NCL Package. Cancelled flights.

[scottie920]

Can anyone please give an insight from experience what NCL do if the airline cancels the flight on day of embarkation.

 

I know some will say travel a few days before but sometimes logistically this cannot be done, so any advice on what NCL will actually do would be appreciated.

TIA

Edited October 23, 2023 by scottie920
Grammer

[julig22]

If you are within 72 hours of your flight time, NCL is no longer involved with ticketing, it's between you and the airline.  Basically, no different than if you'd booked your own flights. 

[scottie920]

55 minutes ago, julig22 said:

If you are within 72 hours of your flight time, NCL is no longer involved with ticketing, it's between you and the airline.  Basically, no different than if you'd booked your own flights. 

Really! Did you actually experience this? 

[rodndonna]

As Julig says, within 72 hours NCL is no longer involved.

 

That may sound bad, but in reality it is better that way. Working directly with the airline at that point is easier than working through a 3rd party.

 

As an example, here in Canada I would typically fly Air Canada where the most common reason for cancellation is weather. On Air Canada's site (like many other major airlines) I can go on their website in the days leading up to my flight and look at their "outlook" status. If there us ANY chance of a delay or cancellation coming up in the next 3 days (usually iffy weather forecast), they allow you to rebook to other flights on-line without penatly. I really like that feature and any time I have had a flight show up as a candidate for disruption. I take advantage of the rebooking option and take an earlier flight (or maybe later one if it isn't to catch a cruise). Doing that through a 3rd party would be a pain.

 

It's not actually happened to me (for a cruise), but I have read that if it is for a cruise you are supposed to inform the airline that you are working with NCL air, and are meeting a cruise. I guess that would put you on a higher priority for rebooking and potentially they would rebook you on another line if required. Again, that is only what I read (as a person who does multiple flights a year in winter ... ugghh).

[bluesea777]

We book our own air to get to the port city 2-3 days before sailing. No exceptions. 
 

 

[rodndonna]

Just another comment (as a person who has an NCL "day of" Canadian flight in January coming up) - I have found reddit a good source for "what happens if.." scenarios like this.

 

Most commonly I have read, if you can't get arrangements to get you there - your cruise will be refunded as credit, although some say they have had luck with getting cash. I would just be happy with credit and replan a new holiday if I couldn't get a flight that would get us there.

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

We were on the opposite end of your question. Flying home after the cruise. We booked using NCL's BOGO Air package. On the day we were flying home (embarkation day), our flight was delayed substantially. Instead of arriving home at 3'ish PM, we were scheduled to arrive at our home airport at nearly midnight with a long layover somewhere (I don't remember). Delta automatically rebooked us on this flight since we were to miss our original connection.

Since we didn't like the auto-booked option, we scrolled through the app, far past Delta's recommended flights. We found (well, my amazing husband) found a flight that would get us in around 4 PM. We changed our flight, at no charge, and were able to jump on the new flight at Fort Lauderdale. It was just as easy as if we had booked our own flights. We didn't need NCL. As @julig22 said, you work with the airline within 72 hours, not NCL. 

 

Happy flying! 

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, scottie920 said:

Can anyone please give an insight from experience what NCL do if the airline cancels the flight on day of embarkation. I know some will say travel a few days before but sometimes logistically this cannot be done, so any advice on what NCL will actually do would be appreciated.

You are essentially on your own (which is the same as if you booked the flights yourself). You work with the airline to find an alternate flight since your airline is legally responsible to deliver you to the embarkation city, not NCL. If you miss the ship's departure, you work with the airline, in coordination with NCL, to embark at the first port of call. 

Edited October 23, 2023 by BirdTravels

[davencl]

4 hours ago, scottie920 said:

Really! Did you actually experience this? 

I'll jump in and say yes on my return flight from Auckland NZ.   The terminal at the airport flooded and all flights were canceled.  I rebooked thru, in this case, Hawaiian air.    NCL can not help if within 72 hours as noted in other responses. 

[julig22]

6 hours ago, scottie920 said:

Really! Did you actually experience this? 

On my way to a cruise, no.  On the way home, yes.

 

From the NCL Air Flight Confirmation:

"If there are delays, cancellations, or any schedule changes within 72 hours of your departure time you will need to work directly with your airline for re-accommodations. These changes are beyond the control of NCL."

[julig22]

3 hours ago, rodndonna said:

Just another comment (as a person who has an NCL "day of" Canadian flight in January coming up) - I have found reddit a good source for "what happens if.." scenarios like this.

 

Most commonly I have read, if you can't get arrangements to get you there - your cruise will be refunded as credit, although some say they have had luck with getting cash. I would just be happy with credit and replan a new holiday if I couldn't get a flight that would get us there.

