Anyone book with the BOGO air fare?

[dvdewalt]

We decided to book on the new Prima for a trip starting in Reykjavik and ending in Southhampton. We are deviating on the front end so that we can spend more time in Iceland.  Airfare was only $999 so about $500 per person. I thought that was worth it, especially since we also got 30% off, 5 free, and triple points. I'm excited to try the new ship. 

[LADinCT]

I booked a Greek Isles trip with BOGO air - so basically, one ticket free. Are we sure they just don't price it into the cruise fare? It's very hard to compare. I used a random NCL agent. I usually book on my own but I couldn't find all the info I needed easily so I figured it didn't cost any more.  I can't get a price without going  through all the booking info & they won't email me any pricing, they had to call me to give me a quote. Plus my cruise on 9/26 isn't even listed as available to compare.

NY to Athens, hoping for direct but a EU transfer would be ok, it would break up the flight. I saw earlier in the thread they had someone connect in Montreal which would def. suck. I know you can choose seats and upgrade but would the airline let you switch flights?

[reeinaz]

14 minutes ago, LADinCT said:

I booked a Greek Isles trip with BOGO air - so basically, one ticket free. Are we sure they just don't price it into the cruise fare? It's very hard to compare. I used a random NCL agent. I usually book on my own but I couldn't find all the info I needed easily so I figured it didn't cost any more.  I can't get a price without going  through all the booking info & they won't email me any pricing, they had to call me to give me a quote. Plus my cruise on 9/26 isn't even listed as available to compare.

NY to Athens, hoping for direct but a EU transfer would be ok, it would break up the flight. I saw earlier in the thread they had someone connect in Montreal which would def. suck. I know you can choose seats and upgrade but would the airline let you switch flights?

I added NCL air to a Mediterranean cruise that I already had booked (not the promo but the "full freight" air through NCL) for $1099. The current BOGO air offer would only be $499 for me as a solo. But the cruise is now $658 more expensive. I'm only (still?) coming out $58 ahead leaving my original booking with the add on.

[jcscv]

For the first time, I booked my airfare with NCL for $99 R/T for an Alaskan cruise.  I'm going from LAX to Seattle, so I'm hoping this should be pretty easy.  Last time I did this cruise, I booked myself and flew up the same morning, and had plenty of time. Everybody, please keep your fingers crossed for me!  

Quick question (sorry if it's already been posted), but how far in advance do you find out your flight plans?

[ruthie0704]

We booked the BOGO airfare with NCL from SDF to London for our transatlantic cruise on the Prima in September, 2022.    We couldn't pass it up for $649 for both of us.   That way I can justify upgrading to first class!  

 

[reeinaz]

20 hours ago, jcscv said:

For the first time, I booked my airfare with NCL for $99 R/T for an Alaskan cruise.  I'm going from LAX to Seattle, so I'm hoping this should be pretty easy.  Last time I did this cruise, I booked myself and flew up the same morning, and had plenty of time. Everybody, please keep your fingers crossed for me!  

Quick question (sorry if it's already been posted), but how far in advance do you find out your flight plans?

When I added air to my booking, the agent said 45 days

 

[PhillyTravelBug]

23 hours ago, dvdewalt said:

We decided to book on the new Prima for a trip starting in Reykjavik and ending in Southhampton. We are deviating on the front end so that we can spend more time in Iceland.  Airfare was only $999 so about $500 per person. I thought that was worth it, especially since we also got 30% off, 5 free, and triple points. I'm excited to try the new ship. 

I am doing that exact sailing in August 2023.

