Will NCL pull a "ROYAL" with the Gem and Joy??

[DCGuy64]

8 hours ago, natefish95 said:

I'm pretty confident the Gem and Joy will still sail. While a lot of headway has been made the past few weeks, it will still take a lot to get cruises fully up and running with crew (and crew vaccinations). Focusing on the Gem, Jade, Joy (and Bliss and POA now I guess) will allow NCL to focus on those ships these next few months and then get other ships up and running in September hopefully. 

 

I have my flights booked into Santo Domingo for September and just need to get a hotel! Unlike Bermuda, the DR and Jamaica are pretty cheap to fly into with reasonable hotels.

I hope that’s true, we are booked on the Gem for Sept 19 and hope it sails (from there). We opted for NCL’s air promotion, so if they were to change the embarkation port, would they automatically reroute us? We are also considering a deviation which would allow us to stay in the DR before or after the cruise. Currently it looks like NCL is flying us in to Santo Domingo on the day of departure. 

[DCGuy64]

On 5/22/2021 at 10:04 PM, Ocean Cat said:

I looked into The Gem cruise and American Airlines doesn’t even fly to La Romana. 

Yes they do. What city would you be coming from? 
 

[PTC DAWG]

On 5/22/2021 at 4:05 PM, MichiganBound said:

You totally nailed it with your above comments.  It was clear to me from the get-go that these cruises from the DR and Jamaica were disasters waiting to happen.  Folks seem to not understand that a cruise line cannot just up and start cruises on a whim and successfully carry them out from a small foreign port...and with minimal advance notice (planning).  

 

I had given up on the possibility of cruising in 2021 in January or early February.   I had zero interest in being a guinea pig once cruises started again this year.  Let them iron out all the issues and then I'll return to cruising in 2022. 

 

There are plenty of non-cruise vacations that can be done by flying/driving somewhere in the meantime.  In 2021, I plan to be gambling, having great meals and seeing some shows in Vegas...and doing some long weekends in NYC.  Also, subject to the border re-opening, I'll be driving from Michigan to Quebec for some great food and european style atmosphere in Montreal.  Also (again subject to the border re-opening) I'll be flying to London for West End Theatre and family visits in the fall in the UK.  All accomplished without having to set foot on a cruise ship in Montego Bay or La Romana.

 

Good luck to all of you booked on those cruises!!

 

PS.  Oh yes.  And you won't see me stepping foot in Florida in 2021.  Not one more tourist dollar for Florida until DeSantis cleans up his act and starts governing responsibly.  I encourage others to join me on that.

Florida rocks....never panicked...there is a reason folks love it there..

[roger001]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

I hope that’s true, we are booked on the Gem for Sept 19 and hope it sails (from there). We opted for NCL’s air promotion, so if they were to change the embarkation port, would they automatically reroute us? We are also considering a deviation which would allow us to stay in the DR before or after the cruise. Currently it looks like NCL is flying us in to Santo Domingo on the day of departure. 

I was looking at the Gem DR cruises yesterday.  I priced one out with airfare.  It showed $399 and second person flies free.  It clearly said that the fare shown was round trip.  But when it finally priced out the entire cruise, the airfare was double that.  What were your results?  

Edited May 24, 2021 by roger001

[roger001]

Also, if NCL if flying you in same day to the DR, they must be flying you into La Romana.  It has a big airport.  To land at Santo Domingo would be an almost 2 hour trip to the cruise port in La Romana.

[Seany527]

11 minutes ago, roger001 said:

I was looking at the Gem DR cruises yesterday.  I priced one out with airfare.  It showed $399 and second person flies free.  It clearly said that the fare shown was round trip.  But when it finally priced out the entire cruise, the airfare was double that.  What were your results?  

Yea it’s bogus and I was super confused at first too. 
 

It’s $399 per person, assuming that the original ticket price is $798. 
So instead of charging one person $798 and the other person $0, NCL splits the cost and charges each person $399. 

[roger001]

1 minute ago, Seany527 said:

Yea it’s bogus and I was super confused at first too. 
 

It’s $399 per person, assuming that the original ticket price is $798. 
So instead of charging one person $798 and the other person $0, NCL splits the cost and charges each person $399. 

