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Using NCL air Promotion


KC12
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This is how I look at it...

 

What is the average cost per person that I am paying NCL to deal with the headache?

Can I find a better deal on my own? (price, non-stop, route, day, seats...)

 

I know that NCL wont give me flight information until 60-90 days before, and then I can upgrade my seats, etc.  I also know that I can start looking and potentially book a flight myself about 11 months prior to desired flight.  That gives me time to decide.

 

If I book on my own, then I can remove that portion from my booked cruise, and save that amount on the cruise, (even though I am spending that money elsewhere)

 

Example: My now cancelled July 2021 cruise had the flight perk (was actually free for us).  Last August, I started searching for flights, as a I had an airline credit from a cancelled May 2020 trip that I wanted to use. I was able to splurge, and combine with the credit and booked us first class round trip to Miami (from San Diego).  I knew that while, yes, I was spending money as opposed to free flights, but I also knew that NCL wasnt going to fly me first class round trip. so for me to book it on my own, it was worth it for the flights I got, and the first class element (which is truly a splurge). When I called and had that perk removed, my insurance also went down, as the type of coverage and length of coverage changed.

 

For our April 2022 cruise, we have a 1 way flight.  I will look to see if I can get a better deal on my own, but as it stands, it is 225 each.  So still not bad. And that includes a transfer from the ship/pier to the airport.  So I will take a look at how much it will cost if I need to do it on my own.

 

 For our July 2022 cruise, we also have flights. That is from LAX (not my home airport), but round trip to Europe was 400 each (approx)  I gave them my deviations and I am trying not to start researching (this is a thing with me), I think I am going to let them deal with the headache as 400 round trip per person is pretty freaking good.

 

It is all about what you feel comfortable with.  I have heard/read that NCL will get you there, but maybe not the same flight (NCL website and my PCC both say yes the same flight), or row, may not be sitting with your travel party.  That is where the seat upgrade comes in. For anyone that has flown and looked at their seats, you know that the closer you get to flight, the harder it is to get seats together.  But if you select your seats as soon as you get the information, chances should be better.

 

Hope this gives you a different perspective. Also, I have never used NCL booked air.  I have read a lot of posts, here and elsewhere, and this is my summation of what I have read.  We will see what happens with our April 2022 flights (which I cant look at just yet...as the flight we need is the return flight after debarkation.  We embark in our home port)

 

Happy cruising,

 

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We are lucky as we fly out of New York, so we usually don't get a "round the world pitstop of various airports." A major advantage of their air is that if their flights make you late they are on the hook to get you to the next port to meet the ship.

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7 minutes ago, tony s said:

We are lucky as we fly out of New York, so we usually don't get a "round the world pitstop of various airports." A major advantage of their air is that if their flights make you late they are on the hook to get you to the next port to meet the ship.

part of the reason we always go in at least the day before (if on our coast)  we dont need the added stress...

 

our Nov 2021 cruise leaves 2 hour drive from us.   we are going the night before, and that one we are driving...just less stress, and we get to feel like the vacation is starting that much earlier....

 

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I wish they let you remove that benefit and take the "value" as a cruise deduction. Also just FYI, that transfer from the cruise to the airport is an added cost (ex. $90 each in Punta Cana) that is auto added to your fees when you take the promo air. I have heard you can remove it if you will get yourself to the cruise port (I have never seen a case where a taxi is not both cheaper and quicker).

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17 hours ago, MrsTocko said:

part of the reason we always go in at least the day before (if on our coast)  we dont need the added stress...

 

our Nov 2021 cruise leaves 2 hour drive from us.   we are going the night before, and that one we are driving...just less stress, and we get to feel like the vacation is starting that much earlier....

 

We live 2 hours from the airport and always stay in the city the day before we fly.  The weather in the mountains can change in an instant and like you said - we don't need the added stress when going on vacation!  When we cruise we fly in a day (or even 2) before we sail for the same reason.

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I am just wondering if NCL will allow us to fly in two days earlier to the city we will leave from if they pay for the flight.  We are interested in taking a cruise out of London, but thought it would be nice to get there early and explore before we get on the ship.

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55 minutes ago, smtr467 said:

I am just wondering if NCL will allow us to fly in two days earlier to the city we will leave from if they pay for the flight.  We are interested in taking a cruise out of London, but thought it would be nice to get there early and explore before we get on the ship.

Yes, you can do this, no problem.  However, you need to make the arrangement well prior to the booking of your flights.  There may be a fee for doing this, also, make sure they remove charges for transfers since you'll need to make those arrangements yourselves to  the hotel and then from the hotel to the ship. 

