More at Sea

[Sugar Magnolia]

5 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I just received the verification email from NCL listing our reservations. It shows:

 

Cagney's - ala carte

Ocean Blue - ala carte

Le Bistro - $0.00 charge

La Cucina - $0.00 charge

 

Hoping we don't end up somehow getting charged for Cagney's and Ocean Blue.

There is always a possibility for some growing pains as our cruise will only be the second month after the rollout of MAS. I will be reviewing my onboard account more carefully and more often than I normally would.

 

[stellarose33]

so for clancys and ocean blue- we can do al a carte from the menu ?  I am vegetarian and like I can do more appetizers, etc.

[azappraiser]

6 hours ago, ocdb8r said:

 

 

 

Just remember, even if the refund is enough to buy the Starbucks package and a water package, you will be losing out on all sparkling water and premium bottled water (no Acqua Pana with the water package....it's simple small off brand plastic bottled water).  You also lose fresh juices (which we used every morning).  Even for non-alcohol drinkers, it's a big loss.

It would appear that we're also losing the additional 40% discount on beer, wine & whiskey tastings (as advertised in the Freestyle Dailies for sea days).

[azappraiser]

6 hours ago, ocdb8r said:

 

 

 

Just remember, even if the refund is enough to buy the Starbucks package and a water package, you will be losing out on all sparkling water and premium bottled water (no Acqua Pana with the water package....it's simple small off brand plastic bottled water).  You also lose fresh juices (which we used every morning).  Even for non-alcohol drinkers, it's a big loss.

It would appear that we're also losing the additional 40% discount on beer, wine & whiskey tastings (as advertised in the Freestyle Dailies for sea days).

[LadyCruising]

So I just booked the Joy for the Mexican Riviera over NYE (12/29-01/05). It is offering FAS+ (have not purchased yet but let me add it to my cart) and I also booked Ocean Blue and Le Bistro as a'la cart. Of course I don't fully believe I have either of these but just wanted to share my experience so far.

[ggTexasGal]

1 hour ago, rjm11 said:

Is there still waived cork fees if you bring your own bottles if you have a beverage package?

Apparently, Yes. NCL does not seem to make that very clear.

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Yes, I booked Ocean Blue, Cagney’s, Le Bistro, La Cucina and Q. They all said “Charges Apply” but I was not charged for any bookings.

 

And just for the fun of it, I booked Teppanyaki at the end. Although it said “Cover Charge Applies” I was not charged for that booking as well. I know I would have been charged under the previous system.

 

I guess at some point I need to make final payment. Was hoping some charitable organization or person would step up to fund and enable my addiction.

 

 

[Therobielyn's]

1 hour ago, LadyCruising said:

So I just booked the Joy for the Mexican Riviera over NYE (12/29-01/05). It is offering FAS+ (have not purchased yet but let me add it to my cart) and I also booked Ocean Blue and Le Bistro as a'la cart. Of course I don't fully believe I have either of these but just wanted to share my experience so far.

We are on the December 29 sailing of the Getaway and we just received an email from NCL that we will be getting the MAS drink package. It states that any cruise booked prior to October 2024 but sailing in January of 2025 will be receiving this.

Only the alcohol portion though, not the rest.

[Therobielyn's]

More at Sea Launch Email (1).pdf

[julig22]

2 hours ago, JSar said:

So in the end... yeah.... lots of people are upset. But then - I presume there are lots of people out there like me who really just don't care. I would rather spend that alcohol/Starbucks/bottled water/specialty dining/internet money on actual experiences like outdoor activity excursions, visiting the local sites and spa treatments. And am feeling blessed to have these 1st world problems and grateful to be able to have these experiences. And if I think I am not getting my money's worth of anything... I would just drop whatever addon I was considering, or switch to a company that meets my needs better. These changes are for 2025... so most of us have time to re-evaluate our plans before final payment. 

I'm with you, I don't drink alcohol or coffee or care much for specialty meals so really the only beef I have with the changes is with the loss of WiFi minutes on longer cruises - which has been rumored to be an unintentional change and soon to be fixed. I've accepted the fact that part of my fare (double as a solo) is helping to subsidize those packages  - the trade-off is that my BOGO airfare is also subsidized. But I do wish they would include the soda package as a FAS choice...

