NCL BOGO Air

[julig22]

2 hours ago, HSBC said:

julig22,

If I choose a 2-day deviation pre-cruise, I still prefer to go back to the airport to get NCL airport transfer to the cruise port on the embarkation day.  How can I know what time I should arrive the airport and where to meet the NCL rep?

Thanks!

NCL reps should be somewhere near baggage claim or after customs/immigration if international.

I usually try to arrive 8-9 am but it depends on the port.  Sometimes I'll ask in the roll call what time others are arriving if they are doing same day flights.

[CPRayVA]

We did a 2-day deviation pre-cruise.  They removed the transfer fee (airport to hotel) and gave us $25.00.  We paid for the transportation from the airport to hotel and hotel to cruise ship.  We had transportation to the airport after the cruise, however that was a nightmare.  The ship arrived in port at 6am but was not cleared until 7:20. At this point, everyone is in line to get off.  We had an 11:05 flight (from the BOGO), but they were loading one bus at a time.  There were at least 500+ people in line for transfers.  The people in front of us did not have a flight until 12:30. We did not arrive at the airport until 10:20, still needed to drop off our luggage and of course the gate was a 40-minute walk (no exaggeration) The only reason we made our flight was because it waited for us, they knew that we had checked our luggage.  I would not do a BOGO again with international flights.

Edited September 13, 2023 by CPRayVA

[HSBC]

1 hour ago, CPRayVA said:

We did a 2-day deviation pre-cruise.  They removed the transfer fee (airport to hotel) and gave us $25.00.  We paid for the transportation from the airport to hotel and hotel to cruise ship.  We had transportation to the airport after the cruise, however that was a nightmare.  The ship arrived in port at 6am but was not cleared until 7:20. At this point, everyone is in line to get off.  We had an 11:05 flight (from the BOGO), but they were loading one bus at a time.  There were at least 500+ people in line for transfers.  The people in front of us did not have a flight until 12:30. We did not arrive at the airport until 10:20, still needed to drop off our luggage and of course the gate was a 40-minute walk (no exaggeration) The only reason we made our flight was because it waited for us, they knew that we had checked our luggage.  I would not do a BOGO again with international flights.

CPRayVA,

Your flight was from which airport to where? Which airline?

Lucky you made it.

Thanks!

[JerseyBird]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:01 AM, debbie2000 said:

Any idea on airlines that NCL uses for flights from US to Rome?

We are from NYC area.  We are assigned Air Canada to Rome. stop at Montreal. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, JerseyBird said:

We are from NYC area.  We are assigned Air Canada to Rome. stop at Montreal. 

That is also how we got to Heathrow.

[CPRayVA]

1 hour ago, HSBC said:

CPRayVA,

Your flight was from which airport to where? Which airline?

Lucky you made it.

Thanks!

Air Canada from Orlando to Montreal to Rome.  American from Lisbon to Philadelphia to Orlando.  American Airlines was comfortable compared to Air Canada.  

[MomDawn]

I did NCLAir from Detroit to NOLA in 2/23.  Went the day before and stayed at the SpringHill Suites Warehouse Arts District.  When I got the flight notice for direct Delta flights, I was able to log in and select seats for me and my companion.  Bags were free as I have a Delta AmEx.  Only issue was we were at the NOLA too early to check our bags and had to wait in an area with limited seating and no food/bev and this was after we did the excursion to the airport (which was excellent, BTW).

 

Supposedly it's a Delta policy (at NOLA? -- never ran into it before) that you can't check a bag until 4 or 5 hours prior to flight.  Our flight was at 6:45pm, the excursion dropped us off around noon.

 

My $.02, TL:DR

NCL is giving us discount airfare.  We know it can be up to 2/3 stops.  They guarantee nothing except that they will book your flights for the price they gave you.  You will probably have to pay extra for bags on every flight. You may not be able to pick a seat.  If you don't have insurance you may lose every penny you paid for the entire vacation AND have added costs.  NCL will reimburse you nothing.  So you have to decide if it's worth saving $x to risk these things.

 

I personally carry trip insurance and not through NCL (doesn't that only cover the cruise?).

I am more willing to take a risk because I am in Detroit, which is a hub for Delta only, and I have perks with Delta.  I figure I'm 80% likely to get a Delta flight.

I will always deviate at least 1 day before.

 

 

 

[julig22]

13 minutes ago, MomDawn said:

Supposedly it's a Delta policy (at NOLA? -- never ran into it before) that you can't check a bag until 4 or 5 hours prior to flight.  Our flight was at 6:45pm, the excursion dropped us off around noon.

I've run into the 4hr rule many times, it's not just Delta or NOLA. And it's really a pain when you travel solo because you can't just leave your luggage if you want to get food or use the restroom.

 

At my little regional airport it's whenever someone is at the reservation counter!  Learned my lesson when I dutifully arrived 3 hours prior to my early morning international flight and there was nobody there. They don't start checkin until about 1.5hrs prior to departure, regardless of your final destination. On the other hand, they only have 5-6 gates so never any worry about finding your gate!

