airlines used by ncl to honolulu

[janpdel]

I am going on a cruise to Hawaii on 8/20 on Pride Of Hawaii. My airfare was handled by NCL from Lax to Honolulu, leaving on 8/20. My agent says that NCL will not inform me of the carrier or time of flights until approximately 21 days before departure. I wondered if any of past passengers could share as to what airlines they use and what are the usual times of departure to and from Honolulu. Our traveling companions are flying out of San Francisco to meet up with us on the ship so they are also in question as to times, etc. Just for my own info, I checked out flights on United, Delta, and Continental to see what is offered. To my surprise, I found that most don't leave until late in the evening which is going to cause a conflict with a return flight that was booked on the 28th from the west coast to the east coast. Guess the time change wasn't figured when booking the return flight from Lax. This flight is totally independent of the cruise line and was a frequent flyer purchase.

[CruisinMK]

If you can swing it, how about showing up a day or two early. There's a whole lot to see on Oahu, and you'll be more rested and ready for your cruise. The ability to extend your stay in a Hawaiian hotel is a big advantage over the west coast roundtrip cruises. It's probably not too late to change. If you really want a particular flight you can pay a small "air deviation fee" to be more picky.

[PDAZ]

We booked air through NCL from Phoenix to Honolulu. We flew United and had layovers in LA, both coming and going. Our flight to Honolulu left at 5:50 am Phx time and arrived in Honolulu before noon on the day of the cruise. Going home, we left Honolulu at 8:30 pm and arrived back in Phx at 9:30 am the next day:( . I wished I had booked my own air -- the flights were definitely the biggest downer of the trip!

[S'WELL]

Used NCL air March 07. Going from Denver booked on United through LAX all am times. Returning booked on Delta through Salt Lake. Left HNL at 10:30 pm.

[seajay242]

We used NCL to book 4 of us from Newark. The flights going were fine. The return was a disaster. Our itinerary did not clearly indicate that we had a 26 hour layover in San Francisco. Before I booked with NCL, I was assured by them that there would never be an overnight layover. We only found out when we checked in for our flight home and were told they could not check our luggage through to Newark, because of the 26 hour layover. It not only happened to the 4 of us, but to lots of other passengers. With the use of 3 cellphones calling our travel agent and NCL, NCL did get us out that night (10 hours in airport in Hawaii) through LA and we arrived at JFK in NY the same night. The only plus was that we were booked first class from Hawaii to LA. We have since taken a cruise with NCL and have another scheduled in June, but would never again let them book my flights. If you book with them, when you get your itinerary or e ticket, check it very carefully as to flight times and dates. They provided us with a very vague itinerary -- never indicating overnight layover.

[CruisinMK]

26 hour layover, yeah that's really bad!

[crawford]

If you book through NCL, are you able to get upgraded if you are an elite member of the specific airline you're flying?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[seastar2]

I just booked my own air using miles..hoping for better flights then NCL...going we have a great flight one layover in Salt Lake City from NYC..were we have to change planes. The return is an nightmare...leave Honolulu at 10:25 to LA..3 hour layover..then to Atlanta(???) with a 2.5hr layover then on to NYC....we go out of JKF but return to LGA???? When all is said and done the retun is about 16 hours..even if we stayed another day the only diffrence in the flights is a short layover in Atlanta and we would get first class from HNL to LA. Guess some of the NCL fights aren't any better but we aren't paying for these and we will call again to see if there is a better flight for the return.:rolleyes:

 

We thought about spending a day or so in LA...taking the night flight from HNL but then realized there were no other options to get for flights but the ones we already have ..or layover in Dallas ???:eek:

 

Booking directly myself if I wanted to pay then I had all the choices I wanted...

[2tnts]

On our cruise on POH last November, we booked air tih NCL. We flew non-stop from Chicago (ORD) on United to Honolulu. The return flight was non-stop on American Airlines. The flight going out was ALLL NCL passangers. Some connected in Chicago from the east. When we got our documents, the airlines were listed. I called the airlines for seat assignment at that time.

