Pricing on NCL Has Gotten Outrageous

[graphicguy]

Premium lines......I haven't sailed Oceania, Viking, etc....typical premium lines.

 

I have sailed Celebrity.  I like them.  Is it a premium line compared to NCL or Royal?  It's a little bit different.  Premium would be a stretch for me.  Paying more for a "premium" experience is a case I can't make.

 

Recently, I've found Royal to have generally higher fares than their sister Celebrity.  So, does that make Royal premium to Celebrity?

 

Never sailed Princess.  Never could find one of their cruises that excited me enough to book them.  But, they are supposedly the premium line of Carnival.

 

To those who have sailed both, is Princess a more premium offering to their Carnival owner?

[Oakman58]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

 

Never sailed Princess.  Never could find one of their cruises that excited me enough to book them.  But, they are supposedly the premium line of Carnival.

 

To those who have sailed both, is Princess a more premium offering to their Carnival owner?

 

I’ve sailed on both Carnival and one Princess cruise that was a 16 day roundtrip from San Diego to Hawaii.  It was on the Diamond Princess and the ship had just been reactivated a few weeks earlier from the Covid shutdown.  To date that Princess cruise still rates as the worst we’ve experienced. When that cruise ended, we promised we would never cruise Princess again.

 

However, there’s one difference between the two cruise lines that has nothing to do with the shutdown.  The Carnival ships I’ve been on all had a chair and a couch in a standard balcony cabin.  On Princess ships, the standard balcony cabin only has a chair at the desk and no couch.  If you want to watch a movie in your cabin, someone will have to sit on the bed to watch.  I found this lack of seating surprising.  If you want a couch in a balcony cabin on Princess, you have to book a Deluxe Balcony or Mini-Suite.

 

Our Princess cruise was so out of whack that we decided to give Princess a second chance and booked the Discover Princess for this January.  I plan to ask our cabin steward if he can find another chair for us.

[Travelling2Some]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Premium lines......I haven't sailed Oceania, Viking, etc....typical premium lines.

 

I have sailed Celebrity.  I like them.  Is it a premium line compared to NCL or Royal?  It's a little bit different.  Premium would be a stretch for me.  Paying more for a "premium" experience is a case I can't make.

 

Recently, I've found Royal to have generally higher fares than their sister Celebrity.  So, does that make Royal premium to Celebrity?

 

Never sailed Princess.  Never could find one of their cruises that excited me enough to book them.  But, they are supposedly the premium line of Carnival.

 

To those who have sailed both, is Princess a more premium offering to their Carnival owner?

I think the "premium v. mid-market" waters are very muddy right now.  We did a side-2-side Med in June and the first leg on Celebrity cost less than half of what the second leg on the NCL Viva cost.  Same number of days but not a direct comparison as the Celebrity ship was much older.  However, we enjoyed both cruises equally so that says a lot about value for money.   

 

Just booked Discovery Princess for Alaska and their Princess Plus package (includes drinks, wifi and tips) was a bit less than NCL's once you add the FAS and DSC.   We are not fans of Carnival although we have taken a few over the years (most recently the Mardi Gras because it was supposed to be a game changer).  Princess seems to have a vibe that appears to be the opposite of Carnival from what I can tell upfront. With the way NCL has been playing fast and loose with port changes I did not trust them not to skip Glacier Bay.

[graphicguy]

I found the Prima to be as nice as a cruise ship as I've ever sailed.  I know some didn't like it, but I did.

 

I like the EDGE on Celebrity, too.  Again, some don't like it...naming Magic Carpet and the Infinite Veranda (which from what I can tell is making its way to the new Royal ships) as two unpopular features. 

 

There are enough features and ship types to appeal to just about everyone.  What will never happen is a ship, crew, food, entertainment, etc that will appeal to everyone, all the time.

[JamieLogical]

42 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

I’ve sailed on both Carnival and one Princess cruise that was a 16 day roundtrip from San Diego to Hawaii.  It was on the Diamond Princess and the ship had just been reactivated a few weeks earlier from the Covid shutdown.  To date that Princess cruise still rates as the worst we’ve experienced. When that cruise ended, we promised we would never cruise Princess again.

 

However, there’s one difference between the two cruise lines that has nothing to do with the shutdown.  The Carnival ships I’ve been on all had a chair and a couch in a standard balcony cabin.  On Princess ships, the standard balcony cabin only has a chair at the desk and no couch.  If you want to watch a movie in your cabin, someone will have to sit on the bed to watch.  I found this lack of seating surprising.  If you want a couch in a balcony cabin on Princess, you have to book a Deluxe Balcony or Mini-Suite.

