Does NCL book basic or regular economy flights?

[bamagirl16]

We used the BOGO flights in March of 23 for our cruise out of San Juan.

 

Going down we were on American from Birmingham, AL to San Juan with a hour and 1/2 layover in Miami.  Left BHM at 6am and arrive in San Juan at 1:30pm.  Flying home was on Southwest leaving San Juan at around noon.  Layover in Orlando that was originally supposed to be 2 hours but turned into almost 4 because of delays.  We arrived home around 8pm.  

 

When we received our flight information we went on the AA website and upgraded our seats (for a fee) for both of those flights.  We paid the luggage fee at the airport.

 

Our seats with Southwest included Early Bird check in so we were able to check in and get boarding group A for both flights and of course no luggage fees.

 

We had no problems with our flights and saved a little over $1000.00.  We did do the 1 day deviation in San Juan the day before the cruise started.  But we did not use their hotel.

 

We are using the BOGO again in October for our Canada/New England cruise from Quebec City to Boston.  We have a 1 day deviation in Quebec City and 2 day deviation in Boston. 

[reeinaz]

1 hour ago, bamagirl16 said:

We are using the BOGO again in October for our Canada/New England cruise from Quebec City to Boston.  We have a 1 day deviation in Quebec City and 2 day deviation in Boston. 

Did you have to use their hotel to get a pre and post deviation?

[bamagirl16]

22 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

Did you have to use their hotel to get a pre and post deviation?

I am not sure if we would have been required to use theirs for both deviations.  We are using them though.  We would have chosen to use their hotel for Quebec City after I read that they could fly you in to Montreal or Quebec City since there are not a lot of easy flights to Quebec City.  That way even if we have to fly in to Montreal they will get us to Quebec City for our overnight stay. Fingers crossed it all works out well!

[DCGuy64]

On 12/22/2023 at 12:53 AM, ed111 said:

Google returns contradictory results about whether NCL would book basic economy for their FAS/BOGO promo. Some say they do, some say they don't.

 

This changes the math a bit as international basic economy can sometimes not even include a full size carry on, much less a checked bag.

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of it depends on the carrier. As others have said (correctly), it is often possible to upgrade or make special arrangements with the airline once you have been ticketed. The key word, though, is possible. Not guaranteed. We only used the NCL airfare once, and it was a great experience. We saved money and, due to our relationship with the airline, we were able to upgrade our seats for free. If you're saving money, and that's important to you, then go with NCL. But if you're the kind of person who likes having more control, and you're willing to pay extra for it, then I'd say book it yourself. Since I don't know you or your travel preferences, it's hard to say. But we had a great experience.

[cruiseny4life]

@reeinaz - you do not have to book NCL's vastly inflatededly (I know) priced hotel if you'd like a deviation. You can get up to two days on either side. If you do book their hotel, you may be able to get a three day deviation. 

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, bamagirl16 said:

We had no problems with our flights and saved a little over $1000.00.

Wow, $1,000 is not chump change, well done. That's quite the savings. I hope you had a nice cruise.

[bamagirl16]

I am sure we are overpaying for the hotel in Quebec City.  The hotel in Boston was not much more than what I was finding for our dates so we just went with it.  I am traveling with my mom and she likes easy so we went with easy...lol.

 

I am hoping we have as good of an experience with these BOGO flights as we did with the last ones.  

[bamagirl16]

20 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Wow, $1,000 is not chump change, well done. That's quite the savings. I hope you had a nice cruise.

We had a great cruise except they are never long enough!

[cruiser2015]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

We took a domestic flight in March, 2022 from SYR>FLL. Worked great! We flew on Delta. We were able to choose our own seats, including upgrade to first class. We chose the cheap seats in the back, but it was nice to have the option. We were allowed one free checked bag. We only had two backpacks and a carryon, so didn't take advantage of the free checked bag.

 

Our flight from SYR to FLL was fine. We stopped somewhere for a transfer and made it to FLL on time. Our flight back was delayed by the airline. We found out the morning we were to fly out. The original flight departed FLL around 12 PM, with an arrival in Syracuse of 4'ish PM. Delta automatically rebooked us on a new flight that arrived to SYR at 11 PM. My husband investigated the Delta app, found new flights that would take us from FLL to the midwest (I forgot where), then on to SYR with an arrival time of about 5 PM. He chose those flights and off we went! 

 

No change fees, no nothing. We were able to choose our seats - cheap seats again. Not a lot of availability anyway, but the option was there. 

 

International and domestic flights (Delta, Air France) all good to us. We definitely enjoyed saving roughly $4,000 in total in 2023 between the two NCL BOGO Air flights we selected. 

You say you were allowed a free checked bag.

I take you have the Amex/Delta card.

Otherwise, there should not have been a freebie.

[cruiseny4life]

44 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

You say you were allowed a free checked bag.

I take you have the Amex/Delta card.

Otherwise, there should not have been a freebie.

AND you're correct. My memory is obvious swiss cheese. First of all, we DID check a bag and secondly, we DID pay for the privilege.

 

[ed111]

You all are lucky, every NCL Bogo promo I've priced has the first ticket priced almost double what it would normally cost.

 

E.g. DC to Iceland, returning from Norway is priced $1440 for first ticket.  It's possible to get tickets as low as $600-$700 though the final fare will probably be closer to $800-$900.

