NCL's NCF Commission Program FAQs

1. What is Norwegian’s NCF Commission Program?
   
   On January 1, 2023, Norwegian Cruise Line launched the NCF Commission Program to support travel advisors with additional cashflow by enabling them to earn commission on the NCF (Non-Commissionable Fare) portion of the voyage fare, for new and existing reservations made outside final payment (121 days or more prior to sailing). This included any bookings made prior to January 1, 2023, for reservations made outside final payment and departing May 1, 2023, onwards. To continue to help partners fully recover and grow, the program will extend through the end of Q1 2024, and discontinue on April 1, 2024, as the cruise industry is once again fully operational and on an upward trajectory.

2. What did travel partners need to do to be eligible for commission on NCFs? 
   
   To participate, travel agency administrators needed to submit an NCF marketing plan on Norwegian Central by January 7, 2023. Once the plan was submitted, the agency was enrolled to receive commission on NCFs. The enrollment period has closed.

3. How do travel partners know if they’re opted in to earn NCF commission?
   
   If opted-in to the NCF commission program, on a reservation in OF or BK status, under “Pricing” the NCF commission line item will show as: % COMM ON NCF. Additionally, on the reservation confirmation NCF Commission will show as Early Booking Bonus %. If interested, see questions 11 and 12 for example screen shots.
    
4. What if a travel partner did not submit a marketing plan by the deadline?
   
   The NCF enrollment process ended on January 7, 2023. 
    
5. Will NCL pay commission on NCFs if the reservation was made on or before March 31, 2024? 
   
   If a reservation (either FIT, Affinity or Spec Group) was made and is in active status on or before March 31, 2024, the travel advisor will earn commission on the NCF portion of that reservation, in addition to the standard cruise fare portion. The disbursement of the commission payment still follows standard policy – when the reservation is paid in full. For reservations made on April 1, 2024 and forward, NCL will pay standard commission only.
    
6. How do I determine whether a booking qualifies for NCF commission? 
   
   
   After the agency administrator submits an NCF marketing plan, reservation eligibility for NCF commission is simple; the reservation must be made outside final payment (121 days or more prior to the sailing date) and cannot cancel.
   
    
7. Is there a change to the NCF commission policy for reservations made within the final payment (120 days or less prior to sailing)?
   
   For reservations made on or within 120 days from the sailing date, the NCF portion of the cruise fare remains non-commissionable.
    
8. Do reservations made prior to January 1, 2023, for sailings departing after May 1, 2023, qualify for the NCF commission?
   
   For US and CAN agencies who submitted an NCF marketing plan by the deadline, their existing reservations, if made outside final payment for sailings departing May 1, 2023, and beyond, qualify for NCF commission. 
   
   • If commission on existing reservations was already paid, Norwegian will issue a second commission payment for the additional amount [earned on the NCF portion of the cruise fare] by January 31, 2023.
   
   • If commission has not yet been paid, the commission payment will include payment for the commission earned on the full voyage fare (including the NCF portion).
    
9. Do reservations for sailings departing prior to May 1, 2023, qualify for the NCF commission?
    
   New or existing reservations for sailings departing prior to May 1, 2023, do not qualify for commission on the NCF portion of the cruise fare.
   
    
10. If a reservation is made inside the final payment (120 days or less prior to sailing) does it qualify for the NCF commission? 
    
    
    To earn commission on the NCF portion of the cruise fare, reservations must be made outside final payment (121 days or more prior to the sailing). Reservations made inside final payment (on or within 120 days from the sailing date) do not qualify for commission on NCFs.
     
11. What % commission will travel partners earn on NCFs?
    
    Partners will earn their standard commission percentage on the NCF portion of the voyage fare. Should commission percentages change at any point, the NCF commission will also change to match the new percentage
     
12. How is NCF commission calculated?
    
    NCF commission is earned on the gross NCF amount. You can calculate your total commission payment (option 1 below), or you can calculate the commission just on the NCF portion (option 2 below). For the example calculations please reference the screenshot below; in this example, the agency earns 16% commission.
    
    Option 1:
    • Calculate total commission: [Voyage Fare – Promotion Savings] x Commission %
    
    Total Commission: [$9198.00 - $4599.00 DISC50 = $4599.00] x 16% = $735.84
    
    Option 2:
    • Calculate NCF commission: [Gross NCFs x Commission %]
    
    Gross NCFs is $370 per person x 2 passengers = $740
    
    NCF Commission: $740 x 16% = $118.40
    
    
    Note: BookNCL displays net NCFs. In the below example, $185 NCF per passenger, or $370 total for the reservation, is the net NCF after DISC50 is applied. $370 x 50% savings = $185. Gross NCF can be found on the confirmation.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
13. How will NCF commission appear on the booking system?
    
    On BookNCL via Norwegian Central, during the booking process, you will be able to see commission on the “Pricing” page, under the “Commission” section. The code for the NCF commission is displayed as % COMM ON NCF. 
    
    In the below screenshot, an example agency earns 16% commission:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    To view the NCF commission for an existing booking, click on the “Commissions” link in the top left corner when viewing the reservation.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    NCF commission will be displayed on a separate line.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
14. How will NCF commission appear on the confirmation?
    
    NCF commission is listed as “Early Booking Bonus %.”
    