 

Our Princess cruise was so out of whack that we decided to give Princess a second chance and booked the Discover Princess for this January.  I plan to ask our cabin steward if he can find another chair for us.

 

The newest Sphere Class of Princess ships (Sun and soon-to-be Star) have couches in the regular balconies. The Royal Class ships all have little love seats in the deluxe balconies. You could always bid to upgrade to a deluxe balcony or mini-suite on your upcoming sailing.

[graphicguy]

20 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

I think the "premium v. mid-market" waters are very muddy right now.  

I agree.

 

The mid-tier (NCL, Royal, Celebrity) lines are moving up a category by offering the "luxury" line experience with Haven, Star Class and the Retreat, respectively.  It's a higher revenue, higher margin experience that used to only be available on the Premium lines like Oceania, Regent, Seabourn, etc.

 

Is it the same experience?  Probably not.  The "ship within a ship" concept isn't the same as sailing on an entire ship focused on the luxury experience.  But, the flip side of that is you can leave the Haven or Retreat and still have the run of the rest of the offerings on the ship, which is way more than what's offered on the luxury brands.

 

Overall, the Haven and Retreat (not so much Star Class on Royal) are less expensive than the fares on the luxury brands....usually by a factor of 50% or more.  Worth it?  I think so.  Others will debate me on that, though.

 

For the most part, I think NCL, Royal, Celebrity....and the rest are sailing at or near capacity.  So clearly, the demand is there.

 

Given the different cruising landscape post Covid restart, there has been some juggling of services, itineraries, etc.  I think that will continue with all the cruise brands.  

 

As they say..."the only constant is change".  So very true of the cruise market.

 

I don't think there will ever be any sort of equilibrium in the cruise market, from any of the brands.  They are all jockeying for our cruise dollar.  As such, they are all tweaking, massaging, changing...sometimes on each individual cruise.

 

If that's something that's upsetting, and I mean this as a sincere recommendation, maybe a land based vacation would suit better.

 

But, I find cruising better now than I did when I first started cruising 15+ years ago.

[detroitlions]

I do believe some folks have found some great deals the last 10 years cruising. 

But what I have found the last 3 cruises I have done within a 2 year span on NCL I paid for a balcony for 2 with the final cost with drink package and everything else I paid between $3500 and $4000 on each of those cruises. The ships were all breakaway plus ships.

I have not seen prices under $3000 in a long time.

 

[IAcruising]

I don't know. I've never been on Celebrity or Princess. I'm currently on on Holland America and it's definitely premium. You get twice a day room cleaning, beef on the MDR menu every night, and real cloth towels in all the public bathrooms.  I don't know, you just notice the difference.

 

[graphicguy]

50 minutes ago, detroitlions said:

I do believe some folks have found some great deals the last 10 years cruising. 

But what I have found the last 3 cruises I have done within a 2 year span on NCL I paid for a balcony for 2 with the final cost with drink package and everything else I paid between $3500 and $4000 on each of those cruises. The ships were all breakaway plus ships.

I have not seen prices under $3000 in a long time.

 

The last non-Haven cabin I had was on the Breakway to NE/Canada for 7 days and it was about $600-$700 for a balcony cabin with Free at Sea about a year and a half ago.  The rest have been Haven cabins below....

 

-$4,200 for the Joy 7 nite Bermuda itinerary in June

-$4,500 for the Prima 7 nite Caribbean itinerary in April 

-$4,400 for an Epic 11 day Mediterranean itinerary last October

-$591 for a Breakaway 7 nite New England/Canada sailing in a Balcony with FAS

-$4,300 for the Breakaway on a 7 nite Caribbean itinerary, July 2022

-$4,300 for the Celebrity Apex on a 7 nite Bahamas cruise in the Retreat February, 2022

 

That covers fares the last 2 years plus some.  All in, with FAS and taxes, fees.  Granted, all but one was a solo cruise, so the fares were per cabin, NOT per person.

[julig22]

2 hours ago, detroitlions said:

I do believe some folks have found some great deals the last 10 years cruising. 

But what I have found the last 3 cruises I have done within a 2 year span on NCL I paid for a balcony for 2 with the final cost with drink package and everything else I paid between $3500 and $4000 on each of those cruises. The ships were all breakaway plus ships.

I have not seen prices under $3000 in a long time.

 

Booked on the Dawn for December as a solo - 14 days, $1500 for OV, including FAS packages. No solo supplement. $300 worth of statement credits for upgrade to Balcony. I'm good.

[moto_italia]

As noted by others, pricing differentials between NCL and 'higher' status cruise lines are contracting. It's a good time to look at other brands.

