Why are drinks so expensive

[karoo]

To be fair, Americans tend to have a very strong work ethic. It is rare for most to take more than a week off at a time, even if they have enough vacation days. I’m playing tourist this weekend in my backyard, watched the Gem sail off from the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty yesterday, off to the 9/11 museum and freedom tower today.

 

 

 

Yes- I have to admit I live in the lucky country with better working conditions and vacation time. 4-6 weeks is normal plus we also get long service leave. Our workers are also paid well. I was horrified the other day to read on - not sure which site or forum, about a person who had booked a cruise as they had it in writing that leave had been approved only for the boss to say - no you can’t have leave after all as we will be busy and you are needed here. That would not happen in my country as that would be breaching fair work conditions. I guess we have to thank being part of the Commonwealth and our Unions (not always a blessing) as they ensure our workers have good working conditions and fair pay. Yes - land wise our country is almost the same size as the US, but most of us want to see and experience different cultures and luckily we have the opportunity to do so. At the moment I envy all the posts I am seeing of many of my friends and acquaintances who are enjoying Summer in different parts of Europe. Mind you I have done 5 cruises already this year, 4 on the Jewel- all NCL to NZ, China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam the Baltics and only got home after staying in Copenhagen, then Scotland for 2 weeks last month, but Summer in Europe to us Aussies is special.

PS - being an Aussie I’m also not a soccer fan and find the low scoring a little tedious, but the World Cup is special. I love it. Here we have so many different ethnic groups there are celebrations galore as there is always one culture that’s winning. I was also in Germany/Berlin when they won the World Cup and I remember getting caught up in the Euphoria of it all. The 7-1 defeat of Brazil is etched in my memory- Summer- screens on every street- going crazy every time a goal was scored- the atmosphere was just electric. So nobody can tell me soccer and the World Cup is boring. I also feel sorry for Keith who doesn’t feel proud to be from the UK, being proud and not feeling patriotic about your country must be so sad. After all - at the end of the day I believe Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz- ‘there is no place like home.’ Yes I love travel and have seen so many great places and cultures, but at the end of the day- there is no place like home!!!!! But I do also have to confess - when drinking Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand has the best world wide- just ensure it’s from the Marlborough Region. Although we have the best reds (Coonawarra region). Italian and Spanish wine is pretty good too! Malbec and Chilean wine- rougher and headache material-sulphates too high- all to do with the soil. Trust me - I’ve sampled lots.

 

 

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[adam_s_allen]

Compared to other cruise lines are drinks on NCL more expensive or pretty similar?

[HowardK]

It's all marketing smoke and mirrors. Inflated prices detached from reality to steer people towards selecting the "free" drinks as a perk. The inflated prices help justify inflated package prices, which in turn leads to more revenue from service charges but it's all still "free". Just marketing. NCL is making plenty of money still on this.

 

 

100% agreed- a certain amount of the alcohol consumption is already a sunken cost into the price of cruise, and the rest is just profit. Even the service charges on my drink package. For $120 even with 40 drinks its $3 a drink and those drinks DO NOT cost $3 to make.

 

The best thing to do is have the UBP as a promo or don't drink at all. NCL is a business with shareholders- if you were a shareholder would you want them having less revenue and cheap drinks? Of course not!

[Toofarfromthesea]

I’m back! Just beaten The swedes, tonight we will go probably to the best Bar in town, typically a pint of Moretti and a pimms will come to about £8.80, that’s with the latest Don’t go soft when wet paper straws. Later we will go to #miller&carter a quality steakhouse, which if I recall the best NZ savinguon Blanc is about £22.00 a bottle. Now both of those establishments are fair

 

Good for England. I wish them the best against Croatia. They are representing their country with a lot of class. You could learn from them, instead of throwing out insults.

[Relax@Sea]

In the mid 80's the cost of a cruise ranged from $1,400.00 to $2000.00 per person for a 7 day cruise if I remember all the drinks and food were included.

Now you can book a cruise for around $100.00 a day per person which doesn't include Alcohol. I find it much less expensive cruising now then it did 30 years ago.

So even though the Drinks are expensive to some it still might end up cheaper then it did 30 years ago.

I remember going on a cruise with my Wife in a Ocean View cabin and the cost of the cruise only was around $3,500.Now I can get a Balcony cabin with the UDP for around $4,000.00.

30 years later and the cost is around $500.00 more.

I guess the Cruise accounting module is lose $$ on the cabin and make it up on the options.

This is my thought why Drinks are so expensive.

