From the perspective of someone who works with several cruise lines, it's all marketing and how different cruise lines choose to promote. How much money can they get up front? How much can they make? How are they going to position themselves to get the most people booked? What NCL, who Craig worked with years ago as a host on board the ship, likes to do is give a Comp Cabin and add that they are also going to give you something else (ex. Wi-Fi package, drinks on board, or specialty dinners). So NCL player's receive a comp plus two out of three of these extra options/ add-ons.

On the surface, it looks great, but it ends up costing you $600-$900 for a Comp cruise, but you also have extra perks. Other cruise lines, such as MSC, have a different strategy. MSC gives you a Comp cabin without fees, and they charge a $400 deposit which you get back in full in onboard credit. They don't add on extra packages (ex, Wif-Fi, specialty dinners,etc.). When you dig into the numbers, the MSC deal is a lot better, because you can buy the wi-fi package, the drink pack, etc and still come out ahead.