Make up your mind NCL!

[kdzkatz]

I sure wish NCL would figure out what their plan is! They claim they want to make their cruises have a more all inclusive feel and in the same breath talk about how the specialty restaurants are going a la carte. One of the things I enjoy about dining at see is the fact there are very few prices on the menu. So if I book a suite they roll in their beverage package into the price even though I rarely drink. They want to give me wi fi so I can stay connected when my main thing is to unplug and get away from all that tech stuff....sigh. Now I will have to look at prices all over the menu and be thinking about how much each thing is going to cost. It's really starting to feel MUCH different than it did just a couple years ago.

 

I know if I don't like I don't have to cruise with them. What is a shame is we loved NCL when we first tried them in 2008 and that is why we are taking our 8th cruise in 9 years with them. Unfortunately much of what we fell in love with seems to be going away. Goodbye "Freestyle" as I'm afraid "FeeStyle" is here to stay....sigh. :(

[KeithJenner]

I'm a bit confused. You say about getting the beverage package and wifi which you don't want, so why not take the dining package and then you can eat in the a la carte restaurants on some nights and not have to worry about the prices.

[kdzkatz]

I'm a bit confused. You say about getting the beverage package and wifi which you don't want, so why not take the dining package and then you can eat in the a la carte restaurants on some nights and not have to worry about the prices.

 

We cruise in suites about half the time and when you get a suite you are stuck with all 4 of these perks (which many people like). NCL used to be more stripped down and let you decide what you wanted to pay extra for. Some people like to eat more while others drink more. Then there are others that don't do too much of either. You had a lot more control over what you wanted your cruise experience to be. I feel like they are fixing something that wasn't broken. I'm sure many like the changes, we are a couple that aren't thrilled with the changes that have gone on over the last year or so.

Edited January 4, 2016 by kdzkatz

[casofilia]

I'm a bit confused. You say about getting the beverage package and wifi which you don't want, so why not take the dining package and then you can eat in the a la carte restaurants on some nights and not have to worry about the prices.

 

I read it that the OP is going on a cruise where the price is "all in"; that is has been upped to include all 4 "what were" perks. I think the OP would prefer the system as was; "cheap as", no "perks" and you pay for extras you want.

 

That is what I loved about NCL; food, bed, room and travel at a very reasonable price. If I wanted more I would pay for it. I know I can still get that on most NCL ships but for how much longer.

 

Mike

[KeithJenner]

We cruise in suites about half the time and when you get a suite you are stuck with all 4 of these perks (which many people like). NCL used to be more stripped down and let you decide what you wanted to pay extra for. Some people like to eat more while others drink more. Then there are others that don't do too much of either. You had a lot more control over what you wanted your cruise experience to be. I feel like they are fixing something that wasn't broken. I'm sure many like the changes, we are a couple that aren't thrilled with the changes that have gone on over the last year or so.

 

 

I get that (and agree to a large extent). I've cruised on NCL enough over the last few years to understand the changes.

 

What I don't understand is the bit of your post where you say about having to look at the menus to see how much each meal is going to cost. If you have the dining package then surely that isn't an issue.

Edited January 5, 2016 by KeithJenner

[kdzkatz]

I get that (and agree to a large extent). I've cruised on NCL enough over the last few years to understand the changes.

 

What I don't understand is the bit of your post where you say about having to look at the menus to see how much each meal is going to cost. If you have the dining package then surely that isn't an issue.

 

 

I'm sorry that my post is a little scattered. :o I'm not really even sure what the dining package is evolving into. It used to be where you could prepay for a few restaurants pre cruise. Then it turned into the Ultimate Dining Package where you could eat in as many specialties as often as you want (there were limited restrictions on entree's per day in certain restaurants). Now it is the Specialty Dining Package which I think is kind of how it was before the Ultimate Dining package (except they didn't bake into your cruise fare and not give you a choice of having to pay for a perk you didn't necessarily want like they are now doing). I have read reports where Platinum members free meals will now only be one appetizer, one entree and one desert. That is fine as we personally don't eat too much at any one meal but it is another devaluation of loyalty. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop that the included (you still have to pay the gratuity as NCL no longer does) dining package will have the same restrictions.

 

I really enjoy the "sticker shock" of reading a menu when we get back from our cruise as there are prices for everything on it. I personally enjoy the escape of seeing how much each item of food will cost me. This may sound like I am being contradictory when I say I am not a fan of the dining a la carte when I am a big fan of the cruising a la carte NCL used to offer. I guess maybe with the enormous price hikes they have had recently the last thing I want to see is them holding their hand out for more money.

 

Prices right now are consistently several thousand dollars more for the same penthouse we had just last May. We were in an aft penthouse a few years ago and now the aft balconies cost more than it did.

 

Either make it all a la carte (like it was not too long ago) or all inclusive. I'm getting dizzy trying to figure it out. :confused::confused::(:(

Edited January 5, 2016 by kdzkatz

[LrgPizza]

I'm confused, too. If you have a dining package, you don't have to look at prices on the menu. So you've lost me. Sorry.

[kdzkatz]

I'm confused, too. If you have a dining package, you don't have to look at prices on the menu. So you've lost me. Sorry.

 

Wether I'm paying the prices on the menu there will be prices listed for each item for those purchasing item a la carte. It will look like the same 'ol menu you get on land. I have always enjoyed the mostly non existent price tags attached to menu items while on a cruise. That was something that separated it from other vacations to me. That is me and how it makes me feel. If it doesn't bother others that is fine too. It is simply a change (yet another) I am not going to look forward too.

 

I will know when I have had enough when I no longer cruise with them. Weather I try others or look into other ways to enjoy my time off I will decide when that time comes. I just know if they keep going the direction they are going it is likely sooner than later I will make changes of my own. :)

[NYcruzzer]

NCL took a page from Celebrity's play book . When they started their Pick your Perk promo a few years ago it was and still is wildly successful .