My flight booking

[gailellen12]

I did my flight booking through NCL due to a tremendous price difference. I am on a tight budget and have been saving up for this cruise for awhile. My question is my return flight has me Stockholm/Paris/Atlanta/Philadelphia arriving in Philly at 12:30 AM 😔 Is it possible not to use the last portion of this ticket Atlanta to Philly and just spend the night in Atlanta at a hotel and then fly to Philly the next day on my own ticket at a more reasonable time. I fly very infrequently so

not sure how this would work.   Thanks in advance for any advice

[terry&mike]

Well, yes and no.....  Technically, you will be collecting your bags when you land in Atlanta, to clear Customs. After clearing Customs, you could decide not to give your bags back to the handlers, and walk out the doors for passengers who are not connecting and go to your hotel and spend the night. Return the next day and take the flight you purchased on your own from Atlanta to Philly home. 

 

Here's where you might have a problem. Your ticket A, bought by the cruise line, is not connected to your ticket B, bought by you. If your flights on ticket A get delayed and you do not make it to ATL as scheduled, and miss your flight on ticket B, that is on you, not on the airline, as they are not connected tickets (although you could still take that final air leg that the cruise line has you booked on ticket A, so you'd be fine). Also, with the many flight time changes and route changes that occur, it's very possible that you could have changes that could effect every thing from flight times to layover cities. 

 

My personal opinion is that it will be a long day of flying, layovers, connections. Best to just put in the time on the route that you have booked on ticket A, and get home when it gets you home, even if it's the middle of the night. You'll be tired, but you'll get there. If you take a pause on your journey to spend 1 night in Atlanta, you'll still be very tired the next day when you fly on to Philly, and probably dreading the thought of it. 

 

If you are worried about getting to your home from Philly airport in the middle of the night, maybe you could spend the night at an airport location hotel in Philly, and head on home when you wake up the next morning. 

[Asawi]

You could  (as described in the post above), but personally I would rather do the full trip and go to an airport hotel in Philly to get some rest if needed.

[DCGuy64]

3 hours ago, terry&mike said:

Well, yes and no.....  Technically, you will be collecting your bags when you land in Atlanta, to clear Customs.

Just a correction/addendum to this. Most people I've seen at the airport don't go through customs at all, they have nothing to declare. What all people must do is go through passport control/immigration. Everyone has to do that. I agree with everything else said by @terry&mike. Also, it can be tricky if you're a no-show on that last leg. If I were the OP, I would worry about not being able to pick up my bags in Atlanta, since they would likely have been checked through to Philadelphia automatically when OP checked in for the Stockholm flight. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

[terry&mike]

33 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Just a correction/addendum to this. Most people I've seen at the airport don't go through customs at all, they have nothing to declare. What all people must do is go through passport control/immigration. Everyone has to do that. I agree with everything else said by @terry&mike. Also, it can be tricky if you're a no-show on that last leg. If I were the OP, I would worry about not being able to pick up my bags in Atlanta, since they would likely have been checked through to Philadelphia automatically when OP checked in for the Stockholm flight. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

Actually, you do pass through Customs, you just may not realize it. When you collect your bags in Atlanta, which every passenger on the Paris to Atlanta flight who checked bags must do, you will walk past a podium with a person standing at it. This person may or may not stop you, but you will walk past them - this is U.S. Customs. You will walk through a set of doorways just past them, and there will be an area to your right of baggage handlers taking your luggage and throwing it on conveyors where it will continue on to your next flight leg. Usually, you return your luggage to them and go up the escalator and on to your next flight. This is where you can choose to bypass the last leg, keep your luggage, and continue straight on through the next set of doorways and out into the general population pre-security area of the Atlanta airport. 

Your bags will not be checked all the way through to Philly, as all checked bags must be claimed at the first point of entry into the United States, which on this flight itinerary is Atlanta. 

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by terry&mike
add

[DCGuy64]

16 minutes ago, terry&mike said:

Actually, you do pass through Customs, you just may not realize it. When you collect your bags in Atlanta, which every passenger on the Paris to Atlanta flight who checked bags must do, you will walk past a podium with a person standing at it. This person may or may not stop you, but you will walk past them - this is U.S. Customs.

