Observations on the Ultimate Beverage Package

[LrgPizza]

I didn't know that. Shows how much time I've ever spent in the Casino. :)

 

I've actually only used it to get small bills for tips. Although I spend time in the casino, I lose all my money there. :)

[hdowney]

I get my travel money from Tesco, and they will give me a full $80 in singles.

 

Hmm I don't think my local Tesco do it, but I'll look into it

 

I've actually only used it to get small bills for tips. Although I spend time in the casino, I lose all my money there. :)

 

That'l be me. Cos if I gamble in the Casino I'll likely be penniless by midnight day one!

[luckyinpa]

does anyone know the prices of drinks if you pay cash. soda/beer/wine/mixed drinks?

 

---------------------

someone above asked how they know what you have. I just hate that you must buy the same package for all adults in the room. I don't think I can drink 5 or 6 booze drinks a day especially on shore days

 

https://www.ncl.com/terms/ultimate-beverage-package

 

A sticker will be placed on your guest key card to identify that you have purchased this package

[jimmcg29]

I just got off that same sailing. I do think the bar service around the pool was the worst I have seen on any of my cruises. However I have been to many bars where it has been much tougher to get a drink and those bars did not offer UBP.

 

There certainly seems to be a lot less servers walking around the pool deck. Most cruises they almost get annoying and seem to be in competition with the other servers. On this one you had to keep a sharp eye out just to find one. If you don't flag them down they just walk right past you.

 

I think a large part of the problem was the cruise before had some sort of sickness outbreak. For the first 5 days of the cruise there was a lot of special procedures the crew had to work through. The most obvious was the buffet. getting a drink was much easier than getting a simple slice of pizza. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of resources were diverted to supporting various departments in ways we were not even aware of. Also, a lot of the crew may have been sick and in quarantine.

 

Latter in the cruise after these 5 days things did seem to improve. But that could be the partiers slowing down as well.

 

So long story short there were other things going on that could explain slower service. I am just wondering is why the Star always seem to have issues.

[hugocruiser]

I'm seriously starting to question if there's two Norwegian Cruise Lines. If there are, I'm thankful I keep booking the one where I can walk up to any bar at anytime and get quick service.

 

I agree, I just came off the spirit the longest I had to wait was at the pool bar and that was not more than 30 seconds. We tested our beverage package quite often and had no issues with waiting. Though they did run out of Mt. Dew the last night, so that was a little depressing.

[DukeGal]

Slightly off topic... there is a lot to look at for the Star. You seem to be an active poster (603 posts) so I'd assume you know your way around CC. Here's some links:

 

NCL Star specific search - Lists threads involving the Star

My NCL Star Guide and Review - from 1/31-2/7/16; also includes the Freestyle Dailies, most menus, and pictures on Google Docs.

 

Also some great reviews by FlyingCruiserNJ and others recently.

 

 

Hi Angelo_R

I'm a Newbie and if you have any links for the NCL Getaway ... I would love to have those. We have a May booking and I am trying to do my research. Thank you in advance.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[detroitlions]

Slightly off topic... there is a lot to look at for the Star. You seem to be an active poster (603 posts) so I'd assume you know your way around CC. Here's some links:

 

NCL Star specific search - Lists threads involving the Star

My NCL Star Guide and Review - from 1/31-2/7/16; also includes the Freestyle Dailies, most menus, and pictures on Google Docs.

 

Also some great reviews by FlyingCruiserNJ and others recently.

 

I did read your review which was excellent. I read a couple more that were good but the rest of the info was older. All good I just wanted to here of more recent trips.

[Nyc2tropics]

My last cruise was on the breakaway in August. I agree that the lines were long for drinks. Not to mention that the breakaway has the worst pool deck I've ever seen on a cruise ship. My first cruise ever was on the celebrity zenith over 20 years ago and the pool deck was better than breakaway. I don't know why people feel the need to defend the cruise lines.

[luckyinpa]

does anyone actually 'buy' the drink pack. at over 1100 for a 7 day pack for 2 people. I cannot believe someone would pay as much for drinks as a smaller room

[prg2101]

does anyone actually 'buy' the drink pack. at over 1100 for a 7 day pack for 2 people. I cannot believe someone would pay as much for drinks as a smaller room

 

Nyouot sure where you got your price from. 12 day on the Gem for the

wife and I last year was only 560...for all 12 days

:)

[LrgPizza]

does anyone actually 'buy' the drink pack. at over 1100 for a 7 day pack for 2 people. I cannot believe someone would pay as much for drinks as a smaller room

 

Yep, we've purchased it twice.

