No More Mixed Shots!

[SeaShark]

1 hour ago, id10t said:

I don’t understand the hate and calling me a liar. I am happy it is not all ships but it has been some with no explanation.  This will be my last reply to you SeaShark.  

Once again happy it is just select cruises, still does not change my experience nor others in this post.

 

Hate? What hate? Please quote and reference specific examples. Disagreement is not "hate".

 

Additionally, the word "liar" has only been used twice in this thread...never by me. Care to walk that back? I rely on Sr Management with NCL that have plainly refuted your report. As did others here. 

 

BTW, the mere fact that it "is just select cruises" certainly does change your experience...which was to say this was a new NCL corporate policy. 

[cruiseinfoseeker]

6 hours ago, Juncti said:

.. so at least on Breakaway, there's no separate pricing menu for Haven. Not sure why there would be. From a business perspective these are your richest customers on average (not counting the people who bid in) so I doubt you'd drop prices in that area. If anything I'm surprised they didn't offer even more upcharges beyond plus tier options. . .

 

 

@mtrancher may have seen a menu that is floating around social media that is from the Haven that appears to have low pricing on it. What it actually is is a menu that is listing what the upcharge is for those particular drinks. So the 8 or whatever would be what the regular drink package would pay but nothing for the p+.

 

Maybe they assume (oddly though because anyone can opt out of it) that everyone has at minimum the basic package. 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

11 hours ago, id10t said:

Thanks SeaShark.  Guess I am just made it up for attention then.  🙄

You didn't make it up.  You just decided to cruise on one of the older ships in the fleet and got stuck with a rookie bartender.

We were on the Prima for 11 nights from 10/31-11/10 and enjoyed too many layered shots on a daily basis at Vibe. Will enjoy them again for 14 days in February and March.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

B52

Grand Marnier is only available in the Plus package.

[reeinaz]

Just now, CruizinSusan70 said:

Grand Marnier is only available in the Plus package.

I got grand Marnier floaters in almost all of my frozen drinks on my Prima cruise. I didn’t have the Plus package. I don’t know where floaters fall within the amount of liquor category. Would that have made a difference? is it like just a dab or something so it doesn’t really count?

[reeinaz]

9 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

You didn't make it up.  You just decided to cruise on one of the older ships in the fleet and got stuck with a rookie bartender.

We were on the Prima for 11 nights from 10/31-11/10 and enjoyed too many layered shots on a daily basis at Vibe. Will enjoy them again for 14 days in February and March.

But I was told the same thing by bartenders who weren’t rookies, also on ships that were not old.  So something was going on. What it was? Is it continuing? That’s the mystery. 

[mtrancher]

46 minutes ago, cruiseinfoseeker said:

@mtrancher may have seen a menu that is floating around social media that is from the Haven that appears to have low pricing on it. What it actually is is a menu that is listing what the upcharge is for those particular drinks. So the 8 or whatever would be what the regular drink package would pay but nothing for the p+.

 

Maybe they assume (oddly though because anyone can opt out of it) that everyone has at minimum the basic package. 

 

You know, when I 1st read this, it made sense. Now that I've thought about it I can't reconcile that at the non haven bars it's priced at $16 and so that would mean the Haven was up charging and additional $7. @Juncti said in an earlier post in this thread they didn't think the Haven would discount the drink prices and in fact would possibly up-charge over other ship bars. Again, I think I'll have to disagree, respectfully. After all the Haven delivers a higher cruise experience, albeit at a steep up-charge. So selling Crown at $8.00 rather than $16 gives those who want it the price withing the premium package. For those without a package it makes it very affordable.

 

All this said I have been unable to re-locate the menu to which I referenced. I have seen a couple which do so Crown in the premium package in the Haven. They claim to be 2022 menus, but mistakes can be made.

 

So, like sthngary, I plan to make this a quest on my next cruise in February. It won't be the same as individual shots at several bars is not the same as getting a bar menu and ordering Crown Royal to see the price, but what the heck.... start slow.

[reeinaz]

3 hours ago, id10t said:

I don’t understand the hate and calling me a liar. I am happy it is not all ships but it has been some with no explanation.  This will be my last reply to you SeaShark.  