[cmh]

When we cruised to Hawaii and booked our air through NCL, we flew from SF to Oahu on Hawaiian Airlines and our return flight was on United Airlines.

[garycarla]

sorry to read about the unknown layover, but the tickets surely had a time and date on each flight, so unless you thought you crossed the intl dateline coming back, I would have been on the phone the day the tickets arrived.

 

With that said and after reading these boards, it would be a very rare situation that I would ever let those idiots book my air travel.

 

As to the question about using miles/status to upgrade; slim chance of that happening because they book the flights on the lowest fare level possible which precludes most upgrade programs to apply. And, if you have an upgrade that you can use well in advance, the fact that NCL does not give you ticket information until a few weeks before the flight means the available seats for upgrades are often gone.

[FLbeachbaby]

Took the NCL air as we found it to be cheaper when we were looking for flight from tampa to honolulu. We flew Delta and had only one stop. No complaints either way except that our seats were near the potty-flush, flush all the way home.

[pattibacon]

Hey, Janpdel, we're on that cruise, too. Go to the Roll Call and post there. There's a few more who have done so. We're flying in on Sat. (did FF miles flights) so don't have to worry about NCL doing our air.

[Guest nhrich]

I am going on a cruise to Hawaii on 8/20 on Pride Of Hawaii. My airfare was handled by NCL from Lax to Honolulu, leaving on 8/20. My agent says that NCL will not inform me of the carrier or time of flights until approximately 21 days before departure. I wondered if any of past passengers could share as to what airlines they use and what are the usual times of departure to and from Honolulu. Our traveling companions are flying out of San Francisco to meet up with us on the ship so they are also in question as to times, etc. Just for my own info, I checked out flights on United, Delta, and Continental to see what is offered. To my surprise, I found that most don't leave until late in the evening which is going to cause a conflict with a return flight that was booked on the 28th from the west coast to the east coast. Guess the time change wasn't figured when booking the return flight from Lax. This flight is totally independent of the cruise line and was a frequent flyer purchase.

 

We just had clients who did their air through NCL (because of having the credit card vouchers), and NCL had the flight info just under 60 days before the cruise (Hawaii only---it's 30 days for other cruises). Have your TA start checking with NCL at that point.

 

Rich, ACC

Carefree Vacations

[cruizinwithkids]

We just had clients who did their air through NCL (because of having the credit card vouchers), and NCL had the flight info just under 60 days before the cruise (Hawaii only---it's 30 days for other cruises). Have your TA start checking with NCL at that point.

 

Thanks for that heads up. Just wondering how their flights were. We are booked through NCL from Logan.

[just4now]

Took the NCL air as we found it to be cheaper when we were looking for flight from tampa to honolulu. We flew Delta and had only one stop. No complaints either way except that our seats were near the potty-flush, flush all the way home.

 

NCL is booking our flights from Tampa to Seattle this summer. What they're charging for air and transfers looks in line with what I'm seeing 'direct' from the airlines--it's probably not a "bargain rate" but there's three of us traveling and I don't want to try to juggle arrival/departures with embarkation/disembarkation.

 

The 26 hr layover is a bit of a shock. Did they expect the OP to hang out in the airport that long?

[Guest nhrich]

Thanks for that heads up. Just wondering how their flights were. We are booked through NCL from Logan.

 

My clients were also through Logan. Delta going out on a morning flight via Salt Lake City (with a 2-night pre-stay), and United on an early afternoon flight coming back through San Francisco. Of course yours could be entirely different.

[BDHPlayer]

Taking the Pride of Aloha in June. The additional charge for using NCL for the air fare was just over $100 for the 1st 2 passengers in the cabin and about $500 for the 3rd passenger. Airfare is from Phoenix.

[anitainwa]

We were on the Pride of America last December, and we purchased the NCL air from Spokane, WA. It was a very good deal. We were on United and had a 2 hour layover in Denver. On our departure flight, we left Honolulu around 10:30PM, it seems most of the flights leave late like that.

We did the "easy flight" check in option, and were very pleased.

[Wendolyn]

Hey, Anita, I'm in Spokane too! (Indian Trail area).

