NCL AIR

[jkbec101]

We've used the BOGO air twice, once internationally and once domestically.  

 

Our international trip was in September of last year and we went LAX to Barcelona roundtrip with a two day deviation at the start.  One the outbound we were on WestJet through Toronto, which made me extremely nervous given all of the troubles Toronto experienced last summer, so I check the WestJet flights daily for two weeks prior.  Except for a minor inconvenience of being lead out of the sterile area and having to go through security a second time in Toronto, there were no issues and we arrived in Barcelona early enough that we had time to explore the City.  The return on Air Canada was less than stellar through Montreal.  Tried to sleep Barcelona to Montreal and my mask kept falling down, so the flight attendant kept waking me up (we were the last few flights that still required masks in Canada).  When we landed in Montreal, the system for US Customs broke down and we waited in line for over an hour to get through customs (yes, there is US customs in Canada), but we ended up getting through with plenty of time, others were not so lucky.  ***Due to airport issues in Toronto, we only did carry ons for our Med cruise.

Domestically, this past June we flew LAX-MIA outbound and FLL-LAX on the return.  We flew AA non-stop and JetBlue on the return (also non-stop).  We had zero issues.  MIL and kids all flew Southwest with a stop in Houston (outbound) and AA MIA-LAX (return), aside from the late departure from FL (9:30 PM), no problems.  Checked bags both ways and yes we paid for AA and JetBlue, Southwest are free.

 

We were able to pick seats on all flights (paid fee to upgrade to better seats within Economy).

 

Now despite our success, my wife and her mother are doing a 9 or 10 day cruise on the Prima Barcelona ending in Rome and my wife just felt like our luck might run out, so they booked the air themselves and passed on the BOGO air.

 

[LDL1220]

Very green newbie here so I'm hoping my question doesn't seem like a silly one but here goes.

 

I booked a cruise departing from Rome April 29, 2024 and chose NCL Air. If I do a two day deviation on the front end, will I be in Rome sometime on Sun the 27th? I am trying to figure out when to book a hotel in Rome (a whole other issue). There will be 4 of us traveling from Charleston, SC. 

 

Thank you.

[julig22]

5 minutes ago, LDL1220 said:

Very green newbie here so I'm hoping my question doesn't seem like a silly one but here goes.

 

I booked a cruise departing from Rome April 29, 2024 and chose NCL Air. If I do a two day deviation on the front end, will I be in Rome sometime on Sun the 27th? I am trying to figure out when to book a hotel in Rome (a whole other issue). There will be 4 of us traveling from Charleston, SC. 

 

Thank you.

Not silly, people get it wrong all the time. A 2 day deviation means you arrive at your destination 2 days prior to the cruise. 1 day means the day before, no deviation means the day of the cruise.

When you leave home depends on your location.

[LDL1220]

25 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Not silly, people get it wrong all the time. A 2 day deviation means you arrive at your destination 2 days prior to the cruise. 1 day means the day before, no deviation means the day of the cruise.

When you leave home depends on your location.

Thank you for your reply. I am assuming that because I am deviating I will have to arrange transportation to my hotel in Rome on the front end but if I choose to fly home the day I disembark will NCL provide transportation to the airport or is it all or nothing? 

 

Thank you again. 

[cruiseny4life]

20 minutes ago, LDL1220 said:

Thank you for your reply. I am assuming that because I am deviating I will have to arrange transportation to my hotel in Rome on the front end but if I choose to fly home the day I disembark will NCL provide transportation to the airport or is it all or nothing? 

 

Thank you again. 

Are you booking the NCL hotel in Rome or getting your own hotel? I believe the answer is the same either way: that you'll need to find your own way to the hotel. You can take NCL provided transportation on disembarkation day. Just be sure to request this and then confirm the deviation and transportation on the confirmation. 

 

Don't feel silly. I've booked NCL air for myself before, and for others, and had to reach out to NCL to confirm my deviation yesterday. They confirmed exactly what @julig22 said. Two day deviation, arriving in BCN on 11/18. That means we'll leave our home airport sometime on 11/17 since NCL told me we are going to be booked on an overnight flight. 

 

 

[LDL1220]

10 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Are you booking the NCL hotel in Rome or getting your own hotel? I believe the answer is the same either way: that you'll need to find your own way to the hotel. You can take NCL provided transportation on disembarkation day. Just be sure to request this and then confirm the deviation and transportation on the confirmation. 

 

Don't feel silly. I've booked NCL air for myself before, and for others, and had to reach out to NCL to confirm my deviation yesterday. They confirmed exactly what @julig22 said. Two day deviation, arriving in BCN on 11/18. That means we'll leave our home airport sometime on 11/17 since NCL told me we are going to be booked on an overnight flight. 

 

 

Thank you for your reply. I didn't know NCL did hotel bookings. Is that what you mean?  I am currently looking for a hotel in my own. 

[julig22]

13 minutes ago, LDL1220 said:

Thank you for your reply. I didn't know NCL did hotel bookings. Is that what you mean?  I am currently looking for a hotel in my own. 

