Experience with “free airfare”?

[NancyC]

it is only good for $50 per port towards excursions.  You can’t use it all for one or two excursions.  If you don’t take an excursion in one port, you lose that $50.  

[Jasonmom]

 

Our experience with the Free / Reduced Air so far is great.  We only had to pay $199 for the 3 of us (1st two were free and 3rd person was $199).  That is about a $800-$1000 savings.  We just got our flights and although not exactly what I would have booked, they are good.  Found out flights about 55 days out and was able to move our seats together.  

 

Here's hoping nothing changes and everything continues to go our way. 

 

 

[bobsfamily]

7 hours ago, Nola26 said:

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.

I checked, you are correct. Has changed since earlier this year or I honestly didn't look. We only had one ship excursion so that might be the reason. My bad

[K_e_short]

I'm looking at doing a Hawaii cruise in the summer of 2021 to use the 20% Latitudes bonus.

 

I will be charged $1069 airfare plus $134 transfer (for two people).

 

The cheapest flight I could get if I booked with a TA is over $2500 and I'd need to fly in a day early as I don't trust to arrive the day of (thus hotel overnight, extra transportation).

 

That is such a huge savings I'm going to go with it.  Also, I looked at most flights Toronto to Honolulu and they are pretty much the same (2 stops there, 2 stops back with an overnight).

 

[cntryman77]

I’ve tried booking online, but never found the 2nd airfare to be “free”. If I book solo, the flight is $502. If I do it for 2 guests, with the 2nd “free”, it’s $1004.  How is this second free?  Be wary of it. I called and talked to someone and they couldn’t explain it either.

[reeinaz]

The 2nd person isn't charged. Their air fare is 0 on the invoice. 

 

[Asawi]

18 minutes ago, cntryman77 said:

I’ve tried booking online, but never found the 2nd airfare to be “free”. If I book solo, the flight is $502. If I do it for 2 guests, with the 2nd “free”, it’s $1004.  How is this second free?  Be wary of it. I called and talked to someone and they couldn’t explain it either.

As I said on the other topic: Both travellers get half price. Meaning two people pay for one if that's the way anyone want to look at it (as apparently NCL does).

[julig22]

57 minutes ago, cntryman77 said:

I’ve tried booking online, but never found the 2nd airfare to be “free”. If I book solo, the flight is $502. If I do it for 2 guests, with the 2nd “free”, it’s $1004.  How is this second free?  Be wary of it. I called and talked to someone and they couldn’t explain it either.

So you are trolling the website to bring up old posts just to complain that you can get a better price if you book yourself. Sometimes that happens - so just don't take the deal.

NCL's price for the airfare in your situation is $1004. Doesn't matter what price you think you can get if you book it yourself. The promo is for the 2nd person to fly free. But they also offer a half-price option if only 1 person is taking advantage of the promo. Not rocket science.

[cntryman77]

You can rationalize it any way you want, if 1 person is $500 and 2 people is $1000, the 2nd person is not free. No where does it say the solo is getting half price. For the solo traveler, good for them they are getting it discounted, but it’s not worded or shown that way on their website.

[n4w]

1 hour ago, cntryman77 said:

You can rationalize it any way you want, if 1 person is $500 and 2 people is $1000, the 2nd person is not free. No where does it say the solo is getting half price. For the solo traveler, good for them they are getting it discounted, but it’s not worded or shown that way on their website.

You're not understanding properly, person 1 is not $500, he's $1000.  If he travels alone, he's given a 50% discount so he then pays only $500 for his $1000 fare.  2nd person is free when the travel partners pay $1000 for person 1 and nothing for the 2nd person = BOGO.

 

and you're wrong, if you look at the terms and conditions, you'll see that the solo is getting half price:

[zqvol]

2 hours ago, cntryman77 said:

You can rationalize it any way you want, if 1 person is $500 and 2 people is $1000, the 2nd person is not free. No where does it say the solo is getting half price. For the solo traveler, good for them they are getting it discounted, but it’s not worded or shown that way on their website.

If you don’t like the way they advertise it, then don’t take the package. Real simple. 

