Miss leading free drink package

[havoc315]

6 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Cost to NCL of a fountain drink is probably less than twenty cents and you are not going to get kids pounding sodas all day so its probably less of a worry.  On my last NCL cruise, we were not charged once for a soda my son & daughter ordered with dinner.   

Exactly my point.  Since soda is so cheap, and since they often aren’t even going to ring up the charge, why wouldn’t they want to capture that $1.59?

 

And I dare say that kids and adults can pound far more sodas than most adults will pound alcohol. 
While you may get a small percentage of guests pounding 10+ alcoholic drinks per day, that would leave lots of guests in a coma.  I’ve never travelled with any adult who would have more than 3-4 alcoholic drinks per day, but I’ve travelled with lots of kids who can down 10-20 fountain sodas in a day.  

[JandC_Cruising]

38 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

 I’ve never travelled with any adult who would have more than 3-4 alcoholic drinks per day,

Seriously?!?!

ok. So you’ve never travelled “With”’ if “ With” means in your actual travel group.  
but rest assured, MANY on the ship at the same time as you consume 10 alcoholic beverages per day.  Bloody Mary(s) at breakfast, Pima coladas at morning pool, beer at lunch, pina coladas afternoon pool, pre dinner cocktail, 2-3 glasses of wine at dinner, evening nightcap(s)……go to bed , rinse, repeat….

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

not giving them back.  They had to go to guest services for a new card without the drink package label.  

 

Had their package revoked?

I'm sure someone on the forum has warned people what can happen when sharing drinks....🤔

[UKstages]

sharing drinks?

 

is that not allowed?

 

say what?

 

(asking for a friend.)

 

 

[havoc315]

54 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Seriously?!?!

ok. So you’ve never travelled “With”’ if “ With” means in your actual travel group.  
but rest assured, MANY on the ship at the same time as you consume 10 alcoholic beverages per day.  Bloody Mary(s) at breakfast, Pima coladas at morning pool, beer at lunch, pina coladas afternoon pool, pre dinner cocktail, 2-3 glasses of wine at dinner, evening nightcap(s)……go to bed , rinse, repeat….

 

Travelled with -- My own travel party, friends, extended family, business associates, etc.  People who I knew by name, not "that stranger at the end of the bar."  Now, back in my fraternity days (going back 30 years), I knew people who would have 10 drinks in a day, but I've never seen anyone I actually know my name in the last 30 years, drink that much in a day.  

I'm sure there are people who consume 10 alcoholic beverages per day.  It's not the majority. For example, a woman with a healthy body weight would likely be unconscious if she tried to have 10 alcoholic drinks in 1 day... 

 

I certainly don't doubt that there are people who have 10 alcoholic drinks per day. But there are far more people who will drink 10 fountain sodas in a day than 10 alcoholic drinks . 

 

[CptJLMcCrea]

Oh yeah! You're the BAC % guy!

 

[Russiamomm]

12 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

 

I'm sure there are people who consume 10 alcoholic beverages per day.  It's not the majority. For example, a woman with a healthy body weight would likely be unconscious if she tried to have 10 alcoholic drinks in 1 day... 

 

I certainly don't doubt that there are people who have 10 alcoholic drinks per day. But there are far more people who will drink 10 fountain sodas in a day than 10 alcoholic drinks . 

 

Well, I’m a woman with a healthy body weight who can drink ten drinks a day on a ship and remain conscience.  While I’ve never actually counted the number of drinks I had in a day, I’m pretty sure I reach 10 on most sea days.  A couple of mimosas and/or Bloody Mary’s with breakfast and through the morning.  Maybe a shot of Kailua or Baileys in my coffee.  Wine with lunch.  Frozen drinks in the afternoon.  Another shot of Kailua with my afternoon coffee.  Pre-dinner cocktail.  Wine with dinner.  Wine or a cocktail in the evening (usually in the casino).  You get the picture.  And somehow I remained conscious! 😂

Edited February 19 by Russiamomm

[G-DawgMN]

45 minutes ago, UKstages said:

sharing drinks?

 

is that not allowed?

 

say what?

 

(asking for a friend.)

 

 

 

 Do you want to re-litigate that whole conversation? 

 

 See what I did there?

 

 

[cheersforbeers]

9 minutes ago, KSSS2013 said:

 

 Do you want to re-litigate that whole conversation? 

 

 See what I did there?

 

 

Declare a mistrial, please. 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

I really don’t see how this is different than free drink tickets at an event. The drink is “free” but do you just stiff the bartender with no tip? I do not. I tip, even though the drink was “free.”

[wcook]

2 hours ago, havoc315 said:

For example, a woman with a healthy body weight would likely be unconscious if she tried to have 10 alcoholic drinks in 1 day... 

 

10 drinks in one session? Yes. Ten drinks spread over 24 hours? Not an issue (on vacation, 10 a day every day would be a problem.)

[cruiser2015]

On 2/17/2024 at 10:35 PM, LloydJr said:

So, it is free??

Sure it's free:

 

FREE*

[cruiser2015]

22 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

Nobody has said that it was free, correct? Especially since you have to buy a cruise to get it.

 

The misleading "really a gratuity, or whether it's the real cost" doesn't seem so irrelevant considering how many times you've mentioned it.

