Free at Sea...really Free on NCL?

I have a question about the Free at Sea perk of $50 per port shore excursion credit. Do you have to use that at each port, or can you save up and spend $200 at one? Sheryl

I have a question about the Free at Sea perk of $50 per port shore excursion credit. Do you have to use that at each port, or can you save up and spend $200 at one? Sheryl

use it or lose it per port

ok so I see you live in The USA so you know about tipping, taxes etc. So for example if you win a free car you must pay taxes on it, if you have a 2 for one dinner coupon it is customary to tip on the full amount and not the discounted amount, if you win a free trip you are expected to pay taxes on the amount of the trip, if you win 300,000 dollars at the casino you are taxed right then and there - so its just like your parents told you, nothing in the world is free

thanks, I hope you were able to make it so the OP could understand. So many people forget there are charges on top of just the perks. We still love the promos, whatever they happen to be at a given time. It is nice to have everything paid for up front and we are not at all upset about the additional charge for tipping whether it is the bar or the DSC. These are things everyone should be willing to pay and understand.

Book in Australia as we get the 20% included in the package as it is illegal here to give something away for “free” and then add charges, fees, taxes etc :p:D .

Swings and roundabouts though because most cruises are priced higher when booking here!

For legal reasons, free should be completely free. If McDonalds offered you free fries with your burger, you get them free, you don't pay taxes or gratuity on them.

 

Instead of pre-paying gratuity which the NCL waiters NEVER see, just make drink packages completely free with the expectation that you must offer cash tip to the waiters for every single drink. That is more than fair.

 

NCL is just pocketing the pre-paid gratuity for extra profit like a typical corporation. Your drink package isn't free. It's paying for the Johnny Walker Black Label and coke you ordered.

above someone noted that if the service charge is more than you plan to drink that you should pass on the FREE deal

But like us who rather enjoy a smooth cool beverage multiX a day than its surely a better price tag.

sure make for 2 week TA trips much more FUN:cool:

about to say something similar. This topic pops up about once a week I think just like gratuities used to and still do from time to time; years ago it was bringing booze on and how to smuggle it in your luggage.

 

OP, you are getting perks free, all you are being assessed is for gratuities which you pay one way or the other anyway. So what is the real question?

I agree the free drink package is a great idea, but because of it, I see more drunks than ever now. Even on ships that do not have the free package, the drunks are doubled. I Like my wine and an occasional drink and my husband a beer now and then but the drinks prices are ridiculous. 🍺🍹

Outrageous! Why’s this never been brought to light before? I’d much rather we have $700 in bar charges at the end of a 7 day cruise and sign bar charge slips like the good old days. And the fact they force you to do this booze package is a reason to find a new cruise line!

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above someone noted that if the service charge is more than you plan to drink that you should pass on the FREE deal

But like us who rather enjoy a smooth cool beverage multiX a day than its surely a better price tag.

sure make for 2 week TA trips much more FUN:cool:

I think the break even is 2 or 3 drinks per day, depending on what you drink. So it's a good deal if you are going to drink heavily on vacation.

$ 20.00 a day to drink as much or as little as I want is definitely better then having a large bar tab at the end of my cruise with the same 20% gratuities added on to each and every drink... not just an estimated gratuity ... hummm... I think I’ll take the perk and not worry about drinking too little or too much. JMO

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Well it wouldn't be so bad if you just had to pay the $249 gratuities to get the beverage package for the two of you for a week but that is not the total cost of the package.

 

I just priced the cruise I am going on and I can get a "sail and sign cabin" $600 cheaper than another oceanview cabin. With the "sail and sign" cabin you don't get any "free" perks like the beverage package and you get a guarantee cabin. With the regular cabin you get the beverage package and get to pick your cabin but you have to pay $600 more plus $249 more for gratuities making it $849 for the beverages and getting to pick your cabin out of only 9 cabins that are unsold in that class and are all pretty much the same.

 

Now we do like to drink and have been on many cruises but there is no way that we are going to drink $849 worth of drinks in a week when we are in port most of the time.

 

Getting to pick your cabin out of only 9 unsold cabins in that class that are close to each other and identical is of absolutely no value and the guarantee cabin is even more valuable because you may get upgraded to a better cabin.

 

With the $849 I save by not getting the beverage package we are then able to get specialty coffee, water, ultra premium liquors, items from the minibar, sports drinks, Irish Coffee and many other drinks and still have hundreds left over.

Right now on the Escape for next March, the "Sail Away" (not Sail and Sign) price is only $200 more than picking your own balcony location and receiving perks. I think your example is for a cruise very near sailing. That difference does go up closer to the sailing date. If you book way in advance, there is not much of a price difference between the Sali Away price and Picking Your Own Cabin price. Every cruise line offers a cheaper price for their "guarantee" cabins, including NCL. What the other cruise lines don't offer is a drink package if you choose to book and select your own cabin.

I just book the Carnival Horizon, lowest balcony price available, for June 2018 and the price for two people was $3,248.80. I then had to pay $836 for our drink package! Over $4000 for cruise for two with drink package.

Compare to NCL Escape, lowest balcony price available, for March 2019 and the price for two people is $2,774. This includes the drink package, and three nights in specialty dining, and Promotion service Charge or $138.40 per person.

Only difference is Horizon is an 8 day and Escape is a 7 day. But regardless, $1300 cheaper. I feel that drink package is free on NCL compared to the price for cruise plus drink package on Carnival. That is not even factoring in the value of the three nights specialty dining on NCL. If we add the amount of three nights in specialty dining on Carnival, we can add another $120 or so to the $4000.