POA - Precruise Hotel Perk - advice needed

[mkgal]

We are a family of 5, staying in a 2 bedroom family suite on POA. One of the "Perks" that our travel agent said we would get was 1 night pre-cruise hotel. She even mentioned that they only pay for 4 people and she would have to call the hotel directly to make arrangements for me to pay for the 5th person separately. After booking, we were informed that NCL ONLY does this for a party of 4 and since we are 5, we won't get this perk. I reminded her that she said I could simply pay for a rollaway for the 5th person - a child but now she wasn't so sure. TA asked NCL rep and he was supposed to get back with her and she would let me know. That was weeks ago. I have called the TA with no answer. I need to know so that I can make further reservations. Has anyone been in this situation before? I feel like since we are staying in a 2 BR suite and are entitled to all the amenities that it shouldn't be a problem. I'm willing to pay for the extra person, but hate to lose the entire perk. Any advice?

[FranknBeans]

I would book it for four then plead the 5th when you arrive at hotel.

[mkgal]

I would book it for four then plead the 5th when you arrive at hotel.

 

That's is what I would do if it were up to me but the cruiseline is making the reservation since it is a perk offered by them. They know that we have 5 in our party. Should be simple to book the room and then I'll pay for a rollaway or an extra person fee. TA finally called back and it making a call to NCL directly so we will see what happens.

[mkgal]

3 days since talking to TA with no response. Anybody else had this hotel situation in Hawaii with NCL?

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

You don't have to disclose how many people you have in the room to the hotel,,,, but at least one person is going to be sleeping on the floor. I would just pay for another room at the same hotel (Marriott Waikiki?)

[mkgal]

You don't have to disclose how many people you have in the room to the hotel,,,, but at least one person is going to be sleeping on the floor. I would just pay for another room at the same hotel (Marriott Waikiki?)

 

 

 

So...the free hotel night perk from NCL is up to me to reserve? It was my understanding from the travel agent that she would call to book the room directly so that ncl pays for it. She initially said that ncl would pay for 4 people but I would have to pay for a rollaway or an additional person fee (its 2 adults and 3 kids so we can fit in 2 beds or a king and a sofa). I’m fine with that. After booking, she says ncl doesn’t want to honor this because our party is more than 4 people and we won’t get the perk at all. Supposedly, she has emailed ncl to clarify and they are not responding. I really think she’s already got me booked and is too busy to worry about it.

 

 

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[mkgal]

I know that there was a thread about this same situation a few months ago. The man was upset about paying the extra fee for 2 of his children. I can’t find that thread to save my life. I’m curious how it all turned out.

 

 

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[amarvel]

We did not get this perk in December because we had five people. We choose other perks. Stinks but we did a full package deal with air and transfers so got a hotel of our choosing.

 

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[mkgal]

We did not get this perk in December because we had five people. We choose other perks. Stinks but we did a full package deal with air and transfers so got a hotel of our choosing.

 

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Did you arrange the full package deal with your travel agent or directly through ncl? My TA has been of little help. She never offered me travel insurance (which I don’t want but they always push) much less hotel/air package. I need to look into this so I can get arrangements made.

I’m curious if you had a choice in flight times/airlines and hotel?

 

 

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[mkgal]

*UPDATE* The last contact with my travel agent was simply a, "I'll email the NCL rep again and see what they can do. I've emailed them before with no response". I waited a few days and tried to reach her but she was on vacation til today. Called her today and she said she would, "try again". She called back this afternoon to say that NCL is fine with me paying for the extra person but ALL of the hotels that they use for pre-cruise stays in Hawaii are SOLD OUT and they have a waiting list and that's why they haven't returned her previous emails. When I asked if she put me on the waiting list (I booked this cruise in the first week of April), she said "No, but we could call back in a month to see if there were any cancellations." *****Crickets Chirping***** Is it really possible that ALL the NCL precruise hotels in Hawaii are SOLD OUT for an October trip??? I've read reports on Cruise Critic of the Marriot Waikiki selling out and the overflow going to the Aston but never read a report of ALL NCL precruise hotels being sold out. Since this is supposed to be one of my FREE perks for booking a 2 br suite, I asked that since they are sold out, will I get some other perk or incentive in it's place and she said NO. I'm just curious if anyone else has had this situation and if you think she's being truthful or giving me the runaround.

