MacGuffin3

Curious why this is just a booze thing. Why isn't this the case when it comes to eating in the restaurants?  All these places also have local taxes on eating out, shopping and lots of other things you may do on board while in port, what's special about booze that they can argue for ding-ing you there?

6 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

 If you're not going to use the package, then there is no 'value' to you. 

We will certainly use it since we got stuck paying for it.  I will challenge myself to see how many martinis I can drink over the course of a week.  I'm just saying for next time, I'm booking the trip, and will check the fine print more carefully.

5 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Your wife is mistaken, call NCL.

No mistake, at least not in regards to this.  When we tried to cancel it said we would forfeit thousands of dollars, we could opt out of the package but there would be no refund since it was supposedly a "free extra" despite it being baked into the price we paid.

Ask my wife, she booked the stupid thing. It was all included in the price.

Yes, looking at the map it seems the Totem Bight park is quite close to Ward Cove, only 2.5 miles north.  So we should be able to swing that on our own, admission is $5 each for walk ins, and there is a dirt cheap local bus, or just grab an Uber, avoiding the NCL "highway-robbery" tour which would cost us about $300 for the four of us, and only leaves at 7:45 am.  Would be nice to see Creek street, but we'll survive.

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I believe those waters are sugar free (I dislike them, I don’t like any drink with sugar substitutes, but love water and unsweetened iced tea).

Unsweetened ice tea is always the way to go. If they weren't forcing the drink packages on us, this is what us parents would drink all week as well.

1 hour ago, vwrestler171 said:

it appears to be between 8.8% and 10.25%

Thanks, “free at sea” ain’t “free in SEA”

Anybody know percentage-wize how much Seattle will ding you before you leave port?

11 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

your best bet is to book an NCL shore excursion. They will pick you up and return you to Ward Cove

Oh, now it all makes perfect sense.  Thanks for the info but I refuse to book overpriced excursions through the cruise-line.  We'll just see how it goes I suppose, if the family is willing to set our alarm-clock while on vacation. My guess is probably not, since there's very little I'd be willing to get up for before 9am while on vacation, and I don't think they have any pyramids in Ketchikan.

2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The dock was purpose-built for NCL ships and that is where they will berth.

First I've ever heard of this, sounds like a ridiculous process if you wake up at a normal hour and want to just walk around town.  Well poof. . . there goes any plans we might have made for Ketchikan if the last bus back is 11:30,  Is there anything to walk around and do in Ward Cove?

2 hours ago, melodyesch said:

But Ward Cove was terrible.  You had to wait for a shuttle to town.

Do you know if this is an every-week thing with the Encore because of a constantly overbooked pier, or an maybe an unlucky week when they had to make an adjustment?

2 minutes ago, Pitzel said:

This is true if you are purchasing the packages outright, but not if you are getting the beverage package through the Free at Sea promo.

Ok thanks, the site is confusing I didn't know there was a difference. If that's the case I have nothing to worry about, they will do perfectly fine with the standard included beverages. They can survive without cans of seltzer for a week.

1 hour ago, Pitzel said:

If they don't drink sodas, is there a reason to keep the soda package for them? Can you decline it?

Apparently everybody in the cabin has to have a drinks package so I don't think so. The 20% tip on theirs' is $2 a day, so not a bank breaker, like I said they can probably handle a few soda waters out of the bar gun that are "very lighly sweetened" with something or another.

Yes I figured as much,  too good to be true.   Can you get Bubly with the Booze package and "pass it on to your kids" nudge nudge?

3 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

@MacGuffin3 does your family like Bubly? NCL has cans of Bubly available at most bars.

Really, included in the $10 soft drink package? That would be perfect. We're on the Encore.

OK, well they would be happy with water, but as we are forced to pay $2 a day tips on their dopey "drink package," I'm happy to send them up to the seediest bar on the ship to order soda-water with a splash of ginger ale and a twist.

25 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Mine weren’t big soda drinkers, but loved getting Shirley temple’s.

I remember those as a kid, I was too embarrassed as a boy to order one, so I was told I could ask for a Roy Rogers and it was basically the same thing. At any rate those are all sweet too, I don't think a sugar-free mocktail exists.

Thanks, was hoping they might have sugar-free seltzer. They don't drink pop so it seems pretty worthless.  Maybe they can get soda-water from the bar and add lime or something, so the package doesn't go completely to waste.

So I think our kids automatically get the pop package on NCL Encore next month. So how does it even work, are there random fountains around the ship? Do they have to swipe a card to access them? Or do they only get it from bars.  Are there cans anywhere to be had as part of the package or just fountain? Thanks.

What does it mean when this board says "You do not have permission to view this topic."
Has the thread just completely been deleted?  I take it personal.

8 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

$80 a day?

That's what NCL is demanding now per day for a balcony cabin with 2 adults and 2 kids.

16 hours ago, mackfam said:

The daughter of a good friend works at one of the more popular high end restaurants in our city and regularly makes $800 or more in tips on a weekend night on top of her wage. 

This is one of the biggest "secrets" of tipping which servers generally keep close to the vest.  At upscale and very busy restaurants, they make bank, often more than the people who are throwing money at them, and mostly tax free.  In the major West Coast cities now their base "minimum wage" hourly salary starts over $15.

I can't think of any justification for an $80 a day tip for a single cabin. For that price they shouldn't just be changing the sheets, they should be providing us with brand new silk ones every day.  They need more transparent honest pricing, so I feel no remorse in removing the DSC.

9 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Agreed. As a customer once said when I asked if he wanted regular or decaf, he replied "oh regular, I never saw the point of decaf." 😂

Did you ask this in follow-up to, "I'd like coffee please?"
I vaguely remember servers doing that when I was a kid. But I think they have all assumed now if you ask for coffee, you want coffee by default, and would have to ask for Decaf by name.

In diners do they still walk around for refills with one pot in each hand, decaf marked by an orange band?

On 5/17/2023 at 4:55 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I had all the  Guinness I wanted on my last cruise.   I didn't need no stinkin' PPBP.😎

Where the hell did our discussion on Guinness go?  It seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. Does a Murphy's fan run this board or something?

2 minutes ago, rockmom said:

You should ask it over in the NCL forum, someone there might have the answer.  

Seems to be quite a lot of specialization around here, apparently I need to spend more time hanging out in the "NCL cream" thread,  not the "RCI cream" thread.  I just like to be where there is cream.