Very poor customer service-ncl home of the upcharge and the nickel and diming of pass

[tracyfitzs]

I have brought cases of water on board no problem, have they changed the rule not allowing this anymore?

[LrgPizza]

I have brought cases of water on board no problem, have they changed the rule not allowing this anymore?

Yes, about a year ago.

[tracyfitzs]

Yes, about a year ago.

 

 

Oh wow, I see this now, http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7112

 

I guess Ill be buying a water package. I need water in my cabin for late night post UBP drinking :)

[NCLfamily]

Oh wow, I see this now, http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7112

 

I guess Ill be buying a water package. I need water in my cabin for late night post UBP drinking :)

 

 

I have the ice bucket filled with ice in the evening and drink the ice cold water during the night to satisfy my druth (a Scottish word).

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[NLH Arizona]

Oh wow, I see this now, http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7112

 

I guess Ill be buying a water package. I need water in my cabin for late night post UBP drinking :)

I ask the Cabin Steward to make sure I have ice water in the mini-bar, which has been cleaned out.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Yeah, but the only time I've seen bottled water be a part of an all you can drink package, that's overpriced, too. They never include it on the cheap packages, like the soda package. (which is fine-I'm not complaining about that.) Even the "bottled water" all you can drink package on Celebrity is $18 a day, which means to make it worth while, you'd have to drink about a case of water a day to break even!

 

The bottled water is part of the all you can drink package on Princess cruises and their package is a lot cheaper than NCL at $58 per day including tip. Granted you can order drinks up to $15 per day on NCL and only $10 on Princess, but NCL's drink prices are way more than Princess' to begin with.

[bromleypod]

If you really want unlimited water, book the Garden Villa or the Owners Suite. ;)

Do they have bottled water in the owners suite?

[DMH15]

Do they have bottled water in the owners suite?

 

 

Yes. As much as you desire.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[macandlucy]

Pilotfish, I had a similar experience to yours, coming from Celebrity to NCL. Celebrity was the first drink package I had experienced, and it was truly free, as in no service charges were added. I was also pretty surprised and irritated about having to pay them initially, but in the end, NCL won me over. Here's why:

 

Celebrity does include specialty coffees in their drink package, but that causes the line ups for a latte in the morning to be frustratingly long. I am much happier to just pay $4 not to wait in those lines. It's the best $28 dollars I spend all week.

 

I found Celebrity's included Classic package to be quite limited in terms of selection, and (when I was on the cruise anyway) in order to get a drink that was not included, you had to pay the full price. NCL just charges you the extra. Plus, on Celebrity, very few of the drinks I wanted were included in the Classic package, while the vast majority of the drinks I wanted on NCL were.

 

I find Celebrity cruises to be more expensive than NCL on just about every itinerary I price out. If I factor in the cost of bottled water and a latte or two per day, NCL still wins, price wise, by a lot.

 

Freestyle is just awesome, and "anytime dining" is not really competition -- NCL is devoted to the no set tables concept and has far more options in terms of dining.

 

Someone upthread mentioned that NCL is more "a la carte" in terms of pricing, and I think that's a good way to look at it. Initially, I was bothered by the non-inclusiveness, but then I realized that Celebrity's higher cruise prices cause me to pay for all the drinks and lattes and bottled water that everyone is drinking, not just my own. I am now glad they do it that way, and I don't feel nicked and dimed, but rather spared from the indulgences of others ;)

[fshagan]

I ask the Cabin Steward to make sure I have ice water in the mini-bar, which has been cleaned out.

 

When was the last time you had this done? I remember a post a few months back where the cabin steward said they didn't bring pitchers of water any longer and you had to order it through room service ($7.95 delivery fee applies). I don't recall the ship either, but since we bought some water on our last cruise I forgot to ask our steward on the Jewel.

[OhJinkies]

Here's a moment of irony: I use a CPAP machine, which needs distilled water. According to the FAQs, i'm allowed to bring a sealed bottle of distilled water on board with me.

In the US, this is only available in gallon-size bottles. Since my cruise leaves from Vancouver, I'm not sure what size would be available. All I know is that I'm already going to be carrying a medium-size suitcase, one carry-on bag, and the case with my CPAP machine. How am I supposed to handle up to a gallon size jug of water in addition to that? I would much rather purchase the water on board. I have written to the access desk in hopes that they can assist me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[NLH Arizona]

When was the last time you had this done? I remember a post a few months back where the cabin steward said they didn't bring pitchers of water any longer and you had to order it through room service ($7.95 delivery fee applies). I don't recall the ship either, but since we bought some water on our last cruise I forgot to ask our steward on the Jewel.

December. I didn't ask for a special delivery of it, just that it be kept filled, which was done on their regular rounds. Edited May 13, 2017 by NLH Arizona

[NLH Arizona]

Here's a moment of irony: I use a CPAP machine, which needs distilled water. According to the FAQs, i'm allowed to bring a sealed bottle of distilled water on board with me.