Hell of a way to show it.  It sure seemed to show the total airfare as $399.   Thanks.  

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, roger001 said:

I was looking at the Gem DR cruises yesterday.  I priced one out with airfare.  It showed $399 and second person flies free.  It clearly said that the fare shown was round trip.  But when it finally priced out the entire cruise, the airfare was double that.  What were your results?  

When we booked this cruise, it was $699 for the first passenger and $0 for the 2nd, for an effective cost of $349.50 pp. Compared to what I found on my own, it was more than fair.

Currently it shows us flying from DC to Santo Domingo. It looks like it's approx 46 miles from Santo Domingo to La Romana cruise port. I did a dummy booking yesterday and prices are lower for our dates but higher for others. Also, the included airport transfer fees have increased from $75 pp (what we paid) to $90.

Edited May 24, 2021 by DCGuy64

[RaftingJeremy]

On 5/22/2021 at 10:04 PM, Ocean Cat said:

I looked into The Gem cruise and American Airlines doesn’t even fly to La Romana. 

Most don’t fly directly to La Romana.  Have to fly to Punta Cana or Santo Domingo.   

[DCGuy64]

Just now, RaftingJeremy said:

Most don’t fly directly to La Romana.  Have to fly to Punta Cana or Santo Domingo.   

Yes, that's correct. When I responded to the same post you did, I was assuming the person meant that American doesn't fly into any airport that serves La Romana. Evidently, even Washington, DC doesn't have service to the La Romana airport, but does fly to Santo Domingo. It looks to be about an hour and 10 minutes drive from SDQ (Santo Domingo airport code) to La Romana cruise port.

[RaftingJeremy]

1 hour ago, roger001 said:

Also, if NCL if flying you in same day to the DR, they must be flying you into La Romana.  It has a big airport.  To land at Santo Domingo would be an almost 2 hour trip to the cruise port in La Romana.

You’ll likely land in Punta Cana or Santo Domingo.  The airport in La Romana is small and has limited service.  The ship is also not sailing till late I saw. 

[RaftingJeremy]

1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Yes, that's correct. When I responded to the same post you did, I was assuming the person meant that American doesn't fly into any airport that serves La Romana. Evidently, even Washington, DC doesn't have service to the La Romana airport, but does fly to Santo Domingo. It looks to be about an hour and 10 minutes drive from SDQ (Santo Domingo airport code) to La Romana cruise port.

I hired a private driver. RT from Punta Cana.  I plan to fly in the day before. 

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, RaftingJeremy said:

I hired a private driver. RT from Punta Cana.  I plan to fly in the day before. 

Sounds like a plan!

[roger001]

22 minutes ago, RaftingJeremy said:

You’ll likely land in Punta Cana or Santo Domingo.  The airport in La Romana is small and has limited service.  The ship is also not sailing till late I saw. 

Yea.  I see you don't depart until 9 pm.   From some points in the US and connecting flights, and the long drive to the port, you could need every bit of that late departure to make it.  Long day.  An overnight before in DR would be worth it.  Will NCL schedule  for a day before?   I'm actually considering this cruise schedule.....if the whole thing doesn't get cancelled.  If the FLA Gov finally gives in, the schedules are going to be a whole new ballgame I think.  

[Cruising Lynne]

Our tentative flights through NCL have us flying into Punta Cana and out of Santo Domingo. One stop each way. I also booked transfers through NCL. I am glad I did since it is a longer drive back to the airport. The only nonstop flights I saw out of Boston were on Jetblue at a slightly higher price. It is what I would have used if I did it on my own, but I do feel like we are getting a pretty good deal with the second person flies "free" offer. 

 

We are flying in the day before.

[DCGuy64]

For now I see on our reservation that we're flying from DC to Santo Domingo via Atlanta. Using a flight search tool, I can see several flights that might fit the bill, and one of them gets into SDQ around 1 pm. That gives us plenty of time (from what I can tell) to get to La Romana. That being said, we might ask to fly in a day or two early, but what I like about using NCL is that they'll get us there no matter what.

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

Our tentative flights through NCL have us flying into Punta Cana and out of Santo Domingo. One stop each way. I also booked transfers through NCL. I am glad I did since it is a longer drive back to the airport. The only nonstop flights I saw out of Boston were on Jetblue at a slightly higher price. It is what I would have used if I did it on my own, but I do feel like we are getting a pretty good deal with the second person flies "free" offer. 

