May 13, 2008
Would you believe a price of $499 per person for a Mediterranean cruise of seven days, round-trip from Barcelona? Hint: it's on a ship of NCL
I recently called Norwegian Cruise Line a "hungry" company, and more proof of that has come from an announcement by White Travel Service (tel. 860/233-2648; www.whitetravel.com) that they will be making cabins available on the October 20 and November 2 sailings from Barcelona of the 2,400-passenger Norwegian Gem, an almost brand-new ship, for as little as $499 per person -- which is surely an unprecedented low price for the popular Mediterranean. On the same ship's November 9 sailing, they will be charging only $10 more -- $509. In each instance, the cruise is seven nights in duration.
Now some of this comes about because of dates. Most Americans will not want to be away over Election Day (which is on November 4 this year). And the other two sailings are scheduled at a time when the weather can be chilly in the Mediterranean (in fact, most cruise lines don't sail that late in the year in European waters).
But it's also a fact that Norwegian Cruise Line has been a hard-luck company this past year, suffering losses while other comparable lines were racking up profits. Recently, a private equity firm has made a large investment in NCL, and ships are being massively improved and altered. Other giant new ships are presently in construction for NCL.
But NCL's sale of cabins at such cut-rates, through a Connecticut cruise discounter, is nevertheless telling -- and good news for cruise bargain-hunters.
Write and read comments about this post.
Now some of this comes about because of dates. Most Americans will not want to be away over Election Day (which is on November 4 this year). And the other two sailings are scheduled at a time when the weather can be chilly in the Mediterranean (in fact, most cruise lines don't sail that late in the year in European waters).
But it's also a fact that Norwegian Cruise Line has been a hard-luck company this past year, suffering losses while other comparable lines were racking up profits. Recently, a private equity firm has made a large investment in NCL, and ships are being massively improved and altered. Other giant new ships are presently in construction for NCL.
But NCL's sale of cabins at such cut-rates, through a Connecticut cruise discounter, is nevertheless telling -- and good news for cruise bargain-hunters.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