 

 

 

Here is an article from a previous CEO of Carnival

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/article1956354.html

[Georgia_Peaches]

A 4th page of this thread appears to be missing along with several adfitional posts. What happened?

[KeithJenner]

I also feel sorry for Keith who doesn’t feel proud to be from the UK, being proud and not feeling patriotic about your country must be so sad.

 

I have no idea what I posted to make you think this.

[richstowe]

Compared to other cruise lines are drinks on NCL more expensive or pretty similar?

IMO , NCL prices are similar to RC and Celebrity . A large % of Celebrity and NCL guests receive a drink package as a perk so for them seeing high drink prices is affirmative . Carnival's stable of brands has prices about 20% lower . Some like HAL have great happy hour deals . Finally all brands except Norwegian allow you to bring on a bottle of wine per adult , max 2 to a cabin at no charge . Plus the others allow you to bring on soda and water . Carnival sells water for a fraction of NCL and you can still bring on soda .

I'm sure some will disagree with all the above . TS :D

[karoo]

I have no idea what I posted to make you think this.

 

 

 

Because you said you don’t watch soccer just because of ‘your accident of birth’. I interpreted this as a negative - I’m glad I was born an Aussie and definitely don’t see it as an ‘accident of birth’. In fact I recently visited Scotland where my grandparents are from. I loved it, thought it was quite beautiful, Edinburgh with the castle and old town absolutely stunning, the Highlands, lochs, old castles etc so pretty, everyone I met was so friendly, well mannered and polite, but I also thought while Scotland is lovely, I’m glad they all chose to immigrate to Australia. I see being born here as a plus not an ‘unfortunate accident’. Apologies if I interpreted your quote wrong.

PS- yes NCL charge lots for their drinks. Eg a bottle of wine that costs $40US I can buy on land for the equivalent of $7.50US. We are a captive audience and that’s how they make their profit. I know I have to overpay on cruises I just wish they had good or even average wine always available to buy. My last 4 on the Jewel this year they ran out and there was very limited availability on the Breakaway last month. The little I was able to purchase I had to negotiate with the Beverage Manager. Luckily I had purchased some at the Duty Free in Copenhagen Airport, because ‘Life’s too short to drink bad wine’- although on the ship I qualify that quote by adding -‘unless it’s free. ‘ [emoji6]

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Because you said you don’t watch soccer just because of ‘your accident of birth’. I interpreted this as a negative

 

 

What I mean is that I don’t select what I enjoy just because of where I am from.

 

There is no reason why English people must like football, Americans must like Baseball etc.

 

When I say “accident of birth”, I don’t mean that it is in any way negative that I was born in England, just that I could easily have been born somewhere else, and if so I would probably be expected to like something different.

 

I like what I like, I don’t like other things. I’m not going to tell others that their choices are right or wrong, or to start bickering with others about it. It’s great that everyone is enjoying the football. It just passes me by totally.

 

I will say, though, that I do find blind patriotism particularly unpleasant. I am very proud to be British, but we have many, many problems and things not to be quite so proud of, as does any country. The ridiculous arguments like the one above are an example (on both sides) of this “my country is better than yours” argument which I find particularly objectionable.

 

 

 

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[CruisingNole]

Pretty sure most Aussies have passports. We love to travel. It actually astounded me when I just read the low percentage of US citizens with no passport. That means they don’t really travel anywhere - only their own country. [emoji33]

 

 

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That's because most Americans simply don't earn enough to travel out of the country and/or they receive such little paid time off, it is simply unfeasible. What seems to be the "usual" (at least here in Florida) is 2 weeks paid vacation for full-time professional employees. And by professionals I mean people that work indoors behind a computer and make over $30,000. If you work in a restaurant or any other service job, forget paid vacation, you're lucky to even have the ability to get away from work for a week at a time.

[fshagan]

IMO , NCL prices are similar to RC and Celebrity . A large % of Celebrity and NCL guests receive a drink package as a perk so for them seeing high drink prices is affirmative . Carnival's stable of brands has prices about 20% lower . Some like HAL have great happy hour deals . Finally all brands except Norwegian allow you to bring on a bottle of wine per adult , max 2 to a cabin at no charge . Plus the others allow you to bring on soda and water . Carnival sells water for a fraction of NCL and you can still bring on soda .

I'm sure some will disagree with all the above . TS :D

 

The wine policy varies a bit more than you have stated. Last time I checked these were the benefits of bringing wine on board the different lines:

 

Carnival: Can bring one bottle per person and pay a $15 corkage fee if consumed in any public area (bar, restaurant, etc.). Embarkation only.

