Experience with “free airfare”?

[Sea Urchin 001]

I did a mock booking for July 2020 out of Copenhagen, and the “free airfare” came to $1600+!

 

How exactly is that free?  Or even reduced?

[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.  

 

Gamergirl, it was about 56 days out. We got connecting flights through Atlanta going to Miami with Delta and a direct flight coming home with AA.  At first we had  round trip flights with AA but those got changed when NCL paid for the tickets.

[jjlen11]

Another point for our cruise, you must fly out the same day.....cant fly the day before.  Im nervous because of American Airlines-heard the flight to Ft Lauderdale out of Philly can be or usually runs behind, leaving 8:30 am with arrival 11:30 am, and if the luggage pick up is like Phlly, add on two hours.....plus who knows about the transfer...…...I hope I make the mandatory drill!!!! Thank god they include the drink package---I am sure Ill need it when I get on

[NancyC]

Here is an update.  Our flights were changed.  We are flying to Miami on Delta, connecting in Atlanta and returning on a direct flight on American.  We have selected our seats and all looks good for us.   My only objection to our flights is that we don’t leave Miami until 7:45 pm.  I guess I will enjoy lunch and dinner at the Miami Airport.  

[brow247]

Has anyone used NCL reduced flight option for an international flight?  I am doing a transatlantic to Southampton in April 2020.

[rocky1]

On 12/31/2018 at 1:23 PM, Indyopie said:

 

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.

 

Yes, we just went through that exercise. You must go through your TA for any transaction involving a charge or refund. Trust me, you will save gray hairs as well as money by using a good TA vs dealing directly with NCL (Unless you use a PCC instead of a TA).

NCL will charge you the $25 pp change fee then (eventually) refund the transfers. Flying in the same day as the cruise is never a smart move (IMHO), especially if someone else is planning your flight times.

[rocky1]

On 12/31/2018 at 1:23 PM, Indyopie said:

 

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.

 

Yes, we just went through that exercise. You must go through your TA for any transaction involving a charge or refund. Trust me, you will save gray hairs as well as money by using a good TA vs dealing directly with NCL (Unless you use a PCC instead of a TA).

NCL will charge you the $25 pp change fee then (eventually) refund the transfers. Flying in the same day as the cruise is never a smart move (IMHO), especially if someone else is planning your flight times.

[cruisinlibrarian]

23 hours ago, brow247 said:

Has anyone used NCL reduced flight option for an international flight?  I am doing a transatlantic to Southampton in April 2020.

Wondering the same thing since we are using NCL reduced flight option for May 2020 cruise out of Southampton.  Paid $25pp extra to fly in day before but nervous about what flights might be...direct or connecting.  Any past experience info would be helpful.TIA.

[Nola26]

4 hours ago, cruisinlibrarian said:

Wondering the same thing since we are using NCL reduced flight option for May 2020 cruise out of Southampton.  Paid $25pp extra to fly in day before but nervous about what flights might be...direct or connecting.  Any past experience info would be helpful.TIA.

We are using the perk for international flights for our Mediterranean cruise in September.

$399rt/person: Newark, NJ to Barcelona nonstop on United Airlines, depart Friday night, arrive Saturday morning, nonstop return leaving late morning and back same day by 2pm Newark time. We took a one day deviation on the front end of our trip, but will return on the final day of the cruise and have the transfer for that trip. Since we deviated the NCL transfer is not available for our arrival.

 

I have status on United so when I called to add our FF information they let me select seats in Economy Plus which provides additional leg room and recline, otherwise it is simply an economy seat/section ticket.

 

On our myncl.com account several different routes were shown before final ticketing. The other two each had one connection, exactly the max NCL indicates they aim to book. Since they were never booked I didn't get to see flight times, but one was with a United partner and the other with an American partner/American.

 

I feel great about the value, service and flights we have through this perk and would use it again.

 

Last week we decided to book our hotel in the tourist area rather than the business district we had reserved. I ended up selecting the same hotel NCL uses, HCC Montblanc, through a points deal with my credit card. I figured if NCL was putting it's guests there the hotel must be pretty good. I anticipate good service as they'll want to treat NCL's passengers well.

