Is NCL Crazy??? - Sticker shock for Gem Cruises

[cruznut1111]

As far as comparing costs of what others pay...I only did that once...never again. If I am happy with the price I pay when I pay it, then the deal is a good deal.

Coka

 

I agree. Really think talking about the price once on board is a bad thing and always refuse to answer if someone pushes. "I don't remember." "Not the time to worry about it." All sorts of ways to avoid their bad manners.

 

Here's what happened to a young first time cruise in Hawaii one year.

 

Their "next table mates", Mr/Ms Smarty Pants (traditional seating) were rapidly bringing the "Young Ones'" wonderful cruise into the horrid category. "How much did you pay." THAT MUCH??? We paid SO MUCH LESS for the same room. On and on it went and I watched Ms Y.O. feeling worse and worse. I couldn't take it, so I intervened.

 

"How much did you say you paid? And did you get a cabin with an unobstructed view? No? But you got the On board Credit! Oh, No? Well, still, it was an amazing price including the air. Oh, no air? You had to pay last minute rates for that- hmm. Well, did you have a nice room in the pre-cruise hotel? Oh, really, that wasn't included? I didn't see you on the pre-cruise excursion, wasn't that included either?? Well, it sounds like you only got what you paid for and it really can't compare.":p

 

By the time I was done, M&M Y.O. were smiling and it was M&M S.P. with the sour looks. They changed their table arrangement the next day.

 

Okay, I probably shouldn't have done it, but- REALLY!

 

Here's the deal- I'll come here, share and tell all Before you book. If I can help you make a better deal- great. Once on board - we all paid the right price for us;)

[NorthernNeighbour]

Whenever someone asks me a question like 'how much did you pay?' for your cabin, I always use the old Ann Landers technique -- answer a question with a question.

 

I just say "Why would you ask me a question like that?" They are either left explaining or change the subject. If they refuse to change the subject, I just repeat it in a different way: "No, I really don't understand why you would ask me a question like that".

 

Alternatively you can always say -- "I never discuss money matters while traveling." (Hopefully, they get the hidden meaning that you never discuss money matters with strangers.)

[Tucker in Texas]

One quick note with NCL. Whatever fare you book, you will pay no matter how low it goes in the future--conversely, it could also go up and you have a lower fare. They won't even let you cancel and rebook at a lower fare as the lower fares are for "new bookings" only and they flag your name.

 

Tucker in Texas

[iv18-Diane]

Thanks for the responses. I must say, while I have never asked anyone what they paid for a cruise, it was a frequent topic of conversation in the Courtyard. Most guest loved the Courtyard experience, but didn't originally book their suites -- they were offered upsells and wondered how much the suites really cost. That's how the topic came up.

 

I like the Courtyard enough that regardless of what others are paying, I am willing to spend the same ballpark amount that I paid before. My problem is paying $5500 more (the Gem will be a year old next year --same as the Pearl was this year). I simply can't grasp a 50% price increase.

 

For the record, I don't have a problem with any guest who gets a great deal on a cruise -- good for them! My problem is not with the guest, it's with NCL. Why not charge a reasonable rate for the rooms instead of filling them by giving them away when they're not booked?

 

My experience with suites on other cruise lines is that because they are in limited supply, they tend to sell out. Prices are lowest when you book early and then rise significantly when inventory decreases (supply and demand). However, NCL charges such high rates that inventory does not decrease. Suite prices remain constant. They just don't sell them.

 

The Gem is sailing from NY. NY cruises are always higher. There are more ships in Florida so less. It's supply and Demand.

 

Diane

[Wilcoam]

Cruise WMN..

 

Yer insight into Gem pricing is interesting. I agree, with that price differential, itin aside, most will stick with the Jewel, or abandon NCL for another line...

 

Speaking of which, I just want to echo another poster that you are in fact using TA's, and not getting your pricing direct from NCL. (?)

