NCL Free at Sea Promo - What Airline Were you booked on?

[Hunny15602]

Hi everyone, trying to get some info from anyone who has recently utilized the Free at Sea program where you buy airfare for the first guest and the second guest flies free.  I foolishly assumed that I would have SOME choice, which has been the case when booking w/other cruise lines, but apparently not the case w/NCL.  I have one person in my party who doesn't like to fly, needs a fair amount of medication to get on a plane, and absolutely refuses to fly airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Allegiant.

 

I'm still 4 months away from the cruise, and the prospect of waiting another 30-60 days before NCL assigns us our flights is not a great prospect, since I may need to buy my own flights now anyway.  Or potentially drive to the pier, which is an 8-10 hour drive, but possibly a better option.  

 

Please complete the poll, and if you have any hacks or tricks to share, I'm all ears!  My TA is aware, but doesn't have much info to provide.  Thank you.

[RocketMan275]

Your poll doesn't include all the relevant information.  NCLs choice of flights will very much depend upon point of origin, destination and when are you flying.

[hallux]

19 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

which has been the case when booking w/other cruise lines, but apparently not the case w/NCL

The BOGO promo is different from what other lines offer for booking air.  If you use NCL's Premium Air service you do get some choice, that is more like what you get on other lines.

Edited August 4, 2023 by hallux

[Hunny15602]

It's the repositioning cruise in December; we'd be leaving from North Carolina, headed to NYC (LGA, JFK, EWR).  Return from Galveston (IAH or Hobby).

[Hunny15602]

9 minutes ago, hallux said:

The BOGO promo is different from what other lines offer for booking air.  If you use NCL's Premium Air service you do get some choice, that is more like what you get on other lines.

I wasn't aware of that; my most recent experience was on Princess, the airfare was free*, and I was able to select some flights on my own, and other flights at an additional cost.  If memory serves, I believe I was able to book it right when I made the final payment, so the process was seamless.  Thx for letting me know about the other option NCL offers.

[zqvol]

40 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

Hi everyone, trying to get some info from anyone who has recently utilized the Free at Sea program where you buy airfare for the first guest and the second guest flies free.  I foolishly assumed that I would have SOME choice, which has been the case when booking w/other cruise lines, but apparently not the case w/NCL.  I have one person in my party who doesn't like to fly, needs a fair amount of medication to get on a plane, and absolutely refuses to fly airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Allegiant.

 

I'm still 4 months away from the cruise, and the prospect of waiting another 30-60 days before NCL assigns us our flights is not a great prospect, since I may need to buy my own flights now anyway.  Or potentially drive to the pier, which is an 8-10 hour drive, but possibly a better option.  

 

Please complete the poll, and if you have any hacks or tricks to share, I'm all ears!  My TA is aware, but doesn't have much info to provide.  Thank you.

Based on your location you are likely to be on Delta, American or United or one of their regional carriers.

[cruiseny4life]

Are you at final payment date yet? If not, you could cancel the airfare. I suppose this may be why you asked the question.

 

Personally, and without a lot of details (I can provide more if you'd like), I was happy with my NCL BOGO Airfare flights. We flew from SYR to FLL in March. 

 

We will be flying from SYR to BCN in November, so I'll see how the international flights work. I'm sure I'll post somewhere on Cruise Critic about my experience. 

[Hunny15602]

1 minute ago, cruiseny4life said:

Are you at final payment date yet? If not, you could cancel the airfare. I suppose this may be why you asked the question.

 

Personally, and without a lot of details (I can provide more if you'd like), I was happy with my NCL BOGO Airfare flights. We flew from SYR to FLL in March. 

 

We will be flying from SYR to BCN in November, so I'll see how the international flights work. I'm sure I'll post somewhere on Cruise Critic about my experience. 

One week past final payment, so I started booking all the other fun things, then started looking at trip insurance, & the dates on those quote forms made me go hmmm. 😉

 

I'm a native NYer, so I know how to handle just about anything once I land, but traveling with someone who is so sensitive about flights is a huge challenge.

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

One week past final payment, so I started booking all the other fun things, then started looking at trip insurance, & the dates on those quote forms made me go hmmm. 😉

 

I'm a native NYer, so I know how to handle just about anything once I land, but traveling with someone who is so sensitive about flights is a huge challenge.

BOGO air seems to be a great value for people who don't live close to major airports/hubs, since those tend to have more flights and competition, hence lower prices. I'm guessing based on your profile location that Charlotte is the closest big airport? You probably already know this, but NCL usually communicates the air information 30-45 days prior to sail date. We got a GREAT deal with NCL's BOGO, and we live in DC with 3 major airports. We'd definitely do it again (but not for our next sailing because we're flying Business Class).

