NCL transfer to airport at disembarkation (Why ask flight number ?)

[reveur15]

I don't understand why NCL is asking the flight number when i try to book a transfer to airport at the end of the cruise ?

Why do they need to validate the flight instead of just asking the time required ?

I have read that some people were told they can not book transfer without flight info.

 

I'm asking because i will disembark at Trieste (Venice) and would like to book in advance a transfer to Venice airport (but i will stay there a couple of days before I really flying back home).

If i just put a flight number that i will not really take can it cause a problem ?

Anybody did this ?

 

thank you 

 

[Girr]

11 minutes ago, reveur15 said:

I don't understand why NCL is asking the flight number when i try to book a transfer to airport at the end of the cruise ?

Why do they need to validate the flight instead of just asking the time required ?

I have read that some people were told they can not book transfer without flight info.

 

I'm asking because i will disembark at Trieste (Venice) and would like to book in advance a transfer to Venice airport (but i will stay there a couple of days before I really flying back home).

If i just put a flight number that i will not really take can it cause a problem ?

Anybody did this ?

 

thank you 

They're working to get you to the airport on time just like all your fellow travelers.  With flight numbers to try to "lump" like passengers (time/flights) to get you there within a reasonable time.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Girr
Adding info.

[Capitan Obvious]

The reason for the flight number is so that they know what time they have to get you to the airport to make that flight.

 

That aside, what do you mean when you say "I will stay there a couple of days before I really flying back home"?  You do realize that the transfer is a day of disembarkation item, not a buy one and use it whenever, right?

 

[reveur15]

9 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

The reason for the flight number is so that they know what time they have to get you to the airport to make that flight.

 

That aside, what do you mean when you say "I will stay there a couple of days before I really flying back home"?  You do realize that the transfer is a day of disembarkation item, not a buy one and use it whenever, right?

 

Yes I want the transfer on disembarkation day to Venice Airport. From there i will get to my hotel in venice for a 2 or 3 days before i fly back home. 

It would be more simple if they just ask you when you want to get to the airport.

I would prefer a transfer directly to Venice but I don't think they offer it in Trieste.

Edited October 5, 2023 by reveur15

[ChiefMateJRK]

Makes sense to me.  I doubt NCL even looks at flight information entered.  

[mapleleaves]

Yes, it would be more simple, but it is what it is.  It would also be more simple if they offered a transfer to Venice (Tronchetto) like other cruiselines do.

 

Just go to the VCE web site and find a flight that works with your desired shuttle time. This is from my cruise last Oct.   People who had flights before 1pm could board shuttles starting at 7am.

I took the train to Trieste and used FlixBus on the return, 15E. (Flixbus drops off at VCE or Venice Tronchetto).  The downfall to the train and bus is that the depot is a 15 minute walk from the pier.

[Capitan Obvious]

9 minutes ago, reveur15 said:

Yes I want the transfer on disembarkation day to Venice Airport. From there i will get to my hotel in venice for a 2 or 3 days before i fly back home. 

It would be more simple if they just ask you when you want to get to the airport.

I would prefer a transfer directly to Venice but I don't think they offer it in Trieste.

 

Right, but you aren't looking to go to the airport to get your flight (which is the purpose of the transfer service), instead, you want to use it as partial ride to your hotel. Basically, you're skip-lagging the transfer. Likely easier to just arrange the transportation you actually need as NCL and the transfer companies are usually onto the tricks people try to play to maximize their dimes and nickels.

[mapleleaves]

1 minute ago, Capitan Obvious said:

 

Likely easier to just arrange the transportation you actually need

but that's part of the problem.... NCL doesn't offer a shuttle to Venice, so pax must take the NCL shuttle to the airport then a 20 minute bus or taxi back to Venice.

[reveur15]

4 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

 

Right, but you aren't looking to go to the airport to get your flight (which is the purpose of the transfer service), instead, you want to use it as partial ride to your hotel. Basically, you're skip-lagging the transfer. Likely easier to just arrange the transportation you actually need as NCL and the transfer companies are usually onto the tricks people try to play to maximize their dimes and nickels.

My intention is not at all to trick anyone but just to book a transfer that i can TRUST from NCL. I am not confortable to book a tranfer from an unreliable company i don't know in Italy. 

 

[Girr]

1 minute ago, reveur15 said:

My intention is not at all to trick anyone but just to book a transfer that i can TRUST from NCL. I am not confortable to book a tranfer from an unreliable company i don't know in Italy. 

 

So, my concern would be they'll take all the people with flights first, and then leave everyone else for last.  😒  There's nothing to keep you from running a mock booking for flights the day you arrive in Trieste, and inserting that into.

[reveur15]

40 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

Just go to the VCE web site and find a flight that works with your desired shuttle time. This is from my cruise last Oct.   People who had flights before 1pm could board shuttles starting at 7am.

I took the train to Trieste and used FlixBus on the return, 15E. (Flixbus drops off at VCE or Venice Tronchetto).  The downfall to the train and bus is that the depot is a 15 minute walk from the pier.

Thank you for the extra information. I will probably indicate a late flight not to harm people on an early flight.

Edited October 5, 2023 by reveur15

[Captain-John]

I too wish they'd just ask for a time rather than a flight number but agree there are workarounds.

 

It's up to me if I want to be at the airport 3 hours before, not the 4+ that NCL dump me there. I promise I won't sue if my planning goes wrong and I miss the flight.

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

I too wish they'd just ask for a time rather than a flight number but agree there are workarounds.

 

It's up to me if I want to be at the airport 3 hours before, not the 4+ that NCL dump me there. I promise I won't sue if my planning goes wrong and I miss the flight.

