POA 2017 Special - NCL Air and Waikiki Mariott

I booked the POA special for 2017 which includes air transportation to Hawaii, a free night at the Waikiki Mariott and 2 free perks (I chose gratuities and dining).

Seems like a great deal, right? I'm excited, but a little worried about allowing NCL to choose my flights. Also, are the free rooms descent at the Waikiki Mariott?

Any tips or pointers?

Thanks fellow cruisers!!!

There is very little "free" in this business. You pay for it at some point.

NCL will most likely book a flight that works well for them, not you. Where are you flying from? You will undoubtedly have a stop on the West Coast (if not coming from the West Coast) as the non-stops from airports east of the West coast tend to be much more expensive, and probably not offered as consolidator tickets often.

The timing of flights and time zones would lead to a long day and a late arrival in Honolulu, again, if you are not flying from the West Coast.

Flying from Boston, but we are closer to Hartford. NCL does not do reduced flights out of Hartford. :P

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this program. Reduced airfare is a huge plus! Saves us $1400 on flights so far, and even though I know nothing is "free", this deal is very good - Especially considering 2018 prices.

My other option is to cancel the reduced airfare and book directly out of Hartford. We would have to pay for transfers though and would not be guaranteed to make the ship on time.

Has anyone out there done NCL air to sea?

If you want people with NCL air experience, I would be asking on the NCL board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

Some reading about pros and cons of cruise line airfare on the Cruise Air board, here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

would also be beneficial.

Getting a cab to get you to the ship from a hotel is not a risky proposition. Not sure why you'd be worried that you would miss the ship. It's a straight drive down Ala Moana Blvd, about 5 miles and 18 minutes. With the transfer, you have to wait until the bus is filled, or you may make multiple stops at other hotels to pick up people who have purchased the transfer from NCL.

For the hotel, the cruise lines (and many tour companies) book large blocks of rooms under "run of the house" rules. This means you get whatever is "left" in inventory after retail guests are assigned rooms. You don't get a choice of floor, view, or bed type. If you get the 2nd floor room with 2 queen beds and the room faces in to the high-rise next door, you are stuck, if you get a high floor room with 1 king bed and faces the beach, you luck out. Be absolutely sure NCL has the correct number of people with you - if it is you, your spouse and a kid, and you get that King bed room, you may or may not be able to get a rollaway AND you could be charged for it (whether you are charged is up to the policy of the hotel and largess of the Front Desk staff).

Thank you for your positive feedback!

We took advantage of land, sea, and air deal last April. We had two nights in Waikiki. It was great! The airfare was half what we would have had to pay on our own. We flew from Charlotte to Dallas and then to Honolulu. NCL provided transportation to the hotel (although Uber was great during our stay.) We had the lowest class hotel room but it was beautiful and from the balcony we could see the ocean just fine.

I tried pricing out the options myself but it was much more expensive. We stayed at the Marriott and NCL actually has a desk and representative there who handled everything for our stay. It could not have been better.

This is exactly the info I was looking for! Thank you! I was worried but now I am much more at ease!!!

We stayed at the Marriott through NCL and our room was just fine. We chose the cheaper "city view" option that NCL offered, but we could still see the ocean from our room.

Gosh. I had no idea they had this special. I'll definitely look into it! Sounds like a great option.

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