Please Help Ultimate Beverage Lets Get Fact

[jenny105]

We feel its worth it, if you have five drinks total a day figure average of them being $8 and tip its practically what you paid for the day.

We like to have a couple pre dinner drinks, a couple glasses of wine during dinner, and some more drinks maybe 3-4 at night, for us that would be 7-8 drinks a day definitely worth the UBP plus the fact I can have a mimosa or two in the am why not? :p

 

We are the same way. We'll have beer and fruity drinks by the pool, wine with dinner, and drinks at night at the parties & shows. I can get mimosas? Woohoo! Wish you were going on my cruise LOL.

[jenny105]

This is from Gambee's review - poolside drinks menu starts post 534 http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851007&page=27 I spy an under $8.50 pina colada!

[js]

This is from Gambee's review - poolside drinks menu starts post 534 http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851007&page=27 I spy an under $8.50 pina colada!

 

Yahoo!! Also mojitos. Go us! Now my dh drinks Bloody Marys so need to find the price for them. We (dh and I) will be getting the package. Cant wait until July.

[js]

I'll keep an eye out and post if I find anything.

 

Thanks again Jenny!

[phoenix1181]

Don't have the price for Bloody Mary's but DH had a few while I had my Mimosa & it was covered by the UB package.

 

We got off the Dawn this morning & the package was great for us. I added up all our drink receipts & yes, we saved a bit. I know I'm missing a few (probably 1/2 a dozen or so), but what I have is enough to show we saved by buying the package. And................ for those who are concerned............ there were no unruly, loud, obnoxious drunks onboard & we saw quite a few people with the UB sticker on their cards.

 

For us, it was a good deal & we'll buy it again in the future.

[Cruisegirl6]

Jenny wish we were on the same cruise :confused:

[jenny105]

Yahoo!! Also mojitos. Go us! Now my dh drinks Bloody Marys so need to find the price for them. We (dh and I) will be getting the package. Cant wait until July.

 

Post a little review of the UBP if you don't mind. :)

 

Jenny wish we were on the same cruise :confused:

 

We could be drinking buddies lol. Seems we drink the same things at the same pace.

 

 

I'm not worried about loud, obnoxious drunk people. It seems a select few think if you get the UBP you are an alcoholic. I'm not going to be pouding drinks 24 hours a day and I don't think other people will either. I don't think 6-7 drinks over the course of 12-16 hours is too much. And if I run into a crazy drunk the ship is big enough for me to go somewhere else lol. JMO!

[Cruisegirl6]

Jenny :p

 

I know what you mean and totally agree with you.

 

If anybody can post a review of the UBP for us it be greatly appreciated.

[winnie1274]

Thank you for this thread.

What I really keep trying to find out is exactly who needs to purchase.

I KNOW it must be everyone in the cabin but what if we have 4 cabins and one person's credit card (my mom is taking my family and my sister's family). Would that mean everyone on the credit card must purchase?

The reason I ask this is that if that is the case, I am moving a couple of kids in my mother's cabin (on paper) and she can give us OBC, totalling the amount of the drink package (which she has graciously said she will also pay for) and we will just all use our own credit card for each cabin. The package would work well for my sister/her dh and my dh and me. (We all have connecting cabins...one cabin connecting to another) so the move would be on paper since the kids could still sleep where they wanted at night and I know the older kids would use the soda package.

Does anyone know this information yet?

I'm sailing on the Breakaway in July and while I know it is not sailing, just curious about the other ships and the credit cards.

 

From what I understand from NCL & my TA if 1 person in the cabin wants the UBP then everyone over 21 must purchase the UBP & under 21 must purchase the soda package. Keep in mind that at least 1 person over the age of 21 must be in each cabin reservation.

[suzieluvscruising]

it seems to me that ordering a bar setup would be much more economical than UBP. $80 for a liter of rum (or whatever). Think how many liter bottles you could purchase for less $ than UBP. Unless you absolutely must have your drinks elsewhere on the ship - even so, use go-cups and wander about the ship with drink in hand. Can't understand why anyone would would prefer the UBP "deal."

Just my take...

[SuiteCruiser]

it seems to me that ordering a bar setup would be much more economical than UBP. $80 for a liter of rum (or whatever). Think how many liter bottles you could purchase for less $ than UBP. Unless you absolutely must have your drinks elsewhere on the ship - even so, use go-cups and wander about the ship with drink in hand. Can't understand why anyone would would prefer the UBP "deal."

