Discounts How does one not pay full listed price??

[Xelcaz]

ok... I keep seeing all of these things on the travel channel stating you should never pay full price.. Ok how??

 

Cuz no matter what I do I seem to always pay more then the prices listed..

 

1) I need 2 joining balconies or 1 balcony and 1 inside cabin across so I cant get the "floater" I need to choose my cabins as I put the kids in the 2nd room

2) the dates, I never get shipboard credits? how does one do that?

3) Who has the ways? is it early? last minute? How does one save on airfare?

 

Thanx in advance for any info ...

 

:)

[Toyz711]

i haven't been able to get on-board credits with the lower prices, i seem to be able to get one or the other. i don't think anyone pays the "list" price in the brochures, the brochures are just suggested price...printed a year in advance. you can check the prices on the website for the cruiselines against the website of some of the TAs.

last cruise, on friday the price seemed good..on monday it was better. the cruise before the price went up every week. we just find a price we can live with and go with that. especially since if we wait, the air fare goes up. gotta just do a balancing act.

[JenDalessan]

We can't provide links to TA's on this site. However, if you book through some of the reputable online agencies you can get great deals and some perks. On our last cruise we got a great deal, onboard credits and there was a bottle of wine in our cabin when we arrive- compliments of out TA.

[salty dingo]

A lot depends on the time of year. Summer and holidays when kids are out of school will be premium prices. Other times of year, like the Fall, especially in the Caribbean, are heavily discounted.

[kdg51]

We've used the same online TA for our last several cruises. NCL sent us a name of a PCC but we feel we get the best price and great service by calling the same guy each year. This time when we booked the better deal was on this company's website but he did hold the cabins we had picked and switched them when we called back with our reservation number. Last year we tried the friend of a friend that would "take good care of us" but his price was the same as NCL. One of his agents (not the guy we were told to ask for) offered to match the better price we had but after some indecision (and 2 price increases) we went back to the old TA.

 

Last year (2007, seems like yesterday :D ) we waited for the prices to drop and they just kept going up...for this year's cruise(s) we booked early and then there were several promotions. :( maybe next time we'll do it right? ;)

[Wilcoam]

XELCAZ...

 

Full list brochure or full list NCL Website?

 

Regardless, the best way to choose your cabin in advance, get a discounted booking, and possibly OBCC, is simply to book ahead as

far as possible, and use a TA.

 

I'm sailing on the Jewel in a Villa on the Jewel in less than 2 days. If you see the price on the website, it's $4,599.00. I'm not aware of the brochure price.

 

By booking this in June 07 (6 mths ahead) and through a TA, I got SIGNIFICANT savings over this price, AND a $150.00 OBCC.

 

I'm not special, it was available for anybody and anyone, either through your TA, and-or xxxxxx. It does help however, to do some research, narrow your cruise choices down, be decisive, and shop the price around.

 

IMO, no different than buying a plasma TV or an Auto.

 

Good luck

jc

Toronto

[rubythroatbird]

We received our cruise tickets as a gift from a land-based casino where we have a lot of action. You don't have to wait for a casino to offer the gift. You can send your references to NCL and see if you qualify for a free/discounted cruise. We know two other guys who did this, and they were approved. They had lots of action at their land-based casino though -- $5-up on slots/video poker, black chip action at the tables. But if you gamble at this level anyway, you could send your casino references to NCL. Their player's program is called Casinos at Sea.

 

I don't know about onboard ship credits. I think we'll get them, if any, based on how much action we put in the casino.

 

Not advice that applies to everyone but if you happened to be a casino VIP and didn't know about this perk, worth looking into it.

[Toyz711]

we asked, while on board, about meal comps or OBC comps...the casino manager told us they don't do that any more. it could have just been that ship and that casino manager. we don't do harrah's as much, but still are rated there...the same investors that are buying into harrahs are buying into NCL. there is a phone number for casino-at-sea, they can book cabins.

[rubythroatbird]

Thank you for that, Toyz. He was debating whether or not to gamble on the cruise or just enjoy the other options. If there are no additional comps, he'll probably be inclined to leave the gambling budget for another time. He's a Harrah's Diamond but the cruise didn't come from Harrah's, it came from Trump. Not sure what their relationship is to NCL, if any.

[AFT_LOVER]

is the new owner of Harah's, as well as NCL, Oceania & Regent 7 Seas. So they have Casino at Sea for gamblers to get a break if not a free suite on any of their ships. So when you book, have your TA take down your Harrahs # to get you a deal with NCL or any of the others.

 

 

 

Thank you for that, Toyz. He was debating whether or not to gamble on the cruise or just enjoy the other options. If there are no additional comps, he'll probably be inclined to leave the gambling budget for another time. He's a Harrah's Diamond but the cruise didn't come from Harrah's, it came from Trump. Not sure what their relationship is to NCL, if any.

[Budget Queen]

I always highly recommend that you keep track of pricing trends yourself. Immediately, when you see a price drop, contact your booking agent for an adjustment. Be especially agressive with your search just before final payment. Be aware that the agency final payment date and the actual date may be different. A great many agents put the date a week- 10 days prior.

[Xelcaz]

thanx for your ideas...

We just booked our Jewel cruise through NCL direct...

we got an AF mini and a II for the kids again on the 12/26 sailing out of Miami.. the PHs were so crazy priced we went with what worked for us this year & we were thinking of the 14 day but the concept of coming back to Miami and the only additional ports we would get are cozumel and cayman (which we did on 06) and could live without... we also decided to drive instead of fly and dilly dally on the way down and make a cool road trip on the way down rather then having to spend 2 days flying we said eh lets plan a road trip...

 

:D

I'm still eyeballing the 14 day out of Chile... the flights are outrageous and how could we do that without the antartica excursion... :o)

[slotaddict]

We received our cruise tickets as a gift from a land-based casino where we have a lot of action. You don't have to wait for a casino to offer the gift. You can send your references to NCL and see if you qualify for a free/discounted cruise. We know two other guys who did this, and they were approved. They had lots of action at their land-based casino though -- $5-up on slots/video poker, black chip action at the tables. But if you gamble at this level anyway, you could send your casino references to NCL. Their player's program is called Casinos at Sea.

 

I don't know about onboard ship credits. I think we'll get them, if any, based on how much action we put in the casino.

 

Not advice that applies to everyone but if you happened to be a casino VIP and didn't know about this perk, worth looking into it.

 

Can I ask what land based casino??? I have been comped an inside cabin by NCL themselves based on my play on the Pearl, which I upgraded to a balcony and paid the difference for my next cruise on the Spirit.

[Suesan Jean]

ok... I keep seeing all of these things on the travel channel stating you should never pay full price.. Ok how??

 

Cuz no matter what I do I seem to always pay more then the prices listed..

 

1) I need 2 joining balconies or 1 balcony and 1 inside cabin across so I cant get the "floater" I need to choose my cabins as I put the kids in the 2nd room

2) the dates, I never get shipboard credits? how does one do that?

3) Who has the ways? is it early? last minute? How does one save on airfare?

 

Thanx in advance for any info ...

 

:)

 

E-mail me. I will help you out......:)

sjpolishprincess@aim.com

[Suesan Jean]

E-mail me. I will help you out......:)

 

sjpolishprincess@aim.com

 

I just noticed your post that you booked already, but, maybe my information can be helpfull for your NEXT CRUISE....!!!!:D