Drinks package

[thevilla7]

We are going on the 9 night cruise from Barcelona on the Norwegian Spirit in January, can anyone give me advice and guidance on the drinks packages available? And would you recommend purchasing it?

[triptolemus]

Availability: 1.866.234.7350

 

Worth it: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1802390

[Sauer-kraut]

Purchase BEFORE departure (if available) to save on the extra VAT Spain adds to purchases.

[bmwman]

We are going on the 9 night cruise from Barcelona on the Norwegian Spirit in January, can anyone give me advice and guidance on the drinks packages available? And would you recommend purchasing it?

 

I believe the ultimate beverage package costs $49.95 per day per person. Is it worth it depends if you are a big drinker or not. :D

[B6ConMe]

We are going on the 9 night cruise from Barcelona on the Norwegian Spirit in January, can anyone give me advice and guidance on the drinks packages available? And would you recommend purchasing it?

 

There are many pax who are looking for guidance where the UBPs are concerned but really it will depend on your own preferences.

 

Here's a link to the info on the NCL website under gifts and more:

 

http://www5.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more#ultimate

 

I suspect that you're looking for more, so here's the breakdown from my own experience and from reading threads on here: There are pax who find the UBP very beneficial and there are some who won't. Questions to ask yourselves: how much will we drink every day we're onboard? Will we be doing a lot of excursions, in other words how much time will we spend off the ship? Do we prefer high end drinks or are we satisfied with what the ship is serving?

 

Those are just a few questions. NOTE: Each adult in the cabin must sign up the UBP, no exceptions.

 

Make sure you read the terms and conditions as well.

[QuiGonJohn]

Here is a good link that has the drink plans. Really 3, Ultimate Beverage Plan, Wine & Beer, or Soda.

 

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more#adult

 

UBP costs $56.35 per person/per day, (with automatic 15% tip). If we us you and your spouse, you both have to purchase it and they require you purchase it for all the days of the cruise. So in your case you would be looking at $1014.30. Whether it is worth it or not is a judgement call. I can tell you in my case, I can drink a fair amount and I know my wife will drink significantly less. In my opinion, for our 7 day cruise, it is not worth the $788.90 it would cost. Without it, we will drink a lot less alcohol, maybe 2 to 3 a day for me and 1 or 2 a day for my wife. And some days, we may not even have that many. So I fully expect, that the alcohol we would drink, at regular prices would probably not even run $200 for the whole cruise.

 

A lot of people here have chimed in and say they thought it was worth it. I don't argue that it may be worth it for them. The key is to realistically ask yourself if both of you will drink enough each day to make it worthwhile. Realize, times you are off the ship will reduce how much you can consume under the plan.

 

WINE & BEER also requires all/both to buy. The soda plan does not have that requirement.

Edited November 11, 2013 by QuiGonJohn

[Tiggertastic]

we didn't do it as we found it was not ultimate - i.e it is down to what you drink

 

DH drinks guinness, it is not included, I drink certain lagers, non of them included

 

it worked out better to buy what we were going to drink

[triptolemus]

Yet another UBP thread... so sad.

[wilson2579]

We thought about it too but because the cruise was in very choppy seas and some days just couldn't face any alcohol, I am glad we decided against it. We bought the wine package instead and brought some wine on at Barcelona which was enough for us. Normally we would book All inc. but NCL is very expensive compared to others.