Greek Isles Cruise July 12

[Jcon3228]

Hello all, first time poster but not our first cruise. Just had a quick question. We have only sailed NCL to the Bahama's and looking at trying out something else. My only real concern here is the included flights that we have no control over. If the cruise leaves on July 12 out of Athens Greece will NCL fly us in the day before or the day of? I'd hate to fly into Athens for the first time and not even get a few free hours to see some sights.

 

and at the tail end, itinerary says the ship arrives in Rome at 6am on July 21. Will the flight be that day also? Would like to maybe even stay a night in Rome and explore. To book our own flights is more than double the cost so just weighing the options. Thank you!

 

Jake

Edited April 19, 2023 by Jcon3228

[603NHCruiser]

Using NCL flights is not for the faint of heart, and I would suggest doing a general search in the forum to read more about the flight promo so that you can make your own informed decision. there are always going to be more negative posts than positive, but with it really comes down to your own education on the matter and willingness to place your travel plans in someone else's hands.

 

NCL will book generally book the cheapest available routes to get you to your destination. From my experience this is still on one of the big name carriers, so you don't have to worry about an ultra low cost carrier like Spirit or the many more international ones, but your flight will likely have at least one layover and could involve multiple different airlines. the terms state that with international flights they will try to book no more than two connections. if you are flying out of BOS that could result in one domestic layover to get you to EWR/JFK or ATL, or you could fly from BOS to Europe with layovers on that side. The terms also state that connections will not be shorter than the posted amount of time for that specific airport. that info is usually posted on the specific airports website and may only be 90 minutes not leaving you a lot of time, or could be many hours. Standard air reservations will schedule you to arrive on departure day and depart the same day that you depart the ship. Calling to either make your entire sailing reservation or to add air to a reservation after booking will allow you to request a deviation of up to two days on either end. This allows you to come in up to two days early and leave up to two days later if you wish. Doing this results in a $25 credit (discount) applied to your reservation and is always recommended to allow you more travel time incase there is a flight delay. NCL does not pay for the hotel room if you request a deviation. You are able to book hotels on either end with NCL though and they are charged Per Person Per Night. The cost is generally considerably more than if you were to book the hotel on your own, however doing so then allows you to extend the deviation request up to at least 3 days (it may be 4.) you can then also add transfers from Airport to Hotel to Cruise ship if you would like. Otherwise you are on your own to get from the airport to the hotel and to the pier.

 

Departure flights after your cruise are of course luck of the draw and do to mid-day travel almost always being more expensive, you will rarely get an optimum flight home. It may either be a close call getting off the ship to get to the airport on time, or you may end up not flying out until late and night. If you schedule allows for a deviation at the end, this is recommended, but just know you could then end up not leaving until the following night.

 

The biggest gripe that I think people have with the flight promo is the lack of adjustment to the flights once they are booked by NCL. Because the times are rarely ideal or someone feels that a connection is too long or too short, they want to make changes to the flight. The carrier will rarely allow this due to the fare type booked, and NCL won't make the change if it falls within the conditions of their promo rules. Another big complaint is when people are booking multiple cabins and then find out that there is no guarantee that everyone will be on the same flights. they will only ensure that people within the same cabin are on the same flights.

 

I have used the flight promo a few times and generally been pleased because I have gone into it know the expectations and willing to deal with the consequences. When you are talking about the ability to save a grand in flights, it is hard to pass up. Just do your homework first. 

[Sthrngary]

@Jcon3228 Boy is your question one that gets debated over and over again.  Yet I do have a perspective on it.  I am going on a 10-day Mediterranean Cruise on one of NCL sister brands, Oceania. My cruise leaves from Athens, Greece on November 9, 2023.  It returns from Barcelona, Spain on November 19, 2023.

 

Like with NCL, you can save on your fare if you book your airfare directly.  My benefit was $1,000 per passenger.  The key issue is "Control".  NCL or in my case Oceania controlled the air reservation.  Cruise lines have negotiated blocks of airline seats. In my research which unfortunately is not easy information to come up with, I found for me at least, booking through the airlines direct was much better.

 

Here is the catch, you have to book as early as you can to catch the good fares.  The longer you wait until the cruise, the more expensive the airline tickets get.  Most airlines allow you to book 330 days in advance which is what I did.  I also booked "Fully Refundable" fares which cost me a little more than the air allowance my cruise was giving me.  I could have gotten a airfare several hundred dollars less if I wanted a non-cancelable fare.  

 

This worked great for me because I could choose my seat, it included one 50lbs checked bag which sometimes is not included when using the cruise line and I got to keep my airline points.  However none of this works if you are to close to the departure date of your cruise.

 

As a general rule, we always and I do mean always book our flights at least one day prior to the cruise line leaving. Some cruise brands are not offering this with a Pre-Cruise Hotel through them or as a complementary benefit.  Some do not.  

