Distinctive Voyages - Is it a good deal?

[davy jones]

Are these offerings worth it? I am particularly interested in the Air and Hotel Credits and the Phone Call Package.

 

I'm interested in hearing from those who used it and their experiences.

[FarreyFamCruzin]

Following. Considering one of the 11 day Breakaway cruises from New Orleans.

 

 

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[DarkJedi]

Same here, we declined the air and hotel package. It might be worthwhile if you don't care about when you arrive, but they offered us I think $400 per person air credit, on flights to Japan from FL. We did not get to pick the flight or the day of arrival.

 

In general, it is worth what you feel it is worth. We booked before they did the DV thing and did not see prices increase on our sailing.

[littlelulu01]

You can see pricing and hotels/cities offered for your Embarkation/debarkation port. Price is per person. For Rome it’s $145 pp so for two it’s $290 minus the $100 credit so $190. That includes transfer to the ship so not a bad deal but the hotel location isn’t that central. Airfare isn’t available till closer to sailing so I’m not sure what offers will be. $400 total so $100 pp each way but that’s off the Ncl price and I have read these tickets are highly restrictive. For airfare this means all can go fine but if there’s issues with delays then there’s potential issues. Ncl agent owns the tickets. Tickets purchased in a group and don’t have the same T&C’s as if you purchase a ticket on your own. Kinda like if you purchase a ticket on Expedia. Probably fine for within USA but not sure I’d chance multiple connections for a ta flight.

 

The Ncl ships excursions are priced very high. The distinctive perk potentially gets you double shore excursion credit so along with your latitudes discount some excursions are a better deal or even free. Some are still a better deal booking with a group on your roll call or diy.

 

If planning on ship excursions on a sailing far in advance who knows what the pricing will be. There’s a lot of distinctive voyage sailings. Figure there’s a good chance the excursion prices will be bumped up from the already high prices to account for the credits on any sailing a ways off.

 

Basically I’m thinking it is an extra 250 mins Internet and phone call package. If the shore excursion credits and airfare/hotel credits work out to be a better deal I’ll book with Ncl but I’m not going to bank on it.

[Alegeeter]

They seem to only have a certain number of hotel rooms available. When I inquired about the hotel credit for my Distinctive Voyage they said the hotels were sold out so we didn't even get the option to use it. We didn't even bother with the airline credit as we like to arrive early, and it looks like we'll book all excursions on our own.

 

So pretty much we're getting more free internet and free phone calls. I'll call someone at home once just to say I benefited from the perk :P

[davy jones]

How does the phone package work?

[Georgie562]

How does the phone package work?

 

Your allowed 125 minutes to use from your cabin phone. You will be given an access code and that code is what you will use when you make your calls.

[Georgie562]

I am booked for a distinctive voyage cruise on the Epic in December and I booked it solely because of the time and length. The added perks was just a bonus. It's included so why not take advantage of them? I purposely chose $50 shore excursions credit as one of my 5 perks to have a total of $100 per port credit which also includes debarkation (any tours/transfers to the airport)

[DarkJedi]

So pretty much we're getting more free internet and free phone calls. I'll call someone at home once just to say I benefited from the perk :P

 

We're doing a Trans-Pac, so I figure the ability to call home every few days and check on the four-footers was a nice addition. But felt the same way as you about the rest.

[William W]

We're doing a Trans-Pac, so I figure the ability to call home every few days and check on the four-footers was a nice addition. But felt the same way as you about the rest.

 

I'm currently looking at the Trans-Pac this September, and when I check NCL's website, it doesn't look like it qualified for the Distinctive Voyages.

 

Would you mind sharing the Trans-Pac that you will be doing?

 

Thanks!

[davy jones]

Following. Considering one of the 11 day Breakaway cruises from New Orleans.

 

 

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I called NCL with questions. The air credit varies. It would have been $200 for our cruise, an 11 day from New Orleans. Unfortunately, they only allow it on round trip flights. The cruise is part of trip that includes a land stop in another city, so it is not a "round trip".

 

The hotel credit is a specific hotel in NOLA. It looks like a very nice hotel, but the credit may not be a deal. The NCL quoted rate was about $100 higher than an online rate for the same hotel. We are planning on two hotel nights in NOLA pre cruise. Based on that, we will likely book the hotel on our own.

 

The phone calls are a nice perk to check on the family while at sea. The internet perk will also be used for email, etc. Our use of the shore excursion credits will depend on what we choose to do.

 

We booked the cruise, and would have likely booked it without the perks. The internet and phone are good for us. The air, hotel, and shore have strings and may be a bit gimmicky for us. If they work for you, go for it.

[rtkenmore]

Why would you decline the DV package? You don't have to use the air or hotel and you still get the other added benefits such as the internet.

[Love my butler]

Anytime you let NCL do your reservations, be it air or hotel, run. They will try to find the best deal for them, not for you. The days, flights, locations etc are almost always what you would not pick given a choice. In other words, it sounds like a good deal but it aint.

[DarkJedi]

I'm currently looking at the Trans-Pac this September, and when I check NCL's website, it doesn't look like it qualified for the Distinctive Voyages.

 

Would you mind sharing the Trans-Pac that you will be doing?

 

Thanks!

 

Jewel May 6th, 2018 from Tokyo to Seattle

[William W]

Jewel May 6th, 2018 from Tokyo to Seattle

 

Thanks. Unfortunately the Jewel's September re-positioning cruise does not qualify.

 

Have a nice trip, hope you have good weather!

[davy jones]

Why would you decline the DV package? You don't have to use the air or hotel and you still get the other added benefits such as the internet.

 

I would not have declined the package. The question was along the line of whether it is a good deal, or riddled with restrictions and requirements that reduce it to a sales pitch.

[Shawnino]

Check out the Oceania board (both lines owned by NCLH) for discussion of when the air works out because Oceania has been offering air credit on all its trips for some time.

TL;DR: it almost never works out, and when it does it's because cruisers paid extra 'deviation fees'.

[BostonGal35]

even if they are worth it, we prefer picking our own flights.