 

My wife and I are sailing in a Courtyard Villa on the Jewel next week. The NCL website-direct price was x each. In going through a TA, we paid $600 USD less EACH, not to mention we could pay in USD funds (as we prefer, not to get dinged by a bad exchange rate)

 

IMO, I like to share this info with as many crusie critic NCL pax and villa pax as I possibly can, cos $1,200 in the pocket of the average villa couple-cabin buys some nice wine on the trip (lol)

 

Good luck with your pricing...

jc

Toronto

Jewel Jan 4-07

[mcpepe]

Thanks for the responses. I must say, while I

I like the Courtyard enough that regardless of what others are paying, I am willing to spend the same ballpark amount that I paid before. My problem is paying $5500 more (the Gem will be a year old next year --same as the Pearl was this year). I simply can't grasp a 50% price increase.

 

.

 

You do not say where the Pearl sailed from. But all NYC/PHL/Boston cruises, on NCL and other lines, generally cost much more than a comparable MIA/FLL sailing. It's crazy I know! It actually costs less for me to fly my family to Miami to cruise than to sail from NYC.

 

Of course I was able to get a great deal for my 3/08 NYC sailing on the GEM but that was a special I found on NCL's site several months back. The prices have since risen.

[insidecabin]

Cruise WMN..

 

Yer insight into Gem pricing is interesting. I agree, with that price differential, itin aside, most will stick with the Jewel, or abandon NCL for another line...

 

Speaking of which, I just want to echo another poster that you are in fact using TA's, and not getting your pricing direct from NCL. (?)

 

My wife and I are sailing in a Courtyard Villa on the Jewel next week. The NCL website-direct price was x each. In going through a TA, we paid $600 USD less EACH, not to mention we could pay in USD funds (as we prefer, not to get dinged by a bad exchange rate)

 

IMO, I like to share this info with as many crusie critic NCL pax and villa pax as I possibly can, cos $1,200 in the pocket of the average villa couple-cabin buys some nice wine on the trip (lol)

 

Good luck with your pricing...

jc

Toronto

Jewel Jan 4-07

 

One of the reasons it is good to know the prices people are paying is so you know what the good deals are, I spend a lot of time watching prices so can pick dates/itineries that tend to have keen pricing or know a deal when I see one. If you don't and just pick the cruise you fancy you can end up paying a lot more, eg. the open jaw med cruises had some very keen pricing this year but next years prices are much higher at the moment around double for the insides, same for the TAs all are much higher prices than they usualy go for allthough they have improved the itineries with extra port days(crossings are still the same days at sea) the are still too high.

 

As for using an agent, you will nearly always get a better deal than the Cruise line, and the higher grades will attract bigger discounts(in the US) because of the way the commisions are worked out.

 

In the UK discounts tend to be flat 10% of full fare which often includes extras like parking OBC, and with some cruises/lines flights.

 

For a real example take the Dec Gem 9n TA prices in July(at the top end these changed a lot downwards closer to sailing eg A3 $2k ) the pre tax fares had $200 non commision so the discounts at the low end are not that much but a lot more higher up.

 

cabin------NCL---------TA------------discount-------rough % of commision retured

insides----$349-$389---$325-$359----$24-$30-------15.9%

balconies--$549-$599---$493-$535----$57-$64-------16%

Mini(AF)---$849---------$743---------$106----------16.3%

A suites---1699-4099---1455-3464----$244-$635-----16.3%

A3--------5999---------5055---------$944-----------16.3%

A1--------19999--------16772--------$3229----------16.3%

 

My dabble with a US on-line agent got me good prices but not so easy to deal with, at the lower end the extra cost on a cheap cruise is minimal to have direct contact with NCL but as you move up the grades the savings can be significant.

 

General comment

 

No 1 rule : Only book a cabin you are happy with at a price you are happy with.

 

Do not expect price drops or cabin upgrades, you set yourself up for disapointment if you do

 

If the pricing moves against you learn from it so you get a better deal next time, don't bitch.