Celebrity: Can bring two bottles and will pay a $25 corkage fee if consumed in any public area. Embarkation only.

Disney: Can bring two bottles of wine or 6 cans of beer per person and pay $25 corkage if consumed in dining room. Can bring on additional 2 bottles of wine or 6 beers at each port.

NCL: Can bring on unlimited bottles of wine and pay a $15 corkage on each one, no matter where consumed. Embarkation only.

Princess: Can bring one bottle per person. Pay $15 corkage fee if consumed in public area. Embarkation only.

RCL: Can bring two bottles per stateroom. Pay $15 corkage fee if consumed in public area. Embarkation only.

 

If you want to experience "local wines" on your balcony then Disney is the better choice. If you have a favorite wine and want to bring 7 bottles for your 7 day cruise, then NCL is your best option.

 

I think with all (except NCL) the corkage really applies only if you have a waiter or bartender serve it and store your bottle for you. If you pour in your cabin and then leave with the wine glass full I don't think there's any problem.

[CruisingNole]

Finally all brands except Norwegian allow you to bring on a bottle of wine per adult , max 2 to a cabin at no charge . Plus the others allow you to bring on soda and water . Carnival sells water for a fraction of NCL and you can still bring on soda .

I'm sure some will disagree with all the above . TS :D

 

Nothing to disagree with, you summed it up well.

[ElaineKeagy]

It is also fair to say that the USA offers an enourmous range of vacation destinations within her own borders, from tropical to Mediterranean to alpine. Canada not so much.

 

 

 

You don’t know much about Canada, do you??

 

 

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[richstowe]

The wine policy varies a bit more than you have stated. Last time I checked these were the benefits of bringing wine on board the different lines:

 

Carnival: Can bring one bottle per person and pay a $15 corkage fee if consumed in any public area (bar, restaurant, etc.). Embarkation only.

Celebrity: Can bring two bottles and will pay a $25 corkage fee if consumed in any public area. Embarkation only.

Disney: Can bring two bottles of wine or 6 cans of beer per person and pay $25 corkage if consumed in dining room. Can bring on additional 2 bottles of wine or 6 beers at each port.

NCL: Can bring on unlimited bottles of wine and pay a $15 corkage on each one, no matter where consumed. Embarkation only.

Princess: Can bring one bottle per person. Pay $15 corkage fee if consumed in public area. Embarkation only.

RCL: Can bring two bottles per stateroom. Pay $15 corkage fee if consumed in public area. Embarkation only.

 

If you want to experience "local wines" on your balcony then Disney is the better choice. If you have a favorite wine and want to bring 7 bottles for your 7 day cruise, then NCL is your best option.

 

I think with all (except NCL) the corkage really applies only if you have a waiter or bartender serve it and store your bottle for you. If you pour in your cabin and then leave with the wine glass full I don't think there's any problem.

I was trying to give the cliff notes version . (Does this still exist ? ) I will mention that " if consumed in public areas ", is generally taken to mean that they will charge you if you bring the entire bottle outside your cabin (but not always). If you fill up a big glass, you're OK to go .

[All-ready2cruise]

You don’t know much about Canada, do you??

 

 

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Elaine... shhhhh, we don't want to let our secrets out I love my country just the way it is :D;p

I live in wine country. :bottle-pop: For the first time ever my son had to find a back way to my home today b/c the traffic coming into our little town was so busy. It took him an extra 15 minutes to get here, horrors, lol. :D

[ElaineKeagy]

Elaine... shhhhh, we don't want to let our secrets out I love my country just the way it is :D;p

 

I live in wine country. :bottle-pop: For the first time ever my son had to find a back way to my home today b/c the traffic coming into our little town was so busy. It took him an extra 15 minutes to get here, horrors, lol. :D

 

 

 

oh......gotcha.

I’m an expat and have been living close to Charleston SC for 25 years. It’s one of most visited cities in the US. Whenever I can, l let people know that Charleston is horrible during the summer, crowded, hot, humid, overhyped, anything to discourage people from visiting here. Sshhhh.

 

 

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[Medtech2]

oh......gotcha.

I’m an expat and have been living close to Charleston SC for 25 years. It’s one of most visited cities in the US. Whenever I can, l let people know that Charleston is horrible during the summer, crowded, hot, humid, overhyped, anything to discourage people from visiting here. Sshhhh.

 

 

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And it floods when it rains from all the overdevelopment.