 

We are flying in the day before.

Same here re: the flight offer. Cheapest I could find was ~ $450 pp and that was with no checked bags included. I understand NCL guarantees you at least one checked bag, and on many airlines that's $60 each way. Transfers seemed reasonable, too. Most I'd seen from Santo Domingo to La Romana were about $130 and up.

[RaftingJeremy]

9 minutes ago, roger001 said:

Yea.  I see you don't depart until 9 pm.   From some points in the US and connecting flights, and the long drive to the port, you could need every bit of that late departure to make it.  Long day.  An overnight before in DR would be worth it.  Will NCL schedule  for a day before?   I'm actually considering this cruise schedule.....if the whole thing doesn't get cancelled.  If the FLA Gov finally gives in, the schedules are going to be a whole new ballgame I think.  

I’m not sure what NCL will do.  My plan is to go the day before and have a car service the port.  That’s the big question if they will move it back to FL....  I really have absolutely no idea.  At this point, I’d rather them just leave it alone.  If I could keep everything the same and them move it to the east coast then fine, but canceling and then rebooking is kind of a pain. 

[Alegeeter]

25 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Same here re: the flight offer. Cheapest I could find was ~ $450 pp and that was with no checked bags included. I understand NCL guarantees you at least one checked bag, and on many airlines that's $60 each way. Transfers seemed reasonable, too. Most I'd seen from Santo Domingo to La Romana were about $130 and up.

I thought the NCL booked you on a standard economy ticket, where seat selection was included but a checked bag was not. Can someone confirm this? It would be great if a checked bag was included, but I was planning on having to fork over $30 per person each way to check.

[DCGuy64]

10 minutes ago, Alegeeter said:

I thought the NCL booked you on a standard economy ticket, where seat selection was included but a checked bag was not. Can someone confirm this? It would be great if a checked bag was included, but I was planning on having to fork over $30 per person each way to check.

This is the site where I saw that at least one checked bag and carry on is included:

https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/getting-to-the-pier/flights-information

 

However, this appears to be a UK-focused site so it might only pertain to passengers from the UK.

 

"All fares include at least one carry-on item and one checked bag per passenger. Baggage allowance can vary per airline."

[saltsandknit]

12 minutes ago, Alegeeter said:

I thought the NCL booked you on a standard economy ticket, where seat selection was included but a checked bag was not. Can someone confirm this? It would be great if a checked bag was included, but I was planning on having to fork over $30 per person each way to check.

Bags are never included. We fly with NCL most of the time

[DCGuy64]

Just now, saltsandknit said:

Bags are never included. We fly with NCL most of the time

Good to know, what do the airlines NCL uses typically charge? Do you mind sharing this information? Also, if you have status with a particular airline that entitles you to free bags, does NCL honor that? Thanks in advance.

[saltsandknit]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

Good to know, what do the airlines NCL uses typically charge? Do you mind sharing this information? Also, if you have status with a particular airline that entitles you to free bags, does NCL honor that? Thanks in advance.

We mostly fly Delta since that is the only Hub airline in Utah. You pay for bags at the airline Check in. We pay online when we check in for our flights It’s 30$ standard across most airlines now. NCL doesn’t have any control over baggage fees.

just an aside We are on the same DR cruise as you. 

[All-ready2cruise]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

Good to know, what do the airlines NCL uses typically charge? Do you mind sharing this information? Also, if you have status with a particular airline that entitles you to free bags, does NCL honor that? Thanks in advance.

From my experience, obviously pre-covid, NCL books the ticket and once you have the  ticket/locator number you go to the airline, whichever it is, and make arrangements with them for seats and baggage options.  

My only experience was with my booked/cancelled cruise in Mar. 2020. 

 

Good luck. 

[saltsandknit]

1 minute ago, All-ready2cruise said:

From my experience, obviously pre-covid, NCL books the ticket and once you have the  ticket/locator number you go to the airline, whichever it is, and make arrangements with them for seats and baggage options.  

My only experience was with my booked/cancelled cruise in Mar. 2020. 

 

Good luck. 

This is exactly how it works