In the US, this is only available in gallon-size bottles. Since my cruise leaves from Vancouver, I'm not sure what size would be available. All I know is that I'm already going to be carrying a medium-size suitcase, one carry-on bag, and the case with my CPAP machine. How am I supposed to handle up to a gallon size jug of water in addition to that? I would much rather purchase the water on board. I have written to the access desk in hopes that they can assist me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Folks have reported tht if you call the Access Desk and request the distilled water, they will have it for you.

[2ManyCruises]

Pilotfish, I had a similar experience to yours, coming from Celebrity to NCL. Celebrity was the first drink package I had experienced, and it was truly free, as in no service charges were added. I was also pretty surprised and irritated about having to pay them initially, but in the end, NCL won me over. Here's why:

 

Celebrity does include specialty coffees in their drink package, but that causes the line ups for a latte in the morning to be frustratingly long. I am much happier to just pay $4 not to wait in those lines. It's the best $28 dollars I spend all week.

 

I found Celebrity's included Classic package to be quite limited in terms of selection, and (when I was on the cruise anyway) in order to get a drink that was not included, you had to pay the full price. NCL just charges you the extra. Plus, on Celebrity, very few of the drinks I wanted were included in the Classic package, while the vast majority of the drinks I wanted on NCL were.

 

I find Celebrity cruises to be more expensive than NCL on just about every itinerary I price out. If I factor in the cost of bottled water and a latte or two per day, NCL still wins, price wise, by a lot.

 

Freestyle is just awesome, and "anytime dining" is not really competition -- NCL is devoted to the no set tables concept and has far more options in terms of dining.

 

Someone upthread mentioned that NCL is more "a la carte" in terms of pricing, and I think that's a good way to look at it. Initially, I was bothered by the non-inclusiveness, but then I realized that Celebrity's higher cruise prices cause me to pay for all the drinks and lattes and bottled water that everyone is drinking, not just my own. I am now glad they do it that way, and I don't feel nicked and dimed, but rather spared from the indulgences of others ;)

 

Such a good and balanced comment. We were booked on a Celebrity cruise. But when we took everything into consideration - much of which you mentioned - NCL with all it's perks was the winner hands down. So we decided to sail the Escape again.

[abe3]

Ourcruise is slated for July 30th We are seasoned Cruiser's, having gone on15-16 cruises on Celebrity and RCCL. We found out pre-cruise that NCL does notinclude Bottled Water as part of the beverage package one can purchase. Pleasenote Celeb, RCCL, Princess all do. Instead NCL wants you to purchase bottledwater by the case at 300-500% above the market.My wife has an auto-immunedisease requiring her to be hydrated. We obtained a prescription and doctorsnote and sent an e-mail to the Access Desk requesting permission to bring up to3 cases of bottled water. Our request was denied. We then sent an e-mail to Mr.Del Rio explaining the situation along with the Doctors note and prescription.Again we were denied. NCL has completely lived up to it's reputation of nickeland diming along with Up Charging cruisers for every service. We knew ofthis reputation pre-booking but were stuck using NCL due to the points value ina conversion. I would recommend anyone reading this to take anothercruise line! NCL is focused only on it's profitability not thecruiser. This probably will be our first and last cruise on NCL all over a$50-100 potential charge. NCL you have made a smart business decisionPenny wise and Pound foolish Cruise Critic followers Be warned BookElsewhere- Better value on RCCL or Princess plus appears to be better quality

 

 

Thankyou

 

 

 

Pilot Fish

 

 

Funny you knew this going in and still booked. Guess you baited yourself into booking this cruise.

 

I have one suggestion for you. Please put it aside and have a fun cruise because seeing miserable people on vacation is never fun.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kathybelcher2433]

Folks have reported tht if you call the Access Desk and request the distilled water, they will have it for you.

 

 

Yep. Exactly that is what happens. No need to carry on. It will be there for you as requested.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[chengkp75]

Long before NCL started to charge for bottled water, etc, you could ask your cabin steward for distilled water, and they would ask a friend in engineering, and bring down a container, and we would fill it directly from the evaporator, prior to neutralization by calcium carbonate or chlorination. This was before CPAP's became as ubiquitous as they are today.

[Jason26]

Pilotfish, I had a similar experience to yours, coming from Celebrity to NCL. Celebrity was the first drink package I had experienced, and it was truly free, as in no service charges were added. I was also pretty surprised and irritated about having to pay them initially, but in the end, NCL won me over. Here's why:

 

Celebrity does include specialty coffees in their drink package, but that causes the line ups for a latte in the morning to be frustratingly long. I am much happier to just pay $4 not to wait in those lines. It's the best $28 dollars I spend all week.

