NCL - Early Flight request

[jayseadee]

Hello,

 

We are taking the Norwegian Sun in August to Alaska, with a one night stay in Seattle before the cruise.  I received an email today to make an early request of  direct flights.  This is at a cost of $150 pp in addition to what was already paid for flights.

 

What is your experience with flights coordinated with Norwegian?  If you did not take the early offer, how were your flights?  If not direct, did you have more than one stop?  We will be traveling from Boston.

 

thanks,

 

Janet D

[RocketMan275]

There multiple threads on the NCL flights.

I'm curious, how does the cost of the NCL flights including the $150 PP compare to flights  you could have booked yourself.

[cruiseny4life]

You probably know this already, but a direct flight may still land at another airport before arriving at the final destination. I do not believe there are any nonstop flights from BOS to ANC on any airline. I just want to be sure you know that the $150 fee you pay (if you choose to) will not get you a nonstop flight. 

 

I've used NCL's BOGO Airfare twice. I would likely not pay the $150 fee (it's still a fairly new option). I have been happen on both my domestic and international flights NCL arranged for my husband and I. 

[Menocchio]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

 I do not believe there are any nonstop flights from BOS to ANC on any airline.

Delta and Alaska both offer nonstops from BOS to SEA. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, jayseadee said:

Hello,

 

We are taking the Norwegian Sun in August to Alaska, with a one night stay in Seattle before the cruise.  I received an email today to make an early request of  direct flights.  This is at a cost of $150 pp in addition to what was already paid for flights.

 

What is your experience with flights coordinated with Norwegian?  If you did not take the early offer, how were your flights?  If not direct, did you have more than one stop?  We will be traveling from Boston.

 

thanks,

 

Janet D

Not sure what an "early request of direct flights" is. 

 

In general, NCL needs to get you in before midnight and on your return, depart you before midnight. 

 

I know that for us, even if we book our own flights, we're on a red eye out of Anchorage, so that is not an issue for us. We prefer to take the train from the port to Anchorage anyways.  

[RocketMan275]

12 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Not sure what an "early request of direct flights" is. 

 

In general, NCL needs to get you in before midnight and on your return, depart you before midnight. 

 

I know that for us, even if we book our own flights, we're on a red eye out of Anchorage, so that is not an issue for us. We prefer to take the train from the port to Anchorage anyways.  

Looks like OP is booking flights to SEA, not ANC

[jayseadee]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

There multiple threads on the NCL flights.

I'm curious, how does the cost of the NCL flights including the $150 PP compare to flights  you could have booked yourself.

I'll search again, but didn't see a good response.  When I checked when booking, we were saving a few hundred dollars.  

[RocketMan275]

2 minutes ago, jayseadee said:

I'll search again, but didn't see a good response.  When I checked when booking, we were saving a few hundred dollars.  

This paying more for improved flights is very new option.  Doubt you will find much on it.

[Menocchio]

I didn't know this was a thing and I'm very unhappy about it. I have an upcoming cruise and I'm also flying from Boston to Seattle. There are very good direct flights, and there are cheaper flights that leave at 6AM, have a 40min connection, and return flights leaving at 10PM. And there are ones in the middle. With connections, but at least they begin and end at reasonable rates.

 

At the current pricing (though it is still pretty early to buy), I'm getting a pretty good deal for all but the cheapest options. So I felt it was worth rolling the dice, since I know the price NCL is paying aren't exactly the same as I'd be paying so I can't know what they'd call the cheapest choice and maybe they'd show me some mercy if the differences aren't so big. But if they're offering an upcharge, I know for a fact that I'm getting a suboptimal choice unless I pay it. The worst possibilities are really bad, and for an additional $150 I don't think even the best choices are such a great deal anymore. 

 

Especially since after I booked the cruise I got a new credit card which gives me some nice perks with my preferred airline if I use it to pay for the flight. Most importantly, a free checked bag. Which is pretty pricey these days. 

 

I think I'm going to make a phone call and see about taking off the airfare. And the hotel while I'm at it. NCL set me up with a fine looking hotel... But I think I can do almost as well for a much lower price.

Edited March 30 by Menocchio

[RocketMan275]

16 hours ago, Menocchio said:

I think I'm going to make a phone call and see about taking off the airfare. And the hotel while I'm at it. NCL set me up with a fine looking hotel... But I think I can do almost as well for a much lower price.

You can almost always do better booking your own room.  Be aware that the prices quoted for precruise hotels are per person, not per room.  And, you might also get a better room at the same hotel.  The  hotel isn't selling their most desireable rooms to the cruise lines.

[julig22]

17 hours ago, Menocchio said:

But if they're offering an upcharge, I know for a fact that I'm getting a suboptimal choice unless I pay it. The worst possibilities are really bad, and for an additional $150 I don't think even the best choices are such a great deal anymore. 

