Advice needed!

[MrsTabs]

Have booked my cruise ( first ever cruise)and have been helped by an NCL employee ( cruise consultant ) who has been brilliant, cruise is sorted and so is hotel for night before cruise in NY, however we were conversing regularly and just needed to sort transfers from airport to hotel, hotel to port and port back to airport at the end.

 

The guy from NCL sorted everything and asked me not to pay final amount until he had sorted transfers - well since the hurricanes I have not heard from him - I know things will be busy but have sent him numerous emails asking if I can now pay or should I hold on - what do I do?

 

the cruise and hotel show on my itinerary but nothing about the transfers and I have sent emails but no reply which is strange he usually replies straight away - anyone got any advice?

[NLH Arizona]

I'm assuming, since you haven't made final payment, that you are at least 90 days out from your cruise. I'd give it some time, as I'm sure there are a lot of calls because of the changes due to the hurricanes.

 

BTW, if you want to pay now, go ahead, as they can always add the transfers at a later date.

Edited September 29, 2017 by NLH Arizona

[Moby0215]

To be honest. A cab or Uber is easier and cheaper.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Manbo]

Moby is correct. You can book your own hotel and save a bundle as well. There is not much to be gained except they will handle your luggage.

[casofilia]

Look at the hotels that NCL offer on sites such as Expedia, Wotif and so on and you will find that NCL uses the most expensive hotels and "overcharges". Also their transfers are invariably more than you would pay for a taxi.

[Oldgoat61]

Personally, I would wait until the final payment date to pay in full. :)

[YoHoHo]

Personally, I would wait until the final payment date to pay in full. :)

Why wait? and possibly miss it. Is final payment not fully refundable until penalty phase kicks in? maybe I am missing something.

 

Welcome to CC, Maniacal Cruiser. Make sure you don't miss final payment waiting for a phone call. bookings can be automatically cancelled if final payment is not made. Not to worry if your cruise is a ling way off. check the details on the booking confirmation from the cruise line.

[garycarla]

Why wait? and possibly miss it. Is final payment not fully refundable until penalty phase kicks in? maybe I am missing something.

 

Welcome to CC, Maniacal Cruiser. Make sure you don't miss final payment waiting for a phone call. bookings can be automatically cancelled if final payment is not made. Not to worry if your cruise is a ling way off. check the details on the booking confirmation from the cruise line.

 

(Maniacal Cruiser has been here for awhile.)

 

Personally, I also would wait until getting closer to final payment before paying. Waiting until the last day might be risky of course. I put things like this on my personal calendar where I can see the date. And it also sends me an email alert.

[jpcdds6]

Book your own hotel midtown. Take cab or Uber to the pier. It's not very far. Which airport? Newark? JFK?

[Stace894]

I would wait until a week or before final payment is due. You can pay most of it off now and only hold off on a couple of hundred. Although I'm not sure it would apply to you as you are not using a TA. If the price drops and you have paid in full,, you can't take advantage of the price change. If you have not paid in full, you can take avantage.

[FredZiffle]

The posters who are recommending that you book your own transfers and hotel aren't just blowing smoke. You are going to pay hundreds of dollars more for using NCL for something that can easily be done by you. NYC has so many hotel and transportation options, there's just no reason to pay NCL to book this. In fact, if you post your flight and cruise info here, I'll bet there are several of us who would be happy to spend 10 minutes on-line and create a package for you if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.

[sanger727]

When you book a cruise you should have put down a deposit. The full remainder of the payment will be due around 90 days before the cruise. So for your feb 24th cruise it will be due in late nov. so you don't need to worry about whether or not to pay it now. But you do want to find out exactly when the payment is due by so you can be sure to make it. Transfers and hotels have absolutely nothing to do with when you need to make your final payment. If you choose to use NCL transfers you can add them on after the final payment date, all the way up to a few days before sailing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[MrsTabs]

Thanks everyone with this being our first cruise we kinda let them do everything as we had no idea how to! I'm a bit stressy when traveling ( hubby would say that is a very mild way of putting it) and I like to know everything is sorted and that if anything goes wrong I have someone I can call to help - hence why we went through NCL. We are flying in to JFK and staying for one night at the Feb 23 - 24, 2018 New York Marriott Marquis New York City ( hey it is one night and we wanted to treat ourselves!) and then flying out on March 6th from Newark - I have no idea who/where to book transfers and roughly what the price should be - any help appreciated