[Visigoth]

That's because most Americans simply don't earn enough to travel out of the country and/or they receive such little paid time off, it is simply unfeasible. What seems to be the "usual" (at least here in Florida) is 2 weeks paid vacation for full-time professional employees. And by professionals I mean people that work indoors behind a computer and make over $30,000. If you work in a restaurant or any other service job, forget paid vacation, you're lucky to even have the ability to get away from work for a week at a time.

 

 

In 2016, 24.7 million cruise passengers sailed the seas. Of these passengers nearly half (11.4 million) were US citizens. Germany was second with 2.1 million followed by China at 2.1 million, the UK with 1.9 million, and Australia with 1.3 million. Canada and Italy each had .75 million.

[CruisingNole]

In 2016, 24.7 million cruise passengers sailed the seas. Of these passengers nearly half (11.4 million) were US citizens. Germany was second with 2.1 million followed by China at 2.1 million, the UK with 1.9 million, and Australia with 1.3 million. Canada and Italy each had .75 million.

 

I'm not an international cruise expert, but do the countries you named (America excluded) have dozens of ports with sailings that depart from each on a daily basis, with many of them within driving distance and/or accessible by a few hour flight to all citizens?

[Visigoth]

I do not have that answer off the top of my head but I would assume countries with fewer cruisers would have fewer ports.

[fshagan]

In 2016, 24.7 million cruise passengers sailed the seas. Of these passengers nearly half (11.4 million) were US citizens. Germany was second with 2.1 million followed by China at 2.1 million, the UK with 1.9 million, and Australia with 1.3 million. Canada and Italy each had .75 million.

 

Plenty of Americans travel. However, Americans also tended to gather "things" instead of "experiences". Car first, then home, then family, then other stuff, then travel is the typical American experience for those over 35. We had the typical 2 to 4 weeks of vacation time.

 

The young American people I work with are the exact opposite. Many of them don't have cars (about 50%). But they have been all over the world. There's about 100 of them under 30 where I work, They work as hard as we did, but because they have unlimited paid time off, they travel several times a year to different countries. Because they don't have many encumbrances when Iceland Air has a super cheap sale for the next weekend to Iceland, they figure out how to cover at work and a group of them hop on the plane.

 

So it's changing, and the average American will be more like the average traveler in the world.

[Toofarfromthesea]

You don’t know much about Canada, do you??

 

 

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You don't know much about the US, do you, if you think there are anything like the number of vacation destinations in Canada as the US. And even more so for Aussies. The US hospitality industry has roughly 16 million employees. That is about 45% of Canada's total population and 67% of Australia's.

 

Canada and Australia are wonderful places but that has nothing to do with number and diversity of vacation destinations.

[GUT2407]

In 2016, 24.7 million cruise passengers sailed the seas. Of these passengers nearly half (11.4 million) were US citizens. Germany was second with 2.1 million followed by China at 2.1 million, the UK with 1.9 million, and Australia with 1.3 million. Canada and Italy each had .75 million.

I wonder what the sailing days would be for each country.

 

Ie the 11m Americans probably did about 7 days each avg

 

The million and a bit Aussies probably avg about double that

[KeithJenner]

I'm not an international cruise expert, but do the countries you named (America excluded) have dozens of ports with sailings that depart from each on a daily basis, with many of them within driving distance and/or accessible by a few hour flight to all citizens?

 

This is certainly a factor.

 

Also, we need to look further than the base numbers. As a percentage of population, looking at the countries quoted above, this is what we get (based on total population taken from Wikipedia):

 

Australia 5.4%

US 3.5%

UK 2.9%

Germany 2.6%

Canada 2.0%

Italy 1.2%

China 0.1%

 

Then factor in other things. As you correctly say, the US has a lot of home ports, Many of these ports offer itineraries where no passports are required.

 

The fact that the UK is higher that Germany doesn't necessarily suggest that we are more adventurious travellers. A factor will be that we have a very busy cruise port (Southampton), with cruises to the Med, Baltics, Norway, Transatlantic, Caribbean etc, whereas the options from the German ports are rather more limited. Also, when we want to go abroad we have to either fly, take a train or a boat. Germans can just get in their car and drive to many countries, many of those not requiring difficult border crossings.

 

I get the impression that Australians generally travel more than most other nationalities, for a variety of reasons.

 

The one that stands out a little to me is that Italy is fairly low, considering it has a couple of good embarkation ports, although Italians also share the ease of movement that Germans enjoy. Also, the ports that are usually visited from them are ones that are often relatively cheap and easy too visit by land/air from Italy. The same could be said for Spain (which Barcelona embarkation usually to Med destinations of the Canaries).

 

Basically, there are too many factors to take into account for the numbers really to tell us much.