Just my take...

 

For me, it's the variety. I try different things throughout the day. For me, having only one drink for the week would be boring. I like a fru fru drink by the pool, margaritas and wine, occasional bushwacker, mudslide..oh I'm making myself thirsty :)

[Cruisegirl6]

Definitely we prefer the UBP so we don't have to keep going back and fourth up and down decks to get a drink in our cabin. We can go to any bar in the ship, its convenient!

[phoenix1181]

it seems to me that ordering a bar setup would be much more economical than UBP. $80 for a liter of rum (or whatever). Think how many liter bottles you could purchase for less $ than UBP. Unless you absolutely must have your drinks elsewhere on the ship - even so, use go-cups and wander about the ship with drink in hand. Can't understand why anyone would would prefer the UBP "deal."

Just my take...

 

You need to stop looking at the package from a financial standpoint. It's not just about the drinks or their cost. We're don't sit around our cabin tossing back drink after drink all day. We're out & about & there's no way either one of us is going to run back to our cabin to fix or refresh a drink when we're ready for one. And, let's not forget there's also variety involved. A cold, refreshing beer @ the pool bar hits the spot in the afternoon while a Mojito is my preferred pre dinner drink.

 

We pre pay as much as possible before we board because that's what works for us. We know how much our bar bill usually is & getting that out of the way is one less thing to be bothered with when our vacation is over.

[Dr Lexus]

We took the UBP when we cruised on the Epic.

 

Was it worth the money? Hard to say, it's borderline, I'd have to think about whether I'd take it again.

 

The reality is, you really gotta drink like a fish to make it worthwhilte, which you might think isn't a problem because, hey it's free drinks after all, but somehow it wasn't that easy.

 

In reality if you are on a cruise with only 1 sea day then you have to factor in that you'll probably only be drinking all other days in the evening after returning to the ship and to get your money's worth you need to then get quite a few in, which of course impacts how eager you'll be the next day to get up at 7am and walk around some city for 6 hours. Factor in that you are usually doing lots of things on a cruise ship and well you really have to concentrate on getting your money's worth;)

 

All the same, it is neat to order what you want and not care about how many you get (though you do have to watch out to make sure you don't go over the set limits, like don't order a 10 dollar cocktail obviously when the limit is 8.50).

 

The selection I thought was pretty good, be that the cocktails, beer or wine, no complaints there, it's nice to have wine to dinner as well.

 

One really annoying thing is the fact you need to sign for each drink, that process is so slow, maybe it helps discourage people from ordering lots of drinks but it just seems like a pain in the butt for the crew and all involved, there must be some reason for it but it definitely could be simpler.

 

So yeah, value for money wise it's borderline worth it if you drink a lot, not worth it if you don't, though with the money spent upfront at least you have peace of mind if you do take it, and its nice to walk around and grab a drink from any bar when you feel like it guilt free. Plus it's just cool to sit around the pool and have the waiters bring you mojitos.

 

Oh, the other thing which is a little annoying is they way each drink is charged on your card in addition to the drinks package and then only taken off at the end, it does leave you wondering a little bit if you are going to get a nasty shock at the end of the cruise when you suddenly realise you interpreted the limits wrong or something, luckily though that proved an unwarranted fear.

 

Finally, if you sail the Epic from Barca I'm pretty sure the package gets lumped with a VAT charge.

 

So yeah, all in all, I liked it, that's the most cocktails I've ever drunk in my life:P

Edited June 2, 2013 by Dr Lexus

[phoenix1181]

Oh, the other thing which is a little annoying is they way each drink is charged on your card in addition to the drinks package and then only taken off at the end, it does leave you wondering a little bit if you are going to get a nasty shock at the end of the cruise when you suddenly realise you interpreted the limits wrong or something, luckily though that proved an unwarranted fear.

 

We were on the Dawn & although we signed for every drink, I never saw any of them posted to our account. I checked twice during the week because I wanted to make sure there were no problems.

 

Maybe it's handled differently from one ship to the next?

[Dr Lexus]

We were on the Dawn & although we signed for every drink, I never saw any of them posted to our account. I checked twice during the week because I wanted to make sure there were no problems.

 

Maybe it's handled differently from one ship to the next?

 

Well maybe it's different on the Epic but when you check your account on the TV it shows the running total and it can get quite a large number if you are drinking up a storm, I thought to myself 'hmm, this better zero out at the end' but luckily it did.

