Curtw

Originally posted by Luke I Am Your Father Most bottled water IS tap water.

 

 

Originally posted by newmexicoNita excellant point. Too many do not realize this.

 

 

Maybe most starts as tap water, but a good fact checker would call this claim "misleading" since most bottled water is also filtered, and some is distilled.

Not everyone gets or wants or is willing to pay for the drink package.

And the "Free as Sea" is no where near free, if you'd be happy with a basic inside cabin anyhow...

I concur, ship water is good, from the restaurants anyhow. When I see frequent backed up plumbing issues and leaks around the cabin area, I have to question the water integrity in the cabin. That said, it's not like the whole ship has ever become sick because of the ship water, right?

I don't think your argument ... wait for it ... holds water.

 

At the new prices for buying pre-cruise it's "only" about 1.5 times the cost of the same 1 liter bottle of Aquafina in my local supermarket. That's a smaller margin than on beer, wine or mixed drinks. Would you then say that NCL Corporate doesn't like beer, wine or mixed drinks and therefore they don't want you to drink them?

 

The Aquafina 1 liter bottle is priced very high everywhere, for some unexplained reason. Maybe they intend that size to be for resorts, cruises, etc. where higher prices are in demand. It's a "rip off" in terms of the rest of the Aquafina line because that particular package, for some reason, is about twice the price per ml of the other sizes they sell.

I agree NCL is not losing money on anything they sell. What I don't get is why everyone wants to compare a NCL 24-pack price divided by 24 to a supermarket or convenient store price for a single bottle.

 

A 24-pack of half liter bottles in my market is under $4.00. Compared to an NCL 12 pack (12 liters compared to 12 liters), NCL is about 7 times higher.

 

Single liter bottles are $1.99 locally which makes NCL more than triple. (NCL charged $6.49 per bottle on my invoice.)

 

I get where some of you are okay with NCL pricing, but I argue my assertion that NCL water is a ripoff is a fair assessment based on real pricing, and definitely "holds water".

Don't know about the Star specifically, but on the Dawn, a single bottle is billed at $6.49. You're probably better off purchasing a 6-pack or larger package if you'll consume more than three bottles, although that price is still painful.

Most of it but especially this.

 

"They make bottled water prohibitively expensive. So don't buy it. They don't want you too. "

At the current markup, I'm pretty sure they want to make the sell. No doubt, they have warehouse, handling, etc expenses, but the current water prices surely cover those costs and much more.

I had a buffet worker point that out to me when I was getting water for my insulated tumbler. I didn't see the sign, they should make it larger. But it is a very good idea not to spread germs.

Same thing for us on the ice machine. I agree, it is a good idea to use clean cups only.

this is how I drink tea at home, yay! Is there a means to brew in your stateroom? Do you keep ice in your room?

We brew in the buffet. Not sure how to brew in the room, but where there's a will...! I hear you can get ice from the steward, but we never bothered.

 

We use 32oz insulated mugs, fill 'er up and should be good for a few hours.

The typical discussion around NCL and bottled water is focused on ending up with a quantity of water in your stateroom and NCL prohibiting you from brining same. The single $6 bottle (if true) is largely irrelevant.

 

The current prices, while steep, are not $6 per liter and it is disingenuous to represent as such just to strengthen your position. If you would like to discuss the single-purchase price of bottled water on the ships, a thread about the lowering of the bottled water package prices probably isn't the best place.

Hi trip! I believe a thread about water prices is a logical place to discuss water prices. And the single bottle price I paid on my very recent cruise was indeed, over $6. The lower prices announced could address this, but they mysteriously left out that price point. And New prices still do not include a reasonable option fur those who depend on bottled water when travelling.

My understanding has always been that as a corporate decision they disapprove of bottled water. They believe their tap water is fine. And in order to further their belief yet accommodate those who insist. They make bottled water prohibitively expensive. So don't buy it. They don't want you too. However. I do think it would be a good idea to hand it out as we get off the ship in certain ports. They don't. And that is consistent with their bottled water practices.

 

 

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I hear ya, but they might consider the demographic they sell to. What percent of their market can they afford to displease?

Not everyone gets or wants or is willing to pay for the drink package.

right? We couldn't drink that much anyhow, would take about eight beers a day to break even...

Still to expensive.

Agreed!

It's annoying but we bought bottled water in port, some vendors even sell on the street for a $1. In Puerto Rico we popped into CVS and bought some there.

 

I guess it's understandable that they want to make $$ but I wish they had better water to offer for purchase. I only ever saw Aquafina, which I think is just from a public water source, which translates to tap? I'd buy a bottle of Fiji or Evian instead if they offered!

Variety would be nice.

Except the part where the NCL water now costs between $2.21 - $2.95 per bottle. Not $6

yes, if you purchase 24 liters, you can reduce your cost to your estimate. If you purchase one bottle, you'll pay over$6. The two of us utilized three one liter bottles on a seven day cruise. Not sure why we would purchase a 24 or even a 12 pack. The six pack would not have saved us money although we would have got more water for about the same three bottle price. Of course, this comparison is or January cruise vs new, February prices which is also unhelpful.

