So NCL air booked me on a flight leaving 11:17pm (red EYE)

[MrsBlackross]

On 6/15/2022 at 12:27 PM, chillyw said:

 

Free same day standby ended up becoming a thing for all legacy carriers during the pandemic, but there are rumors of it going away for AA unless you're elite very soon.

  I fly Delta quite often for work (precovid, I fly out of their main hub in Atlanta) and they had it back then too.  I can't speak for other airlines though.

[Named-Tawny]

1 hour ago, MrsBlackross said:

  I fly Delta quite often for work (precovid, I fly out of their main hub in Atlanta) and they had it back then too.  I can't speak for other airlines though.

It makes business sense from an airline perspective too.

Their goal is to fly with each flight as full as possible.  If there's space left on an earlier flight an hour or two before departure, and you're willing to get on that flight instead of the one that still has 8 hours left to fill up?  Yeah, that's going to be good for them, ESPECIALLY if the later flight is already full or overbooked.

[Malex7780]

We have the opposite problem of the OP. NCL Air has just booked us on an 11AM flight back to Toronto from Miami.  What time will they let us off the ship?  Will we be given any sort of priority to get off first given our flight time?

[hallux]

15 minutes ago, Malex7780 said:

We have the opposite problem of the OP. NCL Air has just booked us on an 11AM flight back to Toronto from Miami.  What time will they let us off the ship?  Will we be given any sort of priority to get off first given our flight time?

MIA is a 10-15 minute ride from the port, maybe as much as 20.  I stayed on the West side of the airport and my Uber was only a 30 minute ride, driving to the West then along the South side of the airfield and over to the port.  You can self-disembark and be off the ship by 8 AM or maybe even as early as 7 AM if the ship is cleared right away.  You should have no trouble making that flight.

Edited June 28, 2022 by hallux

[njkate]

On 6/12/2022 at 11:18 AM, taconwil63 said:

I should have read all the fine print concerning NCL and their packaged flights.   It was my fault that I didn’t.   However, I have never booked a red eye flight by choice.      It took me 26 hours to get back home from my Alaska cruise on a NCL red eye.   That’s not the best way to end a cruise.
 

Just like NCL, I have a choice too.   My choice is not to sail with them again.    

You do realize flying from Seattle to east coast, the morning flights are cutting it close, then there are NO flights until at night putting you back east in the wee hours of the morning. I experienced the same thing when booking my own flights and opted to stay in Seattle the day we disembark and get a morning flight home, that 3 hour time difference heading back east is a pain when flying

[complawyer]

njkate: youre correct, 26 hours is outrageous. it only took us 14 hrs to fly to hong kong. that being said, while its true you should have read the fine print, dont condemn ncl. your choice should be to book your own air fare. most cruise web sites advise to fly in a day or to early,  we're on the ncl bliss to alaska departing aug 6th and returning aug 13. consequently, im booked on alaska air leaving los angeles on the 5th, and returning on the 14th. while i acknowledge there is the extra costs of a hotel room, but i think in the long run, it's worth it to avoid what happened to you.

 

booking your own flights allows you to pick and choose the times, seats and prices that are convenient for you. my sainted mother once told me "it's not a deal, if it's not what you want" pay a little extra and get exactly what you want

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

njkate: youre correct, 26 hours is outrageous. it only took us 14 hrs to fly to hong kong. that being said, while its true you should have read the fine print, dont condemn ncl. your choice should be to book your own air fare. most cruise web sites advise to fly in a day or to early,  we're on the ncl bliss to alaska departing aug 6th and returning aug 13. consequently, im booked on alaska air leaving los angeles on the 5th, and returning on the 14th. while i acknowledge there is the extra costs of a hotel room, but i think in the long run, it's worth it to avoid what happened to you.

 

booking your own flights allows you to pick and choose the times, seats and prices that are convenient for you. my sainted mother once told me "it's not a deal, if it's not what you want" pay a little extra and get exactly what you want

 

 

There is a huge difference between being late when heading toward the ship, than when heading home.  If one wants to "risk a close call" and avoid a definite hotel stay, do that en route home, not when you might be waving goodbye to that ship...

 

As for getting "a deal":

 

"Getting an elephant for a dime is only a good deal if you need an elephant and if you have a dime." 😉 

 

GC

[njkate]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

njkate: youre correct, 26 hours is outrageous. it only took us 14 hrs to fly to hong kong. that being said, while its true you should have read the fine print, dont condemn ncl. your choice should be to book your own air fare. most cruise web sites advise to fly in a day or to early,  we're on the ncl bliss to alaska departing aug 6th and returning aug 13. consequently, im booked on alaska air leaving los angeles on the 5th, and returning on the 14th. while i acknowledge there is the extra costs of a hotel room, but i think in the long run, it's worth it to avoid what happened to you.

 

booking your own flights allows you to pick and choose the times, seats and prices that are convenient for you. my sainted mother once told me "it's not a deal, if it's not what you want" pay a little extra and get exactly what you want

You tagged the wrong person, my post was clear I booked my own flights flying in day before and flying home the next day so I’m not landing in Newark in the wee hours of the morning. No way would I let NCL book my air, yes the savings is great but not worth the aggravation or added stress 

Edited June 28, 2022 by njkate

[hueyjudy]

4 hours ago, Malex7780 said:

We have the opposite problem of the OP. NCL Air has just booked us on an 11AM flight back to Toronto from Miami.  What time will they let us off the ship?  Will we be given any sort of priority to get off first given our flight time?

I'd call the Air Desk and inquire.  Logic says they'll give you priority to leave the ship.  But these days, logic in travel seems to be an oxymoron.  If the ship docks late or whatever, NCL should automatically rebook your flight. 

[victory2020]

I just got off the phone with a woman from flight department who was very helpful. I was asking about flights to Europe from the west coast. She told me a lot of general information such as they tend to book red eye from the west coast to Europe or the east coast. To countries in Europe, they tend to book the regional airlines such as British air for London. An actual person does do the final flight schedule & they try to make layovers around 4 hours. Made me feel a little more comfortable with using them - I still may do my own air to Amsterdam because from what she told me they will have me leaving LAX in the afternoon & getting me there in the afternoon. If I book myself I can leave morning & get in morning & have all day to tour.

[retired714]

Even though it’s not the best time, at least you know they are making some albeit minimal effort to get you where you need to go. We have an air/sea that is supposed to start 3 weeks from today - and have NO INFORMATION about our flights. And of course, my TA was on vacation until yesterday, so haven’t been able to connect with her either.