[HerrTrigger]

We are scheduled to take Caribbean cruise out of Miami in August booked roughly two weeks ago. Took Airfare perk. Not really impressed. Flying from Charlotte, NC scheduled to arrive Miami. 19 days out. Received following itinerary information. Leave CLT 7:30 am. No mention of arrival time Miami. Ship departure as expected 4pm. Not really worried about that seems like there is plenty of time to get to ship (about 2 hour flight without delays, assuming it's direct). 

 

Real heartache is return home on Sunday. Ship docks around 7 AM .... flight from Miami scheduled for 10:50 PM to Atlanta with 2.5 hour layover. Final arrival time Charlotte - Monday morning 5:50 AM. We can drive from Miami to Charlotte in about 12 hours. Don't see the point in flights taking almost 24 hours. Called immediately upon receiving itinerary to see if schedule could be changed. No, sorry. All bookings are final.

 

To add insult to injury, called NCL to upgrade to next highest suite two days after making reservation. Quoted the expected additional per person cost PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $600.00 because upgrade would not include airfare perk. ????? 

 

Never using airfare perk again.

 

[JaysMom2]

It's only gotten worse, and I think it is just a lure to draw people in. Now everyone at NCL is saying that no reservations can be changed or guaranteed. They're not even trying to work with their customers. I booked a connecting cabin with my son and DIL and also have a combined reservation. I informed them that I have mobility and hearing issues and can't travel alone and still, we were put on different flights. The flights are computer-generated and appeared on my summary page within a minute. A travel agent told me that she viewed an NCL Webinar 3 days ago and it said there is a "Travel With" option that can be put on your booking. I called Pam in the reservation department and was told, "no, we don't have that"! And if you happen to be together on, say, the return flight only, you cannot opt for keeping that one flight. She said, "it's all or none; you have to take both flights or none of them." On the NCL vacation summary it says "For customized air arrangements, call 1-866-625-1163. When I called them,  I was told nothing can be changed.

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by JaysMom2

[paradiseawaitsme]

On 12/30/2018 at 12:02 PM, Indyopie said:

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.

You don't have to use the transfers, just have them removed if you want to do your own.   We have taken them off for now as we arrive a day prior and can probably cab it cheaper to the hotel.   Although we may add the transfers later from the ship to the airport depending on the flight NCL has us booked on, at this point we will probably just cab it both ways.  

[HerrTrigger]

JaysMom2, only wish I had read this board prior to using air promo. It has effected my entire cruise planning so far. Not only are flights home crazy (see post above), but even with huge price drops close to sailing date for upgraded rooms, NCL uses the added air promo to raise price of any changes back up to original price negating the drop. What a scam.

[tvlworm]

On 7/28/2019 at 3:54 PM, brow247 said:

Has anyone used NCL reduced flight option for an international flight?  I am doing a transatlantic to Southampton in April 2020.

Earlier this month we booked NCL Getaway for July 2021 Italy/Greece. The price for 4 was great, definitely less than any summer fare to Europe than I usually see.  Our home airport (Minneapolis) has no non-stop flights to Rome currently and we paid the extra $25 deviation fee to arrive 2 days prior.  I’m so excited, it’s going to be a LONG two year wait! 

[pacruiser13]

We used the free airfare promotion for our cruise leaving 8/11 from Miami.  We had a few airport options and chose to fly into Miami the day before.  I did my research and flights for our family of 4 were in the neighborhood of $1200-1600 round trip.  I was able to get the "free" airfare for around $600 with a $100 onboard credit.  There were fees and I had to pay the reduced fare for our two kids, but it was a great deal for me.  However, don't expect your flight info at 75 days out like they say.  We got ours around 30 days which was stressful.  You don't get to choose your times at all.  Our flight down to Miami leaves at 6am on Saturday and our ship doesn't leave until Sunday.  We chose to fly in the day before but did not have to pay a deviation fee because we booked through a travel agent who is a partner with NCL.  I actually did pay the fee and then they refunded it.  If you book directly with NCL you do not have to pay the fee either.  We did not add on the hotel because there are a few airport hotels who do free transportation from the airport and then to the port.  If you do the research it can be worth it.  We are on a direct flight both ways from Newark Airport.

