NCL Mastercard FAQ

[alwalaska]

On 5/24/2024 at 3:01 AM, wncretired said:

Probably has been answered, but as poster above, I don’t want to read all 246 pages of this thread, although I have probably read at least 1/3 to 1/2 of them. If I have over 60,000 WP’s, and want to upgrade from interior to balcony (2Meta), can I go from an IA to BA on any cruise? I am looking at a 21 day cruise. It just seems to me that it would take more points to upgrade a longer cruise. What am I missing here?

On the Spirit, I was not able to go from an IA to a BA.  I needed an I4 to go to the BA.  I wanted a BB, so it didn't end up a problem for me, but you would want to call and check at least twice with 2 different agents if it is really important to you. I had one agent tell me I couldn't book the BB I wanted, but I said I needed time to look at the options, called back and the next person was able to book it for me.  Unfortunately, it varies from ship to ship and not every agent is willing to check on things that are not right in front of them. 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Welcome to NCL! Where the special of the day is always confusion.

ive cautioned people sailing the smaller ships to callWP and ask what they need to book in order to get to a specified balcony.  Some ships you can bonly get to a BA with the highest level of IN or OV, others it’s the top two tiers.   It really does vary by ship.

 

and as I’ve always said,if an agent tells you ant do something, hang up and callback.  I’ve had agents tell me I could only pick from a certain list of cabins, which I knew wasn’t right, so I called backandgotthecabin I wanted.  
 

The misinformation is rampant so youhave to do your homework before you call.  Should t be that way,didn’t used to be,  it that’s the way it is.

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Welcome to NCL! Where the special of the day is always confusion.

ive cautioned people sailing the smaller ships to callWP and ask what they need to book in order to get to a specified balcony.  Some ships you can bonly get to a BA with the highest level of IN or OV, others it’s the top two tiers.   It really does vary by ship.

 

and as I’ve always said,if an agent tells you ant do something, hang up and callback.  I’ve had agents tell me I could only pick from a certain list of cabins, which I knew wasn’t right, so I called backandgotthecabin I wanted.  
 

The misinformation is rampant so youhave to do your homework before you call.  Should t be that way,didn’t used to be,  it that’s the way it is.

For my last upgrade, I worked in reverse, more or less. The balcony cabin I wanted was one of the solo balconies, but I'd booked a regular OV, based on prior information regarding upgrading solo bookings - assuming that would be OK.  It wasn't, I needed to be booked in a solo OV cabin to upgrade to a solo balcony. The WP agent worked with my PCC to change my original reservation to what it needed to be, booked me in the cabin I wanted. And since the solo cabin was cheaper, saved money as well.

[NoMoreRain]

What is the advantage to booking the cruise on the NCL Mastercard?  We got the card for the promo points on the last cruise but I'm not seeing any particular benefit to using it to pay for this one.  What am I missing here?  Seems like there are other cards with better cash rewards but since there is a whole thread devoted to the card I must be missing something! 😄

[jds2001]

1 minute ago, NoMoreRain said:

What is the advantage to booking the cruise on the NCL Mastercard?  We got the card for the promo points on the last cruise but I'm not seeing any particular benefit to using it to pay for this one.  What am I missing here?  Seems like there are other cards with better cash rewards but since there is a whole thread devoted to the card I must be missing something! 😄

If you have a deep relationship with BofA (Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors or above) this is a 5.25% card on NCL purchases with no limit. Plus, WorldPoints can be much more valuable then 1cpp if you use them for upgrades or a free cruise, making this an INCREDIBLE deal.

[jds2001]

Quick question - if.I book s cruise that has double Latitudes points, and want to do a double meta upgrade, do I lose the extra points if they’re not available at the time that the upgrade is performed? Or does that stay? Trying to figure out if I need to make final payment for my (different) upcoming cruise now or later in order to have enough WorldPoints for a double meta upgrade on one that I want to book.