 

A note on european cruises 2008 , the Jade is up against stiff competition so expect some downward movement on prices, RCI Independance is selling well(sold out 31May) and has 2 new cruises planned since its build is ahead of schedule so that will create pressure on the early May cruises. The Gen 7n round trip BCN are great for UK cruisers and could help bring the prices down on the UK lines which specialise in these itineries out of Palma with Ocean village and Island that are at the casual end so similar market segment.

[zqvol]

Cruise WMN..

 

Yer insight into Gem pricing is interesting. I agree, with that price differential, itin aside, most will stick with the Jewel, or abandon NCL for another line...

 

Speaking of which, I just want to echo another poster that you are in fact using TA's, and not getting your pricing direct from NCL. (?)

 

My wife and I are sailing in a Courtyard Villa on the Jewel next week. The NCL website-direct price was x each. In going through a TA, we paid $600 USD less EACH, not to mention we could pay in USD funds (as we prefer, not to get dinged by a bad exchange rate)

 

IMO, I like to share this info with as many crusie critic NCL pax and villa pax as I possibly can, cos $1,200 in the pocket of the average villa couple-cabin buys some nice wine on the trip (lol)

 

Good luck with your pricing...

jc

Toronto

Jewel Jan 4-07

 

JC

 

A question, and feel free to tell me it is none of my business, I am curious how, being in Canada you can pay in USD. Is what you are saying is that you are able to convert you CD to USD at the place of your choosing to get a favorable exchange rate, instead of being stuck with whatever NCL will give you? If so I completely understand and congratulate you for being a wise traveler.

 

Anyway, just curious about the mechanics. :)

 

Thanks

[zqvol]

A question and a wandering thought . . .

 

Is it possible that the cruises out of NY are priced more because of fuel issues? They do have some much longer runs to get to the Caribbean than do the ships out of FLA. Even before fuel prices skyrocketed this was true and it has to cost more to run the engines at propulsion speeds than it does to sit tied up at a dock in St. Thomas.

 

Anyway this was just a thought, any ideas?

[MrPete]

I found that when I added up everything between cruise and flight, between Miami, NY, and San Juan, they all ended up close to each other.

 

San Juan = Cruise fare - Low/ Air fare - high

Miami = Cruise fare - medium/ Air fare - medium

NY = Cruise fare - high/ Air fare - ZERO

 

But what I like about sailing out of NY overall is not losing "two days" of travel to get to the ship. It's 22 minutes!

[lastingtouch]

Just to add my little $.02....we enjoy sailing out of NYC cause it's 1/2 hour from home and we're on vacation. No missed flights and no lost luggage to worry about. Most of our trips are during cooler weather and the kids are in school. Most of the time we book a year in advance. It's a winter break and we don't have to worry about missing a flight due to the weather. Our Gem cruise coming up has gone up more than $1000 since we booked it. We enjoy that first cold day at sea. There are many activities onboard or we can just start to relax and enjoy the trip and the ship.;) Diane

[salty dingo]

The higher fares are charged to people who want to be assured of sailing in their preferred category. They upsells are for people who booked a lower category and presumably would not have paid the original asking price for the high end suite.

 

To the OP, I suggest booking a lower-cost suite and hope for an upsell. That puts you in the position of those who got the better deal, at the risk of sailing in a lesser suite. Pretty small risk to me, but maybe not to others.

 

I agree, there are relatively few people who will pay the rack rate for the top end suites, but they are out there - people with more money than they can spend. NCL wants some of that cash.

 

When sail time nears and the suites are not sold out, they will discount them, that is certain.

[Budget Queen]

New York cruises are initially higher, not only because of demand but because of the price of stocking it out of NYC. The ships that port in Miami are actually stocked there and not NYC, where the costs are at least 25% higher. (told to me by a cpt. :) )

 

But NYC cruises also drop like a rock and the late bargains are definately there.

[sjbdtz]

Maybe the actual intent is to create goodwill among high-value customers who book penthouses & owner's suites...by letting them feel they've been upgraded, while also offering a premium product to those VIPs who feel price is no object?

