NCL Airfare program thoughts

[AnitaVacation]

Hello, I am looking for information regarding NCL's airfare program.  I could not find this information on their website and I also searched threads here and did not find any current information.

 

I'm looking for thoughts from people that have used it.  The price they gave me, even including all their fees (travel insurance, transfer fee) was less than me trying to book it myself....I also like having the assurance of the travel insurance!  

I'm guessing that luggage fees are on us?? We are only planning on a carry-on and personal item each.

Any good stories (good or bad) are appreciated.

[DCGuy64]

7 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

Hello, I am looking for information regarding NCL's airfare program.  I could not find this information on their website and I also searched threads here and did not find any current information.

 

I'm looking for thoughts from people that have used it.  The price they gave me, even including all their fees (travel insurance, transfer fee) was less than me trying to book it myself....I also like having the assurance of the travel insurance!  

I'm guessing that luggage fees are on us?? We are only planning on a carry-on and personal item each.

Any good stories (good or bad) are appreciated.

We are using NCL’s airfare for our upcoming cruise in September. Once we got our confirmation from NCL, we were able to go to the airline’s website and choose our seats for free. We have status with the airline such that we get free checked bags, but if not, we would’ve had to pay for them. I do know that on the NCL website in the UK, participants are entitled to a free checked bag. It may differ for you depending where you’re from and where the cruise is. Hope that helps!

[AnitaVacation]

30 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

We are using NCL’s airfare for our upcoming cruise in September. Once we got our confirmation from NCL, we were able to go to the airline’s website and choose our seats for free. We have status with the airline such that we get free checked bags, but if not, we would’ve had to pay for them. I do know that on the NCL website in the UK, participants are entitled to a free checked bag. It may differ for you depending where you’re from and where the cruise is. Hope that helps!

thanks!!  we're domestic.... Syracuse, NY to Orlando....fingers crossed for (atleast) free carry-on

[saltsandknit]

It’s a great program as long as you know the details here is a link https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards

[AnitaVacation]

11 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

It’s a great program as long as you know the details here is a link https://www.ncl.com/air-service-standards

Thank you!!!  I could not find that on their website!!

 

However, that page does not address the luggage question.  I'm going to guess that ncl will book you on the lowest class airfare with whatever carrier fits the bill and we will have to go by their standard guidelines....or I think someone said they paid for an upgrade once they were booked??

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by AnitaVacation

[saltsandknit]

1 minute ago, AnitaVacation said:

Thank you!!!  I could not find that on their website!!

They make the important stuff hard to find. 

[SomewhereGirl]

1 hour ago, AnitaVacation said:

I also like having the assurance of the travel insurance!  

 

I'm not 100% positive what you mean by this but am guessing it may be about delays in getting to the ship and what happens if you miss departure.  Perhaps you did mean actual travel insurance, or maybe flight changes.  I thought I'd have some protection using NCL air for my Alaska cruise next month, and then I read this in the Sail Safe FAQs:

 

I'm not crazy about my departure flight time so I ended up booking an earlier, inexpensive SW flight (and will eat the cost of the NCL flight).  I also booked a refundable SW return flight in case my return NCL flight gets cancelled if I don't take the outbound (different airlines and ticket numbers, but both flights appear on both airline websites).  DIY travel insurance for a worrier.  Of course, that only works if the route is inexpensive and is a SW route (free baggage).  Who knows if this Sail Safe will be extended.

Edited August 14, 2021 by SomewhereGirl

[Sailing12Away]

Lowest class air is booked, so unless you're lucky and get randomly put onto an airline you have status with or a credit card (Delta Amex), you have to pay extra for checked bags. I think it's within 30 days that you get the flight info and record locator number. You can then take that to the airline's website directly to pick seats (sometimes at an extra cost) and enter frequent flyer numbers or TSA pre check numbers.

 

We've done it 3x. First time was a little nerve wracking as our flight was delayed. When we got to baggage claim there was an NCL agent there to greet all of us (mix of Jade and Breakaway passengers) and they said as long as they're still there, we're getting to our ships on time and the boats are waiting. We were supposed to sail away at 5pm, we didn't get checked in and physically onto the ship until after 4pm, but we made it.

