NCL air to rome

[brer111]

We have used NCL Air in the states but we are doing our first cruise from Rome for 10 days. Has anyone use NCL air to rome and back to usa. And what was your experience. Any issues ? What airlines did they have you on? Could up upgrade after getting the flights from NCL? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

TIA

Edited February 20, 2023 by brer111
typo

[cwtravel]

It depends on the type of NCL air you are using. If you were quoted say $1000 for two round trip US to Rome you are getting the BOGO (buy one get one free) rate and the answer is no. You get no say in the airline/flights, etc. what you get is what you get. 

 

If you are say quoted $1000 per person you are using the regular NCL air, not the BOGO promo and you might have more control over the booking.

I am on the Jade in May from Athens and since I had Delta points and wanted a specific type seat (premium economy as a minimum) I booked my own air. Others that are traveling took the BOGO offer because of the substantial savings. They know they get whatever they get from NCL.

If you are working thru a travel agent ask the what type of NCL air it is and what the terms and conditions are. If you are not working with an agent ask the NCL rep what type of air and the terms and conditions.

Good luck.

[Seminole1975]

What about seat numbers? Do they pick your seats for you?

Edited February 20, 2023 by Seminole1975

[cwtravel]

1 hour ago, Seminole1975 said:

What about seat numbers? Do they pick your seats for you?

No, you would need to call the airline for seats.

[Seminole1975]

Thank you.

[brer111]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:01 PM, cwtravel said:

It depends on the type of NCL air you are using. If you were quoted say $1000 for two round trip US to Rome you are getting the BOGO (buy one get one free) rate and the answer is no. You get no say in the airline/flights, etc. what you get is what you get. 

 

If you are say quoted $1000 per person you are using the regular NCL air, not the BOGO promo and you might have more control over the booking.

I am on the Jade in May from Athens and since I had Delta points and wanted a specific type seat (premium economy as a minimum) I booked my own air. Others that are traveling took the BOGO offer because of the substantial savings. They know they get whatever they get from NCL.

If you are working thru a travel agent ask the what type of NCL air it is and what the terms and conditions are. If you are not working with an agent ask the NCL rep what type of air and the terms and conditions.

Good luck.

I know I am getting BOGO have done it many times but we have never used it to go out of the country. We always come in early too. I hoping to hear what people have experience that have done it. This way I can make an educated decision if I want to pay more and book my own flights. We know to log in and do our seating etc. I have some points on United but they want crazy amounts and not sure if I can pay and upgrade with the points or not. Thanks 

[mstoltz]

I am also interested in this question.  When do they tell us the itinerary?  Is it true with BOGO you will get whatever is cheapest with no ability to upgrade?  This is a deal killer for me.  .  

[julig22]

Program works pretty much the same, domestic or international.  I've done a loop to/from Rome, plus a cruise ending in  Rome.  No real issues, although scheduling was tight coming back to the US, since you have to clear customs.  Most airlines give you 1 checked baggage.

I live on the west coast and all the flights seem to leave midday, so I've never been able to take any of the post cruise excursions.

[sherrihall128]

53 minutes ago, mstoltz said:

I am also interested in this question.  When do they tell us the itinerary?  Is it true with BOGO you will get whatever is cheapest with no ability to upgrade?  This is a deal killer for me.  .  

We got our flights to/from Italy about 60 days out for our cruise in 11/2022. Because the flights were booked through Delta's air partners (Air France & Italian air), we had the option to upgrade most of the seats if we wanted to pay for that. We were also able to choose our seats ahead of time as well.

[Viajera7]

My cousin and I were notified 64 days in advance for our Rome flight this spring.  We got different airlines because we live in different states. My cousin got Alitalia and Air France. She lives in the East Coast. I got United and Swiss Air. I live in the Midwest.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Viajera7
Typo

[OhioTony]

Once I received my flight info and airline confirmation number, I downloaded the Airline APP.

In the APP I could select luggage options, upgrade and seat options.

All at your own additional expense of course.

Every option available on a flight, as if you booked it yourself. 

[melday]

We have 5 cabins booked with the "free at sea" package. Our snafu we all put in for traveling a day early. We got our flight info this week. No-one is on the same flight, 3 out of the 5 were booked 2 days early and one is taking them allover Europe with layovers. The rest of us are flying direct. They've called NCL but are not getting much resolution. Shouldn't NCL fix this since it was their error? Anyone else have this experience or any input welcome. Thank you

[MeHeartCruising]

43 minutes ago, melday said:

We have 5 cabins booked with the "free at sea" package. Our snafu we all put in for traveling a day early. We got our flight info this week. No-one is on the same flight, 3 out of the 5 were booked 2 days early and one is taking them allover Europe with layovers. The rest of us are flying direct. They've called NCL but are not getting much resolution. Shouldn't NCL fix this since it was their error? Anyone else have this experience or any input welcome. Thank you

 

Are all 5 cabins on the exact same reservation number?  That is a requirement for the promotion to ensure they are on the same flight.  NCL previously allowed one to link multiple reservations (for a fee, I believe) to ensure they were all on the same flight, but they removed that option from the terms a few months ago I believe presumably because they ran into capacity issues which made that difficult to do.  

 

In the promo terms they indicate how many stops they will "try" to limit the overall flight too. However, they add "when possible; air schedule permitting" to the terminology, so they possibly ran out of options for their booking process.  The airline might be limiting the quantity they will sell at NCL's reduced rate, for example, or the flight might be full, for example.

