Pricing on NCL Has Gotten Outrageous

[complawyer]

jaimelogical... the DSC for 21 days comes to $1575. remember we're in a suite and there are 3 of us. still divide by 3 it's $525 per person. even adding that to what we paid, it's still less  a deal (imo)

[DCGuy64]

I definitely envy my Cruise Critic friends who are retired, because I know with the flexibility that not working full time entails, I could be a bargain cruise shopper and just be ready to go whenever I find good deals.

I had the opportunity to go on a singing trip to England last week, all expenses paid (including airfare), and I had to turn it down. 😭 

But when I AM retired, I can definitely look around for the good deals and know I don't have to worry about work and getting permission to use my annual leave.

[graphicguy]

16 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I definitely envy my Cruise Critic friends who are retired, because I know with the flexibility that not working full time entails, I could be a bargain cruise shopper and just be ready to go whenever I find good deals.

I had the opportunity to go on a singing trip to England last week, all expenses paid (including airfare), and I had to turn it down. 😭 

But when I AM retired, I can definitely look around for the good deals and know I don't have to worry about work and getting permission to use my annual leave.

We wish you could be a bargain cruise shopper, too. 😉

 

Actually, when, where, what cruise line I sail is determined by the deal I can get.  Once that's determined, the ancillary issues are addressed (like what time off is needed).

[kasimir]

On 7/28/2024 at 6:02 PM, complawyer said:

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 think there is a huge difference between being able to afford it and just not paying for something objectively overpriced. 

Thats exactly the reason why we don't go to Disney anymore, as it became way too expensive, and that has nothing to do with natural inflation, but companies like Disney are testing the limits to see how far they can push prices before demand softens to increase their bottom lines. Unfortunately, Disney would be stupid for not increasing prices, as their parks and cruises (especially in the US) are jam packed and they seem to get away with it. 

Same reason we are not going on cruise ships like Icon of the Seas, as the prices are absolutely crazy, just to able to say I was on the newest and biggest ship? In general the RCCL pricing went absolutely nuts, look at their specialty dining prices or many of their add-ons, even simple things like using the waterpark at Cococay now costs an arm and a leg. But atleast their stockprice is at all time high. 

 

I mean as long as there are alternatives that are either cheaper, or I receive much better value for a similar, I will keep looking. The beauty of capitalism is that I can decide where to spend it for. 

 

Good example regarding NCL is we are looking to take my sister and her 6-year old daughter on a cruise (they have never cruised) from Florida in October 2025, the only NCL option was for the Aqua in our date range. See below comparison from cruiseplum, all prices are for a balcony cabin (filtered cruises for 5-7 days only): 

 

So now the NCL Aqua is topping the price list together with the Star of the Seas, but the alternatives are much more attractive at this point. I mean the Celebrity Beyond will always be better than any NCL or RCCL ship. Heck, for the sake of my niece, I would rather book the Oasis of the Seas at nearly half of the price. 

[kasimir]

I am going to give another example for our next upcoming vacation in October: 

We booked two different 7-day cruises as a sort of B2B, one on NCL Breakaway and one on the Celebrity Beyond, both in a mini-suite category. 

The reason we did this, was that we wanted to try Celebrity again, but we still had FCC, a 25% discount and CN certificates. So to get the best of both worlds, we booked it this way, and are happy with our choice. The total price difference between both cruises so far was around $500 in favor of NCL.

 

Now fast forward to today, where I usually always call the travel agent 2-3 months before the cruise to check what is still possible to make our cruise more enjoyable. So we received a quote to upgrade both cruises to their suite category. Want to see the offer and difference between cruise lines?

- NCL Breakaway upgrade from a Club Balcony Suite to the Haven (HF category) = US$2600 (this includes the 25% NCL discount voucher)

- Celebrity Beyond upgrade from a Concierge Class cabin to The Retreat (S1 category) = US$1400

 

Just to be clear, these are upgrade quotes to pay the difference between cabin categories, not any of that bidding for an upgrade nonsense. 