[MomDawn]

3 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I've run into the 4hr rule many times, it's not just Delta or NOLA. And it's really a pain when you travel solo because you can't just leave your luggage if you want to get food or use the restroom.

 

At my little regional airport it's whenever someone is at the reservation counter!  Learned my lesson when I dutifully arrived 3 hours prior to my early morning international flight and there was nobody there. They don't start checkin until about 1.5hrs prior to departure, regardless of your final destination. On the other hand, they only have 5-6 gates so never any worry about finding your gate!

 

Good to know!  Thanks

 

I used to fly to a little airport frequently.  It was wonderful -- you could show up 30 minutes before your flight, no problem.

[tsmith6719]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:39 AM, rodndonna said:

 

I am anxiously awaiting our first time flight assignments with NCL..just looking to clarify -

 

when you say "to get seats" you are speaking of getting assigned  seats is that correct? When they said "they no longer had seats"  I'm hoping they just meant you couldn't pay to choose your seat without upgrading - is that right?

Yes .. No choosing a seat without paying for the upgrade. The tickets is on Jet Blue and booked as "core" no "core" seats left. You pay an upgrade charge to the next level and pick a seat but if you don't you have to roll the dice and hope for a seat assignment at the airport . You're considered stand by.  I was able to just buy a ticket on the same flight the next day for about the same price as the up grade. So we get get an extra day of vacation,.  

[fredflint]

Your flight is pretty simple and short relatively speaking arrive the day before and enjoy the savings.  we have booked both on our own and with the cruise lines, as well as arriving the day of the cruise travelling to Europe from the US with no issues.  The wait at the airport for the shuttle to the ship was long since we arrived pretty early.

 

Our last cruise our flight was at 10PM (NCL booked)  I booked a room using points for 2 nights so we could get off the ship and check into our room right away.   People arrived after us to drop off bags then at 3 or so went to check into their room.  It was worth the cost of 2 nights to be able to use the room for the full day with no issues or worries!

[pholst]

On 9/8/2023 at 8:01 AM, debbie2000 said:

Any idea on airlines that NCL uses for flights from US to Rome?

We are flying California - Rome. They booked us Air France from LAX to FCO via CDG.

[tonyfall1]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:12 AM, hallux said:

 

Schools in the Northeast (or at least in New York) get a 'winter break' in addition to the holiday and spring breaks.  That Winter break is usually President's week so that would definitely be a week to NOT consider if not having kids on the ship is a consideration.

 

On 9/11/2023 at 10:23 AM, edspec said:

The drink packages are not equal. NCL doesn’t include waters or specialty coffees. Room servicing is down to once per day which isn’t that big of a deal but the stewards have so many cabins that they’re ready until 3ish on embarkation day. I used to really enjoy NCL, especially for solo trips but am leery of them right now. I have a cruise booked with them in 2025 but will be cancelling if I keep reading the same story of dirty rooms, rooms not made up till late afternoon, etc…

 

On 9/11/2023 at 10:52 AM, laudergayle said:

Was your cruise last year with MSC a 3-4 or 7-night cruise?  

Is the window to request the deviation from the time I am paid in full until 75 days prior to the cruise. I assume I can't request a deviation when I just have a deposit down?

[victory2020]

On 9/13/2023 at 10:42 AM, CPRayVA said:

We did a 2-day deviation pre-cruise.  They removed the transfer fee (airport to hotel) and gave us $25.00.  We paid for the transportation from the airport to hotel and hotel to cruise ship.  We had transportation to the airport after the cruise, however that was a nightmare.  The ship arrived in port at 6am but was not cleared until 7:20. At this point, everyone is in line to get off.  We had an 11:05 flight (from the BOGO), but they were loading one bus at a time.  There were at least 500+ people in line for transfers.  The people in front of us did not have a flight until 12:30. We did not arrive at the airport until 10:20, still needed to drop off our luggage and of course the gate was a 40-minute walk (no exaggeration) The only reason we made our flight was because it waited for us, they knew that we had checked our luggage.  I would not do a BOGO again with international flights.

What port/airport?

[hallux]

9 minutes ago, tonyfall1 said:

 

 

Is the window to request the deviation from the time I am paid in full until 75 days prior to the cruise. I assume I can't request a deviation when I just have a deposit down?

You can request the deviation at any point from booking until 75 days prior to the cruise.  It's best to get the request on the books as early as possible...

[tonyfall1]

5 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

What port/airport?

New Orleans - MSY

[victory2020]

Just now, tonyfall1 said:

New Orleans - MSY

Ok, NCL has me on a 11:25am flight out of London (ship is about an hour away) & I am nervous about making it. I have decided not to have checked luggage to make it smoother. MTA told me if I take their transfer to airport it's up to NCL to get me on another flight. You're making me think I should do private car

[ColdCruise]

On 9/8/2023 at 12:36 PM, schmoopie17 said:

Depends on the departure airport and the date. 