Once again happy it is just select cruises, still does not change my experience nor others in this post.

I thought my experiences would have somewhat corroborated what you said. 🤷🏾‍♀️. I get that people have had different experiences. I even had different experiences. But I know for a fact that I was told on 2 different ships by experienced bartenders that they can’t make shot cocktails. 

[CruizinSusan70]

15 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

I got grand Marnier floaters in almost all of my frozen drinks on my Prima cruise. I didn’t have the Plus package. I don’t know where floaters fall within the amount of liquor category. Would that have made a difference? is it like just a dab or something so it doesn’t really count?

Possibly, all I know is I read that Grand Marnier just like Bailey's was part of the Plus package and I think the upcharge with the Grand Marnier was more than a buck but I could be mistaken.

[cruiseinfoseeker]

5 hours ago, mtrancher said:

You know, when I 1st read this, it made sense. Now that I've thought about it I can't reconcile that at the non haven bars it's priced at $16 and so that would mean the Haven was up charging and additional $7. @Juncti said in an earlier post in this thread they didn't think the Haven would discount the drink prices and in fact would possibly up-charge over other ship bars. Again, I think I'll have to disagree, respectfully. After all the Haven delivers a higher cruise experience, albeit at a steep up-charge. So selling Crown at $8.00 rather than $16 gives those who want it the price withing the premium package. For those without a package it makes it very affordable.

 

All this said I have been unable to re-locate the menu to which I referenced. I have seen a couple which do so Crown in the premium package in the Haven. They claim to be 2022 menus, but mistakes can be made.

 

So, like sthngary, I plan to make this a quest on my next cruise in February. It won't be the same as individual shots at several bars is not the same as getting a bar menu and ordering Crown Royal to see the price, but what the heck.... start slow.

 

This is the menu that I have seen online in a few spots that is one of a few pages of a Haven bar menu. It is outdated as the crown is listed within the regular package offerings on the previous page. Maybe you saw another sailings version of this, and maybe not. But I have not ever seen different pricing in Haven bar vs. other bars. 

The availability and pricing seems to jump around from sailing to sailing (in fact at Bar 21 on getaway this past week a menu at the far end showed the pyrat xo reserve rum as $23 and when I walked over to the other side of the bar another menu listed it at $17. I said as much to the bartender who didn't seem to care all that much. 

They are printing drink menus often from sailing to sailing to account for what they have stocked. The pyrat xo isn't in any section of the menu taken from the site of the one below, but pyrat cask is and that wasn't on any menus last week. 

 

 

 

[PATRLR]

7 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Grand Marnier is only available in the Plus package.

Of course.  smh.

[ace2542]

On 11/21/2022 at 2:50 PM, id10t said:

Currently on NCL Pearl.  They are no longer allowed to give out mixed shot per corporate.  No more mini beers, alien brain hemorrhage, lemon drops, and so on.  Disappointed.

They will go through bottles very quickly to be fair. We had brain hemorrhage or which one is baileys and blue curaco back in 2019 on the Pearl in bliss and they went through 1 bottle each of whatever they use to make it in like 5 minutes. There was like 10 of us but they still went through the bottles quick.

[ace2542]

9 hours ago, reeinaz said:

I thought my experiences would have somewhat corroborated what you said. 🤷🏾‍♀️. I get that people have had different experiences. I even had different experiences. But I know for a fact that I was told on 2 different ships by experienced bartenders that they can’t make shot cocktails. 

Perhaps the ships are now no longer carrying enough bottles to be hit hard like that? I suspect they don't want to raid the duty free stocks if they can avoid it?

Edited November 30, 2022 by ace2542

[reeinaz]

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

Perhaps the ships are now no longer carrying enough bottles to be hit hard like that? I suspect they don't want to raid the duty free stocks if they can avoid it?

That would make sense to me except that I could get a full sized cocktail of the same drink. Just not as a shot. I don't claim to know the reasoning behind it, only sharing my experiences as data points in the conversation.

[graphicguy]

10 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Possibly, all I know is I read that Grand Marnier just like Bailey's was part of the Plus package and I think the upcharge with the Grand Marnier was more than a buck but I could be mistaken.