Thanks for that. I've flown about 100 times internationally, so I'm quite familiar with that podium. 😉 What I meant was, for most people, 'clearing customs' is a mere formality and many people just cruise by without so much as stopping. Immigration/border control is often MUCH more time-consuming, because you have to wait in line, wait to be called by the immigration officer, present your passport, answer any questions and then proceed to get your luggage. The only time customs took any time was when I absentmindedly left a banana in my backpack and the clever customs dog sniffed it. 🤣🍌🐕 But I still say it's risky to interrupt the return flight....

[terry&mike]

And it should be mentioned that "skip legging", or hidden city ticketing, where you intentionally don't fly all of your booked flight itinerary, is frowned upon by the airlines, and is against their contract of carriage, but it is not illegal. So, if you choose to do this, then be sure to book your independent Atlanta to Philadelphia leg on a different airline/code share partner than your cruise air. 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, terry&mike said:

And it should be mentioned that "skip legging", or hidden city ticketing, where you intentionally don't fly all of your booked flight itinerary, is frowned upon by the airlines, and is against their contract of carriage, but it is not illegal. So, if you choose to do this, then be sure to book your independent Atlanta to Philadelphia leg on a different airline/code share partner than your cruise air. 

 

 

That's what I was referring to. I couldn't remember the term. A few YouTube travel influencers have suggested it as a way to get cheaper flights sometimes but warn travelers that you could get in trouble and possibly banned from airlines for doing it. Just because it's not illegal doesn't mean it couldn't have adverse consequences. I personally have never done that and wouldn't.

[ilovesalchows]

It's skiplagging, not legging.  

 

Since the OP is planning on eventually flying to Philadelphia anyway, there is little risk if the original flight routing gets changed.  Of course, they would lose the cost of the extra flight and possibly the hotel, depending upon timing.

 

Unless you are a chronic abuser of the airline's terms and conditions, they likely won't flag you.

[Sue Do-Over]

Skip-lagging can be dangerous at the beginning of a trip.  The airline assumes that if you 'miss' a flight on your departure leg, you have abandoned the trip and they can/may cancel the return trip entirely.

 

But, since ATL/PHL is your last leg, the potential impact is much less.  Sure, the airline CAN penalize you on future travel, but they probably don't pursue the first-timers.  Habitual skip-laggers would be the focus of penalties.   And, we don't know how long a skip-lag potentially stays on your frequent flyer profile.

Weighing the risks, 'missing' that last leg is the least impactful.

[cruiseny4life]

There's been a lot written about skiplagging over the last few weeks. As @ilovesalchows mentions, you're unlikely to be punished by an airline for their idiotic pricing strategies the first time you participate in the practice. You could probably get away with it a couple of times. But, @DCGuy64 is right to warn you. It is against the terms and conditions of the ticket NCL purchased you, which you are supposed to follow. 

You should, however, educate yourself (if you haven't already). Here's an article from Business Insider discussing the practice. It's fairly timely as it was published a week ago.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-skiplagging-and-why-airlines-hate-the-booking-practice-2023-5

 

Here's my favorite part of the article, an analyst calling out airlines for being stupid. 

 

[Eggs2Go]

I'm just thinking a night in a hotel in Atlanta plus buying a new one-way ticket to Philly would probably eat up the cost savings you got from originally purchasing NCL discounted fare.

[julig22]

Just a thought.  From what I know about the NCL tickets, "ownership" reverts to the airline 72hrs prior to your departure.  Maybe try contacting the airline during that window and simply ask if they would change your flight. Whether that 72hrs applies at the beginning of the trip if the tickets are linked, who knows - so hard to say if it could be done before your trip.  But you could book the Atlanta hotel with a cancellation clause and if the airlines say no, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[DCGuy64]

11 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Just a thought.  From what I know about the NCL tickets, "ownership" reverts to the airline 72hrs prior to your departure.  Maybe try contacting the airline during that window and simply ask if they would change your flight. Whether that 72hrs applies at the beginning of the trip if the tickets are linked, who knows - so hard to say if it could be done before your trip.  But you could book the Atlanta hotel with a cancellation clause and if the airlines say no, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I think this is GREAT advice. As @julig22 points out, once your journey begins, it's the airline who owns it, anyway. I don't see the harm in contacting the airline and asking if you can change the flight. For one thing, the airline could then potentially sell the seat on the ATL-PHI leg you won't be using as opposed to being a no-show.