NCL is not going to check to see if you are actually booked on the flight you say you are taking.  On my last cruise I booked a later flight just so I didn't have to worry about not making it on time but I wanted to get to the airport earlier so I could try for an earlier flight if there was time.  So I put in the earlier flight info.

However, you aren't able to really choose between 3 or 4+ hours - the transfers are bunched so for example, flights before noon, flights after noon, depending on the distance to the airport etc.

Asking for a time has pitfalls.  How many people would put their flight times instead of calculating the 2/3 hours they need at the airport

[yakcruiser]

41 minutes ago, reveur15 said:

My intention is not at all to trick anyone but just to book a transfer that i can TRUST from NCL. I am not confortable to book a tranfer from an unreliable company i don't know in Italy. 

 

I do have to disagree with the trains and the Flixbus being unreliable. I would trust them more than a NCL transfer. And you're going to have to ride a train or bus into Venice from the airport anyway. Or take an expensive taxi. But if you do want the transfer, I'm sure you won't have any problem. I did something similar once when my flight was 5 minutes before the acceptable departure time.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, reveur15 said:

I don't understand why NCL is asking the flight number when i try to book a transfer to airport at the end of the cruise ?

Why do they need to validate the flight instead of just asking the time required ?

I have read that some people were told they can not book transfer without flight info.

 

I'm asking because i will disembark at Trieste (Venice) and would like to book in advance a transfer to Venice airport (but i will stay there a couple of days before I really flying back home).

If i just put a flight number that i will not really take can it cause a problem ?

Anybody did this ?

 

thank you 

 

They use the flight number to verify that you are eligible to use the transfer. Some people would lie about their flight time to be eligible (e.g., they have a 10 am flight, but say it was at 12:01 pm to be able to book a transfer), then flame the cruise line when they get them to the airport  and check in for their flight is closed. 

[Liljo22]

Not with NCL but I am almost always asked for my flight information when I book an airport transfer.  They want to be able to check your flight status so they can know if there is a delay.  Wouldn’t make sense for the driver to be there at the time you ask if your flight is delayed a couple of hours.  

[DwayneG]

Several times I've booked the shuttle to the airport where I then rented a car to continue my vacation.  In each case I just picked a flight number that left the airport at a time aboujt 3 hours after I wanted to arrive.  Remember, since you're not really flying you can use a flight to ANYWHERE, not necessarily heading for home.

[ChiefMateJRK]

16 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Not with NCL but I am almost always asked for my flight information when I book an airport transfer.  They want to be able to check your flight status so they can know if there is a delay.  Wouldn’t make sense for the driver to be there at the time you ask if your flight is delayed a couple of hours.  

Really??  Which driver are you talking about?  The bus driver??  He/she checks to see if your flight is delayed and then holds an entire bus?  I am really confused about what you think is happening here.

[ChiefMateJRK]

21 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

They use the flight number to verify that you are eligible to use the transfer. Some people would lie about their flight time to be eligible (e.g., they have a 10 am flight, but say it was at 12:01 pm to be able to book a transfer), then flame the cruise line when they get them to the airport  and check in for their flight is closed. 

Do you honestly believe that NCL does any of this?  Don't they just take our (your) money and have a bus ready?

[Liljo22]

8 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Really??  Which driver are you talking about?  The bus driver??  He/she checks to see if your flight is delayed and then holds an entire bus?  I am really confused about what you think is happening here.

I am talking about transfers in general.  The OP wants to know why NCL is asking for their flight information.  Its because its required by the transportation company so that they can check the status of your flight and change their times accordingly.  Go try to book any transfer whether private or shared and they will require it.  Just an example below. 

 

[itsnotjustme]

My last cruise I did this.  I had a rental car booked from the airport.  I used the cruise transfer to get me to the airport.

 

I bought this on board the ship.  They did request a flight number, I explained and just asked for the earliest available transfer and they gave it to me.

[UKstages]

a lot of speculation in this thread. and a lot of second guessing.
 

they don’t care what flight you’re on and they don’t check to see if you’re booked on that flight. they are only concerned with the transportation time from the ship’s scheduled arrival time to flight departure time, accounting for travel time to airport, variance in traffic and airport security clearance times. Assuming a 6 or 7 am arrival, they usually won’t accommodate flight departures before noon or 1 pm. 
 

a few months ago, i did exactly what the OP proposes to do. after the ship’s arrival in southampton, i had scheduled a five night theatre holiday in london. after checking bus and train schedules and NCL excursions, i determined the easiest (but not cheapest) thing was to get an airport transfer to LHR and  take the tube into central london.

 

when I requested the transfer, i put in bogus flight info. well, it was a real flight, but not be that I would be on. all NCL’s software does is check to make sure there’s enough time to travel to the airport and clear security before your scheduled flight time, whether you’ll be on that flight or not.

[BirdTravels]

18 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do you honestly believe that NCL does any of this?  Don't they just take our (your) money and have a bus ready?

In the past, I transposed a number and was told it was not a valid flight. I normally have a flight before NCL’s “earliest time” and just get a flight number leaving after that. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

22 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

I am talking about transfers in general.  The OP wants to know why NCL is asking for their flight information.  Its because its required by the transportation company so that they can check the status of your flight and change their times accordingly.  Go try to book any transfer whether private or shared and they will require it.  Just an example below. 

 

Yes, but this thread is specifically about NCL transfers, not "transfers in general."  You seem to be talking about something entirely different.  NCL does not change their bus schedules because one passenger's flight is delayed.