NCL Arranged Air Travel, How Did It Work Out?

We're booked for a 2013 Epic into Barcelona. We arranged air travel back to Miami with NCL, and although there is no info yet on the flights, I was wondering how NCL provided air travel went?

They put us on a flight that was scheduled to land 5 minutes after the cutoff time for everyone to be aboard the ship. Fortunately, there was a busload of people coming in on that flight though, so everyone got onboard. They were rushing everyone off the bus, including the woman who needed more time to because of her disabled son. And they literally locked the doors to the terminal behind us. We missed the muster drill, and the entire afternoon that we could have been relaxing on board. The treats I arranged to have waiting for us in our stateroom were nasty by then, and all the ice in the ice bucket had already melted. It would have to be a pretty darn awesome deal before I would ever consider it again, even if flying in the day before.

I haven't done it but I have read a few horror stories on the boards here.

Also, when we took our Hawaiian Cruise, the ladies in the room next to us had booked their air travel through NCL. They flew from Shreveport, La to Atlanta to Los Angeles to Hawaii and back the same way. Much shorter flights out there.

We Booked Airfare with NCL

As we Only live in the UK and it should be only a 2 hour flight to Barcelona, we though we would be OK

Suffice to say when air came through, it was from Heathrow to Munich in Germany and then another flight to Barcelona:eek:

Again the flight to Barcelona was going to be tight getting to the ship. But as NCL are arranging the flights im sure they would wait for you if you were a little late!:confused:

Suffice to say we told them to cancel the flights and we arranged our own direct flights.

Good Luck!

All the best

Gary

We're booked for a 2013 Epic into Barcelona. We arranged air travel back to Miami with NCL, and although there is no info yet on the flights, I was wondering how NCL provided air travel went?

Our first NCL cruise was to Barcelona and I didnt know anything back then so I booked the air thru them. I wont do it again.

A. I got the center seat of the center row of an overnight international flight.

B. I found out that NCL books blocks of flights 2 years in advance at a given price. So if the industry price drops (which it did for our flight) you get to pay whatever they paid, which is more than say orbitz. On the other hand, if the price goes up, you make out. (I dont know if theres a price guarantee now. There wasnt then)

Basically I learned that I prefer to be hands on with my travel. If the plane changes and my seat moves, I can move it back.

As another poster noted, the time thing can be sketchy too. Again, I prefer to make my own schedule and relax. My upcoming cruise flight is a little too close for comfort and next time Ill allow more time.

Simply put, by booking it thru NCL, you have little to no control. BUT, they cover any issues with it, like delays or whatever.

Thanks for the replies so far. Sounds a bit touch-and-go.

We initially purchased airfare through NCL from Dallas for a London to Barcelona cruise. We ended up canceling the air portion with NCL, as they were charging us over $2000 each and we had no idea how many legs the flight would have. We found a fare on American for about $1000 each, but it jumped up to $1400 in the 10 minutes we were on the phone with NCL confirming that we could cancel the air portion. We ended up flying British Airways direct to London and connecting through London on the return for about $1100 each.

Unless you're flying from a major airport - i.e. Toronto, NY, Chicago, etc. - with direct flights you have no clue what transfers NCL will book and the worst part is you don't know until just weeks before your cruise. That is what prevents me the most from booking flights with NCL - not knowing what you're flights are. I choose to make my own air reservations.

I have had good luck and some unusual connections. The only times i have used it is when i had to fly in the day of the cruise. Keep in mind NCL does not select seats for you. As soon as you get your flight info call or go online and reserve you seats or as posted above plan on a middle seat when you show up at the airport.

First time I let the cruise line choose the flights was HAL from SLC to YVR for an Alaska cruise. They routed us thru SFO, then SEA, then a puddle jumper to YVR, all the time with Mom in a wheelchair. Not fun. We arrived and discovered my bag was lost.

In the time looking for it we missed the HAL shuttle. It did not turn up.

