NCL Airfare Promo

[smokeykat]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am interested in a cruise out of and returning to Barcelona. We would leave out of JFK in NY. Anyone with experience using the air promo through NCL?

Were you able to get direct flights? Did you have crazy long connecting flight times? I know they will book the cheapest air that there is. Was anyone able to call the airlines and do an upgrade?

Any information will be appreciated!

[EvanBedar]

From the US to Europe, you are almost guaranteed not to get a direct flight, although Barcelona is kind of a hub city so it wouldn't be more than two legs I shouldn't think.  We're going in to the Canaries, three legs, 2 to 3 hour layovers in between every leg.  And speaking of legs don't expect yours to have any room.

As to working with the airlines, it depends on the airlines.  Air Canada allowed me to choose seats for a couple hundred bucks.  The other 3 airlines I got do not.  I can choose a seat on check in, which is kind of standard.  But no one will allow us to upgrade to Premium Economy.  United does.  If you get them you're in luck.

 

 

[CruiseDealSweeper]

you usually can upgrade seats through the airline just can’t change flight times.
 

I would recommend just staying away from NCL Air though as they do sketchy things with no communication. Yes it might be cheaper but they have screwed my family several times now. Just recently for an upcoming cruise they changed my flight time within two weeks of the cruise. Now instead of getting to my destination by early afternoon we are getting there late at night. So the expensive hotel I booked on the front end is of waste (will not be able to do anything during the day). And my return flight was pushed several hours. So we will currently arrive in port at 7AM but won’t start flying home until nearly 10PM, getting in to our home city well after midnight. Every time you call them, they just say there is nothing we can do at this point. Lol, they are just terrible every time 

[smokeykat]

28 minutes ago, CruiseDealSweeper said:

you usually can upgrade seats through the airline just can’t change flight times.
 

I would recommend just staying away from NCL Air though as they do sketchy things with no communication. Yes it might be cheaper but they have screwed my family several times now. Just recently for an upcoming cruise they changed my flight time within two weeks of the cruise. Now instead of getting to my destination by early afternoon we are getting there late at night. So the expensive hotel I booked on the front end is of waste (will not be able to do anything during the day). And my return flight was pushed several hours. So we will currently arrive in port at 7AM but won’t start flying home until nearly 10PM, getting in to our home city well after midnight. Every time you call them, they just say there is nothing we can do at this point. Lol, they are just terrible every time 

Oh my! Just curious what airport are you flying out of and to what port?

[hallux]

@CruiseDealSweeperif your flights were ticketed, any itinerary changes are the result of the AIRLINE, not NCL.  If your flights were not yet ticketed, they didn't change anything on you, you had an expectation based on some placeholders on your account.

 

For the OP - enter 'air promo' or 'NCL flights' in the search box, allow it to search only the NCL forum, you will find MANY threads on this very topic and some recent ones asking nearly identical questions to yours.

[dolfan1980]

Being JFK based you might get a direct flight, but don't be surprised if you are routed via Toronto/Montreal/Chicago/Atlanta/London/Paris/Amsterdam/Frankfurt/etc if NCL finds a flight to be $0.20 cheaper.  That's the downside to NCL air and it's kind of like booking flights through a third party website in that if you run into trouble, you're calling and waiting for NCL instead of dealing with the airline directly.  

[Sailing12Away]

We fly out of JFK and have used the NCL air promo at least 3-4 times (I'd have to consort my signature to review our cruise history to remember all of them). 

 

JFK - Miami, nearly missed the cruise due to AA kicking everyone off the plane once we boarded so they could give it to a Colorado bound flight. Ended up being delayed about 2+ hours and got to the terminal at 3:15 for a 4pm departure. So close, but we made it.

 

JFK - Honolulu was no issues at all. We flew JFK to San Fran I believe going there and then had a stop at LAX coming home. The layovers were minimal. First one in San Fran was cutting it a bit close, we landed on time but had no gate to park at. So we sat on the runway area for 45 mins until we could park. Had just enough time to get off the plane, pee, and thankfully our connecting gate was the one right next to where we pulled in from. Got to Hawaii and found my sister in baggage claim (they flew in from O'Hare) and no issues getting to the ship. 

 

JFK - San Juan was direct with no issues at all.

 

Using them again to go to LAX in February. Both of us flying for $250 total to me is worth the possible risk. For international flights, my only recommendation is to fly in at least 1 day early and you'll be fine. You want to at least grab some fresh paella while you're there anyway.

 

The cost savings we had by using NCL air is in the thousands of dollars for us so far, so we'll continue using it.

[Ken the cruiser]

We're getting ready to go on a long B2B on the Jade from Athens to Cape Town and here was our first and probably last experience using NCL Air.

