Robson1

We were on the same cruise. We got an additional 9pm time in Toscana on departure day and arrived 20 mins early and were seated immediately. We got a call a few days into the cruise asking us if we wanted to move our 2 pre-booked 9pm reservations for later in the cruise to 8pm. It did seem they held a lot back just in case of VIP situations, and are probably overly cautious when calculating dining times. I guess they want to be 100% sure guests arriving for the later slots wouldn't have to wait, rather than deal with that backlash. We actually canceled the second Toscana visit because the first time wasn't that great for us personally. We still received the reservation reminder on the cabin door the next day, so I went to the desk again to confirm our reservation was removed from the system, it was, however neither time did they ask, even out of curiosity why we were canceling and not attempting to book another date/time. That felt odd.

Expectations of steaks on any ship need to be moderated, regardless of the cut or quality. There is only so much they can get from an electric stove vs open flame or gas. It sounds like they are cooking them too long as a trade-off to get a decent searing on the outside. Its the same reason things like an asian style stir fry cooked at home with all the correct ingredients and equipment will never fully replicate the taste you know from a restaurant with a 150,000 BTU burner.

For their websites and TAs that is the preferred option. It wouldn't affect US customers or TAs. Other lines that still have gratuities as a separate service charge have region-specific websites that conform to international norms and local advertising laws. I think it is more of an annoyance for the non-Americans to see a listed price then have to go through multiple steps of a dummy booking to get to the end and see the 'real' price with tax, then also manually calculate the gratuities.

What would you have been upgrading from and to?

In the UK there are strict laws about the exact quantity of a pour. However, a double can be either 50ml or 70ml depending if the standard pour in the pub is 25ml or 35ml. https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law/specified-quantities In the US its often 1.5 oz for a standard pour so not much less than 50ml. England and Wales are more likely to be 25ml/50ml.

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Other lines that supply them can be sure they are up their own standards and have properly working fuses and automated off switches. They are happy to take responsibility for their own equipment but still wouldn’t allow a passenger to bring their own.

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If they increase the cost of the package between now and the cruise then you would lose out. If it’s purchased in advance they can’t suddenly ask for more on board as you purchased it per the advertised price at the time. It’s happened recently with the rise from $60-$70 per day. In theory that means there shouldn’t be any more rises for a good while. On the flip side would you be able to get a refund on it if you had a health issue or prescription nearer the cruise that meant you couldn’t drink?

Hi Psoque, It was, however in my situation it makes no difference as I will be paying $840 for the full beverage package and $432 in gratuities regardless. In fact, The $600 OBC has already been applied. If I didn't choose to buy the beverage package then the cash saving would have been better, as it would effectively leave me with $168 cash to spend as I please after budgeting $432 gratuities.

Thanks however that isn't my cruise or pricing. The price from one agent quoting without OLife in the promo was $600 cheaper, so no difference. Notice the fine print in the image states that the Cruise Only fair 'does not include airfare' which suggests the other prices do and explains the '$800 pp' difference. We had the air credit applied to the price as we don't need it, so we are paying cruise-only price + Olife Choice of AMENITIES (not flights) as a perk. Automatic gratuities are going to be $432 and drinks will $840, so the $600 OBC being non-refundable really doesn't matter, its very literally already gone.

Thanks however that isn't my cruise or pricing. The price from one agent quoting without OLife in the promo was $600 cheaper, so no difference. Notice the fine print in the image states that the Cruise Only fair 'does not include airfare' which suggests the other prices do and explains the '$800 pp' difference. We had the air credit applied to the price as we don't need it, so we are paying cruise-only price + Olife Choice of AMENITIES (not flights) as a perk. Automatic gratuities are going to be $432 and drinks will $840, so the $600 OBC being non-refundable really doesn't matter, its very literally already gone.

I am buying the prestige package. Olife Choice was an included perk so there is no further cash discount by not taking it. Even if they did give $600 off the cruise I’m going to be paying that straight back to them and more with the gratuities and prestige package so it being non refundable doesn’t matter.

@Flatbush Flyer No air and the OLife choice was part of the extraordinary savings deal, so there was no cheaper cruise only deal. The $600 is getting spent on board one way or another with the drinks package and gratuities still owed.

I just went through something similar and for us it made much more sense to go with OLife Choice and the $600 OBC. - The OLife drinks package is just Beer and Wine but also only at lunch and dinner. I drink spirits and always after dinner, so I would have to upgrade at $30 per day to the full package. - My wife doesn’t drink so there would be no value in the included drinks on her side. - Our itinerary stops are mostly just self explore type destinations. I priced up some independent tours and it ultimately works out better. Olife Ultimate would have been $2,400 more however I would have needed pay an additional $360 for the drinks upgrade. Taking the Choice option with $600 OBC just leaves us with $840 additional for the Prestige drinks package for one. In theory $1,560 cash saving for tours which we won’t come near to spending.