 

No, not necessarily. You are also paying to get early notification. And someone recently posted that they got the exact same flight without paying.

[Menocchio]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

You can almost always do better booking your own room.  Be aware that the prices quoted for precruise hotels are per person, not per room.  And, you might also get a better room at the same hotel.  The  hotel isn't selling their most desireable rooms to the cruise lines.

I did go ahead and cancel my flights, hotel, and transfers through NCL. Cancelling was very pain-free. The live chat function on the website works very well at least if you want something straightforward like that.

 

I booked the flights I wanted. They'll be more expensive, (probably, they are today but I booked rather early and may rebook if prices drop) but not by very much at all after the upcharge factoring in the included priority main cabin boarding and checked baggage my credit card gives me. It's very much a premium I'm happy to pay so I can avoid needing to wake up at 3 AM to get to my hotel five hours before I can check in (and maybe more importantly, months of worrying that they'll give me those terrible flights). 

 

I think NCL's transfers are a little overpriced for a shared service. Not outrageously, and maybe they make sense if you were cutting it a little close on either end with your flights or in a place where taxi drives like to rip off tourists. But I'm not and I can use Lyft in Seattle. 

 

On researching it, I think NCL wasn't bilking me on the hotel. It seems like a nice place, and their price was fair. But personally I don't need a three-star hotel for a single night. Those luxuries I'll get on the ship the next day. I found a cheaper place. Dirt cheap, using another credit card perk. This place doesn't have the facilities the first one did, but it advertises itself on being walking distance from everything. Not least of which, the cruise port itself (so that's even more I'll save on transfers, assuming the weather is nice... In Rain City). But it's also quite close to Seattle's Climate Change Arena. On seeing that, I looked up who is playing there that night, and it turns out it's one of my favorite rock bands from the 90's. It seems very appropriate for my trip to Seattle (even though they aren't from there), so I snagged a ticket with the money I saved with all this shuffling. 

 

So I'm a happy boy. 

[RocketMan275]

12 minutes ago, Menocchio said:

I did go ahead and cancel my flights, hotel, and transfers through NCL. Cancelling was very pain-free. The live chat function on the website works very well at least if you want something straightforward like that.

 

 

So I'm a happy boy. 

Good for you.  I think the ability to have NCL book flights, hotels, and transfers is very appealing to infrequent travellers who lack the experience to research and book for them selves. 

There are times when using cruise line transfers and hotels are worthwhile.  Take for example, cruising out of Galveston where the airport is 70 miles from the port.  The transfers can be quite a bargain there.  Orlando is another example.  Fort Lauderdale, Miami not so much.

I'm fortunate in that for 15 years I travelled extensively for my job.  I spent 40% of my time on the road.  As a friend once said, when the girls at the Hertz counter call you by your first name, you've been there a lot.

[graphicguy]

Word of advice.....

 

I'd say the majority of the time you can do better price wise booking your own hotel vs booking through NCL.

 

Flights?  Different matter.  What you get with booking via NCL is cheap (2nd person) flights.  What you give up is convenience and control vs you booking with the airline(s) to get what you want.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Good for you.  I think the ability to have NCL book flights, hotels, and transfers is very appealing to infrequent travellers who lack the experience to research and book for them selves

Flights and transfers are also quite appealing to this frequent but solo female traveler. Unless I'm taking a cruise-tour, I do book my own hotels since NCL insists on charging double for those.

But my flights are usually good because leg #1 is always going to be to a hub in my case, leaving fewer options for NCL. And I'm flexible, don't really care if I have to leave for the airport at 4 am or arrive home after midnight. Those are usually the same flights I'd be booking on my own anyway. Since I'm solo, it's usually fairly easy to get a decent seat. And if there is an issue with flights (whether or not NCL booked them), 1 seat on another last-minute flight is sometimes easier to get.

[tokidoki]

When I was offered non stop flights from ncl, if I paid $300, I posted to c if this was new or not.  No one seemed to be familiar, but they didn’t offer me these flights guaranteed so I just let it go by.  Then shortly after at the 110 day mark, I got a much better flight back to nyc from Seattle.  I could’ve thrown away money to get a latter flight at 9:40pm back home.  I actually got a 1:36pm flight which is so much better.  

[jayseadee]

2 hours ago, tokidoki said:

When I was offered non stop flights from ncl, if I paid $300, I posted to c if this was new or not.  No one seemed to be familiar, but they didn’t offer me these flights guaranteed so I just let it go by.  Then shortly after at the 110 day mark, I got a much better flight back to nyc from Seattle.  I could’ve thrown away money to get a latter flight at 9:40pm back home.  I actually got a 1:36pm flight which is so much better.  

Thanks.  I think I will pass.  The flight offered isn't a great schedule and as long as I get there in time for the cruise, I'm good.