Free Air for those curious

[drvmywifecrzy]

So I took the free air perk and got my flight info 120 days out via phone and 52 days out on my edocs

 

Non stop flights

Flight before cruise   7am and lands 9am

Flight after leaves at 11:45am

 

Could not have picked better times IMO

 

This was for those curious about taking the Air offer.

[sun_lovin!1]

Is there any possibility of requesting flying in to the port city a few days early?

 

[hallux]

22 minutes ago, sun_lovin!1 said:

Is there any possibility of requesting flying in to the port city a few days early?

 

There is, I think there's a $50 charge for that (possibly per person).

 

In this case, it looks like the OP is relatively close to the port, by flight standards, and may be near a hub so no connecting flight to worry about and a same-day flight is acceptable.  In my case, if I'm going cross-country I really need to fly in a day early.  For my cruise last week, I flew in the day before and had a flight that was supposed to land at 1:30 PM (enough time to get to the port) but the connecting flight was delayed and I didn't land until after the ship would have left if I had flown in the day of departure - definitely glad I did the smart thing and traveled the day before...

[andymattmom]

41 minutes ago, sun_lovin!1 said:

Is there any possibility of requesting flying in to the port city a few days early?

 

We weren’t charged to fly in a day early to Miami from Indianapolis. We received information about flights 60 days prior. Arrive nonstop on an American Airlines flight (leave at 7AM). Return flight also on American nonstop at 345PM.

 

[sun_lovin!1]

I am looking at Chicago O Hare to Venice.  A non-stop is 9 hours.  I really want 2 full days in Venice.  I'm hoping that they will allow this. 

[Oakman58]

1 hour ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

So I took the free air perk and got my flight info 120 days out via phone and 52 days out on my edocs

 

Non stop flights

Flight before cruise   7am and lands 9am

Flight after leaves at 11:45am

 

Could not have picked better times IMO

 

This was for those curious about taking the Air offer.

 

Where were you flying from and what port are you cruising out of?

[drvmywifecrzy]

3 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Where were you flying from and what port are you cruising out of?

 

Sailing out of Miami, flying from Atlanta

[Philatelyisforme]

Does anyone know if we are able to upgrade our flights as well?   If we wanted to change up to premium economy or even business (which isn't gonna happen but one loves to dream).

[Nola26]

4 hours ago, andymattmom said:

We weren’t charged to fly in a day early to Miami from Indianapolis. We received information about flights 60 days prior. Arrive nonstop on an American Airlines flight (leave at 7AM). Return flight also on American nonstop at 345PM.

 

The NCL policy is there is a deviation fee for taking NCL booked flights earlier or later than your regularly scheduled day of departure. If you weren't charged that is great, but isn't the policy and others should expect to be charged.

 

We are flying from Newark to Barcelona and decided to leave one day earlier than scheduled. We made that change and our price didn't change. It remained the same because the deviation fee was the same as the prearranged airport to ship transfer which we cancelled since we are going from airport to our hotel. We were charged and credited the exact same amount so there was no additional payment due.

 

OP congrats on getting your information so soon and the flights/times that suit you. Did you call at 120 days out? That was our final payment deadline.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Nola26

[snow1]

Did you find the airline information on line or did you call?

120 days out would be great......I was told 60 days out.  SFO to Honolulu

120 days is our final payment due date.

[cparker01]

I guess taking the reduced fare is a gamble of what kind of flight and time you get. Do you get any options as far as time of day or seat selection? We fly from Atlanta to New York at 99$ per ticket. We did get charged for the deviation for  flying in 2 days ahead of time. But we have to wait till final payment to get any flight details, hope it works out to be a good deal.

[tokidoki]

1 hour ago, Nola26 said:

The NCL policy is there is a deviation fee for taking NCL booked flights earlier or later than your regularly scheduled day of departure. If you weren't charged that is great, but isn't the policy and others should expect to be charged.

 

We are flying from Newark to Barcelona and decided to leave one day earlier than scheduled. We made that change and our price didn't change. It remained the same because the deviation fee was the same as the prearranged airport to ship transfer which we cancelled since we are going from airport to our hotel. We were charged and credited the exact same amount so there was no additional payment due.

