Every year, thousands of would-be cruisers watch their vacations disappear before they ever set foot on the ship.
The reason usually isn’t the cruise line’s fault. It’s because travelers make one planning decision that leaves almost no room for error.
A delayed flight. A traffic jam. A canceled train. Bad weather. Any one of those can be enough to turn an eagerly anticipated vacation into a frantic race to the port—or worse, a cruise that sails without you.
That’s why experienced cruisers almost always recommend arriving in the embarkation city at least one day before departure (and even earlier for international sailings).
Yet every year, plenty of travelers still decide to arrive the morning their cruise begins.
Personally? I hope they all have good travel insurance.
Apparently, Norwegian Cruise Line has seen enough of these situations that it’s decided to do something about them.
The cruise line has officially updated its air travel policy and, as of early this year, requires guests who book flights through the cruise line to arrive at their embarkation city at least one day before their cruise begins.
The new rules apply to all NCL air programs, including Buy One Get One (BOGO) Air and, in some cases, Choice of Air. It impacts new air-inclusive reservations along with existing bookings that are repriced on or after the original date the reservation was made.
Why did they change the rule?
According to NCL, the update followed never-ending problems with flight delays (especially arrivals on the same day of sailing) that have caused some guests to miss embarkation entirely. In those cases, passengers were often forced to catch up with their cruise at a later port of call.
In a statement, the cruise line said the change is intended to give travelers more buffer time for unexpected disruptions such as weather delays or widespread flight cancellations, which, in turn, will allow for a smoother and less stressful start to their vacation.
Plan incurs more costs
Of course, having to arrive a day (or more) earlier than you originally intended means guests need to stay in a hotel the night before their cruise. And that cost is not included in the NCL vacation package. In fact, NCL won’t even make the hotel reservation for guests—they’ll need to make and pay for that reservation on their own.
It doesn’t fix the entire problem
Will this completely eliminate passengers missing their cruises? Of course not. Travelers who book their own airfare can still roll the dice and hope everything goes according to plan.
But for guests who let Norwegian book their flights, the cruise line has essentially taken that gamble off the table.
Frankly, I think it’s a smart move.
Yes, arriving a day early means paying for an extra hotel night. But compared to the cost—and heartbreak—of missing an entire cruise or scrambling to meet the ship in another country, it’s money well spent.
One less day of stress before vacation? I’ll take that trade every time.
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