Linked Reservations

[twinmommy08]

First time sailing NCL. Our travel agent booked us connecting balcony cabins for my family of 4. I have an online NCL account and I can see my cabin but I can not see my husbands. Is there anyway to link the two together online so I can book shore excursions together?  

[KeithJenner]

45 minutes ago, twinmommy08 said:

First time sailing NCL. Our travel agent booked us connecting balcony cabins for my family of 4. I have an online NCL account and I can see my cabin but I can not see my husbands. Is there anyway to link the two together online so I can book shore excursions together?  

There is no need to link rooms for shore excursions.

 

Just book the excursions individually and all when your excursion is called all stick together. They allocate groups then so you can ensure that you are all in the same one.

[cmph]

2 hours ago, twinmommy08 said:

First time sailing NCL. Our travel agent booked us connecting balcony cabins for my family of 4. I have an online NCL account and I can see my cabin but I can not see my husbands. Is there anyway to link the two together online so I can book shore excursions together?  

I actually chatted with an NCL rep today about exactly that. (I'm a first time NCL cruiser this year, too.) She confirmed that my assigned cruise planner had linked our two cabins, but there is/will be no way for me to see that. (I wish there was some way that this was visible to the customer, but oh well.) I can making dining reservations for everyone when the booking window opens, but that is it.

 

I am guessing you are also the travel planner for your family? I wasn't concerned about groupings on the excursions, but I found it annoying and inefficient that I cannot just book everything for the whole family and be done with it. I had to sit there side by side with my husband and walk him through each thing he needed to book (excursions, airport transport, etc.), one at a time. The site is terrible and laggy, which I guess I've gotten used to while researching the port excursions, restaurants, etc., and then the charges wouldn't go through for him without multiple efforts. Not the end of the world, but definitely not user-friendly for families with multiple cabins. 

[hallux]

5 hours ago, cmph said:

I can making dining reservations for everyone when the booking window opens, but that is it.

The dining reservations only care how many you're booking for, there's no need to identify who it will be.  I sail solo - I could book a table for 6 for a specialty then invite other solos at the solo meet to join me.

[mjkacmom]

We are 7, I have to open both accounts to book excursions. Once I ran out of a spot for one of us.

[sarahwalker2007]

42 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

We are 7, I have to open both accounts to book excursions. Once I ran out of a spot for one of us.

This is where Holland America beats NCL hands down. I can link all my HAL cabins and I can book all the excursions and meals and anything else. I can also book my own airfare through their flight portal to make sure that we are all on the same flight. This is our first NCL cruise and so far I am not impressed with the website or the lack of being able to link our 3 cabins. I am worried about running out of spots by the time I get to the 3rd cabin's account to book it.

[hallux]

21 minutes ago, sarahwalker2007 said:

I can also book my own airfare through their flight portal to make sure that we are all on the same flight.

NCL also has an airfare option that allows you to book your own flights, just using NCL as a TA for doing so, it's called NCL Premium Air.  The BOGO airfare is different.

[sarahwalker2007]

18 minutes ago, hallux said:

NCL also has an airfare option that allows you to book your own flights, just using NCL as a TA for doing so, it's called NCL Premium Air.  The BOGO airfare is different.

How do I access this premium Air?

[hallux]

27 minutes ago, sarahwalker2007 said:

How do I access this premium Air?

From a Google search - https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/premium-air

[sarahwalker2007]

1 minute ago, hallux said:

From a Google search - https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/premium-air

Thank you! I had searched the ncl website but the BOGO was the only thing I found. It bothers me that I have to call and do this on the phone (I like being able to search and see stuff online) but I guess it's the only way.

[twinmommy08]

Thank you all for the conversation and helpful tips. 
 

I am the travel planner for my family. We are a married couple with b/g twin teenagers and need two connecting rooms for the space and to make sure the kids have their own beds. My son is over 6ft tall and can not sleep comfortably on a pull out with his sister who constantly moves in her sleep 😉 

 

We’ve sailed Royal since 2009 and we’ve had luck with balcony/suites made for 5 pax so each kid has their own bed. This year is the first time we will have all sailings with two connecting rooms. The girls need their own bathroom! I have two booked with Royal and two with NCL. It’s hard not to compare when making reservations for each trip. 
 

The shore excursions are the main driver here- I don’t want to book two in my cabin and find out there aren’t two more slots available when I book under my husband’s reservation. Royal let’s us book everything together at once.

 

I like I can book speciality without confirming who’s dining, so thanks for that tip! Sounds like I don’t pre-pay for the dining reservations? Royal requires pre-payment for speciality dining reservations even if you have a package. They refund the difference on the ship or you can press your luck and try to schedule everything on the first day. 

