NCL Mastercard FAQ

[mscdivina2016]

8 hours ago, Thunderbird19 said:

Thanks for taking time to comment.

….now off to research what a “ meta” upgrade is 😂

Single meta = inside to ocean view or ocean view to balcony.

Double meta = inside to balcony

[Heather1972]

Has anyone gambled recently by cashing in their world points for a free cruise? I did that in 2018 and I got the promos that were being offered at the time. I think then it was just free drinks + me paying the tips on the drink package. I called WP today and they are saying the free cruises no longer include the promos. Anyone have a different recent experience? 

[fstuff1]

Now that the ncl mastercard gives 20k points for $1000 purchases in first 3 months, can i do this:

 

After spending $1k and getting 20k points, book a 'free' cruise and charge $3334 to my room from the casino.
(i'm high enough casino tier that 3% fee is waved.)

3334 x 3 = 10k points

 

Book a back to back in an ocean view.

use 30k points for meta upgrade to balcony.

That meta upgrade applies to BOTH legs.

 

Possible post-covid?

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by fstuff1

[julig22]

17 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

Now that the ncl mastercard gives 20k points for $1000 purchases in first 3 months, can i do this:

 

After spending $1k and getting 20k points, book a 'free' cruise and charge $3334 to my room from the casino.
(i'm high enough casino tier that 3% fee is waved.)

3334 x 3 = 10k points

 

Book a back to back in an ocean view.

use 30k points for meta upgrade to balcony.

That meta upgrade applies to BOTH legs.

 

Possible post-covid?

 

Yes to getting 10k in points by charging money in the casino (I tested that on my last cruise, although only charged $100).  That's assuming there aren't any limits on how much you can charge.

I don't believe they allow a b2b upgrade anymore (even pre-covid), so you'd need 60k in points.

Edited January 13, 2022 by julig22

[beachmiker]

Maybe a dumb question, maybe not.  I'm a solo cruiser who has booked 3 cruises in the Studio Cabins. Can someone far smarter than myself explain to me how this Credit Card helps me? Upgrades don't really help me.

Thank you in advance for your answers.

[julig22]

13 minutes ago, beachmiker said:

Maybe a dumb question, maybe not.  I'm a solo cruiser who has booked 3 cruises in the Studio Cabins. Can someone far smarter than myself explain to me how this Credit Card helps me? Upgrades don't really help me.

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Under those conditions, it's probably not going to be a great value, although you do get a 3% rebate on NCL purchases.

But I also don't book studio cabins. I prefer an OV or balcony and don't have much interest in the lounge, so pay the supplement, as it applies.  I've taken several cruises that had a reduced supplement, or even none at all. And not all ships have studios.

Advantage - I just upgraded from OV to a balcony for a cruise this summer (no studios on this ship).  Current value of that upgrade is about $3.5k vs $300 I'd get back in a rebate.  

[kjquilts]

5 hours ago, beachmiker said:

Maybe a dumb question, maybe not.  I'm a solo cruiser who has booked 3 cruises in the Studio Cabins. Can someone far smarter than myself explain to me how this Credit Card helps me? Upgrades don't really help me.

Thank you in advance for your answers.

 

There are other options for use of NCL WorldPoints other than upgrading staterooms.  Here is link to the WorldPoints Rewards Credit Card information with the various options.

 

https://www.ncl.com/world-points

 

That being said, we are sailing on the Bliss this May and used 30,000 points to go from an I4 inside to one of the forward facing OA oceanview staterooms.  It was disappointing that we couldn't upgrade to one of the O4 (very large forward facing) but it wasn't allowed.  In the past we've done inside to balcony upgrades by points but with the Bliss's wonderful observation lounge and the waterfront we decided OV would be fine. 

 

[SandyDuce]

I have a question abou tNCL card points. We used 30,000 to upgrade to a balcony room for an Alaskan cruise. Our travel agent cancelled the May Alsakan group tour. We got our deposit back and she stated that NCL is looking into reissuing our points back to us.  Has anyone ever had this issue and did you get the points reissued in a timely manner.  We want to book another cruise later in the summer but we don't want to book unitl we get the points returned for the balcony upgrade.

 

I'm not sure if I am even posting this in the right area. Sorry..

 

[julig22]

8 minutes ago, SandyDuce said:

I have a question abou tNCL card points. We used 30,000 to upgrade to a balcony room for an Alaskan cruise. Our travel agent cancelled the May Alsakan group tour. We got our deposit back and she stated that NCL is looking into reissuing our points back to us.  Has anyone ever had this issue and did you get the points reissued in a timely manner.  We want to book another cruise later in the summer but we don't want to book unitl we get the points returned for the balcony upgrade.

 

I'm not sure if I am even posting this in the right area. Sorry..

 

My understanding is that the points aren't refundable if you cancel, but hopefully under current circumstances they will return them.

I just called a few days ago to get mine back (NCL cancelled) and they told me it takes a couple of days.