 

Next 2 times were fine with no issues. If you price check it and find that the NCL rate is significantly lower than what you can do on your own, it's worth it. If the price is similar, it may be better to have the control over carrier and flight times. Completely personal decision, but for all our upcoming trips when flights are offered I have never found better rates (or even close) on my own. NCL is always about half the price, which makes it a no brainer for us to use them.

[julig22]

51 minutes ago, SomewhereGirl said:

 

I'm not 100% positive what you mean by this but am guessing it may be about delays in getting to the ship and what happens if you miss departure.  Perhaps you did mean actual travel insurance, or maybe flight changes.  I thought I'd have some protection using NCL air for my Alaska cruise next month, and then I read this in the Sail Safe FAQs:

 

There is a difference between the Sail Safe program and the NCL air program.  If NCL books your air then they will do whatever they can to get you to the ship - including delaying the ship departure for as long as possible.  If you book your own flights then you are on your own to deal with delays and cancellations.  I believe that in the past they would also fly you to the next port but it doesn't look like that's possible under current conditions.  Since they booked the flights, I would hold them responsible for a refund if you are unable to join the cruise.

As to luggage, it all depends on the airline and the destination.  Most overseas flights will include 1 or more checked bags.  Domestic flights (other than SW) will have a charge for checked bags.

So by using NCL you do get a form of insurance - if there are issues with flights, they deal with the changes.  The cost is loss of control of your flight schedule.

[dpepper64]

You can get with NCL and tell them you want to go up to 2 days before and 2 days after.  We always go a day in advance to give us a little less stress.  You get the credit for tranfer to ship but hotel and getting to ship is on you

 

[julig22]

1 hour ago, SomewhereGirl said:

I'm not crazy about my departure flight time so I ended up booking an earlier, inexpensive SW flight (and will eat the cost of the NCL flight).  I also booked a refundable SW return flight in case my return NCL flight gets cancelled if I don't take the outbound (different airlines and ticket numbers, but both flights appear on both airline websites).  DIY travel insurance for a worrier.  Of course, that only works if the route is inexpensive and is a SW route (free baggage).  Who knows if this Sail Safe will be extended.

Not 100% sure but I think I've read that if you miss the outbound flight, the return is also cancelled.  It's the booking ID number that ties everything together, not the ticket.  Also note that when you booked a NCL flight, the airport transfer was automatically added to your booking, so there could be an issue if you arrive earlier than expected.

[SomewhereGirl]

9 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Not 100% sure but I think I've read that if you miss the outbound flight, the return is also cancelled.  It's the booking ID number that ties everything together, not the ticket.  Also note that when you booked a NCL flight, the airport transfer was automatically added to your booking, so there could be an issue if you arrive earlier than expected.

I'm hoping that being to separate ticket numbers and therefore these tickets not being round trip tickets but rather two one-ways that they can stand independently but I'd be asking at the ticket counter for the outbound flight.  I'd also be prepared to wait in SEATAC for my transfer. I would just prefer to actually be in Seattle earlier.

[DCGuy64]

28 minutes ago, dpepper64 said:

 

You can get with NCL and tell them you want to go up to 2 days before and 2 days after.  We always go a day in advance to give us a little less stress.  You get the credit for tranfer to ship but hotel and getting to ship is on you

 

Isn’t the deviation only possible up to 75 days before sail date? At least I thought it was. Our cruise is next month so it’s too late for us to fly a day early. OTOH we are hopeful we will get to Miami on time, we have an early flight. I do wonder what NCL would do in the event the flight they booked was delayed and we missed embarkation. Is it just “tough luck?” 

[AnitaVacation]

22 minutes ago, dpepper64 said:

You can get with NCL and tell them you want to go up to 2 days before and 2 days after.  We always go a day in advance to give us a little less stress.  You get the credit for tranfer to ship but hotel and getting to ship is on you

 

So, if we defer to 1 day before, we get a $25 (each) credit, but we lose our transfer to the port??  I'm thinking of deferring to the day before and staying at the hotel right at the airport....

