flamingo_fancies

Did they give a reason other than the signage in place?

I think the important words here are "MAY be served" its been cleverly worded it doesnt say WILL be served. Its also the fact that they are saying that guests with drinks packs will not know if it can be used fully until they are onboard the ship🤯🤯

So I've had my response to my email sent last week questioning the new policy. Norwegian Star, 5/11/2023 Thank you for writing and choosing Norwegian Cruise Line for your vacation at sea. Please be advised that in accordance with the laws and regulations of select ports, the sale of duty-free goods including alcohol beverages is not permitted while the vessel is in port or proximity thereof. However, in certain ports of call which will be specified onboard, guests who have pre-purchased any of NCL’s beverage packages may be served. Thank you for your understanding. We appreciate this opportunity to address your concerns. I have however gone back to question the statement of "However, in certain ports of call which will be specified onboard, guests who have pre-purchased any of NCL’s beverage packages may be served" I have read this to mean that guest who have pre-purchased a beverage pack will not know what ports they can actually use it in until actually onboard the vessel. I have received my response to this query and it seem like my initial email is the company line and they are not willing to discuss it further.

I was on the escape 1 night test cruise, wasn't it the 20% service charge on drinks non-regular NCL customers were finding strange.

Was there ever a reason give on the May 4th Dawn sailing as to why NCL suddenly weren't serving alcohol in UK waters? Did any ever get a straight answer whilst on bored? or was it just the "Beverage Notices"

No I expect it is just another company line as they are probably inundated with queries.

No I agree

That's strange that you couldn't have your platinum bottle. I just saw this on a NCL Dawn FB group someone got a response from NCL saying guests with Pre-paid beverage packs would be served.

That's good to know, I had no idea. When we get to Southampton it's always eyes on the prize.....Where's the ship😆

I can't remember anything in the terminal. There is an ASDA supermarket about 15 minutes walk. There may be some smaller shops nearer.

Wonder what the company line was in Southampton yesterday on the May 14th Dawn cruise....another story pointing the finger at someone else I suspect.

That's the line but had they forgot that the exact same thing had happened on the Dawn 7 days prior. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

So you maintain the explanation is they needed to make a payment last minute? The whole we didn't know about a payment narrative doesn't work. The line on the star May 11th was.. oh port athority only made us aware of a fee we needed to pay and there wasn't enough time to rectify it. Sorry had the whole of NCL come down with amnesia and forgotten that the exact same thing had happened on the Dawn in Southampton on May 4th a whole 7 days before the Star docked. Its also still happening on the Dawn's May 14th cruise. Then there is NCL customer services saying there are no restrictions on the consumption of alcohol in uk ports/waters. The port agent is even saying its down to duty and VAT. You still belive the party line🤯🤯

NCL'S Southampton port agent has even said its down to Duty and VAT.

From our personal experience NCL have a proven track record of lying about beverages. They use to let you bring soft drinks on board for consumption in your rooms. We had taken some cans with us as we were on 3 b2b for 26 days in 2016. Before boarding they confiscated the drinks and said a new policy was in place and drinks couldn't be taken on board. We asked about this at GS as we had alway taken them on before. We were told no drinks were to be taken on to the ship and this wasn't just NCL, it was a industry wide safety regulation. Just the same as you can't take liquid on aircraft. Fair enough we thought. In vancouver a port agent was walking us back to the ship as we were "in transit" and not embarking that day. I said I had to stop to get rid of my partial drink and asked when the new safety policy was put into place. She actually laughed at us and said that didn't exist it was a new policy with NCL only to stop people taking soft drinks and water on board. A company lying about industry wide safety regulation so people can only buy their water🤯🤯

😆😆. I'm only laughing because you are right. On the cost cutting slippery slope NCL are on what is next? There is some truth to what you are saying when it comes to food. My other half is a steak butcher and use to supply P&O. There is meat that hasn't had duty or tax paid on it, that they can only serve when in international waters, even the trim has to go to them as it cant legaly enert the uk supply chain due to the duty. So your right what's next NCL saying we can't serve xyz as the government say we can't where in reality it's just they don't want to pay duty on items.

The op is making people aware that NCL have changed their policy on serving alcohol in uk waters. It is not just embarkation day at Southampton (which on May 11th bars didn't open until around 9pm). Some of NCL itineraries are very uk port heavy, I belive some are around 6 uk ports in 10 days. People on these cruises will have purchased beverage packs that can hardly be used especially when bars aren't opening until well into the evening. So yes this would be a major issue for some.

The whole company line is pure fabrication. If this apparent "fee" needed paying they wouldn't have only found out about it for 2 days prior, they would have been aware of it from at least may 4th when the Dawn was in Southampton. If you live chat or phone anyone at NCL they are adamant that there are no restrictions on the sale of alcohol at any of the ports. Then you have the Southampton port agent saying its due to VAT and Duty on the alcohol. The whole fiasco is beyond belief 🤦‍♀️

It seems doubtful unfortunately ☹️ as I belive portland was the last port of call yesterday prior to disembarkation in Southampton today. There are people who have got on the Dawn in Southampton today saying the signs are back out.🤔

How strange

It seems to be down to a VAT / Duty issue this is what I received from the NCL southampton port agent, when questioned.

It's ridiculous. What reason have they given you?

It will more than likely be happening for the star in Belfast. This is what the Southampton port agent sent me when I questioned the restriction. So its a case of NCL not paying duty and VAT rater than the narrative they are trying to spin.

But that's been the same for years. These aren't new ports of call, NCL have been sailing to and from them for years. Why all of a sudden have the last 3 cruises in the uk had these restrictions imposed by ncl when it's the same VAT and duty regulations that other lines comply with and that NCL has in the past.

I would be questioning the General Manager and the Food & Beverage Manager why this is restriction is in place. See if they come back with "the port athority only gave us 2 days notice on a fee that needed to be paid and there wasn't enough time" narrative, which seems to be the company line on the star.