[cruiseny4life]

The other thing to consider is a deviation. You may want to contact NCL, your travel agent, or PCC to request a one or two day pre-cruise deviation. This will get you into the city a day or two ahead of the cruise. And, relieve anxiety, especially in the winter (you know how it is!) if a storm is coming through.

 

You would need to get yourself from the airport to your hotel and from hotel to port (unless booking with NCL's hotel - I don't encourage this as you'll pay more). 

 

You have up until 75 days prior to sail date to add a deviation. Think about it. Since you're within driving distance if flights get messed up, it's not totally necessary, but I would do it. 

[Hunny15602]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

BOGO air seems to be a great value for people who don't live close to major airports/hubs, since those tend to have more flights and competition, hence lower prices. I'm guessing based on your profile location that Charlotte is the closest big airport? You probably already know this, but NCL usually communicates the air information 30-45 days prior to sail date. We got a GREAT deal with NCL's BOGO, and we live in DC with 3 major airports. We'd definitely do it again (but not for our next sailing because we're flying Business Class).

I'm about the same from Raleigh or Charlotte, but I did pick Charlotte, since they had more options.  The price I paid for the airfare promo is a steal, I just didn't see the fine print and my TA, who is related to the person with the flying issue and is aware of it, never mentioned it.  Still a good lesson to learn, and hopefully it does all work out in the end.  It's been a long, difficult year, and I don't want anything to ruin this well deserved and expensive trip!! 😉

2 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

The other thing to consider is a deviation. You may want to contact NCL, your travel agent, or PCC to request a one or two day pre-cruise deviation. This will get you into the city a day or two ahead of the cruise. And, relieve anxiety, especially in the winter (you know how it is!) if a storm is coming through.

 

You would need to get yourself from the airport to your hotel and from hotel to port (unless booking with NCL's hotel - I don't encourage this as you'll pay more). 

 

You have up until 75 days prior to sail date to add a deviation. Think about it. Since you're within driving distance if flights get messed up, it's not totally necessary, but I would do it. 

Yes, the TA is calling NCL for the 1 day deviation on the outbound.  That may affect hubby's limited PTO with work, which is why I was hoping to book a later flight the day before, or bail the airport and drive through the night as a backup!

 

We'd be flying a week after Thanksgiving, so weather is a concern, but also holiday travel; if we see a mess like memorial day or the 4th of July, we could be flying along with a bunch of people screwed by travel woes from the holiday.

 

I have a ton of points for the hotel, and family from NY is joining us on the trip, so worst case scenario, we could ask them to stop at our hotel on the way to the pier.  We'd miss out on the transfer, but the transfer from Galveston is the more useful one.  I lived in TX too, I used to drive to that pier for cruises nearly every year, lol.

[surfclam2003]

1 hour ago, Hunny15602 said:

Hi everyone, trying to get some info from anyone who has recently utilized the Free at Sea program where you buy airfare for the first guest and the second guest flies free.  I foolishly assumed that I would have SOME choice, which has been the case when booking w/other cruise lines, but apparently not the case w/NCL.  I have one person in my party who doesn't like to fly, needs a fair amount of medication to get on a plane, and absolutely refuses to fly airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Allegiant.

 

I'm still 4 months away from the cruise, and the prospect of waiting another 30-60 days before NCL assigns us our flights is not a great prospect, since I may need to buy my own flights now anyway.  Or potentially drive to the pier, which is an 8-10 hour drive, but possibly a better option.  

 

Please complete the poll, and if you have any hacks or tricks to share, I'm all ears!  My TA is aware, but doesn't have much info to provide.  Thank you.

 

Alaska air going and united coming home.

[PATRLR]

2 hours ago, Hunny15602 said:

I have one person in my party who doesn't like to fly, needs a fair amount of medication to get on a plane, and absolutely refuses to fly airlines like Frontier, Spirit and Allegiant.

Based on that statement, you really have absolutely no choice but to book your own flights.   Well, nearly no choice.  You can wait to see what they put you on, but then you better be prepared for higher prices to book your own.

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Based on your location you are likely to be on Delta, American or United or one of their regional carriers.

The above may be correct, I don't know.  And it may not be correct, I don't know.  Is it worth the gamble to wait and see and then have to book your own 30 days before departure?

[Hunny15602]

1 minute ago, PATRLR said:

Based on that statement, you really have absolutely no choice but to book your own flights.   Well, nearly no choice.  You can wait to see what they put you on, but then you better be prepared for higher prices to book your own.

The above may be correct, I don't know.  And it may not be correct, I don't know.  Is it worth the gamble to wait and see and then have to book your own 30 days before departure?