 

Just returned last month from a 7-day Seward, AK to Vancouver, CA cruise on one of the "luxury" lines (Crystal Cruises). Cost was about $1000 per person higher than NCL as many of the upgrades (Unlimited Wifi, etc.) were included. I won't go into the many ways this cruise line earns its status as one of the luxury lines here, but we were blown away.

 

Also, the difference in the experience on a 740 passenger capacity ship (actually only had about 520 passengers on this 7-day cruise) is hard to compare to the 2400-4000 passenger NCL cruises I have taken.  At 740 passengers, Crystal's Serenity ship is staffed to 655, which you can imagine leads to a level of personal service that is sky high.

 

We still have NCL Cruise Next to use up, and have really enjoyed our Norwegian cruises, but I feel like we got in a rut of only looking at NCL, building our Latitudes account (Platinum at this point), and not looking around at options.

 

Yep, these days of higher prices may offer us NCL loyalists the perfect time to look around. And hopefully, NCL will step up in response to our collective movement.

[IAcruising]

I will continue to cruise NCL based on status. When that fails, then I'll select another line. It's not a difficult equation. 

 

 

 

[GOTTODOIT]

One of the most amazing Cruises we have ever taken was with Azamara and it was all inclusive.  The price higher than a NCL cruise but you get what you pay for.  Being a NCL Diamond and wanting to stay loyal NCL is now being reconsidered as the NCL prices are now creeping up to the level of the more luxurious lines like Azamara.

[julig22]

23 minutes ago, GOTTODOIT said:

One of the most amazing Cruises we have ever taken was with Azamara and it was all inclusive.  The price higher than a NCL cruise but you get what you pay for.  Being a NCL Diamond and wanting to stay loyal NCL is now being reconsidered as the NCL prices are now creeping up to the level of the more luxurious lines like Azamara.

My issue with all inclusive is that I'm not interested in paying for things I'm not going to use. I don't drink and I'm just fine with buffet food. And I definitely don't want to pay double for those extras (I usually sail solo). But should prices - and more importantly, itineraries - start to match, then I'll look elsewhere. But with unique itineraries, Diamond discounts on excursions, shareholder OBC, CruiseNext certificates and $300 upgrades from OV to Balcony, NCL is still coming out on top for ME. Probably 90% of the complaints about food, crowds, service, whatever else, just don't apply to me.

[graphicguy]

13 hours ago, julig22 said:

My issue with all inclusive is that I'm not interested in paying for things I'm not going to use. I don't drink and I'm just fine with buffet food. And I definitely don't want to pay double for those extras (I usually sail solo). But should prices - and more importantly, itineraries - start to match, then I'll look elsewhere. But with unique itineraries, Diamond discounts on excursions, shareholder OBC, CruiseNext certificates and $300 upgrades from OV to Balcony, NCL is still coming out on top for ME. Probably 90% of the complaints about food, crowds, service, whatever else, just don't apply to me.

Good points.  NCL is very friendly to us (mostly) solo cruisers.

[zqvol]

Currently, NCL provides the best value for solo cruisers. No one else comes close unless they are running a 0% single supplement which sometimes happens on the luxury lines. 

[IrieBajan54]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Currently, NCL provides the best value for solo cruisers. No one else comes close unless they are running a 0% single supplement which sometimes happens on the luxury lines. 

Speak for yourself! 🙂 I'm Latitudes Diamond and have cruised NCL exclusively for the last ten years as a solo and I definitely don't agree. I'm currently on a Princess cruise and it blows NCL out of the water IMO.

 

In recent years, I've been doing about 4 cruises annually on NCL. Only one this year - VIVA this past April. To get to my quota, it's going to be Princess three sailings to close out 2024.

 

Apples to Apples, I got a better price for this cruise and the next 2 coming up in October and November. Paid $200% and still got a better deal !!!!!

 

 

[Menocchio]

3 hours ago, zqvol said:

Currently, NCL provides the best value for solo cruisers. No one else comes close unless they are running a 0% single supplement which sometimes happens on the luxury lines. 

Well, maybe. You won't find lower single supplements, that's true. But it's not too difficult to find fares on other lines that are still less expensive than NCL for a similar itinerary. A 100% supplement on a very cheap cabin can still be a very good deal. Which just brings us back to arguing about the relative value of different lines.

 

I will say that NCL does offer slightly better (IMO) itineraries than its cheaper competitors. So it does have that going for it. 

[DorothyB]

3 hours ago, zqvol said:

Currently, NCL provides the best value for solo cruisers. No one else comes close unless they are running a 0% single supplement which sometimes happens on the luxury lines. 