 

We had booked our roundtrip air through NCL, which was super cheap at around $1100 pp. We got the schedule for the Delta flight from Alabama to Athens about 30 days out and arrive at 2 pm, with 3-hour layovers at the two interim stops. We were quite pleased. However, on our return Delta flight from Cape Town back to Alabama, we were booked in a "Basic Economy" category where according to Delta you get the following:

 

- No seat(s) assigned until after check-in, not together 

- No changes allowed*

- Cancelable for partial eCredit (cancellation charge applies)**

- Last to board & not eligible for upgrades 

- No miles earned; no credit toward SkyMiles Medallion Status***

 

Mind you this is a 16+ hour flight from Cape Town to Atlanta. The main thing that annoyed us was you could not get seats assigned until after check-in. Later we heard you might be able to get seats assigned as early as 7 days prior, but that caveat has not been confirmed.

 

When we called NCL Air to try to get seat assignments, they said to call Delta. So we did and believe it or not, we were able to get our seats assigned and they are together. But we heard a few days later on the Roll Call that other folks on our NCL cruise weren't so lucky. When we told our daughter this a few days ago, she rationalized from her past experiences as a travel agent you can do certain things with an airline ticket within the first 24 hours of being ticketed (e.g., cancel a nonrefundable flight and get a full refund) before it's locked into the rules of the category you booked. She's guessing since we called as soon as we got the flight information, we were still in that 24-hour window.

 

Needless to say, this will be the last time we book our flight reservations through NCL, regardless of the price. Just too much stress knowing we wouldn't be able to sit together on such a long flight.

Edited November 4, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[foodsvcmgr]

What I don’t get is how giving away free tickets can be so profitable for NCL that they won’t give you ANY discount at all for not using this promo and booking your own flights?

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, smokeykat said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I am interested in a cruise out of and returning to Barcelona. We would leave out of JFK in NY. Anyone with experience using the air promo through NCL?

Were you able to get direct flights? Did you have crazy long connecting flight times? I know they will book the cheapest air that there is. Was anyone able to call the airlines and do an upgrade?

Any information will be appreciated!

Definitely listen to those who've used NCL Air before. We only used it once and it was GREAT. We got a nonstop flight and it was cheaper than anything I've ever seen. BUT: we were flying to Miami from Washington, not NY to Barcelona. Still, I'd do it again, for one, it was nice to have the airfare already included when we booked the cruise, and their prices are pretty unbeatable. Not impossible to beat, but remember, you're flying to meet a cruise, meaning your itinerary is fixed. I see plenty of cheap fares from the US to Europe, but it does me no good if the cheap fare is for February and my cruise is in May. Also, in my experience, any good deals are going to involve some less-than-ideal travel times, layovers, and stops. OTOH if you've got deep pockets, that's another matter. Best of luck, have a great cruise!

[dolfan1980]

2 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

What I don’t get is how giving away free tickets can be so profitable for NCL that they won’t give you ANY discount at all for not using this promo and booking your own flights?

I think the reality is that they have arrangements negotiated with the airlines such that even at 2 for 1 it's probably a net zero for NCL, or at least when you add on the ground transportation of upwards of $100pp which is likely 75% profit in many places.

[Sailing12Away]

16 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

What I don’t get is how giving away free tickets can be so profitable for NCL that they won’t give you ANY discount at all for not using this promo and booking your own flights?

I'm not following you.... If I buy a sack of apples from the orchard for $20 and sell them on the street for $1 each, but you don't want any of my apples, I'm supposed to just give you a $1 instead for NOT buying my apple?

[davencl]

20 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

What I don’t get is how giving away free tickets can be so profitable for NCL that they won’t give you ANY discount at all for not using this promo and booking your own flights?

NCL is not giving away free tickets with this promo.  It costs extra to add NCL air to the fare.

[foodsvcmgr]

They are giving you a ticket for the first person if you buy a ticket for the second person.

My point was that unbundling from a package with most cruise lines results in a lower cruise only rate.

[CruiseDealSweeper]

On 11/4/2022 at 2:00 PM, hallux said:

@CruiseDealSweeperif your flights were ticketed, any itinerary changes are the result of the AIRLINE, not NCL.  If your flights were not yet ticketed, they didn't change anything on you, you had an expectation based on some placeholders on your account.

 

For the OP - enter 'air promo' or 'NCL flights' in the search box, allow it to search only the NCL forum, you will find MANY threads on this very topic and some recent ones asking nearly identical questions to yours.

That’s simply not true, so don’t tell me what happened in my situation....

 

They were ticketed and NCL changed them after the fact! I have emails showing it all… The original flights still exist from the airlines. I’m flying to FLL on the way to the port and leaving from MIA on the way back. Two different airlines, two different air ports. NCL doesn’t give two sh!ts about their customers under the “air promos”

[Sailing12Away]

8 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

They are giving you a ticket for the first person if you buy a ticket for the second person.

My point was that unbundling from a package with most cruise lines results in a lower cruise only rate.

That's only if the original price you see includes the flights. Then yes, removing the flights will lower the cost. Think of the fancy lines like Oceania and such.