[Sauer-kraut]

I think I would have ditched the travel agent back in April.

 

What might be happening is that NCL only gets a certain number of rooms per hotel, they don't have access to all the rooms. So yes it could be that all the NCL rooms are indeed sold out now.

[mkgal]

I think I would have ditched the travel agent back in April.

 

What might be happening is that NCL only gets a certain number of rooms per hotel, they don't have access to all the rooms. So yes it could be that all the NCL rooms are indeed sold out now.

 

Sauer-kraut - I wish I had ditched her in April! I didn't realize there was a problem right away! Oh, well. I guess I'll just go ahead a book a hotel on my own and if NCL has a room for me, I can always cancel. I think she wasn't supposed to promise the perk since we are a party of 5 and when she realized that she goofed, she's trying to get out of it by making up a tale. Won't be using that travel agency again, no matter how much OBC they offer me!

[Econom405]

NCL is no longer using the Marriott pre-cruise. We are also booked in October and we were notified by email that we were moved to the Aholilani Hotel, and I have seen others say they have been moved to the Hilton Village, which is HUGE...You may want to make another phone call.

We are booked in the Owner's suite, so not sure if that is why the difference in the hotel, or if the Hilton was already booked up. But there has to be close to 3000 rooms in that Hilton complex.

[mkgal]

Econom405 - I’m curious how many are in your party and did you purchase the precruise hotel stay through NCL or was it a perk for your booking?

 

 

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[Econom405]

MKgal,

 

There are only myself and hubby on this cruise. The "free" night was part of the promotion they were running when we booked the cruise. Otherwise I would have researched my own hotel reservations. We've stayed in the Hilton Village before, and probably would have used Hilton points to stay there again. Not too sure about the Aholani hotel, it's new and I will have to do more research on it.

[casofilia]

Be very careful with the $100 hotel offer from NCL as their pricing for the hotel is based on a "per person" price and not on a "per room" price. Remember that they tend to use top-end and expensive hotels.

Caveat Emptor on this one.

 

If you are lucky and it is a fully free offer I hope you are able to get 4 in a room from NCL at no cost and can pay for a room for the 5th elsewhere in the same hotel or even in another hotel.

[mkgal]

Still no resolution. My travel agent says that her NCL rep says all rooms are booked. I felt like she wasn’t being 100% truthful with me so I explained to her what Econom405 had stated that they are using new hotels. She actually sounded excited and agreed to “call NCL again”. She called back within 30 minutes to say that she spoke with a representative at NCL who says there is availability at the new hotels but that she would have to get approval to make a “special exception” for us. When I asked the TA when we would know if we got the special exception, she just said, “ hopefully soon”. Well, that has been 3 weeks and 3 phone calls to my TA (inquiring on the status) later and her response today was back to the original excuse, “they are full.” I have that gut feeling that she is not informed of her product, promised something she wasn’t supposed to and is now lying to me in hopes I will just let it go. I am considering calling NCL myself to inquire as to whether or not she’s telling the truth. What do you all suggest? I want to get all that I am entitled to (and what she promised) but don’t want to open a can of worms that may be detrimental either. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

 

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[mkgal]

Would you call NCL directly or trust your travel agent who has let this simmer for way too long???

 

 

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[HBCcruiser]

I’d call NCL and see what they say. It can’t hurt, right? Also, I’d call the hotel directly and see about the extra person in a room or an adjoining room. If you have status with Marriott they will help you! Good luck!

 

 

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[Shellbelle28]

Are there any perks you're getting direct from the TA vs from Norwegian? If not, I think you can call NCL and tell them you want to break up with the TA and take control of your booking. Then you can talk to them directly for all of your arrangements.

 

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[mkgal]

Actually, yes, we are getting significant OBC from this TA so I don’t want to drop them completely. I will probably just book a pre-cruise room at my own expense . It is just very frustrating as the TA assured me that this was one of the perks and that she would make the arrangements for me to pay for the 5th person. Immediately after booking, she didn’t mention the hotel and when I would ask how to go about paying for the 5th person, she acted weird and would just tell me she would find out. I’m feeling frustrated that what I thought was a quality Travel Agency that specializes in cruises has staff this poorly trained. I feel like I understand NCL better than she does. I think I’m going to call NCL today and get to the bottom of this.

 

 

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[HBCcruiser]

Let us know how it works out. Good luck![emoji256]

 

 

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