 

This is what we are being charged for: airfare, transfer fee (to the port) and insurance.  with the BOGO promotion, it is less than booking direct (airfare right now is super crazy!!)...but I'm more interested in the assurance that if something happens and the flight arrives late, that the ship either waits for us or we get our cruise fee refunded or whatever...I was super nervous about booking our flights because if they were canceled, we would be screwed....

 

This cruise is a b2b...a 5 day, then a 7 day....so if something happens and we don't make the ship, we will find a hotel until the 2nd leg....

[SomewhereGirl]

46 minutes ago, julig22 said:

There is a difference between the Sail Safe program and the NCL air program.  If NCL books your air then they will do whatever they can to get you to the ship - including delaying the ship departure for as long as possible.  If you book your own flights then you are on your own to deal with delays and cancellations.  I believe that in the past they would also fly you to the next port but it doesn't look like that's possible under current conditions.  Since they booked the flights, I would hold them responsible for a refund if you are unable to join the cruise.

 

It's the current conditions like to you said throws a wrench into the situation.

 

I just don't think anyone should rely on NCL too much.  NCL is not responsible for any flight interruptions outside of our control, such as airline flight cancellations, schedule change or weather interruptions, as stated at www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea.  

Norwegian Cruise Line Flight Assistance Hotline - While Traveling En-Route

Important: The above numbers are for emergency use only for unforeseen delays. If you have any other questions, please contact your travel professional. NCL is not responsible for any airline delays.

 

That's not say there aren't benefits to NCL air, like if the ship is delayed getting back to port, or re-routes to a different port, or NCL cancelling cruises.

 

I'm surprised we don't hear more about this stuff happening here on CC.  Those overseas same day arrivals would scare me.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by SomewhereGirl

[AnitaVacation]

So, if out flight to Orlando gets canceled, and there is no way we can make it to port on time, what happens??  

[Krazy Kat]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Isn’t the deviation only possible up to 75 days before sail date? At least I thought it was. Our cruise is next month so it’s too late for us to fly a day early. 

 

If you have a cruise departing by October 31, 2021 the deviation deadline is 60 days.  You may change your deviations any number of times during that period (first had experience) with no fee.  I received a $25 credit for both my outbound and return deviations.

 

1 hour ago, AnitaVacation said:

So, if we defer to 1 day before, we get a $25 (each) credit, but we lose our transfer to the port??  I'm thinking of deferring to the day before and staying at the hotel right at the airport....

 

You can request that your transfers (either way) be cancelled and the air department will credit your account.

 

I'd recommend that you call the NCL air department at 866.635.1163 if you have any questions.  I have found them most helpful.

[DCGuy64]

Our cruise is only 35 or so days away, too late to deviate. I just used the online chat function with an NCL agent and was told that if our flight is delayed and we miss the ship, there’s nothing they can do. She recommended I speak with our travel agent to see what refund possibilities we could have in that situation. While I would be upset about missing the cruise, I would be even more upset if we lost all the money we paid for it. We might consider getting additional insurance just to cover ourselves. There’s a bit of a catch-22 in this situation anyway, you can’t make deviations 59 days before sailing, but we didn’t get our final flight arrangements until 45 days before sailing, so by the time we knew our definite air itinerary, it was too late to do anything about it. 🤷‍♂️ 

Edited August 14, 2021 by DCGuy64

[hallux]

@AnitaVacationJust to clarify - are you just booking your air through NCL (basically using NCL as a travel agent) or are you utilizing the BOGO airfare Free At Sea perk?  There are suggestions based on both options so there may be some confusion.

 

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

There’s a bit of a catch-22 in this situation anyway, you can’t make deviations 59 days before sailing, but we didn’t get our final flight arrangements until 45 days before sailing, so by the time we knew our definite air itinerary, it was too late to do anything about it.

