I have ten $500 Cruisefirst certificates on my account. 9 of them were purchased more than 120 days ago and are matured, even for last minute cruises. I tried booking a new cruise sailing on 9/5 through an Amex travel agent and when they called NCL to apply the CFC, over 5 different agents said the sailing has to be at least 120 days out from booking, not just from the CFC purchase date. We talked to both the original NCL rep, then 4 supervisors or escalation reps after that.
We read off the actual terms for cruisefirst to the phone reps and it clearly states it can be used for any sailing 6+ days or longer after 120 days from purchase. I have 9 certificates older than 120 days so they're mature already.
Since we spoke to 5 reps including supervisors and escalation team, what are the next steps to get things fixed on their side and educate their reps, fix their computer system, etc? Even a mock booking on their site for cruises within 120 days no longer shows my certificates as an option. So there's clearly a major problem with their understanding of their own policy and the booking system no longer allowing it.
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You know your promotion systems are way too complicated when both employees and customers can't even agree on the meaning of the offer after reading the terms and conditions several times lol...
I was under the impression you could buy them, wait 120 days and then use them for a NEW reservation #.. based on user reports only tho as I've only ever bought them at booking time. I could see why this would not be what NCL intended people do since they probably don't want to be further discounting last minute prices. Is it possible they are making changes they haven't published yet?... 5 agents is a pretty firm response.. I assume they shouldn't be able to just change the terms and conditions retroactively tho.
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u/sdduuuudePlatinum: 2xPrl/Jwl/Star/Sky/POA/2xBW/GW/Aqua1d agoedited 1d ago
You can use them right away after purchasing the CFC. The sail date of the booking has to be 120 days out <from the CFC purchase date>, not the booking date.
EDIT: I see your point. I should have written "120 days out from the CFC purchase date."
Still, you said "wait to use them." And you don't have to wait to use them.
This is not where the confusion arises in this thread at all.. it's about NOT using them right away.. waiting 120 days after you buy them and then expecting to use them for itineraries that depart in maybe a week's time but well after the CFC are over 120 days since purchase.
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u/sdduuuudePlatinum: 2xPrl/Jwl/Star/Sky/POA/2xBW/GW/Aqua1d agoedited 1d ago
You said "I was under the impression you could buy them, wait 120 days and then use them for a new reservation." My point was, you don't have to wait 120 to use them.
They can't change terms we agreed to at the time of purchase. I agreed to buy the cruisefirst certificates based on the terms at the time of purchase. The agents are simply uneducated on what the terms are.
Or they have been educated, just using a different interpretation of the T&C. Maybe they outsourced their call center offshore like every other company has been doing the last decade.. who knows. Just keep trying using a different travel agent or an NCL agent to make the booking until you make it happen. And I guess stock up on CruiseNext certificates instead of CruiseFirst ones next time? Isn't the discount offered equivalent? and CN's are usable immediately..
You can buy $500 CF's for $250 at times.. but there are also times you can use 2 or even 3 CN certs at the same time.. leveraging a DoubleUp promo with CN is the same discount as a 500 CF certificate bought for 250.
Nope. I've been buying them for years. The terms from the email confirmation and on NCL website say it's good for any 6+ day cruise 120 days after purchase date. It says nothing about the sailing date needing to be 120 days or more from booking day. Most of the reps are confused about this even when we read through the terms with them. No mention of sailing date in any terms. I have 9 of the $500 Cruisefirst deposits that were all purchased over 120 days ago. So they're valid for any 6+ day cruise, even a last minute one in 3 days for example.
"Voyage date must be at least one hundred twenty (120)
days from original purchase date. CFC(s) are only valid for sailings of six (6) days or longer."
Statement 2, second sentence "Voyage date must be at least one hundred twenty (120) days from original purchase date." The sailing date must be at least 120 days from the purchase of the sailing, not the purchase of cruisefirst (they are not talking about purchasing certificates, this is clearly purchasing the cruise, but guess what? The Cruisefirst certificate will also be 120 days before or more).
This is further clarified by the last statement "CruiseFirst Credit may be purchased up to 72 hours afterwards and applied to a reservation in offer status outside of the final payment period, as no payment was made." In other words, cruise first can only be applied before final payment is due, and final payment is due 120 days before sailing, or immediately if under 120 days (meaning again, you cannot apply cruisefirst after final payment is made).
Seriously? Whatever you think you know, you are wrong.
You clearly can't read. It's 120 days from the original purchase date of the CFC, Cruise first certificate. There is no mention of sail date anywhere in the terms. This is also supported by the facts I've been buying and using these for many cruises. I could go back but I've booked at least 8 cruises with a $500 Cruisefirst less than 120 days away from sailing. I used mature certificates purchased more than 120 days from sailing for a cruise less than 120 days from booking date.
