Disappointed - UBP Blackouts for Spring Breaks

[Demonyte]

Seems to me that they are primarily thinking about cruises in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. And Mexico. I'm not sure if there is a significant Spring Break effect for European cruises or TAs, for example. (Is there?) If they get enough "older" passengers giving negative feedback they could decide to offer the UBP year-round in other regions. This package has been around for less than a year; I imagine that they're still looking carefully at ways to improve it.

 

There are no TAs during that period, so it's only two ships in Europe that get affected this "unfairly" - not a big deal IMO. Passengers on Mediterranean itineraries for example drink less anyway because the cruises are so port-intensive and especially passengers from North America prefer spending a lot more time in Mediterranean ports compared to been-there-seen-that Caribbean ports.

[tripgrl]

The package will not be available on our 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise, which I'm assuming will not have a lot of spring breakers on it. Would restricting the age, during this period, to those over 25 be a possible solution?

[Demonyte]

The package will not be available on our 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise, which I'm assuming will not have a lot of spring breakers on it. Would restricting the age, during this period, to those over 25 be a possible solution?

 

That would be discrimination by age - there is no proper reason to do that. Also, springbreakers can have older friends.

[tripgrl]

That would be discrimination by age - there is no proper reason to do that. Also, springbreakers can have older friends.

 

Don't you have to be at least 25 to rent a car? It could be argued that the whole blackout is discriminatory.

[rvsullivan]

To discriminate you have to have a protected class of some sort. Who would that be?

NCL can sell or not sell anything they want to whoever they want. No discrimination!;)

[triptolemus]

discriminatory.

 

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[SeaShark]

It could be argued that the whole blackout is discriminatory.

 

That isn't really saying much.

 

Technically, anything could be argued at any time. The difference is the chance of putting forth a successful argument.

 

 

And even then you may not get the outcome that you want. IF (and that is a BIG if) you could successfully argue against the blackout, NCL's response could easily be to go back to the way things were and simply discontinue the entire UBP program.

 

Wouldn't be much of a victory. :rolleyes:

[Demonyte]

Don't you have to be at least 25 to rent a car? It could be argued that the whole blackout is discriminatory.

 

How the whole blackout could be discriminatory - what is the discriminated subset of all passengers there?

 

The encyclopedia definition to discrimination is that "Discrimination is the prejudicial and/or distinguishing treatment of an individual based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or category, 'in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated.'". When all above drinking age passengers are treated the same, it can't be discrimination.

 

The whole point of the blackout (besides maximizing cruise line revenues from bar sales) is to reduce possible side effects of excessive drinking by anyone regardless of the age, it's not just the college students that can cause problems. One could just as well say that the 40-something people are much more likely to cause problems with UBP so it should be not sold to them.

 

What comes to renting a car, comparing giving out a car worth of thousands of dollars to totally uncontrolled conditions versus serving drinks (that they are able to buy anyway) in a mostly controlled enviroment are two completely different things - like comparing apples to oranges.

 

And no, this really doesn't concern me as I'd have hard time drinking enough to justify UBP (haven't bought it even though I've had the chance) and I did already feel old on my first and only spring break cruise when I was still in my late 20's almost 5 years ago.

[bobg529]

How the whole blackout could be discriminatory - what is the discriminated subset of all passengers there?

 

The encyclopedia definition to discrimination is that "Discrimination is the prejudicial and/or distinguishing treatment of an individual based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or category, 'in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated.'". When all above drinking age passengers are treated the same, it can't be discrimination.

 

The whole point of the blackout (besides maximizing cruise line revenues from bar sales) is to reduce possible side effects of excessive drinking by anyone regardless of the age, it's not just the college students that can cause problems. One could just as well say that the 40-something people are much more likely to cause problems with UBP so it should be not sold to them.

 

What comes to renting a car, comparing giving out a car worth of thousands of dollars to totally uncontrolled conditions versus serving drinks (that they are able to buy anyway) in a mostly controlled enviroment are two completely different things - like comparing apples to oranges.

 

And no, this really doesn't concern me as I'd have hard time drinking enough to justify UBP (haven't bought it even though I've had the chance) and I did already feel old on my first and only spring break cruise when I was still in my late 20's almost 5 years ago.

 

 

My friend, what you say is entirely logical. However, please forgive me for saying that being from Finland, I don't think you understand American college kids. The entire idea of mixing spring break and unlimited alcohol is a potential nightmare for NCL, both from a point of negative publicity and the inevitable lawsuits that would follow. I can just see some 20 year old drinking himself to death from alcohol poisoning and the hell that would follow. Of course it would be his own fault, but do you really believe that will stop some shyster lawyer from going after the cruise line anyway?

