Free Promos are Not Free

Am I correct by calculating the drink promo for two weeks, two people at 20 percent would be 500.? My husband doesn't drink so I would have to drink a lot of drinks a day, even just myself to come up to 250. in tips?

It's $17.80 per person per day if receiving the UBP promo. It you have 2 drinks per day (not difficult ;)), it's better to take the promo and pay the service charge. If the spouse doesn't drink....have 4 drinks per day. The spouse can also have non-alcoholic drinks which would be included in the UBP. Specialty coffee and bottled water aren't included but a virgin whatever drink can be enjoyed by the spouse.

It's $17.80 per person per day if receiving the UBP promo. It you have 2 drinks per day (not difficult ;)), it's better to take the promo and pay the service charge. If the spouse doesn't drink....have 4 drinks per day. The spouse can also have non-alcoholic drinks which would be included in the UBP. Specialty coffee and bottled water aren't included but a virgin whatever drink can be enjoyed by the spouse.

Soda from soda guns is also included, so a non-drinking passenger with the UDP can enjoy that as well.

Hence why NCL calls it a "service charge" and not "gratuities."

Whatever it is called, it is an extra charge added to the "free" promos and must be paid.

MARAPRINCE

Hence why NCL calls it a "service charge" and not "gratuities."

NCL uses whatever term that they want. They have used "gratuities" or "service charges" at different times to describe the same thing. Now, they use "A 20% gratuity and beverage service charge..." to cover all bases.

Don't get caught up in the "terms" that NCL uses. Just focus on what comes out of your pocket and how much you'll enjoy your cruise. Don't even worry about what NCL does with your money.

Am I correct by calculating the drink promo for two weeks, two people at 20 percent would be 500.? My husband doesn't drink so I would have to drink a lot of drinks a day, even just myself to come up to 250. in tips?

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I think you are in the Haven? The bartenders made lovely drinks for me, without alcohol and they are really entertaining to watch! Virgin Raspberry Mojito at Sugarcanes was very good.

$17.8 per day in tips each, covers as many drinks (under $15) as you want.

A glass of wine (or cocktail) with lunch & dinner & one more drink will cost at least $17.8. Take the alcohol out & 4 drinks probably costs more than $17.80

Hence why NCL calls it a "service charge" and not "gratuities."

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It means the same thing. That money is supposed to go to the bartenders and servers and they are not getting it.

 

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It does not mean the same thing. A portion of that money goes to them, not all. Hence why NCL charges 20% on a ridiculous number like $89. It's a source of revenue.

From NCL website: "Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. "

The key word here is "supports."

As former NCL cruisers DH and I were open to trying NCL again. When attempting to book a 5-day cruise out of Tampa I selected the Free Drinks promo. Imagine my surprise when the total cruise cost amount included a $178 service charge for the "Free Drinks." What is free about that? I chatted with a NCL rep and was told the service charge is the 20% gratuities for the free drinks! Free drinks should include the gratuities or it isn't really free. No thanks, we'll stick to Carnival and Holland America where there aren't service charges for "free" promos. By the way, their drink gratuities are 15%, not 20%.

WAHHHHHHH! If you would rather pay for your drinks than get them free then by all means do so. A barkeep needs to prepare and serve your drink not matter what you pay for them.

It does not mean the same thing. A portion of that money goes to them, not all. Hence why NCL charges 20% on a ridiculous number like $89. It's a source of revenue.

 

From NCL website: "Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. "

 

The key word here is "supports."

You are quoting the DSC not the 20% gratuity.

Am I correct by calculating the drink promo for two weeks, two people at 20 percent would be 500.? My husband doesn't drink so I would have to drink a lot of drinks a day, even just myself to come up to 250. in tips?

Pick a different freebie!

Its based on $80/day @ 20%. I just paid $112 “Bev Svc Charge” on a 7 day UBP. The 3 dining meal was much cheaper.

 

 

 

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You probably booked your cruise before they increased the gratuity from 18-20%. You paid 18% of 89 pppd.

You are quoting the DSC not the 20% gratuity.

If the bar staff truly received 100% of that, they'd probably be earning more than the captain.

$17.80 per person, per day for every person on the ship with the UBP is A LOT of money.

Where does it say that it supports the stock holders and officers? That's where the money goes.

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If the bar staff truly received 100% of that, they'd probably be earning more than the captain.

 

$17.80 per person, per day for every person on the ship with the UBP is A LOT of money.

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If the bar staff truly received 100% of that, they'd probably be earning more than the captain.

 

$17.80 per person, per day for every person on the ship with the UBP is A LOT of money.

depends.

how many 'bartenders/bar backs' are there on the ship?

Pick a different freebie!

Oh, I get it now. If I drink more than two or three past that 17.80 then I would be making out which I would not. So we skipped that one freebie!

depends.

how many 'bartenders/bar backs' are there on the ship?

Let's say there's 2,000 people with UBP on one of the mega ships. That's $35,600 per day in "service charges" just for alcohol.

