Prima Cruise Booked -- Listed as Charter Cruise

[Greenpea2]

On 3/20/2022 at 6:46 PM, kdmbluerzr said:

A quick follow up note......   I just went on the Roll Call thread for this cruise, another CC member had learned of the probable charter and shared some good info.  Take a look at it. 

That's where I heard about it. 

[Greenpea2]

Well, I could not stop thinking about worst case scenario. So I bailed and rebooked on the week before. And yes, it is $1900 more than what I originally paid and neither of the 2 cabins on deck 15 with the angled balcony was available. Oh well. It's still the same cabin type so, it is what it is. My PCC was upset, sating NCL does not tell them about charters until they are final. She's glad she knows now.I am appreciative of all the input here--I might very well have been in a mess if i had not dealt with it now. So thanks, all. 

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

very nice to hear so I am guessing your trip is before mine.

It will be the first time I have started in one port and ended in another.  Not looking forward to the airfare being two 1 ways.  but I like the itinerary.   Was supposed to do one on the STAR that just started and ended in Iceland and doing a lot of Greenland, but I did cancel for this year.  

Ours starts in early August.

 

It will be our second cruise that is not a closed loop. The other one was Boston to Montreal. Had a very nice 2 day stay in Montreal, but getting home was a nightmare. We had the only plane to Newark that boarded on time, but then the flight was held up hours after the passengers boarded. And then to top it off, we had a minor car accident on the way home. 😢

 

As for the airfare for the London to Reykjavik cruise, we have the NCL air deal. Really hoping they pick good flights.

[RocketMan275]

13 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

Well, right now what I will do is wait. If it's a partial charter I would be ok with that, especially because we are booked in the Haven so unless they took over the Haven, it would not affect me that much. If it comes to be that they get the whole ship, then I guess we get bumped. I'm not paying several more thousand $ for the same cabin on a different cruise, it's already pretty darn expensive! Just kind of sad that I even have to be concerned as for the past year, the cruise in '23 has brought me much joy and anticipation.

Whole ship charters are a pain but the most pain comes from very large group bookings.  A large group can negotiate special incentives from the cruise line.  They can take over a complete seating in the MDR.  They can have special events only open to the group which might take over all the seating in the theater.  The best viewing area on Holland is the Crows Nest, a large lounge area on the front of the ship.  It was reported on CC that one large group negotiated exclusive access for hours at a time while cruising through the most scenic areas, glaciers, etc.

[Oceansaway17]

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Ours starts in early August.

 

It will be our second cruise that is not a closed loop. The other one was Boston to Montreal. Had a very nice 2 day stay in Montreal, but getting home was a nightmare. We had the only plane to Newark that boarded on time, but then the flight was held up hours after the passengers boarded. And then to top it off, we had a minor car accident on the way home. 😢

 

As for the airfare for the London to Reykjavik cruise, we have the NCL air deal. Really hoping they pick good flights.

i have never used cruiseline air program but I might look into it just to see the prices.

I do not understand why 1 way Europe prices are double.  It is not this way domestic.  It is like being punished for not doing a r/t.  just annoyed with pricing 1 way issues going to Europe

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

i have never used cruiseline air program but I might look into it just to see the prices.

I do not understand why 1 way Europe prices are double.  It is not this way domestic.  It is like being punished for not doing a r/t.  just annoyed with pricing 1 way issues going to Europe

 

Who knows why the international air prices are the way they are.  I figure it's:  Because they can! 😠

 

But for those who may have some frequent flyer awards, or charge card points, this is an excellent way to get a good use for them.  As far as we've seen (which admittedly isn't "everything", for sure), there isn't a surcharge for one-way vs. RT.

 

If you have time to get some nice bonus points for opening a new card (perhaps both of you for a couple), you could probably collect enough points for an economy ticket to many places just by doing that, if you don't have time for any serious "spending".

 

This is how we've always used our points.  We prefer to fly premium class on the top international carriers, and the points required are often very inexpensive compared with the cash value of the points (or rebates, etc.). And I had forgotten about the advantage of never worrying about RT vs. one-way tickets!

 

GC

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

i have never used cruiseline air program but I might look into it just to see the prices.

I do not understand why 1 way Europe prices are double.  It is not this way domestic.  It is like being punished for not doing a r/t.  just annoyed with pricing 1 way issues going to Europe

We actually have the NCL second passenger flies free (which is actually both are booked at half price) offer that we are using. Downside to very good price is that we do not choose the flights. 

[Oceansaway17]

23 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Who knows why the international air prices are the way they are.  I figure it's:  Because they can! 😠

But for those who may have some frequent flyer awards, or charge card points, this is an excellent way to get a good use for them.  As far as we've seen (which admittedly isn't "everything", for sure), there isn't a surcharge for one-way vs. RT.

If you have time to get some nice bonus points for opening a new card (perhaps both of you for a couple), you could probably collect enough points for an economy ticket to many places just by doing that, if you don't have time for any serious "spending".

 

GC

thanks some good points to consider

[Oceansaway17]

22 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We actually have the NCL second passenger flies free (which is actually both are booked at half price) offer that we are using. Downside to very good price is that we do not choose the flights. 

yes that is usually why I do my own thing when booking flights.  Same thing with rooms, I do not let them pick my room.   

[Jim The Lizard]

I called Atlantis directly and spoke with a representative named Jonathan.  He told me that Prima is being booked March 5, but that it has not been announced yet due to the fact they sometimes sell out cruises within hours of announcement. He told me they do only charter entire ships due to “member lifestyle” and “passenger comfort”.    So, we wait to see if Jonathan is accurate and knowledgeable, or he’s only giving me a “possible” result.  

[Greenpea2]

14 hours ago, Jim The Lizard said:

 

I called Atlantis directly and spoke with a representative named Jonathan.  He told me that Prima is being booked March 5, but that it has not been announced yet due to the fact they sometimes sell out cruises within hours of announcement. He told me they do only charter entire ships due to “member lifestyle” and “passenger comfort”.    So, we wait to see if Jonathan is accurate and knowledgeable, or he’s only giving me a “possible” result.  

Thank you for this! VERY glad I found out and switched weeks. VERY glad. :-0 Whew. Dodged a bullet there.

[coastcat]

19 hours ago, Jim The Lizard said:

 

I called Atlantis directly and spoke with a representative named Jonathan.  He told me that Prima is being booked March 5, but that it has not been announced yet due to the fact they sometimes sell out cruises within hours of announcement. He told me they do only charter entire ships due to “member lifestyle” and “passenger comfort”.    So, we wait to see if Jonathan is accurate and knowledgeable, or he’s only giving me a “possible” result.  

I let my TA know since she was selling this sailing as a group cruise. Guess we'll be shifting weeks too! I'm tempted to cancel altogether and book a different ship, but only because I have an earlier Prima cruise (the September 2022 transatlantic) and don't really need to pay the higher "shiny new ship" price a second time.