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"Free" drinks package - do we now have to pay 18% service charge?


wales4ever
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Which on NORWEGIAN is NOT discretionary - so we were told. Just like FREE BEVERAGE PKG is not free.
The UBP isn't truly an Ultimate Drinks Package either. Ultimate indicates it can't be beaten, and yet there are still drinks you pay a supplement for. What amused us was that we could have an Irish Coffee (with whiskey in it) but couldn't have it without - Americano/Cappuccino for instance.

 

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It's totally intended to be unclear. If you look on the US web site on the five choice promotion right now it talks about a "free unlimited open bar," with "free" in bold. There is a small asterisk that says service charges may apply but they conveniently put the asterisk at the end of the part of the free perks listing that says, "up to $500 free onboard spend."

 

Also, the "may apply" is lame. If you chose the beverage package, a service charge will apply and they are very plainly trying to softpedal this to make people think it's just a routine boilerplate that doesn't mean anything, as opposed to a very significant charge on a supposed "free" item.

 

When you go through the booking process you click on a radio button that adds the "free" perk, and again, there is no real disclosure that you're adding on a charge of up to hundreds of dollars depending on your cruise length. The charge is then added as "choice promo srvc charge" near port taxes, which is pretty subtle.

 

Do most people know that this is a charge that got added because of the "free" perks that they chose? Sure, maybe. Clearly, some don't. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so sneaky about it. It's up to everyone to understand their own financial decisions. But NCL sure is deliberately intending to make it difficult. It is very clear to anyone looking at the website that they are trying to disguise it. Even if they only trick, what, 1 out of 20 people who would make a different choice if they understood what they were doing, that's millions of dollars. It's pretty shady.

 

But, in the end, no more shady than resort fees that get added on at the last step of booking a hotel, or similar things. Companies do this because it works.

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Which on NORWEGIAN is NOT discretionary - so we were told. Just like FREE BEVERAGE PKG is not free.
Incorrect on both counts.

 

DSC can be removed or reduced. You received a free beverage package, what wasn't free was the gratuities on the package, which was clearly stated by NCL.

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The UBP isn't truly an Ultimate Drinks Package either. Ultimate indicates it can't be beaten, and yet there are still drinks you pay a supplement for. What amused us was that we could have an Irish Coffee (with whiskey in it) but couldn't have it without - Americano/Cappuccino for instance.

 

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The Irish Coffee that is included with the UBP is coffee based and thus included, not espresso based. Espresso based drinks including the Americano and Cappuccino that you mentioned are not part of NCL'S package. You need to cruise on Carnival, Royal, Celebrity or Princess to have it included.
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Yeah, maybe I should have questioned everything when I randomly chose to go to "My Cruise" online during the year that I had the reservation. Live and learn.
In a previous post of yours earlier in the thread, you lamented the fact that the 18% you paid was more than a glass of wine would be with dinner. If you bought a 9.95 glass of wine, it would have cost you 11.75 after factoring in the gratuity. You paid 16.02 per day, so you paid 4.27 per day more than you wanted. After factoring in 2 people and 7 days, you paid about 60 bucks more than you wanted for your vacation. Even less if you chose to drink a glass of wine that was over 9.95. Get over it. Either suck it up and you'll be educated about NCL'S policy for the next time or just cruise with another line.
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I'm curious as to how previous posters know, for a fact, that the gratuities charged are somehow used as revenue by the cruise line and not passed on, in full, to the staff. The proposition sounds morally wrong, perhaps even illegal. If NCL, or any cruise line, is telling customers that they are paying a gratuity, but that money is not reaching those that are represented to be the recipients of that gratuities, at least the Board of Directors should answer for this.

 

Does anyone have any actual evidence?

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In a previous post of yours earlier in the thread, you lamented the fact that the 18% you paid was more than a glass of wine would be with dinner. If you bought a 9.95 glass of wine, it would have cost you 11.75 after factoring in the gratuity. You paid 16.02 per day, so you paid 4.27 per day more than you wanted. After factoring in 2 people and 7 days, you paid about 60 bucks more than you wanted for your vacation. Even less if you chose to drink a glass of wine that was over 9.95. Get over it. Either suck it up and you'll be educated about NCL'S policy for the next time or just cruise with another line.

 

It doesn't look so bad when you break it down...nice work. Does the original poster care to give us an estimate on how many drinks your party had over 10 days? You might have made out better than you think unless you flat out didn't partake at all. For 3-4 drinks a day total, you're breaking even.

Edited by DaveL00
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We disembarked the Jewel at the start of this month. Booked in the UK and had the drinks package as a Free At Sea promotion which included service charge for the drinks but we still had to pay the normal daily gratuities. The only payment we made on board in respect of drinks was the Sales Tax on embarkation day whilst we were still in Washington waters.

 

My understanding from other Brits is that the laws in the UK won't allow NCL to call it "free" and then charge the 18% service charge. The US allows marketers to mislead by having a little asterik and putting fine print at the bottom, and we have gotten used to it.

 

I also understand that new bookings in the UK include the daily service charge, so you would only have to pay the sales tax or VAT at time of purchase of drinks (depending on if you are in port or not, or if your cruise only sails in EU waters, etc.) :So from now on you won't have to pay the daily service charge people often refer to as "daily gratuities".

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Also, the "may apply" is lame. If you chose the beverage package, a service charge will apply and they are very plainly trying to softpedal this to make people think it's just a routine boilerplate that doesn't mean anything, as opposed to a very significant charge on a supposed "free" item.

