NCL Ultimate Beverage Package

[BrPanthers99]

ARE THERE REALLY PEOPLE WHO THINK THIS PACKAGE IS A GOOD DEAL??

 

You need to drink 8-10 drinks a day everyday just the break even.

 

What a waste of a cruise if that is your plan. Just stay home and save the rest of us from having to see you so drunk you do not even know you are on a boat.

[isdoo]

ARE THERE REALLY PEOPLE WHO THINK THIS PACKAGE IS A GOOD DEAL??

 

You need to drink 8-10 drinks a day everyday just the break even.

 

What a waste of a cruise if that is your plan. Just stay home and save the rest of us from having to see you so drunk you do not even know you are on a boat.

 

First off, it is a ship - not a boat!! ;)

 

Second - it is not that many drinks to 'break even' - a coffee first thing & another mid-morning - a glass of wine or two at lunch - a couple of drinks before dinner, with some wine at the table and then a drink or two in the evening. That ignores any other drinks around the pool etc.

 

It soon adds up - doesn't all have to be alcoholic.

 

You do not need to be drunk at all!

[BrPanthers99]

First off, it is a ship - not a boat!! ;)

 

Second - it is not that many drinks to 'break even' - a coffee first thing & another mid-morning - a glass of wine or two at lunch - a couple of drinks before dinner, with some wine at the table and then a drink or two in the evening. That ignores any other drinks around the pool etc.

 

It soon adds up - doesn't all have to be alcoholic.

 

You do not need to be drunk at all!

 

coffee is free!!!!

 

and even if you drink everything that you said, maybe you would break even. So why do it?

 

If you go on an excursion for a day your behind. Does not make mathematical sense, its just something fun to brag to your friends.

[KeithJenner]

ARE THERE REALLY PEOPLE WHO THINK THIS PACKAGE IS A GOOD DEAL??.

 

 

It seems so, yes.

 

Maybe everyone is just so drunk that they can't work it out. :)

 

Just have a think about this though. If I drink a bottle of beer an hour from midday to midnight, I will have 12 beers. Each bottle contains approximately 1 unit of alcohol (as measured in the UK, it may be different elsewhere). According to the NHS website it takes about an hour to break down one unit of alcohol.

 

Based on that, I imagine that I will have a fair idea of where I am after drinking that amount, and a few extra beers on top are unlikely to make me do anything that upsets you too much.

 

Still, each to their own, don't you think?

[isdoo]

coffee is free!!!!

 

and even if you drink everything that you said, maybe you would break even. So why do it?

 

If you go on an excursion for a day your behind. Does not make mathematical sense, its just something fun to brag to your friends.

 

So is water, but they still sell it :)

 

It is also convenient - saves worrying about a bill at the end.

 

Sure if you are never on the ship, then maybe it is harder - for us we tend to stay on-board far more and enjoy our cabin :)

 

In some ports like Barcelona, you will pay 10% more on drinks at the bar, but not if you buy the UBP in advance.

 

Each to their own - but you are wrong if you think everyone who has a drinks package is drunk. Several lines will give them away to many cruisers - it does not make the ship full of drunks!

 

In Europe many holidays are becoming all inclusive - cruise lines have to offer similar or lose business.

[LrgPizza]

coffee is free!!!!

 

 

 

and even if you drink everything that you said, maybe you would break even. So why do it?

 

 

 

If you go on an excursion for a day your behind. Does not make mathematical sense, its just something fun to brag to your friends.

 

 

One could say the same thing about a suite, couldn't one? But thankfully we can all choose where to spend our own money.

 

 

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[Mustangdrew]

One could say the same thing about a suite, couldn't one? But thankfully we can all choose where to spend our own money.

 

 

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Amen

 

 

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[Sparkles87]

ARE THERE REALLY PEOPLE WHO THINK THIS PACKAGE IS A GOOD DEAL??

 

You need to drink 8-10 drinks a day everyday just the break even.

 

What a waste of a cruise if that is your plan. Just stay home and save the rest of us from having to see you so drunk you do not even know you are on a boat.

 

I resent the implication that just because I can drink 8 - 10 drinks per day on a cruise that I must be some kind of idiot drunk that cannot tell the difference between a Ship and a Boat. I like to drink, I am not an alcoholic and nor do I have any intention of drinking myself silly whilst on my cruise. That being said I will enjoy myself in any way I see fit, whether that may include having a few drinks or not. I will thank you not to push your prejudices onto people who like to have a few tipples a day on their holiday.

 

As KeithJenner has already demonstrated there are non-alchoholic options that a person can drink that are included on UBP.

 

I will likely have a fair few soda's and mocktails during the day to stay hydrated in the hot weather, I may have a wine or 2 at lunch. I will definitely have a wine or 2 at dinner (or cocktails) and I will have at least 3 drinks maybe 4 after dinner. I am fairly confident that I have never been drunk enough that i don't know where i am or do anything to annoy anyone.

