Airlines used (by NCL) for NYC to Barcelona??

[Medusa_lives]

I'm booked on the Escape in June and trying to figure out if I'm going to be given ( with my 2/1 airfare) a hop skip and jump to Barcelona vs. a direct flight. I'm trying to suss out if its just better to get the rebate on the air and book it myself to gtee a non-stop flight. NCL is no use as the hem and haw about not knowing until 30 days out ( effectively 60 days after you've made your final payment). Any experiences or guidance?? 

 

PS: I won't pay $250 to NCL to book "special" which I can do myself direct or via Expedia. 

 

Thanks 

[JIMESOPUS]

Hi, We had some great flights to Europe and then some really bad ones, after the last one we are done with NCL flights.

On all of the flights we had at least one stop, our last one had two.

Most of our flights departed from one of the NYC airports, and Dublin was one of their favorite layover stops.

 

  

[cruiseny4life]

We flew from Syracuse, via JFK to Barcelona. 

 

SYR to JFK  was Delta with a 4ish hour layover at JFK.

 

JFK to BCN was Air France, with an 80 minute layover in Paris at CDG. We were able to select our seats. We wouldn't upgrade to a different class, but we're able to purchase seats in a 2 seat row in economy. We also could have chose extra legroom seats. This flight worked for us, though the food was disappointing compared to other international flights I've been on. 

[ed111]

NCL actually publishes the airlines they use here:  Frequently Asked Questions (ncl.com)

 

I've read pretty much every forum post on NCL flights, and you will hear pretty much every experience possible.  There are people who get great direct connection flights where it seems NCL didn't just choose the cheapest possible option. There are also people who are annoyed with the flight times (extra connections, early/late flights).

 

Being in NYC also be aware that they can technically book you on any NYC airport like Newark.

 

Also include that it seems on average people reporting having a checked bag included on their NCL international flights (though by no means guaranteed).  These days most base fare US>Europe flights you book yourself do not include any checked bags. International bag fees are pricey (often $160-$200 RT a bag).

 

A lot of negative feedback you will read about NCL air is that they don't guarantee or care you make the ship. It's similar to if you booked the flight yourself and missed your ship.  So make sure you request to fly in 1-2 days prior which is the same you would do if you booked it yourself. 

Edited January 26 by ed111

[Medusa_lives]

18 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Hi, We had some great flights to Europe and then some really bad ones, after the last one we are done with NCL flights.

On all of the flights we had at least one stop, our last one had two.

Most of our flights departed from one of the NYC airports, and Dublin was one of their favorite layover stops.

 

  

Thanks much for the feedback, their "premium" air offerings is why I'm reaching out now. I figured I'd test the waters and see if it was better to just book my own before I have no choice.

[Panhandle Couple]

On 1/26/2024 at 5:32 PM, Medusa_lives said:

Thanks much for the feedback, their "premium" air offerings is why I'm reaching out now. I figured I'd test the waters and see if it was better to just book my own before I have no choice.

We booked our late May flight to Barcelona this week, after having a price tracker on it.  Tuesday morning, there was a 45% drop.  This had happened twice before, but for only a few hours.  We quicky found the flights we could use, which included an extra day before (3 vs 2) and after (1 vs 0) the cruise in Barcelona.  The cost savings more than made up for the extra hotel.

 

We were able to get the flights thru Miami, which has direct flights to Barcelona. Flights are on American and Iberia.

 

We can attest that Tuesday is nearly always cheaper to book flights. Don't know why, it just is.

 

Good luck.

[Medusa_lives]

Appreciate the advise!

[jimsig]

On 1/25/2024 at 10:46 PM, Medusa_lives said:

PS: I won't pay $250 to NCL to book "special" which I can do myself direct or via Expedia. 