 

 

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, bamagirl16 said:

We had a great cruise except they are never long enough!

That's so true! For us, too. One day I'd love to just get right back on! 🙂

[ontheweb]

Our cruise this summer included a 1 day deviation in London. NCL had us on Air Canada, Newark to Montreal and then Montreal to Heathrow. I called Air Canada to give our frequent flyer numbers and to request vegetarian meals.

 

I asked about seat assignments and was told that at that point there was a fee or we could wait until very close to the day of the flight (I forget exactly how many days or hours) because of the special rate we were on. Anyway, I got in a conversation with the representative and told him how we were taking these flights to go on a cruise and also would be celebrating our wedding anniversary (#46). He asked about seat preferences, and then he said let me see what I can do for you. I told him my wife said just not way, way in the back. And he came back and assigned us seats for both flights. I of course thanked him.

[Sailing12Away]

On 12/23/2023 at 8:06 AM, RaiderFaninNM said:

Lots of replies about international flights, how about domestic flights?

I booked our first NCL with BOGO and was about $500 cheaper with the cost of airfare right now. I know the cost fluctuates but just curious....

Again, it all depends. Going to the cruise our flights have always been exactly what we would have picked on our own. First thing in the morning (6-7am) leaving from JFK. Coming home is a different story. One trip our flight home from Miami wasn't until 5pm - so we took an Uber to a nearby animal sanctuary, stored our luggage in the managers office and played with some animals to kill time. Another trip our flight home from Miami was at 11am and we nearly missed the flight waiting on the NCL transfers - had to get out of line and get a last minute Uber to catch our plane. When we did our POA trip, those flights both ways were perfect - so I guess it just really depends on where you're going and where you're returning to.

 

For domestic, if the savings is truly a few hundred dollars then we will gladly suck it up and use their "free" air promo and just drop the transfers. But for international, for us it was a one and done since we're fat and like the bigger seats. But for all the times we've used the "free" air, we have truly saved a few thousand dollars with no major issues beyond some inconvenience.

[Mikiejag]

All of ours, three sets have been in economy, but not basic.  Could choose seats, upgrade whatever.

 

So the discount probably happens by bulk purchase of tickets, and I imagine, although rare, having non refundable tickets would bite them in the pants when there is a cancelation. 

[complawyer]

whatd'ya expect for nothing? a rubber beeskit (lol) and a tip of the hat to the blues brothers!

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 12/22/2023 at 3:48 PM, UKstages said:

there is indeed contradictory information here and i'm willing to bet, as a frequent flyer, that it's because some folks in this thread may not understand what "basic economy" means. some may think the word "basic" is being used as a pejorative adjective to describe the economy class of service. you don't like economy so it's "basic."

 

others may correctly understand that "basic economy" is actually a no-frills class of service below economy that typically doesn't allow rebooking or the checking of a bag or the selection of a seat before checking in at the airport. "basic economy" appeared on the scene a few years ago and is generally viewed as a push for incremental revenue by the airlines. that may seem like a contradiction in terms, since the fares are lower, but the real purpose of basic economy fares is to encourage people to buy up to economy to avoid the restrictions.

 

much of this is irrelevant when it comes to NCL, because they are not buying basic economy fares. in fact, they are not buying economy fares, either. they are buying air tickets in bulk, at greatly reduced prices. when they commit to that purchase, they don't yet know what their specific needs are. they just know, based on past bookings, that they will likely need X number of tickets to rome, X number of tickets to LA and so on. they are making a commitment to the various airlines to buy X dollars worth of their product over a set time.

 

but they don't actually begin booking those tickets until just two weeks or so before they need them and when they do it, it's a bit of a war dance and negotiation between NCL and the individual airlines. that's why the flights generally suck... they are buying remaindered unsold inventory. but they are buying it at bargain basement prices because it's a perishable product. that's why they can get such good rates. and why they actually make money selling you half price airfare. even at "half price" or "second guest flies free,"  most times NCL customers are paying more for their flights than NCL is. sometimes, they get burned. but almost always, they make a small profit on reselling their bulk air purchase.

 

and that brings us to bags. most airlines charge non-status customers for bags these days. (that's airline status, not NCL latitudes status). so many cruise guests, perhaps most, will pay for bags. you're paying for the bag because you have no status on the airline, not because those weasels at NCL booked you a basic economy fare. even if you had booked a full fare economy ticket directly with the airline, you'd still - in most cases - pay to check a bag. most economy fares no longer include free checked bags, unless you have status on that particular airline. sometimes, however, a bag is included in international fares.

 

does NCL book the cheapest flights? sorta kinda. but that's because they are buying in bulk, not because they are buying "basic economy" fares per se. they are typically paying far less than the basic economy fare. how each airline treats those flying on bulk tickets varies... sometimes you can choose a seat in advance and check a bag, sometimes not. one thing that has always been clear: if you have status on the airline, your status privileges carry over and you can choose a seat, book exit rows, get free bags and so forth... if those benefits are normally given to you due to your status.

Absolute best explanation I've ever heard.  I was aware of *most* of this (I have Delta status) so I will *never* book using NCL air.  In my opinion...too much risk in something going wrong, especially with air travel these days!  I may very well overpay...but at least I have a fighting chance of getting from point A to point B on *my* schedule.