Interested in hearing from people who've used the NCL air offer (2nd person flies free aka BOGO)

[bortman23]

10 hours ago, JillK said:

We know this is a risk but it's one we have decided we are willing to take.

 

With so many flights a day between YYZ and NYC I would feel confident that even if something happened you'd be able to get onto another flight quickly (at a cost of course, but at that point "it is what it is").

[Seminole1975]

1 hour ago, davencl said:

It depends on the airline.  On our flight to australia this January we had United to Australia and Hawaiian back to US.  United lets you pick seats as soon as ticketed.  Hawaiian wouldn't let us pick seats until 24 hours before.  We were able to pick seats together but no guarantee.  We had good flights but:   When leaving New Zealand they had an epic rainstorm, 10 inches in 24 hours, previous record was 6 inches.  The international terminal flooded to knee deep water. (We were not in the airport at the time so didn't get caught in the flooding thank goodness)  Our flight was canceled.  Fortunately I was able to rebook a flight 2 days later(airport was closed to all air traffic for a couple of days).   Getting it rebooked was not simple.  Hawaiian air did do it but I went back and forth once with NCL.   The bottom line is NCL has no control and you must work with the airline.  The airline will tell you must work with NCL and NCL will tell you must work with the airline.  However it's the airlines responsibility and Hawaiian did make the change but I had to be very insistent.  As a result I've adjusted my "pain point" for savings.   I would have still have booked NCL air in this case as I saved $2800 but upped my saving threshold to 2K (was 1K)..  I.E. I must save at least 2K for the BOGO fare to be worth it for me.

Sounds like you had a stressful trip! It makes sense that the airline is responsible for rebooking you ultimately. NCL has a flight assistance hotline, but they say to contact the airline first. I can't believe Hawaiian airlines would not let you book seats until 24 hours ahead of time! Thank you for this information. I like your saving threshold idea. There is a lot to think about!

[zzdoug]

4 hours ago, Seminole1975 said:

Could I also ask about picking out your own seats?

 

3 hours ago, wil e coyote said:

Seat selection needs to be done on the airline's website or through their app, and it is subject to their rules and fees. Some airlines charge fees for "better" economy class seats, and you would be responsible for those fees if you wanted a choice seat. I've never seen NCL use Southwest, but sassycruiser did experience that. If you're flying SWA seat selection is a whole different thing.

My suggestion would be to jump onto the airline website as soon as you get your flight confirmations from NCL.

We are on Southwest also, so it's first come, first served once we are onboard, and the race to check in at T minus 24 hours to get in line.  Normally we would join this virtual rat race by setting an alarm to log in exactly 24 hours before departure, but we will be asea.  However I think one of our Southwest credit cards gives us a few A-groups per year so this may be the time to use it.

 

Southwest has no baggage fees, so that is a positive.

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by zzdoug

[julig22]

6 minutes ago, zzdoug said:

 

We are on Southwest also, so it's first come, first served once we are onboard, and the race to check in at T minus 24 hours to get in line.  Normally we would join this virtual rat race by setting an alarm to log in exactly 24 hours before departure, but we will be asea.  However I think one of our Southwest credit cards gives us a few A-groups per year so this may be the time to use it.

 

Southwest has no baggage fees, so that is a positive.

 

Or pay for early bird. That gets you an early # if you can't check in.

[jimm]

So for those that use NCL's air offer and fly in a day or two early do you just forgo the included ground transfer that comes with it and find your own transportation to the port? 

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, jimm said:

So for those that use NCL's air offer and fly in a day or two early do you just forgo the included ground transfer that comes with it and find your own transportation to the port? 

If you stay in the NCL hotel, they will provide a shuttle from the airport to hotel, and then from the hotel to the port. In my case, we chose our own hotel ($250 a night, vs. $500 a night), so we do have to take an Uber from FLL to our hotel in Miami. We will be taking the NCL shuttle from the port to the airport at the end of the cruise. 

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, jimm said:

So for those that use NCL's air offer and fly in a day or two early do you just forgo the included ground transfer that comes with it and find your own transportation to the port? 

To clarify, the ground transfer isn't "included" - you pay for it, they remove it if you don't want/need it.

