NCL does NOT guarantee you’ll make it to the ship.

[CILCIANRQTS]

Many on CC seem to believe that, if they purchase their flights through NCL, the line will guarantee that they get onboard the ship somewhere. That is not the case, no matter what the phone reps tell you.

The cruise line is acting as an agent in selling you airfare. Since they cannot control if your flight is cancelled or delayed, they are not financially responsible for getting you to the ship somehow. Would you expect your TA to pay if your flight is cancelled??
Yes, I know phone reps may give the impression you’ll be taken care of, but numerous threads on here have dealt with phone reps giving inaccurate information, so why trust them? Even AI chat bots give more reliable information than human staffers.

And I know that NCL has in the past gotten people to their ship, but they are not legally obligated to. They often do that for large groups or high status cruisers.

I’ll be curious to read how this misconception came about.

 

Transportation Liability

In arranging for the transportation of passengers to and from the vessel or for excursions, accommodations or any other activities away from the vessel, Norwegian Cruise Line does so only as a convenience to the passenger. The passenger hereby agrees that Norwegian Cruise Line shall not be liable or responsible in any respect for any property damage or personal injury arising from the selection of any mode of transportation, accommodation, excursion or activity on the passenger's behalf.

Norwegian Cruise Line disclaims any responsibility for personal injury or property damage arising out of the acts, omission or negligence of any air carrier, hotel, restauranteur or other provider of the acts, omission or negligence of any air carrier, hotel, restauranteur or other provider of services offered in addition to the ship's cruise, such as concessionaires operating photography, shops, beauty salon, laundry, gaming, etc.

NCL shall not be responsible for any damage or inconvenience caused by late air, car or motorcoach arrivals, nor for any personal injuries or loss or damage to baggage or other property occurring off the vessel.

Any liability for loss or damage to personal baggage is in accordance with the Guest Ticket Contractprovisions. Passengers' baggage and property are transported, stored and handled at owners' risk at all times.

NCL is not responsible or liable for any loss, theft, pilferage, damage or delay to passengers' baggage or personal effects. Air, car, motorcoach and ground transfer shall be the responsibility of the provider of the services and in accordance with applicable limitations.

As a convenience to passengers, Norwegian Cruise Line may sell tickets for shoreside tours or arrange other services which are operated by independent contractors, but Norwegian Cruise Line shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever for any damage, loss, injury or death arising out of any service provided ashore or by any airline, motel, hotel, ground carrier or any other provider of any of the services provided or offered in addition to the ship's cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line also reserves the right to change its itinerary whenever advisable or necessary which may cause all or any part of a tour, program or other service provided by independent third parties to be changed or abandoned. In this case, Norwegian Cruise Line will not be responsible for any losses or expenses caused by reason of such changes or abandonment.

NCL's responsibility does not extend beyond the vessel. Therefore, any arrangements made by or for passengers either before boarding the ship or whenever disembarking entirely from the ship are at the passengers' own risk. Passengers going ashore on their own are responsible for reboarding the ship prior to departure from port.

[Cruise5life]

Ive never thought that.  They have no control over the weather and missed flights.   It’s a crapshoot.   
that’s why I never use the cruise line flights.   
book my own. Always. 

[gmbhardy]

In our case, NCL arranged air to San Juan after we missed embarkation in Miami. There was no further compensation.

[complawyer]

BOOK THE FLIGHTS/HOTELS YOURSELF!!!! You'll stay sane that way, and you have more control over your travel plans.

[styles27]

@CILCIANRQTS you’re right there are quite a few folks who believe if they book air through the cruise line that the ship will wait for them if they’re late or will pay for them to meet the ship at the next port. 
I see posts about it many times a week on other social media sites. 
 

We always fly in at least 2-3 days  before our cruise. The older I get the less I care about saving a few bucks. It’s all about convenience and having control of my vacation.  

[3OfDiamonds]

The fact that NCL puts all this legalese butt-covering somewhere deep in its T&Cs doesn’t absolve it of at least moral responsibility to make good on what phone representatives (are told to) say re what protections exist if a flight sold by NCL fails to get a passenger to the embarkation city in time, and it might still have legal responsibility as well regardless of what’s in the fine print.  Also, this seems to suggest that shore excursions bought through NCL wouldn’t be refunded if there’s a port change/cancellation, which would be laughable on its face (and also ripe for a class-action/chargeback-a-palooza):

 

“Norwegian Cruise Line also reserves the right to change its itinerary whenever advisable or necessary which may cause all or any part of a tour, program or other service provided by independent third parties to be changed or abandoned. In this case, Norwegian Cruise Line will not be responsible for any losses or expenses caused by reason of such changes or abandonment.”

