NCL Free Perks

The only thing they can do ... they provide FCC for any cash you gave them ... when you get to actually use it is sort of up in the air at the moment ;)

Jbenham, just curious, what have they done for you since canceling your trip due to covid?

I tried it once out of 3 times that i cruised w/ NCL.

PROS: It's waaaaay cheaper for me (flying from oregon to miami) than booking on my own. They take care of everything. It was decent flights in my case, and on the way home when my flight got delayed i got bumped to first class on my replacement flight!

CONS: You don't find out flight info until really close to sail date. They are really not good communicating or making any changes or asking questions ahead of time. They charge you a "flight deviation fee" if you want to arrive a day before or stay a day after your cruise. It only applies to the first 2 people in the cabin - if you have additional people, they require you still use their flight planning but pay whatever the set price is.

Thanks, everyone. I also wrote to NCL and inquired as to why I am seeing a disconnect between the rates they quoted versus what any other search engine is delivering. If they are supposed to be supplementing the cost, it doesn't make sense for the quote they provide to be more than independently booking. It wasn't significantly more, but with no say in the arrangements, one could be paying slightly more to be inconvenienced. I got a call today to address the concern. Hopefully they take the feedback seriously and improve the process so it works consistently for everyone and not just a lucky few.

Oh, and to add a comment to all the other above posters that are bad-mouthing this "Free/reduced Air" perk, it doesn't cost or add anything,(ok, maybe $99 ea. for long/multi-leg flights) and is truly a good option,especially if you live close to a major airport on their list. If you're flexible on flying times, etc., you can save HUNDREDS, if not a Thousand+ dollars. So don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

As Platinum NCL cruisers, we recently decided to finally try the "Free/Reduced Air" option for the very first time. Flying from Tucson to Orlando was to be a 13-hour ordeal, with 3 legs & layovers, and undesirable flight times. But hey, it was free, right? We dreaded it, but in the end, NCL Cancelled the whole cruise anyway. No harm, no foul... Now, we have just booked a 21 day P/C cruise from SF to NYC. and NCL is giving us free air from TUCSON to SF, and we are going to book our own 1st class flight back from NYC to tucson. I think it's a good option, and can save you big bucks if you're willing to deal with possible undesirable flight times. It's easy to look at the options on their website when going through the steps of booking, or "pretending" to book for research purposes. Sometimes they charge $99 for long or complicated flights, but hey, it's money saved, right?

I belong to NCL groups elsewhere, and have heard a few people say that the Free Air perk worked well, but the vast majority having problems.

Personally, I wouldn't use that perk, for many reasons. But if saving airfare money is important enough, I would look into it.

Generally, yes, you are correct. However, the offers usually add up to a little better value - assuming you take advantage of all the perks.

The free air probably includes an "air allowance". Call them to see what flights are offered in the deal. If it doesn't work for you, or you want to use your airline rewards points instead, they may give you credit or money back for the air allowance that you are not using. It is worth calling to ask.

It isn't free. We will be using it for the first time, in Feb. $124 round trip from Green Bay to Miami, which is an exceptional deal. The times they have us scheduled to fly are quite doable, too. Check it out to see if it works for you.