Lesson Learned - do NOT buy airfare through NCL!

[BirdTravels]

12 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

you do control the SELECTION of your flights and the connection flights at the time of booking.

 

I would venture that a large portion of the population would have no idea what this means. When they book themselves, they pick the cheapest flight or a flight that arrives "on time" with zero regard to routing or connection times. All of the airlines and travel site user interfaces have been made so "friendly" you have to really dig to make a true "informed" decision. Which is why a lot of people rely on a travel agent to book for them,,, which is just as useless for ensuring that you have "good" flights. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I would venture that a large portion of the population would have no idea what this means.

Let's make a distinction here.  A large portion of the population are very infrequent travelers.  They generally aren't the folks posting on a travel forum.  I believe that a large portion of frequent travelers are very focused on routing and connection times.  I certainly am, and I doubt that I'm alone here.

[Goldconnection]

6 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Let's make a distinction here.  A large portion of the population are very infrequent travelers.  They generally aren't the folks posting on a travel forum.  I believe that a large portion of frequent travelers are very focused on routing and connection times.  I certainly am, and I doubt that I'm alone here.

I totally agree with you and thank you for making that distinction. 

[hallux]

6 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Let's make a distinction here.  A large portion of the population are very infrequent travelers.  They generally aren't the folks posting on a travel forum.  I believe that a large portion of frequent travelers are very focused on routing and connection times.  I certainly am, and I doubt that I'm alone here.

I'll agree with you there.  I most certainly DO look at those things when booking flights.  I've even had to make the case to my employer to allow a slightly more expensive non-stop flight because it meant that I would spend less time traveling and result in less hourly wage paid for that travel time (yup - paid hourly, including for travel).  I consider it for personal travel as well, and I'm absolutely FINE with layovers as long as I'm not scheduling to spend 3+ hours at BWI or MDW (I primarily fly Southwest domestically)

[olemissreb]

7 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Let's make a distinction here.  A large portion of the population are very infrequent travelers.  They generally aren't the folks posting on a travel forum.  I believe that a large portion of frequent travelers are very focused on routing and connection times.  I certainly am, and I doubt that I'm alone here.

Totally agree with you and I'm an infrequent traveler, but because I want to get to my destination and start my vacation as quickly as possible, I do pay attention to flight times and connection times. I don't mind spending a couple hours on a layover on the way home, but I sure try to minimize the layover on the way there. 🤣

 

I also have to take into account my work schedule and especially my BF's work schedule. He works graveyard shift (11:30p-7:30a) so being able to leave after he gets off work on a Friday morning and returning before his shift starts on a Sunday minimizes his actual days off.

[DCGuy64]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

I would venture that a large portion of the population would have no idea what this means. When they book themselves, they pick the cheapest flight or a flight that arrives "on time" with zero regard to routing or connection times. All of the airlines and travel site user interfaces have been made so "friendly" you have to really dig to make a true "informed" decision. Which is why a lot of people rely on a travel agent to book for them,,, which is just as useless for ensuring that you have "good" flights. 

I agree with @BirdTravels. Last year, we flew from DC to Tokyo via Toronto for a cruise. Our connection time in Toronto was less than 2 hours (arrival 11:14, departure 1:05 pm). Well, over on the CC board for Oceania (the cruise line), there was panic that I would (and I'm not making this up) "deliberately" plan such a tight connection. Huh? Air Canada "planned" it, not me. We were flying 2 days before the cruise due to losing one day, since Tokyo is 13 hours ahead, so we arrived one day prior. Someone suggested that we leave THREE days prior, and when I pointed out that it would be much more costly due to the difference in airfares + budgeting for a hotel and meals, the response was the typical "well you shouldn't go if you can't afford it." I agree with what someone else said about Cruise Critic people not being the average travelers. However, some of them seem to live in a bubble where price, flexibility and free time are unlimited. Well, good for them, but that's not me. We had no trouble getting to Tokyo and even had an hour to sip cocktails and eat lunch in the Maple Leaf lounge in Toronto, where the entrance was located directly in front of our gate for the flight to Japan.

[schmoopie17]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:21 PM, JGmf said:

 

I keep my flight arrangement under my control, preferably with one reliable carrier

Reliable carrier? Who would that be??

[JGmf]

Just now, schmoopie17 said:

Reliable carrier? Who would that be??

 

Ha!  You're not wrong on that, but maybe the better phrase is "relatively more reliable", meaning a carrier that not one of those ultra-budget ones (ex: Spirit), one that is handling both legs of a flight should there be a layover, and one that has a decent on-time history (check out FlightAware for that information).

[DCGuy64]

42 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Reliable carrier? Who would that be??

Exactly. Last time I checked, flight delays at DCA near where I live affected all the airlines, large and small.

[Oceansaway17]

14 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Let's make a distinction here.  A large portion of the population are very infrequent travelers.  They generally aren't the folks posting on a travel forum.  I believe that a large portion of frequent travelers are very focused on routing and connection times.  I certainly am, and I doubt that I'm alone here.

yes I agree with you.  Shen selecting those with stops, there are choices and they show you the connection times.  Folks who pay attention to details have less issues INHO

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Reliable carrier? Who would that be??

Southwest?

[RocketMan275]

14 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Let's make a distinction here.  A large portion of the population are very infrequent travelers.  They generally aren't the folks posting on a travel forum.  I believe that a large portion of frequent travelers are very focused on routing and connection times.  I certainly am, and I doubt that I'm alone here.

So true.  For our next cruise, we're driving two hours to Nashville for a flight.  Not to save money, but because we can book non-stop flights.

