DO NOT UPGRADE PREMIUM PLUS!!

[Notamegagirl]

The wine selection advertised is not onboard, the less expensive (under 15$) is readily available and getting restocked.

 Only red available (main dining room at dinner) was decoy and something else on the lower wine scale.

 Sweet warm pommery rose champagne, only champagne on board unless dinning at le bistro (why only there??)

  Ncl false advertised. That is illegal in many countries. Their overwhelmed, sweet hard working staff have to do extra work/time apologizing for corporate poor decisions.

  Please fellow cruisers that like wine; cancel premium plus package and be prepared to bring own or pay highly inflated captive wine prices.

 As a customer,  I feel cheated and made the wrong decision for cruising with NCL.

 Also, food quality has deteriorated so much (since november) that I do not have to worry about gaining weight, that's a good thing! But wasting a lot of food since not very good/edible..Not smart for food budget/cost and the environment. 

 

Will look elsewhere for next vacation 3rd cruise in 7 months and planning on more...

 

 

 

[Coastalbreezes]

I was recently on Escape with the P+ package and was satisfied with the selection of wines by the glass/bottle offered. Yes the selections change often due to supply issues but the P+ offerings are definitely better than the low-end "house" wines. It's not false advertising, it's what is available.

 

In the last six months NCL has changed the appearance of the wine list. It used to have designations in bold that read "premium plus". Now when presented with the list (in my experience two months ago) I was told that pretty much everything on the left side of the menu was available for P+ by the glass or bottle. You make it sound like you only had two choices which is not true.

[dexddd]

7 hours ago, Notamegagirl said:

The wine selection advertised is not onboard, the less expensive (under 15$) is readily available and getting restocked.

 Only red available (main dining room at dinner) was decoy and something else on the lower wine scale.

 Sweet warm pommery rose champagne, only champagne on board unless dinning at le bistro (why only there??)

  Ncl false advertised. That is illegal in many countries. Their overwhelmed, sweet hard working staff have to do extra work/time apologizing for corporate poor decisions.

  Please fellow cruisers that like wine; cancel premium plus package and be prepared to bring own or pay highly inflated captive wine prices.

 As a customer,  I feel cheated and made the wrong decision for cruising with NCL.

 Also, food quality has deteriorated so much (since november) that I do not have to worry about gaining weight, that's a good thing! But wasting a lot of food since not very good/edible..Not smart for food budget/cost and the environment. 

 

Will look elsewhere for next vacation 3rd cruise in 7 months and planning on more...

 

 

 

Which ship you on?

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Which ship you on?

Looks like the Star on a Northern Europe cruise based on the roll call they are posting to.  They also posted back in March that they had that Plus on another cruise and while the selection wasn't great, it was still worth it.  Seems like getting upset because supply issues on a ship sailing to Norway is a little much.  

[quagmire0]

I just checked what it would cost to upgrade to P+ for me and it's a staggering $1159 per person. 😂  I think I'd rather stock my home bar, save several hundred, and then 'slum it' with the standard package and a la carte. 🙂

 

[roxette]

The plus package was GREAT when it was introduced. Now, in my opinion, not worth it. 

 

Is the supply chain issue still an issue in the US?

[roxette]

5 minutes ago, quagmire0 said:

I just checked what it would cost to upgrade to P+ for me and it's a staggering $1159 per person. 😂  I think I'd rather stock my home bar, save several hundred, and then 'slum it' with the standard package and a la carte. 🙂

 

I do not think that is the price for the upgrade. That is the price to buy the package from scratch. 

 

The upgrade price is around $35 per person per day.

[JandC_Cruising]

5 minutes ago, quagmire0 said:

I just checked what it would cost to upgrade to P+ for me and it's a staggering $1159 per person. 😂  I think I'd rather stock my home bar, save several hundred, and then 'slum it' with the standard package and a la carte. 🙂

 

$1159 ?!?!?!?  Upgrading costs $34.80 per person per day.($29 +20% gratuity)..Are you on a 30 day cruise?  If not, there is an error in your math...

 

[quagmire0]

1 hour ago, JandC_Cruising said:

$1159 ?!?!?!?  Upgrading costs $34.80 per person per day.($29 +20% gratuity)..Are you on a 30 day cruise?  If not, there is an error in your math...

 

Nevermind.  It may be the full cost vs. the upgrade.  (See below).  I was assuming it was showing the upgrade since I was logged in. Still, that's pretty steep for one person. 