So bottomline, if we would go ahead and upgrade both cruises to a suite cabin, Celebrity Retreat would now be $700 cheaper than NCL Haven. 

 

By the way, if we upgrade both cruises, I am thinking to write something on here where I will be comparing both suite categories B2B if anyone is interested 😉 

 

[graphicguy]

43 minutes ago, kasimir said:

 

I think there is a huge difference between being able to afford it and just not paying for something objectively overpriced. 

Thats exactly the reason why we don't go to Disney anymore, as it became way too expensive, and that has nothing to do with natural inflation, but companies like Disney are testing the limits to see how far they can push prices before demand softens to increase their bottom lines. Unfortunately, Disney would be stupid for not increasing prices, as their parks and cruises (especially in the US) are jam packed and they seem to get away with it. 

Same reason we are not going on cruise ships like Icon of the Seas, as the prices are absolutely crazy, just to able to say I was on the newest and biggest ship? In general the RCCL pricing went absolutely nuts, look at their specialty dining prices or many of their add-ons, even simple things like using the waterpark at Cococay now costs an arm and a leg. But atleast their stockprice is at all time high. 

 

I mean as long as there are alternatives that are either cheaper, or I receive much better value for a similar, I will keep looking. The beauty of capitalism is that I can decide where to spend it for. 

 

Good example regarding NCL is we are looking to take my sister and her 6-year old daughter on a cruise (they have never cruised) from Florida in October 2025, the only NCL option was for the Aqua in our date range. See below comparison from cruiseplum, all prices are for a balcony cabin (filtered cruises for 5-7 days only): 

 

So now the NCL Aqua is topping the price list together with the Star of the Seas, but the alternatives are much more attractive at this point. I mean the Celebrity Beyond will always be better than any NCL or RCCL ship. Heck, for the sake of my niece, I would rather book the Oasis of the Seas at nearly half of the price. 

So, maybe I just have done this too long.  Your example above includes some KNOWN items which will almost always net you a high cruise fare.  Anytime you try to book any cruise lines' newest ships, you'll find their highest fares.

 

The ones with the highest fares in you example is the NCL Aqua, Royal Star of the Seas,  and Celebrity Beyond.  Generally speaking, the older the ship, the cheaper the fare.

 

Itineraries will make a difference, too.  Bahamas will be cheaper than the Caribbean.

 

Also, look at fares mid-January, as the kids will be back in school.  Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks will have the higher fares.

 

Also, try Alaska in April or October.

 

 

Edited August 5 by graphicguy

[kasimir]

Last example for our 2025 cruise planning... 

 

We are currently actively looking for a 7-14 day European cruise departing some time during the second half of April 2025. We are flexible during that time, so we are looking at options. When looking at cruiseplum filtered by balcony cabins, i get the below (this time sorted by price per cabin per day):

 

So again, the three NCL options are coming out as the most expensive options (except for the celebrity constellation cruise). 

This makes our decision quite easy, and we will most likely book the 12 day Celebrity Eclipse cruise, which is quite a bit cheaper (comparing on a price per day basis). 

 

Not sure what NCL is thinking raising their prices to these levels? Do they think that they can compete on a product and service level with Celebrity? 😉

We just reached Platinum status on NCL, because we liked the bang for the buck that we used to get at NCL, but if we have to pay Celebrity prices, we might as well cruise with Celebrity (or Princess or Virgin).  

Edited August 5 by kasimir

[BamaCruiser39]

Pricing has definitely outrageous and not just cabin rates. On a whim, I decided to check pricing on a couple spa services for my upcoming November cruise on the Getaway...

 

$358.80 plus 20% gratuity and spa service charge for a 100 minute massage.

 

$94.80 plus 20% gratuity and spa service charge for an "express shave."

 

If you really want to laugh at (somehow) even more absurd pricing, I looked at all the pricing under "Gifts and More"....$129 60 plus 20% gratuity and specialty service charge for a cheese plate.

 

LOL

Edited August 5 by BamaCruiser39

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Great snag.  I think the point of this exercise, a little shopping goes a long way, not only with NCL, but all the cruise lines.

