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Free Promos are Not Free


Djptcp
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As former NCL cruisers DH and I were open to trying NCL again. When attempting to book a 5-day cruise out of Tampa I selected the Free Drinks promo. Imagine my surprise when the total cruise cost amount included a $178 service charge for the "Free Drinks." What is free about that? I chatted with a NCL rep and was told the service charge is the 20% gratuities for the free drinks! Free drinks should include the gratuities or it isn't really free. No thanks, we'll stick to Carnival and Holland America where there aren't service charges for "free" promos. By the way, their drink gratuities are 15%, not 20%.

 

The TA we use for our NCL cruises waives the service charge on the beverage package. I assume it’s an agreement his agency or consortium has w/NCL. I’m sure the bar employee pool still receives gratuities, it just doesn’t come out of our pocket.

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The TA we use for our NCL cruises waives the service charge on the beverage package. I assume it’s an agreement his agency or consortium has w/NCL. I’m sure the bar employee pool still receives gratuities, it just doesn’t come out of our pocket.
Group cruises offer the ubp service charges waived as an option. So if you've somehow always been in group than that would explain it. Otherwise it's out of their commission.

 

I wish you could tell me what TA!!!!

 

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The TA we use for our NCL cruises waives the service charge on the beverage package. I assume it’s an agreement his agency or consortium has w/NCL. I’m sure the bar employee pool still receives gratuities, it just doesn’t come out of our pocket.

 

 

 

Shhhh ... you should be able to get ubp and dsc included ... but shhhh let all these others pay the extras it makes them feel sooo good

 

 

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We have done one NCL cruise with the beverage package promo, that was on the Sun for Alaska in September 2016. We booked early and at that time NCL didn't charge the gratuities when that package was included in promos. That was the same policy of Celebrity. That policy changed and we now decline the package, since we are not heavy drinkers. I don't mind at all paying a service charge for the crew, but I very much dislike the highly overpriced value that NCL places on the bev package plus 20%.

 

We are mainly wine drinkers, so I plan to brink wine with us for our next cruise and pay the $15 per bottle corkage charge. Also, that way we can enjoy the cab that we prefer instead of what is offered on the bev package (no robust cabs).

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Ok, I thought you were complaining about the bill being $62. It clearly states Teppanaki is 29.95, doesn’t matter if you order vegetarian or the steak and shrimp, one price, with a 20% gratuity plus a specialty service charge, so the $38.96 is 100% the published cost. But it also states

 

“Pricing will be adjusted onboard for children ordering from the complimentary kids menu.“

Did your daughter order from this menu?

 

No, the $38.96 is NOT 100% of the published price. That's been my question from the start. 29.95 plus 20% (5.99) = $35.94.

 

She didn't eat from the kids menu (chicken fingers, mac n cheese, etc.).

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The TA we use for our NCL cruises waives the service charge on the beverage package. I assume it’s an agreement his agency or consortium has w/NCL. I’m sure the bar employee pool still receives gratuities, it just doesn’t come out of our pocket.

 

My TA always does things like that (great OBC plus an extra specialty restaurant, etc.). For this cruise though (Bliss) her OBC was unusually low. I was wondering why that was. We have a great OBC on our upcoming Harmony cruise. We did get delicious chocolate covered strawberries on Bliss though.

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Ok, I thought you were complaining about the bill being $62.
No it was just her daughter's meal that she thought was too expensive: My complaint was the ridiculous charge for the 1 vegetarian meal - and I was really comparing the same situation on RCI.

 

And: (On RCI my daughter's ADULT meals all ranged about $10 and that was before she was a vegetarian so delicious steak dishes for that!

 

And: I still stand by my thinking that $38.96 (pre extra tips) is a lot of money for a vegetarian meal for a 9 year old.

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No it was just her daughter's meal that she thought was too expensive: My complaint was the ridiculous charge for the 1 vegetarian meal - and I was really comparing the same situation on RCI.

 

And: (On RCI my daughter's ADULT meals all ranged about $10 and that was before she was a vegetarian so delicious steak dishes for that!

 

And: I still stand by my thinking that $38.96 (pre extra tips) is a lot of money for a vegetarian meal for a 9 year old.

