Late flight issue

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

I booked a cruise for my entire family on the Norwegian Breakaway for December 23rd out of New Orleans.  Worked through a NCL agent.  When I was talking to her I am sure I said we wanted to arrive in New Orleans the day before, so we did not risk travel delays out of Chicago or DC (where family was flying from)  Recently got our airline reservations from NCL and they had us flying in the day of the cruise, not arriving in NO until 12:40 for a 4pm departure.  I called our agent and she said nothing she could do and gave me to another department that basically said I was out of luck since I did not have the request in writing to arrive the day before.  (the booking confirmation I received just shows where we were flying from- no dates).  Best I could give them was an email I sent to family that says we are flying in the day before... but nothing to NCL. So they don't believe me when I say I told the agent. Does anyone have any good ideas where I can go from here to try to get this fixed.  So far, it seems that nobody wants to help and just says I am out of luck.   

[PATRLR]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

This scenario has been discussed frequently here on CC.  Everything I've read says you are out of luck.  
 

[Karaboudjan]

Is there anything on your confirmation/invoice about a deviation?  I believe that those have sometimes been either a charge or a credit so if the agent entered it properly (and the air department messed up) it might show up as a line item.

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

Thanks for the response.  I sorta figured that, but thought I would give it a shot on here in case someone had some luck.  Thanks again and have a great day.

 

[SpanishForker]

Look at your confirmation pdf and see if it has the AIRDEV designation next to your names. It would also appear in the itinerary portion as well. If you do have those designations it might give you more of a leg to stand on, but as others have said here and in the past NCL air is practically umoveable once booked.

 

I hope things still turn out well for you!

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

Does not show a deviation on my itinerary.  At this point it is my word v. the agents.  I was hoping that the email to the family might help, but that got me nowhere.  Getting in 3 hours before the cruise leaves, flying out of Chicago during the holidays and winter weather seems pretty likely to leave me at the port waving at the rest of the family as they pull away.

 

[www3traveler]

1 minute ago, ILLINOISGUY1967 said:

Does not show a deviation on my itinerary.  At this point it is my word v. the agents.  I was hoping that the email to the family might help, but that got me nowhere.  Getting in 3 hours before the cruise leaves, flying out of Chicago during the holidays and winter weather seems pretty likely to leave me at the port waving at the rest of the family as they pull away.

 

If I am reading your question correctly, you booked your airfare through Norwegian?

If so, they will make every possible effort to get you to the ship on time.  It is possible the ship may be held in port until your arrival.  

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

Yes, we did book through Norwegian.  So that makes me feel a little better.  I may still bite the bullet and just book an earlier flight on my own to make sure we get there and enjoy one night in New Orleans.  We will see though.  

[The Traveling Man]

5 minutes ago, ILLINOISGUY1967 said:

Yes, we did book through Norwegian.  So that makes me feel a little better.  I may still bite the bullet and just book an earlier flight on my own to make sure we get there and enjoy one night in New Orleans.  We will see though.  

Did you also arrange for NCL to provide shuttle service from the airport to the cruise port?  If so, you should be OK so long as the flight arrives by 2:00 PM or so.  As noted by others, the ship can be held for departure if an NCL bus is running late.

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

yes, I didn't know it until the issue came up, but apparently I do have transfers included from the airport.  So if all goes according to plan, we should be fine.  I am probably being overly worried.  It is just because we are meeting our kids for our 30th anniversary cruise, they will all arrive before us so I know it would be devastating for my wife if our flight is delayed 3-4 hours and we don't make it while the kids are already boarded.  Not much I can do at this point other than hope all goes as planned.  

[mjkacmom]

15 minutes ago, ILLINOISGUY1967 said:

Yes, we did book through Norwegian.  So that makes me feel a little better.  I may still bite the bullet and just book an earlier flight on my own to make sure we get there and enjoy one night in New Orleans.  We will see though.  

If you miss your original flight they might cancel your flight back.

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

I was wondering about that.  mjk.   Thanks.  

[GeezerCouple]

5 minutes ago, ILLINOISGUY1967 said:

Thanks for the response.  I sorta figured that, but thought I would give it a shot on here in case someone had some luck.  Thanks again and have a great day.

