Details about the Norwegian Cruise Line Air Promotion

What does Norwegian claim to offer with their air promotion?

The Buy One Get One "BOGO" promotion is quite popular with NCL. But traveler experience varies quite a bit. Some people use it with every cruise without any issues, while other cruisers end up missing their cruise departure!

What are some of the Terms & Conditions?

Here are some details of what they offer: For Select Cruises of 7-nights or longer, Buy One Airfare, get one Free. But the devil is in the details. many restrictions apply:

Not available on Sail-Away Rates
Cruise reservation has to be made at least 110 days before embarkation
Air reservation has to be made at least 75 days before embarkation
You can request to fly in early (we always recommend this) and it’s called an Air Deviation
Solo Travelers can also take advantage of the Norwegian Cruise Line Air Promotion
NCL will do their best to only have one connection on domestic routes and up to two on international routes. This is subject to availability.
You can read more details HERE

What are some of the Benefits of the NCL Air Promo?

Here are some Benefits of the BOGO Air Program by Norwegian:

You can save quite a bit – especially on international flights
You can lock in the price early and cancel if you find a better deal (as long as you remove it from the reservation before 110 days.
The rate includes taxes, fees and surcharges (but not checked bags or seat selection)
They offer ground transportation, when available

So why wouldn't you want to book with the Norwegian Cruise Line Air Promo?

Here are some reasons this promo may not be for you:

You don’t get to pick the flight, airline, departure time, or anything that makes the process of booking a flight convenient
You aren’t given flight information until closer to the sail date, so good seats on the flight may be gone.
You typically can’t make changes without calling Norwegian, and even then – they may not allow changes.
If your flight is delayed or canceled, it can be VERY challenging to get ahold of someone at NCL to get the route updated.

Client Story: NCL Air

We had clients sailing on the Norwegian Encore to the Caribbean one Sunday in April. They were set to fly in the day of the Cruise (We typically recommend against this because a slight flight delay can cause a missed cruise!) But this client had a personal commitment that they weren’t able to move. So they booked with the Buy One Get One Norwegian Cruise Line Air Promotion and they were set to arrive by 12:30 pm and they had to be onboard the ship by 4pm.

We always set alerts for Client Flights so that we can monitor changes to itineraries. Just as I was heading off to sleep around 11:30pm I got the text and email. Flight was canceled. All air space in southern Florida was closed for the morning. What were we going to do? I texted my client to let her know that I was aware and that I was working through it for her.

I called the Norwegian Flight Desk – CLOSED on the weekend. Could call the in-travel emergency number but “we can’t do anything at this point. Call back Monday.” was the answer received – ugh – the cruise leaves on Sunday!

I called American Airlines. The estimated wait time was 12 hours (this was going to be after they were supposed to arrive). So I did the good ole travel agent trick – call the airline in a foreign country, the wait time may not be as long. And wouldn’t you know it! I called the UK line and there was only a 15 minute wait.

They assigned a solutions team and within about an hour we had new flights booked. It was nearly 2 am and I had to call the client to let them know they had to get to the airport for a flight that departed over an hour before they were planning on departing. But they made it. They texted a picture of their first Pina Coladas onboard.

How to avoid frustration when booking BOGO Air

Here are some ways to avoid frustration when booking Norwegian Cruise Line BOGO Air

Always check the cost of flights – sometimes the BOGO deal is only like $100 off!
Travel in at least 1-2 days before the cruise
Install the Apps for the Airline(s) you’re booked on – you can sometimes make modifications through the app or text customer service
Pack your patience – it can be crazy at airports with short connections and you may have to move quickly
If you want to pick your airline or make sure you have a comfortably long enough connection – then maybe just book on your own