 

I found Celebrity's included Classic package to be quite limited in terms of selection, and (when I was on the cruise anyway) in order to get a drink that was not included, you had to pay the full price. NCL just charges you the extra. Plus, on Celebrity, very few of the drinks I wanted were included in the Classic package, while the vast majority of the drinks I wanted on NCL were.

 

I find Celebrity cruises to be more expensive than NCL on just about every itinerary I price out. If I factor in the cost of bottled water and a latte or two per day, NCL still wins, price wise, by a lot.

 

Freestyle is just awesome, and "anytime dining" is not really competition -- NCL is devoted to the no set tables concept and has far more options in terms of dining.

 

Someone upthread mentioned that NCL is more "a la carte" in terms of pricing, and I think that's a good way to look at it. Initially, I was bothered by the non-inclusiveness, but then I realized that Celebrity's higher cruise prices cause me to pay for all the drinks and lattes and bottled water that everyone is drinking, not just my own. I am now glad they do it that way, and I don't feel nicked and dimed, but rather spared from the indulgences of others ;)

 

I can somewhat see where Pilotfish is coming from. My family and I have sailed all the major cruise lines, most recently on Celebrity. They included their drink package as part of an Eastern Caribbean cruise, which certainly included water and coffee (some of the waiting lines, including the coffee bar, were at times long). When I compared the price of Celebrity to the NCL Getaway cruise a couple of years ago (same time of year), Celebrity was less expensive. Both had the drink package included, with Celebrity's drink package being superior.

 

That being said, NCL offered a cruise with many more activities; frankly my family and I thoroughly enjoyed the Getaway. Sure, Celebrity's drink package was better. When comparing the entire cruise, I was happy to pay a few dollars a day for a good cup of coffee. I brought a water filer (https://www.amazon.com/EveryDrop-Whirlpool-Water-Replacement-Exclusive/dp/B00G5H56RY/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494764059&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=whirlpool+drip+water+filter) on board as I drink a lot of water on the cruise a didn't think twice.

 

Fast forward to our European cruise we've booked in 2018. I really wanted to book Celebrity, but NCL had the itinerary we wanted for almost $2K less than Celebrity. I opted not to take the "free" drink package as the tips alone were almost $300 for my wife and I (tips are included in the "free" Celebrity package). With coffee and water not included, I wouldn't drink $300 in drinks, so we opted for the dining package instead. At first, I was frustrated, but what I thought about the $2K savings, that is a lot of water and coffee for the 10 day cruise.

 

Bottom line, one should look at the entire value of the cruise and make decisions as to how they will enjoy their vacation. I find that each cruise line has pros and cons (if there is a con for vacation). No one is forcing anyone to book a cruise. Look at the entire value of the trip and go with it.

[fshagan]

Bottom line, one should look at the entire value of the cruise and make decisions as to how they will enjoy their vacation. I find that each cruise line has pros and cons (if there is a con for vacation). No one is forcing anyone to book a cruise. Look at the entire value of the trip and go with it.

 

Great comments! I like the way you look at it.

 

You need to do a ton of research whenever you decide to try a new cruise line if the differences matter to you. I would allocate four to five hours before booking to read through the FAQs on the cruise line's website, and then visit the Cruise Critic boards (if they are active for that line) to find out what irritates their regular cruisers. It's better to do this in "lurk mode" and not ask questions right away, as fanboys and haters will jump in with "facts" colored by their opinions. Usually you can learn a lot about a cruise line this way. Then ask for clarifications on any topics you can't find out about.

 

YouTube is also a good resource for reviews and video of the ship you are contemplating.

 

It's a lot of work, but you are going to spend $2,500 or more on the vacation so it is worth doing if you care about these kind of differences.

[Medtech2]

Ourcruise is slated for July 30th We are seasoned Cruiser's, having gone on15-16 cruises on Celebrity and RCCL. We found out pre-cruise that NCL does notinclude Bottled Water as part of the beverage package one can purchase. Pleasenote Celeb, RCCL, Princess all do. Instead NCL wants you to purchase bottledwater by the case at 300-500% above the market.My wife has an auto-immunedisease requiring her to be hydrated. We obtained a prescription and doctorsnote and sent an e-mail to the Access Desk requesting permission to bring up to3 cases of bottled water. Our request was denied. We then sent an e-mail to Mr.Del Rio explaining the situation along with the Doctors note and prescription.Again we were denied. NCL has completely lived up to it's reputation of nickeland diming along with Up Charging cruisers for every service. We knew ofthis reputation pre-booking but were stuck using NCL due to the points value ina conversion. I would recommend anyone reading this to take anothercruise line! NCL is focused only on it's profitability not thecruiser. This probably will be our first and last cruise on NCL all over a$50-100 potential charge. NCL you have made a smart business decisionPenny wise and Pound foolish Cruise Critic followers Be warned BookElsewhere- Better value on RCCL or Princess plus appears to be better quality

 

Thankyou

 

Pilot Fish

 

Wow that was hard to read. You'd think autocorrect would have kicked in...

