Experience with “free airfare”?

[NancyC]

Has anyone used the “free/reduced airfare”option?  I am worried we may have many stops or overnight flights.  Please share your experiences good or bad.

[Indyopie]

Have not used the promotion but did some research last evening and want to give folks a heads up to check the transfer fees added. One cruise qualified for free airfare to New York but a $70 per person transfer fee was added.  Checked another cruise, airfare to MIA was $149 and a $32 per person transfer was added. Terms and conditions say "Guests are responsible for airport transfers at an additional cost if selected", didn't realize it would be added at time of booking.

[kevmoley]

I received the 6 freebies for booking an Alaskan Cruise in 2019 on the NCL Joy. The Free Airfare (to be assigned at a later date by NCL) from Phoenix to Seattle RT= $0.00 cost to me .. I only paid for the ground transfers of $40.00 each way.

[kevmoley]

dup

Edited December 30, 2018 by kevmoley

[brendaisbored]

Do your research before going with their airfare in terms of cost added to the cruise. For my cruise they were going to charge me $499 per person for reduced airfare but I was able to buy my own flights for $420. Your departing airport may make a big difference.

[designergirl]

I did take advantage of the free airfare offer for my CAS April 7/19 repo cruise on the Pearl out of Tampa, flying out of BUF. It was truly free. I was told that I did not have to pay for the transfers upfront so I didn't. The representative said it was misleading that the transfers are added on automatically. I can add them on later if I want, or use some OBC to buy the return on board, or perhaps I'll just take a cab. I am however very, very worried about what air they will select for me. From what I can see all the air options with the usual contracted airlines is connecting day of with very short connecting times. Crossin' my fingers!

[oregonian123]

19 minutes ago, designergirl said:

I did take advantage of the free airfare offer for my CAS April 7/19 repo cruise on the Pearl out of Tampa, flying out of BUF. It was truly free. I was told that I did not have to pay for the transfers upfront so I didn't. The representative said it was misleading that the transfers are added on automatically. I can add them on later if I want, or use some OBC to buy the return on board, or perhaps I'll just take a cab. I am however very, very worried about what air they will select for me. From what I can see all the air options with the usual contracted airlines is connecting day of with very short connecting times. Crossin' my fingers! 

 

I, too, am very confused about the info on the transfers. I was told that if you have the free airfare promo that the transfers are automatically added because you will go on their bus to get to the airport. A price was quoted but it did not show up in the total of what I paid.  Can anyone out there who has already flown on this promo please report back? Thank you.

[Phaedrus78]

4 minutes ago, oregonian123 said:

 

I, too, am very confused about the info on the transfers. I was told that if you have the free airfare promo that the transfers are automatically added because you will go on their bus to get to the airport. A price was quoted but it did not show up in the total of what I paid.  Can anyone out there who has already flown on this promo please report back? Thank you.

 

When I mock book a January 2020 cruise out of Miami using the "free" airfare perk, I'm actually charged $149 per person flying out of Indianapolis.  I'm OK with that, it's still cheaper than what it'd be to book our own.  When doing so, I'm also charged $29 per person for transfers.  That's all added into the final cost of the cruise.  

[Jme4166]

I was told by NCL the flights will be the day of the sail date and the return will be the date the ship returns. I was also told if we wanted to come in a day early we could for $50.00 per person, the last thing I was told is that we can opt out of the transfers.

 

Happy Sailing!

 

[Indyopie]

8 minutes ago, Jme4166 said:

I was told by NCL the flights will be the day of the sail date and the return will be the date the ship returns. I was also told if we wanted to come in a day early we could for $50.00 per person, the last thing I was told is that we can opt out of the transfers.

 

Happy Sailing!

 

Thanks for that info!

 

Anyone know if you book with a TA if you have to go through them for NCL to adjust the airfare to the day prior or can you call NCL directly?  Same goes for opting out of the transfer.  Flying in the same day makes me very nervous but would consider taking advantage of the discounted/free airfare if going the day before is possible.

 

[Driberif1]

On 12/30/2018 at 10:50 AM, kevmoley said:

I received the 6 freebies for booking an Alaskan Cruise in 2019 on the NCL Joy. The Free Airfare (to be assigned at a later date by NCL) from Phoenix to Seattle RT= $0.00 cost to me .. I only paid for the ground transfers of $40.00 each way.

It was kinda weird on our side, we are sailing on the Joy May 11, 2019 and we have enough airline miles we fly for free on Southwest (Las Vegas to Seattle) but for the heck of it when we were booking we clicked the free/reduced airline and the final price of our cruise went up $579.00.  (It only added a small fee that it showed but when we went all the way to the final checkout is where the difference was discovered). Maybe try to rebook your trip without the airline perk and see if the overall price drops also.

