Can't bring soda on board anymore

[Boschmann]

I work for a VERY large travel agency consortium that books LOTS of NCL, and to my knowledge they have not notified us of the change, therefore none of our clients would be aware. I, as an agent, only know because of the boards :D So yes, we may be a small percentage, but once the larger percentage starts finding out there will be LOTS of complaints to NCL via many different channels. I know people who use other chat forums, social media etc instead of cruise critic - I'm sure there is PLENTY of chatter in those channels as well!

 

This is another reason I think NCL is playing with us. I can't believe Del Rio, who honors his travel agent partners so highly, would let this out covertly where he knew CC would find it first.

[Feelin' Nauti']

All because people cruise, doesn't mean they have to join a cruise website.

I have lots of friends who cruise, who can't be bothered with them.

They book directly with the cruise line or with their TA.

Then there are those who are just lurkers.

Read but never make a comment.

 

For those who aren't aware of the new bottled water/ soda policy, they are in for a rude awakening when they get to the pier.

Wonder how NCL will deal with all the bottled waters cases or those packed in suitcases?

Edited July 5, 2016 by Feelin' Nauti'

[leekel619]

Interesting observation as the thread reaches 1,000 replies...

 

 

 

 

 

We all know that Cruise Critic Members represent a very small fraction of the cruising public....1,410,419 members at this time. Out of those 1.4m members, only 24,390 have cared enough to post anything on the forums. And of those 24,390 people who care enough to post, only 285 were moved to post on this thread.

 

 

 

285.

 

 

 

If we were all on the Escape right now, we would only represent 7% of the folks onboard. Really...a small minority of people complaining...yet, because we are on the same forum, we get the Internet provided illusion that "everyone" feels the same way we do.

 

 

 

285.

 

 

 

At this very moment there are probably 36,000+ guests actually onboard NCL ships.

 

 

 

 

 

NCL has to care about all of their shareholders...all of their guests...somehow I don't think a policy change that only irks 285 people is going to be the huge concern that we think it is. Too bad we weren't complaining about the "outrageous" price of water before this....:(

 

 

 

Love this! We were just sitting here talking about it and you said it so much better.

[NLH Arizona]

This is another reason I think NCL is playing with us. I can't believe Del Rio, who honors his travel agent partners so highly, would let this out covertly where he knew CC would find it first.

I think you and I might be the only two that feel there is something amiss. Too many things don't add up. Hopefully, we will see tomorrow when folks get back to work.

[mg5415]

We are scheduled on the Jewel in August, and yes, I was upset to hear about the new policy on water and soda. So, here is my question. . . .how much is a single glass of soda? Is it worth buying the soda package? Where can you buy a single glass and bring it back to your room? Is the tap water drinkable? If I brought a refillable water bottle are there ice machines on each deck to chill the tap water?

 

Does anyone bring a bottle of distilled water for a c pap machine? Or can you get it on board? I'm not sure where we would pick one up on the way from the airport to the boat, anyway. . . . . .

[Boschmann]

We are scheduled on the Jewel in August, and yes, I was upset to hear about the new policy on water and soda. So, here is my question. . . .how much is a single glass of soda? Is it worth buying the soda package? Where can you buy a single glass and bring it back to your room? Is the tap water drinkable? If I brought a refillable water bottle are there ice machines on each deck to chill the tap water?

 

Does anyone bring a bottle of distilled water for a c pap machine? Or can you get it on board? I'm not sure where we would pick one up on the way from the airport to the boat, anyway. . . . . .

 

I don't buy or drink soda, someone can probably help definitively, but it's probably around $2-3 per serving - in a cup, no cans. You have to determine package worth based on your consumption. Available at most bars, restaurants & the buffet. Tap water drinkability is a component of this thread and up for debate. You can get a bucket of ice to keep in your room from your room steward. Distilled water for c-pap machines is allowed to be brought on board per the new policy.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Boschmann

[NLH Arizona]

We are scheduled on the Jewel in August, and yes, I was upset to hear about the new policy on water and soda. So, here is my question. . . .how much is a single glass of soda? Is it worth buying the soda package? Where can you buy a single glass and bring it back to your room? Is the tap water drinkable? If I brought a refillable water bottle are there ice machines on each deck to chill the tap water?

