NCL AIR

[brer111]

Let me start out that we know all about NCL AIR including pros and cons.. Just wondering what anyone's experience was flying with 2 day deviation was like? We will be flying out of Phoenix to Rome and just wondered what others have experienced. TIA

 

Ellen

[Middleager]

The first time we did BOGO air with NCL, with 2d deviation, we flew KLM Toronto via Amsterdam, to Rome.  The flight and layover were fine. 

 

One of the two checked luggage did not arrive.  That was not NCL's doing, but when we got onboard NCL gave us US$200 OBC, and daily free laundry.  NCL said they tried to coordinate with KLM to get the luggage (which did arrive Rome on the 2nd day) to the ship in the next ports, but it never did.

[Tutone56]

We flew into Honolulu from SFO 2 days prior to our cruise, good flights, no problems at all.  And that was the first week of March 2020, at the start of covid.  We were on the last POA cruise before everything was canceled.   

[Pt5555]

Air through NCL twice, 1 was awful and the second was excellent.  Going at least 1 day early is best for sure.  Good luck.

[9tee2Sea]

17 hours ago, brer111 said:

Let me start out that we know all about NCL AIR including pros and cons.. Just wondering what anyone's experience was flying with 2 day deviation was like? We will be flying out of Phoenix to Rome and just wondered what others have experienced. TIA

 

Ellen

In Feb of this year, we had a cruise from Dubai-Athens, in which we took advantage of the NCL BOGO airfare.  I called NCL and told them I wanted 2 days post/pre-cruise deviation ( you cannot do that online, must call to get the deviation).  Our flight to Dubai was Non-Stop from Los Angles - Dubai ( 15.5 hours) on Emirates Air.  Once I got the ticket info, I went onto the airlines website and paid to upgrade my seats to exit row ( which only had two seats in that row).  Our flight back from Athens, we flew Ageaen Airlines from Athens- London ( 2 hour layover on London), then flew non-stop London-Los Angeles ( Virgin Atlantic).  We had no issues .  Just remember, you MUST call NCL and ask for a two day deviation ( they will also subtract the transportation fee to/from ship).  MAKE SURE to read the airlines luggage allowance fees once you get your tickets.  Aegean Air charges for using the overhead carryon compartment ( Could not even put a small backpack in the overhead, had to go under the seat in front).  Purchase a small handheld luggage scale so you can make sure you are under the check in bag allowance weight  ( and carry on weight allowance).  Since this was the first time using NCL BOGO, I would  do it again for any overseas trip ( the BOGO perk saved me over $2,000).  I don't use it for any cruises in the USA.

[brer111]

2 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

In Feb of this year, we had a cruise from Dubai-Athens, in which we took advantage of the NCL BOGO airfare.  I called NCL and told them I wanted 2 days post/pre-cruise deviation ( you cannot do that online, must call to get the deviation).  Our flight to Dubai was Non-Stop from Los Angles - Dubai ( 15.5 hours) on Emirates Air.  Once I got the ticket info, I went onto the airlines website and paid to upgrade my seats to exit row ( which only had two seats in that row).  Our flight back from Athens, we flew Ageaen Airlines from Athens- London ( 2 hour layover on London), then flew non-stop London-Los Angeles ( Virgin Atlantic).  We had no issues .  Just remember, you MUST call NCL and ask for a two day deviation ( they will also subtract the transportation fee to/from ship).  MAKE SURE to read the airlines luggage allowance fees once you get your tickets.  Aegean Air charges for using the overhead carryon compartment ( Could not even put a small backpack in the overhead, had to go under the seat in front).  Purchase a small handheld luggage scale so you can make sure you are under the check in bag allowance weight  ( and carry on weight allowance).  Since this was the first time using NCL BOGO, I would  do it again for any overseas trip ( the BOGO perk saved me over $2,000).  I don't use it for any cruises in the USA.

 Yes I always do deviations when I book. My reservations is with CAS. I have done several trips with BOGO or free airfare domestic, but this is our first international flight. Totally agree you need to check all information regarding seats, luggage etc.

[julig22]

And just because it always seems to come up.  A 1 day deviation means you should be arriving sometime the day prior to your cruise.  Could be 6:30 in the morning, could be in the evening - or later.  A 2 day deviation means arriving 2 days before your cruise, same arrival window.