 

[disneylover89]

1 hour ago, sarahwalker2007 said:

Thank you! I had searched the ncl website but the BOGO was the only thing I found. It bothers me that I have to call and do this on the phone (I like being able to search and see stuff online) but I guess it's the only way.

Many people complain that even though they book 2 rooms at the same time, the people in the other cabin get completely different flights.  I hear a lot of stories that grandma, who is older and can't travel alone and is in the cabin with younger grandchildren, they are given a different flight and the grandmother can not handle the young children.  Something to think about.

 

We always book connecting cabins, 1 for my husband and I and 1 for my adult children.  I am able to book dining reservations for all of us but when I book excursions, I call.  This ensures that we all have a space and don't get closed out.  My son, who is in the other room has an NCL account, so I am able to look at it and make adjustments and payment on it and my kids use that account for charges, reservations, etc.

[cmph]

3 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

We are 7, I have to open both accounts to book excursions. Once I ran out of a spot for one of us.

Ugh, that is so frustrating! And exactly what I worried about, as we were doing this side-by-side. 

 

12 minutes ago, twinmommy08 said:

I am the travel planner for my family. We are a married couple with b/g twin teenagers and need two connecting rooms for the space and to make sure the kids have their own beds. My son is over 6ft tall and can not sleep comfortably on a pull out with his sister who constantly moves in her sleep 😉 

Aside from the twin part - same situation here! First time NCL, first time multiple rooms, 6ft5in son plus daughter with way too much stuff to share the bathroom with multiple other people. 🙂 My husband is 100% fine with punting the travel planning to me. I don't think you and I are oddballs - seems like most families likely have one designated planner!

 

[hallux]

19 minutes ago, twinmommy08 said:

Sounds like I don’t pre-pay for the dining reservations?

I'm assuming you're getting the Free At Sea perks and passengers 1&2 in each balcony cabin get 2 free specialty meals on trips 7 nights and up.  If you want to do more than those 2 nights, you can add 2 more nights for $118 (there used to be an 'upgrade' option that was around $70 for 2 additional meals but I don't see it on my upcoming reservation).  If you want to pay out of pocket, book the set-fee venues FIRST, so it assumes you're using the credits you have for those, but it will probably be cheaper to pay out of pocket for those.  Most of the specialty venues are a-la-carte, they can't charge you up-front as they don't know what your bill will be.  You tell them when you get seated if you plan to use your dining credit or charge to your account.

[cmph]

5 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

We always book connecting cabins, 1 for my husband and I and 1 for my adult children.  I am able to book dining reservations for all of us but when I book excursions, I call.  This ensures that we all have a space and don't get closed out.  My son, who is in the other room has an NCL account, so I am able to look at it and make adjustments and payment on it and my kids use that account for charges, reservations, etc.

Newbie question - do you have to talk to your assigned cruise planner, specifically? Ours is perfectly fine, but he is on the opposite coast so we have time zone mismatches. I had hoped that I could ask basic questions via email, at the very least, but I just get a call back (while I'm still in bed). 

[twinmommy08]

2 minutes ago, hallux said:

I'm assuming you're getting the Free At Sea perks and passengers 1&2 in each balcony cabin get 2 free specialty meals on trips 7 nights and up.  If you want to do more than those 2 nights, you can add 2 more nights for $118 (there used to be an 'upgrade' option that was around $70 for 2 additional meals but I don't see it on my upcoming reservation).  If you want to pay out of pocket, book the set-fee venues FIRST, so it assumes you're using the credits you have for those, but it will probably be cheaper to pay out of pocket for those.  Most of the specialty venues are a-la-carte, they can't charge you up-front as they don't know what your bill will be.  You tell them when you get seated if you plan to use your dining credit or charge to your account.

Yes- free at sea promos. We will likely upgrade to the free at sea plus (?) it includes unlimited internet, 2 more reservations, and premium drinks for adults. 

Can you tell me an example of what set-fee venue is so I can plan accordingly? Joy & Viva. Thank you! 
 

 

[disneylover89]

2 minutes ago, cmph said:

Newbie question - do you have to talk to your assigned cruise planner, specifically? Ours is perfectly fine, but he is on the opposite coast so we have time zone mismatches. I had hoped that I could ask basic questions via email, at the very least, but I just get a call back (while I'm still in bed). 

No, you have to call the ShoreX department.

 

Onboard activities can be booked online at ncl.com/myncl; by calling 866-625-1167 (for Shore Excursions) and 800-327-7030 for Spa (Norwegian Epic only), Dining and Entertainment, or by contacting your travel professional.

 

[hallux]

1 minute ago, twinmommy08 said:

Can you tell me an example of what set-fee venue is so I can plan accordingly? Joy & Viva.

On the Joy, looks like just Teppanyaki.  See the ship info here, it even lists the type of venue for each - 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/joy/whats-on-board/Specialty-Dining

 

Look at the Prima for an idea of the Viva offerings...