[chillyw]

On 6/6/2023 at 9:10 AM, terry&mike said:

And it should be mentioned that "skip legging", or hidden city ticketing, where you intentionally don't fly all of your booked flight itinerary, is frowned upon by the airlines, and is against their contract of carriage, but it is not illegal. So, if you choose to do this, then be sure to book your independent Atlanta to Philadelphia leg on a different airline/code share partner than your cruise air. 

 

 

 

Airlines are cracking down on skip lagging, but it's generally not a problem if you actually cancel the last leg with the airline once you've landed, in this case ATL.

 

Because they're picking up luggage in ATL this would be possible, otherwise not.

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

There's about a 75% chance that your flight may be so late in arriving that you miss your connection and have to stay in ATL anyway.

 

Okay, my percentage might be a tad high. 🙂  But there's always that chance. I'd probably just tell the airline I can't travel anymore that day (with my motion sickness there's a good chance I'd be green anyway) and I'll sort it out in the morning. But honestly, if you can push through to Philly, and spend the night there you can sleep in that am, and get home probably a lot earlier. Should be lots of places to stay close to the airport and you won't have to do all the check-in and airport junk in the morning.

 

Hope you have a great trip!

[ontheweb]

On 6/6/2023 at 1:18 PM, julig22 said:

Just a thought.  From what I know about the NCL tickets, "ownership" reverts to the airline 72hrs prior to your departure.  Maybe try contacting the airline during that window and simply ask if they would change your flight. Whether that 72hrs applies at the beginning of the trip if the tickets are linked, who knows - so hard to say if it could be done before your trip.  But you could book the Atlanta hotel with a cancellation clause and if the airlines say no, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

We have BOGO flights. I was speaking with an airline representative (in this particular case Air Canada), and he mentioned that the ticket was marked as "bulk". He did not think the airline could make any change. (Note I was not asking for a change only giving meal requests (vegetarian) and giving our passport numbers and frequent flyers numbers.)

[julig22]

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We have BOGO flights. I was speaking with an airline representative (in this particular case Air Canada), and he mentioned that the ticket was marked as "bulk". He did not think the airline could make any change. (Note I was not asking for a change only giving meal requests (vegetarian) and giving our passport numbers and frequent flyers numbers.)

Note I said 72 hours before the flight.  That's when NCL tells you to deal with the airline directly if there are issues.  Before that, no, the airline probably won't work with you, although that seems to depend on the airline and your status with the airline.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

Note I said 72 hours before the flight.  That's when NCL tells you to deal with the airline directly if there are issues.  Before that, no, the airline probably won't work with you, although that seems to depend on the airline and your status with the airline.

The person I spoke with (Air Canada) dealt with me as far as meal requirements, getting our frequent flyer numbers, getting our passport information, and making seat assignments. Then he mentioned "bulk" and said it would be a problem for them to deal with any change.

[julig22]

34 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

The person I spoke with (Air Canada) dealt with me as far as meal requirements, getting our frequent flyer numbers, getting our passport information, and making seat assignments. Then he mentioned "bulk" and said it would be a problem for them to deal with any change.

Sorry you misunderstood. Yes, you take care of seats and meals, frequent flyer miles, TSA pre check  with the airline, not NCL.  Actual flight reservation is what can't be addressed by the airline as long as NCL still has ownership.

[twinmommy08]

Does everyone who gamble on the BOGO flights call for a deviation or just let it ride? 
 

I called their office this morning to put in deviations for our European cruise on VIVA. I asked a lot of questions because this is our first go with NCL and read horrible reviews with their flights. But, scoring two one way flights to Rome, and then Istanbul to home for $1500 total is a steal, so I’ll gamble. 
 

The agent was so kind to answer all my questions about the bad reviews. She admitted that some clients aren’t very happy because they don’t read fine print. However she assured me they try their best to get decent flights, but they have airlines partnerships and it’s kinda based on if you are flying out of an international airport or how close you are to a main hub. 
 

Then, she mentioned that “smart” clients research their flight options and find out what a likely outcome is based on when NCL can fly you home.
 

