UBP freebie charges

[hawkeyetlse]

No waiting period and no declared daily limit on NCL (at least, not yet).

 

You can even get more than one drink at the same time. It's typically for when you are ordering for more than one person, but not necessarily, and the computer doesn't know and doesn't care who the drinks are for. So under the current system it would be both impossible and unfair to enforce a waiting period between drinks or a daily cap on the number of drinks.

[QuiGonJohn]

No waiting period and no declared daily limit on NCL (at least, not yet).

 

You can even get more than one drink at the same time. It's typically for when you are ordering for more than one person, but not necessarily, and the computer doesn't know and doesn't care who the drinks are for. So under the current system it would be both impossible and unfair to enforce a waiting period between drinks or a daily cap on the number of drinks.

 

And hopefully if they changed it, it would be from a certain point forward and not affect anyone who already has the UBP.

[NLH Arizona]

Samples of multiple drinks.

Thanks.

[LMaxwell]

And hopefully if they changed it, it would be from a certain point forward and not affect anyone who already has the UBP.

 

Well, if there ever is a change I would not hold your breath on anyone being grandfathered under prior terms.

[goldesq]

OMG I am so sorry...I am getting my cruises confused. Isnt that a good thing?! Carnival has the 5 minute waiting period and 15 drink cap per day. NCL has a one drink per transaction rule and no cap per day and no waiting period.

 

Rules:

Carnival Cheers:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1106/~/cheers!-beverage-program

 

NCL UBP:

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

 

Again, I am sorry.

[Burgmeister]

Yes, this has always been the case for those of us in the UK and some other places. The perks are no extra cost to us.

Keith, I think I'm getting confused with the differences between UK and US customers and their UBP offers :confused:

 

Do UK customers need to pay tax on their drinks when in port?

 

Cheers

[KeithJenner]

Keith, I think I'm getting confused with the differences between UK and US customers and their UBP offers :confused:

 

Do UK customers need to pay tax on their drinks when in port?

 

Cheers

 

 

I've got some bad news from you I'm afraid.

 

Yes, we do need to pay the tax when it's charged. However, on a few itineraries where the ship doesn't leave the EU VAT area it is charged for the whole cruise. The main such cruise, I'm sorry to say, is the 7 day Western Med Epic cruise from Barcelona.

 

We have to pay 10% on all of our drinks for the whole cruise. :(

[Burgmeister]

Thanks Keith

[cruisebie]

They are saying that you can only have 15 alcoholic drinks per day, even if you want to pay for them over and above your package. That is telling someone how much they can drink. Carnival's drink package certainly isn't exceptional, it's dictatorial.

 

 

A lot of people who sail on Carnival don't like the limit, but IMO they started limiting to prevent people from sharing drinks with others. I don't know why you can't purchase if you go beyond 15, but maybe this is attempt to prevent pax from being over-served.

 

Other than the limit, there is a lot to like about Carnival's package. All alcoholic beverages up to $50 are included, which allows pax to get some of the really top shelf stuff. Also included are soft drinks, bottled water, specialty coffees, hot tea, mocktails, energy drinks. I would never consider purchasing the beverage package on the basis of alcoholic drinks alone, but I would probably purchase this one as I could get my money's worth with all of the other options included.

[NLH Arizona]

A lot of people who sail on Carnival don't like the limit, but IMO they started limiting to prevent people from sharing drinks with others. I don't know why you can't purchase if you go beyond 15, but maybe this is attempt to prevent pax from being over-served.

 

Other than the limit, there is a lot to like about Carnival's package. All alcoholic beverages up to $50 are included, which allows pax to get some of the really top shelf stuff. Also included are soft drinks, bottled water, specialty coffees, hot tea, mocktails, energy drinks. I would never consider purchasing the beverage package on the basis of alcoholic drinks alone, but I would probably purchase this one as I could get my money's worth with all of the other options included.

I just don't like the fact that Carnival is telling someone how many drinks they can have overall. I certainly understand if a cruise line limits the amount that can be purchase under a drink package, but over and above that, passengers should be able to purchase what they want.

[Burgmeister]

Thanks Keith

 

Sorry, forgot to ask as a follow up....

 

Does that mean we have to sign for all our drinks - including the soft drinks on daughters soda package?

[KeithJenner]

Sorry, forgot to ask as a follow up....

 

Does that mean we have to sign for all our drinks - including the soft drinks on daughters soda package?

 

 

I don't know, but I think it's likely.

[QuiGonJohn]

A lot of people who sail on Carnival don't like the limit, but IMO they started limiting to prevent people from sharing drinks with others.

 

But since they require everyone in the cabin to have it, that should not be much of a factor. Seems like a possible trend away from "unlimited". Like cell phone companies did with data plans. Got everyone hooked with "unlimited" then began changing to stated amounts of data.

[Burgmeister]

I don't know, but I think it's likely.

OK cheers

[hawkeyetlse]

A lot of people who sail on Carnival don't like the limit, but IMO they started limiting to prevent people from sharing drinks with others. I don't know why you can't purchase if you go beyond 15, but maybe this is attempt to prevent pax from being over-served.

It is a money-saving measure (and an additional anti-sharing measure), but they have to disguise it as a safety measure, and the only way to make that credible is to cut people off entirely after 15 drinks. If they let you continue buying drinks, then it would be obvious that they were just restricting the value of the package to avoid losing too much money.

 

But if they really cared about over-serving, they would put a 15-drink limit on all passengers, whether they have the package or not.

[Welshdoc]

I've got some bad news from you I'm afraid.