[Beer knurd]

On 9/30/2024 at 3:40 PM, ggTexasGal said:

The graphic above does not discuss what happens to the Free at Seal Plus.  It simply compares  the standard Free At Sea to the new "More at Sea"!

Free at sea and premium plus go away completely. With premium plus, you used to be able to also get Fresh squeezed juice at breakfast. That, as well as the water and Starbucks option are removed completely. Now you must purchase a water and poor Starbucks package. Separately, Or by your Starbucks A la carte.

[azappraiser]

11 minutes ago, Beer knurd said:

Free at sea and premium plus go away completely. With premium plus, you used to be able to also get Fresh squeezed juice at breakfast. That, as well as the water and Starbucks option are removed completely. Now you must purchase a water and poor Starbucks package. Separately, Or by your Starbucks A la carte.

 

I don't drink Starbucks... But with MAS, if Starbucks is available a la carte, and DW wants the package, I'm forced to get one as well, whereas with FAS+, it really didn't matter to me as I didn't have to pay extra for my bottled water.  And as I mentioned before, we're also losing the discounts for "tastings"... great package NCL!

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Beer knurd said:

Free at sea and premium plus go away completely. With premium plus, you used to be able to also get Fresh squeezed juice at breakfast. That, as well as the water and Starbucks option are removed completely. Now you must purchase a water and poor Starbucks package. Separately, Or by your Starbucks A la carte.

Interesting that those who lament the loss of 'free' water, starbucks and freshly squeezed orange juice seem to forget that they are also losing the cosiderable charge for those 'free' things.

[UKstages]

following this thread (and the others) closely.

 

let me summarize:

 

this horrible thing is happening, it will be worse, much worse than the other horrible things we thought were horrible. and the even more horrible company that did this truly terrible horrible thing lied to us and made it seem like it wasn't horrible at all. and then it took them two full days for them to begin to admit the horror that will ensue just three months from now. and it's hard to believe, but it's even more horrible for our friends in europe!

 

oh, well wait a second, it might not be as horrible as we thought; we'll just have to wait and see. this one thing is better. and here's another thing that's not nearly horrible. oh, i do love the way this other new thing works. (maybe i shouldn't say that out loud for fear of being stoned by the townspeople.) but i'm still skeptical that what i've been told is true... yes, in fact, i'm sure that what i've been told is not true and the horrible things i thought originally are indeed just as horrible as they seemed at first glance. 

 

well, ain't that something? i just confirmed with three different people at the horrible company that what i thought was true wasn't true and they let me keep the thing i used to complain about (that, let's face it, was pretty awful, but not as horrible as the new horrible thing, so i'm clinging to it). and then they sent me an invoice and an email to confirm what the three people at the horrible company had already told me. then i was able to go online and do the very lovely thing that i was sure the new horrible thing wouldn't let me do. i was surprised and thankful. oh, happy day! i guess we're good. we can all go home to our loved ones. nothing to see here. 

 

oh, no! what if those people and those confirmations and those emails are wrong? what if this is a trick or a terrible horrible snafu from the people who brought us the original horrible thing? i hate being hoodwinked. and i am inherently distrustful of this horrible company. so i shall spend the rest of my days in doubt and uncertainty because, well, c'mon... this is a pretty horrible thing. we all know it is. and those other companies that also do pretty horrible things? none have ever been as truly terrible and horrible as this.

 

oh, and never forget... these are the same people who took away our hash browns! 

 

i'm paraphrasing, but i ithink i got this mostly right.

 

Edited Friday at 05:39 PM by UKstages

[ggTexasGal]

3 hours ago, stellarose33 said:

so for clancys and ocean blue- we can do al a carte from the menu ?  I am vegetarian and like I can do more appetizers, etc.

Cagney's???

[Thirsty Cruiser]

13 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Interesting that those who lament the loss of 'free' water, starbucks and freshly squeezed orange juice seem to forget that they are also losing the cosiderable charge for those 'free' things.

Who's lamenting? He was stating facts about the new program. If someone were to lament, however, they might want to cry about being charged more this year for the drink package than last year, especially if they dont really want premium drinks. Personally I always got the premium plus package and use the Starbucks option maybe once out of all my cruises.

Edited Friday at 05:49 PM by Thirsty Cruiser

[Sugar Magnolia]

15 minutes ago, UKstages said:

following this thread (and the others) closely.

 

let me summarize:

 

this horrible thing is happening, it will be worse, much worse than the other horrible things we thought were horrible. and the even more horrible company that did this truly terrible horrible thing lied to us and made it seem like it wasn't horrible at all. and then it took them two full days for them to begin to admit the horror that will ensue just three months from now. and it's hard to believe, but it's even more horrible for our friends in europe!

 

oh, well wait a second, it might not be as horrible as we thought; we'll just have to wait and see. this one thing is better. and here's another thing that's not nearly horrible. oh, i do love the way this other new thing works. (maybe i shouldn't say that out loud for fear of being stoned by the townspeople.) but i'm still skeptical that what i've been told is true... yes, in fact, i'm sure that what i've been told is not true and the horrible things i thought originally are indeed just as horrible as they seemed at first glance. 

 

well, ain't that something? i just confirmed with three different people at the horrible company that what i thought was true wasn't true and they let me keep the thing i used to complain about (that, let's face it, was pretty awful, but not as horrible as the new horrible thing, so i'm clinging to it). and then they sent me an invoice and an email to confirm what the three people at the horrible company had already told me. then i was able to go online and do the very lovely thing that i was sure the new horrible thing wouldn't let me do. i was surprised and thankful. oh, happy day! i guess we're good. we can all go home to our loved ones. nothing to see here. 

 

oh, no! what if those people and those confirmations and those emails are wrong? what if this is a trick or a terrible horrible snafu from the people who brought us the original horrible thing? i hate being hoodwinked. and i am inherently distrustful of this horrible company. so i shall spend the rest of my days in doubt and uncertainty because, well, c'mon... this is a pretty horrible thing. we all know it is. and those other companies that also do pretty horrible things? none have ever been as truly terrible and horrible as this.

 

oh, and never forget... these are the same people who took away our hash browns! 

 

i'm paraphrasing, but i ithink i got this mostly right.

 

This is truly our Annus Horribilus moment.
 

[RocketMan275]

29 minutes ago, UKstages said:

oh, and never forget... these are the same people who took away our hash browns! 

 

i'm paraphrasing, but i ithink i got this mostly right.

 

Mostly right but you forgot these people are also takng our fresh squeezed orange juice.

And what about the taking of our cookies.

[ChiefMateJRK]

A lot of good info in this thread.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the details.  I did a couple more mock bookings today to compare my existing FAS booking with a new MAS booking.  I'm seeing the following:

a) per day per person price of beverage package changes from $21.80 to $30

b) specialty dining per person per meal changes from $11.80 to $20

 

On a seven day cruise in inside cabin, that adds about $115.  As reported earlier, I had done some mock comparisons for about a half dozen bookings, and the average price change was around $130 (these were itineraries where Cruseplum price tracking had shown no other price changes).  So, for me at least, it looks like the increases for dining and beverage accounts for the vast majority of price change.  

 

This does make me curious how some have reported exactly the same price under old FAS booking and new MAS booking.  Perhaps they had declined both beverage and specialty dining?

[laudergayle]

14 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

A lot of good info in this thread.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the details.  I did a couple more mock bookings today to compare my existing FAS booking with a new MAS booking.  I'm seeing the following:

a) per day per person price of beverage package changes from $21.80 to $30

b) specialty dining per person per meal changes from $11.80 to $20

 

On a seven day cruise in inside cabin, that adds about $115.  As reported earlier, I had done some mock comparisons for about a half dozen bookings, and the average price change was around $130 (these were itineraries where Cruseplum price tracking had shown no other price changes).  So, for me at least, it looks like the increases for dining and beverage accounts for the vast majority of price change.  

 

This does make me curious how some have reported exactly the same price under old FAS booking and new MAS booking.  Perhaps they had declined both beverage and specialty dining?

My PCC had her corporate spiel on More all buttoned up.  She reiterated how we would be getting More at least three times…lol then she ended it with “but it will also cost a little more…but you will get so much more.”  
 

I repriced out February’25 cruise and it is $55 more with than FAS…but we get an extra SD with it.  
 

I am curious if you have to buy Unlimited Internet for just one person or if you have to do it for the cabin.  I can’t tell since I had already upgraded before Oct. 1.

 

Edited Friday at 06:48 PM by laudergayle

[kjquilts]

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

This does make me curious how some have reported exactly the same price under old FAS booking and new MAS booking.  Perhaps they had declined both beverage and specialty dining?

 

I just quoted part of your post to save post.

 

This morning I changed our reservation made 9/30/2024 for the Viva transatlantic

April 2025 from FAS to MAS.  Cost was $10.00 more than my FAS booking.  Difference would have been $175,60 more but I had included the two extra meal dining package for the two of us and didn't need it with the MAS booking.

 

I made the change because when we sit down to order I don't want to mess with the details on what is included in our specialty meals  (FAS vs MAS).  Will be interesting to see if they make any changes on what is included with the Latitude perk meals.  

 

Losing the internet minutes hurt but I will probably just upgrade mine two or three days into the cruise when the price reduces slightly.  Will check onboard with the internet person to see the last day internet upgrade can be purchased.

[kjquilts]

16 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

I am curious if you have to buy Unlimited Internet for just one person or if you have to do it for the cabin.  I can’t tell since I had already upgraded before Oct. 1.

 

I can answer that since I just made change this morning from FAS TO MAS.  On my 13 day cruise (Viva transatlantic) cost to upgrade to Voyage Wi-Fi Pass is $289.87 pp and you can choose just one person.  Cost to upgrade to Streaming Voyage Wi-Fi Pass is $419.87 pp and again you can choose just one person.  I'm hoping that upgrade cost will reduce slightly a few days into the cruise.

Edited Friday at 07:02 PM by kjquilts

[vacation44]

34 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

A lot of good info in this thread.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the details.  I did a couple more mock bookings today to compare my existing FAS booking with a new MAS booking.  I'm seeing the following:

a) per day per person price of beverage package changes from $21.80 to $30

b) specialty dining per person per meal changes from $11.80 to $20

 

On a seven day cruise in inside cabin, that adds about $115.  As reported earlier, I had done some mock comparisons for about a half dozen bookings, and the average price change was around $130 (these were itineraries where Cruseplum price tracking had shown no other price changes).  So, for me at least, it looks like the increases for dining and beverage accounts for the vast majority of price change.  

 

This does make me curious how some have reported exactly the same price under old FAS booking and new MAS booking.  Perhaps they had declined both beverage and specialty dining?

I think what adds to the confusion is some of the new pricing might not take into account the actual fare of the cruise--has it gone up or down since booking?    

 

I look at it as the actual difference in the old FAS charges versus the new MAS charges.  The difference is almost $200 for two on a 7 night cruise.   Yes, you get more, but for me, I would rather keep my $200 and gladly give up the additional specialty restaurant and pay for any drinks over $15 and the drink taxes on embarkation day.    

[ChiefMateJRK]

34 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

I think what adds to the confusion is some of the new pricing might not take into account the actual fare of the cruise--has it gone up or down since booking?    

 

Yes.  I understand that, which is why I posted:

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

these were itineraries where Cruseplum price tracking had shown no other price changes

 

[BirdTravels]

To me it is amazing. You take freebie perks, which could conceivably change weekly, and change it once every 5 years and the world has come to an end. 
 

You take a bunch of more expensive liquor (which used to come at an upcharge) and add it to the free package and the world has come to an end. 
 

You add an additional free specialty dinner and the world has come to an end. 
 

You take a la carte restaurants which used to cost upwards of $100, add more options, and sell it at a fixed price for $40-$60 and the world has come to an end. 
 

Make your life simple. Decline all offers so the world won’t come to an end.