 

Yep.  I didn't book that May 2025 cruise.  I just looked it up for a valid comparison with my 2018 cruise that I still had the invoice for.  I actually prefer the first cruise in April as the ships are less crowded and embarkation is immediate walk on (ship is empty).  Great way to start my cruise.😎

[ChiefMateJRK]

(duplicate post)

Edited August 5 by ChiefMateJRK

[kasimir]

2 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

So, maybe I just have done this too long.  Your example above includes some KNOWN items which will almost always net you a high cruise fare.  Anytime you try to book any cruise lines' newest ships, you'll find their highest fares.

 

The ones with the highest fares in you example is the NCL Aqua, Royal Star of the Seas,  and Celebrity Beyond.  Generally speaking, the older the ship, the cheaper the fare.

 

Itineraries will make a difference, too.  Bahamas will be cheaper than the Caribbean.

 

Also, look at fares mid-January, as the kids will be back in school.  Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks will have the higher fares.

 

 

 

I get where you are coming from, and trust me I am not new to this 😉  ... look at my other examples that I just posted. 

We are fairly flexible and usually find great bargains with NCL and have booked many great cruises with NCL in the past at fantastic prices (even their newest ships like the Prima in 2023), but they are getting harder and harder to find for 2025. 

Maybe prices will drop when we get closer to 2025, but from my POV I see more cruises at price levels that usually are reserved for premium cruise lines (like Celebrity). 

[Panhandle Couple]

6 minutes ago, kasimir said:

Last example for our 2025 cruise planning... 

 

We are currently actively looking for a 7-14 day European cruise departing some time during the second half of April 2025. We are flexible during that time, so we are looking at options. When looking at cruiseplum filtered by balcony cabins, i get the below (this time sorted by price per cabin per day):

 

So again, the three NCL options are coming out as the most expensive options (except for the celebrity constellation cruise). 

This makes our decision quite easy, and we will most likely book the 12 day Celebrity Eclipse cruise, which is quite a bit cheaper (comparing on a price per day basis). 

 

Not sure what NCL is thinking raising their prices to these levels? Do they think that they can compete on a product and service level with Celebrity? 😉

We just reached Platinum status on NCL, because we liked the bang for the buck that we used to get at NCL, but if we have to pay Celebrity prices, we might as well cruise with Celebrity (or Princess or Virgin).  

While all of those are in Europe, the bottom 3 are listed as Northern Europe, and the rest are Mediterranean ports.   In April the northern ones are still "cold weather" cruises. Of course cruising from "London" means Southampton, with associated transport costs.

 

We did the Escape this May from Barcelona, same 9 days as listed here for the Breakaway.

It is port intensive, but you get to see classic places like Rome and Florence, and beachy, cool places like Palma and Ibiza.  Barcelona is a great place to visit of course, and was an easy access to-from the port area.

 

So if you "just want to cruise" vs actual ports visited, take your approach.

 

And the ship matters to us.  We love the BA/BA+ layouts and deck 8.  We haven't seen that on other ships we view while in ports.

 

 

[GOTTODOIT]

I have been checking out the prices for NCL cruises as we are Diamond so have sailed a lot of NCL cruises.

I checked the pricing on NCL AUD site and then did a dummy booking on a US TA online site and the difference in pricing is quite significant, Taking into account the exchange rate and additional adds on, the drink dining package, gratuites, there is thousands of dollars difference in the pricing.

We cruise with 3 other couples from the US and they have sent me screen shots of cruises with pricing because we are still trying to decide where to cruise.  I( couldn't believe the pricing they where showing me. US TA's now have to include in their pricing, port fees and taxes so I only have to add the additional charges. 

Has anyone else found this.  Anyone booking with US TA's.

My Sydney NCL rep called me about booking a cruise because we have Cruise First Certificates but reluctant to book within AUD because of the large price difference.  I priced 2 cruises B2b, and just for an interior the price difference between US and AUD is thousands.

