Norwegian Fjords cruises- why such a big $ diff between cruises with the same itinerary?

[Garretts92]

This may be attributable to season but I'm going to ask anyway. I've priced the 2016 Norwegian Fjords cruises on the Magic and was curious as to why the same itinerary for the May cruise is so much cheaper than the June cruise. If they were both leaving out of the same port, the answer would be more apparent (seasonality). The May cruise leaves out of Dover England and the June cruise leaves out of Copenhagen. The accommodations I looked at was nearly $1,000 higher in June. Is the pricing different because it's peak season? or is it the port? Maybe both?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

School holidays.

DCL tries to attract out of season cruisers and parents to take kids out of school.

Prices are higher the closer to school holidays and also best weather on the longest days in June like today!

 

[Flossbolna]

Besides school holidays, there is also the weather issue. We just came back from the 6/6 Norway cruise and it was definitely cold there. Highs for our port days were between 44 and 54 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 12 Celsius). Also, some areas are only accessible by the end of May due to snow, depending on how much snow they got over winter. And I noticed that a lot of museums and such have much shorter hours before June. For example on our day in Stavanger, which was a Monday, a lot of museums would have been closed on Mondays if we had been there before June 1.

 

[SleepyV]

The 29th May cruise, which is cheaper, sets off on the Saturday of a British Bank Holiday weekend.
It also co-incides with the May half term for many school in the Uk.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

The 29th May cruise, which is cheaper, sets off on the Saturday of a British Bank Holiday weekend.
It also co-incides with the May half term for many school in the Uk.

True and a bargain sush, do not tell DCL about it......or... the prices will go up.

Often they do not spot it but for the UK a nice one to book.

 

[aggiedog]

Yes, school. We elected to take our 4 kids out of a school a week early to sail May 30, missing finals, instead of wait until June and pay almost 50% more. School was not thrilled, but it is what it is. For those without kids or a teaching job, it's a no brainer - go earlier.

 

[Garretts92]

I wondered about European holidays and if that was part of the reason. I wasn't sure how their school terms worked or if Disney priced these cruises around the American market. Since our only child just graduated high school, we aren't restricted to those schedules anymore . Now to decide on going early, saving $ and risking colder weather or splurging. I would like to see Copenhagen. Lots to think about! Thanks for the inputs.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I wondered about European holidays and if that was part of the reason. I wasn't sure how their school terms worked or if Disney priced these cruises around the American market. Since our only child just graduated high school, we aren't restricted to those schedules anymore . Now to decide on going early, saving $ and risking colder weather or splurging. I would like to see Copenhagen. Lots to think about! Thanks for the inputs.

DCL for a long time didn't understand European school breaks, they in the last few years got better and the planning itinerary department worked out there is demand during our summer school holidays, but they still do not know it very well, the spring half term Norway run is the first example of them looking to the UK market but they didn't seem to fit the pricing to that one.

My Baltic cruise 7/22 (summer 2014 figures) has 25% Brits on board as it fell directly at the start of most of our school holidays.

 

[Flossbolna]

I wondered about European holidays and if that was part of the reason. I wasn't sure how their school terms worked or if Disney priced these cruises around the American market. Since our only child just graduated high school, we aren't restricted to those schedules anymore . Now to decide on going early, saving $ and risking colder weather or splurging. I would like to see Copenhagen. Lots to think about! Thanks for the inputs.

I think I have to qualify my weather warning a bit! I just saw May, but really if the cruise leaves May 30, then that is just one week earlier than our cruise and more or less in June, not in May. From looking at opening times and such, June 1 is the start of the summer season and opening hours and schedules are switching over then. So, I think it really should not be too much of an issue. Also, June traditionally is the driest month of the year in Norway according to my research before we booked the cruise, so actually a great time to go. I thought the snow left over on the mountains added a lot to the scenery and it certainly made the waterfalls even more spectacular!

And for the 1000$ you save, you could easily book a cheap flight over to Copenhagen from London and add a few days there before you return!

 

[aggiedog]

And for the 1000$ you save, you could easily book a cheap flight over to Copenhagen from London and add a few days there before you return!

Exactly. We added 3 days in Copenhagen and 2 in Iceland and still came out significantly ahead on finances from the June sailing. Because of Memorial Day weekend, it didn't really add much to the missed school days. And the weather was not bad. Not warm, for this Texas girl, but not bad. I should have brought more long sleeve shirts and hoodies/sweaters for the ship time, but port excursions were just fine. Copenhagen and Iceland were drizzly, but not all the time, and not enough to really be an issue.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Exactly. We added 3 days in Copenhagen and 2 in Iceland and still came out significantly ahead on finances from the June sailing. Because of Memorial Day weekend, it didn't really add much to the missed school days. And the weather was not bad. Not warm, for this Texas girl, but not bad. I should have brought more long sleeve shirts and hoodies/sweaters for the ship time, but port excursions were just fine. Copenhagen and Iceland were drizzly, but not all the time, and not enough to really be an issue.

I am doing that run next year but in July.

 

[aggiedog]

You will love it. I would love, love to go back to Iceland. Copenhagen was wonderful and very easy to do with a family. We were lucky enough to catch the premiere of the Paris Opera Ballet at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen as well. The queen sat just a few rows ahead of us. Not your standard Copenhagen tourist site, but it was really nice.