[jpcdds6]

Thanks everyone with this being our first cruise we kinda let them do everything as we had no idea how to! I'm a bit stressy when traveling ( hubby would say that is a very mild way of putting it) and I like to know everything is sorted and that if anything goes wrong I have someone I can call to help - hence why we went through NCL. We are flying in to JFK and staying for one night at the Feb 23 - 24, 2018 New York Marriott Marquis New York City ( hey it is one night and we wanted to treat ourselves!) and then flying out on March 6th from Newark - I have no idea who/where to book transfers and roughly what the price should be - any help appreciated

You will love the Marquis. It's a very busy place, just like Times Square that it overlooks. Have a great time.

[luc122]

I found this on the Port Authority website (they run the airports)

 

JFK Taxi Information:

 

Important Tips:

 

• Tipping is customary for good service.
  
• Taxis at JFK Airport charge a flat fare of $52 for trips between the airport and Manhattan. Taxis impose a $4.50 surcharge during peak hours (4-8 p.m. weekdays, excluding holidays), for a fare of $56.50.
  
• There is also a NY State tax of 50 cents added to trips within New York, but not for trips to NJ.
  
• One fare pays for all passengers to one destination.
  
• Four passengers (five in minivans) is the limit for New York City cabs.
  
• Meter must read $3.00 at the start of the trip (except for JFK-Manhattan $52 Flat Fare trips).
  
• Please take your receipt.
  

I would take a cab from your hotel to the port. check out taxifarefinder dot com

it estimated ~$11 for that trip (plus tip)

they also estimated ~$45 for a trip from the cruise port to Newark airport.

I cannot guarantee any of these rates, but at least its a starting point to compare what NCL would charge you for transfers

And the Marriott is awesome!

[MrsTabs]

I found this on the Port Authority website (they run the airports)

 

JFK Taxi Information:

 

Important Tips:

 

 

• Tipping is customary for good service.
  
• Taxis at JFK Airport charge a flat fare of $52 for trips between the airport and Manhattan. Taxis impose a $4.50 surcharge during peak hours (4-8 p.m. weekdays, excluding holidays), for a fare of $56.50.
  
• There is also a NY State tax of 50 cents added to trips within New York, but not for trips to NJ.
  
• One fare pays for all passengers to one destination.
  
• Four passengers (five in minivans) is the limit for New York City cabs.
  
• Meter must read $3.00 at the start of the trip (except for JFK-Manhattan $52 Flat Fare trips).
  
• Please take your receipt.
  

I would take a cab from your hotel to the port. check out taxifarefinder dot com

it estimated ~$11 for that trip (plus tip)

they also estimated ~$45 for a trip from the cruise port to Newark airport.

I cannot guarantee any of these rates, but at least its a starting point to compare what NCL would charge you for transfers

And the Marriott is awesome!

 

That is fantastic for comparison thank you so much! And I hope we do enjoy the Marriott we thought with only 1 night in NYC and the fact we will have been travelling all day, the things we wanted were a really decent meal and to see Times Square - this hotel hopefully allows us to do both

[cooncat_mom]

Happy First Cruise! I did my first one in 2008 and have had about 10 since! There IS a possibility of addiction here...;)

 

Some good advice here - it is cheaper to do it on your own. The cab fare from JFK to Manhattan really isn't bad and there is a cab line run by a dispatcher at the airport so they are easy to get and you know you'll get a licensed cab. (DD and I were getting a cab there when an unlicensed cab tried to nose in. There were words from the dispatcher and it was chased away!). We also preferred the cab to a shared shuttle - it may be more expensive, but it was direct and easy.

 

We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square - loved it! For your return, if you decide you'd rather not find cabs or a car service, and you want a ship's transfer to Newark, you can get it on board (which we've done more than once).

 

Have a wonderful cruise! I hope you love it!

[MrsTabs]

Thank you, this is a very useful tip - rapidly getting to love this forum