NCL Mastercard FAQ

[nhtravels]

Quick question for those with experience on upgrading using points.

 

If the ship does not have Oceanview (OV), would an inside to balcony be considered a single meta upgrade (30,000 points) or still a double?  I'm considering booking a gift cruise for my mom and stepfather on the Epic sailing that DH and I are booked on and the Epic does not have OV cabins.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I’m not sure, you will have to call World Points and ask.  Let us know what they say,please.

[mscdivina2016]

3 hours ago, nhtravels said:

Quick question for those with experience on upgrading using points.

 

If the ship does not have Oceanview (OV), would an inside to balcony be considered a single meta upgrade (30,000 points) or still a double?  I'm considering booking a gift cruise for my mom and stepfather on the Epic sailing that DH and I are booked on and the Epic does not have OV cabins.

60,000 points.  I tried it.  

If you read the terms, it states a "double" is from inside to balcony ,so it's considered double.

[dna529]

 

Can OBC that is obtained using World Points be used for gratuities on board?  I have 6 people to pay for on an upcoming cruise.  Thanks!

[tony s]

1 hour ago, dna529 said:

 

Can OBC that is obtained using World Points be used for gratuities on board?  I have 6 people to pay for on an upcoming cruise.  Thanks!

Yes, I just called and asked the same question to NCL. They started it could be used for any on board charge.

[dna529]

2 minutes ago, tony s said:

Yes, I just called and asked the same question to NCL. They started it could be used for any on board charge.

Thank you so much!

[MagnoliaBlossom]

6 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

60,000 points.  I tried it.  

If you read the terms, it states a "double" is from inside to balcony ,so it's considered double.

That’s what I would have assumed but since there are no OV rooms it muddies the water.

[BSR]

1 hour ago, tony s said:

Yes, I just called and asked the same question to NCL. They started it could be used for any on board charge.

I was told OBC could not be used to pay for gratuities.

[tony s]

Typical NCL two different reps two different answers 

[mscdivina2016]

2 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

That’s what I would have assumed but since there are no OV rooms it muddies the water.

No muddy, it clearly states an  inside to Balcony is a double.  A single is an inside to OV or OV to balcony.

 

[mscdivina2016]

1 hour ago, BSR said:

I was told OBC could not be used to pay for gratuities.

Yes that may be true but it depends on obc type.

This is not regular OBC because you can also get a statement credit so it is cash. 

[MoCruiseFan]

18 hours ago, BSR said:

I was told OBC could not be used to pay for gratuities.

You mean the Daily Service Charge?  NCL has no gratuities other than on the FAS items...

[Cruiser1862]

What are the airlines that qualify for the 2 points?  I can’t find anything specific. Every article just keeps stating “eligible airlines”

[MagnoliaBlossom]

23 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

No muddy, it clearly states an  inside to Balcony is a double.  A single is an inside to OV or OV to balcony.

 

If you read the fine print it states “cross meta does not apply to Norwegian Epic as it does not have OV cabins”

[MagnoliaBlossom]

1 hour ago, Cruiser1862 said:

What are the airlines that qualify for the 2 points?  I can’t find anything specific. Every article just keeps stating “eligible airlines”

In the fine print it lists eligible airline as any who use MMCos of 3000-3350.  I don’t know specifically which airlines that is, bu t it would seem to encompass major airlines.  I’ve always use a card other than my NCL card for airfare, so I’ve not had a chance to evaluate it.  Maybe someone else here has experience.

[The Traveling Man]

On 9/27/2022 at 2:14 PM, julig22 said:

First I've heard that you had to book the best possible ov???

In the past I have been told that I had to book at least as high a subcategory of Ocean View as the Balcony that I wanted.  Thus an OA could be upgraded to a BA, BB, BC, etc., but an OB could not be used to get into a BA.  In a few cases I wanted a BB and was told I need to pay for an OA to be able to upgrade.

[The Traveling Man]

On 9/28/2022 at 8:57 AM, smillerholmes said:

 

I wasn't aware of the "delayed upgrade" strategy and now that I am it's like a game of chicken between upgrading with points vs. bidding.  I guess it depends on availability, but if all you are going for is a balcony this is kind of a game changer.  Am I missing something here?  If your sailing has alot of cabin availability you could just wait until the last minute to find out if your bid is accepted (ex. I just won an upgrade from OV to Balcony for $100) vs. using 30K points.  Other than not being able to choose your cabin I see no downside...

 

On one cruise years ago I booked an OV and paid in full for it.  I didn't have quite enough points for an upgrade, so I needed to wait until the payment cleared to get the additional points to have at least 30,000 in my account.  Once the payment cleared on my card and the points were credited, I called back to use the points for an upgrade to a balcony.  I was told that the prices for OV cabins had gone up since the time I had booked (just a couple of weeks earlier) so I first had to re-book my OV at the new, higher price before they would allow a meta upgrade.  I balked at that and asked to speak to a supervisor.  After a lengthy discussion, they relented and allowed me to upgrade without charging extra, but it was a hassle.

