Anyone experienced using NCL's Air/Sea arrangement?

[packercruising]

This would be for domestic, USA, flights. We are flying from Green Bay to Miami, RT. Even with the restrictions (They choose the airline and the departure times), we are being offered a terrific deal.

Thanks!

[poly3503]

We have used this a number of times- both domestic and international. The first class and business class fares were lower than the airlines websites.

 

[packercruising]

Has the service been good? I know they control which airline and the times. We only have 3 airlines in Green Bay, Delta, United and AA. I looked at their regulations at it seems that All NCL does is act like the ticket broker.

 

Thanks!

[dbrown84]

I used this when taking advantage of the free air promotion.  Flew from DC to Miami for free.  I was worried about flying in the day of the cruise, but there wasn't any problems.  At the time I booked, they required you to book a hotel thru them if you wanted to come in a day or two early. Now, they don't require the hotel anymore, just a $25 per day fee, which I would have gladly paid.  I didn't have any problems though.  I made out good with flight times

[packercruising]

We are going down two days ahead of the cruise. A price that low, I figured there must be additional charges somewhere along the way.

[Sailing12Away]

We used their air promo for our last cruise at the end of February. Half the plane from JFK to MIA was cruise passengers, and when our flight was delayed by nearly 2hrs there was severe panic as we all thought we would miss the boat. NCL phone reps are horrible, but when we finally arrived in Miami there was a team of people waiting for us and we were assured the ship would not leave without us. That flight was free for us, outside of the ~$50/pp transfer fees. American Airlines, direct, and we could pick our seats ahead of time - so outside of the delays and mad rush to catch the ship, no issues.

 

They're booking our flights again on our upcoming Hawaii cruise in July. For $600/pp we're flying JFK to HLN, the best I could find on my own was over $900/pp. We're 56 days out and I still have no idea about our flights, so I'm getting a bit nervous waiting for those edocs to arrive, but so long as I make it to Hawaii I don't mind if I miss the boat and have to spend the night in Oahu. 

 

Cruise after that is in January 2020. When we booked last year the free air promo wasn't offered, but we were able to add on discounted air after the fact by simply calling them. Again, JFK to San Juan is costing us $350/pp and the cheapest I've found so far for something that doesn't involve 2 layovers (should be a direct flight for us honestly) was over $450. 

 

So there's definitely some cost savings to be had, depending on where your home airport is located. But you don't get a say in the times, airlines, or anything else. If that is super important to you, you're better off booking on your own. In our case, saving over $500 each trip was worth being a bit flexible and lenient with our plans. If anything bad does happen, NCL is on the hook to get you caught up with the ship. Again, depends on your trip to see if it's worth the risk. On our Belize trip that was only 5 days long, missing the first 2 days would not have been acceptable. Spending a night in Oahu and meeting the ship the next morning in Maui will be fine, if it comes to that.

[packercruising]

Definitely sounds worth it. Ours is $124 from Green Bay to Miami. 

[Pduaime]

Packercruising,   Which cruise are you on out of Miami?  We are also from Green Bay, doing the Panama Canal out of Miami on Feb. 2 - Super Bowl Sunday.  

[packercruising]

That is going to be fun! Have you done a Panama Canal cruise yet? We are sailing on the new ship, Encore, Feb 23. Eastern Caribbean, with a bunch of Packer fans.

[Pduaime]

PackerCruising - We have never done Panama before.  It's our splurging for our 40th wedding anniversary trip.  I agree that airfare out of Green Bay for $99 ($124 with the upcharge to fly out a day early) is a no brainer.  Down side - we are paying $300 for a normally $100  hotel for one night because of the Super Bowl and we were lucky to find that.     Did not even realize the game was in Miami when we booked.   It would be quite awesome to be watching the Packers play on board.  We watched the Packers beat the Steelers at an all-inclusive in Riviera Maya.  Best Super Bowl Ever !!   I'd love a repeat of that experience.   Too bad we're not on the same cruise.   Traveling with other Packer fans would be great fun.  Although, I have no doubt we'll find some other Packer Fans.  You can find them anywhere you go.    

[packercruising]

Happy upcoming Anniversary! You would have loved it when we had Packer players on our cruises. We even had Bart Starr in 2000. Our only cruise during football season was the Panama Canal one in October, 2011. That was so cool. 15 days on the NCL Star from LA to Tampa. We are doing a Snowbirds Escape cruise from Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale this October.

[bktok]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 2:41 PM, dbrown84 said:

I used this when taking advantage of the free air promotion.  Flew from DC to Miami for free.  I was worried about flying in the day of the cruise, but there wasn't any problems.  At the time I booked, they required you to book a hotel thru them if you wanted to come in a day or two early. Now, they don't require the hotel anymore, just a $25 per day fee, which I would have gladly paid.  I didn't have any problems though.  I made out good with flight times

 

This is great news!  I've got $99 airfare booked from OKC to Miami for our October 2020 cruise on the Joy and I've already been stressing a little about coming in the day of the cruise.  I wonder if they will allow you to leave a day or two later after leaving the ship, for the same $25/day fee.

Also, do you know if the fee is per person or per booking?

 

Thank you!

[stevendom57]

43 minutes ago, bktok said:

 

This is great news!  I've got $99 airfare booked from OKC to Miami for our October 2020 cruise on the Joy and I've already been stressing a little about coming in the day of the cruise.  I wonder if they will allow you to leave a day or two later after leaving the ship, for the same $25/day fee.

Also, do you know if the fee is per person or per booking?

 

Thank you!

Per person

 

[bktok]

1 minute ago, stevendom57 said:

Per person

 

Thank you! 

 

Still may be better deal than booking more expensive airfare on my own.

[dbrown84]

yes, I'm pretty sure it's per person.  I traveled solo on my cruise.  I do agree that it's still cheaper than booking on your own.  the only reason I didn't fly in early last time was because they were forcing you to book your hotel thru them, and their hotel rights are sky high