 

The economics are:

 

Courtyard Villa: $5500

 

Penthouse: $3500

 

Upsell differential: $1000

 

Discount: $1000

 

 

 

 

Net effect, $4500 revenue for $5500 valued product...so $1000 shortfall.

 

Upgrade AF to AD to AC to AA, etc....taking a few hundred from each one.

 

Upgrade the B1 to AF, etc. etc. etc.

 

Resell the cheap inside that's left at the end.....

 

 

Net effect is happy customers, and more revenue than originally anticipated.

 

 

Airlines do this too....for their frequent fliers.

[andreamarc]

I've never discussed how much I've paid for a cruise with anyone (other than DH of course:D ) - it's no one's business but ours. If I'm happy with the price I've paid then that's what matters most to me - not what someone else paid.

 

I certainly wouldn't ever turn down an upsell out of concern that someone may have paid more/less for their cabin than I did - let's be honest here, would anyone?

 

I believe the less I know about other's finances the happier I am - I know how much I'm willing to spend to sail in a particular cabin and don't exceed that.

 

I agree with you. It's tempting to watch prices going up and down, but if you are happy with what you've paid because you can afford it, spend the time getting a sale on cruise clothes instead! too much scrutiny of the boards and/ or finding out costs from other cruisers takes the edge off the anticipation of, and excitement about the great time one has on the cruise.

[petesweet]

Reading through this whole thread has lead me to think that elitism is starting to rear its' ugly head...Or did I accidentally click on the Cunard board link?

 

PE<---thinks there is nothing wrong with trailer park inhabitants...

 

As a "trailer park" resident, I also agree. But I also see a trend taking us back to the Titanic. Used to be when you were on a ship, the class lines were erased. Not so anymore, apparently. It really doesn't bother me, because those at the top pay a lot more than I do. It's just kind of funny that cruise lines are reverting to the olden days.

[salty dingo]

I agree - once you have booked your cruise, it matters not what the price others pay is. Ignore that and focus on why you booked the room when you did.

 

Pricing is ultimately set by supply and demand, so it does no good to question why Gem is priced higher now... it will eventually be priced according to the market, so if it seems high now, the thing to do is wait.

 

The downside is that maybe you won't have your pick of cabins, but I think all the suites are great, so I would not care too much about the exact cabin.

[newmexicoNita]

I just returned from my second NCL cruise on the 12/14 Pearl in Courtyard Villa #14508. While we loved it, we were upset to find out how few of our fellow Courtyard level guests actually paid full fare for their cruise. It appeared that only two or three of the families did -- others were offered upsells. In fact, the family in the cabin next to us paid HALF as much as we did. I hate to think that I'm subsidizing other peoples' cruises.

 

Still, we enoyed our cruise enough that we decided to book a January 2009 sailing of the Gem out of New York. I just priced it out and am in total disbelief. None of the Courtyard Villas appear to be booked, yet NCL is asking for an unbelievable amount of money for these cabins. We paid about $10,500 for our Pearl suite. They're asking almost $16,000 for the same suite on the Gem. I expected a slight increase because the cruise is 10 days as opposed to 9 days, but not $5500!

 

I checked the Jewel cruises for the 9 day itinerary and they are still in the $10K range. Why is NCL charging such a premium for the Gem cruises? Do they really think they're going to find that many customers willing to pay $16K for a cruise? No way. As a result, they're going to have to fill the cabins with upsells.

 

Why doesn't NCL just charge a reasonable amount for their suites? It's not smart business. The courtyard guests become friends and talk about prices. People who pay full fare resent NCL for charging them such high prices and others such low ones. They're going to start losing their high end guests if they keep this up. My DH and I are now looking at other cruise lines. It's a shame because NCL offers a great product. They just need to overhaul their pricing.

new ship, glowing reviews, try high prices. Only time will tell if the price drops. It is supply and demand. If the demand isn't there the supply will be and prices will drop.

