General NCL Booking Question

[irbgolfin]

Greetings all,

 

I've been on several cruises on different lines, but the last was 4-5 years ago. When I last booked, it was possible to find a higher volume agent for a particular line and they would discount the list price (give up some of their commission), saving some money - ie prices varied by agent and the cruiseline was the most expensive option with no discounting. It was also possible to get extra perks like OBC from the higher volume agent depending on details of what you booked, group space, etc. I'm now looking at booking again, in particular on NCL Spirit this winter, and as I started my research I found an article from a couple of years ago that indicated that the cruiselines (NCL in particular was mentioned), were working to change the booking/commission set up to make the whole "shopping around" situation have less of an impact on the end price. They did say there still might be some perks that could be available depending on the agent you chose. I did some searching but didn't find this addressed, and apologize if this has been discussed, but would appreciate any links to save some space.

 

So, the bottom line question for you experienced cruisers, have things changed, at least with respect to this subject, since I last traveled?

 

Thanks for any info!

 

irbgolfin

[bakerintn]

I did some shopping around for the Pearl, Jan 11 sailing, and did not find a better deal than direct with NCL. We booked a k-class inside guarantee and got a deck 10 inside at the bottom price, plus a military veteran discount plus a per-cabin $100 On board credit. You might find an agent that has a block of cabins pre-reserved that can do better, but for this particular sailing, we did not find a better deal.

 

One of the difficulties in shopping around is to make sure all quotes are "apples to apples" -- remember fuel surcharge, taxes and fees less any OBC or the value of any other offered perks.

[terrymtex01]

I agree with bakerintn. We have never found a cruise price lower with a TA if we compared apples to apples. What may be a deciding factor is the service you will get by booking with a good TA as opposed to booking with NCL or any other cruiseline directly. If an issue comes up and NCL tells you no, they might be more willing to give a high volume TA lattitude (no pun intended).

 

Just food for thought.

[garycarla]

If you check some of the current pricing, there will not be a big difference. There is a good service to do some rate quoting with called *************.com

[irbgolfin]

Thanks for the replies!

 

As a follow up, specifically related to OBC, let's say I look at the NCL site for a certain cruise and it is $X. Then I look at another site A and it is $X. But I go to site B and it is $X + OBC. The fine print implies that all taxes and surcharges are included on each, but not sure you have info to say that. I wonder if the OBC is something that is not advertised by all but available if you call and ask, or if there are actually differences in taxes and surcharges included in some prices and not others, but at the end of the day the bottom line cost is the same. Or, if site B has some way to offer OBC that others don't and it's slightly better in the long run. Seems to me if NCL is trying to encourage booking on a particular trip/cabin category they can lower prices or add OBC or whatever, and that would be the same for a specific trip regardless of how you book it, assuming TAs are no longer able to discount commissions.

 

Sorry if this seems like too much in the way of detailed questioning, but in my bookings years ago it was possible to save money, maybe 10% or a little more, and now it appears that the prices are the same and the thing to help you decide is the service from the site/TA/NCL.

 

FWIW - I don't really need TA assistant to pick the trip/cabin, I feel comfortable making those decisions from experience, and I'm going to make a call and reserve and be done, just interested in getting the best deal, price, OBC, whatever.

 

Thanks!

 

irbgolfin

[Ron & Kristy]

I'm just the opposite from prior posts. NCL has yet to beat the price of the online TA's that I have contacted. The price difference wasn't just a little it was a considerable difference. I would probably never book directly with NCL. One of my dear friends had booked directly with NCL for Jan on the Pearl and I convinced her to get a quote from one of the online TA's. The price difference was almost $1,000!! She is in an Aft Suite. That is a huge difference to my way of thinking. I would always check it out, especially that site (you should be able to find it) that has TA's compete for your business. Their prices are extremely good.

[Jamrenjer]

For us- only once was NCL the same price what we found online-- the rest of the cruises we got better deals elsewhere... We have used a site where you actually punch in exactly what you are wanting-- and there are travel agents who "compete" for your business.... we have used that site twice and got good deals.... for some though, as posted, NCL has given them the best deal.... All the best!

[BikerAl]

I have gone both ways, and currently feel a bit more comfortable going direct with NCL. There are a couple of threads about a major cruise travel agent which just recently went under, and some folks are not protected. In these troubled times, I expect more to follow suit, so I would prefer to know that my travel insurance will protect me if NCL were to fail, while it would not protect me if the travel agent failed.