[julig22]

17 minutes ago, jds2001 said:

Quick question - if.I book s cruise that has double Latitudes points, and want to do a double meta upgrade, do I lose the extra points if they’re not available at the time that the upgrade is performed? Or does that stay? Trying to figure out if I need to make final payment for my (different) upcoming cruise now or later in order to have enough WorldPoints for a double meta upgrade on one that I want to book.

I can't say for certain but since it is a change to your reservation, I suspect you might lose the double points.

[Beaumont Barbie]

20 minutes ago, jds2001 said:

Quick question - if.I book s cruise that has double Latitudes points, and want to do a double meta upgrade, do I lose the extra points if they’re not available at the time that the upgrade is performed? Or does that stay? Trying to figure out if I need to make final payment for my (different) upcoming cruise now or later in order to have enough WorldPoints for a double meta upgrade on one that I want to book.

We did not lose our extra points when we double meta upgraded our 20-day Panama Canal cruise. We received two extra points. It’s not a cancel and rebook. You keep original FAS offers including the number of Specialty Dining meals. 

[julig22]

24 minutes ago, Beaumont Barbie said:

We did not lose our extra points when we double meta upgraded our 20-day Panama Canal cruise. We received two extra points. It’s not a cancel and rebook. You keep original FAS offers including the number of Specialty Dining meals. 

 

Just for clarification - was the double-points offer still in effect when you upgraded? They've been adding/deleting/adding double points cruises each month. I lost my double points - thanks to my PCC who didn't return my phone call - because the double points offer fell off at the end of the month. But mine was a price change, so obviously a different situation.

 

[Beaumont Barbie]

11 minutes ago, julig22 said:

 

Just for clarification - was the double-points offer still in effect when you upgraded? They've been adding/deleting/adding double points cruises each month. I lost my double points - thanks to my PCC who didn't return my phone call - because the double points offer fell off at the end of the month. But mine was a price change, so obviously a different situation.

 

Double points were no longer offered when we upgraded. 

[jds2001]

And yet another question since searching this thread led to zero instances of "shareholder" - is shareholder OBC still applicable if I double meta upgrade?

[julig22]

1 hour ago, jds2001 said:

And yet another question since searching this thread led to zero instances of "shareholder" - is shareholder OBC still applicable if I double meta upgrade?

2 completely different things. So yes, SH OBC is still applicable.

[jds2001]

3 hours ago, julig22 said:

2 completely different things. So yes, SH OBC is still applicable.

Figured so, but there's language on the shareholder page about "reduced rate programs" not qualifying. Thanks for confirming!

[MagnoliaBlossom]

12 hours ago, jds2001 said:

And yet another question since searching this thread led to zero instances of "shareholder" - is shareholder OBC still applicable if I double meta upgrade?

Yes it is.  SH OBC is not effected by upgrades.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

7 hours ago, jds2001 said:

qualifying

7 hours ago, jds2001 said:

Figured so, but there's language on the shareholder page about "reduced rate programs" not qualifying. Thanks for confirming!

the reduced rate cruises they’re referencing is something’s nt like a casino comp or a complimentary cruise as compensation for something’s no that may have gone off the rails on a prior cruise.

[The Traveling Man]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:14 AM, FFTB said:

 

I've been curious what other's thoughts on this was as well.  At what point do all y'all draw the line on doing a double meta vs pay the extra up front for OV and doing a single meta to BA, saving an upgrade for the next cruise?

 

i.e.- I'm looking at a future cruise where the difference between Inside and OV is $590, and difference from OV to BA is $1417.

 

Simplifying Math: $10,000 in purchases direct with NCL = 30,000 points

= $300 OBC (or 3% Cash Back)

= $590 Inside to OV meta upgrade savings (or 5.9% Credit Back)

= $1417 OV to BA Meta Upgrade savings (or 14.17% Credit Back)

 

So at what percentage/savings do y'all draw the line?

Sorry this reply is a bit late in coming, but here goes.  I have used WPs to upgrade 11 times, usually OV to Balcony, but once a double meta of Inside to Balcony.  I've always tried to get at least 25% return, find it acceptable to use points for 20%, and once reluctantly accepted 15% when the DW insisted.  My overall average is about 25% and my maximum was over 50% on a three week repositioning cruise when the Balcony was going for more than $2500 pp above the cost of an OV.