    Example:
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     

15. How will NCF commission appear via Paymode or on commission checks?
    
    Commission payments for standard voyage fare AND NCF commission will show as a combined total in Paymode and on commission checks. For a breakdown of earnings, view the Commission section on the Pricing tab of your reservation in the booking system.
     

16. When does NCL pay commission? Will NCF commission be paid at the same time?
    
    Travel agent commission is paid when the final payment is made and the reservation is paid in full. Beginning January 1, 2023, commission payments will include standard commission and commission on the NCF portion of the cruise fare for qualifying reservations.
    
    To view full commission payment details, search “commission” on NCLHelp via Norwegian Central. 
    
    
    
    
     

17. Does the NCF commission policy apply to Group reservations?
    
    Yes, spec and affinity group reservations, whether they are materialized within the group space or reservations, are moved into the group space via the FIT-to-include process and eligible for commission on NCFs if the reservation is made outside final payment (121 days or more prior to
    sailing). 
    
     
18. Is NCF commission eligibility for groups based on the date of the reservation or the date the group space was taken out?
    
    NCF commission eligibility is based on the date the individual reservation is made. It must be in BK status with names and payment of the reservation, and outside final payment (121 days or more prior to sailing) to qualify.
     
19. Will NCL pay commission on Group bookings that were made on or before March 31, 2024? 
    
    NCL will pay commission on active bookings made on or before March 31, 2024. Affinity Group and Speculative Group bookings must materialize in order to qualify for commission on NCFs. RQ status bookings are not eligible.  

20. If a group was taken out on or before March 31, 2024, will the TA still earn NCF commission on RQs in that group when they put names on the bookings? 
    
    NCL will only pay commission on active bookings with the minimum deposited amount, in addition to having valid names listed on the booking.
    
    
    
    
     

21. Will NCF commission be protected in the event of a cruise-line-initiated cancellation?
    
    For cruise line-initiated cancellations, the standard commission policy will also apply to NCF commission:
    
    • Commission is paid at the time a reservation is paid-in-full (including NCF commission).
    
    • If an active booking is paid-in-full, commissions have been paid, and then the voyage is suspended by Norwegian, travel partner commissions will not be recalled.
    
    • If a voyage is suspended by Norwegian and an active booking is paid in full (at the time of suspension announcement), but the travel partner commissions have not yet been paid, travel partner commissions (including NCF commission) will be protected and will be paid.
    
    • If a voyage is suspended by Norwegian, but the active booking has not been paid in full and the travel partner commission has not been paid, commissions will not be paid out.
    
    • The current final payment, cancellation, and penalty schedule can be viewed here.
    
    • For full information on standard commission policies, search “commission” on NCL Help via Norwegian Central.
     

22. Will NCF commission be protected in the event of a guest or partner-initiated cancellation?
    
    The standard cancellation policy will apply for all guest or partner-initiated cancellations.
    
    • Per standard commission policy, if a booking is canceled by the guest within final payment but outside of full (100%) penalty, commission will not be paid or will be recalled if previously paid.
    
    • If a booking is canceled by the guest within final payment and inside full (100%) penalty, commission will be protected.
    
    • The current final payment, cancellation, and penalty schedule can be viewed here.
    
    • For full information on standard commission policies, search “commission” on NCL Help via Norwegian Central.
     

23. How are NCF Commissions calculated for singles booked at 200%?
    
    NCF commission is earned on the gross NCF portion of the reservation cruise fare. See Question 11 for specifics on where to view and how to calculate NCF commission.
    
    
    
    
     

24. Did travel agencies that are part of a consortia need to submit an NCF marketing plan to be eligible for commission on NCFs?
    
    Yes, all travel agencies, regardless of consortia affiliation, were required to submit an NCF marketing plan to be eligible to earn commission on NCFs. If travel partners book under their own booking phone number, they needed to submit a marketing plan. 
     

25. Did travel agents that are part of a host agency need to submit an NCF marketing plan to be eligible for commission on NCFs?
    
    Travel agents who book through a host agency (i.e., host phone number) were not required to submit an individual NCF marketing plan, this should have been done at the host agency level. If an agent books through a host agency main phone number, contact the agency administrator, office manager, or agency account manager to confirm they submitted an NCF marketing plan to qualify. 
     

26. What should travel partners do if they don’t know who their agency administrator is?
    
    To find out who the travel agency administrator is, we recommend contacting your agency owner, office manager, agency account manager, or headquarters office.
     

27. After qualifying by submitting an NCF marketing plan, when making a booking, do travel partners need to do anything else to receive commission on NCFs?
    
    After the NCF marketing plan was submitted, the qualification was complete; all qualifying reservations will automatically receive a commission on the NCF portion of the cruise fare. There is no additional action required by travel partners.

28. If a travel partner moves from an agency that is enrolled to earn commission on NCFs to an agency that is not enrolled, will they still earn commission on NCFs?
    
    To earn commission on NCFs, the headquarter agency had to enroll by submitting a marketing plan. Agencies, and their agents, who did not submit a marketing plan to enroll will not earn commission on NCFs regardless of the prior agency’s eligibility.
    
    
    
                                        

NCF Marketing Plan Submission Questions

Reservation Changes and Cancellations

Groups Questions