Right; that's the whole point of the survey; see if anyone has actually used the program and been booked through those airlines.  So far, it doesn't appear to be the case, and given how badly those airlines tend to be w/delays, I'm surmising that NCL wouldn't want risk it either, but I promise to keep everyone posted!

I've already been looking, the ticket prices are absolutely going to be more as of now, and will get worse.  I'm 119 days out as of today, so at worst, I'll need to wait 29-59 days before knowing for sure.  I've got a rental car reserved too, so that's probably going to be my contingency for the outbound if airfare becomes crazy.

[PATRLR]

15 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

So far, it doesn't appear to be the case, and given how badly those airlines tend to be w/delays, I'm surmising that NCL wouldn't want risk it either, but I promise to keep everyone posted!

There have been many documented cases of flight delays and NCL wiping their hands of any responsibility.  I believe the T&Cs may even say they aren't responsible for delays.   Search these forums, it shouldn't be hard to find the horror stories.

I don't think NCL cares about anything but cost when booking flights.  I may be wrong.

Edited August 4, 2023 by PATRLR

[Hunny15602]

10 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

There have been many documented cases of flight delays and NCL wiping their hands of any responsibility.  I believe the T&Cs may even say they aren't responsible for delays.   Search these forums, it should be hard to find the horror stories.

I don't think NCL cares about anything but cost when booking flights.  I may be wrong.

I know, and I think it's horrible!  When I've booked with other cruise lines, that was the whole point! Booking the airfare through them, at the same price or even higher than you can book elsewhere, meant that they would take the risk and ensure that you would be on the ship before it left port.

 

This was pre-pandemic however, and I'm not sure if anything has changed across all the cruise lines, or just NCL.

 

I'm waiting to hear back from my TA, and if she gets the deviation for me, the next step is absolutely going to be a good travel policy...

[mjkacmom]

1 minute ago, Hunny15602 said:

I know, and I think it's horrible!  When I've booked with other cruise lines, that was the whole point! Booking the airfare through them, at the same price or even higher than you can book elsewhere, meant that they would take the risk and ensure that you would be on the ship before it left port.

 

This was pre-pandemic however, and I'm not sure if anything has changed across all the cruise lines, or just NCL.

 

I'm waiting to hear back from my TA, and if she gets the deviation for me, the next step is absolutely going to be a good travel policy...

I believe NCL used to offer premium air like you’ve described, not sure if they still do. B1G1 is not premium air, it’s a budget way to book flights.

[julig22]

Just now, Hunny15602 said:

I know, and I think it's horrible!  When I've booked with other cruise lines, that was the whole point! Booking the airfare through them, at the same price or even higher than you can book elsewhere, meant that they would take the risk and ensure that you would be on the ship before it left port.

 

This was pre-pandemic however, and I'm not sure if anything has changed across all the cruise lines, or just NCL.

 

I'm waiting to hear back from my TA, and if she gets the deviation for me, the next step is absolutely going to be a good travel policy...

And herein lies the problem - NCL would be more than happy to work with you to arrange flights based on your wishes if you are willing to pay published prices.  But for that, you go through their premium air service.  BOGO is a completely different arrangement; you get what they give you.

[julig22]

8 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

I'm waiting to hear back from my TA, and if she gets the deviation for me, the next step is absolutely going to be a good travel policy...

There should be no reason you can't get a deviation.  You might also want to simply switch to premium air, 110 days seems to be the magic number with respect to BOGO changes, although in theory they could possibly charge you a 25% penalty on the airfare cost - hopefully they would waive that if you are switching to premium air.

[hallux]

12 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I believe NCL used to offer premium air like you’ve described, not sure if they still do. B1G1 is not premium air, it’s a budget way to book flights.

A quick search on google would reveal that the webpage for it still exists...

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/premium-air

[Hunny15602]

7 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I believe NCL used to offer premium air like you’ve described, not sure if they still do. B1G1 is not premium air, it’s a budget way to book flights.

Overall, I'm not a fan of all their "free" promos.  It's clever marketing, but often makes the entire package more expensive, by muddying the waters.

 

Don't even get me started on their "best prices of the year" proclamations.  I booked this trip during that proclamation, and a few months later, they price matched it down nearly 1/3, while still keeping all my so-called perks. Still a bit overpriced on the whole package in my estimation, but MUCH better than what I originally signed up for.

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

And herein lies the problem - NCL would be more than happy to work with you to arrange flights based on your wishes if you are willing to pay published prices.  But for that, you go through their premium air service.  BOGO is a completely different arrangement; you get what they give you.

It's really more of being honest than anything else.  A Princess promo I used 3x, said free airfare, up to $xxx.  So they covered the published prices (I compared it against the airline website the same day; prices were the same or $20-50 higher, pretty nominal).

