Booking airfare through NCL - no or go?

[Lucky Dude 2101]

Greetings all!  Currently looking at booking a cruise for early 2022 and NCL has a special going on where the 2nd passenger flies free.  Being a little controlling on my own travel itinerary 😁, I'm a little leery on the process and how NCL typically books it's passengers on airlines, hotels, etc. Certainly if issues arise, it's on NCL I would imagine.

I understand I may be able to pay an additional fee and arrive in the port city the day before sailing?  How do the hotels work since NCL will handle transfers to/from the airport?  Are there any choices available to me as the passenger, of course for a fee, when it comes to airfare, hotel and transfers?

 

Anyone have experience with this? Am I being overly concerned?  Appreciate any and all feedback - thank you in advance!

[MeHeartCruising]

In case you haven't already, read and understand the terms and conditions of the offer here:

 

Promotional Terms & Conditions | Norwegian Cruise Line (ncl.com)

 

NCL doesn't give you much flexibility to pick anything other than your desired dates of travel (per the conditions in the promotion) and your starting airport.  They pick the flight times and any connections.  You may get a very early morning flight or a late flight on your travel days.  You do not get to pick your airline or your seats.  Once NCL books your tickets and notifies you, you can then contact the airline and PERHAPS change seats, upgrade, etc. if that airline permits such things.  If they don't, then you are stuck with what NCL purchased for you.  

 

It is a nice offer when you're open to being fully flexible in what NCL might set you up with.  However, if you're going to be miserable if you are stuck in middle seats for a return flight from Miami that doesn't leave until 6pm and have to make a connection somewhere rather than a direct flight, then you might consider just booking on your own.  That's just an example, of course.  

 

Roll the dice or not.  Many people take advantage of the offer and have been very happy.  Some have a different opinion.

Edited November 2, 2021 by MeHeartCruising

[julig22]

If you are looking at anything before early February, you are out of luck.  The bogo only applies to cruises booked more than 90 days in advance.

[GeezerCouple]

12 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

In case you haven't already, read and understand the terms and conditions of the offer here:

 

Promotional Terms & Conditions | Norwegian Cruise Line (ncl.com)

 

NCL doesn't give you much flexibility to pick anything other than your desired dates of travel (per the conditions in the promotion) and your starting airport.  They pick the flight times and any connections.  You may get a very early morning flight or a late flight on your travel days.  You do not get to pick your airline or your seats.  Once NCL books your tickets and notifies you, you can then contact the airline and PERHAPS change seats, upgrade, etc. if that airline permits such things.  If they don't, then you are stuck with what NCL purchased for you.  

 

It is a nice offer when you're open to being fully flexible in what NCL might set you up with.  However, if you're going to be miserable if you are stuck in middle seats for a return flight from Miami that doesn't leave until 6pm and have to make a connection somewhere rather than a direct flight, then you might consider just booking on your own.  That's just an example, of course.  

 

Roll the dice or not.  Many people take advantage of the offer and have been very happy.  Some have a different opinion.

 

Read those terms again.

 

For extra cost, one can request a "deviation", wherein you can specify particular flights, etc.

 

GC

[julig22]

10 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Read those terms again.

 

For extra cost, one can request a "deviation", wherein you can specify particular flights, etc.

 

GC

You can request a date deviation with the bogo promo. They choose your flights.  Nowhere in the t&c does it say you can specify flights - and you can't.  Many have tried without success.

[GeezerCouple]

6 minutes ago, julig22 said:

You can request a date deviation with the bogo promo. They choose your flights.  Nowhere in the t&c does it say you can specify flights - and you can't.  Many have tried without success.

 

Sorry... apparently this offer doesn't include flight requests.

But it's worth asking.

We did it, but it was a few years ago. 

 

After that, we always use awards and select all of our own air reservations.

 

We've decided that the hassle of any changes or delays or waiting for a bus to fill up before we could head to hotel (or airport) wasn't for us anymore.  Of course, if one IS able to select specific flights (again, apparently not with this offer), it's much less likely that there would be bus-loads of others with you.