Want to stay loyal to NCL but if they are going to rip off, price gouge australian cruisers then might be time for a change. Sick and tired of receiving emails with price reductions and when I check there is no actual price reduction at all. 

I have sailed p&O, Princess ( Elite ), HAL, Royal Carribean, Costa, so will start looking elsewhere.

I have been reading all the postings on MSC so might be time to give them a try.

 

[kasimir]

5 minutes ago, GOTTODOIT said:

Want to stay loyal to NCL but if they are going to rip off, price gouge australian cruisers then might be time for a change.

 

I have heard similar stories from EU and UK cruisers telling me that their NCL prices are often much higher than the US. Maybe you want to try to get in touch with a US based online travel agent to book your cruise. 

Keep in mind that your Australian consumer rights might not apply and you need to take care of your own flights, but if the pricing is that much different, you might want to give it a try. 

 

Since I live on a small Caribbean island, we always book through US travel agents and never had an issue. 

[GOTTODOIT]

Airfares are not ever included in Australia.  We are not given the option of included flights.  All flights we have to book separately and our flights are very expensive because of the distance and time we have to fly to get anywhere.  Our US friends tell us what they pay for flights through NCL and I can only but wish we (aussies) were given the same deal.  We cannot access NCL Miami site but our US mates can and they tell us the deals they are being quoted.  In February, they got flights from New York to Bali to join a cruise for $500 US each, that was one way, but we can't fly outside of australia for that price. 

 

[IAcruising]

I'm on HAL at the moment. I paid a 30% premium over an identical NCL cruise. Is it better? I don't know. I'm only 3 days in. I'll let you know.

 

[GOTTODOIT]

40 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

I'm on HAL at the moment. I paid a 30% premium over an identical NCL cruise. Is it better? I don't know. I'm only 3 days in. I'll let you know.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise,  we sailed with HAL from Hong Kong to Singapore and could not fault the service, really good all round.

[pghflyer]

Is there any reason not to just book on another country's version of the NCL site or using another country TA?  I have done this for MSC before because the rates were significantly better than my USA rates (zero complication, only made sure to use my credit card that doesn't charge foreign currency fees)......I think a lot of the lines (and airlines) do this, so if you have the time, there are savings to be had.........

[GOTTODOIT]

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

..

 

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

 

 

Edited August 6 by GOTTODOIT
duplication

[GOTTODOIT]

Have tried bypassing NCL Australia and booking with NCL Miami but it is not possible to connect to NCL Miami.  The system recognises my location and will only connect with the australian site.

I can book with US online travel agents.  A large US online TA displays the pricing in AUD $ and have a toll free phone number for australians to call listed on their website.  I use this online TA for researching cruises.

The point of my posting is to agree with the original poster and the topic of this thread - NCL Pricing is outrageous. 

I have done 3 NCL cruises this year, Auckland to Sydney, Tokyo to Anchorage, Anchorage to Vancouver and the prices were much more realistic than what NCL are quoting now.

A cruise I have been watching is Auckland to Bali in February 25 on the Sun and the pricing for inside is $10320.00 Aud for 2. That is the starting price, need to win Lotto if want to heaven forbid book a Balcony, Mini Suite etc. 

[Panhandle Couple]

11 hours ago, GOTTODOIT said:

Have tried bypassing NCL Australia and booking with NCL Miami but it is not possible to connect to NCL Miami.  The system recognises my location and will only connect with the australian site.

I can book with US online travel agents.  A large US online TA displays the pricing in AUD $ and have a toll free phone number for australians to call listed on their website.  I use this online TA for researching cruises.

The point of my posting is to agree with the original poster and the topic of this thread - NCL Pricing is outrageous. 

I have done 3 NCL cruises this year, Auckland to Sydney, Tokyo to Anchorage, Anchorage to Vancouver and the prices were much more realistic than what NCL are quoting now.

A cruise I have been watching is Auckland to Bali in February 25 on the Sun and the pricing for inside is $10320.00 Aud for 2. That is the starting price, need to win Lotto if want to heaven forbid book a Balcony, Mini Suite etc. 