It probably still reads "may apply" because at one time, suite guests didn't have to pay it. You are correct that it should read "will apply" or "does apply".

 

It currently has "Guest is responsible for 18% gratuities on the retail value of the Ultimate Beverage Package ($14.22 USD per person per day) and/or Soda Package ($1.35 USD per person per day) prior to cruise." It should be $16.02 for the UBP.

 

When you go through the booking process you click on a radio button that adds the "free" perk, and again, there is no real disclosure that you're adding on a charge of up to hundreds of dollars depending on your cruise length. The charge is then added as "choice promo srvc charge" near port taxes, which is pretty subtle.

The extra amount can't be added until a selection is made. Once the selection is made, the added charges are reflected in the total before payment info is entered.

 

Do most people know that this is a charge that got added because of the "free" perks that they chose? Sure, maybe. Clearly, some don't. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so sneaky about it. It's up to everyone to understand their own financial decisions. But NCL sure is deliberately intending to make it difficult. It is very clear to anyone looking at the website that they are trying to disguise it. Even if they only trick, what, 1 out of 20 people who would make a different choice if they understood what they were doing, that's millions of dollars. It's pretty shady.

EVERYONE is free to change their promo before or after down payment. If I order a pizza from Domino's for delivery, I "see" the delivery charge before I pay. If I don't notice it and pay anyway, it isn't "shady" on their part....it's just lazy on my part.

 

I think that people get so excited when booking a cruise, they don't notice what things actually cost. Other than the DSC (another topic for another day....on multiple threads), what you pay for is right there before payment/down payment is entered.

Edited by Two Wheels Only
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Exactly and this should be the end of the discussion......PICK ANOTHER PERK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY THE BAR SERVICE CHARGE. No, I'd rather whine and complain.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

A bit condescending. The UBP is not a perk when purchasing a Premium All Inclusive cruise, it is included in the price, as is the Bar Service charge, which is shown on your booking confirmation.

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A bit condescending. The UBP is not a perk when purchasing a Premium All Inclusive cruise, it is included in the price, as is the Bar Service charge, which is shown on your booking confirmation.
That's the difference between those booking from the US with the pick your perk promo and those booking from the UK with the all inclusive package being forced upon you. There are those in the US that gripe about the 18% and that is why many posters mention about picking another perk if the 18% is a hindrance. It really shouldn't be since you can drink all you want for 16.02 per day. The problem should be if you paid another 300 for the opportunity to get the perk, thus resulting in paying about 59 per day.
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The Irish Coffee that is included with the UBP is coffee based and thus included, not espresso based. Espresso based drinks including the Americano and Cappuccino that you mentioned are not part of NCL'S package. You need to cruise on Carnival, Royal, Celebrity or Princess to have it included.
Yes I realise this but the word Ultimate should not be used as there is clearly a level above to which they could go.

 

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Exactly and this should be the end of the discussion......PICK ANOTHER PERK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY THE BAR SERVICE CHARGE. No, I'd rather whine and complain.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
I agree! NCL has the cheapest solo Sail Away rates in the industry so if you don't like the service charge of the drink package snag yourself a super cheap balcony cabin and count yourself happy!

 

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On our upcoming 7 day cruise with the free drinks package, UBP, it cost us $99.54 per person up front. So for 2 of us it was $199.08, it is called, bar service charge.

 

Same for us. Our "free" drink packages cost $200 which they made us pay a full 3 months before sailing or have our trip cancelled. Personally, IF it is reasonable to charge this service charge on top of a complimentary package, then an automatic 18% when we haven't even had a chance to see how good the service is is totally unreasonable. I typically only tip 18% after exceptional service. In most cases I tip 15%. And if the service is really bad, nothing. We should have more control over this. As for charging a service charge at all on a free package, I don't agree with it but if it makes the free package possible then I can accept it. There's no way we could have afforded the package otherwise. But 18% without experiencing how good the service is is too much. 15%, with the option to pay additional tip money after you receive great service, makes more sense.

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The UBP isn't truly an Ultimate Drinks Package either. Ultimate indicates it can't be beaten, and yet there are still drinks you pay a supplement for. What amused us was that we could have an Irish Coffee (with whiskey in it) but couldn't have it without - Americano/Cappuccino for instance.

 

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This makes no sense either since the alcoholic version costs more! What on earth is the rationale behind this? We are big coffee drinkers and we're shocked to find out coffee drinks aren't included. Coffee drinks are even more important to us then alcohol, and to us an even bigger reason to get the drink package - which we reserved before we were aware of this. Guess I'll have to get used to drinking spiked coffee first thing in the morning!

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This makes no sense either since the alcoholic version costs more! What on earth is the rationale behind this? We are big coffee drinkers and we're shocked to find out coffee drinks aren't included. Coffee drinks are even more important to us then alcohol, and to us an even bigger reason to get the drink package - which we reserved before we were aware of this. Guess I'll have to get used to drinking spiked coffee first thing in the morning!
It wasn't good. Sugary fake cream rather than real and too much sugar in the base. The purpose of the sugar in the coffee is to make the liquid cream float - moot point when it's spray cream.

 

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This makes no sense either since the alcoholic version costs more! What on earth is the rationale behind this? We are big coffee drinkers and we're shocked to find out coffee drinks aren't included. Coffee drinks are even more important to us then alcohol, and to us an even bigger reason to get the drink package - which we reserved before we were aware of this. Guess I'll have to get used to drinking spiked coffee first thing in the morning!
Wonder whether you can smuggle on a Nespresso machine? [emoji477]

 

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