[barbiecruiser27]

Just looked at my vacation summary for Oct 3, 2021. Flights are listed (dates and cities) so I did some digging and found my flight details there, but not home... I have a 57 minute and a 70 minute layover to get there (2 stop flight uh and we're coming from Orlando a big airport)....orlando--charlotte--chicago--athens. Stinks we're going to be further west in Chicago that adds to flight time to Greece...Flight home appears to be Athens to Montreal to Orlando

 

 

[Jamesatgsu]

5 minutes ago, barbiecruiser27 said:

Just looked at my vacation summary for Oct 3, 2021. Flights are listed (dates and cities) so I did some digging and found my flight details there, but not home... I have a 57 minute and a 70 minute layover to get there (2 stop flight uh and we're coming from Orlando a big airport)....orlando--charlotte--chicago--athens. Stinks we're going to be further west in Chicago that adds to flight time to Greece...Flight home appears to be Athens to Montreal to Orlando

 

 

I'm going out of Atlanta (Busiest in the world) and have 2 stops. I'm ATL-ORD-VIE-ATH. Have you looked at Chicago's transit from domestic terminal to international? You have way more time than me, but right now the transit so you don't have to go through security again is closed due to COVID, and the train system is down for repairs (which apparently happens quite frequently) which does require you to go through security, but at least it saves you a walk.

 

When we first booked the cruise, it showed ATL-NYC-ATH, but no flight information. We asked to come in 2 days early, and flights were posted a few days later with the 2 stops.

[barbiecruiser27]

 

2 minutes ago, Jamesatgsu said:

I'm going out of Atlanta (Busiest in the world) and have 2 stops. I'm ATL-ORD-VIE-ATH. Have you looked at Chicago's transit from domestic terminal to international? You have way more time than me, but right now the transit so you don't have to go through security again is closed due to COVID, and the train system is down for repairs (which apparently happens quite frequently) which does require you to go through security, but at least it saves you a walk.

 

When we first booked the cruise, it showed ATL-NYC-ATH, but no flight information. We asked to come in 2 days early, and flights were posted a few days later with the 2 stops.

Oh jeez....Looks like American departs out of a domestic terminal for all flights- fingers crossed this is true

[Jamesatgsu]

Just now, barbiecruiser27 said:

 

Oh jeez....Looks like American departs out of a domestic terminal for all flights- fingers crossed this is true

According to O'Hare's site only United goes out of domestic for international flights (I assume you are there instead of Midway). I'm on Austrian Airlines, so I'm definitely out of the international.

[LADinCT]

1 hour ago, barbiecruiser27 said:

Just looked at my vacation summary for Oct 3, 2021. Flights are listed (dates and cities) so I did some digging and found my flight details there, but not home... I have a 57 minute and a 70 minute layover to get there (2 stop flight uh and we're coming from Orlando a big airport)....orlando--charlotte--chicago--athens. Stinks we're going to be further west in Chicago that adds to flight time to Greece...Flight home appears to be Athens to Montreal to Orlando

 

 

I don’t get how you are seeing that. I see dates & cities but not actual flights?

[lax19]

1 hour ago, LADinCT said:

I don’t get how you are seeing that. I see dates & cities but not actual flights?

If you plug in your dates snd city pairs into Google flights, you’ll get a list of possible flights. Then it’s just guessing which one looks most reasonable. Of course, these would be just the possible flights and the cruise line will determine the actual ones.

[tinkr2]

7 hours ago, barbiecruiser27 said:

Just looked at my vacation summary for Oct 3, 2021. Flights are listed (dates and cities) so I did some digging and found my flight details there, but not home... I have a 57 minute and a 70 minute layover to get there (2 stop flight uh and we're coming from Orlando a big airport)....orlando--charlotte--chicago--athens. Stinks we're going to be further west in Chicago that adds to flight time to Greece...Flight home appears to be Athens to Montreal to Orlando. 

 

 

I am also flying to Athens with 2 stops from Orlando for 499. a stop in Philly which is odd.

[tinkr2]

On 6/29/2021 at 1:27 PM, ruthie0704 said:

We booked the BOGO airfare with NCL from SDF to London for our transatlantic cruise on the Prima in September, 2022.    We couldn't pass it up for $649 for both of us.   That way I can justify upgrading to first class!  

 

Do you upgrade through NCL or through the airline? 

[julig22]

1 hour ago, tinkr2 said:

Do you upgrade through NCL or through the airline? 

Through the airline, unless it's a  NCL charter.

[ruthie0704]

10 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

Do you upgrade through NCL or through the airline? 

through the airlines.  

[LADinCT]

I assume I won’t get any air confirmation until I’ve paid the entire price- 100% is due 60 days out. 