I checked the US Aus exchange rate, currently at 1.54 in favor of US.

That has grown from 1.48 just 30 days ago. (4% increase).

While the rate will certainly taper off at some point, and perhaps reverse, as a business person, if you were doing future pricing many months in advance, which rate do you use?

I'm not certain there is a correct answer.

 

NCL uses US dollars for pricing, because by their own stock documents, the US accounts for 84 to 89 percent of their business in any given quarter. No other country exceeds 10 percent.

 

[kalkal]

We have sailed almost all the cruise lines except carnival.  We have been loyal to NCL mostly due to the convenience of the Manhattan port.  In July of this year we decided to try Princess once again.  Yes, we missed the convenience of the port but Princess was worth the effort.  Our original plans were to sail Prima in December but Enchanted Princess on November 2 offered us a better iternary and our pricing per day was excellent.  We all have different comfort zones and affordability but Princess just was our right choice at this point in our lives.  It’s not the price per day but what memories the trip has left in our life.  Happy travels no matter what line is within the budget.

[rj59]

They're filling ships, usually over 100%, so they'll keep prices up as high as possible, in order to support their stock price and reduce debt and pay for new ships. Unlike all other lines, they've actually gone with smaller newest ships, so they have to get more revenue from fairs and customer spend, as well as all the billions in reduced costs from not serving full cans of soda. Fast food and restaurants have found out that consumers don't have unlimited patience for high prices for what they're getting, and NCL will eventually have to deal with that, simply because there are other alternatives. Carnival will offer cheaper options, and with careful, frequent searching, I find better deals than NCL on HAL, Princess, Celebrity, and Royal on some ships and itineraries. The only competitive options I see on NCL now, as a solo cruiser, are transatlantic and last-minute ones. I also had such a stressful, unpleasant 5 nights on Joy last year, with steward staff cutbacks meaning my room wasn't cleaned until after 4:30 pm every day of the cruise, including a miserable embarkation day, and I was unfortunate enough to sail during their brief failed experiment at bring back in-person muster drills, which just made it the most miserable embarkation day I've ever had, when my spirit was crushed instead of my usual excitement and anticipation. So like my two attempts at Carnival the last year, which were just gross, I just don't want to deal with NCL until the price and experience are much improved. 

[EllieinNJ]

4 hours ago, kalkal said:

We have sailed almost all the cruise lines except carnival.  We have been loyal to NCL mostly due to the convenience of the Manhattan port.  In July of this year we decided to try Princess once again.  Yes, we missed the convenience of the port but Princess was worth the effort.  Our original plans were to sail Prima in December but Enchanted Princess on November 2 offered us a better iternary and our pricing per day was excellent.  We all have different comfort zones and affordability but Princess just was our right choice at this point in our lives.  It’s not the price per day but what memories the trip has left in our life.  Happy travels no matter what line is within the budget.

We are also on the Enchanted Princess November 2.  We did this same cruise in November, 2022 and loved it.  We are also on the Prima December 11 because it was a good price, had FCC and a cruise next.  As I mentioned in a previous post will probably be our last NCL unless the itinerary and price is good.

[njkate]

IMO it has gotten to the point where eventually

capacity will level off. Looking at 2025 pricing it’s gotten to the point it will be out of reach for the average family.

Take a family of 4, the pricing is high add to that $80 per day for DSC ($20x4)!

 

Ive looked at Northern Europe, specifically the British Isle’s in 2025, basically the only ship doing that cruise is the Dawn an older blah ship and pricing is outrageous. Add to that some of those ports get cancelled as you can’t tender and it’s a hard no for me! 

 

As one poster said you may be able to afford it but are you willing to shell out that kind of money? 
 

I forget the exact amount but that cruise was around $18k for a balcony when I priced it. I’m now paying for a balcony or ocean view what I used to pay for Haven, it’s nuts.

 

I will have to look at next falls west bound trans Atlantics, in the past those cruises have been cheaper

Edited August 9 by njkate