[luckyinpa]

Nyouot sure where you got your price from. 12 day on the Gem for the

wife and I last year was only 560...for all 12 days

:)

 

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

Starting from $69.00per person per day

[KeithJenner]

Nyouot sure where you got your price from. 12 day on the Gem for the

 

wife and I last year was only 560...for all 12 days

 

:)

 

 

It's gone up a lot lately.

[hdowney]

I agree, I just came off the spirit the longest I had to wait was at the pool bar and that was not more than 30 seconds. We tested our beverage package quite often and had no issues with waiting. Though they did run out of Mt. Dew the last night, so that was a little depressing.

 

That is criminal to run out of Mt Dew. I love when I go to the US to get PROPER Mt Dew. Cos they do sell a 'kinda' Mt Dew over here, but it is NOT the same.

[Rob0519]

We were on the Escape last November and in the evenings there never seemed to be enough bartenders at most bars, but especially Skyline and O'Sheehan's. The problem as I see it though is made worse by the the way drinks are ordered. You basically have to push your way to the bar and wave at the bartender and hope he notices you at some point while more than a dozen other people are doing the same thing. Since we don't drink alcohol, this really is a bit much for a soft drink.

 

What I would suggest is a queue, similar to that at a bank. Get in the line and everyone is served in the order in which they arrived. Unlikely that will ever happen on NCL, but it's just my thought.

[luckyinpa]

in the breakaway haven, is there a separate bar. i know there is a restaurant. just curious if its any easier to get drinks there given the price you pay for haven

[spidybabe]

We were on the Escape last November and in the evenings there never seemed to be enough bartenders at most bars, but especially Skyline and O'Sheehan's. The problem as I see it though is made worse by the the way drinks are ordered. You basically have to push your way to the bar and wave at the bartender and hope he notices you at some point while more than a dozen other people are doing the same thing. Since we don't drink alcohol, this really is a bit much for a soft drink.

 

What I would suggest is a queue, similar to that at a bank. Get in the line and everyone is served in the order in which they arrived. Unlikely that will ever happen on NCL, but it's just my thought.

 

At the Beer Garten on the Star during sail away, that is exactly what they did. 3-4 bartenders were serving, and drinks were flowing very fast. It worked well

Safe sailing

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Tonight, we had a similar discussion at home about cruises. We talked about how the people in two cabins (even next to each other) could have vastly different experiences. Just having different room stewards, where one cleans/straightens the room every time you leave....and the other cabin could have a mediocre steward that doesn't do a good job. Then throw in different waiters, excursions, and such. Maybe one couple is lucky to snag lounge chairs when they show up at the pool, but the other couple never gets to use one at all.

 

It is interesting.

 

I think you are looking at it with an open mind and seem very reasonable, based on your post I quoted.

 

I do hope your next cruise goes much smoother.

 

This is so true and on all cruiselines. I hate when someone goes on 1 cruise and says never again cuz it was so horrible. You may be missing out cuz your next one may be the best ever. The luck of the draw I guess.

[vicocala]

I've actually only used it to get small bills for tips. Although I spend time in the casino, I lose all my money there. :)

 

Wait! That was a change maker? I thought I was having a good streak winning cash every play? No wonder I kept breaking even! :p:rolleyes:

 

Seriously, that is a good tip and a new one for me. That said, the gratuities and service charges already amount to about two bucks a drink, given the number I usually have. I agree that the best thing is eye contact and a friendly smile. Bartenders like happy faces!

[prg2101]

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

Starting from $69.00per person per day

 

Correct, which comes to 966 for 2 people for 7 days. I actually paid

a little more but drinks are not cheap on a cruiseship so there are those

of us that can drink 70 dollars worth for the most part, think about it....A

bucket of beer is 34 bucks and buy the wife a souvenir glass drink of the day for 10 bucks....your at 44 bucks and its still sunny out....JMO:eek::D

[luckyinpa]

Correct, which comes to 966 for 2 people for 7 days. I actually paid

a little more but drinks are not cheap on a cruiseship so there are those

of us that can drink 70 dollars worth for the most part, think about it....A

bucket of beer is 34 bucks and buy the wife a souvenir glass drink of the day for 10 bucks....your at 44 bucks and its still sunny out....JMO:eek::D

 

you are gonna make me do math arent you?( buckets are excluded by the way)

 

Prepaid @ $69.00 per person per day x Cruise Days plus 18% gratuity and beverage service charge

 

69 x 7 x 2 x 1.18= 1139.88 or 162.84 per day for 2 ppl. i sure know i wouldnt be able to drink 81 bucks a day of stuff even if i got fancy mixed drinks at 15 bucks each. so for me id have to pay cash for stuff and let the gf drink and pay cash for whatever she wanted. we'd come out ahead with the 8 dollar soda pack. where ill get screwed is water but i heard you can bring a case on board.

