More NCL air questions

[masspector]

My understanding is that you can do a travel deviation up to two days.  My questions are:

 

Can you do a two day deviation before the cruise AND a two day deviation after the cruise?

 

Since ground transportation is included how does that work with a travel deviation since you will be at a hotel and not at the airport?

 

Does NCL work with you on your hotel or are you on your own for that?

 

TIA

[hallux]

10 minutes ago, masspector said:

Can you do a two day deviation before the cruise AND a two day deviation after the cruise?

The wording in the T&Cs for the promo are that you get a $25 credit per deviation.  Yes, you can do a deviation on both ends.

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

 

11 minutes ago, masspector said:

Since ground transportation is included how does that work with a travel deviation since you will be at a hotel and not at the airport?

I stayed near the airport and used the hotel's free shuttle to go back for the cruise line transfer.  You can also ask to have it removed and arrange your own transportation to the terminal.  I only flew in one day before the cruise and had no sightseeing plans for that day since it was a cross-country flight and I had to be up VERY early on the East coast to catch it.

 

13 minutes ago, masspector said:

Does NCL work with you on your hotel or are you on your own for that?

I booked my own but you might be able to work with NCL to have them book something.

[masspector]

1 hour ago, hallux said:

The wording in the T&Cs for the promo are that you get a $25 credit per deviation. 

What does that mean?  They credit you $25 per person for requesting a deviation?  I understand that the $25 for the Travel With Guarantee is a fee, but I do not understand why NCL would give you a credit.

Thanks for the reply

[hallux]

1 minute ago, masspector said:

What does that mean?  They credit you $25 per person for requesting a deviation?  I understand that the $25 for the Travel With Guarantee is a fee, but I do not understand why NCL would give you a credit.

Thanks for the reply

NCL actually REWARDS you now for planning ahead and flying to the embarkation city a day or two in advance.  I don't know why they chose to do this, but it's a nice gesture for sure.

[Globaliser]

46 minutes ago, hallux said:

I don't know why they chose to do this ...

 

Supply and demand having an effect on pricing, I suspect.

[darius427]

When you fly in early, the transfers are removed from your reservation and you have to figure out a way to the port on your own.  This is the same if you have a deviation after the cruise.  NCL will no longer be providing you with a transfer.  The transfers cost $50 each and NCL only credits you $25 back for not using their transfer.  So no, they are not rewarding you.  It is still nice that they allow the deviation with the air dates though.  I have used it many times.

[jemz1949]

I always assumed that the reason for the "credit" was that they were refunding you the transfer fee from the airport to the port.  By you coming in with a deviation no such transfer would be offered or included.  But what do I know?  Not much....

[VineaMea]

The credit, to my understanding is a 'waived' fee. Previously, NCL charged $25 to deviate from day of embarkation/disembarkation. So they basically have waived the fee should you wish to fly in the day before or out after. The transfer fee is completely separate but if you do not need it, you can have it removed.

 

NCL does have hotels in most port cities (not all) that you can call to book through NCL, if you do, they will transfer you to/from the hotel/to/from the port. I have yet to do this because I have found a less expensive hotel and transferred on my own. BUT I am looking at a cruise from Civitivecchia and the hotel that they have listed in Rome is very pretty so I am considering.

 

You will have to click through the website to find it and call. That part is not as user friendly, IMO. That is ok. I enjoy figuring it out. It's VACATION!

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by VineaMea
more information

[hallux]

16 minutes ago, darius427 said:

The transfers cost $50 each and NCL only credits you $25 back for not using their transfer.  So no, they are not rewarding you.

The transfer cost seems to be dependent on the port city, and it was an additional line-item on my cruise fare when I used the air perk in 2019.  I could have declined the transfer and booked my own transportation but I asked too late.  The transfer cost in LA was $40 per person each way, if I recall correctly.

[NightOne]

3 hours ago, masspector said:

What does that mean?  They credit you $25 per person for requesting a deviation?  I understand that the $25 for the Travel With Guarantee is a fee, but I do not understand why NCL would give you a credit.

Thanks for the reply

 

I didn't either when they gave it to me but they did. They gave me a $25 CREDIT for moving my flight one day earlier. They also allowed me drop both the inbound/outbound ground transportation so I could use my own.

 

In the past I was really terrified about NCL Air but with the reliability and issues the airlines are having lately my thought is that it cannot be worse then booking on your own.

 

2 of our last 3 returning flights from Florida resulted us in spending the night in another city and getting home 24 hours or more later than scheduled. So if I am going to get wonky unreliable flights I may as well get them dirt cheap through NCL Air. I would still have the options of buying my own flights after I receive the NCL Air flight details.

[ohio beach girl]

I got a $100 credit listed as air deviation and the transfers were removed when I asked for a deviation prior to and after the cruise. I didn’t know why, now I do! 

[NightOne]

Just now, ohio beach girl said:

I got a $100 credit listed as air deviation and the transfers were removed when I asked for a deviation prior to and after the cruise. I didn’t know why, now I do! 

 

If you deviate then you cannot use their ground transportation. In my case I asked to remove it on the return too.

 

I hear you can remove it entirely without a deviation just by calling.

[masspector]

Thanks for all of the informative replies.  So let me get my timeline straight.

 

One cruise is October 2023, might do a one day deviation precruise.  Other cruise is October 2024, will do a 2 day deviation pre and post cruise.

 

I have to tell them I want a deviation 75 days or more before the cruise, correct?  At that time they will drop the transfers and I will get the credit.

 

I will not know my exact flights until about 30 days before the cruise, correct?

