Cruiseme0613 Posted July 13, 2015 #1 Share Posted July 13, 2015 We are new to NCL! Can someone please explain their promo codes that come up with the stateroom selection? We are not interested in the WiFi or shore excursions. What is the best promo to choose? I noticed that the dining package adds to the price, but it's not much. Any help is appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islesdave Posted July 13, 2015 #2 Share Posted July 13, 2015 We are new to NCL! Can someone please explain their promo codes that come up with the stateroom selection? We are not interested in the WiFi or shore excursions. What is the best promo to choose? I noticed that the dining package adds to the price, but it's not much. Any help is appreciated!! The dining package and the beverage package both add the package's gratuities that you would have paid had the package not been part of a promotion. The way I see it, is if you're a heavy drinker (roughly 9 to 10 drinks) per day, even on port days if you go off the ship, the UBP is worth it. My average bar tab on a 7 day cruise is about $150, not worth it for me. The UDP is nice, you can eat in the specialty restaurants and not worry about it, but it's all up to the way you cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzsnooze Posted July 13, 2015 #3 Share Posted July 13, 2015 If you choose the dining package you could reduce your daily gratuity by the 18% since it's double tipping. When I have the dining package I remove my auto tips and tip in cash. If you do that you might consider tipping with cash when you have breakfast and lunch and your cabin steward. My way of doing things is not popular with cheerleaders on the boards but is very popular on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie4 Posted July 13, 2015 #4 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I figure if you drink more than $68.00 per person ( the tip you are required to pay) the drink package is worth it. I don't drink much, but a virgin pina colada in the afternoon sounds good to me :). I you like to eat in specialty restaurants then get the dining program. The main dinning room is great for me :). Pick what you will use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsboz Posted July 20, 2015 #5 Share Posted July 20, 2015 The way that I figure it is, even if you have only two beers a day at $6.00 each that is $12.00 a day times seven. That is more than the gratuity. Also, I'm sure that you will have some soda, which is included in the package. This seems like the best deal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise4Real Posted July 20, 2015 #6 Share Posted July 20, 2015 The dining package and the beverage package both add the package's gratuities that you would have paid had the package not been part of a promotion. The way I see it, is if you're a heavy drinker (roughly 9 to 10 drinks) per day, even on port days if you go off the ship, the UBP is worth it. My average bar tab on a 7 day cruise is about $150, not worth it for me. The UDP is nice, you can eat in the specialty restaurants and not worry about it, but it's all up to the way you cruise. Hm, I think you might have messed up your math? Even with an average $150 bar tab (per person, I assume), UBP will put you ahead more than $80. That's about two drinks per day. It does sound like you'd do marginally better with UDP over UBP, but not THAT much better. I think even moderate drinkers (3+ drinks per day on average) will do better with UBP than with any of the other perks available right now. Anything over that and it's definitely a slam dunk. That you now have to pay the 18% "gratuity and beverage service charge" on the full cost of UBP makes the calculation a little trickier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4774Papa Posted July 20, 2015 #7 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hm, I think you might have messed up your math? Even with an average $150 bar tab (per person, I assume), UBP will put you ahead more than $80. That's about two drinks per day. It does sound like you'd do marginally better with UDP over UBP, but not THAT much better. I think even moderate drinkers (3+ drinks per day on average) will do better with UBP than with any of the other perks available right now. Anything over that and it's definitely a slam dunk. That you now have to pay the 18% "gratuity and beverage service charge" on the full cost of UBP makes the calculation a little trickier. We never purchase the drink packages, since we drink no where near the amount to justify the packages. I keep track of our spending on liquor and for a 14 day cruise we normally buy a 10 bottle wine package and occasionally buy a beer before dinner and after dinner drink after, with an average liquor bill of $4-500 for two weeks. However, since we had the opportunity to take a freebie on our Star 10 Jan and Sun 5 Sep (both 2016) we opted for the drink packages, even though we pay grats on the full value of the packages. It is still the best deal for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsboz Posted July 20, 2015 #8 Share Posted July 20, 2015 cruzsnooze If you choose the dining package you could reduce your daily gratuity by the 18% since it's double tipping. When I have the dining package I remove my auto tips and tip in cash. If you do that you might consider tipping with cash when you have breakfast and lunch and your cabin steward. My way of doing things is not popular with cheerleaders on the boards but is very popular on the ship. cruzsnooze how do you do that? Do you do it once you enter the boat or before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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