I just read on my roll call how AWFUL BOGO flights can be!

[ontheweb]

Our cruise is from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik

 

Passengers (including us) have been getting our flight information the last few days.

 

One poster said they have not got theirs yet, but have friends who are doing the same itinerary in June. The first couple flies direct from Salt lake City to Heathrow. But the return is a horror. Reykjavik to Frankfort, Germany overnight where they will have to pay for their own accommodations. Then JFK and another connection before getting to Salt Lake City. And their daughter and 2 friends are also on the cruise. They are also direct from Salt Lake City to Heathrow. And they have a different horrible assignment coming back. Reykjavik to Toronto, again overnight at their expense. Toronto to Boston and then one more connection before arriving back in Salt Lake City.

[complawyer]

if you check, you will find a bunch of posts about bogo some pro, but i think mostly con.

i have posted often, never, ever allow ncl to book your flights. yours is a major case in point.  if you are still within the cancellation period, i would suggest you do yourself and ALL your traveling companions a massive favor, cancel and book your own air reservations.

 

by the way, hopefully  you are aware that southampton is a little more than an hour away from lodon heathrow  airport, and hopefully you have made prior arrangements either on  your own or through ncl for transportation to the cruise terminal. are your friends arriving at heathrow the same day of ship departure. if so, thats not so good. we're leaving from los angeles, july 25th, arriving at heathrow on the 26th. booked into a hotel for that night, then onto southampton the  following day.

 

also. make sure they have arranged transportation from reykjavik to the airport, and make sure that ncl has arranged the flight with enough wiggle room, for (1)  getting off the ship (2) getting to the airport with enough time to check in for the return flight. 

 

IMHO,booking airfare through ncl may be cheaper in the long run, but look at the problems and headaches occurring because of it.

 

classic example of "pennywise dollar foolish"

 

i hope it all works out for you

 

let us know what happens!

[Sailing12Away]

Did you consider staying 1 day post cruise? Look at the flights. I don't know what date your going, but NCL will not book you on a flight earlier than 11am to make sure there's enough buffer for you to catch the flight. Looking at random dates, your options to go from REK to SLC with flights leaving after 12pm are limited.

 

NCL will always book cheap flights, which means 2-3 layovers if you're not going in the 'right' direction or to an easy to reach city on the coast.

 

Usually after flights are booked your options are limited. If you find a better flight on your own, it's up to you if it's worth the extra cost to just book a one-way home at your own expense.

 

[complawyer]

checking this list, buyer beware, spirit is one of the worst rated airlines

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, complawyer said:

if you check, you will find a bunch of posts about bogo some pro, but i think mostly con.

i have posted often, never, ever allow ncl to book your flights. yours is a major case in point.  if you are still within the cancellation period, i would suggest you do yourself and ALL your traveling companions a massive favor, cancel and book your own air reservations.

 

by the way, hopefully  you are aware that southampton is a little more than an hour away from lodon heathrow  airport, and hopefully you have made prior arrangements either on  your own or through ncl for transportation to the cruise terminal. are your friends arriving at heathrow the same day of ship departure. if so, thats not so good. we're leaving from los angeles, july 25th, arriving at heathrow on the 26th. booked into a hotel for that night, then onto southampton the  following day.

 

also. make sure they have arranged transportation from reykjavik to the airport, and make sure that ncl has arranged the flight with enough wiggle room, for (1)  getting off the ship (2) getting to the airport with enough time to check in for the return flight. 

 

IMHO,booking airfare through ncl may be cheaper in the long run, but look at the problems and headaches occurring because of it.

 

classic example of "pennywise dollar foolish"

 

i hope it all works out for you

 

let us know what happens!

This is not us It was posted in our roll call.

 

Our flights are not perfect, but worth the savings.

 

I wish we were non-stop from Newark to London, but go by way of Montreal. Going home is non-stop from Reykjavik.

[crazycatlady82]

I used NCL for my flights in April for the Epic San Juan to New York cruise. Mine were great, and I had no problem. Flight times and layover times were good, even coming from North Dakota (Fargo-MSP-ATL-SJU). My cost was $258, which I cannot even get an Allegiant flight for that price, let alone 2 one-way tickets. For me, personally, I will have sometimes 2 layovers, even in the US because of my location. 
 

One thing to be aware of is that you are giving up a lot of the control and they book the cheapest routes. Think about it: for the price that you paid for tickets, even with the overnight, is it still considerably cheaper? Is the price worth the frustration? 

[happy cruzer]

Some itineraries don't have alot of great options.  Many people are wanting the best option for the low price.  Would the guy complaining pay times two for the better flight?

 

Cruise air seems to work best for the routes with lots of flights/options.

[DCGuy64]

BOGO air is a good value for the majority of passengers, but the ones who are happy generally don't bother to post, only (or usually) the ones who weren't happy. Just keep that in mind.