[wncretired]

10 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

Sorry this reply is a bit late in coming, but here goes.  I have used WPs to upgrade 11 times, usually OV to Balcony, but once a double meta of Inside to Balcony.  I've always tried to get at least 25% return, find it acceptable to use points for 20%, and once reluctantly accepted 15% when the DW insisted.  My overall average is about 25% and my maximum was over 50% on a three week repositioning cruise when the Balcony was going for more than $2500 pp above the cost of an OV.

Do you have to book a certain level OV to get a certain Balcony level? I like to stay in the BA  or BB balconies. Could I upgrade from “any” OV to one of these balconies? 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

6 hours ago, wncretired said:

Do you have to book a certain level OV to get a certain Balcony level? I like to stay in the BA  or BB balconies. Could I upgrade from “any” OV to one of these balconies? 

Yes,it is the same as stated above for IN to Balcony.   It varies by ship.  Sometimes to get to a BA you need one of the top 2 levels, other it needs to be the highest.  Call WP to find out what you have to book in order to get to BA or BB.

[The Traveling Man]

10 hours ago, wncretired said:

Do you have to book a certain level OV to get a certain Balcony level? I like to stay in the BA  or BB balconies. Could I upgrade from “any” OV to one of these balconies? 

Yes, a certain subcategory of OV is required to be able to use the points to upgrade to a particular subcategory of Balcony.  We usually try to upgrade at the same time we make our initial reservation for a cruise.  We do our research into the type of cabin we want and which ones appear to be available, then we call our PCC.  We explain that we want to book an OV and use World Points to immediately upgrade to a Balcony, so she calls someone at the World Points desk and we have a three-way conference call.  That way we get the correct OV for the type of Balcony we want.  It also means that we have the opportunity to ask for a specific Balcony stateroom in a location that we prefer.  We sometimes have received a little push back from the WP agent, but with a little cajoling we always have been able to get a Balcony stateroom that we like.

[ronheg]

If i book a cruise thru a major internet travel website and i use my ncl mastercard for the final payment, will i get the triple points or will the card see the internet travel agency name and only give me one point per dollar?  In my past cruises i’ve always used Ncl directly.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I rarely use a TA but when I do my card always shows VTG, the TA, not the cruise line.  But as I have a wonderful PCC with NCL I never book NCL cruises with a TA.  I think if you want the triple points, you’ll have to book directly with NCL.

[peg013]

2 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I rarely use a TA but when I do my card always shows VTG, the TA, not the cruise line.  But as I have a wonderful PCC with NCL I never book NCL cruises with a TA.  I think if you want the triple points, you’ll have to book directly with NCL.

Not true in all cases. I always book thru a TA (2 different agencies) and the charge shows as NCL not the TA's agency so I always get the triple points. I would be cautious of any TA that makes the charge to their agency rather than NCL. We know VTG is legit, but many have been ripped off by TA's that make the charge to themselves and then pay NCL thru their account. If they don't pay it, you are screwed.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Good to know in case I decide to give up control issues for lent and book more often with a TA

[roddy good boy]

8 hours ago, peg013 said:

Not true in all cases. I always book thru a TA (2 different agencies) and the charge shows as NCL not the TA's agency so I always get the triple points. I would be cautious of any TA that makes the charge to their agency rather than NCL. We know VTG is legit, but many have been ripped off by TA's that make the charge to themselves and then pay NCL thru their account. If they don't pay it, you are screwed.

Same here. I just booked through a TA and earned the triple points. The charge showed up on my credit card as NCL.

 

I had heard that NCL would not discuss your booking if you had a TA, but that wasn’t the case. I just called NCL to confirm that my TA was paying our gratuities. I’m assuming that you could call NCL to confirm that final payment was made if the charges show as VTG. 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Question regarding the points. both DH and I have the NCL Card, it appears I can transfer his points to my card. That would make things easier but my question is Do they charge a fee for this? Or do they take away points in doing this, or is it even World Points from one card to another?   Thanks