Not Happy with Liquor Up Charges

[RickinNYC]

I usually disagree with "nickle and dime" comments, but on this new beverage issue, I have to agree.  It's clearly a money grab.  Be that as it may, I'll still sail NCL, still get the UBP whether its included or not, hence I'll still stick to our February, 2020 Bliss reservations in the Haven.  It is what it is; I'll just grin and bear it.

[purpleally]

1 hour ago, Amos322 said:

Also first time NCL - premium plus package says you can get bottles of wine for 40% off -- does anyone know if this is covers their entire wine menu?  Tried calling NCL to find out and they just gave me the run around . We are big Veuve fans and trying to figure out if it worth purchasing a case or 2 in Miami & paying the $15 per bottle fee...

I really appreciate any input!

THANKS!

I read select wine bottles. Unfortunately it also said not champagne. Bummer. I’d be all over that Veuve!

[kfnesq]

39 minutes ago, purpleally said:

I read select wine bottles. Unfortunately it also said not champagne. Bummer. I’d be all over that Veuve!

 While I'm not surprised, where did you see that champagne exclusion? I am certainly interested to know what the "select" wine are that are included by the bottle AND if there are any exclusions for the 40% off bottles as well....

[dexddd]

On 1/25/2019 at 7:18 AM, vicnsue said:

Know that’s sad, but really after the second one can you taste anything, or walk for that matter. 🤪

Actually the premixed ones were super weak.

[purpleally]

25 minutes ago, kfnesq said:

 While I'm not surprised, where did you see that champagne exclusion? I am certainly interested to know what the "select" wine are that are included by the bottle AND if there are any exclusions for the 40% off bottles as well....

Think it may have been someone posting the first couple pages of this thread. Nothing official for sure

[purpleally]

2 hours ago, 300dtc said:

There s a live from the Dawn review currently underway, this is a link to day 2 of the schedule. Lower left side has the details of the new and improved (scarcasm) premium beverage package...hope this works...

Well, sort of, its post 49

It was just a tiny blip. Didn’t even mention specialty coffees nor water

[Apsalar]

7 hours ago, KateQ22003 said:

I absolutely agree with this. Haven guests have spent a small fortune for their cabins. In my opinion, there should be no other charges other than tips. Thermal spa, shows, bottles of water, etc. should all be included. It is an insult to nickel and dime them on top of the rate that they pay.

Then this forum would be full of Haven guests complaining that they book the Haven to get the butler/concierge/whatever and don't appreciate having to pay so much extra for the unlimited champagne and spa access which they don't use. 

[mwolever]

23 hours ago, vicnsue said:

My wife and I are taking a TA in April, our first NCL cruise in nine years. Many other cruises , just not NCL. 

I was just coming to terms with Pepsi not Coke, Jack and Pepsi is nasty, now this money grab. We thought we could live with the price increase, not happy but we think we can make it work.

 Until we started thinking about wine with dinner, if we can’t get a decent wine without paying the up charge I am confident this will be our last NCL cruise.

Agreed!

[jordan9900]

3 hours ago, Gampy1967 said:

I am to tempted to request the form to lower my DSC by the extra cost the increased drink charges cost me over and above the UBP.  If my drink of choice was previously under the $15 level and now it is over, I will simply deduct the total overages from my DSC.  That way NCL does not get extra cash out of me that they had no right to because they increased the cost of the cruise after I booked it and paid in full.

Not sure this is an option if it is why wouldn't everyone do it?

[Gampy1967]

2 minutes ago, jordan9900 said:

Not sure this is an option if it is why wouldn't everyone do it?

 It is an option.  Just a pain in the rear end.  Not I, but some people reverse the entire DSC all of the time, and then supposedly tip in cash.  You apparently get your refunded DSC back after the cruise.

[newmexicoNita]

6 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

don't like the new pricing and think other lines have better deals, don't cruise NCL. It is as simple as that. And btw, I don't think adding perks had anything to do with needing to just to fill the ships. We all make choices in life. No one is forcing anyone to cruise a particular line. Who knows, maybe if they start losing business they will find a way to compensate for the price increase in the over the top booze prices. 

