Tell me about your experience with free/reduced airfare please

[crazyboutdisney]

We are currently booked on the Epic in March but due to port changes and the high cost of flights we are considering changing to the Escape out of Miami. We have never done the airfare offer and I am nervous about it. The cruise itself is a bit more but when airfare is included its not a bad deal. We would pay the $25 fee and fly earlier. 

So please tell me your experience with it:)  We would be flying out of Ohare. What airline do they use? I am guessing we pay baggage fees? Are the seats assigned? If not can you pay extra for that? 

Thank you so much for any info you can pass on. Need to make a decision by friday evening

[sabrefan15]

8 hours ago, crazyboutdisney said:

We are currently booked on the Epic in March but due to port changes and the high cost of flights we are considering changing to the Escape out of Miami. We have never done the airfare offer and I am nervous about it. The cruise itself is a bit more but when airfare is included its not a bad deal. We would pay the $25 fee and fly earlier. 

So please tell me your experience with it:)  We would be flying out of Ohare. What airline do they use? I am guessing we pay baggage fees? Are the seats assigned? If not can you pay extra for that? 

Thank you so much for any info you can pass on. Need to make a decision by friday evening

I was told they use United, American, Jetblue and Delta Airlines. I am using the air offer for my cruise in Sept and they booked me on a flight with Delta Airlines. I will have to pay baggage fees but didn't have to pay extra to choose our seats.

[crazyboutdisney]

1 minute ago, sabrefan15 said:

I was told they use United, American, Jetblue and Delta Airlines. I am using the air offer for my cruise in Sept and they booked me on a flight with Delta Airlines. I will have to pay baggage fees but didn't have to pay extra to choose our seats.

 

Are you happy w your flight times? 

[fsa1155]

1 hour ago, sabrefan15 said:

I was told they use United, American, Jetblue and Delta Airlines. I am using the air offer for my cruise in Sept and they booked me on a flight with Delta Airlines. I will have to pay baggage fees but didn't have to pay extra to choose our seats.

 

So, you did not have to pay extra to choose your own seats.  How do you choose the seats?  Do you just pull up your confirmation number and then there is a place to pick your seats?  Sorry for the stupid question but I've never gone in and chosen seats after a flight was booked. 

[Jasonmom]

 

Got our air information at about 55 days out.  Flying from Charlotte to Miami.  On American Airlines (non-stop)  on way down and Delta (1 1/2 hour layover in Atlanta) on way back.  Was assigned poor seating on AA, but able to change without charge.  Was not assigned seats on Delta, but was able to go in and pick them ourselves.  Will have to pay luggage feas which we think will be $30 for checked bag each way. 

[ckornuta]

We have always had good flights and major airlines and good times. But beware if you are going with another party you might be on different flights. In November we are flying with my in laws to New Orleans and we are on different flights. We change planes in Chicago and them in Atlanta. They are in thier 80s so i hope they can change it

[crazyboutdisney]

8 minutes ago, ckornuta said:

We have always had good flights and major airlines and good times. But beware if you are going with another party you might be on different flights. In November we are flying with my in laws to New Orleans and we are on different flights. We change planes in Chicago and them in Atlanta. They are in thier 80s so i hope they can change it

Thanks for that info. I never thought about that. 

[sabrefan15]

6 hours ago, crazyboutdisney said:

 

Are you happy w your flight times? 

Before we were ticketed we called the NCL flight number and requested an early flight home. They booked us leaving Miami at noon so we are happy with that but we should have flown in a day before cruise. A little nervous that our flight gets in around 11:30 the morning we start cruise.

[sabrefan15]

5 hours ago, fsa1155 said:

 

So, you did not have to pay extra to choose your own seats.  How do you choose the seats?  Do you just pull up your confirmation number and then there is a place to pick your seats?  Sorry for the stupid question but I've never gone in and chosen seats after a flight was booked. 

After we received our air confirmation number, we went to Deltas website and selected seats through that. 