[MyTMo777]

We used it going from Edmonton, AB to LAX, returning Panama City to Edmonton. We were quite happy with it, and saved over $1200 using it. Our flights were at reasonable times, our layovers were just long enough to not feel rushed but to still make our next flight (even after getting turned around in the Atlanta airport on the way home and having to retrace our steps a LOOOONG way!). There were only two of us traveling together. A lot of the complaints I hear about the free airfare is when there are larger groups traveling together and they get split up. We asked to fly in an extra day early and extended our stay the full two days allowed (I'd NEVER EVER fly in the day of embarkation!!). Be patient waiting for your flight confirmation; it may come as late as two weeks before departure. As soon as we got ours, I logged in to each airline's website and paid to choose our seats - well worth it for the peace of mind.

[cruiseny4life]

On 2/13/2024 at 1:21 PM, cntryman77 said:

You can rationalize it any way you want, if 1 person is $500 and 2 people is $1000, the 2nd person is not free. No where does it say the solo is getting half price. For the solo traveler, good for them they are getting it discounted, but it’s not worded or shown that way on their website.

You need to review the terms and conditions. You would know what is going on if you would read them. If you don't like it, don't use it. It sounds like if you can't understand this part, it's not a good fit for you given the lack of flexibility when flights are booked.

[D. B.]

I just booked my first NCL cruise in 10 years.

 "Free" airfare was included but the agent I talked to said I would Not know the flights, airline or flight details until 30 days before the cruise sailed. My cruise it 10 months away so I would be giving NCL the chance to earn interest on my money for 9 months.

  I don't like that arrangement so I declined the "Free" airfare option, So they took $380.00 off my total bill. I went to Google flights and found the Flights I wanted and seat selection at almost the same $380.00 allotted on NCL's "Free" flight.

   I just did not want to end up on an airline I may not have liked (from experience) with stops in cities that may have weather Delays in my Winter time line OR having to be seated in a part of the aircraft (near the Restrooms?) because being 30 days from the flight departure would mean selecting seats on a flight probably close to fully booked.

  I have been cruising with Celebrity for 20+ years and while their Flights are not "Free" I can reserve my flights a year ahead and chose my seats at that time and Not have to Pay  for the flights until 90 days before the cruise. Also I can change the selection any time before final payment.

  

[n4w]

NCL has a final payment schedule also, so you don't have to pay in full today.  I wouldn't sweat giving NCL a chance to earn money, it's not out of your pocket and they're not making a lot on the $380.  The airfare is not included either; if they took it off, it's only because you added it on previously.

[julig22]

3 hours ago, D. B. said:

I just booked my first NCL cruise in 10 years.

 "Free" airfare was included but the agent I talked to said I would Not know the flights, airline or flight details until 30 days before the cruise sailed. My cruise it 10 months away so I would be giving NCL the chance to earn interest on my money for 9 months.

 

So instead of giving NCL a chance to earn interest (news flash, you don't have to pay anything other than your deposit 10 months out) you are going to let the airline collect interest, assuming you are booking the flights now.

I've used the NCL airfare option often - it's saved me a considerable amount of money on international flights. Domestic flights, not so much, so I don't always take it.

[rodndonna]

35 minutes ago, n4w said:

NCL has a final payment schedule also, so you don't have to pay in full today.  I wouldn't sweat giving NCL a chance to earn money, it's not out of your pocket and they're not making a lot on the $380.  The airfare is not included either; if they took it off, it's only because you added it on previously.

 

I agree - the logic of not giving NCL hold the money doesn't make sense, and it is actually the opposite where you have pay for the flights when booked as opposed to final payment.

 

Another advantage allows for easier cancellation if you have to cancel your cruise before final payment as your air is also then cancelled (and is never paid for). 

[D. B.]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

So instead of giving NCL a chance to earn interest (news flash, you don't have to pay anything other than your deposit 10 months out) you are going to let the airline collect interest, assuming you are booking the

I've used the NCL airfare option often - it's saved me a considerable amount of money on international flights. Domestic flights, not so much, so I don't always take it.