Was not referring to you directly, only to complainers in general. Sorry for the misunderstanding. 

[jblackler]

Not that I agree with over pricing drinks but how many of you drink the cheaper brands at home because you pay . For example if I were to drink vodka at home it would be Smirnoff or  Kirkland brand , so im not that upset that Grey Goose is pass the $15 limit . sure I may have ordered it if it wasn't but ill get over it .

[jordan9900]

A lot of us do drink better brands at home. It's kind of like NCL including instant coffee and surcharging brewed coffee that used to be included without a charge. 

[eldrima]

I'll adapt what I consume based on the changes and will still enjoy the UBP.  That being said, the UBP doesn't have the same perceived value it once did when my options are much more limited.  I tend to be a beer drinker (micros, IPAs, etc) and wine with dinner and cocktails are less frequent unless I'm at an all-inclusive resort or open bar party and then I prefer Grey Goose, Hendrics, etc.  Hopefully the District Brewpub prices haven't escalated to ridiculous upcharge levels for their brews.

 

When I think about the DSC paid for the UBP, what drinks are offered, and my alternatives (pay for individual drinks, use the casino drink card provided by CAS instead of choosing the UBP and replacing it with a different perk, sailing on another cruise line, etc) the NCL value proposition is nowhere near as appealing as it once was.  I realize it has been in constant decline however this change is pretty significant for someone enjoys some premium cocktails while on vacation.

 

While I am not a regular Haven guest, I think it is foolish for them to charge Haven guests an upcharge on the more premium brands...I certainly think they should provide a complimentary Premium beverage package to anyone who pays retail rates for a Haven room (not necessarily for guests who bid and upgrade to Haven).

[luv2kroooz]

4 hours ago, Gampy1967 said:

I am to tempted to request the form to lower my DSC by the extra cost the increased drink charges cost me over and above the UBP.  If my drink of choice was previously under the $15 level and now it is over, I will simply deduct the total overages from my DSC.  That way NCL does not get extra cash out of me that they had no right to because they increased the cost of the cruise after I booked it and paid in full.

Don't be tempted. If you feel strongly about it, do it. A good chunk of the DSC likely goes to NCL to pay for employee expenses that NCL should  be paying anyway (crew expenses, uniforms,  crew parties, crew travel, etc.)

 

I reduced DSC when they cut the shareholder benefit in half after 10+ cruises without warning just because I found a good solo rate. It was a 14 day cruise and they had plenty of time to make it right onboard before I did that, but of course, they refused to move from their cheap $50. I also charged back the small upcharge for my platinum meals on Pearl. I explained respectfully why I was doing this and they had no problem handling the charge back onboard. I figured nickel and diming can work both ways. 

 

I just used up my last cruisenext certificate for October 2019 and then I can truly say I am finished with NCL for a while. I am not sailing solo on this cruise, so should receive the full credit and pay the full DSC or more as I have done for many cruises.

Edited January 28, 2019 by blcruising

[RickinNYC]

43 minutes ago, jblackler said:

Not that I agree with over pricing drinks but how many of you drink the cheaper brands at home because you pay . For example if I were to drink vodka at home it would be Smirnoff or  Kirkland brand , so im not that upset that Grey Goose is pass the $15 limit . sure I may have ordered it if it wasn't but ill get over it .

 Depends entirely on what I order.  If an old school martini, I like them super dry, so I'll order a top shelf, better tasting vodka or gin.  If I'm going to mix, I see no point in that, so I'll order a lower level brand, i.e. Stoli or Absolut.  

Edited January 28, 2019 by RickinNYC

[KateQ22003]

1 hour ago, Apsalar said:

Then this forum would be full of Haven guests complaining that they book the Haven to get the butler/concierge/whatever and don't appreciate having to pay so much extra for the unlimited champagne and spa access which they don't use. 

At the price of haven rooms, they shouldn't have to pay any more than they already are.

 

[Aesop081]

11 minutes ago, KateQ22003 said:

At the price of haven rooms, they shouldn't have to pay any more than they already are.