Let's say 100 bartenders/bar backs are working on any given day. That $356 per employee per day. PLUS additional tips received throughout the course of the day from people with/without UBP.

Those folks aren't making that much money. They probably aren't even making half of that amount.

As with all the promotions, you have to decide how much you are going to use it. If you drink a lot of alcoholic beverages, then it is very worthwhile to just pay the $170 or so for the gratuities - $15 martinis add up fast!

Here was my puzzle - since specialty coffee is not included, I could not get a latte as part of my drink package; however, if I have them throw a shot of whiskey in a latte to make it an Irish Coffee, then it is in included. Seemed odd.

Most of us understand that it is no longer "free"... although there remains value in paying the gratuity on the package.

As several posters have mentioned, you have to do the math and determine if the gratuity charge is better financially than buying drinks a la carte.

Hubby and I are recently back from a 13 night cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas in the UK. We did not buy a drinks package. We are moderate drinkers when on vacation and also purchased sodas throughout the cruise.

Drinks are exorbitantly priced on board - and add up fast. One cocktail each at sailaway with tip came to $28.32 and one glass of wine each at dinner was also $28.32. That's $56.64 for four drinks on one day only. A soda was almost $4 after tip.

For us, paying $32.04 a day for gratuities on our upcoming Escape cruise is still coming out ahead financially vs. us buying a la carte. I agree with the other posters who have pointed out that it's better than paying full price for the drink package with any line!

Do you pay VAT on cruise fares?

 

 

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Tax is included! We do not add taxes on afterwards, unlike the US. It always creases me when I see a product advertised for say 20$ in the USA & when I get to the cash till they tell me it’s more-cos of the state tax( & that varies enormously from state to state.)

The cruise price you see here in the UK is the price you pay👍( except for the gratuities & sometimes even they are included in the deal) No doubt there is VAT at our current rate of 20% but it is figured in the bottom line cost. No extra hidden things like port fees for us Brits either! All in!!

I don't see what is a problem.

If NCL promised this perk free and then suddenly charged graties on board this would be upsetting.

You know that you will be charged at the time of booking so you can make a decision to take it or not.

And frankly I don't care how company spends money collected as long as I get what's promised.

The "free" excursions offer is the most misleading IMHO. They should say "discounted" excursions. You get a $50 per cabin (not person) discount per port.

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David: Actually on my last cruise, four of my excursions were completely FREE!! Firstly I had $50 per person credit since I got a $25 per person credit for my “FREE” perk AND an additional $25 per person credit for “distinctive voyage offer”. That second credit was a very happy surprise.

I did 3 HOHO tours ( $45-$50) and a harbour boat ride in Cabo ($39). After credits I was charged $0, $0, $0 and $0 for those 4 excursions. And my $139 Victoria excursion cost me $89.

So five excursions for $89. I was beyond happy. And now that I understand the value of a Distinctive Voyage, I’ll be searching for those in the future.

So.....even that excursions offer can work out!!

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Let's say there's 2,000 people with UBP on one of the mega ships. That's $35,600 per day in "service charges" just for alcohol.

 

Let's say 100 bartenders/bar backs are working on any given day. That $356 per employee per day. PLUS additional tips received throughout the course of the day from people with/without UBP.

 

Those folks aren't making that much money. They probably aren't even making half of that amount.

Exactly. That is what irks many about pre-paying gratuities for services they have not received. I guess the rules at sea are different. A USA based land restaurant could never get away with making customers pre-pay gratuities and not giving them to their staff. The auto gratuity for house keeping is around $70 per day for a cabin of 5. A cabin of 2 is around $27? If they were paid those gratuities for every cabin cleaned every day plus their wage, they would make a fairly good wage I doubt housekeeping sees those gratuities either. If you ever watch or read a blog from a cruise worker, they will tell you they don't see all these gratuities.

It was just an observation that NCL somehow has valued their drink package as worth twice that of the competitors, even though it is less inclusive.

NCL is not putting an arbitrary value of 89 on their package, that is the actual cost. I’ve paid that for the package for the 3rd person in our room, plus the gratuities on top of that. And that person still got a great deal (easily drank that every day). So the UBP perk for the first two is a great deal for us and one of the many reasons we return to NCL.

As former NCL cruisers DH and I were open to trying NCL again. When attempting to book a 5-day cruise out of Tampa I selected the Free Drinks promo. Imagine my surprise when the total cruise cost amount included a $178 service charge for the "Free Drinks." What is free about that? I chatted with a NCL rep and was told the service charge is the 20% gratuities for the free drinks! Free drinks should include the gratuities or it isn't really free. No thanks, we'll stick to Carnival and Holland America where there aren't service charges for "free" promos. By the way, their drink gratuities are 15%, not 20%.

Not hard to figure out; the rep did a good job of explaining it to you. I am not sure what you do not understand about the answer and why do you think the gratuities are only 15%? Most of us now tip close to 20% on everything. If you do not drink more than a couple of drinks a day, choose another promo or go with the plan that has no perks. It is that simple.