[newmexicoNita]

I can somewhat see where Pilotfish is coming from. My family and I have sailed all the major cruise lines, most recently on Celebrity. They included their drink package as part of an Eastern Caribbean cruise, which certainly included water and coffee (some of the waiting lines, including the coffee bar, were at times long). When I compared the price of Celebrity to the NCL Getaway cruise a couple of years ago (same time of year), Celebrity was less expensive. Both had the drink package included, with Celebrity's drink package being superior.

 

That being said, NCL offered a cruise with many more activities; frankly my family and I thoroughly enjoyed the Getaway. Sure, Celebrity's drink package was better. When comparing the entire cruise, I was happy to pay a few dollars a day for a good cup of coffee. I brought a water filer (https://www.amazon.com/EveryDrop-Whirlpool-Water-Replacement-Exclusive/dp/B00G5H56RY/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494764059&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=whirlpool+drip+water+filter) on board as I drink a lot of water on the cruise a didn't think twice.

 

Fast forward to our European cruise we've booked in 2018. I really wanted to book Celebrity, but NCL had the itinerary we wanted for almost $2K less than Celebrity. I opted not to take the "free" drink package as the tips alone were almost $300 for my wife and I (tips are included in the "free" Celebrity package). With coffee and water not included, I wouldn't drink $300 in drinks, so we opted for the dining package instead. At first, I was frustrated, but what I thought about the $2K savings, that is a lot of water and coffee for the 10 day cruise.

 

Bottom line, one should look at the entire value of the cruise and make decisions as to how they will enjoy their vacation. I find that each cruise line has pros and cons (if there is a con for vacation). No one is forcing anyone to book a cruise. Look at the entire value of the trip and go with it.

I think your last sentence says it all: each line offers something and doesn't offer something else. For OP to take the attitude he did to me is pretty much unbelievable. Just because he couldn't get something he got on another line doesn't make the line bad. It would be easier to understand if his postings other times were not so negative.

[Crusingdiva62]

wow....i don't necessarily agree with the OP, but his complaints are innocuous, unlike some of the personal remarks being made on this thread. it's one thing to state your opinion, but many of the comments about the OP and his wife are really uncalled for. The fact that someone even went so far as to insinuate that the OP's wife feigned an illness to get free water is appalling. Imagine someone saying something similar about someone you care about. Why do so many of you feel it's necessary to insult or belittle someone to get your point across??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

glad to know I am not the only one who took the comments that way. So they really charge $52 for water a case? let me tell me friend who paid for the cruise we will be going on next year to not bother ordering the water! yikes its only $9.50 for a 24 pack on Carnival.

[zelticgar]

Just pick up a Sawyer Mini Filter at REI. I use them on camping trips and the water is fine. I've filtered mud puddles in the wilderness with that thing and survived. Cruise ship tap water is a piece of cake.

[uneamie]

Yes....NCL cost more for their water packages. I for one can be satisfied with the ships water at the buffet or bars. If I really need bottled water than I'd only buy the 6 pk ( $14.95 for 6 liter bottles ) and use the bottles to get the filtered water from the buffet. https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/bottled-water-packages

[fshagan]

glad to know I am not the only one who took the comments that way. So they really charge $52 for water a case? let me tell me friend who paid for the cruise we will be going on next year to not bother ordering the water! yikes its only $9.50 for a 24 pack on Carnival.

 

Wow, Carnival has really increased their prices since they started this! I think that was $5 when they started out. Maybe that was for a 12 pack. I think they provide the common 1/2 liter size (16.9 ounces) and their "generic" Carnival brand, right?

 

I've seen individual water like that in stores for anywhere from .25 to .79 or more, so the Carnival price at about .40 a bottle is pretty reasonable. Compared to what Costco water costs us, it's about five times as expensive (we get a 40 unit carton for $3.29, or just over .08 per bottle).

 

NCL only provides 1 liter Aquafina brand water, and it's about $3 a bottle when purchased before you board (we paid $18 for a six pack including the gratuity added on). My local supermarket sells the exact same thing for $1.99. So NCL's water is only 50% more than the store equivalent on shore. That's probably the same percentage of markup as Carnival has.

 

I wish NCL would take Carnival's lead, though, and provide NCL branded generic water in the 16.9 ounce bottles. Sell us a 24 pack for .75 each for that same $18, and we'd be very happy with that. I suspect their cost is closer to Costco's sales price at .08 per bottle for generic water, so their profit margin is likely to be larger than on the six pack of 1 liter "liquid gold" Aquafina.