 

 

Welcome to CruiseCritic!

Hopefully in the future we'll be able to help you with more positive answers/news.

 

Are you new to cruising in general?

If so, there is a huge amount of information here on CC, so keep reading! 😉

 

Look also at the "Roll Call" for your cruise for discussions with others on your particular cruise.  There may be some activities you'd enjoy, or at least some information.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/626-norwegian-breakaway-roll-calls/

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

GC

[PATRLR]

42 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

If you miss your original flight they might cancel your flight back.

This is an excellent point.  You can count on being cancelled if it's the same PNR (record locator) for both outbound and return flights.  Check before you book alternative outbound flights.

[psmoove]

I’m on the same exact boat as you (no pun intended).  I posted about this on this forum last week and received encouraging replies.  What we will be doing is not checking in luggage to try to get out of the airport faster.  We’re arriving the same time at MSY as you but from LAX.  Crossing fingers that Delta is on time.  Like you I tried calling NCL and Delta with no luck.   Let’s hope that we both make it to the ship and if we do, maybe we can meet up and grab a celebratory drink👍🏽

 

link to my post: 

 

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

We may be ok as we were on American going out and United coming back.

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

Thanks for the input PSMoove. Sounds like we may meet up at the airport or port probably running with our bags to make it in time!.  If all goes according to plan for both of us I definitely think a celebratory drink is called for.  And if we don't make it, well we may as well get drunk together in New Orleans that night!!!

[CILCIANRQTS]

2 hours ago, www3traveler said:

If I am reading your question correctly, you booked your airfare through Norwegian?

If so, they will make every possible effort to get you to the ship on time.  It is possible the ship may be held in port until your arrival.  

There is, of course, a practical limit to this depending upon number of pax delayed and by how long.

The Captain just may consider the other 4.000 people already on board in deciding whether to hold up departure.

Remember when the airlines used to hold planes?? That’s gone the way of the dodo bird.

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

5 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

There is, of course, a practical limit to this depending upon number of pax delayed and by how long.

The Captain just may consider the other 4.000 people already on board in deciding whether to hold up departure.

Remember when the airlines used to hold planes?? That’s gone the way of the dodo bird.

I understand that.  Would be great if they would hold the boat, but I don't expect it.  On the other hand, if their agent would have done as I asked and actually booked the flight the day ahead of time, I would not be in this predicament.  

[SunshineGal2022]

There is the option to send your checked bags ahead and pick them up at the port of NO.  There are several companies that do this, and it may be worth the $100 to not stress about baggage claim with such a short time frame.

Edited November 30, 2022 by SunshineGal2022

[destar]

I just recently booked a cruise for 2023, I refused the NCL air offer for the reason that they select the cheapest and most inconvenient flights. I might end up paying a little more but at least that is an insurance that I'll get the most direct and convenient flights.

 

[ILLINOISGUY1967]

So to add insult to injury.  I checked with Norwegian about booking my own flight down, since they messed up (the agent admitted it was her mistake), I just wanted to make sure that booking a new flight down does not cancel my return flight.  Apparently, if I book my own flight, they are going to charge me a $300 penalty, AND I have to pay for my own flights.  This is unbelievable and has absolutely made me think I have made the wrong choice with Norwegian.  I am taking 5 people on a 7 day cruise and this is how they treat me.  HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!

[weltek]

If the agent truly admitted it was her mistake, I'd elevate this to a supervisor for sure.

[odie1024]

That is why it always pays to check your paperwork immediately once you get it from NCL or your travel agent and confirm everything is correct. I personally have not and will not allow any cruiseline to book my airfare as I want to select when I fly. I have seen too many horror stories told on here and social media.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, odie1024 said:

That is why it always pays to check your paperwork immediately once you get it from NCL or your travel agent and confirm everything is correct. I personally have not and will not allow any cruiseline to book my airfare as I want to select when I fly. I have seen too many horror stories told on here and social media.

When I told a Norwegian agent "I'm picky about my flights" the agent responded "You'd better book your own then."

Edited December 5, 2022 by RocketMan275