 

 

[scooter6139]

Wow.  Complaining over a few wines and selections, then claiming cheating and fraud by NCL.  🙄

 

Good luck on some other cruise lines.  👋

[DCGuy64]

7 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

Wow.  Complaining over a few wines and selections, then claiming cheating and fraud by NCL.  🙄

 

Good luck on some other cruise lines.  👋

Exactly... Well said, @scooter6139

[scooter6139]

9 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Exactly... Well said, @scooter6139

Thanks.  The 'drinkgate' threads have me worn out.  🙄🤣😏

[kitkat343]

My family doesn't drink enough even for the basic drink package, so I have no clue about this but the question I'd have is - can you upgrade on the first night to the premium package from the regular beverage package after seeing what drinks are available on your actual ship?  Our NCL ship had a decent amount of things they ran out of (bananas, kids cereal, skim milk containers) that I could understand someone not being sure if they want to pay for the premium package until they know what it actually contains on their sailing.  Is upgrading to premium onboard an option or would it be much more expensive to upgrade while onboard?  It wouldn't help if they ran out of stuff mid-cruise, but would at least minimize your chances of disappointment.

Edited June 2, 2023 by kitkat343

[scooter6139]

My memory may be faulty, but I think you have to upgrade when you first board the ship before you buy any drinks.  

 

Can anyone confirm or dispute this?  I may be recalling the guide/rules to some other cruise line.  😏

[pkay1]

4 hours ago, roxette said:

The plus package was GREAT when it was introduced. Now, in my opinion, not worth it. 

 

Is the supply chain issue still an issue in the US?

No, it's not an issue in the US. The problem is inflation. The cost of everything has gone up in the last couple of years. I'm sure Norwegian is trying to find ways to get their costs down. For example, the price of eggs is 100% higher this year than last. They can't stop serving eggs on board, so they have to find a way to cut costs. I belong to a wine club and we were told that a lot of grapes were not harvested in 2020 because of Covid, so there wasn't as much wine produced as in previous years. This definitely would have an impact on the wholesale cost of wine too. 

[JandC_Cruising]

2 minutes ago, pkay1 said:

I belong to a wine club and we were told that a lot of grapes were not harvested in 2020 because of Covid, so there wasn't as much wine produced as in previous years. This definitely would have an impact on the wholesale cost of wine too. 

Depending upon the wine club you belong to, it may have less to do with COVID and more to do with the 2020 California wild fires.  Many northern Napa Valley wineries threw away their entire 2020 crops due to the the smoke and ash tainting the grapes.  Others were able to continue to produce, but a lower volumes as many grapes just could not be used after harvesting.  

 

[sjacobs11]

For a port intensive itinerary where you'll take a lot of excursions, it's well worth it for the second $50 discount + 2 nights of specialty dining + unlimited internet. We consider the drink upgrade as almost "free" when adding up the other values.

[Notamegagirl]

4 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

Wow.  Complaining over a few wines and selections, then claiming cheating and fraud by NCL.  🙄

 

Good luck on some other cruise lines.  👋

Ncl names wine brands on the promotional material, then doesn't offer them. I understand supply chain issues; however, do not be specific on what is offered; then state you are out. When some bottles are available at le bistro only when dinning. They have plenty of comparable wine they can substitute and choose not to.

 

Was on spirit in april, incredibly pleased with the plus selection. Wanted to warn others who may be expecting the wines listed...surprised how much things has changed in 6 weeks...

Yes have tried and will try other cruiselines...the premium + was an edge ncl had.....

 

[Coastalbreezes]

15 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

My family doesn't drink enough even for the basic drink package, so I have no clue about this but the question I'd have is - can you upgrade on the first night to the premium package from the regular beverage package after seeing what drinks are available on your actual ship?  Our NCL ship had a decent amount of things they ran out of (bananas, kids cereal, skim milk containers) that I could understand someone not being sure if they want to pay for the premium package until they know what it actually contains on their sailing.  Is upgrading to premium onboard an option or would it be much more expensive to upgrade while onboard?  It wouldn't help if they ran out of stuff mid-cruise, but would at least minimize your chances of disappointment.

Yes you can upgrade on board the first day only. For a 7-day cruise the upgrade is $243.60. Well worth it in my opinion because it also includes Starbucks, energy drinks and bottled water (Acqua Panna and Pellegrino).

[insidecabin]

 

Cruise lines were already penny pinching in one of the most visible and customer satisfaction areas food way before covid.

 

Food is quite a small part of the cost to cruise so small changes can have a big impact on the customer experience very quickly .

 

latest  NCH report  3months to March

per passenger day to feed everyone on the ships

 

$17:46 2023 

$11.07 2019

 

That includes Oceania and Regent here I suspect they have higher costs and NCL is under those numbers. 

 

Quite an increase but only $50 a weeks cruise

 

[Happycrafter123]

We had the plus package on last cruise, the one that is not just upgrade for alcohol but also gives you excursion credits and wifi.  We found it well worth it.  I enjoyed the upgraded bourbon and wine, but more importantly i got a lot of value from the bottled water and Starbucks.   Really all depends what you are looking for.

[v3cruiser]

Depends what your looking for. We were on the jewel in March and i noticed they didn't have the wide selection bourbons, scotches and beers ncl used to offer. Maybe on the bigger ships perhaps?