And of course, for those who don't feel comfortable making all of the arrangements, or just don't want to bother, then having it all done for you is obviously an advantage.

 

GC

[CruisinNewbie11]

You may ask to arrive several days before or after your cruise, but you can't choose your flight.  Once tickets are issued usually at the 45 day mark, you can contact the airline involved and choose seats and sometimes ask for an upgrade.   I have used NCL several times and have always been satisfied.  Pretty decent schedule, no complaints thus far.

[Crazy planning mom]

I booked my cruise last year and got a reduced airfare promo.  I dont have control over the flights except I paid  a small flight deiviation fee to arrive 2 days early.  They arent booking the hotel for me only the flight.  I am taking care of the hotel and transportation to the port.  They will provide transportation from the ship back to the hotel.

[brad0576]

I had no issues - requested two days prior and two days after cruise - it would have cost me nearly $600 per ticket to get from Orlando to LA this December yet we got the entire 7-day cruise Balcony cabin and all for around $2K - and $1200 would have been just the airfare.

 

We are on a 7am flight to LA and on a red-eye home both are direct on Delta, that works well for us as we can maximize our time in LA.... but even if we didn't we are saving $1200.

[wampuscat7]

I asked my PCC about this yesterday, and for the cruise we want, she said flying in two or three days earlier is only possible if we also purchase their hotel and their transport, neither of which are appealing. (Also that doesn't appear to follow the promo terms as linked, which states hotel does not need to be included, but it also says you can request flights only 2 days before.)

Edited November 2, 2021 by wampuscat7

[CruizinKittie40]

We did the BOGO flights for our cruise a couple of weeks ago and it worked out very well. We were able to pick our seats through the Delta website  No regrets

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Sorry... apparently this offer doesn't include flight requests.

But it's worth asking.

We did it, but it was a few years ago. 

 

After that, we always use awards and select all of our own air reservations.

 

We've decided that the hassle of any changes or delays or waiting for a bus to fill up before we could head to hotel (or airport) wasn't for us anymore.  Of course, if one IS able to select specific flights (again, apparently not with this offer), it's much less likely that there would be bus-loads of others with you.

And of course, for those who don't feel comfortable making all of the arrangements, or just don't want to bother, then having it all done for you is obviously an advantage.

 

GC

You may of used this service that NCL also apparently offers…Premium Air.

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/premium-air

 

However, it is not the same service you get with the Free/Reduced airfare promotions that we’ve been seeing for the last year or so.

 

2 different service offerings. 

[Diane67B]

1 hour ago, wampuscat7 said:

I asked my PCC about this yesterday, and for the cruise we want, she said flying in two or three days earlier is only possible if we also purchase their hotel and their transport, neither of which are appealing. (Also that doesn't appear to follow the promo terms as linked, which states hotel does not need to be included, but it also says you can request flights only 2 days before.)

I only took the two days early flight deviation and was fine getting Bogo without the hotel. 

[GeezerCouple]

17 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

You may of used this service that NCL also apparently offers…Premium Air.

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/premium-air

 

However, it is not the same service you get with the Free/Reduced airfare promotions that we’ve been seeing for the last year or so.

 

2 different service offerings. 

 

Thanks.  That could very well be how our "customized" air tickets were done.  It would fit.

So IF this is the same as the service we used through NCL (the air and cruise were billed together through NCL), it would indeed allow one to select specific flights on specific days.  We were able to get confirmation that we had the specific flights we wanted (a non-stop) *before* we were obligated to pay for the air tickets.

And, importantly, it did save money vs. what we'd have had to pay for those same tickets purchased at the same time.  However, the cancellation schedule then became what NCL states, which is not the same as if we had purchased directly from the airline.

 

Now, we've got lots of awards/points, and for premium international air travel, that's (for us; not necessarily others) the best use of awards by far.

 

GC

[jkrislc]

We opted for NCL and totally expect a red-eye traveling from California to NYC, but at $100 pp each way, it couldn't be beat. I'll take a little inconvenience for the massive savings. However, we were limited to arriving 3 days early. There was no option to arrive earlier using NCL's cruise and hotel package.