For example, NCL won’t book a flight home from Istanbul until 3pm or later. Prior to calling, I searched for one way tickets that left Istanbul late afternoon and when it would arrive in Columbus. The most expensive tickets got us home around midnight. The cheaper tickets required an overnight connection or more than 2 stops with at least one being 8 hour layover. No thanks. Chances are we would get the cheaper tickets and then awful flights. Requesting a deviation and leaving the next morning at the crack of dawn gets us home around dinner time with one or possible two connections. The very early flights are the cheapest. 
 

I booked a two day deviation for Rome. I want at least one full day for sight seeing, and the fun print just says they’ll get us there by midnight, so a one day won’t cut it and I refuse to take an overnight flight, stay up all day, and then boarded the ship exhausted. However, she mentioned that we would fly out a day earlier than our two day deviation to because outbound Europe flights typically leave in the afternoon or evening for an overnight flight. I was expecting that, so if that works out, I’ll have only one day of staying up all day and then a full day somewhat rested! 

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, twinmommy08 said:

Does everyone who gamble on the BOGO flights call for a deviation or just let it ride? 

It all depends on the itinerary, when/where I'm flying.  I'm less apt to get a deviation if my destination is relatively close for example, especially if there are multiple outbound flights.  I'm retired, so getting back late isn't usually an issue.

 

I did a cruise from Capetown last year.  It stayed in port the first night so I knew I had a built-in cushion should there be problems with my flight so opted to fly in the same day.

I'm thinking of a cruise-tour starting in Doha - with a 3-nite pre-cruise hotel stay I probably won't be requesting a deviation then either.  But I've requested deviations for my other more recent overseas trips.  However, I always check to see what my flight options will be should something go wrong.

 

Nothing is guaranteed these days...A year ago I was booked to go to Antarctica, starting from Buenos Aires.  I'd planned to arrive the day of the cruise - the cruise was ultimately cancelled but my flight would have been fine.  However, there were people flying in the day before and their plane had issues - I would have arrived before they did!

 

Just to note, they do have basic standards when booking, so chances are you would NOT get a flight with an 8hr layover or more than 2 stops.  It's not always the cheapest flights, despite comments to the contrary that you may read.  They barter with the airlines, so what you see may not be even close to the prices they get when booking.

[newbe dave]

On 6/10/2023 at 7:38 PM, julig22 said:

Just to note, they do have basic standards when booking, so chances are you would NOT get a flight with an 8hr layover or more than 2 stops.  It's not always the cheapest flights, despite comments to the contrary that you may read.  They barter with the airlines, so what you see may not be even close to the prices they get when booking.

I would love to see the current thoughts/opinions/guesses for the "basic standards" used by NCL to booking airfare. I would expect low price is number one priority but within certain parameters.  If anyone has educated guesses at these, that would be very helpful (julig22 gave a great start - <8 hr. layover, leave after 3PM debarkation day, no more than 2 stops, etc>). 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, newbe dave said:

I would love to see the current thoughts/opinions/guesses for the "basic standards" used by NCL to booking airfare. I would expect low price is number one priority but within certain parameters.  If anyone has educated guesses at these, that would be very helpful (julig22 gave a great start - <8 hr. layover, leave after 3PM debarkation day, no more than 2 stops, etc>). 

Some of what you ask is covered in the T&C's of the promo - https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

• 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 flying from the West Coast to the East Coast of the U.S., we reserve an overnight flight allowing you plenty of time to get to your destination city.
• For cruises concluding on the East Coast of the US, you may be reserved on a flight that departs up to 10:30 p.m. depending on available inventory and to offer the best schedule.
• For cruises concluding on the West Coast of the U.S. with guests returning home to a city located on the East Coast or central U.S., you may be reserved on a flight that departs up to 11:59 p.m. depending on available inventory.
• Guests embarking or disembarking in PortMiami may be reserved on flights arriving or departing at Miami International Airport (MIA) or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
• Ground transportation is available at the same cost for both airports.
• Guests embarking or disembarking in Manhattan Cruise Terminal (New York City) may be reserved on flights arriving or departing at LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) or John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Ground transportation is available at the same cost for the three airports.
• Guests embarking or disembarking in Quebec City may be reserved on flights arriving or departing from Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) to ensure the most convenient schedule.

[newbe dave]

thanks Hallux.  That has some good info too.