Cruise First certs! (new)

[bkrickles1]

On 5/29/2021 at 1:30 PM, Cruslvr81 said:

Sorry to bring up old thread but has anyone purchase one recently and then been able to use it right away ? Do you get email with certificate number & can you book on NCL.com or do you have to book over the phone. 

I purchased one yesterday and immediately used it for my deposit on a Joy sailing in January, 2022.

It worked for me perfectly. I paid $150 and had $300 immediately come off my cruise fare.

I did it on the phone and received my confirmation within minutes.

[Goldconnection]

I purchased one a month or so ago directly from my CC while booking my cruise. I was told you can only purchase one. He shared with me. I knew nothing about them prior to this.

[Middleager]

7 minutes ago, Goldconnection said:

I purchased one a month or so ago directly from my CC while booking my cruise. I was told you can only purchase one. He shared with me. I knew nothing about them prior to this.

Can only apply one to a cruise, but can buy up to 10.

[Goldconnection]

28 minutes ago, Middleager said:

Can only apply one to a cruise, but can buy up to 10.

I was actually booking 3 cruises (b2b2b) and was told I could only purchase one use one. If you were able to purchase 10 of the new Cruise First Certificates then good for you. I was told I could only purchase one and could only use one.

[Middleager]

1 hour ago, Goldconnection said:

I was actually booking 3 cruises (b2b2b) and was told I could only purchase one use one. If you were able to purchase 10 of the new Cruise First Certificates then good for you. I was told I could only purchase one and could only use one.

The T&C still says up to 10 certificates.  Well, at least this link which gets converted to a Canadian specific link as I'm in Canada
https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruisefirst-program

 

Maybe the person you dealt with didn't know the conditions fully.

[Cb2534]

On 11/3/2020 at 1:54 PM, CruiseMH said:

Can you use as many certs per booking as you want? Or only one per booking(as it is with cruise next)

 

 

This is not widely publicized but you can use 2 Cruise Next Certificates on any sailing and on any category of cabin right now.   This includes sail away, inside cabins and cruises less than 7 days.  To clarify  - this is for the Cruise Next Certs.- not the new Cruise First promotion that kicked off this thread.

The reason I bring this up is because for many of us that our stuck holding Cruise Next Certificates, being able to use 2 for any cruise and any cabin category is a huge departure from the long standing rules.

 

[Goldconnection]

1 hour ago, Middleager said:

The T&C still says up to 10 certificates.  Well, at least this link which gets converted to a Canadian specific link as I'm in Canada
https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruisefirst-program

 

Maybe the person you dealt with didn't know the conditions fully.

All I needed was one. I used some Cruise Next certificates we had on the other two. I am satisfied. Again good for you being able to get ten. Hopefully you are are satisfied with your 10.

[Middleager]

1 minute ago, Goldconnection said:

All I needed was one. I used some Cruise Next certificates we had on the other two. I am satisfied. Again good for you being able to get ten. Hopefully you are are satisfied with your 10.

I didn't get 10.  I got one for a cruise, and used 2 CruiseNext certs for another, in a b2b.  It was then I found the T&C, to learn you can buy up to 10.  The spouse/partner can also buy 10, so strictly speaking, a couple can buy 20, but can only use one per cruise and not combinable with the CNs.

[dbrown84]

I bought one of these during a time when it was $250/$500 and applied it to a cruise.  I was thinking of re-booking that cruise to get current offers, but I saw a provision in T&Cs that said if you cancelled/rebooked the same cruise with a cruise first cert, you'd look the "free" cash:

 

 

So I didn't re-book.  Now that I'm re-reading the condition, I'm wondering if I may be reading it wrong.  I'm wondering if it means that if you had a cruise book, then buy a CN and try to rebook with that CN that you would lose the additional value vs re-booking a cruise that was originally booked with a CN cert.  I noticed in a post above that someone said they added a cert to a cruise after booking.  I'm wondering if they lost the additional value.  Has anyone actually rebooked a cruise that was originally booked with a CN?

[ravenjls]

I was planning on doing this to a Bermuda cruise I was looking out for Sept 26.  I am glad I read the fine print and saw that the cruise has to be 120 days after buying the certificate. Unfortunately it wont work for me.

[ClevelandCruisin]

Nope I'll pass. We had such a hassle transferring a cruise next cert after many canceled cruises in the past year. Just a revenue earner for NCL. 

[masspector]

Has anyone successfully transferred a Cruisefirst cert to another person?  I found information to fill out for a FCC but not cruisefirst.  Is there a form or do you have to call?  Thanks

[victory2020]

How do the CruiseNext certificates work? I see them on ebay for $170 for a $250 certificate. Do you also get OBC or any other benefits for buying/using them? 

[Kinnialias]

On 6/28/2022 at 7:02 PM, victory2020 said:

How do the CruiseNext certificates work? I see them on ebay for $170 for a $250 certificate. Do you also get OBC or any other benefits for buying/using them? 

I think you can transfer them from another person.  Be careful how much time is left to expiration.

When issued they had 3 years to expire. They are used towards your cruise fare; reduce the final cost based on the face value.  Not used for OBC when purchased from someone else. When you buy them onboard for typically half price, they allow you to spend the rest of the balance against your OB expenses.      I think I have that right    anyone else confirm that?

[eiloo]

What are the differences between Cruise First and Cruise Next that I am missing.

 

Cruise Next

-no requirement to book a cruise 120 or more after the purchase of the cert

-$125 cost for $250 credit

-may be able to use up to 2 certs for one reservation (2 x $250 certs for a total $500 payment toward your cruise).

-up to 4 years to sail

-sold on a cruise or purchased after market (eBay, FB etc.)

-can be used on cancelled and rebooked sailings

-transferrable

 

Cruise First

-required to book a cruise over 120 days from purchase of the cert OR have owned it for 120 days and book any cruise at any time.

-two denominations $150 for a $300 cert or $250 for a $500 cert.  

-only one cert can be used per reservation.  I would then just go for a $250/$500 cert.

-up to 3 years to sail.

-sold by NCL online direct.

-cannot be used on cancelled and rebooked sailings of the same cruise.

-transferrable

 

Any gotchas for using one CN instead of CF?  I've thought about purchasing on FB but worried about fund transfer fees.  eBay sellers are out in left field with pricing.

 

Can you use an independent cruise planner to book with CF or does it have to be direct with NCL?  I know the CN you can use any travel agent desired.

Edited January 16, 2023 by eiloo