rodndonna

Thanks! ... uughh ....

When we booked our NCL cruise with air, they automatically added on transfers which I would now like to remove (I assume I don't have to take them) as final payment is later this month. I don't see a way to do that on-line. Do I have to call in for that or am I missing something?

Would there be an electronic form fillable pdf somewhere or does it actually require - "print , fill , sign, scan" and then email the form? I've searched and I can't find one ... seems odd

I don't think you get credit. It appears you do with Celebrity and Carnival (Fly2Fun) but not NCL. Have been looking more into this lately ... The advantage is cost and a better chance you will make it to the ship if there are delays.

Following as we have an NCL air booked for a cruise in January and still within the window to cancel and book our own air.

Thanks Fred! I agree, RobertQ is pricey. As an example our for our upcoming cruise from Venice (booked through FLigtease with HAL), we paid less than an additional $150 each to fly form London with the Pearson connection, so would have been more expensive to fly direct from Pearson and take that bus (which is around $200 each) Will definitely look at Detroit for Florida flights as we are doing one at least one Caribbean cruise a year. Gotta look into that Florida golf thing though, we're both golfers! I'm not sure there is as much benefit with European flights or our flights back to the East Coast (gotta head home 2-3 times a year). We're quite close to Western and the Via station, so would actually just take the short Uber (or walk) to those departures from ONExBus and MegaBus.

Not sure - should have asked as we had an existing booking. 😐 Pretty sure it was only for a new booking though..

We did get the OBC reinstated that came with the original FCC, just not the additional $200. I have the email though .. so gosh darn it .. I'm getting it!

This was found on Celebrity's site - If the flight gets cancelled or delayed and Celebrity Cruises is unable to get the guest to the ship, we will offer a Future Cruise Credit and refund the cost of the flight. Oddly for Holland (FlightEase) I see no mention of FCC is missing the cruise.

I tripped on a CC article that says Carinvals Fly2Fun gives you FCC. I;'d be happy of that was the standard policy for all Carnival lines, but haven't actually read that anywhere 🙂 Edit: found it ... FLY2FUN PROTECTION All Fly2Fun bookings come with flight protection — free! That means you’re covered in case weather conditions or flight changes delay your arrival to the ship. We’ll make alternate flight, hotel and/or ground transportation arrangements and do everything we can to get you to the cruise port in time to board the ship, at no expense to you. If no viable options are available to get you to the ship before departure at the homeport, you will be given a Future Cruise Credit to use toward an alternate Carnival cruise

I wonder if they had insurance that kicked in for those cases or was it just having FlightEase (or equivalent)? I kinda envisaged if it happened (and couldn't get to any further port) that maybe getting my flight refunded and maybe some FCC (if the cruise line felt generous) and then maybe something from our Credit Card Insurance, although that caps pretty low at $1500/pp . Really hoping not to find out though.....

It's odd - our refund was very fast (like with a couple of days). I misunderstood and thought I was getting Future Cruise Deposit back, so I picked out another cruise to use it. When I called in to book the new one, she told me it was a refund and not FCD and voila .. there it was on our CC and I hadn't noticed. In the end we were still lured by the $200 OBC (we are a cheap date) so continued with the new booking anyway but was told the extra $200 OBC might take a while and still waiting for that.

Do they say they will refund your cruise if you can't make it as a result of air issues? I didn't think so although would be nice 🙂 I think in the end, if (when) it happens , we find out what really happens 😉

For sure, no point in stressing about it. We are typically cruise "day of" risk takers .. and in the end when something happens (which inevitably it will) you just have to go with it. That being said, I have no idea whether I actually reduce my risk booking air through the cruise line or if that is an illusion and could actually just be adding more potential hassle (if I have to coordinate through them) for nothing.

Sometimes the weather here (say Toronto)is fine .. but the "airplane" is delayed coming in due to weather (in say Calgary). In that case, not sure if the cruise line could move us to Westjet if it ws an option? The other big unknown is "getting to the next available port" .. will it use any airline to get us to the next available port (assuming you miss embarkation) ... ??? I am pretty dubious of what really happens ... and assume it is just one of those things you don't really know until it happens - much like insurance coverage....

I could be wrong (thankfully has not been an issue ..knock on wood) but I "assumed" they had more leverage than I would by myself to get me on a different airline if that was an option, at no additional cost to me (maybe I am dreaming) I do go back and forth and what is better. We typically book with Air Canada and have had good experiences with using their "daily flight outlook" to rebook our flights earlier or later when there is potential for the flight to be disrupted (typically weather). I actually don't know if I book with AC through the cruiselines, can I use that service to rebook pre-emptively.

Has anyone affected by the deployments for 2025 sailings rebooked and received the offered additional OBC? (In our case it was $200) We rebooked a new sailing almost 2 weeks ago and were told to keep an eye for an email regarding the additional OBC. Still nothing beyond that initial email regarding the cancellation and $200 OBC offer to rebook. Has anyone rebooked and received the OBC on their booking or an additional email yet?

Thanks Dismom. So when you say free shuttle to Porter - was she was flying from Billy Bishop? Is there a free shuttle from Union to Billy Bishop? Not an option for this cruise - but a good option for the future as there seem to be a lot of good deals from Billy Bishop.

Cool as a Cucumber is my fave HAL mocktail 😎

We are "RCL-curious" and have attempted to sail with RCL not because they are a good fit for us (we cruise as a couple) but just to tick the box and see what an RCL ship is like. Whenever I look, they always seem to be more expensive for us. We book insides (maybe a balcony to splurge) and take whatever version of "all included" the cruise line offers to get our best estimate with a beverages and gratuities included. I think that is where we lose out with RCL as it seemed crazy expensive to get a beverage package. I find the same thing with CCL pricing.

I can't speak to "returning" levels, but based on my experience since Covid (6 HAL cruises, 1 Celebrity cruise) I would pay a nominal amount - maybe 10% more to sail Celebrity over HAL (and I presume Princess would be similar but don't sail with them until the spring). For good or for bad, we get a decent Casino discount with HAL, so it makes it harder to book Celebrity or other brands. It hasn't stopped us from booking 2 more Celebrity cruises, but have booked them for itineraries we couldn't get with HAL.

Do you typically cross the border at Windsor or Sarnia?

We haven't lived here long enough to remember to think about Detroit as on option. Still prefer flying from London, with a connector but you are right - Detroit is likely a better option over flying from Toronto for a lot of destinations.

For sure if we use them I will report back here on our experience. They do both Pearson and Billy Bishop, so if it works, would be an easier and cheaper option for getting to Toronto departures.

Normally that is what we do - just one flight from London with a connector in Toronto. We wanted to try NCL (it has been maybe 15 years since we sailed them) and their flight program NCL air with 2nd person free promo was too tempting to pass up for cost savings, but can only fly from Toronto. We don't actually know yet what airline or flight from Toronto they will book us on. Seemed like a good idea to save a few dollars a year ago .. haha.