Pls Explain "Free or reduced air"

[MitzyG]

Before I start, let me explain that I'm not trying to look a gifthorse in the mouth.   If the offer is not to my liking, fine, I will buy my own air.   I just want to understand the program before I make a decision regarding air.

 

1. Which airline(s) does NCL use?   Due to an extraordinary experience, I refuse to fly Delta ever again.
2. How do you know if the air is "free" or "reduced"?   When do you know that it's not "free", instead it's "reduced"?
3. I booked a cruise for 2021 because the "good" rooms sell out 18+ mos in advance - At what point in time do I start discussing the arrangements?   I would only want to do this if I could fly in one day in advance and will pay the premium to do so.   But clearly, I need to tell them in advance.
4. My booking had a $36 "transfer" fee.    Is this transfer to the cruise at the beginning, transfer to the airport after the cruise or both?    If it's both, can I get a refund for the transfer to the port, because I'm flying in a day early.

 

Your thoughts/experiences are greatly appreciated.

[imacruiser99]

The rules are basically under the NCL Air/Sea program which can be found here

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea

 

Flights are at the discretion of NCL, and they normally will charge you transfers from the airport to the cruise terminal and the return trip (aka the transfer fee).

 

Flight will just about always be day of and you do have the option to request a day before (and you do not need to book an NCL hotel).

[schmoopie17]

Be prepared to have them assign you overnight flights or strange itineraries.

 

We booked a January cruise with a flight from Phoenix to Orlando. The first leg of our flight had us connecting in Minneapolis. Not only is that WAY out of the way, but flying to Minneapolis in the middle of blizzard season really makes no sense.

 

We ended up canceling...

[NRWPA]

Also, no guarantee you won't be assigned to a Delta flight. Flight assignments are not made until after final payment and are non-refundable at that point as far as I know. First part of my free/reduced air flight will be on Delta

[MitzyG]

Ok...so how do I reject this nightmare?   I'm no longer willing to do insane things for "free" air, like weird routing, excessive flight segments etc.   I certainly do not fly Delta. 

[beerman2]

2 minutes ago, MitzyG said:

Ok...so how do I reject this nightmare?   I'm no longer willing to do insane things for "free" air, like weird routing, excessive flight segments etc.   I certainly do not fly Delta. 

May have to call NCL or your TA to change your perks. 

[valleyvillage]

It sounds from your first post that you have not made the decision, so the perk is not on your package. Is that correct? If so, just uncheck the box. Should take care of it. If you have booked and paid, you will, as previous poster says, call NCL or your TA if they own your booking. In any case, bon voyage!

[MitzyG]

At the rate I'm going, I might be able to get one of the tickets for free from frequent flier miles and then just buy the other half.  :)  I'll call NCL later and tell them to take it off.

[Fk3908]

15 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Be prepared to have them assign you overnight flights or strange itineraries.

 

We booked a January cruise with a flight from Phoenix to Orlando. The first leg of our flight had us connecting in Minneapolis. Not only is that WAY out of the way, but flying to Minneapolis in the middle of blizzard season really makes no sense.

 

We ended up canceling...

Looking at your icon, I bet the booking agent from NCL is a Vikings fan with a sense of humor...🤣🤣

[newmexicoNita]

18 hours ago, MitzyG said:

Before I start, let me explain that I'm not trying to look a gifthorse in the mouth.   If the offer is not to my liking, fine, I will buy my own air.   I just want to understand the program before I make a decision regarding air.

 

1. Which airline(s) does NCL use?   Due to an extraordinary experience, I refuse to fly Delta ever again.
2. How do you know if the air is "free" or "reduced"?   When do you know that it's not "free", instead it's "reduced"?
3. I booked a cruise for 2021 because the "good" rooms sell out 18+ mos in advance - At what point in time do I start discussing the arrangements?   I would only want to do this if I could fly in one day in advance and will pay the premium to do so.   But clearly, I need to tell them in advance.
4. My booking had a $36 "transfer" fee.    Is this transfer to the cruise at the beginning, transfer to the airport after the cruise or both?    If it's both, can I get a refund for the transfer to the port, because I'm flying in a day early.

 

Your thoughts/experiences are greatly appreciated.

We are using it for the first time in a few months but how my TA explained it: the price is based on how far away from the embarkation port you live. In our case, 3 of us are coming for NWA and it is costing us $99 each: compared to almost $600 each if we paid our own. the 4th in our group is will be flying from Orlando to Miami: cost for her nada. The airline can be any one of the major ones. There is no guarantee who it will be. You may not know what airline or the schedule until a few weeks prior to sailing. Normally it is about 45 to 60 days. That is all I know, based on my very well informed travel agent. 

[PTC DAWG]

Living in ATL....flying Delta is a part of life.  

 

Sorry you had a bad experience...no one is perfect. 

[tomk3212]

@PTC DAWGAgree! That's like us folks in MD with Southwest Airlines (BWI ) or folks in NJ (EWR ) with United/Continental.