Cruisefirst question

[latebuyer]

Does anyone know if you can apply a cruisefirst certificate after you’ve already booked it ie buy and apply it later to the booking. Basically i’m not sure if i want to pay for something nonrefundable now but i may later when i’m more certain about the cruise.

[dbrown84]

1 hour ago, latebuyer said:

Does anyone know if you can apply a cruisefirst certificate after you’ve already booked it ie buy and apply it later to the booking. Basically i’m not sure if i want to pay for something nonrefundable now but i may later when i’m more certain about the cruise.

Some have reported being able to do this, even though the terms say for new bookings.  To be honest, so does the terms for cruise next and it's well known that you cad add CN up to final payment.  the only thing I will point out is to be sure you buy the cruise first more than four months out from your cruise.  They do enforce that rule

[latebuyer]

Thank you for the response. I don’t know if i want to risk it as this would be my first cruise and not sure if i would want to cruise with ncl again.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I never buy CruiseFirst in advance, just at the time of booking.  I do buy CruiseNext in advance' though.

[JillK]

6 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Thank you for the response. I don’t know if i want to risk it as this would be my first cruise and not sure if i would want to cruise with ncl again.

 

I'm not sure I'm seeing the risk for you here. If I understand this correctly, this would be your first cruise and you're not sure if you would want to cruise again. The nice thing about CruiseFirst is that you can buy it today and apply it to your first cruise unlike a CruiseNext which you buy while on board for your next cruise. So the only risk is if you cancel your first cruise and don't go at all, not whether or not you elect to cruise with NCL a second time in the future.

 

As the other posters have mentioned, as long as the cruise you want to take it more than four months away, once you've decided you can buy the CruiseFirst and immediately use it to hold your reservation. If you decide to cancel before final payment and don't think you will end up being able to use it, you can transfer it/sell it to someone else (just like a CruiseNext).

[Portia!]

I believe 'new booking' means 'not yet passed final payment date'. That is, still within the cancellation window. So you can't get money back on a cruise you've fully paid for by trying to use CF. I have successfully applied CF a month after making initial down payment, but before final payment. 

Current Ts&Cs says: Your CruiseFirst certificate(s) may be redeemed as a deposit or as a payment towards your new reservation’s grand total with a sail date greater than 120 days from purchase date. 

It also says: Not applicable towards canceled/rebooked reservations. If a guest with an existing reservation cancels and rebooks the same ship and sail date with a CruiseFirst certificate, the additional value of the CruiseFirst certificate will be removed.

I believe the cancellation policy is an attempt to discourage people from rebooking the same cruise hoping to apply the CF. Link to full Ts&Cs below:

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

[reeinaz]

I have used my Cruise First certificates on cruises that were already booked.  I've even reused the same certificate due to cancelling bookings. The key is that the sail date must be at least 120 days away. Also cruise first can't be used on sailaway rate cabins and the sailing must be at least 6 days in length. 

[latebuyer]

Thanks for the replies. The issue is the cruise isn’t until march 25 so i’d have less time to use the cruisefirst if change booking. As a solo i have to be agnostic about cruiselines and go for the deals if something comes up better. Still getting the cruisefirst closer to sail date seems worth a try. They did say on the phone i had to do it at time of booking but they may not know what they are talking about. Right now there is a 250 off amex promo in canada so looking at booking now. That would be great to get the additional amount off! 

[reeinaz]

27 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for the replies. The issue is the cruise isn’t until march 25 so i’d have less time to use the cruisefirst if change booking. As a solo i have to be agnostic about cruiselines and go for the deals if something comes up better. Still getting the cruisefirst closer to sail date seems worth a try. They did say on the phone i had to do it at time of booking but they may not know what they are talking about. Right now there is a 250 off amex promo in canada so looking at booking now. That would be great to get the additional amount off! 

You can definitely wait until you're closer to the sail date buy the certificate. Just be sure to get it before that 120 window (or whatever the terms are at the time of purchase). There are also places you can sell certificates if you find yourself stuck with one that you can't use. Google will help you find them.