 

As for you experience with your last sailing, this is also par for the course. Many people wait and book late or are offered upsells from what they originally planned on booking. It is a gamble. You can wait it out and maybe not get anything, maybe get something you don't want or even a higher price or you can book early and maybe find out, like this last time, you paid more than others. Like I said it is a gamble.

 

Nita

[Jana]

IMHO, the biggest problem with the price variations and upsells is that NCL has sold the Courtyard as an "exclusive ship-within-a-ship", thereby commanding the prices for the privacy and alleged superior service from those who wish to pay for it.

 

This completely falls apart when those who originally choose to pay far, far less for base units are upgraded at cheap rates. Consequently, the area is no longer "exclusive" or "stylish" or "elegant".

 

I know, I've sailed with the "Joad Family", four and an infant in their cv - I paid $11K for two, they paid a $1500 fee in addition to their minisuite. Nice.

 

Pretty soon, NCL will be hawking the Courtyard to the National Trailer Park Assn.

 

You might look into purchasing a residence on The World. It's unlikely that you'd find any distasteful "trailer trash" on any sailing. You can rent out your space when you aren't onboard, and when you are, you can pretend it's Beverly Hills.

[mbisson]

You might look into purchasing a residence on The World. It's unlikely that you'd find any distasteful "trailer trash" on any sailing. You can rent out your space when you aren't onboard, and when you are, you can pretend it's Beverly Hills.

 

Jana-that has much more meaning to me now! ;)

[Jana]

Jana-that has much more meaning to me now! ;)

 

Kindred souls!

 

Trailer trash of the USA... UNITE! We are not elephants! We are HUMAN BEINGS! Stand up and be counted!

 

:)

[salty dingo]

I don't think we're quite back to the days of Titanic. No matter what fare you pay, there are the same restaurants (albeit with some perks) and the same shows, you get to the ports at the same time, and the weather is the same.

 

The high end suites do have some private areas, but it's not like it's a big part of the ship, just an attachment to the cabin. I think the price you pay is mostly about personal service and cabin size/amenities.

 

No way in hades I would shell out an extra thousand bucks a person to lounge in a private courtyard, when there is a whole ship-load of deck space for free!

[mbisson]

We are not elephants!

 

In my case, I'm not so sure. The holidays are not being kind to my waistline! (this year it's more of a "waste Line")

[Jana]

In my case, I'm not so sure. The holidays are not being kind to my waistline! (this year it's more of a "waste Line")

 

 

That was a poor choice of words on my part. It was a reference to the movie Elephant Man, in which Joseph Merrick proclaimed "I am a HUMAN BEING!"

 

Let me rephrase: We might be elephants, we might be trailer trash, but we are also HUMAN BEINGS!

[cruisewmn]

No way in hades I would shell out an extra thousand bucks a person to lounge in a private courtyard, when there is a whole ship-load of deck space for free!

 

Normally, I wouldn't either, but we all have our own priorities and situations. I have a special needs child (similar to autism). He gets extremely anxious in loud areas with lots of people. As a result, we can't take him to the main pool area. The Courtyard is quiet and he's able to relax. If he chooses not to join us in the Courtyard, he can hang out in the room and we're only a few steps away. My DH and I can have some quality time together, too. NCL's Courtyard has made it possible for me to finally enjoy a family cruise.

 

We have to really save up to pay for the Courtyard (which is why a $5500 increase in fare is such a big deal for us). It's not a matter of exclusivity, it's about being able to sit by a pool like all the other families. The extra $$$ is worth it for us normally, but we don't have $16K for a cruise.

 

I truly appreciate everyone's opinions. I have checked with a few TA's, but no one is able to get me any real discount. We're going to reconsider the Jewel 9-day out of Miami and look at some other cruiselines which offer a hot tub on the balcony as another option.

 

I really love NCL and Freestyle. I just wish they priced their suites reasonably instead of filling suites with upsells. Oh well.