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What time are the shows at the Stardust Theatre? Making dinner reservations and I want to allow for going to a show afterwards. Also, can you reserve tickets to the shows before the sailing?

19:30 and 21:30. No reservations either before sailing or when on board.

First off, NCL did not say they are not providing straws at all; they said they are available upon request, as far as I understand.

Several reports in this thread of no straws being available (paper or plastic), even when requested.

Where did you see the "Seven Seas". I can not find any reference ?

 

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Dining_Guide.pdf

Someone had previously posted some photos taken from another website and said they were from the Star. One of them referred to Seven Seas. It wasn't from the Star and the photos have since been removed from the thread, presumably due to copyright violation.

Do you pay VAT on cruise fares?

 

 

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Yes but the price advertised includes that, same as in stores the price on the item includes tax and is the price you pay.

You're right about tip vs gratuity

 

NCL is careful to use SERVICE CHARGE which is different on many levels.

That's why NCL assesses a DSC: Daily Service Charge.

 

It's not a tip.

It's not a gratuity.

Well in Europe where we have to book the Premium All Inclusive Package NCL specifically state that service charges AND Tips are included in our fare. This is taken from the NCL Web Page that describes the Premium All Inclusive Package.

Norwegian’s Premium All Inclusive cruising offers you an unparalleled sense of freedom with just so much included in the fare. Feel Free to enjoy a wide choice of premium alcoholic beverages in all bars, lounges and restaurants. Savour Lavazza speciality coffees served at meal times and relax because service charge and tips are also included

Do they have anything special in the Beer Garden?

 

The Bier Garten is no more. It was refitted and changed to the Sky High Bar (matching the design of the one on the Pearl) during the recent dry dock

The Premium All Inclusive in the UK/EU seems to include water, and soft drinks - but has anyone actually tried using it for bottled water?

It only includes 1l bottle of water per person per day delivered to your stateroom at the start of your cruise. It does not include bottled water from bars or restaurants.

Thanks! Are they under the official NCL FB account?

No, there is nothing on the official NCL pages (they don't seem to be publicising the refit at all) but here's a link to an earlier post which explains how to find pictures

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56149722&postcount=38

When do you sail? The internet packages only showed up for my cruise around 45 days prior to sailing, it just said zero before that.

What does this mean ... the highlighted part?

 

Last year I had my 1 Qt. water bottle filled with ice & water in the dining room. I drank about 1/2 and it was attached to my purse 1/2 filled when I came back on board. No one gave me any trouble or asked me to dump it. Oh, BTW, NCL was charging $5 for a large bottle of water before everyone disembarked the ship to go ashore.

You got lucky. You normally have to empty or dump them, even if previously purchased as you left the ship.

Several threads already on here with some info. Here are a couple

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2634944

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2634916

One more bit of info. If you win more then $1299.00 they will need the tax id # of someone in the group.

The winnings will have to be declared on some ones tax return as income.

In spite of the tight machines mentioned on this thread our group hit for more then $1700.00.

We all chipped in to cover the tax and gave it to the person who organized the pull.

all involved came out with an even $100.00 after taxes.

What happens if you are not US citizens so don't have a USA tax ID ?

Halifax Clarity, no additional fees for FX and is a Mastercard which gets you a slightly better exchange rate than Visa. Had no issues at all with registering it on ship and using in ports at the same time.

There are very few generally available UK cards that have zero FX fees. When I last looked it was Halifax Clarify, Post Office, Creation, Barclaycard Platinum Travel and if over 50 the Saga Platinum. There are a few others which require you to have a qualifying account with whoever issues the card.

Note that the premium all inclusive info on the UK NCL website specifically recommends tipping butler or concierge if you are in a suite. So it's a bit like bottled water - All inclusive as long as you read the small print :confused:

All gratuities and tips related to the all-inclusive services are included as well as the service charge.

An 20% gratuity will automatically be added to guest's accounts for dining options and spa treatments not included in the cruise fare. We encourage guests utilising these additional services to acknowledge good service provided by the staff members with appropriate gratuities. We recommend to guests staying in Suites who receive services from a butler or concierge to acknowledge service provided appropriately.

Thank you for your review. I am on the same itinerary for August. What nights were the formal nights?

Either side of the sea day - Gibraltar and Marseille

If I purchase the All Inclusive Beverage package on Princess and my drink is more than $10, do I pay just the difference in cost or the entire cost of the drink? TY!

You would pay the entire cost

The option to buy the inclusive package has disappeared from my cruise personaliser. Has this happened to anyone else? My cruise is mid May.

If I click beverage packages from the first screen it doesn't seem to show but if I click "Onboard Reservations" at the top of the screen and then beverage packages it is listed there.

I'm thinking Colo is saying they wouldn't drink even that "modest" amount on a port intensive cruise - of course his experience is perfectly valid and may or may not be similar to ours or others..

 

Your Mileage May Vary.

 

... that's the whole point of the evaluator sheet

I agree and wasn't suggesting that people who say it doesn't work for them are wrong.

In fact, owing to the number of people who say it is not good value, I thought I was calculating things incorrectly when the spreadsheet indicated it would work for me. There's now a good balance of people in the thread split between it works and it doesn't so I'm going to trust the spreadsheet and go with it.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I tried entering your assumptions into the spreadsheet and for you, it would seem the AIBP would be a good deal, or at least a break even. Sometimes a 7 day is easier to justify than the longer cruises....or maybe you would consistently drink that even over a long cruise. I think with the coffee drinks and wine it gets easier to justify than if one was a beer drinker.

Thanks. That's at least confirmed that I was understanding things correctly

No, I meant as far as sea days.

With a port intensive cruise it's not a good value IMO. At least that was our experience when we had the AIBP with a port intensive cruise and few sea days.

Thanks. That's why I feel I am missing something because in every similar thread that is generally the advice from experienced cruisers like yourself. In this thread alone we've seen people say

Far be it from me to judge, but the only situations where the AIBP seems to pencil out would be for folks that have a beverage of any kind in their hand from sun-up till sun-down.

and

Unequivocally it isn't worth it, no.

and yet what seems (to me) to be a modest consumption of beverages (as per my earlier example) suggests that it is worth it.

Help me to understand - what am I missing?

We found just the opposite.

Sorry, I'm confused. Are you saying that if you put those same figures into the spreadsheet (1 iced coffee, 3 wine, 1 cocktail, 1 large water per day, plus 3 small water per port day) it calculates that you would be worse off buying the AIBP?

Unequivocally it isn't worth it, no. It's more cost-efficient (not to mention easier on your body and re coffee, central nervous system) if you simply opted for a pay-as-you-go scheme.

 

If otherwise you have money to burn and are ambivalent about spending same, there IS a modicum of convenience there, so have at it!

I found the often mention spreadsheet somewhere on this board and entered the following figures

1 iced coffee creation, 3 glasses wine, 1 cocktail & 1 big bottle of water per day plus 3 small bottles water on each port day

The spreadsheet suggests that on a 7 day cruise with just 1 sea day I would be better off buying the AIBP.

Am I misunderstanding how the AIBP works or what is already included in my cruise cost? I wouldn't call that consumption "a lot" nor as "always having a drink in hand" which are what I see being quoted as the only times the package makes sense?