NCL - Drink Package

[BoozinCroozin]

23 minutes ago, hallux said:

A little research goes a long way.  Found this just by browsing the NCL page.  Info on the packages should also be included in the promo details. https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages  The info on the not included items is in the fine print at the bottom of the PDF.

Reread that fine print. I did before I posted to be sure I was correct. The drink package part of the 30% + Free offers does not include bottled water, energy drinks, specialty coffees, etc. You have to jump up the Premium Plus which is about $250pp. No way in the world would I pay that much. 

 

I am still glad I caught this because it is a big "gotcha" on cost of the cruise. 

[hallux]

2 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Reread that fine print. I did before I posted to be sure I was correct. The drink package part of the 30% + Free offers does not include bottled water, energy drinks, specialty coffees, etc. You have to jump up the Premium Plus which is about $250pp. No way in the world would I pay that much. 

I know.  I was pointing out that the details are given when looking at the details on the different packages.

 

I don't drink alcohol, and drink primarily water.  I either grab a glass from a bar or fill my quart-size bottle in the sink in my room to carry around with me.

[Named-Tawny]

9 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Reread that fine print. I did before I posted to be sure I was correct. The drink package part of the 30% + Free offers does not include bottled water, energy drinks, specialty coffees, etc. You have to jump up the Premium Plus which is about $250pp. No way in the world would I pay that much. 

 

I am still glad I caught this because it is a big "gotcha" on cost of the cruise. 

How is it a 'gotcha'?  It's an alcohol package.  Water isn't alcoholic (except maybe in Russia)

[BoozinCroozin]

2 hours ago, Named-Tawny said:

How is it a 'gotcha'?  It's an alcohol package.  Water isn't alcoholic (except maybe in Russia)

Every other line has water, energy drinks, and things as part of the drink package. If it wasn't a gotcha, they would put it in big bold letters at the top instead of microscopic text at the bottom. It is enough of a gotcha that we took NCL off our list of possible cruises because we don't want to be guessing at what is and is not included.

[KeithJenner]

14 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

The cheapest Mini-Suite is $2,800. So you're talking about double the price for a Haven suite. Again, many people can't afford $6,000 for 1 week.

It’s not just whether you can afford it, but also whether you think it is worth the extra price.

 

Many people could easily afford it but don’t think it represents anything like value.

[hallux]

4 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Every other line has water, energy drinks, and things as part of the drink package.

So, you admit to assuming it was included before reading the information and doing due diligence to research?

4 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

It is enough of a gotcha that we took NCL off our list of possible cruises because we don't want to be guessing at what is and is not included.

No need to guess.  As you pointed out to me (which I already knew as I was pointing it out to you) -  It's right on the PDF you can access from website related to the package, you just have to read everything...

[farmersfight]

7 hours ago, Named-Tawny said:

Water isn't alcoholic (except maybe in Russia)

 

[BoozinCroozin]

1 hour ago, hallux said:

So, you admit to assuming it was included before reading the information and doing due diligence to research?

No need to guess.  As you pointed out to me (which I already knew as I was pointing it out to you) -  It's right on the PDF you can access from website related to the package, you just have to read everything...

I admit to extremely deceptive practices from the cruise line. I will simply choose not to cruise with them because of all of the nickel and diming. I am just glad I caught it before spending $1,000s only to be left spending another $1,000+ unexpectedly!!!

 

1. Premium Beverage Package: excludes bottled water, energy drinks, etc.
2. 30% Off + 5 Free Offers: Only they are not free to begin with. We charge a higher rate than what you would pay, so it is not FREE. The 30% is always there, and we deceptively add gratuity but that is not the cabin gratuity.

[HuliHuli]

7 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

It is enough of a gotcha that we took NCL off our list of possible cruises because we don't want to be guessing at what is and is not included.

So are you following an NCL forum to see what you are missing by not sailing Norwegian?

[BoozinCroozin]

I came here because I was considering a cruise out of New Orleans on NCL Breakaway. In the short time, I did find that the cost of my cruise would be at least $1,000 above what I had believed it would have been. That changes a lot of my thinking about NCL on all of the "other" things that I would feel are part of the cruise and not. That could add up to another $1,000 of unexpected. 

 

I am not bashing NCL. It is just my opinion that pricing should be upfront, not microscopic, and stop lying about "30% off" and "free".

[jbcallender]

For water, get a thermal bottle, ice and tap water. The tap water is highly filtered and as good as a plastic bottle.