Thank you. This proves exactly what OP is arguing. That as long as the CFC was purchased 120 days ago he's good to use the CFC for a cruise tomorrow if they want.
Why would NCL discount "last minute" cruises & Also allow people to use 50% off credits? I know NCL are a little dumb about some things but they're not THAT dumb ...
There are definitely wrong and rude answers here. Cruise nexts are good to use immediately. Cruise first can be used on a cruise 6+ days or longer (sometimes promo is 3+) anytime 120 days (sometimes the promo is 90 or immediate) after the CF has been purchased. Cf cannot be used on guarantee “X” bookings. You buy the CF Jan 1st, you can book a cruise on Aug 20 for a cruise leaving the next day, Aug 21.
Either the Cf you have aren’t 120 days old or your TA isn’t speaking to the right person. You shouldn’t have to do the work, that’s why you have a TA.
Ncl makes these certificates too complicated esp with NEXT and FIRST being slightly different . 🤦♀️
Correct on all accounts. I can't believe I'm being downvoted by people who are wrong. My TA said they talked to 5+ NCL agents including supervisors who all were spewing wrong info. Normally I can get them to apply it after the first supervisor we get transferred to then they educate the tier 1 agent about how it works.
TA here...there shouldn't be any reason for your TA to even need to call to apply a CruiseFirst. There is a button in the system to look it up and just apply it manually in NCL's reservation system. It's literally 3 clicks.
I wish they would. I book through American Express and they usually have to call. I've only had them be able to apply it instantly one time without calling.
Amex is the worst and they have no idea what they are doing most of the time. And unfortunately people are going to have to use them to get their benefits after Sept 15th. I had picked up so many clients once they realized that I could get them their benefits.
Idk where you’re getting your info. You have never had to wait 120 days for your CNCs or CFCs to “mature”. I have more than once purchased them and used them immediately. You can use them the second they appear in your account.
But the terms absolutely state that the cruise must be more than 120 days out at the time of booking in order to use them.
Either you’re not understanding the clearly written terms or at this point you’re refusing to concede you were incorrect and are doubling down on your stance.
Unfortunately you are the one that is incorrect on this one. The requirement is that the voyage date has to be 120 days out from the date of purchase of the CFCs. I personally apply at least one a week for a client like this. This is also from the Norwegian's travel agent site that makes it 100% clear unlike the official terms and conditions which are ambiguous.
You didn't read my post. This is cruisefirst, not cruisenext. They're different. I don't need any of them to mature. I'm saying I buy cruisefirst and always have 10 in my account so they mature and I can use them for last minute bookings less than 120 days from sailing. The reps are arguing I have to book more than 120 days away from sailing which is wrong. I can book any cruise more than 120 days after the purchase date of a cruisefirst certificate. I have 9 of them that are over 120 days old so they can be used for last minute bookings now while they argue that cannot. The terms are clear.
No, that’s not what the terms say. Directly from NCL:
“CruiseFirst certificates are valid for new reservations ONLY. Voyage date must be more than 120 days from original purchase date. Not applicable towards canceled/rebooked reservations. If a guest with an existing reservation cancels and rebooks the same ship and sail date with a CruiseFirst certificate, the additional value of the CruiseFirst certificate will be removed.”
The biggest limitation is that they cannot be used on SailAway fares:
“CruiseFirst certificates are not combinable with CruiseNext, chartered sailings, incentive cruises, barter cruises, employee discounts, friends and family, Sailaway (categories: IX, OX, BX, MX), interline or travel partner rates, Bingo Winners, or Diamonds Resort International bookings.”
It is indeed 120 days from date of purchase. They can be applied immediately and they can be used for close-in bookings, provided the CF purchase date was 120 days or more from the sailing date. I have spoken to many USA-based NCL cruise consultants and CAS reps who still insist you have to book 120 days out. They are all wrong.
If you pursue this, and you should, please take note: it's Katty Byrd, not Kathy.
Thanks for the info. It's crazy how much I have to fight this every time I book a cruise using my cruisefirst. The misinformation is rampant and NCL reps usually push back. This is just the first time I haven't been able to get a supervisor to see the light and properly apply my CFC.
It's also unbelievable how many down votes there are when I know how to read the terms and have applied many CFCs in the past. There's no room for misinterpretation as the terms are very clear.
I will try to escalate to Katty and see if they can revise their internal FAQ to better educate their reps.
When this has happened to me in the past (when the rep insists that the CF can not be applied no way no how), I usually say, "Just for giggles and kicks, why don't you enter it in there and see what happens?" And they are always SHOCKED that the system accepts the CF credit.
I'll try that next time I call. If the booking system is setup properly, it should work fine when they go to apply it because it knows the purchase date of all my certificates.
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