 

That's not what NCL does. The price is the price of the cruise. Then you can add on the FAS drink package and such and you get charged when you add that on.

You can add on flights, and get charged at the time you add them on. 

 

So there's nothing for them to remove because it hasn't been added yet.

[fox02554]

On 11/4/2022 at 4:22 PM, foodsvcmgr said:

What I don’t get is how giving away free tickets can be so profitable for NCL that they won’t give you ANY discount at all for not using this promo and booking your own flights?

we're flying into Panama city Panama, flight run at least $800, $1200 if you want a non-stop during the day , with NCL for 4 of us,  our flight is $300 each ,  with out the air promo i wouldn't have booked the cruise , so they more then

made up the $$ in cruise fare, cabin choice , & extras

[hallux]

11 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Then you can add on the FAS drink package and such and you get charged when you add that on.

Not quite.  If you don't choose the 'sail-away' rate, the drinks package being included is assumed.  If you remove the drink package from the FAS rate the only reduction in cost is the removal of the gratuities.

[v3cruiser]

3 hours ago, fox02554 said:

we're flying into Panama city Panama, flight run at least $800, $1200 if you want a non-stop during the day , with NCL for 4 of us,  our flight is $300 each ,  with out the air promo i wouldn't have booked the cruise , so they more then

made up the $$ in cruise fare, cabin choice , & extras

 how did your trip to panama go? we are doing the same late feb. airfare priced recently is very expensive. I have some growing concern trip will be quite long but if I price airfare seperately im looking at well more than double what was paid for ncl air. ncl air $700, round trip flights from midwest to panama city and back averaging $1800 total. There are many flights with stops totalling 18-24 hours long

Edited November 6, 2022 by v3cruiser

[smokeykat]

Thanks everyone for all the input. I have decided to book air on our own and not take advantage of the free airfare offer. BTW it is not really "free" but $1500.00 when you remove it from the booking. I spoke to my NCL rep and she said book on your own. That was enough to make up my mind for me!

It's true if you request a major hub airport NCL can book a different airport if it is within 60 miles. No way do I want to go through Newark if I request JFK. Newark always has cheaper airfares so this is possible.

 

[EvanBedar]

37 minutes ago, smokeykat said:

BTW it is not really "free" but $1500.00 when you remove it from the booking.

 

 

First passenger is free.  Second is not.  So you are receiving free air fare in the special.  Just that your travel partner is not.  There's nothing hidden or misstated about that offer.

 

[Sailing12Away]

13 hours ago, smokeykat said:

Thanks everyone for all the input. I have decided to book air on our own and not take advantage of the free airfare offer. BTW it is not really "free" but $1500.00 when you remove it from the booking. I spoke to my NCL rep and she said book on your own. That was enough to make up my mind for me!

It's true if you request a major hub airport NCL can book a different airport if it is within 60 miles. No way do I want to go through Newark if I request JFK. Newark always has cheaper airfares so this is possible.

 

Like I said, I've used it a handful of times and every time I request JFK I have gotten JFK.

 

That statement about alternate airports is for folks who literally have just a single flight option from their hometown airport which probably won't work for catching a cruise departure time.

[fox02554]

On 11/6/2022 at 10:10 AM, v3cruiser said:

 

On 11/6/2022 at 10:10 AM, v3cruiser said:

 how did your trip to panama go? 

 

Our cruise is 02/22/2022 , on the jewel , we fly out of Boston so i'm not to worried about the actual flights , but going down a day early because of New England weather, 

 

[zzdoug]

We have enough frequent flier points to get to the cruise but not for the return direction, so we are planning to use the one-person free promo in the return direction (Miami to SLC) after a cruise on the Escape in spring 2023. 

 

Do we have any choice in the routing, airline, or timing of flights?

Can any of you give us your experiences of what airlines are we likely to be booked on?  Is there any chance we would be booked on a nonstop FLL-SLC on JetBlue or Delta or one stop on Southwest?  Or are we more likely to be booked on Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant etc?

 

Also do we have to pay for luggage if the airline has luggage fees?

 

Thanks!

[KAYKAY121]

16 minutes ago, zzdoug said:

We have enough frequent flier points to get to the cruise but not for the return direction, so we are planning to use the one-person free promo in the return direction (Miami to SLC) after a cruise on the Escape in spring 2023. 

 

Do we have any choice in the routing, airline, or timing of flights?

Can any of you give us your experiences of what airlines are we likely to be booked on?  Is there any chance we would be booked on a nonstop FLL-SLC on JetBlue or Delta or one stop on Southwest?  Or are we more likely to be booked on Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant etc?

 

Also do we have to pay for luggage if the airline has luggage fees?

 

Thanks!

once your flight is booked, you cannot change it if it is on AA. If you have requirements, you have to request them 75 days or before you leave and there are charges. We flew ATL to LAX with one stop. It was nonstop returning. 
 

Luggage was charged on United.