[sharonann24]

We are in the process of booking the Prima July 27 trip to Iceland and the air is included.  We are traveling with my father (who will be 94) and I really am leaning towards coming in the day before.  We just returned from a Celebrity cruise where we arrived on embarcation day in Ft. Lauderdale and had no problem, but we had a very early morning flight.  We also did a Viking River cruise in which air and transport was included.  I am being cautious however.

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

3 hours ago, 3OfDiamonds said:

The fact that NCL puts all this legalese butt-covering somewhere deep in its T&Cs doesn’t absolve it of at least moral responsibility to make good on what phone representatives (are told to) say re what protections exist if a flight sold by NCL fails to get a passenger to the embarkation city in time, and it might still have legal responsibility as well regardless of what’s in the fine print.  Also, this seems to suggest that shore excursions bought through NCL wouldn’t be refunded if there’s a port change/cancellation, which would be laughable on its face (and also ripe for a class-action/chargeback-a-palooza):

 

“Norwegian Cruise Line also reserves the right to change its itinerary whenever advisable or necessary which may cause all or any part of a tour, program or other service provided by independent third parties to be changed or abandoned. In this case, Norwegian Cruise Line will not be responsible for any losses or expenses caused by reason of such changes or abandonment.”

What you're quoting applies to "third parties" tours which are arranged outside of NCL.  They have no obligation to pay you for those if they change/miss a port.  Not apples and apples.......

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, sharonann24 said:

We are in the process of booking the Prima July 27 trip to Iceland and the air is included.  We are traveling with my father (who will be 94) and I really am leaning towards coming in the day before.  We just returned from a Celebrity cruise where we arrived on embarcation day in Ft. Lauderdale and had no problem, but we had a very early morning flight.  We also did a Viking River cruise in which air and transport was included.  I am being cautious however.

If you use NCL air, please, please do at minimum a two day deviation! Your dad will probably appreciate a day between flying and embarking too. You'll save a lot of stress and heartache if flights are canceled/volcano erupts/whatever happens. 

 

As @CILCIANRQTS notes, NCL has no obligation to get you to the ship. Also, they have no obligation to give you good flights. If flying in from a tiny airport (like BDL) to a gateway, be prepared for a very long layover or a quick run through the airport to catch your plane. 

 

Have the time of your life onboard! 

[DCGuy64]

Those T&C's read a lot like typical CYA legalese. What NCL is legally bound to do and what NCL typically provides are two different things. They could say they don't have to keep the pools clean or heated, the spa open, that they don't have to have every ride or restaurant open, and that doesn't mean they have no interest in or intention of providing those things. Of course they do. NCL has on many occasions (according to posts here on CC) flown people to the first port after embarkation due to the delay or cancellation of a flight arranged by NCL Air. I don't think it's helpful to take what NCL is legally allowed to do and extrapolate from that "you're on your own." That isn't the reality, in practice. Depending on your circumstances and/or financial situation, you might find it easier to have NCL arrange the airfare and purchase travel insurance to get you to your destination in case of a delay.

[DCGuy64]

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea

 

I found this to be a helpful site. Among other things, it does say that failure to use an NCL-booked incoming flight could result in the flight home being cancelled. The OP doesn't say which number was called, but there is a flight assistance hotline. If you have the extra money and the extra time (not all do, of course), booking one's own air and hotel (assuming you fly in a day or two early) may be the way to go.

[sanger727]

Regardless of the airline and booking method - its never advisable to arrive the same day as the cruise. Especially not for long haul flights like Europe. 

[SeaShark]

2 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea

 

I found this to be a helpful site. Among other things, it does say that failure to use an NCL-booked incoming flight could result in the flight home being cancelled. The OP doesn't say which number was called, but there is a flight assistance hotline. If you have the extra money and the extra time (not all do, of course), booking one's own air and hotel (assuming you fly in a day or two early) may be the way to go.

 

Again...it is important to remember that flight assistance is available to those who purchase their air through NCL...which is NOT the same as getting air through the Free at Sea promotion. Conflating these very different programs caused a lot of unnecessary confusion.

[DCGuy64]

22 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Again...it is important to remember that flight assistance is available to those who purchase their air through NCL...which is NOT the same as getting air through the Free at Sea promotion. Conflating these very different programs caused a lot of unnecessary confusion.

Thanks, I assumed they were identical. Seems confusing to have two different programs that sound similar, though. Just sayin'. (And we've only used the BOGO air once, no issues whatsoever, so we like it.)

[cassie55]

30 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea

 

I found this to be a helpful site. Among other things, it does say that failure to use an NCL-booked incoming flight could result in the flight home being cancelled. The OP doesn't say which number was called, but there is a flight assistance hotline. If you have the extra money and the extra time (not all do, of course), booking one's own air and hotel (assuming you fly in a day or two early) may be the way to go.

