCL knows they can charge higher prices and fill the ship.

I have sailed on MSC and will sail again but only if we can book in the Yacht Club. Our experience in the general population areas of MSC were not great experiences compared to NCL. The prices MSC offers can be quite great deals but sometimes there are trade offs with the type of behavior of the passengers on those low cost cruises. We saw things happen on MSC that we have not seen on any other cruise ship. 

 

We have several NCL cruises booked in Club Balcony suites with no concerns. We understand that some might choose to deal with a lower quality product to save money but we are willing to pay more for better quality and no one can convince me that the general population areas of MSC are equivalent to NCL general population areas. No way!  The pizza is delicious on MSC!

 

We have a mix of NCL and Celebrity cruises booked and do not think we are wasting our money or missing out. We also qualify for the Veteran 10% discount on NCL and have done status match on MSC. We do plan to book an MSC cruise in the future but won't do it as often as the other options. Our one experience on Princess was not better than NCL in our opinion.

[Seas2mountains]

21 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

?? Many lines offer veterans incentives, no?

Yes, but others aren't as generous. However, MSC does offer a 10% military discount, too. 

 

Celebrity - our next sailing has what is a 6.5% military discount.

 

Princess

Military benefits: up to $250 free onboard spending money*

Voyage Length	Onboard Credit per Qualified Passenger**
6 days or less	$50
7 - 13 days	$100
14 days or longer	$250

Edited July 28 by Seas2mountains

[vswan]

Have traveled most of the main stream cruise lines over the years. Am not loyal to any one brand, but rather look at price/value, itinerary and calendar. When we started cruising many moons ago we would budget for $1000pp all in - including airfare. We would book whatever cabin category would work for that budget for a 7 day cruise. Amazingly, this formula worked quite well for many years. Then it became $1000pp not including airfare.

 

Things have changed not only for the cruise lines, but also for my wants/needs. Now I'm traveling solo, and I would have a very hard time booking anything other than a balcony - that changed about 5 years ago- before covid. After covid, I have become much more concerned with having an outdoor personal space and am willing to pay for it. I am also now having to pay a single supplement, am retired so the calendar isn't really an issue anymore, and find that I'm comfortable with NCL because of their solo passenger programs. I generally don't drink enough to even cover the FAS gratuities on the package, but order it anyway and don't have to worry about it. As a solo I get the $50 off shore excursion (which I now prefer as a solo), as well as the internet/specialty dining.

 

For me, cruising is a comfortable way to travel as a solo. It's familiar and although I wouldn't hesitate to travel on one of my other favorite lines, NCL has a great solo product that I'm willing to pay for if I want to go solo.

[KKB]

45 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Ketchikan isn’t all that interesting.  Been there twice.  I do like Juneau, though!  Haven’t dug deep enough on either port to see what they’re doing!

 

I know I took the bus from the Ketchikan port area and ended up coming back to the ship fairly quickly!

 

The Joy is a cool ship.  Sailed it last month and enjoyed it immensely!

In Ketchikan we went to the Asylum bar--fun little bar & GREAT bloody Mary's!

We also hit another local bar further into town. Yeah, not much. We love Juneau too.

 

Yeah, the Joy is a 10 day New England/Canada trip--new ship & itinerary for me. 

[luv2kroooz]

21 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Yes, but others aren't as generous. However, MSC does offer a 10% military discount, too. 

 

Celebrity - our next sailing has what is a 6.5% military discount.

 

Princess

Military benefits: up to $250 free onboard spending money*

Voyage Length	Onboard Credit per Qualified Passenger**
6 days or less	$50
7 - 13 days	$100
14 days or longer	$250

?? So I can get a $100 obc on princess for a seven day cruise vs 10% off a cruise fare on NCL? Sounds like NCL would be a better value if the base cruise fare exceeds $1000. We are last minute sailors, so we rarely pay more than $500 for a seven day cruise. Our last 16 day TA on NCL had a bae fare of $549. So, I guess it depends on base fare. NCL can be more generous or other lines can be more generous. Pays to be an informed consumer.

Edited July 28 by luv2kroooz

[Seas2mountains]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

I've been looking at these cruises for months...but the times in Juneau & Ketchikan are horrible...especially with where they are docking & tender & bus to town required. 

I mean--how much will be open in town at 6 or 7AM??!! 