 

OP congrats on getting your information so soon and the flights/times that suit you. Did you call at 120 days out? That was our final payment deadline.

I changed my flight from MIA/JFK going home and theres no fee.   Earlier flights were available for me and some others to change. Found out 45 days prior

[Nola26]

55 minutes ago, cparker01 said:

I guess taking the reduced fare is a gamble of what kind of flight and time you get. Do you get any options as far as time of day or seat selection? We fly from Atlanta to New York at 99$ per ticket. We did get charged for the deviation for  flying in 2 days ahead of time. But we have to wait till final payment to get any flight details, hope it works out to be a good deal.

NCL doesn't assign seats, you can select them with the airline, many report doing so right on the website of the airline.

 

NCL controls the time/carrier/flight selections. The published policy does say no more than one connection.

[bevkay]

Sure hope I get my flights soon. 44 days out and waiting.

[MichaelCMTX]

What our TA has told us (and she admits she's also fairly new to NCL)

We're flying Dallas to New Orleans.  Yes, a ridiculously short hop but it was free and there was no credit back for not doing it.  I don't mind the drive, but last time it was very dark and very rainy once we hit Baton Rouge so DW was very in favor of flying.

Word was we're flying in "The morning of" which doesn't spook me due to weather but does in that it's not at all Fort Lauderdale when it comes to airport/cruise post proximity.  I also can't possible believe it's anything but a direct AA (there are two early in the morning and one late morning that looks like it could be borderline close) flight with a miniscule chance of a United flight connecting thru Houston. Has anyone ended up on Southwest with NCL? 

We were told NCL will not hold the ship due to a late flight, they'll just fly us to our next destination.  Not at all excited about trying to fly New Orleans to Roatan no matter who pays.

 

We had the option to come in a day earlier IF we book a hotel package - which we cannot do until 90 days out.  The hotel is probably not much better than if we booked on our own, but then we get the day-earlier free flight.

But watching this one with interest for others' experiences.

[RoobyDoo]

5 hours ago, Philatelyisforme said:

Does anyone know if we are able to upgrade our flights as well?   If we wanted to change up to premium economy or even business (which isn't gonna happen but one loves to dream).

 

Yes, at least it is in my case. Once you receive the flight information, you can go to the airline's website and search for your flight details using the confirmation number. Then you can change your seat(s), or also upgrade to premium economy seats if available. This process works the same as if you booked the tickets yourself.

 

I selected the "free" airfare perk for an upcoming Breakaway cruise. They assigned me to a non-stop flight on United, from EWR (Newark, NJ) to Miami, on the day of embarkation. Return flight is also nonstop. The tickets are regular Economy, not Basic Economy. I guess I won't know until the actual event to say for sure if this perk was worth it.

[Nola26]

2 hours ago, Philatelyisforme said:

Does anyone know if we are able to upgrade our flights as well?   If we wanted to change up to premium economy or even business (which isn't gonna happen but one loves to dream).

NCL doesn't offer this option. Pricing  and the ability to upgrade will be subject to your status or the airline's policy.

 

I fly a lot with Delta and use their app. No matter the price of my main cabin ticket, they always offer me a chance to upgrade or add extras.

[Heyref]

Anybody have experience using this perk from Canada?  Specifically Toronto to Miami. I,don’t like the thought of a non-direct flight.....

[Nola26]

16 hours ago, sun_lovin!1 said:

I am looking at Chicago O Hare to Venice.  A non-stop is 9 hours.  I really want 2 full days in Venice.  I'm hoping that they will allow this. 

You can depart up to 2 days early or return 2 days later. We paid $25pp for a one day one way deviation for Barcelona. We don't have our air details yet, we are more than 100 days out.

 

From the US your flight will likely land a day after you depart due to time difference.From Chicago I'd check the schedule of United and American flights for at trip to Venice. NCL will work to give you no more than one connection.