[CalcDiva]

We are flying DFW to Reykjavik for our July trip.  I am happy with our flights - only one layover each way.  The only concern is our departing flight is scheduled too early (in my opinion).  I politely called NCL Air and they agree that the flight is early and have told me that it should be changed and to check back every couple of weeks if I have not received the change.  Otherwise, like I said, the flight times, layovers, and savings are great!

[Selion]

My parents lucked out in 2021, scored non-stop US east cost to LAX roundtrip around Christmas with BOGO.  A friend got lucky for his upcoming Med cruise with non-stop flights roundtrip from US east coast to FCO.

 

BOGO air is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get.

[SpacemanSpiff]

^^^  What he said.

 

We originally went with the BOGO deal, but that included a three-day deviation on the back end, for which NCL made us stay at their hotel.  Once I started looking into the potential flight itineraries (east coast US to Europe and back), knowing it would require a connection either at NY, DC, ATL, or O'Hare, I found almost all of the flights either had a very long connecting time (8 hrs or more) or a dangerously short one (1.5 hours or less).  There was one set of flights that had a 3-4 hour layover coming and going, and when we factored in booking our own hotel and being able to book early and selecting these flights, the difference wasn't very much, so we did that.  Once we got airfare, we called NCL (this was 11 months out from the cruise) and canceled the BOGO.  It's definitely a potentially great benefit, but we didn't think so in this case.  As always, YMMV.

[Happy fool]

CalcDiva, how soon after docking is your flight?  I was told 3.5 hours was okay. That seems too short to me. 

[hoopslover]

16 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Our cruise is from London (Southampton) to Reykjavik

 

Passengers (including us) have been getting our flight information the last few days.

 

One poster said they have not got theirs yet, but have friends who are doing the same itinerary in June. The first couple flies direct from Salt lake City to Heathrow. But the return is a horror. Reykjavik to Frankfort, Germany overnight where they will have to pay for their own accommodations. Then JFK and another connection before getting to Salt Lake City. And their daughter and 2 friends are also on the cruise. They are also direct from Salt Lake City to Heathrow. And they have a different horrible assignment coming back. Reykjavik to Toronto, again overnight at their expense. Toronto to Boston and then one more connection before arriving back in Salt Lake City.

We are also on a Southampton to Reykjavik cruise in July and got our flight information last week.  All 4 rooms are booked on the same flights.  We were expecting worse.  We fly from San Jose, CA with a layover of just over an hour in Denver then on to Heathrow on United.  From Reykjavik we fly Icelandair to Seattle with a 3 hour layover, then on to San Jose.  Arrival isn't until 11 pm so we will need a hotel that night but we are all together and the flights are as good or better than expected and the savings was great.  Only our second time using NCL air but the first time was over 10 years ago and we will at least consider this in the future.

[julig22]

6 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Some itineraries don't have alot of great options.  Many people are wanting the best option for the low price.  Would the guy complaining pay times two for the better flight?

 

Cruise air seems to work best for the routes with lots of flights/options.

I always wonder how many people actually look to see their booking options before posting how awful their flights were.  2x is conservative, sometimes that "better" flight is 3x or more - and can be cancelled just as easily as a NCL- booked itinerary.

But as to location, I find I may get better flights because they are limited from my regional airport, I have to fly to a hub first, so with NCLs 2/3 leg policy (domestic/international),  I get reasonable flights.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, hoopslover said:

We are also on a Southampton to Reykjavik cruise in July and got our flight information last week.  All 4 rooms are booked on the same flights.  We were expecting worse.  We fly from San Jose, CA with a layover of just over an hour in Denver then on to Heathrow on United.  From Reykjavik we fly Icelandair to Seattle with a 3 hour layover, then on to San Jose.  Arrival isn't until 11 pm so we will need a hotel that night but we are all together and the flights are as good or better than expected and the savings was great.  Only our second time using NCL air but the first time was over 10 years ago and we will at least consider this in the future.

We are also on Iceland Air coming home, direct to Newark.

 

Just a heads up, we flew with them once before for a land trip to Iceland, and my DW reminded me that they do not serve a meal. They do have food that you can BUY.

[drew69]

6 hours ago, hoopslover said:

We are also on a Southampton to Reykjavik cruise in July and got our flight information last week.  All 4 rooms are booked on the same flights.  We were expecting worse.  We fly from San Jose, CA with a layover of just over an hour in Denver then on to Heathrow on United.  From Reykjavik we fly Icelandair to Seattle with a 3 hour layover, then on to San Jose.  Arrival isn't until 11 pm so we will need a hotel that night but we are all together and the flights are as good or better than expected and the savings was great.  Only our second time using NCL air but the first time was over 10 years ago and we will at least consider this in the future.

That is very tight in Denver as the arrival time is when the plane touches down.  Then the departing flight will close doors 15 minutes before departure time so if all goes according to schedule you actually have about 30 minutes to connect.