 

Final payment is 90 days before the cruise.  How far out is the earliest that i can call and request the deviation?  If I call before final payment they will drop the transfer cost from my reservation and will I see the credit so that my final balance is minus the transfer costs and the credit, correct?

 

Thanks

 

[hallux]

13 minutes ago, masspector said:

I have to tell them I want a deviation 75 days or more before the cruise, correct?  At that time they will drop the transfers and I will get the credit

Correct.  Make sure they drop the transfers as my experience was that the transfers were still on my fare even though I had the deviation.

14 minutes ago, masspector said:

I will not know my exact flights until about 30 days before the cruise, correct?

That seems to be the current timeline, it could be as early as 45 days before the cruise.

 

15 minutes ago, masspector said:

Final payment is 90 days before the cruise.  How far out is the earliest that i can call and request the deviation?  If I call before final payment they will drop the transfer cost from my reservation and will I see the credit so that my final balance is minus the transfer costs and the credit, correct?

You could call them today and make all those changes.  The restriction is the latest you can make those changes.  Just be sure to get a new summary showing the requested changes.

[masspector]

Got it.  Thank all of you so much.

[SunFunRum88]

We are using NCL for our July 10 European Epic cruise and it has been anything but smooth.  Our first time with any cruise ship air so we had a steep learning curve.  We called on the last day for the deviation and were told there was only one day left on the return.  We arrive the day of the cruise.  Not our choice.  30 days out no flight information so we called and they had the wrong email.  Some how they managed to send us upgrade offer and increase booze package offer via email but not our flights. 

Does anyone know if once you do the NCL transfer from the airport to the ship  are you done with your bags or do you have to take off the bus at the port?  Thank you for any  advice or insight.  

 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, SunFunRum88 said:

Does anyone know if once you do the NCL transfer from the airport to the ship  are you done with your bags or do you have to take off the bus at the port?  Thank you for any  advice or insight.  

I've experienced it both ways in LA (San Pedro).  The first time the driver and NCL agent told us to leave the bags up to them and just proceed to the security line.  The second time I had to get my bag from the bus to the porters near the terminal.  Both were in 2019.

[living at the beach]

7 hours ago, VineaMea said:

The credit, to my understanding is a 'waived' fee. Previously, NCL charged $25 to deviate from day of embarkation/disembarkation. So they basically have waived the fee should you wish to fly in the day before or out after. The transfer fee is completely separate but if you do not need it, you can have it removed.

 

NCL does have hotels in most port cities (not all) that you can call to book through NCL, if you do, they will transfer you to/from the hotel/to/from the port. I have yet to do this because I have found a less expensive hotel and transferred on my own. BUT I am looking at a cruise from Civitivecchia and the hotel that they have listed in Rome is very pretty so I am considering.

 

You will have to click through the website to find it and call. That part is not as user friendly, IMO. That is ok. I enjoy figuring it out. It's VACATION!

 

 

[living at the beach]

Just now, living at the beach said:

Vinea, what hotel in Rome is using? I am leaving on the Dawn in October and I want to fly in the day before and then get the NCL transfer to Civitvecchia. Thanks for any information yo have

 

[screenname2004]

7 hours ago, NightOne said:

...

 

2 of our last 3 returning flights from Florida resulted us in spending the night in another city and getting home 24 hours or more later than scheduled. So if I am going to get wonky unreliable flights I may as well get them dirt cheap through NCL Air. I would still have the options of buying my own flights after I receive the NCL Air flight details.

Did you have to pay for the hotel?

[mikehn]

I opted into the deviation program for my upcoming cruise, one day deviation on the front end.  I paid for round trip transfers.  On the bottom of my confirmation receipt the following itinerary is listed:

 

Friday:  Bus from Airport (MCO) to Hotel

Saturday: Bus from Hotel to Port

Last day: Bus from Port to Airport

 

This is what is shown on my receipt.  My understanding is that I'm supposed to get vouchers for the transfers, which I have not received yet.  I will have to call NCL to find out about these transfer vouchers.

[hallux]

@mikehn did you also opt for a hotel through NCL also?  That may just be a general idea of what you'll be doing.

[VineaMea]

On 6/13/2022 at 7:11 PM, living at the beach said:

 

Go to the NCL Website, Click on Explore, selected Land and Sea Packages.There will be locations to select from with pictures, you want to click on Mediterranean. Once it takes you to the page, on the tabs that start with "highlights" about 6 tabs across is HOTELS. Civitavecchia - The Piram Hotel, says that it is in Rome's historic center steps for the Opera House and Santa Maria Basilica. it has a list of information such as distance from Airport and Pier and that it includes the room and tax, bellman gratuities, breakfast and transfers between the hotel and pier. It says that you call the number 1.866.234.7350 to book.

[pghflyer]

We did all of this as a couple for Jewel in March.  We arrived one day early and left one day late. We received a $50 CREDIT ($25 each way) for our deviation.  We also removed all the transfers with a simple phone call at no cost.

 

The air program is generally a good "deal" if you don't mind potentially the worst flight of the day with long connections.

[living at the beach]

On 6/17/2022 at 12:36 PM, VineaMea said:

Go to the NCL Website, Click on Explore, selected Land and Sea Packages.There will be locations to select from with pictures, you want to click on Mediterranean. Once it takes you to the page, on the tabs that start with "highlights" about 6 tabs across is HOTELS. Civitavecchia - The Piram Hotel, says that it is in Rome's historic center steps for the Opera House and Santa Maria Basilica. it has a list of information such as distance from Airport and Pier and that it includes the room and tax, bellman gratuities, breakfast and transfers between the hotel and pier. It says that you call the number 1.866.234.7350 to book.

Thanks so much. Great information