 

haven pays zero of this 18% under current promo

 

lower rooms are still on the hook for the 18% even if you get the 'free' drink pack as your free item. therefore that would be 173.88. and i admit over 7 days i could drink 86 bucks of booze. not over one day though like the rest of you.

 

id love to see historical prices that did not include any freebees at all and i wonder if the cruise is 1139 cheaper? i gotta tell you i'm using that 1139 as a discount off my haven room as justification for possibly booking a cruise

 

"honey its not 4720 for the room, its really 4720 minus 1139 for drinks, 125 free internet, 150 port value, 148 specialty meals is really true cost of 3358 we otherwise would be spending"

 

honest!

[cyndepet]

in the breakaway haven, is there a separate bar. i know there is a restaurant. just curious if its any easier to get drinks there given the price you pay for haven

 

Yes there is, and drink service is very quick!

[prg2101]

you are gonna make me do math arent you?( buckets are excluded by the way)

 

Prepaid @ $69.00 per person per day x Cruise Days plus 18% gratuity and beverage service charge

 

69 x 7 x 2 x 1.18= 1139.88 or 162.84 per day for 2 ppl. i sure know i wouldnt be able to drink 81 bucks a day of stuff even if i got fancy mixed drinks at 15 bucks each. so for me id have to pay cash for stuff and let the gf drink and pay cash for whatever she wanted. we'd come out ahead with the 8 dollar soda pack. where ill get screwed is water but i heard you can bring a case on board.

 

haven pays zero of this 18% under current promo

 

lower rooms are still on the hook for the 18% even if you get the 'free' drink pack as your free item. therefore that would be 173.88. and i admit over 7 days i could drink 86 bucks of booze. not over one day though like the rest of you.

 

id love to see historical prices that did not include any freebees at all and i wonder if the cruise is 1139 cheaper? i gotta tell you i'm using that 1139 as a discount off my haven room as justification for possibly booking a cruise

 

"honey its not 4720 for the room, its really 4720 minus 1139 for drinks, 125 free internet, 150 port value, 148 specialty meals is really true cost of 3358 we otherwise would be spending"

 

honest!

 

Heres where your wrong, concidering I have had the UBP a few times. It

says that buckets of beer and "certain drinks" are not included but that is

far from the truth. What you can get depends on how well you take care of

your bartenders. It really works....On my upcoming cruise on the breakaway I received all four perks because we booked a aft facing Haven suite so I will put the UBP and SDP to good use.....;)

[Victorious8]

THIS X 123190248094

 

I think this has SO much to do with it. I think that most of the cruise crowd does not go out to bars (as in on the weekends and after 9:00pm). I believe they are used to the normal cruise way which is wayyyyy unrealistic to real life. Sure it would be great to be able to still have the automatic service that we had before but that isn't realistic with the new beverage plan.

 

I currently live in a college town which has CRAZY cheap bars (think multiple places in a small area to get a 3$ 32oz beer on the weekends at peek hours). I'd say this is similar to the UBP. Most bars have a waitress or two but really you don't depend on them, you go to the bar and wait, it's normal to wait 50-10 minutes to get someones attention.

 

I do recognize that for many people their drinking habits on the bar are significantly different from their habits on land. I could see how the change would feel particularly significant and hard to understand. I think it is the normal bar goers/people who have not cruised as much who do not see the waits as an issue.

 

 

I wonder how much people's experience depends on whether they generally go to the bar for drinks, or wait for a server.

 

I habitually go to the bar. It's just what I do. The only time I don't is if a server happens to ask us for a drink when we are close to needing one, and in my experience that has always been very rare on NCL. Just two particularly good servers spring to mind (Spirit pre UBP offers and Getaway last year).

 

If I was waiting for servers, I'm sure I would always have waited quite a while on NCL and, given the reports of just one or two servers working a while pool deck that may have now got worse.

 

When going to the bar, I would say that maybe the number of people waiting has increased slightly at certain times in my experience, but nothing major.

[HowardK]

Depends on the ship I guess- my friend Dave from Dayton just got back with Betty and her brother Lars from the Escape and said at one point they were able to get 10 drinks in a 85 minute period.