 

Depending on how late you arrive and your jet lag that day may not offer you a lot of time to enjoy the city. You can probably have a full Day 2 and time on the morning of your sail date.

 

If the ship also returns to Venice it may be easier to have 2 full days at the end of your cruise. You'll have pretty much have the full disembarkation day and the next. Your return flight will likely be prior to noon so no time to really do anything that day. 

 

Good luck with your plans and NCL air booking.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Nola26

[Nola26]

9 hours ago, bevkay said:

Sure hope I get my flights soon. 44 days out and waiting.

You're inside the window, make a call to NCL, good luck!

[Oakman58]

We have a September cruise booked on the Breakaway with NCL's reduced air.  With that time frame in prime storm/hurricane season I'm thinking we should fly in a day early.  If we missed the ship in Miami on Sunday due to delayed flights the next port of call would be St. Thomas on Wednesday.  I wonder if NCL would refund two days of the fare?  I think I'll wait until I get the flight information from NCL before making a decision.

[halegliss]

I recently booked a trip that included air. The cruise consultant advised me to let them know if we would like to book a few days early into port to let them know. It is a 15 day cruise and I'm pretty sure we will boom one night ahead of the cruise to see the port (Rome).

[janice2348]

On 5/10/2019 at 3:10 PM, MichaelCMTX said:

What our TA has told us (and she admits she's also fairly new to NCL)

We're flying Dallas to New Orleans.  Yes, a ridiculously short hop but it was free and there was no credit back for not doing it.  I don't mind the drive, but last time it was very dark and very rainy once we hit Baton Rouge so DW was very in favor of flying.

Word was we're flying in "The morning of" which doesn't spook me due to weather but does in that it's not at all Fort Lauderdale when it comes to airport/cruise post proximity.  I also can't possible believe it's anything but a direct AA (there are two early in the morning and one late morning that looks like it could be borderline close) flight with a miniscule chance of a United flight connecting thru Houston. Has anyone ended up on Southwest with NCL? 

We were told NCL will not hold the ship due to a late flight, they'll just fly us to our next destination.  Not at all excited about trying to fly New Orleans to Roatan no matter who pays.

 

We had the option to come in a day earlier IF we book a hotel package - which we cannot do until 90 days out.  The hotel is probably not much better than if we booked on our own, but then we get the day-earlier free flight.

But watching this one with interest for others' experiences.

We are flying in a day early for $25 pp fee.  You don’t need to book a hotel package to fly in early.  They just waive the fee if you do.  If a rep told you that you have to book a hotel to fly in early they are wrong.  Call back and speak to another rep.  With all of the recent airline issues ( not weather related) a small fee to fly in a day early is worth the peace of mind.  I wouldn’t chance it just to save a few bucks.  But that’s just MHO. 

[janice2348]

8 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

We have a September cruise booked on the Breakaway with NCL's reduced air.  With that time frame in prime storm/hurricane season I'm thinking we should fly in a day early.  If we missed the ship in Miami on Sunday due to delayed flights the next port of call would be St. Thomas on Wednesday.  I wonder if NCL would refund two days of the fare?  I think I'll wait until I get the flight information from NCL before making a decision.

I was told that if we missed the ship, we would be staying in Miami until our next port which would be Curacao, three days later.  No refund of cruise fare, but they do pay for the hotel.  Best to fly in early.  

[MichaelCMTX]

17 hours ago, janice2348 said:

We are flying in a day early for $25 pp fee.  You don’t need to book a hotel package to fly in early.  They just waive the fee if you do.  If a rep told you that you have to book a hotel to fly in early they are wrong.  Call back and speak to another rep.  With all of the recent airline issues ( not weather related) a small fee to fly in a day early is worth the peace of mind.  I wouldn’t chance it just to save a few bucks.  But that’s just MHO. 

Thanks for the tip.  Granted, with New Orleans it's part "fly in a day early because things don't go as planned" but also part "nice place to stay an extra day."  Our T/A has at least been upfront that dealing with this package and NCL is new for her (she'd booked a lot of our RC trips) so I'm sure we'll be "rewarded" on board for getting her some experience.