Ncl Air is two days enough??

[njkate]

I’m looking at an Alaskan cruise in late August early Sept departing from Seward.

 

Ive priced air and it’s costly almost as much as the cruise.

So I’m flirting with NCL air, my home airport is Savannah so I know NCL will have me hopping, skipping across the US, with minimum 2 stops.

If I fly to Seward on a Saturday, two days prior to Monday when cruise departs at 9pm am I giving myself enough time?

 

Thoughts??

Edited March 14, 2023 by njkate

[Lupush]

When will you be flying?  If it's during hurricane season you might want to add an extra day, as flights heading west become few and far between if there's any storms in the South.  I'm on the West Coast for work often, flights to LA and Las Vegas have been very challenging since the pandemic.  I'd imagine getting to Seward is even more challenging.

[fredflint]

you should be fine

[hallux]

If you self-book flights to arrive 2 days in advance do you feel comfortable that you'll enough of a buffer to get there?  With a couple days of padding, either self-booked or cruise line-booked, your limitation still comes back to airline schedules.

[kdmbluerzr]

You won't fly into Seward. Nearest mainstream airport is Anchorage. From there you have several choices as to how you travel to Seward. Train, bus, other shuttle services or rent a car. It takes a minimum of a couple of hours to get from Anchorage to Seward. 

We did this cruise aboard the Jewel last summer, wonderful trip. We took the train, gold dome, it was fabulous! Alaska Travel with the train will transfer your luggage from the train to the ship in Seward if you book your train reservation through them.  Go a couple of days early, relax, enjoy! 

[9tee2Sea]

also keep in mind, if you use NCL air ( without any deviation) , transportation to the ship is included.  If you ask for a deviation, they will credit you the transportation charge.

[njkate]

3 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

also keep in mind, if you use NCL air ( without any deviation) , transportation to the ship is included.  If you ask for a deviation, they will credit you the transportation charge.

Oh I’d never do that flight from Savannah without deviation 

[njkate]

3 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

You won't fly into Seward. Nearest mainstream airport is Anchorage. From there you have several choices as to how you travel to Seward. Train, bus, other shuttle services or rent a car. It takes a minimum of a couple of hours to get from Anchorage to Seward. 

We did this cruise aboard the Jewel last summer, wonderful trip. We took the train, gold dome, it was fabulous! Alaska Travel with the train will transfer your luggage from the train to the ship in Seward if you book your train reservation through them.  Go a couple of days early, relax, enjoy! 

Ah yes don’t know why I typed Seward when it’s Anchorage.

If you book the cruise without the air what’s the latest you can add it on ?

[sanger727]

We rarely fly in more than 1 day ahead. You should be fine with 2. Especially with such a late departure. 

[njkate]

3 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

You won't fly into Seward. Nearest mainstream airport is Anchorage. From there you have several choices as to how you travel to Seward. Train, bus, other shuttle services or rent a car. It takes a minimum of a couple of hours to get from Anchorage to Seward. 

We did this cruise aboard the Jewel last summer, wonderful trip. We took the train, gold dome, it was fabulous! Alaska Travel with the train will transfer your luggage from the train to the ship in Seward if you book your train reservation through them.  Go a couple of days early, relax, enjoy! 

Book the train through Alaska travel or NCL? I plan on flying out two days before 

[vacation44]

We are on the Jewel (no coupon!) on August 28th and are flying out on Saturday, August 26th--JFK to Anchorage.   We booked our own flights and it really was not much more to book first class tickets.  Yes, I spent a lot more than I would of liked, but I need the control.  We are then taking the train on cruise morning to Seaward.

 

[vacation44]

4 minutes ago, njkate said:

Book the train through Alaska travel or NCL? I plan on flying out two days before 

I booked it directly.

[hallux]

10 minutes ago, njkate said:

If you book the cruise without the air what’s the latest you can add it on ?

Per the T&C's, 75 days before the cruise is the deadline for booking the cruise to include the air and any date deviations must be made prior to that same deadline so I assume you can add the flights up to that point as well.

• Reservation must be made more than 75 days prior to sailing to qualify.
• Date deviations can be added up to 75 days prior to embarkation.

 

[julig22]

1 minute ago, hallux said:

Per the T&C's, 75 days before the cruise is the deadline for booking the cruise to include the air and any date deviations must be made prior to that same deadline so I assume you can add the flights up to that point as well.

• Reservation must be made more than 75 days prior to sailing to qualify.
• Date deviations can be added up to 75 days prior to embarkation.

 

The airfare promo usually falls off at 75 days and you do have to choose a deviation by that time.  However, I'm not sure that you can just add the airfare if you've already booked and are after final payment, without a penalty.

[julig22]

7 hours ago, njkate said:

I’m looking at an Alaskan cruise in late August early Sept departing from Seward.

 

Ive priced air and it’s costly almost as much as the cruise.

So I’m flirting with NCL air, my home airport is Savannah so I know NCL will have me hopping, skipping across the US, with minimum 2 stops.

If I fly to Seward on a Saturday, two days prior to Monday when cruise departs at 9pm am I giving myself enough time?

 

Thoughts??

