Free At Sea Drink

[shelleyred]

I am new to NCL and looking at a future cruise for myself and my 3 teens.  The flash sale available right now has the Free At Sea Drinks included.  There is a hefty gratuity attached - over $600 for the 4 of us. That is high as I don"t drink alcohol so it would be 4 of us doing non alcoholic drinks.  I know I can remove the drink option but I can't find information on just the soda package.  Is there a way to see this before booking? Am I able to change the gratuity amount and keep the Free At Sea package?

 

Thanks!

[Two Wheels Only]

43 minutes ago, shelleyred said:

Am I able to change the gratuity amount and keep the Free At Sea package?

 

No. You could choose to not take the PBP promo and use that savings to buy the soda package.

 

For the soda package...

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

 

Unlimited Soda Package

$9.95 USDper person per day

 

ITEM #: UBPTAS

Enjoy endless fountain soda throughout your cruise. Includes Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Tonic Water, Fanta and Soda Water. Soda packages available for adults and children 3 years old and up.

A 20% gratuity and beverage service charge will be added at checkout. Not available for sailings of 2 days or less.

 

[zqvol]

46 minutes ago, shelleyred said:

I am new to NCL and looking at a future cruise for myself and my 3 teens.  The flash sale available right now has the Free At Sea Drinks included.  There is a hefty gratuity attached - over $600 for the 4 of us. That is high as I don"t drink alcohol so it would be 4 of us doing non alcoholic drinks.  I know I can remove the drink option but I can't find information on just the soda package.  Is there a way to see this before booking? Am I able to change the gratuity amount and keep the Free At Sea package?

 

Thanks!

That gratuity amount seems high because the teens can only get the soda package, you need to call NCL and verify what the actual cost will be. 

[HuliHuli]

Ever since NCL "improved" its website, I've noted that it adds the gratuity for the UBP to all guests, even though it does not apply.  If you call your PCC or NCL to book, they will only charge the adult in the room.

Edited January 18, 2023 by HuliHuli

[New2cruise2022]

27 minutes ago, zqvol said:

That gratuity amount seems high because the teens can only get the soda package, you need to call NCL and verify what the actual cost will be. 

It will show the higher price until you proceed to booking. Once the ages are in, the gratuities reduce. But of course you could remove all FAS and then add soda after booking. 

[dbrown84]

and actually only one of of the kids will get the soda package, whoever is listed at passenger #2.  So, for a 7 day cruise, it would be about $140 for the adult and $14 for one child in gratuities.  You would then need to pay for the soda package for the other two kids

[Liljo22]

24 minutes ago, HuliHuli said:

Ever since NCL "improved" its website, I've noted that it adds the gratuity for the UBP to all guests, even though it does not apply.  If you call your PCC or NCL to book, they will only charge the adult in the room.

Every guest 21+ now gets the UBP so the system assumes everyone in the room is eligible.  Once you enter the guest information before booking, the system will remove the gratuities for 3&4.  Also, it will change guest 2 to the soda package.

[wcook]

Does she have time to fix this? It’s a “flash sale.” Who knows if FAS will still be included 🙂

[dbrown84]

2 minutes ago, wcook said:

Does she have time to fix this? It’s a “flash sale.” Who knows if FAS will still be included 🙂

FAS aint going anywhere.  And I don't think there is anything to fix here.  She hasn't booked the cruise yet.  If she proceeds with the booking, it will adjust accordingly once the kids ages are inputted.  

[carohs]

11 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

FAS aint going anywhere.  And I don't think there is anything to fix here.  She hasn't booked the cruise yet.  If she proceeds with the booking, it will adjust accordingly once the kids ages are inputted.  

Mine did not fix with passenger info, but also the drink package is different on the POA. Also if she doesn't drink that's still $20 per day gratuity vs $10 for soda package. With the 2nd passenger it probably works out about the same huh?

[dbrown84]

3 hours ago, carohs said:

Mine did not fix with passenger info, but also the drink package is different on the POA. Also if she doesn't drink that's still $20 per day gratuity vs $10 for soda package. With the 2nd passenger it probably works out about the same huh?

you're right, the package is different for POA and Im not sure of the POA rules.  And yes, it looks like it does work out to be about the same or slight less if she take the package for passenger 1 and 2.  So with the drink package, she could get more than just sodas.  Mocktails.......

[European_CruiseGirl]

If you are travelling with teens the teens will not get the free at sea alcoholic drink package but a soda package instead and the gratuity price is reduced accordingly after you add the passenger details while making the reservation. The reservation system realizes there are minors in the reservation and automatically removes the alcoholic package from the reservation and automatically adds a soda package for the minors instead. So in the end it won't be $600 for the four of you if you are travelling with teens. 

 

If you decide to remove the drinks package from all of you it is of course also absolutely possible. Just good to note that NCL's soda package includes exactly only that: soda. No mocktails like RCI's non alcoholic package would include. So if you take a soda package for yourself and want to enjoy mocktails you need to pay for them separately. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl

[dbrown84]

21 minutes ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

If you are travelling with teens the teens will not get the free at sea alcoholic drink package but a soda package instead and the gratuity price is reduced accordingly after you add the passenger details while making the reservation. The reservation system realizes there are minors in the reservation and automatically removes the alcoholic package from the reservation and automatically adds a soda package for the minors instead. So in the end it won't be $600 for the four of you if you are travelling with teens. 

 

If you decide to remove the drinks package from all of you it is of course also absolutely possible. Just good to note that NCL's soda package includes exactly only that: soda. No mocktails like RCI's non alcoholic package would include. So if you take a soda package for yourself and want to enjoy mocktails you need to pay for them separately. 

exactly.  the only thing to note is that only one of the teens will get the soda package with free at sea.  OP will have to purchase the soda package for the other two

[KeithJenner]

8 hours ago, shelleyred said:

I am new to NCL and looking at a future cruise for myself and my 3 teens.  The flash sale available right now has the Free At Sea Drinks included. 

Don’t be pushed into making a quick booking due to the free at sea offer.

 

Free at sea has been included with bookings for most of the last decade (about 8 years now I think). There are no signs of it going any time soon.