I'm eyeing the Joy on Sept. 2. With a My Vegas $500 & CruiseNext it could be close to free...

Gotta wait 2 weeks to snag another MyVegas voucher.

Look at the Joy for Summer 2025 in Alaska for port times. We are booked on one that is 10 days long and the times in port are much longer than the 7 day Encore or Bliss cruises. Juneau may still be considered to be a bit short. Otherwise, the ones that are one way from Vancouver to Seward (soon to be Whittier) or vice versa tend to offer better port times.

 

If you have not been to Alaska, going to Glacier Bay is a must in my opinion as the other glaciers tend to get canceled or they turn back too soon to see anything unless you pay for an excursion.

 

Land Tours And Cruise Ports	Arrive	Depart	Booked
Fri	Seattle, Washington	---	5:00 PM	0
Sat	At Sea	---	---	0
Sun	Juneau, Alaska	3:00 PM	10:00 PM	0
Mon	Skagway, Alaska	7:00 AM	7:00 PM	0
Tue	Hubbard Glacier, Alaska	---	---	0
Wed	Icy Strait Point, Alaska	7:00 AM	8:00 PM	0
Thu	Sitka, Alaska	7:00 AM	5:00 PM	0
Fri	Ketchikan (Ward Cove), Alaska	8:00 AM	8:00 PM	0
Sat	At Sea	---	---	0
Sun	Victoria, British Columbia	8:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Mon	Seattle, Washington (Flight Departure)	6:00 AM	---	0

Due to security reasons, all guests must be on board 2 hours before sailing. Disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking. Itineraries are subject to change at any time without notice.

[Barb Nahoumi]

On 7/27/2024 at 9:03 AM, njkate said:

I totally agree Jamie! I have a 4 day cruise from Orlando end of August, that was only because my grandson kept bugging me to go on a cruise before school and for me no air involved!

 

Then I’m taking a break from NCL as their pricing has gone nuts, plus they seem to be the leader in canceling/switching ports for no legitimate reason! They did it to me back in June based on guest feedback,BS, to enhance guest experience again BS!! Always always after final payment! I had no desire to go to Mexico if I did would of booked a cruise with Mexico 

I booked a land vacation in France for spring of next year and I’m looking at Iceland, Norway, Greenland on Princess 

I know Greenland gets canceled a lot but at least it’s a legit reason Ice/Wind 

 

Ill have to look at MSC website and see what they have!

My status on NCl, well a free bag of laundry and some chocolate strawberries is not enough to entice me to pay their ridiculous fares!

I once read that NCL has one of the highest DSCs, which they raised last year at the same time as removing the evening turn down service.  I don't care about not having evening turndown service, but don't ask for higher service charges and reduce services to the passengers.  If they want to reduce a service, reduce the service charge.  I don't even like chocolate covered strawberries.

 

 

 

 

[Oakman58]

17 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Like all cruise lines, a little shopping goes a long way.  NCL has some killer deals to

Alaska this October.  They also have killer trans-Atlantic sailings this December.  All less than $200/nite per cabin with FREE AT SEA!

 

Matter of fact, the transatlantic is well under that amount.

 

We all have preferences.  I have issues with MSC, but have sailed them.  Princess I have not sailed, but I’ve yet to find one of their sailings that “floats my boat”.

 

NCL puts my preferred bourbon in the “plus”.  Category.  But, my 2nd favorite (Buffalo Trace)  is included in Free At Sea.  I’m OK with that.

 

This is why there are so many choices.  NCL has scratched my cruise itch the last few years.  I’ve enjoyed them all.  That doesn’t keep me from looking around!

 

 

 

The only way I would do an Alaskan cruise in October would be if I were hoping and praying to see the Northern Lights.  The salmon run ends in August, the Humpback whales begin their migration to Hawaii and Mexico in September, many tours quit operating by October, bears are deeper in the forests looking to hibernate, and the weather, for the most part, ain't pretty. High temperatures in October will average around 50 degrees and there will be over 20 days of rain.  There's a reason NCL is the only cruise line still operating in Alaska for the month of October. I am amazed enough people book those cruises to make it profitable.

[graphicguy]

11 minutes ago, KKB said:

In Ketchikan we went to the Asylum bar--fun little bar & GREAT bloody Mary's!

We also hit another local bar further into town. Yeah, not much. We love Juneau too.