 

Agree,  as a bucket list expense we're doing a Haven booking this spring.  Not a realistically feasible thing ever again as I work a real job, have kids, one in college, and not a job that pays so much that I can afford this a second time.  It was a long time planning and saving, and from what I've been following it's becoming less and less "exclusive luxury ship in a ship".   I still plan to enjoy and live large but each time they do something like this it really takes away from the special feel I was hoping for. 

[SNJCruisers]

11 minutes ago, Aesop081 said:

Agree,  as a bucket list expense we're doing a Haven booking this spring.  Not a realistically feasible thing ever again......

Research the MSC Yacht Club.  An affordable alternative to the ship within a ship concept with suites, balconies and insides.  And they include their top tier drinks package.

[Kmkub]

We sail Jade on Friday. Based on menu pics in the OP, I only see an impact to my Courvoisier, which I probably will skip this trip. It's dirty pool to do this to people who already had a reservation in effect with the old understanding.

 

As others have said, somewhere in the agreement we signed, they can do this at anytime.

 

We will see for ourselves if there is other impact, before signing up for FCC.

 

 

[AtlantaAlly]

2 hours ago, jblackler said:

Not that I agree with over pricing drinks but how many of you drink the cheaper brands at home because you pay . For example if I were to drink vodka at home it would be Smirnoff or  Kirkland brand , so im not that upset that Grey Goose is pass the $15 limit . sure I may have ordered it if it wasn't but ill get over it .

For me, I only drink Grey Goose at home, I don't drink other vodka. I can tell the difference. The same is true for the brown liquors my husband and I enjoy. In college, sure we drank Jack & Coke. Now we regularly enjoy Woodford, Macallan, and 1792. We don't buy lower brand/non-premium liquor. If I wanted lower level, I would have booked a stay at a Cancun all inclusive for 1/5 the cost.

[gmbhardy]

1 hour ago, Aesop081 said:

Agree,  as a bucket list expense we're doing a Haven booking this spring.  Not a realistically feasible thing ever again as I work a real job, have kids, one in college, and not a job that pays so much that I can afford this a second time.  It was a long time planning and saving, and from what I've been following it's becoming less and less "exclusive luxury ship in a ship".   I still plan to enjoy and live large but each time they do something like this it really takes away from the special feel I was hoping for. 

 

That’s exactly right on. Having the ability to order semi premium alcohol made a cruise feel special. I will be staying in the Haven in a few weeks and will bight the bullet to order my favorite drink (with the upchrage). All I can say is that it better be a real good pour, otherwise I will be even more incensed. It won’t ruin my cruise, it just cheapens it.

[gmbhardy]

6 minutes ago, AtlantaAlly said:

For me, I only drink Grey Goose at home, I don't drink other vodka. I can tell the difference. The same is true for the brown liquors my husband and I enjoy. In college, sure we drank Jack & Coke. Now we regularly enjoy Woodford, Macallan, and 1792. We don't buy lower brand/non-premium liquor. If I wanted lower level, I would have booked a stay at a Cancun all inclusive for 1/5 the cost.

 

Exactly!

[Aesop081]

3 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Research the MSC Yacht Club.  An affordable alternative to the ship within a ship concept with suites, balconies and insides.  And they include their top tier drinks package.

Strange you should mention that.  Was doing that research the other day after reading other comments on this post.  Seems to be about 60% of the cost for the same to better perks.  I have no knowledge of MSC and have been reading their posts on CC.  Seems like no one is ever happy...lol.

 

[ready2cruzagain]

24 minutes ago, Aesop081 said:

Strange you should mention that.  Was doing that research the other day after reading other comments on this post.  Seems to be about 60% of the cost for the same to better perks.  I have no knowledge of MSC and have been reading their posts on CC.  Seems like no one is ever happy...lol.

 

 

We love NCL but just did a 32 day cruise on MSC Divina and it was our favorite cruise out of 41.  It is different but lately with NCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity  different was better. The crew was awesome.  Yes there were road bumps but show me a cruise that is perfect.  I have 3 cruise next certificates and will probably be selling them.

 

Oh and we have 21 days on the MSC Seaside booked also.  I can't wait.

Edited January 29, 2019 by ready2cruzagain