You can always book another cruise now, apply the points later.  I tend to wait until I'm sure prices won't go down and so far haven't ever had an issue.  But I've never actually used my points - cruises keep getting cancelled so points go back to my account😣.

[kjquilts]

50 minutes ago, SandyDuce said:

I have a question abou tNCL card points. We used 30,000 to upgrade to a balcony room for an Alaskan cruise. Our travel agent cancelled the May Alsakan group tour. We got our deposit back and she stated that NCL is looking into reissuing our points back to us.  Has anyone ever had this issue and did you get the points reissued in a timely manner.  We want to book another cruise later in the summer but we don't want to book unitl we get the points returned for the balcony upgrade.

 

I'm not sure if I am even posting this in the right area. Sorry..

 

We've gotten points back three times.  One time the WorldPoint Dept actually cancelled the cruise for us since our PCC was not available, then refunded the points to our BAC account.   The second time we had used points for a stateroom upgrade on a cruise that NCL cancelled.  Sometime after the cancellation I remembered points had been used for upgrade.  I had to call NCL WorldPoint Dept and request that the points be credited back to us.  They took care of it.

 

Last month we cancelled our May 2022 cruise on the Star.  Not comfortable with flying internationally during a pandemic.  Our PCC who we loved is still out and may not be returning to NCL.  We didn't care for her backup so I called NCL Worldpoint department direct.  We had booked an inside and used 60,000 points to go to balcony.  They reversed the upgrade putting us back in an inside and then returned the 60,000 points to our BAC account.  They then processed the cancellation and returned our CruiseNext deposits to our NCL account (this takes a few days to happen). 

 

The WorldPoint woman was so nice and professional I asked if she could book a consolation cruise for us (Bliss May 2022).  She couldn't but offered to transfer me to someone who could take care of it.  That person said she'd be happy to book the cruise for us but we wouldn't be able to contact her with questions after cruise was booked.  I was comfortable with that and went ahead and booked the cruise and she was able to do WorldPoint upgrade from inside to oceanview for 30,000 points.   I've since been contacted by someone who says he is my new NCL PCC so we'll see how that goes.

 

If I were you I would call the NCL WorldPoint Dept at 1-866-234-0292.  You'll need your reservation number and cruise information.  Explain that you need assistance in getting your WorldPoints used on a May 2022 cancelled cruise returned to your account so you'll have them available to use on another cruise.

[SandyDuce]

Thank you so much. This was very helpful. I will call the NCL WorldPoint Dept today. 😀

[SandyDuce]

20 hours ago, julig22 said:

My understanding is that the points aren't refundable if you cancel, but hopefully under current circumstances they will return them.

I just called a few days ago to get mine back (NCL cancelled) and they told me it takes a couple of days.

You can always book another cruise now, apply the points later.  I tend to wait until I'm sure prices won't go down and so far haven't ever had an issue.  But I've never actually used my points - cruises keep getting cancelled so points go back to my account😣.

Thank you so much for the info. I have the cruise on hold right now. I will check my account in a few days.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, SandyDuce said:

Thank you so much for the info. I have the cruise on hold right now. I will check my account in a few days.

I had my points back the next day after I called.  But there may be a few more hoops to jump through if you cancel.

I think I may have misinterpreted the " no refund " policy - I think it actually means you can't cancel the upgrade once it's applied, not that you can't cancel a cruise and get them back.  So hopefully you'll have your points back soon.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I’ve gotten points back on three cancelled cruises.  They were back in two to three days, and my last one was returned by the time I got off the phone.  Points used to be fully refundable and it was only in the last few months that the WP representative told me they were non-refundable if I cancelled.   I later was chatting with a very nice and professional lady at WP about it and she said, yes, that is the policy but exceptions are common, especially after the covid outbreaks in the fall when people were afraid to sail, even the sailing was not cancelled.

 

if you get an answer from any of the NCL departments, just call back and often times you will get an answer you like.

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, Martina the Pooh said:

If it's only 3% on NCL purchases, than I might as well use my Costco Citi card.

The value, for me anyway, is in the upgrades.  Once Costco stopped including travel insurance, it just became another card that gave a rebate for travel.

[mscdivina2016]

15 hours ago, Martina the Pooh said:

If it's only 3% on NCL purchases, than I might as well use my Costco Citi card.

Its not the 3% that many of us care about. It's the triple points.

Those points can be worth 10-20¢ per point.

I have a sailing I booked an ocean view cabin, I used 30,000 points for a balcony.

I paid $6000 for OV, balcony is $12,000 so I saved $6000. That is 20¢ per point value.

Keep in mind I also don't take 7 night cruises as a rule.