 

Yeah, the Joy is a 10 day New England/Canada trip--new ship & itinerary for me. 

Love that itinerary and love the Joy!

 

I like Juneau!  Would go there again if/when I sail to Alaska, again!  

 

If Ketchikan was  on the Alaskan itineraries I would not even get off the ship for that port!

[graphicguy]

3 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

The only way I would do an Alaskan cruise in October would be if I were hoping and praying to see the Northern Lights.  The salmon run ends in August, the Humpback whales begin their migration to Hawaii and Mexico in September, many tours quit operating by October, bears are deeper in the forests looking to hibernate, and the weather, for the most part, ain't pretty. High temperatures in October will average around 50 degrees and there will be over 20 days of rain.  There's a reason NCL is the only cruise line still operating in Alaska for the month of October. I am amazed enough people book those cruises to make it profitable.

I’ve done Alaska itinerary in October.  Found it  to be an amazing experience!  Would do it again in a heart beat given the lower fares that time of year!  

 

8 minutes ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

I once read that NCL has one of the highest DSCs, which they raised last year at the same time as removing the evening turn down service.  I don't care about not having evening turndown service, but don't ask for higher service charges and reduce services to the passengers.  If they want to reduce a service, reduce the service charge.  I don't even like chocolate covered strawberries.

 

 

 

 

Have always preached, it’s the total out of pocket that’s important.  DSC is only one part of that equation.  Looking at the total  invoice with all the components included is apples to apples!

[luv2kroooz]

31 minutes ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

I once read that NCL has one of the highest DSCs, which they raised last year at the same time as removing the evening turn down service.  I don't care about not having evening turndown service, but don't ask for higher service charges and reduce services to the passengers.  If they want to reduce a service, reduce the service charge.  I don't even like chocolate covered strawberries.

 

 

 

 

What you read is correct. But, regrettably no, I am not expecting them to reduce the service charge or increase service any time soon. There are many lines that still offer 2x daily turndown service at an even lower DSC. Everyone has to decide what is important to them and the price they are willing to pay and then act accordingly. We vote with our wallets.

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

I once read that NCL has one of the highest DSCs, which they raised last year at the same time as removing the evening turn down service.  I don't care about not having evening turndown service, but don't ask for higher service charges and reduce services to the passengers.  If they want to reduce a service, reduce the service charge.  I don't even like chocolate covered strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, NCL's DSC is up to $20 per person per day for Club Balcony and below. It is $25 per person per day in the Haven. As I understand it, there is still evening turndown service in the Haven.

 

On MSC the DSC is $16 per day per adult and $8 per day per child, regardless of cabin type.

 

On Princess the DSC is $16 per person per day in Interior, Ocean View, and Balcony. It's $17 per person per day in Mini-suites. And it's $18 per person per day in a Suite. However, if you purchase the Princess Plus or Princess Premier packages, it is included along with drinks, wifi, and various other perks.

 

On Celebrity the DSC used to be included in their Always Included fare, but no longer is. It is now $18 per person per day for interior, ocean view, and balcony cabins. It is $19 per person per day for Concierge and Aqua Class. And it is $23 per person per day for the Retreat.

 

You'd have to look it up for other lines, but I can tell you that MSC, Princess, and Celebrity all still do evening turndown service, regardless of cabin type.

[Panhandle Couple]

Our friends, who are not cruise people, surprised us by booking a Carnival cruise in Feb 2025.  They asked if we wanted to join them, so we agreed and booked.

The price seemed reasonable, until you factor in the $ 85 per day per person drink charge, which adds $850 for a 5 day cruise and limits you to 15 drinks.

We will probably pay per drink and limit ourselves to a couple per day.

 

[Fredrik]

7 hours ago, Shidah said:

I don’t understand why other peoples choices bother you so much.  You do you, and we will do us.
 

 But if you have to understand, you can try to sell why MSC is such a great deal, but most people I talk to (actually talk to and know) have nothing good to say about their MSC cruises and vow to never repeat them.  Princess has a much older demographic, maybe in another 20 years will look there.  Would not bring my family on it.  I always said I would never cruise Carnival.   Well I tried it when I had a land casino comp.  And it wasn’t bad, but did pay $1000 for our drink packages and rented a cabana in loft 19 for the week at 2500ish for the week to make the vacation enjoyable.  So, much more than I would have paid for a comparable NCL room with say Vibe passes.  I gambled, a lot, and now have offers from Carnival that include drinks, but you would have to roll in my losses to compute what it took to get that.