 

You may not feel it's worth it for you, but for me and countless others it is very much the better deal. Not to mention if i pre-purchase it then it's something I wont have to pay at the end on my cruise. Case closed for me.

[isdoo]

Well said!!

 

Mind you, I will admit to getting a bit drunk on a ship, but it was New Years Eve ;) - I do not regret it for a second. I did not annoy anyone else. Would I have done it if I was paying for individual drinks - probably not, but it was money well spent.

 

Yes, we got our monies worth and had a good time.

 

The blasting of the ships horn about 20 times at midnight will be a memory I will have for the rest of my days :)

[carribeansol]

For those interested, here is my review of the UBP from our last cruise. It was posted here when we returned but I don't know how to link it.

 

 

I thought I would give you an up dated review of the UBP on the Sky. We sailed on 9/20/13 on the Sky and ordered the UBP package as soon as we walked on the ship. They had a desk set up in Dazzles where you can make dinner reservation, buy wine packages, and purchase the UBP. Vey simple to find and purchase. Turn right when you walk inside the ship and you will run into it. Total price for two......$338.10

 

We were not turned down for any drink we ordered. We had beer, wine, drink of day, piña Coladas, Martinis, Irish mist, Bailey's, Bloody Mary's, and mimosas. There were plenty more choices but those were our favorites. The list that was linked on a pervious post was accurate.

 

Ordering drinks was no problem. Every where we went waiters were asking us if we wanted another drink. We only ever showed one card. We easily ordered two drinks at once. Sometimes they would place all four (ours and our friends) drinks on one card. Service was great! Drinks were never watered down, in fact, I was surprised to find floaters on my piña coladas. There was a price difference on the ones with floaters and ones without, but both were covered under the package.

 

I checked the bill and we were never charged for any drinks we ordered. The drinks were not itemized on the bill, just the charge for the package and any tips we added. We did tip a few waiters extra who went above and beyond to keep our drinks filled.

 

 

Let's just say we made money on the deal. My husband is a beer drinker and enjoys irish mist on the rocks. I am an occasional drinker. If I drink 5 glasses of wine a month, that is a lot. We figured we were with friends so I would be drinking more and and my husband would make up the difference. What we found was because we did not worry about money, we ordered things that we wanted but would not usually order. For example, 3 Bailey's on the rocks after dinner and 3 chocolate raspberry Martinis at Cagney's because they were just so good.

 

We found the drink package worth it for the 3 day cruise. On a 7day with just the two of us and the kids we most likely would not purchase it. I don't think my liver would be able to handle 7 days of that kind of drinking.

 

 

 

I want to add that at no time were we ever drunk and stupid. We are sailing again on the EPIC next month. It is spring break so no UBP. However, we did talk and had decided to only purchase for one adult. We do have 2 rooms this time and could have easily bought just one for an adult and the soda for the child in the one room. I would have paid for single drinks for myself. I just could not keep up that pace for 7 days.

[KeithJenner]

We found the drink package worth it for the 3 day cruise. On a 7day with just the two of us and the kids we most likely would not purchase it. I don't think my liver would be able to handle 7 days of that kind of drinking.

 

 

This is quite interesting, as your review is one of the few times that I've seen anyone really suggest that they drank more than they would have without the UBP.

 

My assumption would be that there is a temptation to drink more, whether in order to get your money's worth or just because it doesn't matter financially how much you drink. I'm almost certain I would drink a more if I was on the UBP, as it is usually the cost that restricts our drinking over a period of time, and that is one of the reasons I would be very cautious about buying it.

 

I'm always a bit sceptical when people say that the UBP saved them money based on what they drink. I'd be far more interested in how it compared to what they spent on their last cruise before buying it.

 

 

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[hbooden]

Having never been on a cruise before... I plan on getting the upb on our cruise for a few reasons...1 I am going with just my husband! No kids! I am going to have a Bloody Mary with breakfast! :) and 2 we are sailing out of NYC! 2 1/2 sailing days each way. 3 I don't want to not have a drink cause I am worried about our bill and 4 If the drinks are weak or small um I want a few :) meh I wouldn't pay extra for some things but I want a cocktail and don't want to worry:)

 

 

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[carribeansol]

This is quite interesting, as your review is one of the few times that I've seen anyone really suggest that they drank more than they would have without the UBP.

 

My assumption would be that there is a temptation to drink more, whether in order to get your money's worth or just because it doesn't matter financially how much you drink. I'm almost certain I would drink a more if I was on the UBP, as it is usually the cost that restricts our drinking over a period of time, and that is one of the reasons I would be very cautious about buying it.

 

I'm always a bit sceptical when people say that the UBP saved them money based on what they drink. I'd be far more interested in how it compared to what they spent on their last cruise before buying it.