 

Does anyone bring a bottle of distilled water for a c pap machine? Or can you get it on board? I'm not sure where we would pick one up on the way from the airport to the boat, anyway. . . . . .

The soda package is $7.50 a day plus 18% gratuity, so if you drink 3+ sodas a day it is cost effective. I think a single glass of soda is $2.50 or $2.95 plus 18% gratuity. You can get a single glass of soda at any bar. Yes, the tap water is drinkable. There are no ice machines on each deck, but you can ask your cabin steward for ice, usually get it twice a day or you can get ice at the buffet.

[Loonbeam]

A couple of notes -

 

Yes, you can get plain water at any bar, no charge, with or without a plan (or at least I have never been refused, I could see a particularly cranky bartender being an issue). This is actually my preferred method when refilling my bottle around ship, because it comes from the soda gun they can shoot it right into the bottle without contamination becoming an issue and they have scoops for ice.

 

If you are comparing the costs of sodas, remember the non plan cost per glass is for a bar glass, with most beverage plans they will be happy to fill whatever container you have. The same quantity to fill one tumbler might be 3 bar cokes (that said, I have met many bartenders who do not charge for refills in a reasonable period of time, but can never depend on that)

 

On the topic of impact, in perfect honestly, having worked with folks at a different line, the impact of cruise critic, while some, is relatively low as compared to other channels. It's not a question of membership, its reach. As noted, if every single CC user read any given thread (which doesn't happen), max reach is 1.4 million (using views as a guideline and given that people revisit the page, actual reach of this thread is probably +/- 5K). There are some other caveats they raised, but I don't want to go into that here to avoid starting yet another flame war.

 

On FB they have about 1.5 million followers, and a surprisingly small 112k followers on twitter (didn't check the others) but issues raised there have a much larger footprint as these are often visible to non followers as public pages via hashtags, trending, etc) and unlike CC they show up in people's feeds, etc.

 

The short version is that CC has influence but is not influential, at least not in the way social media and other channels are. That's just reality. It's also reality that they have far more control over those channels, so while they may see all the posts and comments (depending on what app suites they use to manage), its almost guaranteed the general public will not.

[Boschmann]

A couple of notes.....

 

I'm glad you are addressing this on other fronts, I refuse to have FB account and question the effectiveness as FB, to me, is too corporate oriented and controlled. I hope all the hired deleters/hiders keep track of what they do and report it back to NCL. I do agree it will help.

 

I have had NCL ask me if I subscibe/post to CC, never FB or others. I hope to make a difference on this front and hope we can both be influential. I will send emails tomorrow as I don't think NCL execs are at work right now and I'd rather wait until I have a chance of bothering them.

 

If readers do have FB or other accounts I stand behind your call for action.

[DevCruise]

Wonder how NCL will deal with all the bottled waters cases or those packed in suitcases?

 

I bet they sell the pepsi products onboard the ship and the coke products get disbursed to the crew as part of their incentive package.

[DevCruise]

On FB they have about 1.5 million followers, and a surprisingly small 112k followers on twitter (didn't check the others) but issues raised there have a much larger footprint as these are often visible to non followers as public pages via hashtags, trending, etc) and unlike CC they show up in people's feeds, etc.

 

Sadly, the other problem with their FB page (and any other business page) is that "visitor posts" are relegated to the back corner. I'm sure the NCL FB people see them, but the vast majority of the public never will unless they go looking for them. Heck, I even tried to see how big the uproar was, but it is drowned out by the NCL app that allows people to post their "Live from the Norwegian ____" pictures to the FB page.

[Hunwolf]

Twitter leans very male heavy in usage and I'm willing to bet there's overall more reach corporately in FB and just in general on here with the female audience. Probably more so on FB.

 

That's why social media literally isn't one size fits all.

[LMaxwell]

Instead of telling NCL to rescind the new policy, which I don't think would happen, you may be better off telling them what you would spend to get XYZ from them. For instance, you'd spend $3.99 for a 12 pack of water, or a 6 pack of soda cans onboard. Etc. Offer them a solution, because "going back" I think will not happen.