 

You keep referring people to your 150 per day budget…that is your budget.  We all have different budgets and all like different things.  Not sure why that is hard to understand. 

With 108 cruises over the past 20 years. MSC was the absolute worst in every way. We even sailed in Yacht Club but I don’t have anything good to say about it, so I won’t.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

Have you seen the prices for Icon of the seas? Absolutely ridiculous.

 

Find a cruise you like at a price you can afford and go for it.

[luv2kroooz]

22 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Our friends, who are not cruise people, surprised us by booking a Carnival cruise in Feb 2025.  They asked if we wanted to join them, so we agreed and booked.

The price seemed reasonable, until you factor in the $ 85 per day per person drink charge, which adds $850 for a 5 day cruise and limits you to 15 drinks.

We will probably pay per drink and limit ourselves to a couple per day.

 

Great advice. To be clear, Carnivals package starts at $70.74 per day inclusive of gratuities.....still a terrible value. We'd skip the alcohol and the related empty calories.

[SeaShark]

25 minutes ago, Fredrik said:

Find a cruise you like at a price you can afford and go for it.

 

Exactly. The key is "at a price you can afford". Everyone has a budget that is based on their available funds, and their wants/desires for their time. It can be hard for people to walk away when their wants exceed their means. When that happens you get a lot of "sour grapes" reactions...just like Aesop said.

 

25 minutes ago, Fredrik said:

With 108 cruises over the past 20 years. MSC was the absolute worst in every way. We even sailed in Yacht Club but I don’t have anything good to say about it, so I won’t.

 

Trying to see this in context. Prior to the MSC cruise, what line held the "absolute worst in every way" title for you? With 108 cruises, which line stands out as the best for you? Why were you sailing MSC instead of that line?

[JamieLogical]

33 minutes ago, Fredrik said:

With 108 cruises over the past 20 years. MSC was the absolute worst in every way. We even sailed in Yacht Club but I don’t have anything good to say about it, so I won’t.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

Have you seen the prices for Icon of the seas? Absolutely ridiculous.

 

Find a cruise you like at a price you can afford and go for it.

 

Sorry you had a bad experience with MSC, I have yet to, but I suspect it will happen just like it has with every other line I have sailed. It's always unfortunate when it happens your first time trying out a new line. That is what happened to us with Princess. Our Emerald Princess Panama Canal sailing over the Holidays of 2022/2023 was BY FAR the worst cruise we have been on. The itinerary was great, but the shipboard experience was a complete nightmare. Completely inedible or just outright incorrect food in the MDR, MDR dinners that lasted over 2.5 hours, a specialty dinner where we waited over 2 hours for food, ship poorly maintained, tendering and excursions a COMPLETE cluster, entertainment on par with a middle school talent show, a Food & Beverage Manager AND an Entertainment Director apologizing for how bad everything was and telling me they wouldn't blame me for never sailing Princess again... Just a complete debacle. But I did give Princess another shot eventually and I am glad I did. Our May sailing on the Enchanted this May was decent and I am looking forward to another sailing on the Enchanted in two weeks. Still things that weren't perfect by any stretch, but the price was right. Hopefully this 14-day sailing in August will be as good or better than the May sailing.

[complawyer]

hey, this is 2024, and the price on almost everything has gone up, so why be surprised at  the current prices of cruises?  besides, look what you get for the $$$$. i just booked a 21 day cruise from barcelona to capetown in a 2 bedroom suite total price was just under $10,000 for 3 people.

21 days of food, drinks and entertainment, i think at that price, its a bargain. 

 

also, without meaning to sound snooty, like anything else available for purchase, if you believe the price is 2 high you are certainly entitled to pass on the purchase. 

you probably cant book a 7 day stay in disneyworld for that amount of money

 

im 76, and like any generation, our "good old days" are long gone! when there was a gasoline war in the late 60's i could purchase a gallon of gas for 19 cents. im sure everyone has a similar story

[JamieLogical]

49 minutes ago, complawyer said:

hey, this is 2024, and the price on almost everything has gone up, so why be surprised at  the current prices of cruises?  besides, look what you get for the $$$$. i just booked a 21 day cruise from barcelona to capetown in a 2 bedroom suite total price was just under $10,000 for 3 people.