[samzing]

We used it in May and July and will be using it again tomorrow.  We flew in the day before for the $25 deviation fee.  All three trips were on AA (PHL to MIA and PHL to SEA).  All three left from home in the morning around 8:00 a.m. and were direct flights.  We do have to fly home from FLL for our upcoming cruise (an 11:40 a.m. flight.  They assured us we would be fine.  Still not confident about that!).  I have AA's credit card, so we did not have to pay baggage fees, but you will have to pay $30 if you do not have their credit card.  I was able to change our seats free of charge through their website.  You will need the Record Locator number.  Hope this helps!

[snow1]

Has anyone been booked on United with the FREE airfare?  Were you able to upgrade to Economy Plus, or did NCL book you in Basic Economy ??  

[crazyboutdisney]

44 minutes ago, sabrefan15 said:

Before we were ticketed we called the NCL flight number and requested an early flight home. They booked us leaving Miami at noon so we are happy with that but we should have flown in a day before cruise. A little nervous that our flight gets in around 11:30 the morning we start cruise.

If we do it we plan on paying the $25 deviation fee to fly the day before. We are traveling from the Midwest in February so we always fly early due to the lovely weather we have here. 

[Nola26]

3 hours ago, snow1 said:

Has anyone been booked on United with the FREE airfare?  Were you able to upgrade to Economy Plus, or did NCL book you in Basic Economy ??  

NCL books Economy, not Basic Economy. Pay fee to United when selecting seats to upgrade. 

 

My frequent flyer status provides an automatic and complimentary Economy Plus seat, but our friends paid for their upgrade.

 

We are flying Newark to Barcelona nonstop with a one day deviation. 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Nola26

[snow1]

25 minutes ago, Nola26 said:

NCL books Economy, not Basic Economy. Pay fee to United when selecting seats to upgrade. 

 

My frequent flyer status provides an automatic and complimentary Economy Plus seat, but our friends paid for their upgrade.

 

We are flying Newark to Barcelona nonstop with a one day deviation. 

Thanks Nola26.  That's good to know.  I have all the plane info....just waiting for NCL to pay for the tickets  so we can pay United to upgrade to Economy Plus.  We are flying SFO to HNL with a 2 day deviation.  We are at 92 days out, so we are just waiting......probabaly at least another 30-35 days !!

Edited August 16, 2019 by snow1

[Sailing12Away]

We've done it twice and are planning on doing it on our next 2 upcoming cruises as well. If the price is right and better than what you can do on your own, go for it.

 

Our first time we had flight delays and almost missed the ship, but that would have been on them to find a way to get us caught up. Next trip was much better with no issues.

 

First time we were put on American Airlines, second time was with Alaskan Airlines. Once you get your flight assignments in your edocs you can find your record locator number. Use that on the airline's website to manage your trip and pick your seats. I didn't have to pay extra, but my sister did because she waited too long and had to pay for extra leg room seats in order to sit next to her husband. 

 

Checked baggage costs extra (on average ~$30/bag depending on the airline). NCL also includes an extra fee for transfers to/from the airport to the ship. You can request these to be cancelled if you would rather take a taxi. Depending on the airport/port, the peace of mind is helpful.

The biggest downside is you have no say in which flights they put you on (early morning vs later afternoon), which airline (they tend to go with AA and their subsidiaries most often), and how many layovers you get stuck with (although they do try to limit them as each leg adds a step for things to go wrong).

[newmexicoNita]

We are booked on a flght out of NWA in Oct. At first the assigned times were awful and they had separated us from our travel partners, but after a phone call NCL adjusted everything. We are now on a flight with the third person and the timing is fine. We leave here at 6am and will arrive in Miami shortly after 11am Coming home we will leave MIA about noon, a little before and end up back in NWA about 5pm For what we saved we are thrilled 

[Nola26]

18 hours ago, snow1 said:

Thanks Nola26.  That's good to know.  I have all the plane info....just waiting for NCL to pay for the tickets  so we can pay United to upgrade to Economy Plus.  We are flying SFO to HNL with a 2 day deviation.  We are at 92 days out, so we are just waiting......probabaly at least another 30-35 days !!