 

That being said, there are a ton of reputable agents out there who would not put their customers in jeopardy by holding customer funds. If you go with a travel agent, be sure to read he thread about this failure, and how to protect yourself, by having all charges to your credit card placed by the cruise line, not the agent. Also, only pay by credit card, not check, debit or the like.

 

Al

[Clay Clayton]

I tend to agree with the last few posters. I have always been able to beat the NCL price, typically by at least a hundred a person and have been a big propoent of the online TAs. However, my most recent experience has made me start to rethink my position. I blooked three rooms for a family reunion over Thanksgiving. We believed we got a good price but just after final payment, NCL had a big price drop, it would have been a total savings of $1,800 if we had of waited to book. Other folks on my roll call got really cheap upsells (25 bucks from an inside to a balcony for example) when they called NCL or their bricks and mortar travel agents. When I contacted my online agent, I got nothing but the runaround...said NCL wouldn't allow them to change anything after final payment, which obviously wasn't entirely the case. When I called NCL direct, I found out we were a group sale - thats how the price was so much lower I guess, sell 16 and get one free to sell, and they couldn't help me.

 

So, given the current market, I think with our next cruise, we just might go direct with NCL.

 

Clay

 

ps If you are a gambler, lots of folks swear by booking with Casinos at Sea.

[garycarla]

The OBC is a marketing tool. Some people get more excited with that than looking at the total price. Just like some people get upset over paying extra for speciality restaurants, but will spend $400 extra to cruise with somebody else. Just all in the packaging. Not unlike Advil vs generic. Same stuff, just different packaging to meet the needs of the public.

[CaribQween]

As usual, almost any question you post will get you a whole variety of opinions. Our first cruise will be in February 2009. I compared every last website I could find with the prices on ncl.com (making sure to compare apples to apples) and I found that the vast majority were exactly the same as NCL. Then I came across the website where the online TAs "compete" for your business as discussed by previous posters. Its very easy to use. You basically sign up for free and then all of the travel agencies send quotes to your account. You get an email everytime there is a new quote posted and then you go in and check them. None of the TA's have your information so you won't get hundreds of emails from different online agencies. You contact the ones that you're interested in. I basically got our AD suites for the Dawn for $300 per person cheaper than what we could get through NCL. We also got an OBC of $100 that is through NCL not the TA. I had read that you had to make sure that the TA is not the one charging your credit card but rather NCL (so you won't have problems as a previous poster discussed). That was one of the first questions I asked and they told me right off that it was NCL that charged it. After I booked the cruise, I went right back to the NCL website and our reservation was there. The only thing I would warn you about is that when we got our confirmation for the booking, it showed a due date for the final payment that was a couple weeks earlier than the 75 days that is the "actual" final payment due date through NCL. I called the TA a few days ago and they said that they didn't know the exact date at the time of booking but contacted NCL to verify it and then sent a new confirmation with a due date approximately 7 days earlier than the "actual" due date. They say they do that to make sure that the payments all go through before the actual due date hits to ensure that there are no chances for missing the dates and losing the reservations. They also said they will automatically charge the credit card on file so if you want a different card used than what you booked with then you need to contact the TA prior to the due date on the booking confirmation.

[lvz2cruz]

We booked last week with t...city and got $75 OBC per cabin (we have 2) by paying with MasterCard. I think the promotion ended Thursday. Their price was $30 per cabin less than NCL but they add a $20 booking fee, so if not for the $150 in OBC, I would have booked direct.

I was on the phone with them for nearly an hour; I could have booked online in about 5 minutes. I will enjoy spending my OBC though.

[DDMau]

I have had problems with the little Nome, you get coupons and $150 gift card when you use your MC for payment. We went for it and well no cuopons showed up a booking fee did show up and the $150 gift card took atleast 6 months and hours of phone calls to get. So me and the little Nome have not spoken since. As for NCL vs TA booking we have had good luck with both. I do feel a good TA might get a problem solved faster with less stress on you.

[lvz2cruz]

I have had problems with the little Nome, you get coupons and $150 gift card when you use your MC for payment. We went for it and well no cuopons showed up a booking fee did show up and the $150 gift card took atleast 6 months and hours of phone calls to get. So me and the little Nome have not spoken since. As for NCL vs TA booking we have had good luck with both. I do feel a good TA might get a problem solved faster with less stress on you.

 

Did the website advertise OBC or a giftcard? Ours adverstised OBC and we had them email confirmation of the OBC. Hope it gets posted.