 

Don't use an OTA like Expedia or Orbitz.  It's OK to use them to look for flights but book then directly with the airline yourself.  If you run into issues you are then dealing with using a 3rd party as the intermediary adding an extra layer which can and usually makes things more complicated.  The OTA's have been known to be unresponsive an very unhelpful when problems arise.  Last thing you want when trying to remedy a problem, especially overseas, is to not have control over the booking

[ed111]

11 hours ago, jimsig said:

 

Don't use an OTA like Expedia or Orbitz.  It's OK to use them to look for flights but book then directly with the airline yourself.  If you run into issues you are then dealing with using a 3rd party as the intermediary adding an extra layer which can and usually makes things more complicated.  The OTA's have been known to be unresponsive an very unhelpful when problems arise.  Last thing you want when trying to remedy a problem, especially overseas, is to not have control over the booking

 

Yep. An airline cancelled my flight once and I spent 5 hours on the phone trying to get Expedia to change the flight. Their call center can't do anything, they just stall until you give up. "Call back tomorrow", "We'll look into this and I'll call you back in 1 day...3 days.....7 days".

 

The airline told me they could rebook for free, they just need Expedia to call them to do so. Eventually I only got the flight rebooked by begging the airline to do the change without Expedia. 

Edited January 28 by ed111

[scoochy12]

They used Iberia Airlines when we did trip from JFK and had us connecting in MAD to BCN. 

[Medusa_lives]

Thanks @scoochy12 was it Iberia plane or the discounter Vueling?

[scoochy12]

Iberia 

[pete_coach]

On 1/25/2024 at 10:46 PM, Medusa_lives said:

I'm booked on the Escape in June and trying to figure out if I'm going to be given ( with my 2/1 airfare) a hop skip and jump to Barcelona vs. a direct flight. I'm trying to suss out if its just better to get the rebate on the air and book it myself to gtee a non-stop flight. NCL is no use as the hem and haw about not knowing until 30 days out ( effectively 60 days after you've made your final payment). Any experiences or guidance?? 

 

PS: I won't pay $250 to NCL to book "special" which I can do myself direct or via Expedia. 

 

Thanks 

NCL subcontracts flights to a third party. NCL does not control or have any say n th flights once they have sold it to the third party.

The third party will use the cheapest airlines they can get.

They can and have waited till a week or so before your cruise to inform you of the flight arrangement.

[cruiseny4life]

On 2/3/2024 at 5:50 PM, pete_coach said:

NCL subcontracts flights to a third party. NCL does not control or have any say n th flights once they have sold it to the third party.

The third party will use the cheapest airlines they can get.

They can and have waited till a week or so before your cruise to inform you of the flight arrangement.

Welp...you're wrong. And yes I know you're wrong.

I've heard directly from the guy in charge of NCL's BOGO Airfare program that they have 300 staff members who's sole job is to deal with the BOGO Airfare program.

Do some (a vast minority) guests get booked and informed about their arrangement a week or so before their departure? Yes. It does happen, but it is most decidedly not a normal part of their program.

 

I'm all for throwing flaming darts at NCL when they deserve it. It's not right to throw misinformation though. That's just plain wrong, so please don't.

[pete_coach]

10 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Welp...you're wrong. And yes I know you're wrong.

I've heard directly from the guy in charge of NCL's BOGO Airfare program that they have 300 staff members who's sole job is to deal with the BOGO Airfare program.

Do some (a vast minority) guests get booked and informed about their arrangement a week or so before their departure? Yes. It does happen, but it is most decidedly not a normal part of their program.

 

I'm all for throwing flaming darts at NCL when they deserve it. It's not right to throw misinformation though. That's just plain wrong, so please don't.

OK. Have it your way.

It does not explain all the posts and complaints and issues with NCL booked flights but hey, you spoke with a guy LOL 

What did you think "that guy" was going to say?? We suck? Hardly, he will give you all the sweet answers.

It is not "just plain wrong" LOL 

No "flaming darts" just relaying what is on this forum on a regular basis.

Edited February 5 by pete_coach

[cruiseny4life]

16 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

OK. Have it your way.

It does not explain all the posts and complaints and issues with NCL booked flights but hey, you spoke with a guy LOL 

What did you think "that guy" was going to say?? We suck? Hardly, he will give you all the sweet answers.

It is not "just plain wrong" LOL 

No "flaming darts" just relaying what is on this forum on a regular basis.

Actually he did say they are trying very hard to improve and acknowledged NCL has a very long way to go. That "guy" (as I said) is the dude in charge of airfare for NCL...so yea, I'll take his word. The NCL BOGO Airfare is one area where NCL is actually quite transparent. Personal Cruise Consultants, Travel Agents are all taught to warn customers that there is no flexibility. The website does this also.

