World of our own

Hello

We are due to sail on Thursday 9 September 2017 for the Hawaiian Cruise (our first cruise) and we have just seen that NCL are now advertising the following package: Premium All-Inclusive Package on Pride of America 7 day Hawaiian Cruise.

We are having trouble trying to get this package through our travel agent, we have already paid for the Prepaid Service Charges for All Cat but obviously we would like the All-Inclusive Package - can anyone help??

https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/cruises/7-...GGITOKOANWKHNL

I’ve managed to do it - thanks

Hello

We are due to sail on Thursday 9 September 2017 for the Hawaiian Cruise (our first cruise) and we have just seen that NCL are now advertising the following package: Premium All-Inclusive Package on Pride of America 7 day Hawaiian Cruise.

We are having trouble trying to get this package through our travel agent, we have already paid for the Prepaid Service Charges for All Cat but obviously we would like the All-Inclusive Package - can anyone help??

https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/cruises/7-day-hawaii-round-trip-honolulu-PRIDE_AMER7HNLOGGITOKOANWKHNL?numberOfGuests=4294953449&destinations=4294946135%204294960042%204294961385&state=null&itineraryCode=PRIDE_AMER7HNLOGGITOKOANWKHNL

If you purchase the drink package you pay the "gratuity" at the time of the purchase and no further charges will be added to your bill. The exception being in those ports which charge the "state tax" on beverage purchased on the ship. Should you purchase per drink once you are on the ship you will note on the receipt a gratuity charge.

There isn't a drinks package on this cruise as it doesn't leave the USA waters we were told.

Hi! I am super excited for you! The drink gratuity is not optional, they do add one in and then give you an option to tip again... really weird in my opinion.

 

No liquids can be brought on the boat and they search EVERY suitcase, so I recommend bringing a reusable water bottle. You can bring it to the buffet and fill it with whatever you like, as long as you don't puht youhr water bottle under the spout . I used their plastic cups and dumped into my water bottle. A bottle of water is really expensive like $3-4 :)

Thanks for the heads up but we've been told we can bring wine/champagne (bottles) and pay a corkage fee, of $10 which we're thinking of doing as I don't really drink that much but it turns out cheaper. We're looking into excursions too but they seem a bit on the pricey side!!

Hi! I am super excited for you! The drink gratuity is not optional, they do add one in and then give you an option to tip again... really weird in my opinion.

 

No liquids can be brought on the boat and they search EVERY suitcase, so I recommend bringing a reusable water bottle. You can bring it to the buffet and fill it with whatever you like, as long as you don't puht youhr water bottle under the spout . I used their plastic cups and dumped into my water bottle. A bottle of water is really expensive like $3-4 :)

Thanks for the heads up but we've been told we can bring wine/champagne (bottles) and pay a corkage fee, of $10 which we're thinking of doing as I don't really drink that much but it turns out cheaper. We're looking into excursions too but they seem a bit on the pricey side!!

We just finished our cruise of Hawaii on the Pride of America. It was Amazing! If you have any questions please let me know. I would love to answer them and make your trip more enjoyable. Wish I had seen all this before we took our trip:)

Hi there, we're due to go on the POA 9th Sept this year (not long to go now) we are first time cruisers, we have paid for the service charges up front, which we have been advised is the gratuity - however we have been advised that you still have to pay gratuities for drinks but then got told that this is discretionary - can you clarify this for me - we're trying to budget for the 7 nights that's all. Many thanks

I think you are confusing the Daily Service Charges, or DSC, which is apparently what you have pre paid, with the 18% Gratuity and Service Charge which is applied either to the Ultimate Beverage Package price at the time of package purchase, or to individual drink orders on the ship if you don't have the package. The DSC may be what you heard you could opt out of, but it is really not that simple. You must go to the Guest Services and get a form which is filled out and mailed in requesting how much of these charges you want back and why. Then you must wait many weeks to get the money. Most people feel uncomfortable stiffing the staff for part of their wages. There is no way you can find and tip in cash all these people. The DSC allows you not to have to worry about cash tips for stewards and dining room staff. You won't have the same one each night with Freestyle, so this makes it easier.

 

You are correct that the POA has no Ultimate Beverage Package because of Hawaii State Liquor Laws. You will be charged by the drink, and 18% will be added to each drink to cover the gratuity. This is done because bar staff are not part of the DSC gratuity pool which is made up of the Daily Service Charge that covers most other staff like stewards and servers in main dining rooms, buffets, etc. You are not required to tip additionally.

 

The 18% Specialty Dining Gratuity and Service Charge works the same way. You either pay it on the dining package price, or it is added to your bill at each specialty meal. Again, the specialty servers are not part of the DSC pool. Whether you tip additional is up to you.

 

Rather than carry wine all the way to Hawaii from England, you might consider buying a wine package offered on the first and maybe second day of the cruise. You can purchase bottles from the wine list on the ship ( 18% applies ). Or, there are lots of places to buy wine in Waikiki pre cruise'at better prices. The ABC stores have a good selection, and there is one on every corner. Pay the $15 per bottle on boarding and nothing further is added on board. You can drink it anywhere on the ship. Leave it in the MDR or any restaurant and they will fetch it for you no matter where you are dining.

No, I'm not confused I know we have paid the service charges but I don;t understand why we cannot pay our own tips when we want to and the amount. To be dictated to is not what we're used to, we've travelled all over the world and never had any problems tipping what we wanted to. I wouldn't buy alcohol from the UK, I'd get duty free - it's cheaper lol.

azcruise - thanks for your reply. POA don't do the ultimate drinks package, we've already looked into this. There are a few deals they have on their "gifts and more" section.

I think it might be cost effective to bring my own and pay the corkage, hubby will have to pay the 18% I suppose. We better have a good bartender! I'm still going to ask about the "opt out" option when we board, just for clarification.

Hi there

I've never been on a cruise, so it's all new to me - we sail next year, so we have plenty of time to research things but we're getting conflicting information on the Bar grats - We're happy to tip people (that deserve it) and as English people we're used to paying a tip at the end of the evening, not EVERY TIME you buy a drink.

So we asked the question, is this included in the package we paid for pre-paid services charges, apparently NOT. We were then told we could "OPT OUT" and pay as we go, then only to be told via our travel agent that this not the case and it's compulsory to pay 18% - so we're no further forward.

We too are looking at whether to buy out own Sparkling wine/champagne and taking it on board but not sure just what we will be charged with!

Any help is most welcome

Thinking of doing a cruise for our 40th June 1st to New England. RC says I can pay $500 to book now and will adjust price if it goes down. Other than them holding my $500 what is the downfall if any? Any secrets to find saving money? Plan on doing 4th deck oceanview. Thanks!

We're going on the Hawaiian Islands cruise (Our FIRST cruise) in September 2017 and we have just booked (yesterday) as the cabins to seem to get booked up quite quickly and also the flights can go up rather than down - And on the up side it's nice to have it to look forward to and having loads of time to research excursions etc... But that's just my opinion :)

Yes, I've just noticed that myself - shame really! I've been told it's about $6.95 - $7.95 for a bud

Hello

I'm new to the cruise world! We are looking to go on our first cruise around the Hawaiian Islands on the NCL Pride of America - Does anyone know how much a pint of beer is? We're not sure whether to pay as we go or buy a drinks package, I'm not much of a drinker but my husband likes a beer.

Many thanks