Free airfare offer?

[Derbie]

My DH and I are wanting to take our two nieces on a cruise this summer.  We are considering a British Isle tour.  Has anyone used the free airfare offer?  If so, any suggestions and reviews/pointers would be very appreciated.  Wei are trying to save a little money, as this is a huge undertaking for us.  Also, I am assuming that the flights would probably leave out of large hubs like NY or Boston, etc.  Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

[cougrx23]

We just arrived on our NCL booked flight, it worked out fine and saved us some money. Probably not the route we would have chosen but we made it. Came in a day early in case there were delays.

[hallux]

LOTS of people have used the airfare offer, and posted their disappointment in what they got because they didn't read the terms and understand exactly what they were getting.  NCL will book your flights for you, you get no choice regarding flight times or specific routing.  You will be booked to arrive the day of your cruise, unless you request a deviation (HIGHLY suggested that you request this).  You won't get your final flight info until 30-45 days before the cruise.  Once you get your flights you can't make changes to the flights.

 

You get to pick your origination airport, then NCL will book flights to get you to the international 'gateway' airport and ultimately to the destination.

[sarahwalker2007]

2 hours ago, Derbie said:

My DH and I are wanting to take our two nieces on a cruise this summer.  We are considering a British Isle tour.  Has anyone used the free airfare offer?  If so, any suggestions and reviews/pointers would be very appreciated.  Wei are trying to save a little money, as this is a huge undertaking for us.  Also, I am assuming that the flights would probably leave out of large hubs like NY or Boston, etc.  Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

are you all in the same cabin? we have 3 cabins for 7 people at the NCL person I booked with said they do not guarantee that you will all be on the same flight. We opted out of the great BOGO offer simply because we all need to be on the same flight, my father in law and sister in law can't fly alone and I don't want to be on a separate flight from my husband and son (booked in the connected balcony cabin to me and my two daughters) I know it'll cost us more but we decided we needed to travel together from toronto all the way to Rome and then to the ship.

[MeHeartCruising]

The offer is for good pricing, but not much beyond that.  You need to understanding and accepting of all the fine print terms and conditions.  Read thru the many posts on this forum about people's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the flights they were assigned and the occasional issues along the way.  If it all looks acceptable to you, go for it.  Lots of people do.  Lots don't.  I prefer to be in total control of my flights and skip this part of the current promotions.

[jimsig]

4 hours ago, Derbie said:

 Also, I am assuming that the flights would probably leave out of large hubs like NY or Boston, etc.  Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

As a PP said you choose you departing airport.  So depending on where you live in TN it could require a connection (not sure if they limit it to 1 connection or not).  I would think if you can get to a major airport with multiple flights to what ever airport you are using in Europe you limit your chances for a connection.  But nothing is guaranteed.  

 

When I booked a cruise about 10 days ago I was discussing the BOGO airfare with my PCC and even she said there are more cons then pros.  

[twinmommy08]

My TA warned us NCL’s BOGO air is not great and not advisable if your party is split between different cabins. 
 

I did take the BOGO offer for our Europe cruise for just me and my husband. The sailing is one way and the price could not be beat. The TA requested a 2 day deviation for us on the front end. She told us NCL only guarantees they will get us to the embarkation city before midnight if we request a 1 day deviation, so requesting 2 days will allow us at least one full day in Rome before we sail. We certainly do not want to arrive on the same day of the sailing! She told us one of her clients who chose to arrive the same day ended up arriving at 1 pm and then rushed to get on board. They basically lost a full day due to jet lag. Not a fun way to start such an amazing trip.