 

People need to take personal responsibility and read the information before booking. They should (but don't) read this page before booking: https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards.

 

Final word, or not, you are wrong. That you choose not to believe it doesn't make your opinion any less wrong.

[pete_coach]

1 minute ago, cruiseny4life said:

Actually he did say they are trying very hard to improve and acknowledged NCL has a very long way to go. That "guy" (as I said) is the dude in charge of airfare for NCL...so yea, I'll take his word. The NCL BOGO Airfare is one area where NCL is actually quite transparent. Personal Cruise Consultants, Travel Agents are all taught to warn customers that there is no flexibility. The website does this also.

 

People need to take personal responsibility and read the information before booking. They should (but don't) read this page before booking: https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards.

 

Final word, or not, you are wrong. That you choose not to believe it doesn't make your opinion any less wrong.

I am not going to argue with you or your "guy".

What I am saying is this forum has many complaints, issues and posts regarding the poor NCL flights offerings.

But hey, go ahead and apologize for them. And also, of course  your "guy" is going to say things are good,....what do you expect from a NCL executive?? LOL

So, "Personal Cruise Consultants, Travel Agents are all taught to warn customers that there is no flexibility"? and "People need to take personal responsibility and read the information before booking" is saying all things are good? Or warning folks that they are not?

You can accuse me of  being wrong but the many folks affected by poor flights will disagree with you.

Anyway, enjoy your NCL flights, I will choose my own to be certain there are no issues. Good Bye.

[zqvol]

31 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I am not going to argue with you or your "guy".

What I am saying is this forum has many complaints, issues and posts regarding the poor NCL flights offerings.

But hey, go ahead and apologize for them. And also, of course  your "guy" is going to say things are good,....what do you expect from a NCL executive?? LOL

So, "Personal Cruise Consultants, Travel Agents are all taught to warn customers that there is no flexibility"? and "People need to take personal responsibility and read the information before booking" is saying all things are good? Or warning folks that they are not?

You can accuse me of  being wrong but the many folks affected by poor flights will disagree with you.

Anyway, enjoy your NCL flights, I will choose my own to be certain there are no issues. Good Bye.

This forum is not necessarily a reliable source

[cruiseny4life]

44 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

I am not going to argue with you or your "guy".

What I am saying is this forum has many complaints, issues and posts regarding the poor NCL flights offerings.

But hey, go ahead and apologize for them. And also, of course  your "guy" is going to say things are good,....what do you expect from a NCL executive?? LOL

So, "Personal Cruise Consultants, Travel Agents are all taught to warn customers that there is no flexibility"? and "People need to take personal responsibility and read the information before booking" is saying all things are good? Or warning folks that they are not?

You can accuse me of  being wrong but the many folks affected by poor flights will disagree with you.

Anyway, enjoy your NCL flights, I will choose my own to be certain there are no issues. Good Bye.

SMDH - I should really stop as it's getting bruised....anyway:

 

You're wrong about the fact NCL uses a third party to book the flights. I thought I made that abundantly clear...so sorry if you missed it.

 

Where did I say the BOGO Air Program is perfect? People need to invest time learning about these things, hence the whole personal responsibility thing. Good, bad, and ugly. And there's plenty of all to go around with NCL's program.

 

And yes, we are trained to tell potential guests that NCL's BOGO Air Program is inflexible, but a great way to save money. If people are good with the concept of the program (no flight selections, no guaranteed airline, one or more connections, etc.), then they should book away. If they want a personalized experience or someone to guide them in the process, they should absolutely not use the program.

 

Read what I say, don't read past it and conjecturize your opinion on my words. *and yea, I know it's not a word*

 

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, pete_coach said:

What I am saying is this forum has many complaints, issues and posts regarding the poor NCL flights offerings.

But hey, go ahead and apologize for them. And also, of course  your "guy" is going to say things are good,....what do you expect from a NCL executive?? LOL

 

straw man argument much?

 

none of this is what the issue was. as @cruiseny4life pointed out, the issue was that you said NCL has all flights handled by a third party. he wandered in and said, no, that's wrong, it's not a third party. and your response was that everybody says NCL air sucks and has lots of challenges... all of which may be true, but it's not what this contretemps is about.