One more question

[dandelpino]

3 hours ago, jbcallender said:

All because the pricing comparisons for the plain vanilla rate is so transparent and intense that you have to have all the addon pricing to be profitable.

 

You're not wrong in anything you said. Though I do find it funny that in other markets NCL does advertise "all in" rates. If you try to book a trip on the NCL UK website you see that all the Free at Sea offers are fully baked into the advertised rate. No extras tacked on for gratuities, etc. And thanks to today's forex rates the total price to a UK customer ends up being less than for a US customer. 

[CaptainBazz]

Well I guess I am in the "I don't believe NCL nickels and dimes you" group. Sailed on 15+ NCL cruises...have never been surprised at any charges...was never charged for anything that I didn't expect to get charged for. Just off the Bliss on an Alaska cruise...I had FAS drink and dining perks...my gratuities were included and I had a $100 shareholder obc. Ate extra cost food...drank extra cost drinks...bought duty free...and my bill at the end was $6.04. Taxes on drinks was minimal. Know what the extras are and you will never be caught out.

[MoCruiseFan]

10 hours ago, pudd1educky said:

Hello there! I am new to cruising and have just booked my first cruise, solo on Bliss

Trying to absorb as much info as I can from these boards and they are all very helpful. From reading the posts above, am I right in thinking that if I decide to stay on board while in port, although I have the drinks package I will need to pay taxes on the "inclusive" drinks?

Sorry if I am being dense ...

Whether you have the FAS drink package or not you will pay the small amount of local tax on drinks within the port and/or territorial waters of the port.  It is nothing to get bent out of shape over as you are talking pennies per drink.

[MoCruiseFan]

6 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I don't have to. You quoted the lie in your post. See the big photo with lots of ocean blue in it. 

 

There was no lie in that post as I pointed out in my reply.  There was an assumption on the port of the person who made the port I replied to.  The drink package itself is absolutely 100% free.  If you would make you feel better to pay full price for it, you can simply turn down the free offer and pay.  Either way, the barkeep deserves to be tipped.

[MoCruiseFan]

5 hours ago, dandelpino said:

 

I take issues with NCL's use of the term "free" when additional charges are incurred in order to receive the "free" items. According to google, free is defined as "without cost or payment". With NCL the large print says "free" but the fine print says there's a payment due to get the supposedly "free" amenity. 

 

"FREE UNLIMITED OPEN BAR" - you must pay $20/person/day to get it

 

"FREE SPECIALTY DINING" - must pay $10/person/restaurant to get it

 

"FREE 3RD & 4TH GUESTS" - must pay port taxes and fees

 

Are these costs for these amenities a bad deal? No. But they certainly are not "free" either. To me, free means free. If you have to pay extra to get something for "free" then that thing wasn't actually free. Thus, I consider it a contradiction.

By your standards it would be a lie for a lottery to advertise that the jackpot amount is (lets say) $100,000,000 since you will more than likely have a tax liability of around 35% or 35,000,000 and thus "only" get $65,000,000 payment. Did the lottery lie and misrepresent what the prize is?  They do not even disclose the tax implications anywhere.

Paying the gratuities does not at all mean that the underlying package is not free.  They are in fact 100% free.  You are not paying the price of the package.  This is exactly what they say, the package is free.  As far as the 'sail fee' offer goes,  the Port fees and taxes are not an NCL charge, they are charged by the port.  What something means "to you" is not the question.  The fact is that you do not pay the cost of the free items at all.  The package is normally several hundred dollars, you pay $0 for the package, the same with the dining.  The port fees and taxes as I mentioned are not an NCL charge.  The cruise fare is indeed $0 (or $99 per person for that offer).  All of what we are discussing is fully disclosed, noting at all is hidden.  Bottom line is there is no "lie", "deception", or "misrepresentation:" going on at all.  I hope you have a great cruise and enjoy your free drinks!

[MoCruiseFan]

6 hours ago, 2 Fun Guys said:

Isn't it amazing how many consumers continue to give companies that they know are lying to them thousands of dollars anyway? How do these consumers sleep at night?

 

I do not know of any company that has lied to me even once.

[KeithJenner]

2 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Whether you have the FAS drink package or not you will pay the small amount of local tax on drinks within the port and/or territorial waters of the port.  It is nothing to get bent out of shape over as you are talking pennies per drink.

You won’t necessarily pay any local tax. It depends on the port.

[BenDover]

Nickel & Dime - Yes!
Surprise Charges - No

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

As y'all know, I'll be the first to call NCL out when they are being truly misleading in their marketing. When they do a good job, I'll also be the second or third to say, "nice job NCL!" 

 

While the front page of NCL's website is still showing free, free, free...the button to "Learn More" is actually helpful! It's really useful and lays out easily to read disclaimers on Free at Sea and Free at Sea Plus options. 

 

Credit to NCL for being not quite so misleading now!