 

People seem to sometimes think it means leaving 1 or 2 days before your cruise.  When you actually leave depends on how long it will take you to arrive to your destination.  That might be just a few hours for a domestic flight, could be 24 hours or more for international.

[brer111]

your correct - I know I will arrive 2 days but may only have 1 full day plus some for 2nd. 

[Sailing12Away]

We've used the NCL air promo a bunch of times, this is our first time using it for an international flight. We're ok with the flights themselves, but disappointed in the 'rules'. 

 

Previously we've never had an issue choosing our seats and paying to upgrade to comfort plus (or higher for some flights, though we didn't go beyond +). For our flight into Iceland we were able to pay $90/pp for comfort plus. But coming home on Delta there are no upgrades allowed at all.

I take that back.... I can pay $45/pp to sit 3 rows closer to the front of the plane, but still all the way back in row 25. I called Delta and they said I have to go through my TA that it's booked through. Grrrr, another reason why I dislike TA's and won't use them again. 

 

Have an email out to the TA to see if there's anything that can be done, but never thought this was a possibility as we've done it at least 4x previously on multiple carriers without issue. And the fact that we can do it going there means it has nothing to do with NCL per se, but that the rules vary greatly by the airline it is ultimately booked through. Not looking forward to how hubby will deal with an 8hr flight home in such tight quarters.

 

NCL charged us $800 total for both of us... pricing out similar flights (that Delta flight home isn't available, so I'm guessing NCL bought it out) and for us it was a truly B1G1 free deal. There are some cheaper flights available home through Jetblue, so not sure why they went with Delta and Gatwick instead of Heathrow, but there's still time for things to change. Or with our $800 savings, we look for a separate independent booking home on a different airline for a one way trip in comfort.

 

[RocketMan275]

8 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I take that back.... I can pay $45/pp to sit 3 rows closer to the front of the plane, but still all the way back in row 25. I called Delta and they said I have to go through my TA that it's booked through. Grrrr, another reason why I dislike TA's and won't use them again.

Why are  you blaiming this on the TA?  Sounds more like a cruise line or airlines requirement.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Why are  you blaiming this on the TA?  Sounds more like a cruise line or airlines requirement.

I think when Delta said TA, they were referring to NCL. Delta would provide the same answer to your travel agent. That they'd need to contact NCL. And of course NCL will tell your travel agent no changes can be made....because, that's how the air program works. I'm glad you were able to see monetary value in the BOGO Air Program. 

 

Sounds like the Delta flight may be booked up and only a few seats are available. In my experience, I've found Delta to be easy to change my seats, upgrade, etc. I hope something works out for you, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't. The savings sound considerable. 

Have a great cruise - I'm looking forward to your live (if you're willing to do one). 

[RocketMan275]

10 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I think when Delta said TA, they were referring to NCL. Delta would provide the same answer to your travel agent. That they'd need to contact NCL. And of course NCL will tell your travel agent no changes can be made....because, that's how the air program works. I'm glad you were able to see monetary value in the BOGO Air Program. 

OP didn't make it clear whether he booked directly with NCL or with a separate TA.

[cruiseny4life]

8 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

OP didn't make it clear whether he booked directly with NCL or with a separate TA.

I quoted you, in your response to @Sailing12Away, so it was for her. You're right though, I should have @'ed her. 

[Sailing12Away]

I'm not blaming the TA for Deltas rules. My dislike of having my booking tied to a TA is that I can't ever talk to the companies directly. For issues with my NCL booking I can't talk to NCL, I have to wait for the TA to respond to me and then for them to get in touch with NCL. Same with the fights, have to reach out to the TA for them to call NCL to try and with with the airline.

 

Like I said, never had an issue before on any other NCL booked flight so didn't know it was a possibility. Seat map only shows 4 seats occupied for both Delta one and comfort plus, so it's not an issue of there not being seats available too move into, my ticket just has a restriction for some reason.

[RocketMan275]

39 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'm not blaming the TA for Deltas rules. My dislike of having my booking tied to a TA is that I can't ever talk to the companies directly. For issues with my NCL booking I can't talk to NCL, I have to wait for the TA to respond to me and then for them to get in touch with NCL. Same with the fights, have to reach out to the TA for them to call NCL to try and with with the airline.

