Hello!
The two of us are doing two back to back cruises on the Jewel in Oct ‘23. Embarking on the first cruise in Tokyo, Japan and then Disembarking at the end of the 2nd cruise in Singapore Oct 2023. We purchased this onboard through the CruiseNext desk. We told her to add a 2 day stay before and after. She added a 2 day deviation at the beginning, but said at the time it wouldn’t let her add the deviation at the end (probably because it was so far out - we booked these in Aug of ‘22, more than a year before the cruise). She instructed me to call into NCL later as the cruise got closer and add those days on. She made it sound like NCL would actually book the hotels for these deviations as well.
I called once in January, and they almost sounded confused. Ultimately, they said it was still too early to add anything on and to call back when the cruise is within 6 months of embarking.
I’ve never booked deviations with NCL (done this with Viking, Seabourn, and Holland with no issues), so I’m just not familiar with it and I’m really nervous. Should I be? NCL WILL be the one booking my hotel, right? Or are they only doing a deviation and I have to book my own hotel and make my own transfer arrangements? Is there any way or circumstance in which NCL WOULDN’T do an add-on deviation (asking because of the agents inability to add on at the end in Singapore)?
This is our ONE BIG trip to the region, so I want to get it right! I definitely want as many days before and after the cruise so we can soak in the sights and adjust from long flights. Just a little nervous about this deviation business because Viking and other cruises seemed to have it down more seamlessly (confirmation that YES they book your hotels and transfers etc without you having to think about it when you do add-on deviations). I’m just not getting that level of confidence from NCL.
Any thoughts or input?