[DCGuy64]

It's not just NCL, however. BTW I tend to think of NCL as being like a travel agent in this scenario, who finds you flights at a good price but they (obviously) have no control over the actual flights. We use a TA for most of our travel planning and I would never hold HIM responsible if the airline screwed up. When we went to Japan earlier this year on an Oceania cruise, we initially used THEIR included airfare as part of our cruise fare. Well, that would put us in Economy from DC to Japan, which is a very long flight. My wife (similar to one of the guests in OP's party) needs medication to fly because of anxiety and has back issues when having to sit for long periods, so we decided to book Business class instead. Oceania's prices just to upgrade us from Economy were higher than if we booked Business class all by ourselves. So it's not just NCL that has issues. I'm just wondering how that one individual is going to get to the port at all if s/he doesn't like to fly.

[Hunny15602]

9 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

It's not just NCL, however. BTW I tend to think of NCL as being like a travel agent in this scenario, who finds you flights at a good price but they (obviously) have no control over the actual flights. We use a TA for most of our travel planning and I would never hold HIM responsible if the airline screwed up. When we went to Japan earlier this year on an Oceania cruise, we initially used THEIR included airfare as part of our cruise fare. Well, that would put us in Economy from DC to Japan, which is a very long flight. My wife (similar to one of the guests in OP's party) needs medication to fly because of anxiety and has back issues when having to sit for long periods, so we decided to book Business class instead. Oceania's prices just to upgrade us from Economy were higher than if we booked Business class all by ourselves. So it's not just NCL that has issues. I'm just wondering how that one individual is going to get to the port at all if s/he doesn't like to fly.

Admittedly, this is my first cruise in nearly 6 years, and I have at least 14-ish in my past.  We like NCL best b/c of freestyle cruising, but had stopped cruising because our last NCL cruise had us feeling that there were issues we weren't comfortable with.

 

I have high hopes for this trip, but if the air travel continues to be a concern (due to general issues with flying and my guest's reticence with air travel, not this promotional flight issue), then we'll be limiting our air travel to the bare minimum.

 

My next cruise is booked on a close second cruise line for us, RCCL, and we picked it b/c the Baltimore terminal is an easy drive, and the itinerary is round trip.

 

I'll save the flight hassle for the places we both want to go see, like Greece, and make sure we have ample time, ample medication, and ample funds to fly the friendlier skies of business class! 😜

 

Since you deal with this issue, do you find it burdensome to travel with your wife when air is involved?  On a recent trip to Mexico, the first 24 hours were challenging, and I was seriously wishing I had a wheelchair or a leash to help make my way though the airport, baggage claim, locating the transport company, etc.  The timeshare people seemed to sense an opportunity and took full advantage... 🤦

[DCGuy64]

41 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

I'll save the flight hassle for the places we both want to go see, like Greece, and make sure we have ample time, ample medication, and ample funds to fly the friendlier skies of business class! 😜

Funny you should say that. We're booked on the Breakaway for November 2 and we DO go to Greece as part of that. I'm not sure we need Business class (I keep thinking of the cruises we could do if we just saved the money and went in Coach), but my wife's back pain can be pretty bad.

 

42 minutes ago, Hunny15602 said:

Since you deal with this issue, do you find it burdensome to travel with your wife when air is involved?

Mmm, yes and no. She has a lot of issues but has medicine for all of them. We have to limit excursions with lots of walking for her, but at least in Business class, we get lie-flat seats, early boarding and lots of food and drinks. We still joke that we aren't really Business class types and that they'll discover us and kick us out!

[Hunny15602]

18 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Funny you should say that. We're booked on the Breakaway for November 2 and we DO go to Greece as part of that. I'm not sure we need Business class (I keep thinking of the cruises we could do if we just saved the money and went in Coach), but my wife's back pain can be pretty bad.

 

Mmm, yes and no. She has a lot of issues but has medicine for all of them. We have to limit excursions with lots of walking for her, but at least in Business class, we get lie-flat seats, early boarding and lots of food and drinks. We still joke that we aren't really Business class types and that they'll discover us and kick us out!

Enjoy going to Greece and Business Class!  I have joint pain/fibromyalgia, so I understand the concern.  In my case, it's the sitting/lying around that makes things hurt, so I am not a fan of flying for a very different reason.

 

I think where we experience the issue is in the qty of meds needed to make this person comfortable with flying.  But, if more meds are needed so we don't show up on the news b/c of a freak out, then I'd prefer that to the alternative consequences, but I often find myself getting very anxious en route to the airport, knowing the next 24 hours will require a lot of my attention as this adult can sometimes become a toddler.  😉