[julig22]

38 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

In the past I have been told that I had to book at least as high a subcategory of Ocean View as the Balcony that I wanted.  Thus an OA could be upgraded to a BA, BB, BC, etc., but an OB could not be used to get into a BA.  In a few cases I wanted a BB and was told I need to pay for an OA to be able to upgrade.

That is my understanding as well.  You get a better upgrade if you book a better cabin initially but you don't have to book the best in order to upgrade.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

That is correct.  In the past you could only upgrade by booking the highest level, but it seems lately they will allow you to book a lower level, but that level will be your max in your upgraded category.   Which may be absolutely fine.  Actually we often select a balcony that is forward or aft and I would love to be able to pay less and get the upfrade to a BB or BC even.  
 

im sure you know this but at times the number of meals in the dining package may be less for an inside or OV than a balcony.  When that happens you should receive the number in the category you paid for.  However, we have often times gotten the Bal. Number, so if you do get the upgraded level, just quietly rejoice.  Shhhhh.🤫

[Russiamomm]

Another one that doesn’t want to search through 200+ pages for the answer.  😃

 

I’m looking at a 16 night transatlantic in April. If I book an inside and use points for a meta upgrade to a balcony, which cabin would be used for the upgrade process?  The inside or the balcony?  I want to be able to bid for a Haven room.  Would I be able to?  
 

Thanks in advance.

Edited October 10, 2022 by Russiamomm
Not sure why post is hidden.

[TifffanyD]

34 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

Another one that doesn’t want to search through 200+ pages for the answer.  😃

 

I’m looking at a 16 night transatlantic in April. If I book an inside and use points for a meta upgrade to a balcony, which cabin would be used for the upgrade process?  The inside or the balcony?  I want to be able to bid for a Haven room.  Would I be able to?  
 

Thanks in advance.

 

The balcony will be used - yes you can bid to upgrade to haven as long as you get the opportunity to bid.

[Russiamomm]

15 minutes ago, TifffanyD said:

 

The balcony will be used - yes you can bid to upgrade to haven as long as you get the opportunity to bid.

Thank you!  Trying to plan my strategy.  LOL

[julig22]

6 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

On one cruise years ago I booked an OV and paid in full for it.  I didn't have quite enough points for an upgrade, so I needed to wait until the payment cleared to get the additional points to have at least 30,000 in my account.  Once the payment cleared on my card and the points were credited, I called back to use the points for an upgrade to a balcony.  I was told that the prices for OV cabins had gone up since the time I had booked (just a couple of weeks earlier) so I first had to re-book my OV at the new, higher price before they would allow a meta upgrade.  I balked at that and asked to speak to a supervisor.  After a lengthy discussion, they relented and allowed me to upgrade without charging extra, but it was a hassle.

Yea, I had to jump through hoops a few weeks ago.  I repriced onboard when they were giving a 10% discount. When I upgraded with points the system deleted the 10% but the WP person checked and verified that none of my discounts were prohibited.  But I did have to call NCL to get it fixed, although they tried to tell me it was because that promo had expired.

[The Traveling Man]

I just booked a February cruise on the Sky.  We paid for an O5, then used 30,000 points to upgrade to a BA.  I was quite surprised that they allowed that, but I'm sure not complaining!  We saved almost $3000 total by using the points.  Full disclosure, we only were able to use one Cruise Next Deposit since we paid for an OV.  Balcony staterooms can be reserved using up to two CNDs, so that wiped out $125 of our savings.  Also, this will be an 11 day cruise, so booking a Balcony with Free at Sea would have meant that we each would get two free dinners in a specialty restaurant.  Since we only paid for an OV, though, we only get one FAS specialty dining credit each.  Figure that to be about another $125 or so, leaving our net savings at about $2750.  Those 30,000 points cost just $10,000 spent with NCL, so that gives a net return of more than 27% on the money spent on the NCL Mastercard.

[Russiamomm]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:51 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

That is correct.  In the past you could only upgrade by booking the highest level, but it seems lately they will allow you to book a lower level, but that level will be your max in your upgraded category.   Which may be absolutely fine.  Actually we often select a balcony that is forward or aft and I would love to be able to pay less and get the upfrade to a BB or BC even.  
 

im sure you know this but at times the number of meals in the dining package may be less for an inside or OV than a balcony.  When that happens you should receive the number in the category you paid for.  However, we have often times gotten the Bal. Number, so if you do get the upgraded level, just quietly rejoice.  Shhhhh.🤫

I booked the 16 night TA this week. Was the lowest category inside with FAS.  I booked through CAS and got an incredible deal. I then used a meta upgrade and booked into a BB.  I was surprised that we got the extra meal with the upgrade.  Now if we can win a bid into the Haven we’ll be two happy cruisers!