 

Refunds if you miss your cruise would be from insurance, not NCL. Your cruise would be refunded as credit IF you bought the NCL insurance, probably cash if you have insurance from another source. No insurance, no refunds, cash or otherwise. Only refunds for prepaid expenses like taxes, excursions etc. And usually, if the airline is refunding airfare, it also goes back to NCL, depending on how they process the refund.

[ColeThornton]

3 hours ago, rodndonna said:

Just another comment (as a person who has an NCL "day of" Canadian flight in January coming up) - I have found reddit a good source for "what happens if.." scenarios like this.

 

Most commonly I have read, if you can't get arrangements to get you there - your cruise will be refunded as credit, although some say they have had luck with getting cash. I would just be happy with credit and replan a new holiday if I couldn't get a flight that would get us there.

 

 

 

 

That's quite an interesting username in that reddit post you attached.   😉

[hallux]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

On the day we were flying home (embarkation day)

I think you keep on mixing up embarkation day and disembarkation day, making for some confusing statements.  Embarkation day is the day you get ON the ship...

 

@scottie920 think of it this way - NCL is acting as your travel agent for booking your flights and getting you a discount.  If you book a cruise and self-booked airlines through a regular TA, that travel agent provides no guarantees that you make it to the ship, especially if you choose to fly on embarkation day.  This is similar.

Edited October 23, 2023 by hallux

[rodndonna]

30 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Refunds if you miss your cruise would be from insurance, not NCL. Your cruise would be refunded as credit IF you bought the NCL insurance, probably cash if you have insurance from another source. No insurance, no refunds, cash or otherwise. Only refunds for prepaid expenses like taxes, excursions etc. And usually, if the airline is refunding airfare, it also goes back to NCL, depending on how they process the refund.

 

NCL insurance is underwritten by Mnaulife . They don't explicitly say the coverage for trip interuption or cancellation is in credits  , but it would be very misleading if that was the case.

 

I can't speak from personal experience as I have never missed a cruise (yet!), but was just pointing out others "storries" as I see them, and getting a cruise credit if you flights are booked with the airline appears to be the norm (but again, only repeating what I read from stories)

 

In the same thread a person claiming to be a TA stated " Did you happen to get trip insurance. If not, you’re probably stuck with the credit unfortunately. Sorry this happened to you." 

 

Is it true?? who knows ... I have no 1st hand experience.

 

you can be sure if I have NCL booked flights and my flight is cancelled and I can't get flights to make it or catch up. with the cruise, I am going for a future cruise credit.

[julig22]

5 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

NCL insurance is underwritten by Mnaulife . They don't explicitly say the coverage for trip interuption or cancellation is in credits  , but it would be very misleading if that was the case.

 

I can't speak from personal experience as I have never missed a cruise (yet!), but was just pointing out others "storries" as I see them, and getting a cruise credit if you flights are booked with the airline appears to be the norm (but again, only repeating what I read from stories)

 

In the same thread a person claiming to be a TA stated " Did you happen to get trip insurance. If not, you’re probably stuck with the credit unfortunately. Sorry this happened to you." 

 

Is it true?? who knows ... I have no 1st hand experience.

 

you can be sure if I have NCL booked flights and my flight is cancelled and I can't get flights to make it or catch up. with the cruise, I am going for a future cruise credit.

The insurance itself does not have CFAR, with respect to a cash refund. But if purchased through NCL, NCL will give you credits. Cancelling because you miss your flight is completely different than trip interruption.

 

[rodndonna]

1 minute ago, julig22 said:

The insurance itself does not have CFAR, with respect to a cash refund. But if purchased through NCL, NCL will give you credits. Cancelling because you miss your flight is completely different than trip interruption.

 

 

Isn't that insurance I would purchase to protect me in the event I decide to cancel my trip? I guess it would cover me to cancel the day cruise if my flight is cancelled or delayed.

 

Protecting myself against flights issues causing me to miss my cruise I would have thought to be more under "trip interruption" insurance (through NCL (Manulife), Credit Card or outside insurance)

 

Carnival's air program Fly2Fun explicitly states that if flight issues make you miss your cruise, you will get cruise credits. I don't see other cruise programs make that explicit claim, but it seems reasonable to expect a similar good faith compensation (maybe I am just too optimistic!) and why I tend to believe the accounts of internet folks who claim they received a credit when their flights couldn't get them there.

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, hallux said:

I think you keep on mixing up embarkation day and disembarkation day, making for some confusing statements.  Embarkation day is the day you get ON the ship...