 

I compared sailing solo on MSC vs NCL - see below that I copied from another thread:

 

Author

#95  

Posted August 2 (edited)

  On 8/2/2024 at 7:50 AM, DCGuy64 said:

You might be surprised at how affordable MSC is, Aurea OR Yacht Club. I don't know if you've ever had a gander at the MSC website, but I think you might find their pricing competitive compared to NCL.

I am not the person you were addressing, but I did compare yesterday.  It is taking a while to figure out the website, but what I found was:

 

I compared two cruises from same port round trip:

NCL 7 days Dec 13, 2025 Cozumel, Harvest Caye, Roatan and Costa Maya

MSC 7 days Dec 7, 2025 Costa Maya, Isla d Roatan, Cozumel

 

I'm still figuring out - but I did the match from NCL so I am gold on MSC now.  

MSC Yacht Club cruise is $5,057 for a balcony. 

NCL suite would be  $5,673 + internet = $5,853 

Never having sailed MSC, I suspect the biggest difference for me is the many different specialty dining options and FAS / Platinum lattitudes "free" specialty dining meals

 

MSC Aurea deck deluxe balcony the total cost is $1,699 plus internet and drink package

For NCL, the cost of a balcony NOT in the haven or a suite is $3,134 plus cost of premium internet $180 = $3,314

 

So, cruising in a balcony with anytime dining, but NOT in a suite and NOT specialty dining, there is a HUGE difference in price.  I could buy some specialty dining and still save a LOT.

 

Now - that is without a drink package as I don't find them cost effective for me.

[London_James]

Yes, I'm shocked by how expensive they are pricing cruises for 2025. They are far higher than competitors like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, etc. There's no way I would spend thousands more for NCL and I don't know why they believe that people will. 

[itsnotjustme]

Yesterday I booked a 10-day cruise on the Star for an excellent itinerary (7 ports of call and 2 sea days) in an MA Club Balcony Suite at a little over $6,100 ($308/person/day) including all the port fees, taxes, FAS gratuities, and the daily service charge.  This also has the 10% military discount.

 

I will receive 50,000 United FF miles through the travel agent. worth about $700, and used the $500 CruiseFirst Credit for a $250 savings.  I will also have $175 OBC ($100 Share Holder, $75 Casino), reducing the effective cost to under $250/person/day.  Plus we will have the extra perks of Saphire level like two extra specialty dining & 15% ShoreEx discount.

 

In my book that is not unreasonable.  Admittedly, this cruise was the least expensive out of four we considered with similar itineraries and dates. 

[JIMESOPUS]

Harry Sommer on pricing - 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, London_James said:

There's no way I would spend thousands more for NCL and I don't know why they believe that people will.

Probably because they do.

[UPNYGuy]

I stopped cruising on NCL after FDR took the helm from Kevin Sheehan. so it has been quite a while since I have been on one of their ships. I started looking at pricing just for giggles, because NCL really has not even been on my radar recently. I have been bouncing back-and-forth between carnival, MSC, and Royal Caribbean. The last time I was on NCL in recent memory, I was in a DOS on breakaway out of NYC in 2014 and paid $7k for the cabin. Now, that cabin will go from 15 to 20 depending on the time of year.

 

edit: it’s been 10 years so the memory really isn’t recent lmao

Edited August 18 by UPNYGuy

[Cruising Lynne]

I am looking forward to my NCL next month. It will be my first in a year after having tried out HAL, MSC, and Princess. It will be a good comparison to our recent trip on Emerald Princess especially, since it is almost the exact same itinerary on a similar size and age ship.

 

It seems to me that prices are up at all the lines, especially when you add in all that is included with FAS.

 

So far I will say that entertainment was great on MSC and really good on Princess, but I feel that the cruise on Holland America felt more like a premium line than the Princess cruise.

 

On Princess I did not like the buffet. Not enough variety and no Vitality drink dispenser. Sometimes even no lemonade unless you asked. I prefer to get my own drinks in the buffet instead of the way Princess does it with the same people who clear dirty dishes get you your drinks. Small shower with shower curtain was annoying, and no couch in the standard balcony also bugged me.

 

So far MSC and HAL surpassed my expectations. I did miss NCLs freestyle dining on all three lines I tried this past year. HAL had a dining room that was anytime dining, but I felt like the food was hotter and more freshly prepared the one night we were sent to eat in the set time dining room due to the anytime one being full, and we happened to be there at the right time. I had issue with food not up to temperature on both HAL and Princess. 

 

I did like that HAL and Princess had adult only swimming pools in the aft of the ships. 

 

The bottom line is that there is something for everyone. Book whatever deal you are comfortable with for what you get. I am looking forward to being back on NCL and enjoying the  perks we get for being Sapphire Latitude's.