:)

 

We were nervous about NCL's handling of flights and decided to drive to Seattle, then take a direct Hawaiian Air flight this next trip. Don't want to leave anything to chance if I can help it.

[Holg]

We booked air through NCL from Phoenix to Honolulu. We flew United and had layovers in LA, both coming and going. Our flight to Honolulu left at 5:50 am Phx time and arrived in Honolulu before noon on the day of the cruise. Going home, we left Honolulu at 8:30 pm and arrived back in Phx at 9:30 am the next day:( . I wished I had booked my own air -- the flights were definitely the biggest downer of the trip!

 

Yea, PHX-HNL should've been USAir direct both ways.

 

Plus, when I was on the Wind last month (March 24th sailing) we left Honolulu without 200 passengers whose flights were late... many of them were people who booked air through NCL. The Captain simply said "hey, we can't wait forever."

 

I agree with MikeKaye: try to change to arrive in Honolulu at least one day early.

 

Personally, unless the airfare quote from NCL is 25% cheaper than I can do on my own or better, I stay on my own. I guess that's the type A personality in me.

 

Plus: When I book my air a month or more in advance I get to choose and reserve seats well in advance. I heard horror stories of people who book through the cruise lines not getting flight info until two weeks prior and getting stuck in center seats for 18 hours.

[susieh]

We booked our flights through NCL. I pushed to get specific flight times and airports. We're flying from the UK and I did not want to fly overnight.

 

On the way out we go via LA, on the way back we go via San Francisco (staying there 4 nights) then to Chicago where we have an overnight stop and fly back to the UK the next morning. I don't have flight numbers yet but I do have flight times and they are all printed on my booking form. All flights are with American Airlines.

 

This thread has made me remember to call and reserve our seats :)

[travellady]

I'm one of the people who say "never take the cruiseline air option", but decided to book air with NCl for the Pride of America cruise we took 3 weeks ago. I did so because fares were 50% less than had I booked on my own.

 

We had no issues at all, even though it was a same day flight going. We flew United out of Seattle at 6AM, arrived in Honolulu at 11:30 AM and were one of the first groups of people to board the ship.

 

Our flight out of Honolulu to Seattle was also United, left at 8:57 PM, through San Francisco and into Seattle at 8AM.

 

The only issues we had was we were pretty darned tired both travel days. But it's true, most flights coming back from Hawaii are night flights so even if you book on your own, you may end up with red eyes.

 

Not sure I'd chance it again, unless fares are super good and if I know missing the ship won't result in not being able to get onboard for 2+ days later. Because the Hawaian islands are close, and there are many interisland flights available, i wasn't real worried if we missed the ship in Honolulu. I knew we could always get to Kona the nxt day and board there. Cruising the Caribbean and missing the ship poses a whole different set of challenges.

[terrym120]

Hi,

I'm cruising on POA on 6/17 and received my edocs yesterday (4/23). We're on Delta out of Philadelphia, transferring in Atlanta to Honolulu. Quite a trip.

[terrym120]

I am going on a cruise to Hawaii on 8/20 on Pride Of Hawaii. My airfare was handled by NCL from Lax to Honolulu, leaving on 8/20. My agent says that NCL will not inform me of the carrier or time of flights until approximately 21 days before departure. I wondered if any of past passengers could share as to what airlines they use and what are the usual times of departure to and from Honolulu. Our traveling companions are flying out of San Francisco to meet up with us on the ship so they are also in question as to times, etc. Just for my own info, I checked out flights on United, Delta, and Continental to see what is offered. To my surprise, I found that most don't leave until late in the evening which is going to cause a conflict with a return flight that was booked on the 28th from the west coast to the east coast. Guess the time change wasn't figured when booking the return flight from Lax. This flight is totally independent of the cruise line and was a frequent flyer purchase.

Hi,

I'm cruising on POA on 6/17 and received my edocs yesterday (4/23). We're on Delta out of Philadelphia at 6:20 AM transferring in Atlanta (1 hr 45 min layover) to Honolulu. Quite a trip.