 

From NCL's Terms & Conditions webpage:

"For Domestic flights, Norwegian Cruise Line will book guests' airfare with a maximum of one connection when possible; air schedules permitting.

For International flights, Norwegian Cruise Line will book guests' airfare with a maximum of two connections when possible; air schedules permitting."

 

If you requested 1 day deviation and 3 of your bookings are made for 2 day deviation, then that would seem worthy of asking NCL to make changes.  However, I think I have read of others who have had similar bookings.  Again, NCL may be booking 2 days out since that is what is available.  

 

Good luck.  I'm not sure you will get NCL to make any changes.  

Edited March 5, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[julig22]

44 minutes ago, melday said:

We have 5 cabins booked with the "free at sea" package. Our snafu we all put in for traveling a day early. We got our flight info this week. No-one is on the same flight, 3 out of the 5 were booked 2 days early and one is taking them allover Europe with layovers. The rest of us are flying direct. They've called NCL but are not getting much resolution. Shouldn't NCL fix this since it was their error? Anyone else have this experience or any input welcome. Thank you

By 2 days early do you mean leaving or arriving?  The deviation is calculated on the day you arrive, not the day you leave.  The deviation request should be on your confirmation, indicating the # of nights pre and/or post cruise on the first page, and your arrival date on the itinerary.

If there is an actual error, based on your cruise confirmation, contact NCL. Not being on the same flight is not an error.  Leaving early enough to arrive on the specified date because of layovers is not an error.

[brer111]

I have 2 day deviation on my reservation but my paperwork shows arriving on 21st and ship leave on 23rd. So looks like I may only get one day before to explore Rome. Was hoping to get 2 full days. We are not sailing until October/November.  That is why I was looking for info in case I should try and not do NCL Air.

[MeHeartCruising]

Never mind.  I was confusing the posts.

Edited March 6, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[sherrihall128]

58 minutes ago, brer111 said:

I have 2 day deviation on my reservation but my paperwork shows arriving on 21st and ship leave on 23rd. So looks like I may only get one day before to explore Rome. Was hoping to get 2 full days. We are not sailing until October/November.  That is why I was looking for info in case I should try and not do NCL Air.

We did a 2-day deviation from Seattle to Italy. We only had 1.5 days of visiting prior to traveling to the port to embark the ship. You might get a flight that lands earlier if you're flying from East Coast vs West, but I wouldn't bet on that.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, brer111 said:

I have 2 day deviation on my reservation but my paperwork shows arriving on 21st and ship leave on 23rd. So looks like I may only get one day before to explore Rome. Was hoping to get 2 full days. We are not sailing until October/November.  That is why I was looking for info in case I should try and not do NCL Air.

Not sure how you would expect 2 full days without adding an overnight stay. If you want 2 full days, you need to request a 3 day deviation and use the NCL hotel. Otherwise you will arrive sometime during the day, 2 days before your cruise.  When you arrive depends, most of my international flights have arrived early morning - but you can always check to see flight availability.  Lots of tour companies will pick you up at the airport, take you on a tour and drop you at your hotel.

[brer111]

I totally understand that - just first time flying out of us to another country for our cruise. Have never been to Rome so want to see as much as possible before cruise. Ncl hotels usually are quite higher than booking yourself. And I also like to have control over when I get on the ship. Any info regarding everything is appreciated. Best tours, transfers to hotels, etc. I am doing a transfer with NCL on the return.

TIA

[schmoopie17]

We used American credit card miles to book a nonstop flight from ORD to Rome. Got to pick our seats (bulkhead with extra room) and no worries about missed connections. Would not want to book international flights through NCL.

[brer111]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

We used American credit card miles to book a nonstop flight from ORD to Rome. Got to pick our seats (bulkhead with extra room) and no worries about missed connections. Would not want to book international flights through NCL.

Your lucky to be close to ORD to book non stop. No non stops for us and United wants ungodly amounts of miles just for economy. BTW my husband is from Wisconsin

[Kruisn'Kay]

We used NCL Air to book tickets from Phoenix to Barcelona. We had a 45 minute layover in Chicago going there. We had to run to catch that flight because our flight out of PHX was delayed. Flying back, we had to wait 6 hours in the airport because they booked a late afternoon flight which connected through NYC.
 

We took American there and Delta back. I used the flight recorder numbers to pick my seats in advance. I knew that it was a gamble letting NCL book my flights; the deal was just too good to pass up! In the end all was fine, the only concession that I had to make was not checking a bag because I didn’t want it to not make it on the plane to Barcelona during the short layover. 

[chiefy_mom]

On 3/5/2023 at 12:52 PM, melday said:

We have 5 cabins booked with the "free at sea" package. Our snafu we all put in for traveling a day early. We got our flight info this week. No-one is on the same flight, 3 out of the 5 were booked 2 days early and one is taking them allover Europe with layovers. The rest of us are flying direct. They've called NCL but are not getting much resolution. Shouldn't NCL fix this since it was their error? Anyone else have this experience or any input welcome. Thank you

The # days deviation does seem to be a problem, but when I booked my cruise my travel agent asked NCL about keeping multiple cabins on the same flight and they said it’s absolutely not guaranteed.  So we split the guests up in a way that made sense for all the travel.