[cebee123]

I have the Free Air and on the NCL app under travel summary my flights are Grand Rapids to Chicago, then Chicago to New Orleans. We are flying on the Getaway in December. Can I assume my connection will BE in Chicago? Or can they change that between now and then. Since GRR is a small airport the only options would be AA, Delta, or United. And not many options even then. I am trying to see what the options could be. 

Safe to assume NCL won’t be booking anything with a less than 45 minute layover? 

[Nola26]

On 7/30/2019 at 12:47 PM, HerrTrigger said:

We are scheduled to take Caribbean cruise out of Miami in August booked roughly two weeks ago. Took Airfare perk. Not really impressed. Flying from Charlotte, NC scheduled to arrive Miami. 19 days out. Received following itinerary information. Leave CLT 7:30 am. No mention of arrival time Miami. Ship departure as expected 4pm. Not really worried about that seems like there is plenty of time to get to ship (about 2 hour flight without delays, assuming it's direct). 

 

Real heartache is return home on Sunday. Ship docks around 7 AM .... flight from Miami scheduled for 10:50 PM to Atlanta with 2.5 hour layover. Final arrival time Charlotte - Monday morning 5:50 AM. We can drive from Miami to Charlotte in about 12 hours. Don't see the point in flights taking almost 24 hours. Called immediately upon receiving itinerary to see if schedule could be changed. No, sorry. All bookings are final.

 

To add insult to injury, called NCL to upgrade to next highest suite two days after making reservation. Quoted the expected additional per person cost PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $600.00 because upgrade would not include airfare perk. ????? 

 

Never using airfare perk again.

 

Your expectations may be a bit off due to the timing of your booking:

1. You are booking essentially last minute or at least within the cancellation window. The airfare promotion isn't available for all cruises and perhaps only a certain number per eligible room category. Your next cabin up didn't qualify or the offer is sold out for your cruise. The extra $600 sounds like it was for airfare if you wanted to book through NCL?
2. Sounds like you were eligible for the free rather than the reduced airfare offer. If you can find better flights for the return, book them if the 5:50 return time is problematic. You can also book a hotel in Miami for the day and just leave in time for your flight.
3. NCL is booking your tickets late in the process, most people with this perk were ticketed weeks ago so you're being placed in what's left. It stinks to you, but that's the reality. Not that different than if you tried to book these flights on your own. You can possibly get the times/flights you want, but at a higher price because the low priced ones are sold out and have been for some time. Or take the odd times to get a lower fare, hence the NCL offer.

Our experience is likely ideal with this perk: Nonstop flights with a morning arrival, afternoon return (Newark/Barcelona).

 

However, I was prepared to connect and arrive late afternoon which essentially makes our front end one day deviation a bit of a waste as we wouldn't have much time to explore Barcelona. We also knew there was a return option that would have had a return late in the evening and I have a 2hr+ drive from the airport. I wanted to avoid those flights, but we were prepared for the possibility. For us the reduced airfare was a deal a we wouldn't have taken our cruise without such a perk/deal.
 

Obviously it is your call to not use the perk again, but not all of your disappointment is NCL not doing a good job. Most of it is likely due to your planning schedule and that isn't something I'd call your fault, just your choice or circumstance.

[orimeep]

On 7/29/2019 at 9:08 PM, Nola26 said:

We are using the perk for international flights for our Mediterranean cruise in September.

$399rt/person: Newark, NJ to Barcelona nonstop on United Airlines, depart Friday night, arrive Saturday morning, nonstop return leaving late morning and back same day by 2pm Newark time. We took a one day deviation on the front end of our trip, but will return on the final day of the cruise and have the transfer for that trip. Since we deviated the NCL transfer is not available for our arrival.