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

So true.  For our next cruise, we're driving two hours to Nashville for a flight.  Not to save money, but because we can book non-stop flights.

Yup. For me, an additional 4hr drive to/from Seattle actually saved me time (and money) when I took a Seward to Vancouver cruise. When I factor in the flight time to Seattle plus the waiting time between flights, I come out way ahead. Plus the doggie camp where my dog vacations is on the way to Seattle, it's the opposite direction when I fly out of my home airport. So that's a couple hours saved when I can drop off/pick her up on the way.

[RocketMan275]

23 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Yup. For me, an additional 4hr drive to/from Seattle actually saved me time (and money) when I took a Seward to Vancouver cruise. When I factor in the flight time to Seattle plus the waiting time between flights, I come out way ahead. Plus the doggie camp where my dog vacations is on the way to Seattle, it's the opposite direction when I fly out of my home airport. So that's a couple hours saved when I can drop off/pick her up on the way.

I wish we had a four hour drive to a port.  Our best bet is NOLA which is over six.  Two of our last three cruise were from there.  We decided we wanted to sail from Miami which would be a sixteen hour drive.  Getting too old for that.

[ChiefMateJRK]

49 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

So true.  For our next cruise, we're driving two hours to Nashville for a flight.  Not to save money, but because we can book non-stop flights.

Same here. I can fly from our local airport with a layover or nonstop from an airport 2 hrs away.  We always drive the two hours. 

[RocketMan275]

Just now, ChiefMateJRK said:

Same here. I can fly from our local airport with a layover or nonstop from an airport 2 hrs away.  We always drive the two hours. 

This is our first from Nashville.   I was checking prices and found that we could book non-stops from Nashville and only Nashville.  That convinced me to drive the two hours.  Prices were similar but we avoided a layover in Atlanta.  (The joke around here is even if you're going to Hell, you have to change planes in Atlanta.)

[julig22]

13 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I wish we had a four hour drive to a port.  Our best bet is NOLA which is over six.  Two of our last three cruise were from there.  We decided we wanted to sail from Miami which would be a sixteen hour drive.  Getting too old for that.

It's actually 5+ to Seattle, but I subtracted the hour I have to drive anyway to my regional airport. But sometimes it's worth it to drive to Seattle to catch a plane to wherever I'm going. Which happened to be Anchorage, returning to Vancouver.

[PartyPlannerLady]

Sorry you went through all of that.  I am sure it was very frustrating.  However, the flighst being delated multiple tiems woufd have jappemed no matter how the tickets were booked. I do highly agree with others about not letting ANY of your travel plans to be in the hansd of others.  I make all flight, hotel, airport parking, rental car, cruise cabin selection, etc myself.  I never use a TA to do anything,  Wrg a little leg work you can usually do as well on yoru own anyway and you have complete control over yoru entire vacation.

[RocketMan275]

25 minutes ago, PartyPlannerLady said:

Sorry you went through all of that.  I am sure it was very frustrating.  However, the flighst being delated multiple tiems woufd have jappemed no matter how the tickets were booked. I do highly agree with others about not letting ANY of your travel plans to be in the hansd of others.  I make all flight, hotel, airport parking, rental car, cruise cabin selection, etc myself.  I never use a TA to do anything,  Wrg a little leg work you can usually do as well on yoru own anyway and you have complete control over yoru entire vacation.

We use a TA.  Our TA offers an 8% discount on cruise fares.  I book every thing else myself.

I send her my cruise info, cabin class, cabin#, date, cruise line, She does the rest and sends me a check for the discount.

[graphicguy]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

We use a TA.  Our TA offers an 8% discount on cruise fares.  I book every thing else myself.

I send her my cruise info, cabin class, cabin#, date, cruise line, She does the rest and sends me a check for the discount.

Mine does the same.  She'll send a check, or offer OBO for the same amount.  I just prefer she discount my fare, which she does instead.

[graphicguy]

regarding NCL air....

 

They do not have any more pull than you or I or a TA has.

 

Use NCL because they're cheap.  You'll get what you paid for, probably inconvenient flights, at inconvenient times.

 

But, you'll get cheap flights and cheap service.

 

As these things go, you want better flights you can directly interface with to (re)arrange on your own?  It's going to cost more.

[schmoopie17]

10 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Mine does the same.  She'll send a check, or offer OBO for the same amount.  I just prefer she discount my fare, which she does instead.

Ditto here. We used to have a PCC (who was a great guy could give us nothing extra). On our last cruise we befriended a TA who we now use and she is able to get hundreds off the published price and it then gets applied to our fare. Plus $100 OBC.

[RocketMan275]

50 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Mine does the same.  She'll send a check, or offer OBO for the same amount.  I just prefer she discount my fare, which she does instead.

My TA says she can't offer a discount on NCL but she can send a rebate check.  Or OBC.  On Princess, RCCI, Holland she does offer a discount.

[RocketMan275]

59 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

regarding NCL air....

 

They do not have any more pull than you or I or a TA has.

 

Use NCL because they're cheap.  You'll get what you paid for, probably inconvenient flights, at inconvenient times.

 

But, you'll get cheap flights and cheap service.

 

As these things go, you want better flights you can directly interface with to (re)arrange on your own?  It's going to cost more.

You get the flights no one else wanted.

[julig22]

50 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You get the flights no one else wanted.

Not necessarily. I've often gotten the exact same ones that I would have booked. But then again, I'm flying from a regional airport that has limited flights to begin with, so pretty easy to figure out what I'm getting from NCL.