You can book a hotel through NCL (space permitting), up to 3 days in advance. I believe they do provide airport-hotel-port transfers as part of the package. But you pay a premium, usually cheaper to do it on your own.  And they charge per person, not per room.

In most ports, you can also book the airport-port transfer if you want to go back to the airport and pick up the shuttle, but you would have to add that back on your reservation (they usually take off the transfer if you request a deviation). They will keep the port-airport transfer on your reservation assuming you don't request a deviation at the end of your cruise.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure that your confirmation reflects the changes.  A deviation/hotel will show at the top of the statement after the guest name, including the # of nights.  There will be a $25 air/deviation credit line-item, as well as the transfer. If those aren't there, they don't exist...as people have found out!

[CaliMom05]

We had a little hiccup with our flight assignments for our November 12, 2023, cruise out of Rome.  We requested a two-day deviation and last week received our flight info with only a one-day deviation.  I slightly freaked out because I had already booked our hotel for the two additional nights and had a Scavi tour at the Vatican for November 11th which we would be late for.  I contacted NCL Air department and the gentleman reviewed my reservation and said there was definitely an error on their part and that a new reservation would be forecoming with an arrival date of November 10th. 

 

Yesterday I received our new flights with two-day deviation - yay!  And the flights are booked with United (operating as Air Canada) as opposed to just Air Canada from the original flights.  We now have one free checked bag and were able to upgrade our seats to preferred (at an additional cost but it's additional legroom so we were fine with it).  I am very happy that NCL Air sorted this out so quickly.  And I was pretty surprised that we received our flight info over 90 days prior to sailing date.

 

This is our third time using the BOGO NCL Air and have always been happy with our reservations.  I made sure this time to choose LAX (as opposed to San Diego or Ontario which are a bit closer) because I've read some people find that smaller airports have more layovers with international travel and the airfare price was less expensive out of LAX as well.  I wouldn't hesitate to use NCL Air again based on our prior experiences,

[julig22]

3 hours ago, CaliMom05 said:

 I made sure this time to choose LAX (as opposed to San Diego or Ontario which are a bit closer) because I've read some people find that smaller airports have more layovers with international travel and the airfare price was less expensive out of LAX as well.  I wouldn't hesitate to use NCL Air again based on our prior experiences,

In my experience, smaller airports often have an advantage, especially for international. NCL protocol is 1 layover max for domestic flights, 2 for international. So if it takes 2 flights to get to an appropriate hub, the overseas flight is nonstop. No foreign layovers that others may get - and I'd rather not have to deal with any potential delays/cancelled flights while in a foreign country if at all possible.

But I do check prices/flight schedules at other airports before choosing my gateway.

[LDL1220]

How far in advance will I know my flight schedule? I am on a Rome to Rome cruise April 29-May 9 and will need to arrange transportation for 4 from the airport to Rome and then the port as I plan to come in on a 2 day deviation. I am worried about ample time to arrange transportation. 

 

Thank you for any information. 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, LDL1220 said:

How far in advance will I know my flight schedule? I am on a Rome to Rome cruise April 29-May 9 and will need to arrange transportation for 4 from the airport to Rome and then the port as I plan to come in on a 2 day deviation. I am worried about ample time to arrange transportation. 

 

Thank you for any information. 

I asked my husband's PCC this question two days ago. She stated 30 - 50 days is how far out they are currently booking airfare. I'm stunned @CaliMom05 received hers 90 days out. We have an 11/20 cruise, with two day deviation, so I'm fully expecting to receive flights around October 20th. We're taking public transit in Barcelona to see what it's like to actually live there, so don't have to worry about booking transit. 

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, LDL1220 said:

How far in advance will I know my flight schedule? I am on a Rome to Rome cruise April 29-May 9 and will need to arrange transportation for 4 from the airport to Rome and then the port as I plan to come in on a 2 day deviation. I am worried about ample time to arrange transportation. 

 

Thank you for any information. 

I booked my hotel in Rome as NCl could only waitlist me for the hotel they use.  I booked into the Crowne Plaza Rome - St. Peter's.  They have shuttle service (bus or a private car is optional) that you can take from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the cruise port.

 

Hotel web site:  4-Star Business Hotel: Crowne Plaza Rome - St. Peter's

 

The hotel sent me this information sheet for available shuttle services: 

SHUTTLE NAVETTA FROM 01 APRIL 2023 (002).pdf

Edited August 11, 2023 by Daniel A

[CaliMom05]

8 hours ago, julig22 said:

In my experience, smaller airports often have an advantage, especially for international. NCL protocol is 1 layover max for domestic flights, 2 for international. So if it takes 2 flights to get to an appropriate hub, the overseas flight is nonstop. No foreign layovers that others may get - and I'd rather not have to deal with any potential delays/cancelled flights while in a foreign country if at all possible.

But I do check prices/flight schedules at other airports before choosing my gateway.