[quagmire0]

I think it'll always come down to where you're coming from.  For example, we're leaving from O'Hare airport and it's a direct flight there and back.  The departure flight is pretty early (5am), but the return is reasonable.  If you're coming from a foreign country or a smaller airport that doesn't have many direct flights, it's definitely going to be a hairy proposition when you place the booking in the hands of NCL.  

 

What's kind of interesting is that when I linked my flight to my AA account, it shows the tickets as being issued on the day I booked the cruise in November, even though I didn't get my flight info until May.  So, makes me wonder how long NCL and/or the carrier know what flight you'll be on until they finally tell you.

[pghflyer]

I have used it twice when booking during COVID as their "buy one" rates were very cheap then. Now, I find their "Buy one" rates to be about the same or more than me just buying tickets on my own....and haven't used that "perk" in our last 3 bookings.  Booking on your own is much better because you have complete control of your airline, times, routing, changes, etc.....so unless they look to be collectively saving us $400+ for our group, I don't bother.

[CalcDiva]

On 5/30/2023 at 10:52 AM, Happy fool said:

CalcDiva, how soon after docking is your flight?  I was told 3.5 hours was okay. That seems too short to me. 

The representative I spoke with said no earlier than 5 hours after port time for international flight.

[JamnSam]

I am usually the one arranging all flights and it was tough to let NCL's agent pick them for me. We are flying WestJet to BCN and UA back.

 

Odd thing is that the agent booked us for the plus seating for WestJet for our outbound flight. I didn't complain about that! Only downside is they only have one flight almost every day to BCN. So, if something happens, we are stuck in Canada with no option to make the ship. In hindsight, I should have done the cushion day on the front end instead.

 

The NCL notice that since we had 2 cabins we may not be on the same flight was very troubling, but it all worked out.

[v3cruiser]

We were happy with our flights from St. louis to panama city and back NCL arranged for us.I was nervous before getting flight assignments and was checking airfare just in case.  i could not have booked better flights and the flight coming home was very expensive on ticket sale websites. Hopefully we have the same luck next time but you never know. 

[Sailing12Away]

FWIW - my next cruise with NCL is coming up in September, so still too early to see my flights from them. But I've been price checking for both myself (JFK departure) and my sister (ORD departure) to see what options we may all end up with.

 

For our flights (JFK-REK, then LHR-JFK) - Delta has nonstop flights for $1100/pp, and the cheapest flight I see is much less ideal with 1 stop in each direction including an airport change going to REK (the nonstop to REK is 5hrs, this flight makes that 5hr flight a 15hr experience) - that price is $718/pp. NCL is charging us $900 total for both of us.

 

For my sister and family doing the same thing, but out of O'hare, United has a bunch of nonstop flights for $1100/pp, and the cheapest flight is $778/pp and includes 2-3 stops (the flight to REK would go from 6hrs to 24hrs, LOL). NCL is charging them $750/pp because they have a group of 4 and the B1G1 is only for the first 2.

 

So yeah.... the NCL flights are not always great, but honestly you need to do research first to see what else is out there. If there are better flights on your own for similar prices, it's a no brainer to take that control back. But in our case, we'll be saving several hundred dollars between the 6 of us and have very good odds of being on those nonstop flights because of where we're each leaving from. United is a big hub for Chicago and JFK, well, nearly every airline goes here so we have tons of options. Tons of options = good flights at low prices. For folks at smaller airports, may the odds forever be in your favor.

 

(and if I've now jinxed myself and we end up on those 15+ hr long flights, I will be sure to report back here on that and how I will NEVER sail with NCL again, while demanding a 200% FCC for the stress and anxiety...)

[mthayer295]

Just got our flights today for 8/17 cruise on Prima.  Direct flights each way BOS to REK on Icelandair, overnight arriving at 6am.  Return direct LHR-BOS on DL flight run by VS.  Only problem is I can’t find the flight on my delta account.  I have tried searching with he provided confirm code and with the DL ticket number - both give me an error?

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, mthayer295 said:

Just got our flights today for 8/17 cruise on Prima.  Direct flights each way BOS to REK on Icelandair, overnight arriving at 6am.  Return direct LHR-BOS on DL flight run by VS.  Only problem is I can’t find the flight on my delta account.  I have tried searching with he provided confirm code and with the DL ticket number - both give me an error?

Under your name is there a locator number? If so, did you try that>

[graphicguy]

Always recommend for people to forgo NCL’s air promo.  If you have unlimited time for layovers it’s fine.  But, if you want/need to stick to a personal schedule, NCL Air is not the avenue you probably want to utilize.  And, they only offer airfare, not hotel stays to go along with the Airfare promo.

 

Personally, it’s not worth it to me to use NCL’s airfare promos.  Others with more flexibility and time?  Sure…why not?