The pros were that HAL stepped up to the plate, vouchered us for a cab to the pier, we made it onboard with about 20 minutes to spare. And then they gave me an onboard credit of $50 dollars, free overnight cleaning and pressing, free formal wear rental and they located the bag, flew it to one of the ports and delivered it to the stateroom.

On our SLC - Hawaii cruise we used their air and it was uneventful. They booked us on non-stops both ways and got us to the ship on time. I'm sure it was much more expensive than if we had booked it ourselves, but the whole vacation was paid for by work as part of a perk, so we just kept it simple.

I don't think I would ever 1) Fly in the same day of the cruise again and 2) let the cruise line choose the flights.

We are doing a trans-atlantic in October 2013 from Denmark to Miami. We live in the Chicagoland area so we have to fly from Chicago to Denmark. I booked with NCL as the price is $960 with them round trip and on my own is in the $1500 to $2000 range round trip per person (this includes return from Miami back to Chicago). We are flying in the day before..hope this works out for us

Last year we used NCL cruise air option and it worked out OK

We were flying into/sailing out of Miami and our flights were good.ie British airways from Heathrow with connection from our local airport

It included a night at a good airport hotel the night before the cruise and transfers.More to the point the price of the package was reasonable

However this year we are doing a Mediterranean cruise and they were wanting to charge an extra £1000 per person for their flight options which was due to fly in d ay of cruise.

Needless to say we have arranged our own flights with 2 extra nights in Venice and that still works out cheaper than the flycruise option

We'll need to return from Barcelona to Miami on May 5th, 2013.

NCL is offering one-way air for $860 pp which includes pier to airport transfer in Barcelona.

We can't check Expedia etc yet because it is still out of range, but flights from major carriers are well over $2000 pp. unless we want to fly Air Berliner. ;)

Our travel agent said we'd get flight info when final payment is made, which is end of this year for an April 20th, 2013 transatlantic.

We're booked for a 2013 Epic into Barcelona. We arranged air travel back to Miami with NCL, and although there is no info yet on the flights, I was wondering how NCL provided air travel went?

If you use NCL to book air travel, use their Premium Air Service so that you can book the exact flights and seats that you want. Remember, the emphasis is on "Premium", as there is an additional charge to use this service.

I did some research before contacting them to find what flights and seats would work for me. In the end, I ended up having to cancel my reservations through NCL because I wanted to upgrade to 1st Class from Economy and they do not have a contract with United Airlines to provide 1st Class service. :( I could have rebooked with them for 1st Class on Delta, but I wanted non-stop to and from our destination and Delta doesn't offer this.

I'm glad I opened this thread! I'm booked to fly with NCL from Glasgow to barcelona but there's no flights from Glasgow to barcelona on that day which get me in before the ship sails!!!!!

Need to contact them tomorrow to find out what the hell's going on.:confused:

I'm glad I opened this thread! I'm booked to fly with NCL from Glasgow to barcelona but there's no flights from Glasgow to barcelona on that day which get me in before the ship sails!!!!!

Need to contact them tomorrow to find out what the hell's going on.:confused:

We're sailing the Epic on Sunday and booked our flights through NCL (first time cruising, didn't know any better). We're flying Glasgow to Heathrow tomorrow evening, hotel at Heathrow then Heathrow to Barcelona on Sunday morning at 11.15am. Flight arrives in Barcelona at 2.25pm, ship sails at 6pm.

Next time, though, we'll book our own flights and arrive at least a day before the cruise.

I'm glad I opened this thread! I'm booked to fly with NCL from Glasgow to barcelona but there's no flights from Glasgow to barcelona on that day which get me in before the ship sails!!!!!

Need to contact them tomorrow to find out what the hell's going on.:confused:

There is a 6:00 am KLM flight 1 stop that gets into Barcelona at noon on 1 July. NCL has used KLM in the past

I'm glad I opened this thread! I'm booked to fly with NCL from Glasgow to barcelona but there's no flights from Glasgow to barcelona on that day which get me in before the ship sails!!!!!