On the same cruise, booked the NCL pre-cruise excursion to Seward from Anchorage.  Still trying to decide when to fly, but I'm a lot closer, so probably 1 day at most for me.  Per NCL policy, you should only have 1 stop, so you can check what's available under those terms.

[njkate]

Well I’m going to sleep on this as I just did a mock booking on United where I get to choose my flight and connection

Sav-Ewr-Anchorage is $2220 for two plus my bags go free NCL bogo is $1808 I’m thinking it’s worth the $400 to be in control of my flights 

I’m going to mock book with Delta as well as I get free bags with them and see the difference

My biggest worry is NCL would book me on AA and they have been abysmal lately, stranded me in Costa Rica so have a bad taste for them lol

I also board Dawn on Saturday so will wait to book on board

Edited March 14, 2023 by njkate

[mscloyd]

So much to see and do in Alaska you could easily find many things to do no matter how many days you fly in early.

[Turtles06]

18 minutes ago, mscloyd said:

So much to see and do in Alaska you could easily find many things to do no matter how many days you fly in early.

 

The very best part of our Alaska cruise many years ago were the ten days we spent pre-cruise driving ourselves around the state.  Yes, the cruise was beautiful, but no comparison to the land visit.

 

Even with just one day in Seward, a person could do a small boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. Spectacular and I highly recommend it.

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

The very best part of our Alaska cruise many years ago were the ten days we spent pre-cruise driving ourselves around the state.  Yes, the cruise was beautiful, but no comparison to the land visit.

 

Even with just one day in Seward, a person could do a small boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. Spectacular and I highly recommend it.

Would love to spend ten days before but that would be too many days off of work for us!

[vacation44]

5 hours ago, njkate said:

Well I’m going to sleep on this as I just did a mock booking on United where I get to choose my flight and connection

Sav-Ewr-Anchorage is $2220 for two plus my bags go free NCL bogo is $1808 I’m thinking it’s worth the $400 to be in control of my flights 

I’m going to mock book with Delta as well as I get free bags with them and see the difference

My biggest worry is NCL would book me on AA and they have been abysmal lately, stranded me in Costa Rica so have a bad taste for them lol

I also board Dawn on Saturday so will wait to book on board

Did you check Alaskan Airlines?  Our flights were just under $2400 for two first class tickets.   However, I agree, for me the $400 is worth it for the control.

[njkate]

9 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Did you check Alaskan Airlines?  Our flights were just under $2400 for two first class tickets.   However, I agree, for me the $400 is worth it for the control.

Alaska doesn’t fly from Savannah, I’d have to use another carrier to first fly to an airport they service which is a pain as far as bags . They code share with AA but I won’t fly AA

Edited March 15, 2023 by njkate

[Laszlo]

18 minutes ago, njkate said:

Alaska doesn’t fly from Savannah, I’d have to use another carrier to first fly to an airport they service which is a pain as far as bags . They code share with AA but I won’t fly AA

To me the 4 hour drive to Atlanta would be worth it to fly Alaska Air

[njkate]

22 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

To me the 4 hour drive to Atlanta would be worth it to fly Alaska Air

Lol the last thing I want to face on the return trip is a 4 hour drive home. 
 

If times work and price works maybe Delta to Atlanta and then home to Savannah 

[cruiseny4life]

You may be able to add the BOGO air up to 75 days before departure, with a deviation. This offer can also be ended at any time, so you're not guaranteed it'll be there tomorrow or 75 days before your cruise. 

 

For your two day deviation, remember that means NCL may book you on an overnight flight to Alaska which means you'll leave two days before departure, but arrive in Anchorage one day before departure. If anything goes wrong, well you know where that will take you.

 

If you do use the BOGO air, just be sure you know there are no guarantees. You might get a crappy airline, bad seats, need to pay for luggage on an airline you don't have status/credit card with, etc. Depending on the airline, if you need to make changes, you may need to go through NCL which may or may not do what you request, even if they agree to it (I just suffered this, but got it fixed before we depart Friday). 

 

When I did receive my tickets at about 60 days out from travel (the general rule now is 30 days though), I was thankful to have Delta for all flights to/from/connecting. My clients weren't so lucky. They have Delta/Southwest/United mix and match. Anyway, I was able to choose my seats and could have upgraded them (using my credit card) if I had wanted to. 

 

I'll experience the actual NCL air travel Friday. I'm reserving judgment on if I'll use it again. I probably will, unless a nightmare unfolds. But, I don't think I'd choose it flying in to Anchorage, especially if the total savings are only $400 (I know that's a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of your vacation, it's not much). 

 

Good luck with whatever you decide. 

[DCGuy64]

25 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

If you do use the BOGO air, just be sure you know there are no guarantees. You might get a crappy airline, bad seats, need to pay for luggage on an airline you don't have status/credit card with, etc.

And you might be JUST FINE. In fact, I set up an informal, i.e. non-scientific, poll recently. 85% of people who responded said they'd use the BOGO airfare again. A number of people posted comments saying that the savings were worth it and that their experience was just fine. When my wife and I did it, it was easy peasy, we had a nonstop flight from DCA to MIA and it was dirt cheap, on time and got us there with no delays at all. I offer this not to contradict @cruiseny4life but to say that, in all likelihood, you will be fine. The chances of things going wrong are outweighed by the chances that all will be well.