NCL Free/Reduced Air Compilation

[desibee]

I'm hoping that with embarkation being from Yokohama, NCL will decide to fly us into Haneda as opposed to Narita, otherwise I can see some issues with getting to the ship on time.  Does anyone have experience with this?  Do they tend to pick arrival airports that are closer to the cruise port?

[Falckon]

On 1/28/2020 at 7:34 PM, All-ready2cruise said:

I rec'd my flight info this morning and was a bit dismayed by the departure flight time so I gave NCL a call. I had also booked a hotel through NCL as well so they were aware that I was arriving a day early.. No problem at all to get my original flight changed to later in the day instead of the 5:45 am original time.  Very pleased with how it was handled. Time was changed and new flights booked within a couple of hours and I was able to book seats and buy upgrades.  

 

 

What number, or department, did you call?

[JDBRANDT17042]

3 minutes ago, Falckon said:

What number, or department, did you call?

I agree...what number did you call.  I called 1-866-625-11** and my personal cruise consultant, and got stonewalled.

[All-ready2cruise]

9 minutes ago, Falckon said:

What number, or department, did you call?

 

5 minutes ago, JDBRANDT17042 said:

I agree...what number did you call.  I called 1-866-625-11** and my personal cruise consultant, and got stonewalled.

 

Here's the number - premiumair at NCL dot com 1866 625 1163

Be nice, don't shoot the messenger, and you should both do well. 

[JDBRANDT17042]

7 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

 

 

Here's the number - premiumair at NCL dot com 1866 625 1163

Be nice, don't shoot the messenger, and you should both do well. 

OK: That was the original number I called.  So, I called again, and the official response was:

"Due to the restrictions on the air fare, and that promotional Free Air rate, this ticket cannot be changed by NCL.  It says that is the Terms and Conditions"

Which makes me believe that, just perhaps, the OP had arranged air travel with NCL *not* as a Free Air promotion, but as a normal add-on.

There is a possible Happy Ending here, but I'll save that story for later, in case it does work out.

Thanks.

[All-ready2cruise]

1 minute ago, JDBRANDT17042 said:

Which makes me believe that, just perhaps, the OP had arranged air travel with NCL *not* as a Free Air promotion, but as a normal add-on.

Wow, really? 

[Falckon]

20 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

 

 

Here's the number - premiumair at NCL dot com 1866 625 1163

Be nice, don't shoot the messenger, and you should both do well. 

Thank you for the quick response. Actually, I called that number yesterday, and was told that because I have the air promo, they can’t make any changes. I would have to cancel my promo and rebook at the current price. Perhaps they were willing to change yours because you booked your hotel through them.

[JDBRANDT17042]

8 minutes ago, Falckon said:

Thank you for the quick response. Actually, I called that number yesterday, and was told that because I have the air promo, they can’t make any changes. I would have to cancel my promo and rebook at the current price. Perhaps they were willing to change yours because you booked your hotel through them.

Exactly as I was told.  So, at least consistent.

Now, unfortunately, I cannot P.M. you...but I have a backup plan, actually.

🙂

 

[funat55]

On 1/17/2020 at 10:58 AM, Zippeedee said:

I'd rather fly JetBlue than either of the other two. MUCH more comfortable and much better service!  I hope they have added them to the list of possible choices.

I see that you will be on the Sprit in Japan.  So will I leaving July 6.  Do you know what airline they will be using.  I will be coming from Los Angeles.

 

[All-ready2cruise]

1 hour ago, Falckon said:

 

 

1 hour ago, Falckon said:

Thank you for the quick response. Actually, I called that number yesterday, and was told that because I have the air promo, they can’t make any changes. I would have to cancel my promo and rebook at the current price. Perhaps they were willing to change yours because you booked your hotel through them.

May I ask how soon after receiving your info for the flights you called the premium air number? I called within 2 hours of rec'g the email. ,

I wonder if some of the reason could be that I cruise solo, (so just 1 flight) however,

I don't know whether it has any impact

or

if it's b/c I've cruised with NCL enough to be Plat. almost Plat +

or

whether I was just fortunate enough to build good rapport with the rep before asking them to look into a better flight

or

b/c I had booked a flight and hotel with them. 

 

I'd be interested in knowing if any of that had any impact on their decision to accommodate my request. 

[Zippeedee]

2 hours ago, funat55 said:

I see that you will be on the Sprit in Japan.  So will I leaving July 6.  Do you know what airline they will be using.  I will be coming from Los Angeles.