21 days of food, drinks and entertainment, i think at that price, its a bargain. 

 

also, without meaning to sound snooty, like anything else available for purchase, if you believe the price is 2 high you are certainly entitled to pass on the purchase. 

you probably cant book a 7 day stay in disneyworld for that amount of money

 

im 76, and like any generation, our "good old days" are long gone! when there was a gasoline war in the late 60's i could purchase a gallon of gas for 19 cents. im sure everyone has a similar story

 

I am not disputing that prices have gone up on everything, they just seem to have gone up disproportionately on NCL, especially considering that they have also significantly reduced quality and service. Other lines' prices have gone up too, but less so and they have maintained a higher level of quality and service. In my OP I compared several modern-day 2025 sailings on multiple lines. Presumably, all of those cruise lines are facing similar levels of inflation since they are operating in the same universe.

 

Edited July 28 by JamieLogical

[debenson0723]

As mentioned above by @Sugar Magnolia and others, cruising solo is a whole different world. I have looked at a couple of MSC European cruises and if I change the number of people from 2 to 1, then it shows 'sold out' (whereas with 2 there is availability). Same thing happened to me when trying to price a Princess cruise to Asia...cabin for 2 was available but cabin for 1 was 'sold out'. So it's obvious those lines are not interested in solo cruisers.

RCL and Celebrity are now charging a 225% solo supplement, which is beyond ridiculous. Add on the crazy prices for drink packages and there is no way I am paying their prices.

Right now on the Epic TA in November, a solo can sail in an inside cabin, with all the FAS perks for $86 a day. That is well below the $150 limit you have set for yourself. While I am glad that you are enjoying your cruises on MSC, pricing for a lot of cruises are not as outrageous as they appear and there are deals to be had. I will continue to price all of the mass market cruise lines but as a solo, NCL usually has the best product for the best price.

[JamieLogical]

53 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

As mentioned above by @Sugar Magnolia and others, cruising solo is a whole different world. I have looked at a couple of MSC European cruises and if I change the number of people from 2 to 1, then it shows 'sold out' (whereas with 2 there is availability). Same thing happened to me when trying to price a Princess cruise to Asia...cabin for 2 was available but cabin for 1 was 'sold out'. So it's obvious those lines are not interested in solo cruisers.

RCL and Celebrity are now charging a 225% solo supplement, which is beyond ridiculous. Add on the crazy prices for drink packages and there is no way I am paying their prices.

Right now on the Epic TA in November, a solo can sail in an inside cabin, with all the FAS perks for $86 a day. That is well below the $150 limit you have set for yourself. While I am glad that you are enjoying your cruises on MSC, pricing for a lot of cruises are not as outrageous as they appear and there are deals to be had. I will continue to price all of the mass market cruise lines but as a solo, NCL usually has the best product for the best price.

 

Does that include the DSC? That does seem like a good deal at $86/day. I do always book a balcony, but I imagine those were exorbitantly more expensive?

[JamieLogical]

7 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Does that include the DSC? That does seem like a good deal at $86/day. I do always book a balcony, but I imagine those were exorbitantly more expensive?

 

Just did a search for all cruises for two in a balcony on NCL on the CruisePlum site. It definitely seems the best deals to be had are Transatlantics. Of course, those have their own challenges/expenses with airfare to or from Europe. The cheapest non-TA I could find was an 8-day on the Joy from NYC to Quebec in September of this year. I priced that one out on the NCL site and with FAS and DSC, it came out to $168.28 per person per day. So not TOO far off from my goal of $150 per person per day. The next cheapest non-TA is a 7-day round trip on the Getaway out of NoLa in December. That one comes out to $180.89 per person per day in a balcony with FAS and DSC.

[debenson0723]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Does that include the DSC? That does seem like a good deal at $86/day. I do always book a balcony, but I imagine those were exorbitantly more expensive?

Balcony comes to about $142 a day for a solo but I am happy with an inside as I spend very little time in my stateroom. TAs tend to drop even more as the sailing date gets closer.

As for airfare, I just booked last week Phoenix to Rome for $527 on Delta, with a return from NYC to Phoenix for $208 (for the Saturday before Thanksgiving). You can be creative with airfares too.