In the past, I have sometimes stayed near the airport and gone back to the airport and taken the shuttle.  Getting NCL to understand what you want to do can sometimes be an issue but it's usually worked out.  However, on my last trip, my transfer was cancelled at the last minute - no notification, other than a new statement that had the transfer cost removed.  When I called NCL, assuming it was a mistake, I was told I couldn't go back to the airport for "security" reasons.  So I'm not sure what was going on - but there was no issue with security (I did an online chat with the airport).  No comment from NCL when I called them on their fake answer.

On the plus side, I changed hotels, the hotel shuttle met me at the airport and the cab ride to the port cost about $5. So I worked it out and it ended up being wayyy cheaper, but as a solo female traveler, I'm not always comfortable "winging it" in locations where I do not speak the language.

 

[jimm]

I take it you need to call to have them remove the ground transfers?  There didn’t seem to be a way to remove it on line that I could see.

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, jimm said:

I take it you need to call to have them remove the ground transfers?  There didn’t seem to be a way to remove it on line that I could see.

Normally they will automatically remove it if you request a deviation and/ or book an airport transfer excursion.  But if not, yes you have to call or use chat.

[atlbrm]

3 hours ago, jimm said:

So for those that use NCL's air offer and fly in a day or two early do you just forgo the included ground transfer that comes with it and find your own transportation to the port? 

For our upcoming cruise 3/25 out of Tenerife, we requested a one day early arrival, and automatically got a $180 credit ($25 + transfer costs ) which will cover the ride from the airport to a hotel within walking distance of the port, the cost of the hotel, and the transfer to the Lisbon airport at the end of the cruise, with a couple dollars left over.

[Cheer Mom D]

How do you request a one day early arrival after you've booked your trip with the BOGO air?

 

[julig22]

20 minutes ago, Cheer Mom D said:

How do you request a one day early arrival after you've booked your trip with the BOGO air?

 

You call whoever booked your reservation. TA, pcc, or NCL if you booked online.

[atlbrm]

10 hours ago, Cheer Mom D said:

How do you request a one day early arrival after you've booked your trip with the BOGO air?

 

We booked the cruise online.  I was looking up the number to request the air deviation when I got a call from a NCL pcc to see if I had any questions - she was able to process my deviation request, and I got an email confirmation of the request (with a $180 credit) within minutes.

[agrimm01]

I always say it is like getting a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.  Reservations going from Florida to Athens was great.  From Florida to Seattle was terrible.  Both trips going a day in advance.

[wil e coyote]

12 hours ago, Cheer Mom D said:

How do you request a one day early arrival after you've booked your trip with the BOGO air?

 

One very important thing about requesting this - you must do it at least 75 days prior to your cruise in order for NCL to honor the request. If you book within the 75 day window or if you forget to ask 2 1/2 months in advance, you most likely will be told that early/late flights are not available through NCL.

[DCGuy64]

THANK YOU to everyone who replied and a special thank you to those who weighed in on the poll. I was startled (in a good way) with the results. 30 out of 35 people said they'd use the NCL air deal again, which is just over 85%. A lot of times, threads on this subject trend negatively, but at least for those of you who responded, the lived experience is a lot more positive!

[Middleager]

We've used NCL BOGO three times.  We'd use it again if the price is much cheaper.  For the next cruise out of Lisbon, NCL's BOGO price is similar to if we buy ourselves for 2, so we won't use them. 

 

We always do a 2-day deviation on the way to the cruise.

 

The first time with NCL's flights was Toronto to Rome, got KLM connecting through Amsterdam.  Our flights were fine, but one luggage (mostly my wife's clothing/cosmetics) did not arrive Rome.  We spent a lot of time trying to contact KLM, and NCL.  The night before cruise we scrambled to go buy some clothing (not enough) for my wife.

 

That luggage apparently got to Rome on the day of the cruise and they said they'll try to get it to the cruise.  It didn't get there.

 

After we got on the cruise, NCL gave us $200 OBC, and also free laundry.  We continue to get online with KLM's website, and NCL on ship Guest Services.  NCL said they'll try to arrange for the luggage to be sent to the next port.  It was a transatlantic cruise with 7 ports in the beginning.  The luggage never got to the cruise.  But at least NCL did try to help us, and we were glad they did.

 

--

Some people asked about seats.  It really depends on the airline, and it helps if you have status or credit cards to give some perks.  We usually try to select seats and most of the time had to pay for that.  Some credit card have travel credits you can use, to pay for seat selection, and we made use of that.  Some airlines let you select seats for free at T-24, but some don't.  So if we really want to make sure we get some seats, we pay for it.