 

My placeholder flights were through Taipei and Beijing. I am too much of a control freak I guess. I cancelled my discounted flights and booked with Delta to Haneda. Sorry I don’t know. I have read it is usually either AA, United or Delta.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Home Departure City -Charlotte 

Arrival/Destination City - Miami (MIA)

Airline(s) used - American Airlines

Number of Connections - None, Direct flight

Outbound Flight departure/arrival time - 9:36am/11:52am

Return Flight departure/arrival time -12:57 pm/3:10pm

Did You Pay for a Deviation (before or after cruise)? No

# of Days Prior to Departure Flights Were Ticketed? 67

[FlashbackAlternatives]

Curious..  still a few months out from final payment but I see two different flight placeholders for our flights to Rome.

 

On the Cruise Summary page has us going from EWR - DUB - FCO, but further down under Air/Hotel/Transfers it shows EWR - FCO only.

 

The return is the same in both locations: FCO - CPH - EWR.

 

I hope the direct to Rome is the correct routing 🙂

 

Ed

[Falckon]

22 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

 

May I ask how soon after receiving your info for the flights you called the premium air number? I called within 2 hours of rec'g the email. ,

I wonder if some of the reason could be that I cruise solo, (so just 1 flight) however,

I don't know whether it has any impact

or

if it's b/c I've cruised with NCL enough to be Plat. almost Plat +

or

whether I was just fortunate enough to build good rapport with the rep before asking them to look into a better flight

or

b/c I had booked a flight and hotel with them. 

 

I'd be interested in knowing if any of that had any impact on their decision to accommodate my request. 

I'm fairly certain that they changed your flights because you booked your flights and hotel through NCL Premium Air. We are also Platinum, so I don't think that had anything to do with it, and I had a very pleasant conversation with the NCL rep. The main difference is that we obtained our flights through the NCL Free/Reduced Air, which is the title of this thread, and you obtained yours through NCL Premium Air. So perhaps we are comparing apples and oranges?

[All-ready2cruise]

5 minutes ago, Falckon said:

I'm fairly certain that they changed your flights because you booked your flights and hotel through NCL Premium Air. We are also Platinum, so I don't think that had anything to do with it, and I had a very pleasant conversation with the NCL rep. The main difference is that we obtained our flights through the NCL Free/Reduced Air, which is the title of this thread, and you obtained yours through NCL Premium Air. So perhaps we are comparing apples and oranges?

BS... I did get my fair using the Free/Reduced Air!! Just because I was able to get my flight changed doesn't mean I did anything out of line with the offer.  I simpley asked, very nicely, if there was anything they could do to change my flight since I was arriving the day prior to the cruise. 

It sucks that you haven't been able to get the same results but it doesn't give you the right to call me a liar or misrepresent the information I shared. 

 

Get a life. 

[kkoenig89]

Home Departure City - Richmond

Arrival/Destination City - Newark/New York

Airline(s) used - United, Delta

Number of Connections - None, Direct flight

Outbound Flight departure/arrival time - 6:00 am/7:24 am (flying into EWR)

Return Flight departure/arrival time - 12:35 pm/2:14 pm (flying from LGA)

*Note, our return flight time was originally 9:59 pm/11:34 pm, but I called the number on the air confirmation and asked if there was any way that could be changed since we have a 3 hour drive from the airport. The representative looked into it, and came back saying he could change the flight for a fee. Since our original airfare was completely free, we jumped on it and still ended up paying less than 1 ticket would have cost us had we booked the airfare ourselves.

Did You Pay for a Deviation (before or after cruise)? No

# of Days Prior to Departure Flights Were Ticketed? 64, updated at 62 days

Edited February 3, 2020 by kkoenig89

[musiccity]

Home Departure City -ATL

Arrival/Destination City - NYC. JFK

Airline(s) used - Delta Airlines

Number of Connections - None, Direct flight

Outbound Flight departure/arrival time - 0710am/0925am

Return Departure City- Rome..FCO

Airline Used- American Airlines

Return Flight departure/arrival time -1115am/7:16pm connection through CLT

Did You Pay for a Deviation (before or after cruise)? Yes. One day prior, two after

# of Days Prior to Departure Flights Were Ticketed? 77

[BULLOCK]

Home Departure City:   YYZ   (Toronto)

Arrival/Destination City:  FCO  (Rome)

Airline(s) used:   Delta - being operated by Air France

Number of Connections:   1   (Paris)

Outbound Flight Departure:  6:20 PM /0755 AM   then 9:15 AM/11:25AM

Return Departure City:  FCO  (Rome)

Destination:  YYZ  (Toronto)

Airline used:  TAP  (both legs)

Number of Connections:  1 (Lisbon)

Inbound Flight Times:  1:50 PM - 4:00 PM, then 6:25 PM / 9:40 PM

Did you pay for a Deviation:   NO,  complimentary from travel agent -arriving 2 days prior.

