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whatawonderfulworld
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| Joined: | Sat Feb 10th, 2007 |
| Location: | Vanuatu |
| Posts: | 678 |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 03:09 am | 1st Post |
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We bought the whole magilla from NCL regarding our flights for our recent Panama Canal cruise. We flew out to LA the day of the cruise (first flight out of JFK to LAX) and a 1230 flight out of MIA back to JFK, booked on AA.
No problems with the flights...it went smooth as glass..or perhaps I should say a calm sea!
The NCL rep met us at the baggage claim area in LAX.
While the flights went off without a hitch...there was a problem with our transfer to the pier. The first bus did not show up until 2 1/2 hours after we landed. Yes...we waited that long. After we saw our baggage get loaded onto the bus, but there was no room for us, we caught a cab and got down to the pier with no problem. Our baggage arrived...end of story. NCL needs to work on this...too many people trying to get on to too few busses...where were those darn busses?
Getting off the ship in Miami was delayed by customs...we had signed up for the BAGS program and by the time we collected our bags on the pier and delivered them to the BAGS people, they advised they could not accept our luggage because they needed to have it "3 hours before your flight." Duh???? If I had known that I never would have signed up. Now I'll have to deal with NCL to get my 30 dollars reimbursed. Not a great way to end the cruise. Now this I blame on the BAGS people, not NCL.
I made a conscious decision that these two incidents were not going to reflect on how I felt about the cruise, which was fantastic. Afterall, who can complain after 15 days at sea? 
Ciao,
WaWW
____________________
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain
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hstrybuf
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| Joined: | Sat Jun 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas |
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Posted: Fri Oct 26th, 2007 12:24 am | 2nd Post |
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Fifteen days at sea sounds like my kind of cruise! 
I think all the lines seem to have a problem with air booked through them in one way or another although this time it worked well for you other than the transfer. Has it always been this good?
Not since our first cruise have we booked air or transfers with the cruiselines. However, we always had a U.S. port or San Juan as both our port of embarkation and debarkation which made it easier for us.
I've not heard of BAGS, but that may be because I don't read all the threads. Could you explain that to those of us unfamiliar with NCL? Is this something they do at all ports? Straycat is doing her first NCL cruise and I'm sure she'd like to get all the information she possibly can ahead of time. Thanks!
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Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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whatawonderfulworld
Frequent Cruiser
| Joined: | Sat Feb 10th, 2007 |
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Posted: Fri Oct 26th, 2007 04:00 am | 3rd Post |
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hstrybuf wrote: Fifteen days at sea sounds like my kind of cruise!
I think all the lines seem to have a problem with air booked through them in one way or another although this time it worked well for you other than the transfer. Has it always been this good?
Not since our first cruise have we booked air or transfers with the cruiselines. However, we always had a U.S. port or San Juan as both our port of embarkation and debarkation which made it easier for us.
I've not heard of BAGS, but that may be because I don't read all the threads. Could you explain that to those of us unfamiliar with NCL? Is this something they do at all ports? Straycat is doing her first NCL cruise and I'm sure she'd like to get all the information she possibly can ahead of time. Thanks!
This is our first time using NCL air - it worked out so well that we're using them again next summer - again, we're going out of JFK which lessens, or so I believe, the chances for problems (the old adage "all roads lead to Rome" as in, most long distance flights use either JFK or Newark). Next summer we'll be flying into London and home from Barcelona - out of, and then back in to, JFK.
The BAGS program is one that is offered by several of the airlines, I believe for certain ports in the States. And it's not just NCL - I've read about passengers on other cruise lines having something like this as well. At first it was just American, I think, offering the service. There were several domestic airlines offering it this time. I think it might only be available for US citizens too.
About 4 days before we reached Miami, they had the disembarkation meeting with the cruise director. For $15 per person, you receive your boarding passes and special tags for your bags (up to two bags per person). We put our bags out the night before Miami, just like the other passengers. After we got off the ship, we were directed to a special area where the BAGS luggage was located. We identified our luggage, went through Customs and brought it over to the BAGS truck. What was supposed to happen at that point was our luggage was to be taken to the airport and loaded onto the jet...we would not see our luggage again until we landed in JFK. That would have been a God send as all we would have had to do is go to the gate in Miami. I've read and heard about other passengers who love this program. Unfortunately our being delayed by customs to get off the ship threw a monkey wrench into the situation. But that's life. I've called Guest Relations in Miami and they are processing a refund for DH and I. And they were, by the way, extremely accommodating and expeditious in resolving this problem for us. How long will it take for me to see the $30? Well...that will be in "part 2" of my story!
Hope this helps.
Ciao,
WaWW
____________________
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain
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balcony_buffs
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Posted: Tue Nov 6th, 2007 05:39 pm | 4th Post |
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Hi,
We've used the BAGS program before from mia to bos . It was the nuts! Not having to schlep (pardon my yiddish spelling) our bags thru the airport was definitely worth it!
We were flying A/A that day. I think NCL only uses a few carriers for that program.
Bye for now.
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