Thanks for this info.  My friend took a med cruise in 2019 on BOGO air and they left out of Ontario (California) and their first layover was LAX!  So crazy.  They did have 3 legs - from Ontario to LAX, LAX to Atlanta, then direct flight to Europe.  I was happy that our flight has just one layover in Toronto then on to Rome.  I guess it just depends on what's available when the air dept is doing their bookings.

[CaliMom05]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I asked my husband's PCC this question two days ago. She stated 30 - 50 days is how far out they are currently booking airfare. I'm stunned @CaliMom05 received hers 90 days out. We have an 11/20 cruise, with two day deviation, so I'm fully expecting to receive flights around October 20th. We're taking public transit in Barcelona to see what it's like to actually live there, so don't have to worry about booking transit. 

I was quite surprised also.  There are many on our roll call who have received their airfare info but the friends we are traveling with have not received theirs yet.  It appears to be hit or miss!

[KCfromMontana]

How are you notified of your flights? If by email, is it from NCL? Our 1st NCL cruise is in 63 days out of Rome so hoping to receive flights soon!

[julig22]

1 hour ago, CaliMom05 said:

Thanks for this info.  My friend took a med cruise in 2019 on BOGO air and they left out of Ontario (California) and their first layover was LAX!  So crazy.  They did have 3 legs - from Ontario to LAX, LAX to Atlanta, then direct flight to Europe.  I was happy that our flight has just one layover in Toronto then on to Rome.  I guess it just depends on what's available when the air dept is doing their bookings.

My first flight is often a short flight to Seattle or SFO from Oregon.  I'm actually driving to Seattle then flying to Anchorage for my next cruise because it's actually simpler - but not booked through NCL.

 

NCL also flew me from Toronto to Rome, but a layover in Denver (which was delayed and I barely made my flight to Rome). But there were a number of people from Toronto on the cruise that were complaining bitterly about their terrible flights because they knew that there were direct flights - and they weren't on them!

[Daniel A]

15 minutes ago, KCfromMontana said:

How are you notified of your flights? If by email, is it from NCL? Our 1st NCL cruise is in 63 days out of Rome so hoping to receive flights soon!

We got an e-mail from NCL entitled "Air Confirmation for Reservation (your reservation # Ship & sail date)" There is a file attachment with specific details, but they only identified the airlines by two letters.  I had to google "Airline **" to discover what airlines I had been booked on.

[KCfromMontana]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

We got an e-mail from NCL entitled "Air Confirmation for Reservation (your reservation # Ship & sail date)" There is a file attachment with specific details, but they only identified the airlines by two letters.  I had to google "Airline **" to discover what airlines I had been booked on.

Thank you, that is very helpful to know in advance!!

[Daniel A]

3 minutes ago, KCfromMontana said:

Thank you, that is very helpful to know in advance!!

I suggest that you check your spam (or junk mail) folder frequently.  Sometimes e-mail from NCL ends up in my junk mail folder.  The air confirmation e-mail didn't, but mostly offers from cruise lines do end up in the junk mail for some reason.

[schmoopie17]

3 hours ago, julig22 said:

 

NCL also flew me from Toronto to Rome, but a layover in Denver (which was delayed and I barely made my flight to Rome).

Toronto to Rome via Denver?? Yikes, talk about some bad routing.

[julig22]

33 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Toronto to Rome via Denver?? Yikes, talk about some bad routing.

No, actually quite good, all things considered.  My regional airport in Oregon to Denver to Toronto to Rome. Although I'd been talking about the need for 3 legs, I guess I should have specified that was the first leg.

[LDL1220]

7 hours ago, CaliMom05 said:

I was quite surprised also.  There are many on our roll call who have received their airfare info but the friends we are traveling with have not received theirs yet.  It appears to be hit or miss!

How far out do you need to book transfers? That was my concern. We are a party of 4. 

[Sailing12Away]

2 hours ago, LDL1220 said:

How far out do you need to book transfers? That was my concern. We are a party of 4. 

If you booked air through NCL, the transfers are typically included already for a fee. You can cancel them if you want and get that money back. With a large group, depending on where you're traveling to/from, it's easier, faster, cheaper to do your own transfers. 

Going to your trip the transfers will make you wait at the airport for other flights to come in before they pick you up. Going from your trip, if you don't get a big head start you risk missing your flight due to delays at customs and long lines. 

We no longer book the transfers - would rather get there when we're ready instead of having to wait for others.

[tsmith6719]

We are booked on a cruise out of Quebec City in Oct but but the itinerary say we are landing in Montreal. Is is possible that NCL would fly us to an airport 200 miles for the port .Its 3.5 train ride after a coast to coast flight? 

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, tsmith6719 said:

We are booked on a cruise out of Quebec City in Oct but but the itinerary say we are landing in Montreal. Is is possible that NCL would fly us to an airport 200 miles for the port .Its 3.5 train ride after a coast to coast flight? 

Not only possible, it's very probable, due to lack of flights to Quebec.

Spelled out in the T&Cs for the promo. They will provide an airport to port transfer on the day of your cruise.  You are on your own if you go earlier.