This is where doing some research comes into play.  I had read threads on here before I accepted the FAS airfare perk on my October 2019 cruise.  I also knew that I wouldn't want to fly from New York to LA on the morning of the cruise.  Not to mention that I had done that exact same trip 6 months prior and ended up landing in LA after the cruise would have been due to shove off if I had flown in the day of the cruise (I flew in the day before) even though I was supposed to land by noon (4 hour delay in MDW).

[DCGuy64]

7 minutes ago, hallux said:

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

 

This is where doing some research comes into play.  I had read threads on here before I accepted the FAS airfare perk on my October 2019 cruise

I did a lot of research, but since NCL has the right to change the flight arrangements anytime before ticketing, which they did three times, there’s no way I could have known our final itinerary and thus whether or not to request a deviation on time. This is not my fault for not researching enough. In any event, I’m not worried that we won’t make our sailing on time. NCL recommends letting the airline know we need to make a cruise so if it appears there’s a delay, we may try to take a different flight. Only 1 time have we been delayed for a cruise, and even then we made it with time to spare. 

[Named-Tawny]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Our cruise is only 35 or so days away, too late to deviate. I just used the online chat function with an NCL agent and was told that if our flight is delayed and we miss the ship, there’s nothing they can do. She recommended I speak with our travel agent to see what refund possibilities we could have in that situation. While I would be upset about missing the cruise, I would be even more upset if we lost all the money we paid for it. We might consider getting additional insurance just to cover ourselves. There’s a bit of a catch-22 in this situation anyway, you can’t make deviations 59 days before sailing, but we didn’t get our final flight arrangements until 45 days before sailing, so by the time we knew our definite air itinerary, it was too late to do anything about it. 🤷‍♂️ 

That's exactly WHY you can't make the deviations within 60 days of sailing.  60 Days is roughly when they start actually buying the tickets.

Before they buy the tickets, deviations are easy - they just set a note to buy tickets for a different day.  Once the ticket has been purchased though, then NCL is subject to the airline's change and cancellation rules, so a deviation will cost them money.

[DCGuy64]

3 minutes ago, Named-Tawny said:

That's exactly WHY you can't make the deviations within 60 days of sailing.  60 Days is roughly when they start actually buying the tickets.

Before they buy the tickets, deviations are easy - they just set a note to buy tickets for a different day.  Once the ticket has been purchased though, then NCL is subject to the airline's change and cancellation rules, so a deviation will cost them money.

Right, I do understand that, what I’m saying is that we didn’t know we’d be flying to the cruise port (Miami) on the day of embarkation until 2 weeks ago. I gather that’s the norm for them but without knowing the exact details, how could we be sure? What if they’d planned to have us arrive the day before, after all? This is our first experience with this so we are new to the process. In any case, it’s all water under the bridge at this point. We’ll know for next time. Incidentally, this cruise was cancelled by Norwegian twice during all of this, so even the airports changed. Not sure how we could be expected to have foreseen all the changes and stayed within the allotted times. 

[AnitaVacation]

this cruise isn't until January, so we have plenty of time.  Right now, there are 3 flights that arrive before noon...

I think I will defer to one day before and pay for the hotel...we live in snow country and if we got delayed or canceled due to weather, we'd be out of luck...going the day before will give us a little bit of a bumper...also...I hate being stressed out on sailing day!!  Getting up at 4am and traveling all day really ruins that first day/evening on the ship.

 

[jtdlmc]

23 hours ago, AnitaVacation said:

So, if we defer to 1 day before, we get a $25 (each) credit, but we lose our transfer to the port??  I'm thinking of deferring to the day before and staying at the hotel right at the airport....

You can request to keep NCL ground transfers.  We are deviating (got a total of $25 credit for both not $50) and requested to keep ground transportation which was no problem.  

[victory2020]

On 8/14/2021 at 2:16 PM, AnitaVacation said:

So, if out flight to Orlando gets canceled, and there is no way we can make it to port on time, what happens??  

I always look at flight schedules & have alternative flight numbers with me if you have to call the emergency NCL flight center, that way you have done the work for them & hopefully they can book you easily.