Need to contact them tomorrow to find out what the hell's going on.:confused:

There is a 6:00 am KLM flight 1 stop that gets into Barcelona at noon on 1 July NCL has used KLM in the past

We're sailing the Epic on Sunday and booked our flights through NCL (first time cruising, didn't know any better). We're flying Glasgow to Heathrow tomorrow evening, hotel at Heathrow then Heathrow to Barcelona on Sunday morning at 11.15am. Flight arrives in Barcelona at 2.25pm, ship sails at 6pm.

 

Next time, though, we'll book our own flights and arrive at least a day before the cruise.

Thanks for that. Think I may ask my TA to get me out the day before.

There is a 6:00 am KLM flight 1 stop that gets into Barcelona at noon on 1 July NCL has used KLM in the past

Thanks. I did notice that one, but as you say, its not non stop. My itinerary says depart Glasgow 05.45 Arrive Barcelona 09.10 which means direct flight. I dont fancy losing my 1st day aboard due to the TA not giving me proper info.

Booking on your own gives one the flexibility to choose which airline and the legs involved. You may want to look at booking each way separately as it may be a lower price than a round trip.

Glad I found this thread. For our 2014 cruise out of Miami, we have thusfar opted to fly through our PCC and the carrier NCL works with from LAX to MIA. I was told that they will fly us out the day before the sailing just to be on the safe side and will put us up at a hotel at their expense. I'm also a lousy flyier, a complete wreck and hate to fly with a burning passion and with that in mind hubby and I have decided that we're going to upgrade our seating to first or business class on whatever airline they choose for us. Of course this will cost an upgrade fee plus the upgrade itself, but we thought this was best for our situation. Now I'm left to wonder... Is it less expensive to do it through our PCC or would we be better served by booking our own travel to port and back and find our own hotel to say in for the night before the sailing? Help please

We're booked for a 2013 Epic into Barcelona. We arranged air travel back to Miami with NCL, and although there is no info yet on the flights, I was wondering how NCL provided air travel went?

We'll need to return from Barcelona to Miami on May 5th, 2013.

 

NCL is offering one-way air for $860 pp which includes pier to airport transfer in Barcelona.

 

We can't check Expedia etc yet because it is still out of range, but flights from major carriers are well over $2000 pp. unless we want to fly Air Berliner. ;)

 

Our travel agent said we'd get flight info when final payment is made, which is end of this year for an April 20th, 2013 transatlantic.

Hi, we're doing the westbound TA from Barcelona to Miami this year Oct 2012 - for the second time! :D Those glorious 25 hour days!

Both times we booked AA from US (last year JFK, this year MIA) to BCN for 20,000 miles plus $60.00 pp.

So if you have AA miles , this is the way to go.

Otherwise, I must say that $860 is a good price - take it.

NCL air from ORD (chicago) to LHR (london) and it worked out cheaper for us, and it included the ground transport from Heathrow to Dover where our ship was departing from for a transatlantic. So we saved quite a bit of money over what it would have cost us to book ourselves.

Since we live near O'hare it was a no brainer that we wouldn't have a connection, unless we got routed through NYC, but that isn't a major deal either. Got to choose my seats as we were booked on UAL from ORD-LHR as well as AA from Port Canavaral to Ord. Just put in your itinerary and go to 'choose seats' part of the booking.

I was completely happy with what NCL gave us.

We're sailing the Epic on Sunday and booked our flights through NCL (first time cruising, didn't know any better). We're flying Glasgow to Heathrow tomorrow evening, hotel at Heathrow then Heathrow to Barcelona on Sunday morning at 11.15am. Flight arrives in Barcelona at 2.25pm, ship sails at 6pm.

 

Next time, though, we'll book our own flights and arrive at least a day before the cruise.

I've just spoken with the TA and she has assured me that my flight is OK. It doesn't show up on the airport flight schedule as its a charter flight. Ie NCL charter an aircraft specifically for their cruise passengers.

So its Glasgow 05.40 and arrive in Barcelona 09.10 and should be onboard around 10.30.