 

Think of it more like a surcharge to those who accept that part of the Free @ Sea promotion. The "real cost", fwiw, is actually baked into the cruise fare that everyone pays...whether you take the drink package or not. So even if you pass on the package, you'll still subsidize it as part of the fare. There is no free lunch. Do you really think a cruise line could make a profit or stay in business if they really gave drinks, specialty dining, wifi, and excursions away for "free"?

Sure they can - and do.

There are luxury level lines that include all you mention in their cruise fare.

 

It's all a numbers game. Obviously, if every user of the FAS package slugged down 15+ shots per day, NCL's price would go up - or they would drop the program as it is currently set up. The money has to come from somewhere.

[kirtihk]

2 hours ago, Russiamomm said:

Well, I’m a woman with a healthy body weight who can drink ten drinks a day on a ship and remain conscience.  While I’ve never actually counted the number of drinks I had in a day, I’m pretty sure I reach 10 on most sea days.  A couple of mimosas and/or Bloody Mary’s with breakfast and through the morning.  Maybe a shot of Kailua or Baileys in my coffee.  Wine with lunch.  Frozen drinks in the afternoon.  Another shot of Kailua with my afternoon coffee.  Pre-dinner cocktail.  Wine with dinner.  Wine or a cocktail in the evening (usually in the casino).  You get the picture.  And somehow I remained conscious! 😂

Ocean extra-salty breeze is antidote to toxins, (alcohol is not an exception)!

[hallux]

14 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

It's all a numbers game. Obviously, if every user of the FAS package slugged down 15+ shots per day, NCL's price would go up - or they would drop the program as it is currently set up. The money has to come from somewhere.

It's probably like those companies now offering 'unlimited' vacation time.  I, at times, struggle to use all my vacation time, often not working a full 5-day week starting in November just to use up the last of the days.  If the time was not tracked, I probably wouldn't use those days and they'd get more worked days from me than they do now.

 

Similarly - offer free unlimited drinks with a nominal visible cost to the package  (the $21.80 pp/pd) and the only 'focus' by the patron is to get 2 drinks a day to cover the cost so they feel like they got their money's worth from the deal.  Unlike on Carnival with the 15 drinks/day limit and you know people are going to make the effort to get everything they're allowed since they paid for the drink package in full.

[PTC DAWG]

10 drinks over 10 hours puts my BAC @ .08…not a big deal on a cruise, IYAM, Lots of judgement by at least one on this thread. 
 

https://www.calculator.net/bac-calculator.html

Edited February 20 by PTC DAWG

[PTC DAWG]

42 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

It's puts me at .03.  You need to bulk up brother/sister. 🤣

 

Cruising is a good way to bulk up!

I used liquor drinks and weight is around 205..male last time I checked.  🙂

Edited February 20 by PTC DAWG

[SoloAlaska]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

10 drinks over 10 hours puts my BAC @ .08…not a big deal on a cruise, IYAM, Lots of judgement by at least one on this thread. 
 

https://www.calculator.net/bac-calculator.html

Omg this is a fun calculator.

 

10 drinks over 10 hours gives me a 0.12. Now to go calculate with my project weight for my upcoming cruise. Great part about cruising is not driving anywhere, woohoo.

[wcook]

11 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

10 drinks over 10 hours puts my BAC @ .08…not a big deal on a cruise,

Unless you are driving the boat 🙂

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, wcook said:

Unless you are driving the boat 🙂

I'm probably playing craps on a ship.  🙂

[DCGuy64]

On 2/17/2024 at 10:54 AM, Mrearl said:

No, I did not pay or book yet. The advertisement stated free drink and specialty dining. Then when you look at the final price it states over $600 for drink

gratuities and $50 for specialty dinning gratuities. 

$600 in gratuities PER PERSON? That doesn't sound right. For a 14-night cruise, that amounts to over $40 per day. I think the going rate is $21.

[SeaShark]

36 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

$600 in gratuities PER PERSON? That doesn't sound right. For a 14-night cruise, that amounts to over $40 per day. I think the going rate is $21.

 

No, of course not. When complaining on CC you never quote the per person cost. Instead you only mention the cost to the entire party because using the inflated number makes NCL look worse.

[DCGuy64]

10 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

No, of course not. When complaining on CC you never quote the per person cost. Instead you only mention the cost to the entire party because using the inflated number makes NCL look worse.

You are so right about that!

[JerseyHorseLover]

Since I don’t drink anything alcoholic, I unchecked the offer of free drinks. If I did not, I would’ve paid over $100 in gratuities. It is something I always mention to people. I always stay in a solo room so I can uncheck it. If a couple are in a room and one person drinks and the other one doesn’t, then you’re screwed, since it applies to the cabin.   

[Two Wheels Only]

26 minutes ago, JerseyHorseLover said:

If a couple are in a room and one person drinks and the other one doesn’t, then you’re screwed, since it applies to the cabin.   

 

Not screwed.

It's up to the couple to decide what the better option is.

 

Option A - take the promo and pay the $43.60 per day.

 

Option B - pay for each drink that the drinker has plus 20% on each of those drinks. 

 

If the drinker has enough drinks per day, Option A is better.

If the drinker barely drinks anything during the cruise, Option B is better.