On 9/8/2023 at 11:01 AM, debbie2000 said:

Any idea on airlines that NCL uses for flights from US to Rome?

@debbie2000They gave us Delta from Washington DC to Rome, good flight times, reasonable layover in Atlanta. Worked fine fir us with 2 day deviation on front end so we could visit some Etruscan ruins and stay at a castle 🏰 

 

as always YMMV 

 

If you use a private TA,  this doesn’t apply, so…  you needn’t comment on the folly of using NCL to book…..

But, while talking about deviations, I’d caution to ALWAYS make sure you call your PCC on the official NCL number, not their personal cell phone. NCL records their official phone line and that saved us the 1 time our PCC didn’t add our deviation request when sailing from Amsterdam last summer. If you recall summer 2022 was VERY chaotic at Amsterdam airport. NCL had us arriving day of for an early afternoon sail away. The NCL resolution Department worked with us while we bought virtually last minute airfare to arrive 2 days earlier than cruise date. They made us whole on the additional expense - very grateful. Several people missed the sail away (despite getting pushed back from afternoon to midnight) and only caught up with the ship 2 days later.

Edited September 17, 2023 by ColdCruise
Addition info

[debbie2000]

21 minutes ago, ColdCruise said:

@debbie2000They gave us Delta from Washington DC to Rome, good flight times, reasonable layover in Atlanta. Worked fine fir us with 2 day deviation on front end so we could visit some Etruscan ruins and stay at a castle 🏰 

 

as always YMMV 

 

If you use a private TA,  this doesn’t apply, so…  you needn’t comment on the folly of using NCL to book…..

But, while talking about deviations, I’d caution to ALWAYS make sure you call your PCC on the official NCL number, not their personal cell phone. NCL records their official phone line and that saved us the 1 time our PCC didn’t add our deviation request when sailing from Amsterdam last summer. If you recall summer 2022 was VERY chaotic at Amsterdam airport. NCL had us arriving day of for an early afternoon sail away. The NCL resolution Department worked with us while we bought virtually last minute airfare to arrive 2 days earlier than cruise date. They made us whole on the additional expense - very grateful. Several people missed the sail away (despite getting pushed back from afternoon to midnight) and only caught up with the ship 2 days later.

Good to know. We will be flying from Jacksonville Florida so possibly will change planes in ATL. Hopefully Delta, so  can possibly use points to upgrade our seats. Time will tell!

[ColdCruise]

17 hours ago, debbie2000 said:

Good to know. We will be flying from Jacksonville Florida so possibly will change planes in ATL. Hopefully Delta, so  can possibly use points to upgrade our seats. Time will tell!

Yes that sounds like a logic routing….l good luck!

[Ozzyrosie]

My cruise is in 103 days and I just got my flights assigned by NCL (BOGO) for Toronto / Tampa. Departure with AA at 11am  has a 1:10 stopover in Philadelphia and direct return with Air Canada late flight at 8pm. Not bad although I’m worried about the short transfer time in Philadelphia. 

[cruiseny4life]

12 minutes ago, Ozzyrosie said:

My cruise is in 103 days and I just got my flights assigned by NCL (BOGO) for Toronto / Tampa. Departure with AA at 11am  has a 1:10 stopover in Philadelphia and direct return with Air Canada late flight at 8pm. Not bad although I’m worried about the short transfer time in Philadelphia. 

We have 1:20 at Charles de Gaulle...I'll let you know how that turns out! Oh well, we're flying in two days before. Worst case we take a train from Paris to Barcelona. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[rodndonna]

9 minutes ago, Ozzyrosie said:

My cruise is in 103 days and I just got my flights assigned by NCL (BOGO) for Toronto / Tampa. Departure with AA at 11am  has a 1:10 stopover in Philadelphia and direct return with Air Canada late flight at 8pm. Not bad although I’m worried about the short transfer time in Philadelphia. 

 

Impressed you got your assignment that far out. We are 130 days out and coming due on final payment, so I just made it hoping to get our flight early like you did.

 

Little surprised you didn't get a direct Toronto to Tampa flight out. We are Toronto to San Juan, and really hoping for direct flights on Air Canada.🤞

[SimplyAlbert]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:56 PM, hallux said:

You can request the deviation at any point from booking until 75 days prior to the cruise.  It's best to get the request on the books as early as possible...

 Someone just posted on another thread that it's now 110 days, not 75 anymore.

[Ozzyrosie]

18 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Impressed you got your assignment that far out. We are 130 days out and coming due on final payment, so I just made it hoping to get our flight early like you did.

 

Little surprised you didn't get a direct Toronto to Tampa flight out. We are Toronto to San Juan, and really hoping for direct flights on Air Canada.🤞

Last year we did BOGO YYZ to San Juan and got United flights with a stopover in Washington each way. It was seamless.