[phoenix1181]

Well maybe it's different on the Epic but when you check your account on the TV it shows the running total and it can get quite a large number if you are drinking up a storm, I thought to myself 'hmm, this better zero out at the end' but luckily it did.

 

Maybe the difference is the interactive TV. Dawn doesn't have that. If you want to check your account, you have to ask for a print out @ CS. I would have been crazy worrying about the charges.

[jenny105]

For me, it's the variety. I try different things throughout the day. For me, having only one drink for the week would be boring. I like a fru fru drink by the pool, margaritas and wine, occasional bushwacker, mudslide..oh I'm making myself thirsty :)

 

This! I like variety. I don't want rum & coke everyday and I don't want to have to run back to my room everytime I'd like a drink. If I see a bar, I can stop and get whatever I want. As long as it's under $8.50 ;)

[qosmo8]

Hello everyone,

question, i was told the UBP could only be purchased when on the ship but i saw it listed in the bon voyage stuff, Has anyone purchased the UDP prior to boarding the ship??

[Cruz35]

My biggest issue is convenience -- there will be 3 of us in a 2 bedroom suite. Can one of us go get drinks for all 3? Can we get a bucket of beer, or just one at a time. I think the cost would be a wash, but it doesn't sound like it will be any more convenient.

[cayugashue]

My biggest issue is convenience -- there will be 3 of us in a 2 bedroom suite. Can one of us go get drinks for all 3? Can we get a bucket of beer, or just one at a time. I think the cost would be a wash, but it doesn't sound like it will be any more convenient.

 

The "policy answer" is no, one cannot go up to purchase for all 3. However, on our Epic cruise in Feb of this year, once we made friends with a couple of bartenders, they knew who we were and as long as one of us had all of the cards, we were allowed to purchase for our group. Buckets of beer are not included in the UBP, you would need to get your beers one at a time. We found the cost to be a wash. The biggest convenience is not having the surprise tab at the end of the cruise.

[don't-use-real-name]

Can you use the UBP to buy each bottle individually but not the bucket ?

 

Seems sort of dumb dumb in that if you can buy 1 bottle at a time and

keep coming back until you have filled that bucket one by one.

 

Or is the system so screwed up that you have to stand in front of the

bartender and drink the bottles one by one giving him the empties before

getting another or making 5 or 6 trips to different bars to get the beer

quota ?

 

I wonder if they have a booze bean counter checking on your daily

drinking consumption of how many drinks. When you pass the $49 daily

limit they tell the bartenders to shut you down the cruise line is about

to go broke ?

 

In any event if the bartenders are not user friendly then the 15%

gratuity is enough for the system - then again if they cater and bend

the rules we might have something worth while and the tip jar will be

bribery in the nth degree.

 

Aye - I be a pirate looking at all the nefarious angles to free up a drink be

it individually or by the ship load. Need to get one of them helicopter drones and have a confederate conspirator in port to load up the drone

for an unrestricted booze flight direct to my stateroom.

Damn the booze rules - Full speed ahead with the drinks !

[time2cruise1]

The issue with buckets and the requirement of one drink at a time we all know there are those that will abuse the UBP given half a change. Get the bucket, share with friends/family without the UBP, return to bar, repeat. Same thing that happens with the soda card as families share one card. Booze has a bigger financial impact.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

[Queen flings]

Hello everyone,

question, i was told the UBP could only be purchased when on the ship but i saw it listed in the bon voyage stuff, Has anyone purchased the UDP prior to boarding the ship??

 

Hi qosmo8

i have looked all through the 144 Gifts and more and I cannot find the UBP anywhere - can you post a link to where you found it. I have read that if you prepay you will save money especially if embarking in Barcelona which has an additional tax. We embark in Rome, so I don't think the same applies, but i would like to prepay for the UBP just for convenience and less of a credit card bill when I return home.

[qosmo8]

Hi qosmo8

i have looked all through the 144 Gifts and more and I cannot find the UBP anywhere - can you post a link to where you found it. I have read that if you prepay you will save money especially if embarking in Barcelona which has an additional tax. We embark in Rome, so I don't think the same applies, but i would like to prepay for the UBP just for convenience and less of a credit card bill when I return home.

 

 

here you go http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more i talked to rep who said the program was such a success, they made where you could pre-book instead of waiting till you got onboard. People have asked for this for years, to pre pay for the boozfest lol

Edited June 5, 2013 by qosmo8