 

 

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There is no comparison to our pervious cruise. As stated, I do not usually drink that much. I may have 1-2 drinks a day when I am with the family/kids. The three day cruise was adults only, no responsibility. We choose the UBP for that reason. It was nice to be able to order a drink and never worry about money. We were free to try new things. With out it we would not have drank any where close to the amount we did.

 

On pervious cruises, my husband would drink 7-10 beers, 1-2 Irish mist, and 1 Bloody Mary or baily's in the morning each day. So for him, yes it saved money compared to pervious cruise. Average of $70 a day for husband.

 

We will order it again when we do the three day cruise and adults only again in September.

[Demonyte]

Having never been on a cruise before... I plan on getting the upb on our cruise for a few reasons...1 I am going with just my husband! No kids! I am going to have a Bloody Mary with breakfast! :) and 2 we are sailing out of NYC! 2 1/2 sailing days each way. 3 I don't want to not have a drink cause I am worried about our bill and 4 If the drinks are weak or small um I want a few :) meh I wouldn't pay extra for some things but I want a cocktail and don't want to worry:)

 

I've never on any NCL ship gotten a drink that I'd call weak, glasses can be smallish in some places but it mainly affects the amount of ice and mixer, not the alcohol. But then again, I come from society with more laws and restrictions (especially about alcohol) than one cares to count and drinks in our bars are strictly measured 99% of the time instead of free pours they do on the ships.

[glituner32]

sailing the Sky soon. Is there a differance in purchasing the drink package over the phone vs on the ship?

[isdoo]

not unless you are sailing from a port that is subject to VAT

[Big Chippy]

Not having purchased an UBP on NCL but considering it for our next cruise I wondered if anyone had noticed a reluctance to serve those with the package. This was the case with a couple of servers we encountered on a RCI cruise a couple of years ago.

[paulsurf]

Not having purchased an UBP on NCL but considering it for our next cruise I wondered if anyone had noticed a reluctance to serve those with the package. This was the case with a couple of servers we encountered on a RCI cruise a couple of years ago.

 

We had the package on the Freedom of the Seas last year.

All the bartenders and servers took very good care of us with smiles...no problems

We plan on purchasing the UBP on the Getaway this September.

[carribeansol]

Not having purchased an UBP on NCL but considering it for our next cruise I wondered if anyone had noticed a reluctance to serve those with the package. This was the case with a couple of servers we encountered on a RCI cruise a couple of years ago.

 

We had no problem getting service. Servers came around as soon as we finished our drink. We did tip from time to time to those who were always going out of their way. Our experience was very positive.

[barbjd106]

My husband and I got off the Gem on Wednesday. We both had the UBP.

 

The downside was that we still had to sign a ticket for each drink; bartenders could not tell me what was included and what wasn't (apple blossom martinis were not included); mini bar items, water and specialty coffees are not included. Therefore, it was not really unlimited.

 

A large bottle of water from the mini bar cost $10.00 and change.

 

I would not purchase the package again.

[triptolemus]

Therefore, it was not really unlimited.

 

Because it's not called "unlimited." It's called the Ultimate Beverage Package.

[Big Chippy]

Hi thanks for the replies above re service, I reckon the odd additional tip would make a difference and I will bear that in mind:)

 

I have attached a link to a helpful detailed list of NCL drink packages and note that Apple Blossom Martinis come in at $9.75 and are therefore in excess of the $8.50 limit. I trust a price list will be available on request, I would hate to be caught with an additional charge unless I made a conscious decision to go out with the package which I doubt I would:rolleyes:

 

http://cruisewithgambee.com/norwegian-drink-lists/

Edited March 2, 2014 by Big Chippy

[didugger]

We have a haven suite booked for September and just received the upgrade to the UBP and UDP. YEHHHHHH!! Can anyone tell me how it would be possible to have a few drinks on our balcony in the evening. It seems as though we will have to walk to the nearest bar for each drink. Is that correct? We have an aft balcony and I don't see any stations that would help this work out smoothly.

[Demonyte]

Can anyone tell me how it would be possible to have a few drinks on our balcony in the evening. It seems as though we will have to walk to the nearest bar for each drink. Is that correct?

 

Yes, you need to get the drinks from a bar yourself, room service is not included in UBP.

[KeithJenner]

We have a haven suite booked for September and just received the upgrade to the UBP and UDP. YEHHHHHH!! Can anyone tell me how it would be possible to have a few drinks on our balcony in the evening. It seems as though we will have to walk to the nearest bar for each drink. Is that correct? We have an aft balcony and I don't see any stations that would help this work out smoothly.

 

 

This is one of the reasons I wouldn't get the UBP.

 

A possible solution that came up on another thread was to grab a glass whenever you go back to your room, but that seems to have its own issues (like where you keep them for example).

 

If you drink wine exclusively then you may be better off with the wine package anyway. You can buy a couple of bottles a day for the cost of the UBP.

 

 

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