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We have never had more than one connection each way.

We do pay the deviation fee and fly into our embarkation port 2 days pre-cruise.

We remove the transfer fee NCL automatically adds to the air as we always arrange our own transportation to and from the airport.

Fly home day cruise disembarks.

Flight times have sometimes not been the best but not undoable.

 

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We are taking advantage of the NCL air promo for our upcoming Gem cruise in September. Does anyone know how to have the transfer fee removed? We have a credit with a Dominican transport company left over from a cancelled DR trip earlier this year, and from what I can tell, the difference is about $70 ($84 roundtrip with the local company vs $150 with NCL). Not a huge amount but worth saving the money, maybe?

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We are booked on a cruise out of London as well and will be arriving 2 days pre-cruise. There is  $25 charge per person for air deviation.  NCL will allow you to fly in no more than 2 days pre cruise if using NCL air.  We opted not to book transfers as not sure where we will stay once we arrive.

 

Also on the link to NCL air on their website , it does state typically if flying from say West Coast to Europe will typically book red-eye or overnight flight.

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We have a cruise booked in the eastern Med in Nov. I just saw a few details of our flights. There are three legs to deal with: CMH to Toronto, Toronto to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Athens.  I suppose the number of legs depends on if you live near a main hub. Columbus is not.

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I see that Royal Caribbean has now cancelled plans to use Bermuda as a home port. One of the advantages I see of using NCL's air promo is that they would rebook you to a new port in case the ship sails from a different one than originally planned.

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We're booked on the 04l22 Epic transatlantic New York to Barcelona. Now cruise incl Air appeared, 800€ more.

 

Will the air offered additional to a booked cruise be the same amount like the difference between this 2 bookings? (Its cheaper to book on expedia than 800€ right now)

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20 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

We are taking advantage of the NCL air promo for our upcoming Gem cruise in September. Does anyone know how to have the transfer fee removed? We have a credit with a Dominican transport company left over from a cancelled DR trip earlier this year, and from what I can tell, the difference is about $70 ($84 roundtrip with the local company vs $150 with NCL). Not a huge amount but worth saving the money, maybe?

If you booked directly with NCL, call them and ask for the transfer fee to be removed, otherwise, contact your TA and they will do it for you.

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Flew out of Wisconsin the day of the cruise to NOLA.  American Airlines.  We sat on the tarmack for 1 1/2 hours before we could get to the gate.  We missed our transfer to NOLA---was able to get on a later one that landed at 4:15pm but there were 8 people in total that were affected and we actually had a NCL rep in baggage claim to meet us.  She paid for the taxi for all of us to get to the port.  I think we boarded close to 6pm but the Captain held the ship for us.  🙂  Too much stress though.  I will always fly in the day before.

 

 

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On 5/20/2021 at 11:10 AM, step78 said:

Will the air offered additional to a booked cruise be the same amount like the difference between this 2 bookings? (Its cheaper to book on expedia than 800€ right now)

 

Based on Personal experience, look at the airlines directly, for fares/flights.   I usually only use Expedia to see which airlines will fly to my destination and approx. fee.  Then I go to the airline that seems to fit my preferred times, price....and look again.  I will get more flight options, and all classes of service.  I do this until I book.  Then I do it to watch the price go up and know that I got a good deal.

 

I had an american airlines credit from an expedia booked, but subsequently cancelled May 2020 trip.  I obsessively looked at expedia, for flights for our July 2021 cruise (cancelled now), and as soon as the itinerary opened - that very day - I called expedia to use my credit.  3 hours later, after they tried to tell me the flight i wanted didnt exist, that i was on the wrong websites (I was on both expedia AND american looking at the "non-existent" flight), I was told that I could book flight choice C, but I would have a credit through expedia to use in future. I told them, no, i do not want another credit with them because I was never booking a flight through Expedia again. Ever. So I booked what they were suggesting,

 

The flights I booked were not my preferred times, but they still worked, just not what I wanted.  I dont even want to look at expedia now, because I dont want to be tempted to book their price...I will just remain determined to not use them I guess.

 

On a side note, we have expedia as a vendor at work for advertising...they are a pain on that side of things too!

Edited by MrsTocko
clarity
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For those who have used NCL air in the past, if you see what they are booking for you at say day 50 and you want to cancel and book on your own, how much of a financial penalty do they hit you with, or is there  an upcharge if you wish to change your flights with the same carrier?

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