 

or the part where I doubt any decent restaurant would be happy at you taking a bottle of water out and placing it on your table when they sell bottled water.

I guess we dine at different restaurants than you.

 

or the part where most decent restaurants would charge at least $4/5 a bottle.

I've never seen a price like that.

 

I stayed in a Miami Beach hotel recently and a 1l bottle of water in the room was $8. Did I feel insulted? No. Did I complain to anyone who would listen? No. I didn't buy it.

did they confiscate your water at the door and require that you only consume their products for your stay? That would be odd, right?

So,,,, if you buy a case of water on the ship, the per-bottle cost is comparable to any convenience store price (7-11) for that same bottle of Aquifina. How is that a rip off. There is nothing that says it has to be the same price as a warehouse store like Costco. Maybe you need to get your facts straight.

 

Same would apply for items purchased at an airport, sporting event, hotel, on a plane, etc. Just because Costco sells something for $X, it doesn't mean that everyone has to sell it for that price. NCL has the right to price their items as they wish, just like every other business, and if folks don't like the price, they don't have to purchase the item, as no one is forcing them to buy it.

 

 

How do these thoughts remotely relate to the suggestion that a $6+ bottle of water is a ripoff? Are you somehow endorsing that?

HEY DID Y'ALL HEAR? THEY LOWERED BOTTLED WATER PRICE, BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH. :eek:

Amen! Whoops, I mean AMEN!

In my state, price gouging is a specific crime, and can only be prosecuted if a natural or man-made disaster has occurred, cutting off supply lines, and the product being priced higher is an "essential" consumer good or service -Cal. Pen. Code § 396 So it has more than just a higher price as a necessary component to be considered price gouging.

 

Most state laws are similar; the "price gouge" has to be for an item you can't get otherwise, and the item has to essential. Since free alternatives to bottled water are available, NCL can't be thought of to be "price gouging" in any kind of legal sense. I prefer to call it a "rip off".

I assume you imply a figurative rip-off rather than a literal rip-off, as the latter is surely defined outside these parameters by your state's penal code. Therefore, please accept that I also implied figurative price gouging. Literally, this is a PR / image issue for NCL, which I'm confident is also not a crime in your state.

If you buy something or not does not determine if it's price is being gouged.

 

Price gouging is a pejorative term referring to when a seller spikes the prices of goods, services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair, and is considered exploitative, potentially to an unethical extent.

Agreed, and thanks!

The ships are sailing full and the water has been over-priced for years. This isn't a problem for NCL. The folks who are being overly dramatic about this have a few choices, and you know what they are by now, right? ;)

Did you just wink at me Colin? How cute!

 

 

I imagine water has been overpriced for years. Didn't really matter when you could BYOW.

 

 

And I don't know "what they are by now". Please enlighten me. Spell it out. With a wink, if need be.

Do you feel insulted when you can't bring your own wine into a restaurant, but instead have to pay for it and pick from a list supplied by the restaurant?

 

 

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I've don't know any restaurants that forbid bringing in a water bottle, nor have I ever paid $6 for a bottle of water at a restaurant. Not sure your wine example really fits here. Especially considering you can carry on a bottle of wine with NCL.

I can't believe that there are 60 posts on this.

I predict this one will surpass that one by the end of the week.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

You must be new here.

 

The original "water thread" was over 2,000 posts if I remember right.

Call it what you must, but popularity of a thread says a lot for the content. And if you are tired of reading this, imagine how NCL feels. Instead of lowering their price from 4-5 times the competition to only triple the competition, maybe they should consider how sensitive the bottled water is to so many guests, and maybe they should make this available at a reasonable price. I agree, some of you don't care, and will cruise NCL anyhow. But the market share that does care clearly feels NCL is taking advantage of them. Reading the threads, I imagine that neglected market share is close to half.

Ice tea from syrup vs fresh brew not so good :mad:

 

Agreed!!!!! We brew tea on the ships. Hot tea poured over ice. Way better than fountain tea. Try it!

Still triple the cost of water on Carnival. These prices are unreasonable, even indecent. I urge NCL to match or at least get in the same ballpark as other lines, and maybe apologize for their intentional gouging. Be a little more sensitive to your customer.

So you keep saying. :rolleyes:

Hi Trip, you still stalking me? :D

 

 

Yes, I've said it a few times. I'm certain I'll say it again. But I never suggested I'd abandon the forum, wouldn't want you to feel unloved!

Key word was value =10%

 

I used 60,000 points to go from inside cabin, upgraded to Balcony on a 40 night cruise. The difference in cost between inside and Balcony for 40 nights is/was $6000. As time went on the spread got even larger. Now it is sold out and its still a year away.

If I used the points for OBC or cash back that would be $600.

I always use the upgrade. I just booked a 15 night Panama cruise, value of inside to Balcony =$2400

 

Many of my points come from using NCL as they give triple on any of their stuff. Last 21 night cruise gave me 27,000 points just for booking and paying.:)

 

Steve

 

Steve

 

That's great information Steve, I'll be sure to dig deeper before crying foul. Thank you!