This is why it should be called fun day and sad day!! 

[mjkacmom]

27 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Isn't that insurance I would purchase to protect me in the event I decide to cancel my trip? I guess it would cover me to cancel the day cruise if my flight is cancelled or delayed.

 

Protecting myself against flights issues causing me to miss my cruise I would have thought to be more under "trip interruption" insurance (through NCL (Manulife), Credit Card or outside insurance)

 

Carnival's air program Fly2Fun explicitly states that if flight issues make you miss your cruise, you will get cruise credits. I don't see other cruise programs make that explicit claim, but it seems reasonable to expect a similar good faith compensation (maybe I am just too optimistic!) and why I tend to believe the accounts of internet folks who claim they received a credit when their flights couldn't get them there.

 

 

They’re not the same thing. NCL used to (still do maybe?) a premium air package that sound more like carnival. The b1g1 is for a discount, they book up the cheapest flights, but once it’s time for your cruise, flight issues are on you and your insurance. It’s like the opposite of a premium package, people take it because it does save money usually.

[julig22]

12 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Isn't that insurance I would purchase to protect me in the event I decide to cancel my trip? I guess it would cover me to cancel the day cruise if my flight is cancelled or delayed.

 

Protecting myself against flights issues causing me to miss my cruise I would have thought to be more under "trip interruption" insurance (through NCL (Manulife), Credit Card or outside insurance)

 

Carnival's air program Fly2Fun explicitly states that if flight issues make you miss your cruise, you will get cruise credits. I don't see other cruise programs make that explicit claim, but it seems reasonable to expect a similar good faith compensation (maybe I am just too optimistic!) and why I tend to believe the accounts of internet folks who claim they received a credit when their flights couldn't get them there.

Optimistic to think NCL will cover you if the airline messes up. They won't. That's why they offer insurance. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true - or that maybe they conveniently forgot to mention that they got refunds/credit because they had insurance. Note, I skimmed the the article you posted and it doesn't say anything about insurance - which, by NCL offering FCC, implies to me anyway, that they did have NCL insurance.

 

Trip interruption tends to be for instances when you have to leave early, again for a covered reason. It might also pay to get you to the next port. Only CFAR insurance (cover for any reason) would cover you if you decide to cancel your trip for a non-covered reason. Which is why you have to purchase it when you book your cruise, not at a later date.

 

NCL's BOGO program is in no way the same as Fly2Fun. Not even close. BOGO gets you discount rates, Fly2Fun gets you competitive rates, with insurance included.

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

Optimistic to think NCL will cover you if the airline messes up. They won't. That's why they offer insurance. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true - or that maybe they conveniently forgot to mention that they got refunds/credit because they had insurance. Note, I skimmed the the article you posted and it doesn't say anything about insurance - which, by NCL offering FCC, implies to me anyway, that they did have NCL insurance.

 

Trip interruption tends to be for instances when you have to leave early, again for a covered reason. It might also pay to get you to the next port. Only CFAR insurance (cover for any reason) would cover you if you decide to cancel your trip for a non-covered reason. Which is why you have to purchase it when you book your cruise, not at a later date.

 

NCL's BOGO program is in no way the same as Fly2Fun. Not even close. BOGO gets you discount rates, Fly2Fun gets you competitive rates, with insurance included.

 

I remain optimistic - but willing to take the risk "generally".

 

I say generally, and will take our upcoming (and only) booked NCL cruise. Worse case - flight get cancelled or delayed land we cannot make it to the cruise. It is a 7 day on the Viva booked very early. The potential loss to us assuming no credit from NCL and nothing from our credit card (although we have travel insurance card, worse case lets say we get declined) is less than $3K US. That also assumes we don't get anything refunded (prepaid crew grats?, port fees?, taxes?)

 

Buying insurance to cover $3K is not something we would ever financially do. Flying in day before and hotel/meal costs are another form of insurance to mitigate that potential loss.

 

Now if I wasn't so cheap and splurging on a suite or taking a grand voyage, then I would worry about protecting our cruise costs more. As a lowly insider, it just doesn't make financial sense and we will just have to see what happens when it happens.

 

I do love insurance in our financial portfolio though!

[julig22]

20 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

I remain optimistic - but willing to take the risk "generally".

 

I say generally, and will take our upcoming (and only) booked NCL cruise. Worse case - flight get cancelled or delayed land we cannot make it to the cruise. It is a 7 day on the Viva booked very early. The potential loss to us assuming no credit from NCL and nothing from our credit card (although we have travel insurance card, worse case lets say we get declined) is less than $3K US. That also assumes we don't get anything refunded (prepaid crew grats?, port fees?, taxes?)