[kohanfam]

We used BOGO Los Angeles to New Orleans.  Paid under $600 for 2. Would have cost around $1500.  Both flights nonstop with Delta.  Flight out leaves later than we’d like (1-6) and flight home is later than we’d like 7-11, but savings makes it worthwhile.

Tried to change flights but couldn’t.  Was able to get seat assigned and could’ve upgraded.  Would do again at that savings.  Checked cost before choosing.

[cruiseny4life]

I promised I'd come back and vote in your poll @DCGuy64, but you closed it on me!!! So, guess what. Here's a long post about my experience.

 

We chose the BOGO Airfare leaving from Syracuse, flying into the Miami area. About 60 days before our trip we received our flight information. We had two segments each way, both were through JFK and thankfully all segments were on one airline, Delta. Even better! 

 

We did fly into and out of Fort Lauderdale. I would have preferred Miami, but this was just a small inconvenience for decent (and cheap) flights. 

 

We had scheduled a one-day deviation. Our flights started at 12:45 PM and arrived in Fort Lauderdale at about 6 PM. Coming home, we were leaving Fort Lauderdale at 12 PM and arriving in Syracuse around 6 PM.

 

I took the ticket information, logged into Delta's website using my account, and linked the tickets to me. Then, I added my TSA Precheck information and selected seats for my husband and I (all through my account). I had the option to upgrade to first class or comfort plus, but declined. I just selected two cheap-o seats. 

 

I had actually priced these tickets out about 90 days before the cruise. We paid around $700 for the BOGO fare to NCL. The flights were priced at about $1,500 so we thought we had a really great deal since flights for two would be $3,000! Well, about a month before cruising, I re-priced these tickets. They came down to a more normal price of roughly $350 per person. Now, we likely would have purchased the tickets back when they cost $1,500, so I'm counting that as our savings. Unless traveling for business, I would never purchase flight tickets two weeks before a flight. 

 

On the day of travel, we had no issues checking our bag, going through security (I had my TSA Precheck), and getting on our flights. Heading home, we did have a flight delay. Delta automatically rebooked us as there was no way we'd make our connecting flight. Instead of arriving home at 6 PM, we were set to get home at midnight. Well, that didn't work! 

 

Using the Delta app, we were able to find alternate flights getting us to Syracuse at about 6:30 PM, by flying through Detroit, instead of JFK. Heck yea! 

 

Bottom line - NCL's BOGO Airfare program worked great for us! We saved some money and had fully control over our seats and flights. We'd use it again, based on this experience. 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Bottom line - NCL's BOGO Airfare program worked great for us! We saved some money and had fully control over our seats and flights. We'd use it again, based on this experience. 

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. It seems like a lot of folks have been happy with their experiences, too. I appreciate your sharing your thoughts on this!

[disneylover89]

Disregard, I see you had a layover

Edited March 30, 2023 by disneylover89

[Culley024]

We have a group of 10 with 5 cabins traveling this summer. We have to BOGO  for all of us.   We all booked as a group but are being told we may not be on the same flights.   Is this consistent    Being an international trip we obviously prefer to be together     tips?

[Middleager]

29 minutes ago, Culley024 said:

We have a group of 10 with 5 cabins traveling this summer. We have to BOGO  for all of us.   We all booked as a group but are being told we may not be on the same flights.   Is this consistent    Being an international trip we obviously prefer to be together     tips?

Tip?  If you want flights together for these people in different cabins, buy. 

What if more people want to be together?

[julig22]

52 minutes ago, Culley024 said:

We have a group of 10 with 5 cabins traveling this summer. We have to BOGO  for all of us.   We all booked as a group but are being told we may not be on the same flights.   Is this consistent    Being an international trip we obviously prefer to be together     tips?

Decide before final payment if the savings is worth the possibility of different flights. You can look at the available flights and see how many options there would be from your location to your destination and decide the odds.

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, Culley024 said:

We have a group of 10 with 5 cabins traveling this summer. We have to BOGO  for all of us.   We all booked as a group but are being told we may not be on the same flights.   Is this consistent    Being an international trip we obviously prefer to be together     tips?

Based on how you worded your post, I am thinking you've already booked your group? Each cabin is guaranteed the same flights, but the entire group is not. As far as I know, there is no way to ensure you'll all be on the same flight. That's not a feature of the BOGO program. In some ways, you get what you paid for (NCL is fairly open about this in their terms and conditions).