[oceanqueen101]

I wonder if NCL is going to warn anyone with an upcoming sailing about the change in policy?

booked for Sept 2016. We received an email of this policy yesterday. I think it is unfair to force new policies on people after you've already taken their money. In full I might add. If NCL wanted to make this change it should be for new bookings only at least this way consumers can make their own choice.

[oceanqueen101]

This is another reason I think NCL is playing with us. I can't believe Del Rio, who honors his travel agent partners so highly, would let this out covertly where he knew CC would find it first.

never heard anything from my big name travel agent but I got my email directly from NCL yesterday informing me of this change. I will be requesting my TA to demand a bar credit since this change was made after final payment. I always take a sealed case of water and 1 sealed case of soda. This will be an interesting topic on formal night with the Captain.

[LMaxwell]

never heard anything from my big name travel agent.

 

No email from travel agent, no email from NCL.

[triptolemus]

This will be an interesting topic on formal night with the Captain.

 

I couldn't think of a more inappropriate time to address the issue with someone who has nothing to do with the decision.

[LMaxwell]

I couldn't think of a more inappropriate time to address the issue with someone who has nothing to do with the decision.

 

And there's no formal night, so....

 

Really, this is something to address shoreside with Hotel Ops of Food & Beverage Ops. Onboard Marine Officers have no say, no power, no care over stuff like this.

[LrgPizza]

Interesting observation as the thread reaches 1,000 replies...

 

 

 

 

 

We all know that Cruise Critic Members represent a very small fraction of the cruising public....1,410,419 members at this time. Out of those 1.4m members, only 24,390 have cared enough to post anything on the forums. And of those 24,390 people who care enough to post, only 285 were moved to post on this thread.

 

 

 

285.

 

 

 

If we were all on the Escape right now, we would only represent 7% of the folks onboard. Really...a small minority of people complaining...yet, because we are on the same forum, we get the Internet provided illusion that "everyone" feels the same way we do.

 

 

 

285.

 

 

 

At this very moment there are probably 36,000+ guests actually onboard NCL ships.

 

 

 

 

 

NCL has to care about all of their shareholders...all of their guests...somehow I don't think a policy change that only irks 285 people is going to be the huge concern that we think it is. Too bad we weren't complaining about the "outrageous" price of water before this....:(

 

 

I can't help but think that probably more than half the passengers had no clue you could even carry anything on in the first place.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[LrgPizza]

This will be an interesting topic on formal night with the Captain.

 

 

Um, you really don't want to be THAT passenger. That would make you look so bad.

Edited July 5, 2016 by LrgPizza

[Boschmann]

never heard anything from my big name travel agent but I got my email directly from NCL yesterday informing me of this change. I will be requesting my TA to demand a bar credit since this change was made after final payment. I always take a sealed case of water and 1 sealed case of soda. This will be an interesting topic on formal night with the Captain.

 

Glad you got an email, I am still waiting for mine. I think NCL values it's travel agents so creating a discord between them and NCL will help force NCL into a reasonable solution.

[Feelin' Nauti']

Can we please stay on topic?

We need our voices heard on this vital subject.

[shoreless]

Does anyone know if you can buy bottled spring water (still, not sparkling) and/or cans of ginger ale onboard?

 

I'd love to have Coke also (and would pay a hefty price for it) but I guess that won't be available in any form unless a black market emerges.

[insidecabin]

1053 posts

301 posters

 

317 top 10 posters

448 top 20 posters.

533 top 30 posters.

[AquaMarineFerret]

Love this! We were just sitting here talking about it and you said it so much better.

 

Yes, I have to say that the SeaShark is rather astute in those observations...sadly. However, I do like the idea of the GatorAde and loss of UBP - that made me smile!

 

It's true (I assume): here we all are getting all excited over this topic, but apart from blowing off steam (and occasionally sniping at fellow passengers) is it really doing any good? Is CC influential enough? I doubt it.

 

It needs a good number of influential people to persuade NCL to do something that will help the situation from the passengers' perspective. There are too many for whom the added inconvenience or cost is fairly inconsequential and too many who can and will fill the deck shoes of those who vote by booking elsewhere in future. Playing the numbers game NCL (and others surely will always win).

 

Sad really...