 

Yes, we do need to pay the tax when it's charged. However, on a few itineraries where the ship doesn't leave the EU VAT area it is charged for the whole cruise. The main such cruise, I'm sorry to say, is the 7 day Western Med Epic cruise from Barcelona.

 

We have to pay 10% on all of our drinks for the whole cruise. :(

 

As long as it's 10% of $0.00 I don't mind!

I was under the impression those of us with UBP had zeros on our tickets?

[Demonyte]

As long as it's 10% of $0.00 I don't mind!

 

I was under the impression those of us with UBP had zeros on our tickets?

 

 

No, the drink still has a price but UBP covers it. So the tax is paid just as you would when paying for each drink.

[vunico]

It is a money-saving measure (and an additional anti-sharing measure), but they have to disguise it as a safety measure, and the only way to make that credible is to cut people off entirely after 15 drinks. If they let you continue buying drinks, then it would be obvious that they were just restricting the value of the package to avoid losing too much money.

 

But if they really cared about over-serving, they would put a 15-drink limit on all passengers, whether they have the package or not.

 

I think this limit is aimed at spring break types...I once read a

post where a guy bragged about having over 40 drinks

[KeithJenner]

It is confusing, so I'll try to summarise the situation.

 

If you don't have any packages, your charge for any drink you buy will have two or three elements to it:

 

The cost of the drink

Gratuity at 18%

In some places, tax at a rate which varies depending on the port.

 

Port tax is usually only paid when you are in the embarkation port. However, not every embarkation port charges it and it does sometimes get charged at ports of call.

 

On some European cruises, where the ship doesn't visit any port outside the EU VAT area, the tax is charged for the whole cruise. There aren't that many such cruises, but the Epic Western Med one is such a cruise.

 

If you buy a beverage package, you pay the 18% gratuity based on the cost of the package. You pay this when you buy the package. No gratuities are then paid on individual drinks you buy.

 

If you get the beverage package as a booking perk, booked in the US (and I'm sure some other places) then you pay this gratuity charge. It is added to your final payment for the cruise. You don't pay any gratuities on individual drinks you have.

 

If you get the beverage package as a booking perk, booked in the UK (and I'm sure some other places) then you aren't charged the gratuity charge. You also don't pay gratuities on individual drinks you have.

 

No gratuities are charged on any individual drinks that are covered by the UBP onboard.

 

However you are paying for your drinks, you will get charged the tax, based on the cost of the individual drinks. This is added to your onboard account.

 

As an example, if you buy a $10 drink on the Epic Western Med cruise without a package, it will cost you $12.80 in total ($10 plus 18% gratuity and 10% tax). If you have a beverage package, however you came by it, then you will pay the $1 tax and that is all.

 

This is my understanding of the situation. I haven't done the Epic Western Med trip with the beverage package, but this is how it has been reported by others, and fits in with my experience elsewhere with the package where tax is still paid when you are in some ports (for example when in Barcelona on a cruise going out of the EU). On my previous Epic trips when I was paying per drink, I was charged the tax all through the cruise, as I would expect.

 

Hope that makes sense.

[DrNora]

To put some minds at ease, the $15 dollar limit is very high. The only things I've seen over that were several wines (and as a previous poster mentioned, there are 100+ wines to choose from), the top-notch champagne, and a few top-notch bourbons/cognacs (maybe the one "best" tequila too). Everything else you can think of is under $15...cocktails (without the souvenir glass), shots, spirits, beer...so don't really worry about that.

 

Just make sure to check your account daily. I was ordering pear martinis from the Haven bar ( last summer, they were $1 or so,more than the $11 buck,limit then) and all was well- a small charge added. But when ordering at Tropicana room and several other bars they didn't quite understand and I had several $13 charges each evening.

 

I love those pear martinis!

[hawkeyetlse]

This is my understanding of the situation. I haven't done the Epic Western Med trip with the beverage package, but this is how it has been reported by others, and fits in with my experience elsewhere with the package where tax is still paid when you are in some ports (for example when in Barcelona on a cruise going out of the EU).

This was our experience in early 2015, but more recently they have stopped charging Spanish tax on UBP orders on cruises out of Barcelona, whether or not they leave the EU VAT area. We did both types of itineraries on the Epic last November/December and there was no tax on any drinks ordered with the UBP while in or near port.

[KeithJenner]

This was our experience in early 2015, but more recently they have stopped charging Spanish tax on UBP orders on cruises out of Barcelona, whether or not they leave the EU VAT area. We did both types of itineraries on the Epic last November/December and there was no tax on any drinks ordered with the UBP while in or near port.

 

Well, that is fantastic news. I apologise to anyone who I may have misled with previous comments. That will save a few dollars.

 

I was charged VAT in Barcelona last August (on a cruise leaving the EU), so they must have changed since then.

 

I just hope it isn't an example of NCL randomness striking again. I don't think I will count on it until I buy my first drink onboard. :)

[hawkeyetlse]

It changed once, so it can change again… I think it's a good idea for everyone to be prepared to pay tax anytime the ship is in port (or in territorial waters), even on things that they think are "free". If it turns out there's no tax, great.

[sjbdtz]

There are a lot of words to describe the bar service on NCL, and quick is definitely not one of them.

 

I could count on 1 finger the number of times service has been 'not quick', and still have 1 finger left over.

 

Could it be a case of you get, what you give?

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

[purpletequila]

The 18% gratuity is added to the drink price. It goes to the crew person that serves you the drink. Since most of the crew is working for tips, do you think those free drinks would be coming to you as quick without at tip?? You got the drinks for free...don't be cheap on the crew tips. ;-)

 

I'm confused. So if I go for the UBP, when I get onboard and order a drink, is it "free," or am I racking up 18% of each drink I consume on my shipboard account?