This was a domestic flight.SJC to LAX and

MIA to SFO.

i have made flights back and forth to Florida for cruises so many times I know the airlines I Do Not want to fly on. 

For Oceania we have used their International flights with the Premium economy upgrade and that worked out.

[caribcruizer]

We are passing along OUR experience with the BOGO airfare. We are from Manitoba and we took advantage of this offer this past January on the Encore. First off, we never got our air info until well into the cancellation period, problem one. When we did try to add air deviation they slyly added $1000 to our balance claiming one day earlier required that amount! We quickly removed the deviation. When we got our arrangements, it was clear to us that NCL set us up for the probability of missing our embarkation. Cruise was on a Sunday and they had us leaving Winnipeg at 7:00pm Saturday night, flying to Toronto, then flying to Ottawa getting there around 1:35 AM Sunday and leaving Ottawa at 6:15 AM to Ft. Lauderdale to arrive at 10:35 AM then find our way to Port of Miami. Well, anyone with common sense that knows Canadian winters knows that you fly in the day before the cruise at least to accommodate any such weather or other delays. Even NCL back in the days of customer service suggested the same. Well sure enough the delay started at Winnipeg for 3 1/2 hours thus missing our connection in Toronto already.( Though not weather related here) We tried getting NCL to assist us but their opinion was that we were basically on our own and talk to airline. If we miss the boat, well then make your own arrangements to meet ship two days later at first port!! Some travel agency, we book , we take money, you are on your own after that.

Long story short, thanks to the very customer service orientated agent at Air Canada, she was able to get us onto a flight from Toronto and to Miami , to boot and made embarkation.

Way back, NCL book us a flight at 12:00pm,(against their own advice in previous years to leave from Ft. Laurderdale to Chicago, less then 1 hour layover to catch plane to Minneapolis, then Winnipeg. Long story short, flight delayed in Ft. Lauderdale to miss connection, however, NCL and Westjet booked us on a flight to Calgary, then to Winnipeg. However, as we boarded in Ft. Lauderdale, they cancelled our flight to Winnipeg. They kept us in Calgary for THREE days before our flight to Winnipeg. NCL didn't try to get us home earlier, and our expense were ours unless we had insurance, which we did. 

We will never book NCL air again just on the basis of lack of responsibility, professionalism/intergrity and customer service. We got what we paid for folks, cheap air, cheap service.

Now, on a positive note, we did enjoy the time on the ship except for lack of adults' only area taken away and lack of quality entertainment in our opinion.

Again, this was our experience, if you had better, we are happy for you and if you had worse, we feel your frustration. 

[UKstages]

On 2/15/2024 at 2:43 PM, D. B. said:

My cruise it 10 months away so I would be giving NCL the chance to earn interest on my money for 9 months.

 

i could see this as a legitimate rationale for declining NCL air if i were spending 10K or 100K on airfare. or if i had a very large group that was traveling with me and i were paying the airfare for all parties. but assuming just two people or a family of four, how much could your airfare be?

 

$800 $1200? $2000? $2500?

 

in your case it was only $380.

 

the interest on that money would be far, far less than you are likely to save by using NCL air.

 

it worked out for you and you were able to find the flights you wanted on the airline you preferred at almost exactly the same price. you're a smart shopper! as others pointed out, however, the airline is now making "interest" off your money for exactly the same length of time as NCL would have, so it's not clear how you've beat the system and protected the integrity of your cash outlay.

 

disclaimer: i don't use NCL air and have no dog in this race. i just know that the interest earned on the average amount of airfare would be inconsequential, especially in comparison to the overall expenses associated with the cruise fare. so, i don't see that as a valid reason for rejecting NCL air. (as i understand it, there are many other very good reasons for rejecting NCL air. lost interest isn't one of them.)

[herbanrenewal]

My neighbor, spouse and two teens booked with two different rooms. When they got their flights two were on one flight, two on another, from two different Washington DC airports.

[D. B.]

Everyone who responds to my post seems to be more concerned about the financial part of it.