 

Many years ago, I too was an American college student. This was before the days of spring break mind you (1970's) but we used to love our drinking games. Think of it, it was legal to drink at 18 then. :). One of our favorites was called "boot". You would drink until it caused you to puke. We would have winners for the person who could puke the farthest, lol. And then we would all keep drinking. The only thing that stopped us was: a) cops, b) parents showing up, c) passing out or worse, or d) running out of booze or the money to buy it. A spring break cruise with unlimited booze removes three of the four obstacles. NOT a good idea!

[tripgrl]

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

 

I'm pretty sure I only used it once :)

[Demonyte]

My friend, what you say is entirely logical. However, please forgive me for saying that being from Finland, I don't think you understand American college kids. The entire idea of mixing spring break and unlimited alcohol is a potential nightmare for NCL, both from a point of negative publicity and the inevitable lawsuits that would follow.

 

LOL :D Finnish people are stereotypically known for their drinking habits and when even teens drink, they do it hoping to get totally wasted, not at all civilized like for example people in Western Europe with cultures where drinking wine from a young age is completely normal. http://yle.fi/uutiset/finnish_teens_favour_binge_drinking/6147208

 

While I can understand the concern about "unlimited" alcohol, the fact remains that the staff needs to control the drinking of passengers anyway, drink package or not. Also I wouldn't compare totally unsupervised keg parties etc to a cruise ship enviroment where security is already tightened when there are a lot of potential drunk young adults onboard.

 

And if it isn't clear, I do feel that the blackout is good and it should continue to exist (or if not, then to be removed from everybody), but I hate to see that all students are here categorized and blamed for because of stereotypes. :)

[Tiggertastic]

NCL not only blacked out the drinks in spring break but would not deliver any port alcohol purchases until the morning you got off because 'they didn't want the college kids drinking it the last night'. You could collect it between 6am and 8am.

 

We needed to pack it in our case as we were an international flight and it took 3 officers before someone would give it to us so we could put the bags out.

 

We'd been told by 2 people the days before that we would get it to pack then 2 officers said no - the HD got it for us in the end.

 

My husband pointed out that at 52 he wasn't going to be getting wasted on his last night when he had a car to drive after the flight

[bobg529]

LOL :D Finnish people are stereotypically known for their drinking habits and when even teens drink, they do it hoping to get totally wasted, not at all civilized like for example people in Western Europe with cultures where drinking wine from a young age is completely normal. http://yle.fi/uutiset/finnish_teens_favour_binge_drinking/6147208

 

While I can understand the concern about "unlimited" alcohol, the fact remains that the staff needs to control the drinking of passengers anyway, drink package or not. Also I wouldn't compare totally unsupervised keg parties etc to a cruise ship enviroment where security is already tightened when there are a lot of potential drunk young adults onboard.

 

And if it isn't clear, I do feel that the blackout is good and it should continue to exist (or if not, then to be removed from everybody), but I hate to see that all students are here categorized and blamed for because of stereotypes. :)

 

 

 

I guess I need to visit Finland! :D

[Karysa]

The package will not be available on our 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise, which I'm assuming will not have a lot of spring breakers on it. Would restricting the age, during this period, to those over 25 be a possible solution?

 

Teaching responsible drinking is much better than preventing adults that have been legal for years (depending on their home countries law) an alcoholic beverage while on their vacation. I like NCL's rules regarding drinking. Our DD was able to relax with a beer or glass of wine when she was 19. Much like she did the week before at University.

[tempura]

Teaching responsible drinking is much better than preventing adults that have been legal for years (depending on their home countries law) an alcoholic beverage while on their vacation. I like NCL's rules regarding drinking. Our DD was able to relax with a beer or glass of wine when she was 19. Much like she did the week before at University.

 

I don't think it's the access to liquor that causes the kind of behavior NCL is trying to avoid. It's the fact that, for some kids, it would be their first opportunity to access alcohol without supervision - no parents, no RAs, nobody to tell them to stop acting like you-know-whats and no consequences - and no vacationer should be subjected to that. Period.

 

In reality, though, who cares? Growing up, my Italian family always gave us wine at meals. When we would travel, some states/countries didn't allow the consumption of alcohol by minors even in the presence of a parent, so we just... didn't get any. Nobody argued with the waiters/waitresses/cruise lines out of desperation to make sure we had wine. :rolleyes: If someone tells a kid under 21 that they can't drink for a week, they will not expire on the deck, I promise.

 

I've seen grown men and women have tantrums in a Mexican restaurant when the restaurant wasn't able to serve tequila (or anything else... liquor license issue). Yeah, I wanted a margarita, too, but there aren't any, so deal. I just don't understand. Have a soda.