[NancyC]

I did check all the way through and the price only went up $99 each, the additional cost of the air add on.  I am just anxiously waiting for our air flight times.  They say we should hear 75 days ahead.  Our cruise is March 22.  

[cheryl525]

We are booked on the Getaway out of NYC on April 13th. We booked with the free airfare promo from SYR to NYC(LaGuardia) - ended up paying an additional $70.00 per person ($35/each way) for transfers via NCL but no additional cost for flight. I'm anxious to see what flight we end up on....and how long it takes to receive information. This is the first time we have ever flown to the port - we always drive. 

[Barb Nahoumi]

6 hours ago, designergirl said:

I did take advantage of the free airfare offer for my CAS April 7/19 repo cruise on the Pearl out of Tampa, flying out of BUF. It was truly free. I was told that I did not have to pay for the transfers upfront so I didn't. The representative said it was misleading that the transfers are added on automatically. I can add them on later if I want, or use some OBC to buy the return on board, or perhaps I'll just take a cab. I am however very, very worried about what air they will select for me. From what I can see all the air options with the usual contracted airlines is connecting day of with very short connecting times. Crossin' my fingers!

 

If the flight is late, then what?  Will NCL hold the ship?

[NancyC]

I was told they will get you to the first port to meet the ship, if you miss the ship and if you have their air.  

[jjlen11]

I booked this way...…….flying on American from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale and transfers were included.  I did notice a few small things-I asked if we could fly the day before.....answer was NO.  They assured us that since we are booked thru them and have the insurance WE WILL BE ON THE SHIP IN MIAMI.  I also noticed the last I checked on American---the seats are reserved but weren't paid yet by Norwegian...…..? So, to try to pay additional to sit next to my spouse is now a moot point.  I will chek again later...….its a 2 hour flight plus or minus some minutes....but the record of American leaves a lot to be desired-especially with on time departures and baggage claim.  I have been praying LOL

[NancyC]

How did you find out what flight you are on?

[jjlen11]

Because of the deal I got, I paid the cruise in full....I got the flight info with the confirmation of full payment.

[NancyC]

I just found my airflights for March 22.  Not great, but better than I had worried they might be.  From St Louis, MO, we rarely have direct flights.  We are flying American with connections through DFW.  The  connection times are short in my opinion;  55 minutes going and 41 minutes returning.  At least they aren’t red eye flights or 2 or more stops.  Now I need to figure out how to select our seats, because I don’t have our confirmation number with AA.  

Edited January 6, 2019 by NancyC

[tokidoki]

1 hour ago, NancyC said:

I just found my airflights for March 22.  Not great, but better than I had worried they might be.  From St Louis, MO, we rarely have direct flights.  We are flying American with connections through DFW.  The  connection times are short in my opinion;  55 minutes going and 41 minutes returning.  At least they aren’t red eye flights or 2 or more stops.  Now I need to figure out how to select our seats, because I don’t have our confirmation number with AA.  

record locater, ticket number is what was used by another cruiser with AA flights. 

[NancyC]

I called AA and got record locator, but she said Norwegian hadn’t paid yet, so I can’t select seats until that is done.  I was able to add our frequent flyer and global entry numbers.  

[laurabegorrah]

If you have status on an airline, and NCL books you on that airline, can I assume you would be able to take advantage of your perks of status (ie: automatic upgrades, priority boarding, etc)?

[M&JfromSDL]

On 1/28/2019 at 2:33 PM, laurabegorrah said:

If you have status on an airline, and NCL books you on that airline, can I assume you would be able to take advantage of your perks of status (ie: automatic upgrades, priority boarding, etc)?

 

Depends on the fare class NCL books you into and the airline's rules for that category.  For example, if you are AA elite and are booked into a Basic Economy fare class, you will still get priority boarding but are not eligible for upgrades.

Edited January 29, 2019 by M&JfromSDL

[Jskorick]

On 12/30/2018 at 11:50 AM, kevmoley said:

I received the 6 freebies for booking an Alaskan Cruise in 2019 on the NCL Joy. The Free Airfare (to be assigned at a later date by NCL) from Phoenix to Seattle RT= $0.00 cost to me .. I only paid for the ground transfers of $40.00 each way.

I booked the free airfare from phx to New Orleans. Got my original flight info and it was an overnight flight with a stopover in CHICAGO! Why we would fly from phx to Chicago to New Orleans is beyond me. Ended up booking a hotel room the might before through ncl. 340 total and got a much better fight option included. Just my experience 🙂

[gamergirl]

On 1/6/2019 at 2:49 PM, NancyC said:

I called AA and got record locator, but she said Norwegian hadn’t paid yet, so I can’t select seats until that is done.  I was able to add our frequent flyer and global entry numbers.  

 

Nancy, how long did it take for NCL to pay for the flights?  We are 58 days out and have our AA reservation, but it's not been paid yet and therefore we can't pick our seats.

 

Thanks!