Last week I wrote about the NCL Upgrade Advantage program. You have to be flexible, and you have to be OK with the cabin you actually paid for. Norwegian can offer a much nicer cabin at a steep discount through the upgrade program. However, if you know that moving to a nicer cabin is important to you then check out prices as the cruise approaches. It may be a better deal to simply call and pay the price difference. Things are starting to look that way on my cruise.
I put my bids in a week ago. The next day I decided to see which rooms were still available. Prices had already dropped for my July 2 cruise. For example, the balcony is now $300 cheaper than it was. On the surface of things, that still makes the upgrade offer a great deal. I would save $960 rather than $1260, but that is still a great deal.
Here’s the thing: I don’t think that is the last price drop. For cruises over the next few weeks, NCL is offering balconies on the Norwegian Sky Cuba cruise for less than I paid for my oceanview. The June 4, June 11, and June 18 departures all have this opportunity. My cruise, in turn, is more expensive that the cruises in following weeks.
What’s the upshot of all this? Your original booking should always be for a cabin you will enjoy. The NCL Upgrade Advantage program may, however, offer you the opportunity to move to nicer real estate at a discount. Just make sure to keep checking prices. Norwegian looks to be pretty aggressive with last minute discounting. If this continues, I will call and see if I can’t just pay the fare difference.
Update
Find out how the bid turned out.
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