 The Main reason I am not using the flight option is Not knowing until 30 days before the Cruise What the schedule of the flights will be And what Airline they will use. We have had some bad experiences on some airlines and some Excellent flights with others so wondering what airline NCL will put us on is stressful.

   If it turns out to be something I'm not comfortable with that puts me at a point (30 days)  where other choices will be limited and probably more expensive.

   We have been sailing mostly with Celebrity for the last 20 years and their Flights system lets us Choose the Flights, Airline, Flight dates and Times and in most cases select our Seats 330 days Before the cruise and pay 90 days before the cruise. If the Price goes Down we get the cheaper price and if it goes Up our cost stays the same as our original booking. If the airline changes their flight schedule we can usually rearrange our flights with the airline without changing the total cost.

 As an example, I will be on a cruise around south America this April and the  Airline I booked with changed the flights from a 2 stop to a 1 stop and will be using a better aircraft and my cost stayed the same.  Checking the airlines web site the cost if I booked it today it would be double what I paid.

  

[julig22]

9 minutes ago, D. B. said:

Everyone who responds to my post seems to be more concerned about the financial part of it.

 The Main reason I am not using the flight option is Not knowing until 30 days before the Cruise What the schedule of the flights will be And what Airline they will use. We have had some bad experiences on some airlines and some Excellent flights with others so wondering what airline NCL will put us on is stressful.

   If it turns out to be something I'm not comfortable with that puts me at a point (30 days)  where other choices will be limited and probably more expensive.

   We have been sailing mostly with Celebrity for the last 20 years and their Flights system lets us Choose the Flights, Airline, Flight dates and Times and in most cases select our Seats 330 days Before the cruise and pay 90 days before the cruise. If the Price goes Down we get the cheaper price and if it goes Up our cost stays the same as our original booking. If the airline changes their flight schedule we can usually rearrange our flights with the airline without changing the total cost.

 As an example, I will be on a cruise around south America this April and the  Airline I booked with changed the flights from a 2 stop to a 1 stop and will be using a better aircraft and my cost stayed the same.  Checking the airlines web site the cost if I booked it today it would be double what I paid.

  

LOL, since you started with a statement regarding the extra interest NCL would be collecting, fairly easy to conclude that cost was a factor.

NCL will also let you choose your flights - but you pay retail, not a discounted rate.

No, it's not for everyone. It works for me, I appreciate the savings since most of my cruises are international. But reading and understanding the terms in advance would alleviate many of the complaints that people post.

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, caribcruizer said:

When we did try to add air deviation they slyly added $1000 to our balance claiming one day earlier required that amount! We quickly removed the deviation

When is when? After you received your tickets? 90 days before cruise? 180 days before cruise? 

 

We request the deviation immediately upon booking. NCL gives us $25 credit for this. My guess is you attempted to ask for a deviation after the cut off period.

 

You can request the deviation up to 75 days of sailing. But, you may have to pay a fee if you've already received your tickets. 

 

Best guarantee - request the deviation at at 120 days of cruising or before. We request it when we book and we book within final payment so that's why we don't have to pay any additional fees. 

 

Check out the air standards and you're right - you should probably skip the BOGO.

 

https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards

[kylenyc]

On 2/13/2024 at 3:09 PM, n4w said:

You're not understanding properly, person 1 is not $500, he's $1000.  If he travels alone, he's given a 50% discount so he then pays only $500 for his $1000 fare.  2nd person is free when the travel partners pay $1000 for person 1 and nothing for the 2nd person = BOGO.

 

and you're wrong, if you look at the terms and conditions, you'll see that the solo is getting half price:

Yup. I used their offer for solo travel and saved a few hundred on a international flight. It was more like a savings of 25% off what I could have booked myself but it amounted to a few hundred dollars so I'm happy with the savings and the flights they booked. I received my flight confirmation about 100 days out. Also I also asked for a two day deviation immediately making final payment and they added it and refunded me $25 dollars.

 

Some of the reasons I wouldn't use NCL's flight offer is if I wanted more than a two day deviation at either end of the cruise since NCL will only add up to a two day deviation without a penalty if you ask for it at least 75 days before embarkation.

Edited February 17 by kylenyc