 

It all comes back to control of your day, times, brands and seating choices.  Funny story, two years ago my friends and I were booked for this cruise.  I booked my air the day before the cruise as is my norm.  He REFUSED to do it because he told me the Cruise Ship would wait for him if his flight was late.  This is not the case as a norm.  Have cruise ships waited for large groups of passengers to get to the port, on rare occasions.  If the cruise brand in this case NCL books your air, they will get you to the next port.  That means your "Once in a lifetime cruise" has a day or two less.  This trip, the same friend has no choice, we are both going in a day early getting to Athens, Greece at 08:30 AM.  This gives us the full day in Athens.  

 

Now this topic will be debated, it always is.  All I did was give you my perspective. Take everything that every says with a grain of salt.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[cruiseny4life]

29 minutes ago, 603NHCruiser said:

Using NCL flights is not for the faint of heart, and I would suggest doing a general search in the forum to read more about the flight promo so that you can make your own informed decision. there are always going to be more negative posts than positive, but with it really comes down to your own education on the matter and willingness to place your travel plans in someone else's hands.

 

NCL will book generally book the cheapest available routes to get you to your destination. From my experience this is still on one of the big name carriers, so you don't have to worry about an ultra low cost carrier like Spirit or the many more international ones, but your flight will likely have at least one layover and could involve multiple different airlines. the terms state that with international flights they will try to book no more than two connections. if you are flying out of BOS that could result in one domestic layover to get you to EWR/JFK or ATL, or you could fly from BOS to Europe with layovers on that side. The terms also state that connections will not be shorter than the posted amount of time for that specific airport. that info is usually posted on the specific airports website and may only be 90 minutes not leaving you a lot of time, or could be many hours. Standard air reservations will schedule you to arrive on departure day and depart the same day that you depart the ship. Calling to either make your entire sailing reservation or to add air to a reservation after booking will allow you to request a deviation of up to two days on either end. This allows you to come in up to two days early and leave up to two days later if you wish. Doing this results in a $25 credit (discount) applied to your reservation and is always recommended to allow you more travel time incase there is a flight delay. NCL does not pay for the hotel room if you request a deviation. You are able to book hotels on either end with NCL though and they are charged Per Person Per Night. The cost is generally considerably more than if you were to book the hotel on your own, however doing so then allows you to extend the deviation request up to at least 3 days (it may be 4.) you can then also add transfers from Airport to Hotel to Cruise ship if you would like. Otherwise you are on your own to get from the airport to the hotel and to the pier.

 

Departure flights after your cruise are of course luck of the draw and do to mid-day travel almost always being more expensive, you will rarely get an optimum flight home. It may either be a close call getting off the ship to get to the airport on time, or you may end up not flying out until late and night. If you schedule allows for a deviation at the end, this is recommended, but just know you could then end up not leaving until the following night.

 

The biggest gripe that I think people have with the flight promo is the lack of adjustment to the flights once they are booked by NCL. Because the times are rarely ideal or someone feels that a connection is too long or too short, they want to make changes to the flight. The carrier will rarely allow this due to the fare type booked, and NCL won't make the change if it falls within the conditions of their promo rules. Another big complaint is when people are booking multiple cabins and then find out that there is no guarantee that everyone will be on the same flights. they will only ensure that people within the same cabin are on the same flights.

 

I have used the flight promo a few times and generally been pleased because I have gone into it know the expectations and willing to deal with the consequences. When you are talking about the ability to save a grand in flights, it is hard to pass up. Just do your homework first. 

This might be the best, most fact-based (with enough opinion to make it your own) post I've ever seen about NCL Air. Well done!

[Jcon3228]

So are you saying book the cruise with NO flights? and then call back to add them and request a deviation? We can request a deviation during the original booking? Trying to get this done asap so we don't lose out on our certificate from the casino. Appears to be saving us quite a bit and then so are the included flights so it seems like a steal.

 

 

[NCMtnBoys]

You CAN book the cruise without using the NCL BOGO promo... but it must be added or taken away before the final payment date. If you don't want the air promo, just call and have them remove it, but do so before the final payment date. Also, if using the air promo and requesting a 1-2 day deviation, you must do so up to 75 days before departure; after that you can't add a deviation and you will be scheduled to arrive the day your ship departs, and depart to come home the day you disembark the ship. You're currently about 83 days out, so you don't have long to get the deviation(s) added if you want to do that.

 

I always said I would never use the BOGO air promo because of having to give up control of the flight planning, but I have been searching flights to Athens for our September 10th cruise for months and months and they're pretty high. So we went ahead and added the air promo to our booking (with a two day deviation on the outbound only) and it's half the price as booking the flights on our own. I know the risks and am willing to take them for the significant savings. Hoping for the best when we get our flight info. If the flights aren't that great we'll make the best of it.  

Edited April 21, 2023 by NCMtnBoys

[Jcon3228]

Thank you all. We just booked and did a 1 day deviation on both ends and it appears it was a $50 credit. Another group on FB said once we get our airline itinerary to sign up for that airline (make an account) and we may be able to pick seats or pay for upgrades so we may try that or just roll the dice. Excited for our first over seas vacation.