Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

drinks packages

hayleyfever

By hayleyfever,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

hayleyfever

hayleyfever

Posted
Posted

Hi does anybody recommend taking the option of drinks packages for the adults and the children.

Is it worth the money when you can be off the ship all day.

 

What is the situation with getting water on board or can you take your own

 

Would somebody advise please?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
garycarla

garycarla

Posted
Posted

If you scroll down through posts from the past few days, you will find lots of folks talking about the package and the value. It will vary from person to person.

 

The tap water onboard is fine and free. Bottled water is expensive. And, yes, you can take your own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

Posted
Posted

It depends on so many things that nobody can tell you whether it is worth it.

 

How much do you drink?

What do you drink?

Are you going to drink as much on what is a very port intensive cruise?

Is everyone in the room going to want to drink the same amount?

Do you like to try lots of different drinks?

Do you like the reassurance of knowing the final bill and not having to worry about drink costs?

 

I have never spent as much as the ultimate beverage package costs, but I'm pretty sure that I drink more than quite a lot of people who do buy it. That's because I drink mainly beer and wine and make use of other discounts (wine packages, beer buckets etc). If I drank mainly cocktails then it would probably be worth it so I could try different drinks and you don't need as many to break even.

 

As garycarla said, read the other threads and make the decision based on what you expect to drink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Keith.W

Keith.W

Posted
Posted

Just off the Epic Sunday great cruise, and only returned from Barcelona today. I had the Ultimate Beverage program at a cost of 279 pounds pre paid and honestly i can say it was the best money spent. Although i managed to drink 279 pounds worth of drink it was the convenience of not having to a drinks bill at the end of the cruise. If you like your cocktails and premium brand drinks its worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
timmo44

timmo44

Posted
Posted

I liked the UBP as it meant you could drink what you wanted whenever you wanted (within the boundaries of the package) with the following advantages:

 

1. Not having to trawl through pages of charges on the TV checking what we'd been charged for drinks.

2. Having lots of different wines by the glass rather than picking bottles on the first day and hoping for the best. We especially caned the Prosecco on the UBP and that wasn't even available on the usual advance wine offer.

3. Tried lots and lots of different cocktails all over the ship. Drinks we'd never have ordered if we were paying individually in case we didn't like them.

4. You know where you are £-wise up front - it's going to cost this amount definitely and no more.

 

Unless I give up drinking, from now on we will always do the ultimate beverage package.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
happygo

happygo

Posted
Posted

Just back from our Getaway cruise. We had the UBP. Have to say that we regret the purchase. It was nice not to think about it and we did enjoy being able to try different things. However, we drank a lot more than we normally would have and likely did not get our moneys worth. Would have made more sense just to pay as we went. The drink prices are pretty fair and in some cases surprisingly cheap. I probably came closer to breaking even with my Rum Runners but my DH did not. We would have had to drink a minimum of 7 cocktails at $7 a piece every day. Unless you are a big drinker, I'd say pass. We had in our minds that this was a chance to let loose, not think about how much we were drinking and spending as we have on all our other cruises but the truth is, I wouldn't have 7 drinks at home and being on a cruise doesn't automatically make me a big drinker.

 

Water: we brought a 12 pack of small bottles for bed time but otherwise drank the water on the ship. I'm very picky about water but it was fine...better than my tap water at home that I will not drink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
triptolemus

triptolemus

Posted
Posted
Does NCL ever offer Beverage Package as a freebie for new cruise bookings? When does that typically occur? I know X does, frequently... thanks for any insights!

 

Since the UBP's inception, NCL has done this only once so far, if I recall correctly. The promotion was limited to Getaway/Breakaway sailings only, lasted about a week or two, and happened a month or two ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Griff4AU

Griff4AU

Posted
Posted (edited)
I liked the UBP as it meant you could drink what you wanted whenever you wanted (within the boundaries of the package) with the following advantages:

 

1. Not having to trawl through pages of charges on the TV checking what we'd been charged for drinks.

2. Having lots of different wines by the glass rather than picking bottles on the first day and hoping for the best. We especially caned the Prosecco on the UBP and that wasn't even available on the usual advance wine offer.

3. Tried lots and lots of different cocktails all over the ship. Drinks we'd never have ordered if we were paying individually in case we didn't like them.

4. You know where you are £-wise up front - it's going to cost this amount definitely and no more.

 

Unless I give up drinking, from now on we will always do the ultimate beverage package.

Well said. We tried in on the Sky back in November, when it was $49/pp/day, and thought it was good (but not great) as it excluded a lot of drinks. We've been on two Princess sailings since ($49/pp/day and includes nearly everything) and thought it was a great deal for all the reasons you mentioned. We'll be on the Breakaway for our honeymoon and for $54 (pre purchase) it isn't even a second thought as to whether we're getting it.

 

Have a mimosa and bloody Mary for breakfast... you're on vacation..... Try all of the frilly fru-fru drinks you'd never get when you're with the lads because they'd pull your man-card... you're on vacation.... Try every darn martini and wine on the menu because you can.... As a bean-counter by trade who over-analyzes everything... not having to scour my bill for incorrect bar charges... PRICELESS...

 

We've done an UBP on two sailings and not managed to get tossed in jail, kicked off the boat, or been featured on a YouTube video about people behaving badly... I'm pretty sure we'll be able to make it three in a row...

 

Try, experiment, and have fun.... and not worry about a DUI....

Edited by SheepdogGriff
Link to comment
Share on other sites
happy cruzin

happy cruzin

Posted
Posted (edited)
Well said. We tried in on the Sky back in November, when it was $49/pp/day, and thought it was good (but not great) as it excluded a lot of drinks. We've been on two Princess sailings since ($49/pp/day and includes nearly everything) and thought it was a great deal for all the reasons you mentioned. We'll be on the Breakaway for our honeymoon and for $54 (pre purchase) it isn't even a second thought as to whether we're getting it.

 

Have a mimosa and bloody Mary for breakfast... you're on vacation..... Try all of the frilly fru-fru drinks you'd never get when you're with the lads because they'd pull your man-card... you're on vacation.... Try every darn martini and wine on the menu because you can.... As a bean-counter by trade who over-analyzes everything... not having to scour my bill for incorrect bar charges... PRICELESS...

 

We've done an UBP on two sailings and not managed to get tossed in jail, kicked off the boat, or been featured on a YouTube video about people behaving badly... I'm pretty sure we'll be able to make it three in a row...

 

Try, experiment, and have fun.... and not worry about a DUI....

 

Since you have first hand experience.....do you know how the UBP handles "doubles"?? Like a double Captain and Coke (ok Pepsi since we're on NCL).....wondering if they are part of the plan or do they exceed the limit??

Edited by happy cruzin
Link to comment
Share on other sites
KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

Posted
Posted
Maybe this is a stupid question but on a 7 day cruise do you pay the 54pp on all 7 days? What about embark and debarked days? I figuring 378.00 per person? Correct?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

You pay it for each night, so yes it is all 7 days on a 7day cruise. On embarkation day you can be onboard from around lunch time, so it is almost a full day. Disembarkation day isn't included.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hayleyfever

hayleyfever

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hi does anybody recommend taking the option of drinks packages for the adults and the children.

Is it worth the money when you can be off the ship all day.

 

What is the situation with getting water on board or can you take your own

 

Would somebody advise please?

 

Can just one adult purchase the drinks package please?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...