This, more than anything, would explain not being able to get layered shots with Bailey's and Grand Marnier as components.

 

I'm not a fan of either.  So, the shots they made for me had "Irish Cream", so not sure the brand.  But, I had shots.  So, brand really didn't matter.

 

As with most things, if you're ready to pay to get "EXACTLY" the liquor brand you want, they can probably make that happen.  LOL!

[CruizinSusan70]

5 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Of course.  smh.

Why are you shaking your head.  It's a fact that Grand Marnier is part of the plus package and is not covered in the regular drink package like it was in the past.  Just another nickel and dime procedure by NCL.

[graphicguy]

Maybe another explanation, spoke to my BIL over Thanksgiving.  He and my sister own a wine store. He said from what he has seen, many liquors, like many wines, have gone up in price on the wholesale level.  Could explain this!

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Why are you shaking your head.  It's a fact that Grand Marnier is part of the plus package and is not covered in the regular drink package like it was in the past.  Just another nickel and dime procedure by NCL.

I'm shaking my head in disbelief.  That is typically why one includes smh.

[JGmf]

21 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

21 hours ago, behan said:

I am currently on the Getaway and have had no issues getting mixed shots.

@behan You are messing around with my good time next week.  I am going to make believe you did not post this.  That will force me to go to every bar and order a shot, with a picture to post.  Please keep your experience on the down low.  I just got really excited about my cruise which I will not call, "The Quest for the Holy Shooter Drink!!!"  

 

Gary-

Please stay the course and proceed with your Quest next week.  I'm looking forward to the outcome and the photos!

 

[behan]

11 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Gary-

Please stay the course and proceed with your Quest next week.  I'm looking forward to the outcome and the photos!

 

Yes Gary, it is a worthwhile quest, and I'm sure you are up to the task.  Looking forward to your results, and good luck to your wife in the slot tournament.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, PATRLR said:

I'm shaking my head in disbelief.  That is typically why one includes smh.

Disbelief that there are certain alcohols that are in the regular package versus other alcohols that used to be and now are in an upper package that you need to pay more for.  That's why I would shake my head.

Not every cruiser has blinders on and accepts every policy change of their chosen cruise line.  And not every cruiser has a chosen cruise line.  Variety is a good thing.

[Mr&MrsBennifer2022]

I have a somewhat related question.  I am looking at menus that people have posted online.  There is a cocktail from Le Bistro that sounds interesting.  Can I only order that at Le Bistro if it is one of their specialty cocktails or can I order it anywhere?  We leave tomorrow!  Eek so so so excited!!! 

[Mr&MrsBennifer2022]

On a related note, do the specialty restaurants have bars where we can go and sit or do you have to eat there to order from their bar?  No problem if we have to dress up to do so. 

[Sthrngary]

7 minutes ago, Mr&MrsBennifer2022 said:

Can I only order that at Le Bistro if it is one of their specialty cocktails or can I order it anywhere? 

This should answer both of your recent questions.  LeBistro is usually on one side of the ship; another specialty restaurant like Cagney's (Layout of the Joy) is on the other side with a nice bar in between them.  That bar usually opens up at 5 and is a fancier bar than others.  That bar serves both restaurants so as long as it is open, you can get that drink. 

 

Whether other bars can make the same special drink is questionable.  My experience tells me they won't unless it is the Haven Bar.  One of the reason's I get the Premium Plus Beverage Package is the French Champagne at LeBistro.  Stuff is excellent. 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.  Welcome to CruiseCritic.com by the way.

[Mr&MrsBennifer2022]

1 minute ago, Sthrngary said:

This should answer both of your recent questions.  LeBistro is usually on one side of the ship; another specialty restaurant like Cagney's (Layout of the Joy) is on the other side with a nice bar in between them.  That bar usually opens up at 5 and is a fancier bar than others.  That bar serves both restaurants so as long as it is open, you can get that drink. 

 

Whether other bars can make the same special drink is questionable.  My experience tells me they won't unless it is the Haven Bar.  One of the reason's I get the Premium Plus Beverage Package is the French Champagne at LeBistro.  Stuff is excellent. 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.  Welcome to CruiseCritic.com by the way.

That helps a lot. Thanks so much!!!