 

[DaCruiseBug]

The issue here is that you have a "premium" beverage package that doesn't even include bottled water.

 

Imagine buying a brand new car and then getting the keys and seeing that it doesn't come with tires. It just doesn't make any sense.

 

The only reason this practice exists is so NCL can pocket more money. No other cruise line excludes bottled water from their beverage package (that i'm aware of) and no other cruise lines charges as much as NCL does for a beverage package ($99 per day) of which you have to pay $20 per day in "service fee" which goes to NCL...not directly to the workers.

 

We can add other dubious practices NCL does such as inflating the "port taxes" at Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Cay and the list goes on and on...

[hallux]

1 hour ago, jbcallender said:

For water, get a thermal bottle, ice and tap water. The tap water is highly filtered and as good as a plastic bottle.

 

Yeah, I suggested similar earlier in the thread and was met with comments on pointing to a CDC VSP report that it may not be so great.  I called out that said report on one of the ships had zero items related to the actual drinking water and that poster ignored it...

[Named-Tawny]

17 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Every other line has water, energy drinks, and things as part of the drink package. If it wasn't a gotcha, they would put it in big bold letters at the top instead of microscopic text at the bottom. It is enough of a gotcha that we took NCL off our list of possible cruises because we don't want to be guessing at what is and is not included.

I mean, if you say so.  On the headline page (before you click into it for more details) it reads "

Premium Beverage Package (formerly known as Ultimate Beverage Package)

$99 USD per person per day. Includes all cocktails, spirits, beer and glasses of wine, pop and juices."

That doesn't really seem deceptive to me, let alone a 'gotcha'.  It's pretty clear what it includes.

[complawyer]

i really dont understand the problem. when you log onto your reservation, you can order a case of bottled water directly to your cabin, at what i feel is a reasonable price

 

check it out

[DaCruiseBug]

3 hours ago, Named-Tawny said:

I mean, if you say so.  On the headline page (before you click into it for more details) it reads "

Premium Beverage Package (formerly known as Ultimate Beverage Package)

$99 USD per person per day. Includes all cocktails, spirits, beer and glasses of wine, pop and juices."

That doesn't really seem deceptive to me, let alone a 'gotcha'.  It's pretty clear what it includes.

 

Well if you want to just look at that when something reads "all" it also doesn't really mean "all". There's a limit of $15 per drink (inflated NCL prices).

[Named-Tawny]

15 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Well if you want to just look at that when something reads "all" it also doesn't really mean "all". There's a limit of $15 per drink (inflated NCL prices).

Yup, you need to actually click on the link to get those details (which you need to do to buy it anyways).  So yes, there might be a case to be made that they're only giving incomplete details in their hyperlink headline.

But it's pretty upfront that water isn't part of the package.

[mtrancher]

37 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i really dont understand the problem. when you log onto your reservation, you can order a case of bottled water directly to your cabin, at what i feel is a reasonable price

 

check it out

I agree; a 24 liters for $50; and you don't even have to sign up for the drink package.

 

In addition most cruise ship tap water is akin to what you get in many bottled water products; reverse osmosis filtered. 

 

 

[DaCruiseBug]

38 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

I agree; a 24 liters for $50; and you don't even have to sign up for the drink package.

 

In addition most cruise ship tap water is akin to what you get in many bottled water products; reverse osmosis filtered. 

 

 

The point is that every other drink package i've ever seen includes bottled water. And usually it's cheaper than NCL and if included in your fare they also don't charge you the service fee.

 

So you have a product that's called "premium" but it's not premium in the items it includes...its only premium as in you have to pay a premium just to get it and another premium to get bottled water.

[mtrancher]

49 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

The point is that every other drink package i've ever seen includes bottled water. And usually it's cheaper than NCL and if included in your fare they also don't charge you the service fee.

 

So you have a product that's called "premium" but it's not premium in the items it includes...its only premium as in you have to pay a premium just to get it and another premium to get bottled water.

Perhaps it's called Premium because you can get two drinks at a time versus the one drink at a time on other cruise lines. Or, maybe it's because there is no limit to the number of drinks you can get versus some other cruise line limits. Maybe it's called Premium because that's what they chose to call it and nothing more. The point is they get to call it what they call it and you can buy it, not buy it, cruise with them, don't cruise with them. But in the end having a fit what a cruise line names their drink packages seems a little childish.