 

Like I said, never had an issue before on any other NCL booked flight so didn't know it was a possibility. Seat map only shows 4 seats occupied for both Delta one and comfort plus, so it's not an issue of there not being seats available too move into, my ticket just has a restriction for some reason.

The restrictions come from the ticker fare class NCL purchased for you.  This isn't your TAs fault.

[Sailing12Away]

On 6/30/2023 at 12:19 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The restrictions come from the ticker fare class NCL purchased for you.  This isn't your TAs fault.

I understand that. If you're a TA and I personally offended you, apologies. You're not my personal TA so I don't fault you personally for the issues I've had on this booking (there have been several beyond this new air hiccup), so please stop acting that way.

 

My frustration is that it is inconsistent. On American, Alaska Air, United, Iceland Air.... as I said, never had a problem being allowed to purchase seat upgrades when NCL bought my air for me. It's only this one flight on Delta that has the restrictions. So again, I don't view this as an "NCL bought the cheapest seat possible and you get what you get" - this is not an NCL thing, it seems to be a Delta thing because my flight there has no restrictions even though NCL bought that ticket too.

 

With regards to the TA, I did contact them and all they did was contact NCL, who told them, to tell me, to call the premium air division to see if I can upgrade through them. So this is exactly what I'm referring to - the back and forth. Why can't the TA just call them for me and see what my options (if any) are? So now I have to call NCL premium air myself and see if they're even willing/able to talk to me in the first place to even see what options there are. Outside of the large amount of OBC, I can't think of a single thing this TA has done for us.

[Smitheroo]

I dont care where they put me on the plane (as long as the fare charged is reasonable compared to what I would have paid had I done it myself) as long as I get to where I'm going in time to make the boat.

[omahabob]

Don't the airlines take 'ownership' of the ticket a certain number of days from the flight date, which allows them more leeway to make changes?

 

If this is an international flight, there may not be a first class. I run into that all the time. Sorry sir, only business class on this flight. So, I book business. And where do we sit? In the first class section. They just rename it for international flights. Go figure. But it's usually cheaper, so I don't complain.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

I understand that. If you're a TA and I personally offended you, apologies. You're not my personal TA so I don't fault you personally for the issues I've had on this booking (there have been several beyond this new air hiccup), so please stop acting that way.

 

My frustration is that it is inconsistent. On American, Alaska Air, United, Iceland Air.... as I said, never had a problem being allowed to purchase seat upgrades when NCL bought my air for me. It's only this one flight on Delta that has the restrictions. So again, I don't view this as an "NCL bought the cheapest seat possible and you get what you get" - this is not an NCL thing, it seems to be a Delta thing because my flight there has no restrictions even though NCL bought that ticket too.

 

With regards to the TA, I did contact them and all they did was contact NCL, who told them, to tell me, to call the premium air division to see if I can upgrade through them. So this is exactly what I'm referring to - the back and forth. Why can't the TA just call them for me and see what my options (if any) are? So now I have to call NCL premium air myself and see if they're even willing/able to talk to me in the first place to even see what options there are. Outside of the large amount of OBC, I can't think of a single thing this TA has done for us.

I'm not offended and I'm not a TA.  

I do  use a TA who is a small business, her and one assistant, who work from her home.  She's accredited with every travel agency association you can think of.  She will, if you insist, book one of those BOGO fares through the cruise lines.  But, she discourages those fares.  Her clients that book those fares wind up mad because of issues like yours, they blame her for the cruise lines policies, and it winds up costing her time and business.

I called NCL about a airport/port transfer.  I was given the price.  I was also asked if I wanted to book air through them.  I told her I was picky about my flights and was told I probably shouldn't book through NCL then.

I don't care what the savings are, I refuse to book airtravel through NCL.  I'd rather pay more and get what I want, not what saves NCL the most.

Different tickets on the same flight with the same airline can have different policies and prices.  The more restrictive, the lower the price.  It's not  unusual to find different legs of the same travel to have different restrictions and fares especially if the intent is to book the lowest possible cost.

I just checked prices for a flight to miami.  I specified business class and I found a very attractive fare.  Guess what? The reason it was so attractive, two of the four legs of the travel were in basic economy.