NCL may or may not book the flights you see. For us they booked the third set. Also you are probably 40 to 50 days away from having tickets. 

[snow1]

1 hour ago, Nola26 said:

NCL may or may not book the flights you see. For us they booked the third set. Also you are probably 40 to 50 days away from having tickets. 

Thanks again Nola26

We are hoping that they don't change our flights. The times are good.    But let us upgrade for more legroom.   I'm sure you are right about 40-50 days away from finding out. Hey, a girl can wish, right ?!?!

[imacruiser99]

My one and only experience is for an upcoming cruise out of NYC.

1) I am located near an AA hub, so I got what I consider very reasonable flights

2) I did not request any deviations, so flying out day of cruise on first available flight to LGA.  This does leave a little wiggle room in the event there is an issue since AA has other flights which will still allow us to make the trip.

3) Purchased NCL's essential travel protection for a very reasonable rate to help alleviate any fears of same day travel

4) Purchased NCL transfers to pier speed up baggage handling once at pier (NCL supposedly handles that one their transfers)

5) Return flight was a little later than I would like, but expect to be able to go standby on earlier flights if available.\

 

Seat assignments where in the back of the aircraft, but was able to freely upgrade to more forward, or pay for main cabin extra for both flights.  

 

All in all, I am pleased with same date travel arrangements, but it really does make a difference if flying out of a hub airport on what you actually get.

 

 

[msdurk]

On 8/16/2019 at 5:04 PM, snow1 said:

Thanks Nola26.  That's good to know.  I have all the plane info....just waiting for NCL to pay for the tickets  so we can pay United to upgrade to Economy Plus.  We are flying SFO to HNL with a 2 day deviation.  We are at 92 days out, so we are just waiting......probabaly at least another 30-35 days !!

How did you get a two day deviation?   We would really like that because it will probably be a day and a half to get from Chicago to Dubai.  Any advice would be appreciated.

[Nola26]

57 minutes ago, msdurk said:

How did you get a two day deviation?   We would really like that because it will probably be a day and a half to get from Chicago to Dubai.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Just call NCL and them that that's what you want. For a $25 fee you can depart 1 or 2 days earlier and the same option exists on the back end.

 

Keep in mind cruises to that part of the world are being changed. You may want to verify what's happening and make a choice or plans that work for you.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Nola26

[TYTY]

On 8/16/2019 at 10:35 AM, ckornuta said:

We have always had good flights and major airlines and good times. But beware if you are going with another party you might be on different flights. In November we are flying with my in laws to New Orleans and we are on different flights. We change planes in Chicago and them in Atlanta. They are in thier 80s so i hope they can change it

 

[TYTY]

Was your reservations linked together?

[hallux]

1 hour ago, TYTY said:

Was your reservations linked together?

I was told (both here and by a TA) that they don't "link" bookings for the purposes of matching the flights for people in separate cabins.  That said - the preliminary flight info you see in your summary CAN change - mine has.  I was originally flying to LA with a connection through DTW while a couple on a separate reservation but booked from the same home airport with one person having the same last name as me and booked at the same time had preliminary flights through ATL.  Mine has now changed to reflect ATL, though the flights aren't actually booked so they may be different times still...

[17cruisesnsl]

I have AA's credit card, so we did not have to pay baggage fees, but you will have to pay $30 if you do not have their credit card. 

 

i also have the AA platinum card but have been told the airline reservation has to be booked with that card to waive the baggage fee.  I've had AA in Newark and Philadelphia deny the free bags when FF miles were used. 

 I booked the cruise with that card but I don't know how they book the flights.   I'm assuming we're on AA since the placeholder is showing Newark to Charlotte to Miami and a direct flight back.    Calls to NCL pre and post booking with questions, such as making sure they have wheelchair escort for DM noted for the plane (sure that it is for the ship) have been useless.   I'll just call the airline once ticketed

 How did AA accommodate the free baggage on the card?