This is standard. Every single airline will cancel a return sector if the outbound is a no-show.  It's automated. 

[SeaShark]

2 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks, I assumed they were identical. Seems confusing to have two different programs that sound similar, though. Just sayin'. (And we've only used the BOGO air once, no issues whatsoever, so we like it.)

 

Not much different than learning the difference between refundable and non-refundable OBC, or the difference between a Service Charge and a Gratuity. A little knowledge can go a long way. The issue we have now is way to many people just "assume" and trust whatever they read online (as long as they find it favorable to their own situation of course).

[sharonann24]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

If you use NCL air, please, please do at minimum a two day deviation! Your dad will probably appreciate a day between flying and embarking too. You'll save a lot of stress and heartache if flights are canceled/volcano erupts/whatever happens. 

 

As @CILCIANRQTS notes, NCL has no obligation to get you to the ship. Also, they have no obligation to give you good flights. If flying in from a tiny airport (like BDL) to a gateway, be prepared for a very long layover or a quick run through the airport to catch your plane. 

 

Have the time of your life onboard! 

Our departure city will probably be Boston--fingers crossed.

[sharonann24]

I am also going to add that pre pandemic my husband and I were aboard the Pearl when it had mechanical issues, forcing us to miss our Italian ports.  We had to fly home from Barcelona.  While people were panicking, we felt confident that we would be taken care of, since we had the NCL included airfare.  We were able to get home fairly easily, even when there was a last minute switch at the airport.  

[DCGuy64]

16 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

In our case, NCL arranged air to San Juan after we missed embarkation in Miami. There was no further compensation.

Which program did you use, if you don't mind me asking?

[mingo]

4 hours ago, sharonann24 said:

We are in the process of booking the Prima July 27 trip to Iceland and the air is included.  We are traveling with my father (who will be 94) and I really am leaning towards coming in the day before.  We just returned from a Celebrity cruise where we arrived on embarcation day in Ft. Lauderdale and had no problem, but we had a very early morning flight.  We also did a Viking River cruise in which air and transport was included.  I am being cautious however.

We did the NCL air last year for our Greenland/Iceland trip.  We left Chicago at 7pm and arrived in Iceland at 6am their time.  Plenty of time to get to the ship.

[LloydJr]

1 hour ago, mingo said:

We did the NCL air last year for our Greenland/Iceland trip.  We left Chicago at 7pm and arrived in Iceland at 6am their time.  Plenty of time to get to the ship.

Just curious.  Did you consider going a day earlier?  We're looking at an Iceland embarkation in the future and seeing similar air options.  My thought was to get in at 6:00 am, head to a hotel and drop the bags (or check-in) and have the day to relax before boarding the ship the next day.  I'm expecting all kinds of jet lag, fatigue, etc. from the long flight to Iceland and the significant time change.

[complawyer]

hey mingo! what time of year did you take the cruise. i know chicago o'hare can be a real b***h in winter.

 

bottom line... why take the chance?

[mingo]

We sailed 7/25 - 8/4   They cancelled 2 Greenland ports and 1 Iceland port due to Fog.  BUT  I'd do that trip again if asked.  They are both beautiful countries.

[R&G1996]

We usually take one or two days deviation depending on the season and embarkation port. So, flight delays is not an issue. The advantage of booking flight with NCL (as part of Free at Sea) is that if the cruise is cancelled by NCL you get your money back. The disadvantage is that you can only chose the airport. As for the rest you are at the mercy of Air department.  Absolutely do not like our flights for upcoming cruise, even though flights for the previous cruses were OK.

[mingo]

1 hour ago, LloydJr said:

Just curious.  Did you consider going a day earlier?  We're looking at an Iceland embarkation in the future and seeing similar air options.  My thought was to get in at 6:00 am, head to a hotel and drop the bags (or check-in) and have the day to relax before boarding the ship the next day.  I'm expecting all kinds of jet lag, fatigue, etc. from the long flight to Iceland and the significant time change.

This was our second trip to Iceland.  We did a 2 day layover on the way to a River  Cruise in 2017.   Everything is VERY expensive in Iceland.  We had a hamburger and fish and chips - no drinks and it was 75US!  I was ok going in the same day knowing we'd get there early in the morning.  We were at the port before 10am. (we used their transportation - best choice ever..  we gave them our bags and the next time we saw them was in our cabin).  Aside from the missing some ports it was perfect.  We couldn't change the weather - we made use of the ports we did stop at.  The tour to see the iceburgs shouldn't be missed.  We had one roll just as we were going by.  Probably a once in a lifetime thing.