 

[Daniel A]

Three of us are flying from NYC to Rome next month.  On June 30, we got our Air Confirmation from NCL Air.  Icelandair JFK to Iceland, Iceland to FCO and return Air Canada FCO to Montreal and Montreal to JFK.  I immediately picked out our seats and made arrangements for our ground transportation at both ends.  Then on July 5 NCL sends out another Air Confirmation with the same flight information.  Now, today NCL Air has send out a third Air Confirmation with the same flight information.  

 

Each time I get another confirmation, my heart goes into my throat thinking they've made some flight changes and I'll need to rebook seats, transportation etc...  So, I then need to compare the documents line by line to make sure nothing has changed.

 

Does anyone know why NCL Air keeps sending out the same information?  TIA

Edited July 11, 2023 by Daniel A

[Daniel A]

I found the answer to the above question after I double checked my seat assignments directly with the airlines.  Iceland Air changed our seats after I paid for specific seat assignments.  (That would have been the first duplicate NCL Air Confirmation.) Then, this week, Air Canada moved our preferred seats even though we paid upcharges and received written confirmation from Air Canada for the seats we wanted.  (That would have been what triggered the third duplicate NCL Air Confirmation.)

 

The NCL Air Confirmations were all the same and merely appeared to just be duplicate notifications.  I would never have known about the airlines changing the seating if I didn't contact both airlines directly.  The airlines probably notified NCL Air of the changes and NCL Air merely sent out duplicate confirmations rather than notifying me that there had been changes made to my bookings.  The moral of the story is that if you get duplicate air confirmations from NCL Air, contact your airline directly to find out about any significant changes.  NCL Air isn't going to tell you about it.

[omahabob]

Or, just don't use NCL Air.

[KKB]

We booked our Aug Med cruise 2 years ago via Casinos at Sea...thought the whole family was going.

3 from OMA/2 from DFW

In the end just DD & I are going & we need to fly from DFW.

Called beginning of April to switch me to DFW...air went from $1K RT (for 2--HECK of a deal) to $1500RT--still VERY reasonable for 2 during high season.

 

June 1 we got our flights & breathed a sigh of relief.

We had asked for a 2 day deviation but ended up with 3 essentially--Fly out Aug 1, arrive in Rome Aug 2 for Aug 4 embarkation. So 48 (ish) hours in Rome.

Air Italia DFW to JFK to FCO (overnight). Reasonable flight & layover times. 

Return direct on AA FCO to DFW departing 2PM on disembarkation day.

1 checked bag allowed on each flight (plus carryon & personal item) each

Called Air Italia to choose seats this week.

Called AA to choose/upgrade our seats also...strangely I have not gotten an email nor has it gone thru my credit card. If nothing goes thru by Monday I'll call again.

 

[quagmire0]

4 hours ago, omahabob said:

Or, just don't use NCL Air.

I would probably not use NCL Air for international or multi-segment flying.  It's probably best if you have a straight shot flight to your destination.  You'll end up with a really early flight out and a reasonable flight back, in most cases. Depending on NCL to do any more than that is rolling the dice. 

[Daniel A]

4 minutes ago, KKB said:

We booked our Aug Med cruise 2 years ago via Casinos at Sea...thought the whole family was going.

3 from OMA/2 from DFW

In the end just DD & I are going & we need to fly from DFW.

Called beginning of April to switch me to DFW...air went from $1K RT (for 2--HECK of a deal) to $1500RT--still VERY reasonable for 2 during high season.

 

June 1 we got our flights & breathed a sigh of relief.

We had asked for a 2 day deviation but ended up with 3 essentially--Fly out Aug 1, arrive in Rome Aug 2 for Aug 4 embarkation. So 48 (ish) hours in Rome.

Air Italia DFW to JFK to FCO (overnight). Reasonable flight & layover times. 

Return direct on AA FCO to DFW departing 2PM on disembarkation day.

1 checked bag allowed on each flight (plus carryon & personal item) each

Called Air Italia to choose seats this week.

Called AA to choose/upgrade our seats also...strangely I have not gotten an email nor has it gone thru my credit card. If nothing goes thru by Monday I'll call again.

 

I have no doubt they will likely get you there, I'm more unhappy with the airlines switching me and not notifying me when I booked the seats directly with them.  They seem to want to put everything onto NCL Air who doesn't really want the responsibility, thus putting us into a Catch 22 situation.