 

Buying insurance to cover $3K is not something we would ever financially do. Flying in day before and hotel/meal costs are another form of insurance to mitigate that potential loss.

 

Now if I wasn't so cheap and splurging on a suite or taking a grand voyage, then I would worry about protecting our cruise costs more. As a lowly insider, it just doesn't make financial sense and we will just have to see what happens when it happens.

 

I do love insurance in our financial portfolio though!

I've actually gone the self-insured route in the past - if I lose my cruise fare it's not gonna break me. But because I've done quite a bit of travel in the past 2 years,  I did get an annual plan. Not so much to cover lost cruise fare - but to cover unexpected expenses, such as airfare home in case of an emergency. The actual coverage for cruise fare is quite limited, it's the extras I'm concerned about.  I've done quite a bit of international travel and the cost of last minute airfare home can be quite expensive. 

 

Your travel insurance may cover your cruise and airfare, depends on the terms. For me, the annual insurance plan is much more economical than paying annual fees on a travel card (I use the NCL card for NCL travel, use the points for upgrades). If you cancel, you are entitled to a refund of prepaid expenses, such as taxes and gratuities, pre-booked excursions.

[rodndonna]

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I've actually gone the self-insured route in the past - if I lose my cruise fare it's not gonna break me. But because I've done quite a bit of travel in the past 2 years,  I did get an annual plan. Not so much to cover lost cruise fare - but to cover unexpected expenses, such as airfare home in case of an emergency. The actual coverage for cruise fare is quite limited, it's the extras I'm concerned about.  I've done quite a bit of international travel and the cost of last minute airfare home can be quite expensive. 

 

Your travel insurance may cover your cruise and airfare, depends on the terms. For me, the annual insurance plan is much more economical than paying annual fees on a travel card (I use the NCL card for NCL travel, use the points for upgrades). If you cancel, you are entitled to a refund of prepaid expenses, such as taxes and gratuities, pre-booked excursions.

 

We Canadians are not eligible for those cruise credit cards  😥

 

Our travel credit card is covered by our bank if we keep a minimum balance which we do. It's pretty limited (e'g' 1.5K each Canadian for trip interuption) but the medical is strong. 

 

We will likely eye a separate annual plan in the coming years as we get older and our dog will inevitably make his way to the dog house in the sky..... when we then plan on doing more extensive (and expensive) holidays! 🙃

[hallux]

@rodndonna the insurance is so much more than protecting you from loss of your cruise fare. 

 

Take, for example, the situation neighbors of my parents just went through.  They went on an excursion, upon returning to the port (in Italy, mind you) the woman was hit by a vehicle drive by a tour guide.  Broke her ankle, pinned shoulder, and I'm sure other injuries.  Bill from the hospital was over $40,000, then there was the $10,000 expense to get home as they needed business class or better on Emirates in order for her to have a bathroom available on the plane that would accommodate a wheelchair plus the ability to elevate her leg in addition to needing special transportation from NYC to home over 100 miles North of NYC.

 

Can you self-insure over $50,000 in costs?  Granted, they SHOULD be able to recover some of it from litigation, but dealing with that as a US citizen against an Italian in Italy is going to be a challenge.  These situations don't happen often, but you never know when they will and the couple of Benjamins to buy insurance pales in comparison to bills like that.

[rodndonna]

4 minutes ago, hallux said:

@rodndonna the insurance is so much more than protecting you from loss of your cruise fare. 

 

Take, for example, the situation neighbors of my parents just went through.  They went on an excursion, upon returning to the port (in Italy, mind you) the woman was hit by a vehicle drive by a tour guide.  Broke her ankle, pinned shoulder, and I'm sure other injuries.  Bill from the hospital was over $40,000, then there was the $10,000 expense to get home as they needed business class or better on Emirates in order for her to have a bathroom available on the plane that would accommodate a wheelchair plus the ability to elevate her leg in addition to needing special transportation from NYC to home over 100 miles North of NYC.

 

Can you self-insure over $50,000 in costs?  Granted, they SHOULD be able to recover some of it from litigation, but dealing with that as a US citizen against an Italian in Italy is going to be a challenge.  These situations don't happen often, but you never know when they will and the couple of Benjamins to buy insurance pales in comparison to bills like that.

 

100,0000,0000% we ALWAYS have medical insurance (in our case through our travel credit card).

 

I was speaking of insurance covering costs relating to missing a cruise -  like Cancel for any reason, trip interruption ... etc, as well as costs associated with hotels/meals to arrive early (protecting your cruise to a degree , another form of insurance to protect missing a cruise)

 

Medical insurance - ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS .....