Bottled Water Ripoff

Beware, Norwegian no longer allows bottled water carry-on, and they charge over $6 per bottle for 1 liter bottles of water. Compare to Carnival, who will deliver a 12-pack of 1/2 liter water to your room for under $5. Do the math, Norwegian: over $6 per liter. Carnival: about $1.20 per liter. Norwegian is 5 times higher. Ridiculous, right? Price gouging!

Bottled water is a mainstay for us when we travel, we would not have sailed Norwegian knowing this. Seems like a small issue, but every time I took a sip, found myself thinking ka-ching, certainly tarnished the good times.

You didn't do your homework very well then if the cruise was a recent one. There have been a number of threads on here about the change in NCL policy about taking water on board.

The policy was in place when we cruised from Rome to Singapore at the end of last year and was rigorously enforced. We took bottles of water off the ship on every port day and had to tip them out before we re-boarded if we didn't want to lose the bottles.

Funny that carnival has a similar policy:-

"To increase safety on its cruise ships, cut alcohol smuggling and speed up embarkation, Carnival Cruise Lines will stop passengers from bringing bottled water, bottled soda and other bottled nonalcoholic drinks on board, effective July 9."

You didn't do your homework very well then if the cruise was a recent one. There have been a number of threads on here about the change in NCL policy about taking water on board.

 

The policy was in place when we cruised from Rome to Singapore at the end of last year and was rigorously enforced. We took bottles of water off the ship on every port day and had to tip them out before we re-boarded if we didn't want to lose the bottles.

 

Funny that carnival has a similar policy:-

"To increase safety on its cruise ships, cut alcohol smuggling and speed up embarkation, Carnival Cruise Lines will stop passengers from bringing bottled water, bottled soda and other bottled nonalcoholic drinks on board, effective July 9."

You are correct, I did not research well enough. I knew I could not carry on, but I was caught be surprise by the price. We had sailed Carnival a few months ago. Incorrectly presumed the price would be in same ballpark. Guess again!

Right? I would have appreciated knowing in advance. To their credit, you can drink all the tap water you like, and it is good drinking water. But we purchase bottled water and drink it daily, especially in our room.

Your two comments must lead me to ask; Why?

Haha. Yes. And whenever I get whipped up about something like this on vacation, or in life, my wife tells me to settle down and I think about it for a minute and do. It's bottled water. The price may be cheaper on Carnival but so is the cruise price and other charges generally, no? What NCL needs to do is jack up its rates even more than people are complaining about in other threads and make everyone pay for products and services they may not use. Versus charging separately for them and having people complain even worse. So, instead of making cruisers pay $35 for a specialty restaurant, or $7+ for room service, just raise the price of the cruise $500pp or so. No more "nickel and diming." Then raise the price of the cruise by about 5-10% every year.

Your two comments must lead me to ask; Why?

Bottled water is consistent quality. Tap water is not. I find ship water is drinkable, my spouse does not. Regardless, when we travel, we rely upon bottled water. Not exactly a luxury. Besides, my comments are not about the carry on ban. I get that. My comments are about the price.

Bottled water is consistent quality. Tap water is not. I find ship water is drinkable, my spouse does not. Regardless, when we travel, we rely upon bottled water. Not exactly a luxury. Besides, my comments are not about the carry on ban. I get that. My comments are about the price.

Most bottled water IS tap water.

Bottled water is consistent quality. Tap water is not. I find ship water is drinkable, my spouse does not. Regardless, when we travel, we rely upon bottled water. Not exactly a luxury. Besides, my comments are not about the carry on ban. I get that. My comments are about the price.

If you do not like the price of something do not buy that thing!

Beware, Norwegian no longer allows bottled water carry-on, and they charge over $6 per bottle for 1 liter bottles of water. Compare to Carnival, who will deliver a 12-pack of 1/2 liter water to your room for under $5. Do the math, Norwegian: over $6 per liter. Carnival: about $1.20 per liter. Norwegian is 5 times higher. Ridiculous, right? Price gouging!

 

Bottled water is a mainstay for us when we travel, we would not have sailed Norwegian knowing this. Seems like a small issue, but every time I took a sip, found myself thinking ka-ching, certainly tarnished the good times.

No one is forcing you to cruise on NCL. Stick with Carnival if their bottled water prices are more to your liking.

Oh, and if you drink that much water, and order in advance, 24 bottles would be $71, or about $3 a bottle for a one liter bottle.

This information about the ban on carrying on water has been posted SEVERAL times in the recent past. It is also clearly stated on the NCL website.

If you do not like the price of something do not buy that thing!

Agreed. And if I don't like the price of something, I can post about it, warn others. Right?

By the way, if you read all, you'll understand we knew about the ban. Same FAQ you refer to does not tell you the cost.

Agreed. And if I don't like the price of something, I can post about it, warn others. Right?

 

By the way, if you read all, you'll understand we knew about the ban. Same FAQ you refer to does not tell you the cost.

The costs are clearly listed on NCL in their beverage package options on their website.

It gives you the price if you buy in advance, and the percentage savings over if you buy it while onboard.

So NCL does indeed give you the price you will be paying for bottled water.

Beware, Norwegian no longer allows bottled water carry-on, and they charge over $6 per bottle for 1 liter bottles of water. Compare to Carnival, who will deliver a 12-pack of 1/2 liter water to your room for under $5. Do the math, Norwegian: over $6 per liter. Carnival: about $1.20 per liter. Norwegian is 5 times higher. Ridiculous, right? Price gouging!

 

Bottled water is a mainstay for us when we travel, we would not have sailed Norwegian knowing this. Seems like a small issue, but every time I took a sip, found myself thinking ka-ching, certainly tarnished the good times.

Nothing new about this. The way around it is to take a bottle and fill it at the buffet or any bar. It is filtered more than any bottled water that you can buy.

Most bottled water IS tap water.

Including the Aquafina that is for sale.

Price is the same at 7/11. We're all buying that line, right?

 

...

Go to ncl.com and price the 24 bottle 1 liter water package. (Since you drink a lot of water, 1 3/4 bottles a day seems reasonable) Divide by 24. You do the math. Don't let me do the math and cheat.

Stop at 7/11 and price a 1 liter bottle of Aquafina

Guess what????? It's about the same price.

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So, for some perspective, went to a hockey game recently (Go Bolts!). The water was about $7 a bottle and it was a smaller size. We got to Disney a lotand thereit is 2.50-3.50 and is also smaller size.

We pre-book water and spend 3-4 a bottle depending on how many we purchase. Its in our cabin ready for our vacation and on par or less than other entertainment venues.

Your on vacation, relax and don't sweat the small stuff.

If you can adjust to drinking tap water.....and it's not a problem for me....there is an easy answer. Bring an empty water bottle and fill it in port. Empty before you return on board.

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I actually don't find it to be that bad. If you purchase the 24 pack it's less than $3 a bottle. The four of us drink mostly water anyway so, while it's no where near as inexpensive as bringing a case on board like we used to do, it's worth it for us. Everyone's different, I wouldn't dream of buying the unlimited beverage package because I don't drink enough to justify the cost. But water is worth it to me!

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I'm so glad I saw this! I had no idea!! I haven't followed the boards since my cruise last May. We are booked on the Breakaway in April and we always brought a case or two of bottled water with us. Thanks for sharing!!

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Do the math, Norwegian: over $6 per liter. Carnival: about $1.20 per liter. Norwegian is 5 times higher. Ridiculous, right? Price gouging!

 

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While this is old news and you could have looked into it before the cruise.... the other side of the coin is that if you are a drinker, Norwegian gives you the UBP for a $14 pp pd service charge; an offer carnival doesn't offer so on carnival you are stuck paying the $55 pp pd for the beverage program. 4 times as much! Price gouging! Lol. Every line has their pluses and minuses; I've never bought a bottle of water on a cruise but love the UBP. Clearly if bottled water is important to you then NCL isn't for you.

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Just an observation here, but IMHO, $6 for a litre of water in ANY market is ridiculous. There are too many ways around these types of things if you're unwilling to pay the price for it to spoil a cruise.

Cruising the Epic in a couple of weeks. Bought two Brita filtered water bottles for $13/each. No bottled water, no problem.

Cruising the Epic in a couple of weeks. Bought two Brita filtered water bottles for $13/each. No bottled water, no problem.

I like that idea, thanks!!

Just an observation here, but IMHO, $6 for a litre of water in ANY market is ridiculous. There are too many ways around these types of things if you're unwilling to pay the price for it to spoil a cruise.

You clearly don't go to concerts or sporting events. Typical costs is $5 for a 20 oz bottle. NCL is not out of line with their pricing especially since there is plenty of filtered water available without charge.

Beware, Norwegian no longer allows bottled water carry-on, and they charge over $6 per bottle for 1 liter bottles of water. Compare to Carnival, who will deliver a 12-pack of 1/2 liter water to your room for under $5. Do the math, Norwegian: over $6 per liter. Carnival: about $1.20 per liter. Norwegian is 5 times higher. Ridiculous, right? Price gouging!

 

Bottled water is a mainstay for us when we travel, we would not have sailed Norwegian knowing this. Seems like a small issue, but every time I took a sip, found myself thinking ka-ching, certainly tarnished the good times.

It's $5.50 for a 1 liter bottle, which is less than I pay in a movie theatre :cool:

On our recent 21 day NCL cruise we had 4 empty water bottles in our luggage, filled them in buffet when going on tour never spent a dime on water! Don't drink much water on tour anyway to avoid the need to use the usually nasty bathrooms!

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