 

I have status on United so when I called to add our FF information they let me select seats in Economy Plus which provides additional leg room and recline, otherwise it is simply an economy seat/section ticket.

 

On our myncl.com account several different routes were shown before final ticketing. The other two each had one connection, exactly the max NCL indicates they aim to book. Since they were never booked I didn't get to see flight times, but one was with a United partner and the other with an American partner/American.

 

I feel great about the value, service and flights we have through this perk and would use it again.

 

Last week we decided to book our hotel in the tourist area rather than the business district we had reserved. I ended up selecting the same hotel NCL uses, HCC Montblanc, through a points deal with my credit card. I figured if NCL was putting it's guests there the hotel must be pretty good. I anticipate good service as they'll want to treat NCL's passengers well.

How were you able to see the routes before booking? I am also using their "reduced air" for travel from EWR to BCN and curious but can't seem to find anything (but maybe I am looking in the wrong place)...

 

In the summary I can see cities (with a connection in Frankfurt but it has been that way since we booked the cruise and I know the flights aren't booked yet) but not partners... of course, a connection in Frankfurt means Lufthansa or United but just curious where I can find more details...

[Nola26]

On 8/5/2019 at 11:35 AM, orimeep said:

How were you able to see the routes before booking? I am also using their "reduced air" for travel from EWR to BCN and curious but can't seem to find anything (but maybe I am looking in the wrong place)...

 

In the summary I can see cities (with a connection in Frankfurt but it has been that way since we booked the cruise and I know the flights aren't booked yet) but not partners... of course, a connection in Frankfurt means Lufthansa or United but just curious where I can find more details...

I only saw details of the flights that were booked when our confirmation was available. Otherwise my Vacation Summary showed dates and city pairs. 

[NancyC]

You don’t know under they book it and then they may change it.

[newmexicoNita]

9 hours ago, NancyC said:

You don’t know under they book it and then they may change it.

yes it can change just like when you book your own and the airline decides to change or cancel a particular flight. Let's hope that doesn't happen often. Right now we are a little over 2 months from sailing and already have seat assignments. 

[rwmartin]

I booked a cruise on the Jade this past January to sail just after Thanksgiving 2020. (I know. I book really far out.) When I booked in January, there was a $99 flight option that I took. A couple weeks ago, I heard on the CC boards about a 20% Latitudes discount and contacted my travel agent to take advantage of it. In order to do so, I had to give up my $99 flight option since it wasn't part of the 20% discount promo. My trip is too far out to find actual flights, but I priced out flights for the same period this year and found flights totaling $500 for both my wife and me. Assuming flights are the same next year (I know there's a possibility they won't be), I did the math and figured I'd be saving by taking the 20% discount and paying for my own flights. So, I asked my TA to make the change. Well, she did and then came back and told me I needed to select a new Free at Sea promotion. I chose the $50/port excursion credit. I have 9 ports, so, that's another $450 in my pocket. So, my advice is to always see what it would cost you to book your own flights compared to any other savings you can get. In my case, it was much better to book the flights myself.

[Nola26]

On 2/11/2019 at 7:48 PM, jjlen11 said:

Another point for our cruise, you must fly out the same day.....cant fly the day before.  Im nervous because of American Airlines-heard the flight to Ft Lauderdale out of Philly can be or usually runs behind, leaving 8:30 am with arrival 11:30 am, and if the luggage pick up is like Phlly, add on two hours.....plus who knows about the transfer...…...I hope I make the mandatory drill!!!! Thank god they include the drink package---I am sure Ill need it when I get on

Pay $25pp deviation fee and fly 1 or 2 days early. 

[bobsfamily]

On 8/9/2019 at 10:38 AM, rwmartin said:

I . I chose the $50/port excursion credit. I have 9 ports, so, that's another $450 in my pocket.

In May on the Breakaway the $50 was just that - $50, not $50 per port.

[Nola26]

7 hours ago, bobsfamily said:

In May on the Breakaway the $50 was just that - $50, not $50 per port.

Excursion credit perk is per port. The one exception is the 7 day Bermuda where it is 3 x $50 for each of the 3 days the ship is in port.