[barbiecruiser27]

22 hours ago, Jamesatgsu said:

According to O'Hare's site only United goes out of domestic for international flights (I assume you are there instead of Midway). I'm on Austrian Airlines, so I'm definitely out of the international.

I'm flying American not United- based on my research 🙂

[sanger727]

On 6/28/2021 at 7:41 PM, LADinCT said:

I booked a Greek Isles trip with BOGO air - so basically, one ticket free. Are we sure they just don't price it into the cruise fare? It's very hard to compare. I used a random NCL agent. I usually book on my own but I couldn't find all the info I needed easily so I figured it didn't cost any more.  I can't get a price without going  through all the booking info & they won't email me any pricing, they had to call me to give me a quote. Plus my cruise on 9/26 isn't even listed as available to compare.

NY to Athens, hoping for direct but a EU transfer would be ok, it would break up the flight. I saw earlier in the thread they had someone connect in Montreal which would def. suck. I know you can choose seats and upgrade but would the airline let you switch flights?

 

I'm looking at a January cruise now. I think it's helpful to price it with perks and then price again without it. That is easy to do on the website, not sure with an agent. I can book a 7 day cruise with a guarantee rooms and no perks for $1400 out the door. I can book the same cruise with bev package, wifi, shore excursion, and flights for $2700 out the door. So no matter how you slice it, it's a $1300 difference. Cheapest I can do the no perk cruise with two flights is $2464. So leaves it with the question of whether getting the beverage package, wifi, shore excursion OBC, and picking your cabin is worth $236. 

[aubreyc1988]

Initially, my cruise airfare was showing up with a connection (can't remember where) I remember thinking awww, but at least a good price. 

 

Today I looked, no connection listed. I am 60 days out, so who knows, may change back again, but would be great if it was direct. I am flying from DFW so there is a fair amount of direct flights to SEA.

[BamaCruiser39]

I'm a little annoyed at the flight home NCL chose for us on our 8/15-8/22 cruise (departing from MIA at 9:30pm when disembarkation starts at 7:00am), but I can't complain when the price was exponentially lower than booking for ourselves.

 

Oh well....I'll probably book flights on my own next time unless the prices are that much lower through NCL again.

Edited July 7, 2021 by BamaCruiser39

[lynelz1]

When I booked my transatlantic cruise leaving 11/20, my package included the BOGO airfare.  I declined it, thinking I would book my flight myself.  A few weeks later, and I have now asked to use the BOGO airfare and my NCL TA was able to get it added with my deviation of 2 days.  Flying from CLE to Rome and then from NYC to CLE was only $350.  As a solo cruiser, the BOGO got me a 50% discount.  I do want to try to upgrade from the expected economy to business class when it is time but at least I may save a few hundred dollars.   

[ebuptegrove]

My first CruiseCritic post!  I am [was] booked on the Encore Alaska cruise on Sep. 4.  I signed up for BOGO flights via NCL, but as of today (58 days out), I still haven't been told what the exact flights are. However, I saw that the trip home (to Newark) involved a stop in San Francisco. Even without having exact flight data, I knew I didn't want to go through SFO.  So I tried to cancel the flight via chat.  After much discussion, here's the information I got:  If I cancel the BOGO plan deal (even though nobody knows yet what flight I'd be on), I pay a 75% penalty.  If I cancel the entire cruise, I get 100% of the cost (including air fare) back in the form of a future cruise credit under their POM (Peace of Mind) plan.  So I cancelled the entire cruise and I plan to sign up again in 7-10 days after the future cruise credit is available.  The cruise fare seems to be cheaper now than when I originally booked, so I think that will make up for the additional money I'm spending on the plane trip.

 

Has anyone else had an experience like this?  Does  this make any sense?  Is it worth taking up with NCL?

[ggTexasGal]

2 hours ago, ebuptegrove said:

(Partial post copied)

If I cancel the entire cruise, I get 100% of the cost (including air fare) back in the form of a future cruise credit under their POM (Peace of Mind) plan.  So I cancelled the entire cruise and I plan to sign up again in 7-10 days after the future cruise credit is available. 

You might have made more of a mess than you bargained for!  See below...

Edited July 8, 2021 by ggTexasGal
typo