Number of days Prior to Departure flights were ticketed:  65 days

 

Identical flights that were in place around 120 days out as our place holder.

 

[Samstress]

I am assuming that no flights are assigned until final payment is made.  Having said that we are still trying to decide how many days we want to spend pre & post cruise.  What would everyone recommend for timing to notify our NCL cruise consultant that we want a deviation.  Our trip is not until January, 2021. This is a bucket list trip (Chile to Argentina) and I want to get it right. Cheers, Sandy

[pmatawan]

Did this trip last year and spent 3 days pre and post cruise. I don't think you can ask for more then a 2 day deviation on each end. 

[Samstress]

14 minutes ago, pmatawan said:

Did this trip last year and spent 3 days pre and post cruise. I don't think you can ask for more then a 2 day deviation on each end. 

Thanks for the heads up.  I'll give our NCL rep a call.  I just didn't want to be too early.  

 

[tvlworm]

2 hours ago, BULLOCK said:

Home Departure City:   YYZ   (Toronto)

Arrival/Destination City:  FCO  (Rome)

Airline(s) used:   Delta - being operated by Air France

Number of Connections:   1   (Paris)

Outbound Flight Departure:  6:20 PM /0755 AM   then 9:15 AM/11:25AM

Return Departure City:  FCO  (Rome)

Destination:  YYZ  (Toronto)

Airline used:  TAP  (both legs)

Number of Connections:  1 (Lisbon)

Inbound Flight Times:  1:50 PM - 4:00 PM, then 6:25 PM / 9:40 PM

Did you pay for a Deviation:   NO,  complimentary from travel agent -arriving 2 days prior.

Number of days Prior to Departure flights were ticketed:  65 days

 

Identical flights that were in place around 120 days out as our place holder.

 

This is a great itinerary! We too are using the air promotion for in/out of Rome from MSP and I’m really hoping for flight times like this!  (not until 2021). 

Edited February 6, 2020 by tvlworm

[Nola26]

Just an clarification or reminder:

 

Nonstop means the flight departs and arrives without a stop

 

Direct means the plane stops but continues onto a destination, you don't switch planes. 

 

I haven't had a Direct flight in years, but I often take Nonstops.

[drvmywifecrzy]

Here is my story.  Got my air at 72 days out for my April cruise

 

Home Departure City:   ATL (Atlanta)

Arrival/Destination City:  MCO (Orlando)

Airline(s) used:   Delta

Number of Connections:   0

Outbound Flight Departure:  6:45 AM / 8:11 AM

Return Departure City:  MCO (Orlando)

Destination:  ATL (Atlanta)

Airline used:  Delta

Number of Connections:  0

Inbound Flight Times:  1:22 PM / 2:56 PM

Did you pay for a Deviation:   NO

Number of days Prior to Departure flights were ticketed:  72 days

 

Now here is the kicker.  When I got my email last night my return flight was for 8:59 PM / 10:34 PM.  Well I am travelling with my 3 yr old grandson (4 total of us on 2 ressies).  Delta flies every hour back and forth ATL -MCO.  So I called this morning, they said they can't change it because it is the Free Air Promo.  I said I get that but I get off the ship at 7am, airport by 8am on NCL shuttle, airline wont take my luggage until 4 hours before flight,  so I sit at the airport for 12 hours with a 3 year old???.  She said let me see what I can do.  5 mins later I had a reasonable flight time.  Lucky me 🙂

 

 

[snorklinbarb]

On 1/20/2020 at 11:23 AM, drcarp4 said:

We have a cruise date for Oct 2020 and our place holders showed up over 300 days out.

So did we.  But as time went on they changed.  Originally BCN-MAD-JFK and now BCN-JFK.

Not sure what will be the final version. Some posters making big decisions based on the initial listing but it may be way too early to come to any conclusions.