[JennKach]

My original plan for my April cruise was to use 30k points to go from ocean view to balcony.  Then I got the upgrade bid email and put in a bid for balcony and club balcony.  Assuming I don't win either bid, is there a chance to use the points to upgrade right before sailing, or should I just do the points upgrade right now and cancel the bids to be safe?  I also know there is a possibility prices will fall and I may be able to just purchase the balcony upgrade outright, but it will have to come down a lot before it makes sense to do that.  Right now the price difference is $1100.

[julig22]

13 hours ago, JennKach said:

My original plan for my April cruise was to use 30k points to go from ocean view to balcony.  Then I got the upgrade bid email and put in a bid for balcony and club balcony.  Assuming I don't win either bid, is there a chance to use the points to upgrade right before sailing, or should I just do the points upgrade right now and cancel the bids to be safe?  I also know there is a possibility prices will fall and I may be able to just purchase the balcony upgrade outright, but it will have to come down a lot before it makes sense to do that.  Right now the price difference is $1100.

I've been told (by the WP reps) that an upgrade is never guaranteed because they have limited cabins available.  But that was pre-covid, hard to say now since capacity is down. 

There is no guarantee you can purchase an upgrade if prices fall but based on low capacity chances are fairly good you'll get your bid, depending on your cruise.

Your TA/PCC should be able to tell you if you would be eligible for a paid upgrade - biggest hurdle there is if you took bogo airfare they won't upgrade you.  And if the price for what you want falls below what you paid you would have to go to a higher category, since you have to pay something.

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by julig22

[smillerholmes]

Thanks to everyone on this board for making this process easier to understand.  Just scored my first upgrade Oceanview to Balcony on a 21-day Panama Canal cruise!  So happy to save $2K

[gochina]

I will have enough to book an inside and double upgrade to balcony.  My question is once you're upgrade, that's it?  You are done with whichever room you ended up?  Can you still do price match?  How?  Ex: if I booked a room and later the price goes down, I can ask for a price reduction, but if you moved up, how would you know what price to look for?

 

[julig22]

6 minutes ago, gochina said:

I will have enough to book an inside and double upgrade to balcony.  My question is once you're upgrade, that's it?  You are done with whichever room you ended up?  Can you still do price match?  How?  Ex: if I booked a room and later the price goes down, I can ask for a price reduction, but if you moved up, how would you know what price to look for?

 

I once asked my PCC and the answer was basically that an upgrade isn't really possible unless you bid.  From what I've read, the comparative price would be what you originally paid, not the value of your upgraded cabin.

And you can't get your points back once you have upgraded.

[gochina]

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I once asked my PCC and the answer was basically that an upgrade isn't really possible unless you bid.  From what I've read, the comparative price would be what you originally paid, not the value of your upgraded cabin.

And you can't get your points back once you have upgraded.

TY!

[mscdivina2016]

10 hours ago, julig22 said:

I once asked my PCC and the answer was basically that an upgrade isn't really possible unless you bid.  From what I've read, the comparative price would be what you originally paid, not the value of your upgraded cabin.

And you can't get your points back once you have upgraded.

That is not totally correct. They will tell you that they are not refundable but in reality they are as long as you are not in penalty phase.  Now there is also another factor and that is how your confirmation is worded.

Once you upgrade, the confirmation may say "complimentary upgrade......."  or may just list your new cabin and category.

 

As far as price drops, I have always gotten them but that is prior to penalty and its based off your booked category price so you book a IB inside and get a BB balcony, your price is still based off the IB.

 

You can only go as high as a BA, afts are also off the table.

Bidding....I have never won one and I have bid max almost every time, and that is over a dozen bid attempts. On MSC, I bid max and always get it, so I still wonder if what we pay is a factor at the onset as I have had friends who have not used points bid less than me and win the bids?????

 

If you need to cancel and they tell you that you will lose the points, book another cruise far out using the deposit and just reuse the points as you are just shifting or hang up and call again till you get someone. It is not written anywhere about the points being lost.

 

 

[Clay Clayton]

12 hours ago, gochina said:

TY!

Agree with MSCdivina. We booked an inside and used points to move to a balcony on the day the cruise was available for booking (1.5 years beforehand?) at some point before the cruise sailed, they had a sale that greatly reduced the price of the balcony to about what we had paid for the inside. After much discussion and several HUACB episodes, we kept the balcony cabin, paid a pittance (under $100 for both of us) and the points were redeposited into our rewards account. We then reused them on another cruise. 

[gochina]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Agree with MSCdivina. We booked an inside and used points to move to a balcony on the day the cruise was available for booking (1.5 years beforehand?) at some point before the cruise sailed, they had a sale that greatly reduced the price of the balcony to about what we had paid for the inside. After much discussion and several HUACB episodes, we kept the balcony cabin, paid a pittance (under $100 for both of us) and the points were redeposited into our rewards account. We then reused them on another cruise. 

Boy, that's great!  glad you know how to HUACB.  I don't know how to do that.  I am currently trying to get something like OBC for a cruise that was paid-in-full from a CAS, and the price has dropped to even lower than my discounted price.  Two days.  No luck!