The poster went to the restaurant knowing the price. This is not a street stall where you barter the price. The kid could have eaten free from the kids menu, but wanted “grown up” food. By placing an order, vegetarian or not, you have agreed to pay the price of the meal. Pay the bill and be done with it.

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Finally we tried Ultimate Drinking Package.

$250 we paid for a week was more than worth it. I'd say maybe couple of times worth it :) , but I'm not sure we will do it again.

We were lucky as our cabin for specific sailing wasn't more expensive as ones without UDP, but we did notice that we drunk much more than we usually do. :) We did behave appropriately, but it's definitely tougher on our health.

Edited by Tatka
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Finally we tried Ultimate Drinking Package.

$250 we paid for a week was more than worth it. I'd say maybe couple of times worth it :) , but I'm not sure we will do it again.

We were lucky as our cabin for specific sailing wasn't more expensive as ones without UDP,

but we did notice that we drunk much more than we usually do. :)

We did behaved appropriately, but it's definitely tougher on our health.

Nice post.

I always try to behaved.:cool::p

But it's always harder with the UDP.

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images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRe_VrqHi1xASZnqVo0zjzKBonzIhLpT2IVjCFYGd1zT0Q7CJEdxg

Sorry.. aside from the fact that English my second language my autocorrector sometimes misbehaves. ;)

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRe_VrqHi1xASZnqVo0zjzKBonzIhLpT2IVjCFYGd1zT0Q7CJEdxg

I :hearteyes: you anyway ! LOL

My English is not so good.

Please, no apologies ! It's all fun here.

Thank you for posting!

Edited by $hip$hape
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No, the $38.96 is NOT 100% of the published price. That's been my question from the start. 29.95 plus 20% (5.99) = $35.94.

The math in this example continues to be the question.

 

The closest that I can get is $29.95 + $2.50 (drink?) = $32.45. Add 20% and the total is $38.94. Not exactly the same as $38.96 but close. :confused:

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Mystery solved by someone else on my cruise...it was Tax (which I believe is what I already said):

 

Everything on the ship is 10. 1 percent taxable when in the Seattle waters

 

 

 

Did you eat very early? It’s rare for tax to hit meal costs as you are usually away from the port at that time.

 

 

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Did you eat very early? It’s rare for tax to hit meal costs as you are usually away from the port at that time.

 

 

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I've had meals while still in the embarkation port and they taxed my drinks, but never my food. Some ports must work different than others.
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Mystery solved by someone else on my cruise...it was Tax (which I believe is what I already said):

 

Everything on the ship is 10. 1 percent taxable when in the Seattle waters

 

$29.95 = cover charge

$29.95 x 10.1% (tax) = $3.02495

$29.95 x 20% (service charge) = $5.99

Total = $38.96495....$38.96....close enough.

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I've had meals while still in the embarkation port and they taxed my drinks, but never my food. Some ports must work different than others.

 

 

Tax treatment does vary by port, so that is very possible.

 

I’ve certainly seen tax charged on food in some ports. I just didn’t think that it would be an issue on this itinerary, as I thought that they would be well out to sea by then.

 

 

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Tax treatment does vary by port, so that is very possible.

 

I’ve certainly seen tax charged on food in some ports. I just didn’t think that it would be an issue on this itinerary, as I thought that they would be well out to sea by then.

 

 

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Thanks, didn't know that ports were different.

 

I thought the Bliss left at 5:00, so maybe they were a tad late in leaving and there are some folks, like me, who do like to eat early especially if it is a travel day.

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I've had meals while still in the embarkation port and they taxed my drinks, but never my food. Some ports must work different than others.

 

I could understand being taxed in a specialty restaurant for this meal, just as purchased drinks are when in certain ports. If the meal was in the MDR or buffet, there would be nothing to impose a tax on. But on a purchased item?

 

 

 

 

Is it safe to assume a purchased spa treatment would also be taxed while in the port of Seattle?

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Ship left around 5. We ate at 7:30.

 

I wonder if maybe the tax is imposed while still in Washington State waters? We all know its quite a while (and scenic!) after the ships leave Seattle as they make their way out of the Puget Sound. Perhaps the onboard shops and casino don't open until the ship is outside the Puget Sound?

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