[tripgrl]

Teaching responsible drinking is much better than preventing adults that have been legal for years (depending on their home countries law) an alcoholic beverage while on their vacation. I like NCL's rules regarding drinking. Our DD was able to relax with a beer or glass of wine when she was 19. Much like she did the week before at University.

 

I was suggesting limiting the sale of the unlimited package, not drinking altogether.

 

I have been on several cruises during our school break in March and the passengers have been predominantly families. I haven't seen much of the college crowd but I have read posts about rowdy spring break crowds and do understand that it happens. The blackout isn't that big of a deal to us because we we have never had access to it before but we were a little disappointed because we didn't initially realize there was a blackout.

[triptolemus]

we were a little disappointed because we didn't initially realize there was a blackout.

 

I don't mean to point out the obvious, but the blackout dates are clearly indicated in the terms and conditions on NCL's website.

[Seanote]

We finally talked friends into coming cruising with us. They typically do all inclusives but we were able to sway them since they launched the UBP because there was finally an 'all inclusive' option for alcoholic beverages. Not big drinkers, just like the easieness of it all.

 

I understand that there will be a blackout of the UBP for our cruise date (March2) and the package can't be bought. Do you think this is for financial reasons or safety reasons?

 

So disappointed.....and irritated.

 

T.

 

Everyone here does realize that the process of ordering a UBP drink is the exact same process as ordering a drink the regular way? The only difference is that there is sticker on your card. Why would you pay $50/day if you are light drinkers? :confused::confused: The UBP is not easier. In fact, it limits the number of drinks you can order at one time.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I haven't read the replies, but I love how they use the term blackout when talking about unlimited drinking.

 

To prevent blackouts, the unlimited drinking package is blackout.

[2boyzmom]

We have been on quite a few cruises- all during school breaks and have never encountered college age kids acting like drunken fools - it's usually middle aged men !! :)

[Karysa]

I was suggesting limiting the sale of the unlimited package, not drinking altogether.

 

I have been on several cruises during our school break in March and the passengers have been predominantly families. I haven't seen much of the college crowd but I have read posts about rowdy spring break crowds and do understand that it happens. The blackout isn't that big of a deal to us because we we have never had access to it before but we were a little disappointed because we didn't initially realize there was a blackout.

 

Oh I'm sorry I misunderstood. We have been on many spring break cruises as well. There was plenty of drinking but they were no more obnoxious than older adults who drank too much.

[knittingpritty5]

Triptolemus, enjoyed the "Princess Bride" reference. Alas, we had already decided we would not buy the UBP before we learned of the blackout dates. We have never cruised and will just have to be more mindful of our consumption to fit our budget. To NCL I say "as you wish"

[Karysa]

I don't think it's the access to liquor that causes the kind of behavior NCL is trying to avoid. It's the fact that, for some kids, it would be their first opportunity to access alcohol without supervision - no parents, no RAs, nobody to tell them to stop acting like you-know-whats and no consequences - and no vacationer should be subjected to that. Period.

 

In reality, though, who cares? Growing up, my Italian family always gave us wine at meals. When we would travel, some states/countries didn't allow the consumption of alcohol by minors even in the presence of a parent, so we just... didn't get any. Nobody argued with the waiters/waitresses/cruise lines out of desperation to make sure we had wine. :rolleyes: If someone tells a kid under 21 that they can't drink for a week, they will not expire on the deck, I promise.

 

I've seen grown men and women have tantrums in a Mexican restaurant when the restaurant wasn't able to serve tequila (or anything else... liquor license issue). Yeah, I wanted a margarita, too, but there aren't any, so deal. I just don't understand. Have a soda.

 

I think that these packages promote excess drinking and sharing of drinks as well. If 8 girls travel together in 2 cabins and one cabin buys the package and one doesn't and they share they have 60 drinks per day to share between 8 of them. That's 7.5 drinks per girl a day while on board the ship. That is what will happen. NCL knows that. Staff ignore chair hogs, seat savers and people who fill water bottles via the waterspout because they don't want to cause a scene, get reported ect. Staff are not going to police this in my opinion and NCL will take the hit. Really what is the difference to the staff if one person drinks 15 drinks or 2 people do. The gratuity is a per day price with the package is it not? There will be less vomit to clean up if people share the package as well.

[tripgrl]

I don't mean to point out the obvious, but the blackout dates are clearly indicated in the terms and conditions on NCL's website.

 

To be honest, I first heard about it here on Cruise Critic and I only learned about the blackout as the threads evolved.

[southt00]

The Corks and Caps Wine and Beer program doesn't appear to have the same restriction.

 

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Corks-and-Caps-08052013.pdf

 

T.