[DAVLIB007]

used them before was able to pay $50 more to come in the day before

[Sailing12Away]

It all depends on where you're traveling to. For domestic travels we've always been told it's limited to 1 day pre and/or post. When we originally booked on a New Zealand cruise pre-Covid, we were told we could use 3 days pre/post to deviate from the sailing date. Never bothered to ask if that was based on arrival date or departure date as leaving NY it would take 3 days just to actually get to NZ, but we wanted more time post cruise anyway.

 

Do a mock booking on any travel site (kayak, expedia, google) and see what flight prices currently look at. Chances are NCL will have better pricing, but how much better and if it's worth giving up control is up to you. It's always worked in our favor so far, and we only had an issue once in the 4 times we've used it.

[Cilosgirl]

I took the BOGO offer because I’m not to fussed about control over flights as it’s only a 1.5 hour flight from Toronto to New York. I do want to arrive a day early but I’m not sure how the transportation from the airport to the hotel to the port will work. Do I have to book a certain hotel and will all transportation be covered in the fee that was already included?

[julig22]

15 minutes ago, Cilosgirl said:

I took the BOGO offer because I’m not to fussed about control over flights as it’s only a 1.5 hour flight from Toronto to New York. I do want to arrive a day early but I’m not sure how the transportation from the airport to the hotel to the port will work. Do I have to book a certain hotel and will all transportation be covered in the fee that was already included?

If you fly in early, transportation is on your own.  You can remove the transfer fee or you can return to the airport on cruise day and get to the port on the NCL busses - you just have to give them a time.  Airport to hotel isn't included, although if you book your hotel through NCL they will probably arrange transportation.

[Lucky Dude 2101]

Thanks to all for input!

[phillygwm]

It all depends on your threshold for pain.  You should assume that the BOGO flights you'll get are not the ones you'd prefer.  Friends got an OK flight into the port, later on the day before the cruise.  Their return is a red eye, so they have an entire day to kill.  It also has a 2.5 hour layover, so not ideal.  They're thinking about booking their own return as a result, so effectively losing the benefit of the good price.

[Sailing12Away]

The cruise ship has to do what is best for them to ensure you don't miss the ship or miss your flight home. So they get you in as early as possible, and send you home as late as possible. 

 

If you've got a late flight, they usually offer some type of city tour excursion with airport drop off. Use the $50 excursion credit and do that to kill time, or find something else to do (depending on your port). In Miami we found an animal sanctuary to visit - took a cab there with our luggage, and they stored our suitcases in the front office for us while we visited with the animals. All I had to do was reach out to them ahead of time via email and ask. Then called for an Uber to the airport when we were done.

[oteixeira]

Just got the info for my December cruise and our flight home leaves at 7:05PM, even with excursions that is crazy late.  I am going to call and nicely ask if there is anything we can do.  My guess is no, but it is worth it to ask.  If not, we will actually not get back to the house until after midnight....I can drive it from the port in less time.  I wonder what a rental would cost me one way....

[G-DawgMN]

50 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Just got the info for my December cruise and our flight home leaves at 7:05PM, even with excursions that is crazy late.  I am going to call and nicely ask if there is anything we can do.  My guess is no, but it is worth it to ask.  If not, we will actually not get back to the house until after midnight....I can drive it from the port in less time.  I wonder what a rental would cost me one way....

 

  Check on the airlines site. Delta does no fee changes for sure (just pay the difference in flight cost if any). We used NCL air for our recent cruise out of LA and were able to change our departure time on the outbound leg for 10 bucks. Our return flights were surprisingly good with a direct flight leaving at 1PM.

[julig22]

4 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

 So they get you in as early as possible, and send you home as late as possible. 

If only that were true.  I wish I would get later flights so I could take a post cruise excursion once in awhile!  I've started booking the excursions ahead of time so they'll look at later flights - fingers crossed it works.

 

Yes, they choose cheap when they can but It also depends on where you live, as well as the destination. Their policy is no more than 2 layovers which they will use to their benefit, not yours.  Works in my favor for those of us who fly from outlying areas, against those who fly from a major hub, in that I often get the available "direct" flight to the port.  But have to take a redeye to start.