Please Help Ultimate Beverage Lets Get Fact

[jenny105]

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.

 

I couldn't find it online either but you can call NCL to add it on. 800-327-7030

[Queen flings]

Having had a couple of really high bar bills at the end of very short 3 or 4 day cruises, I am very happy to have the option to prepay with no surprises at the end. Also happy to pay now and enjoy later.

 

Sent from my KFJWI using Tapatalk HD

[Nyc2tropics]

I went online and logged into my ncl account and did not see a way to purchase the UBP so I called them up and they did it for me, piece of cake.

[MBurton]

Just trying to factor if this is worth my while. Can I just get some clarification that on how many beers in a bucket and what the cost is please? TIA.

[Queen flings]

In my past experience (and maybe yours since you appear to have cruised NCL many more times than I), the bucket of beers is not always available. when it is (such as during embarkation) it is 6 beers for the price of 5 (so you may save about 7.00$). If you drink more than 6 beers a day while on vacation, the UBP may be a good idea for you- i know it is for us.

[time2cruise1]

In my past experience (and maybe yours since you appear to have cruised NCL many more times than I), the bucket of beers is not always available. when it is (such as during embarkation) it is 6 beers for the price of 5 (so you may save about 7.00$). If you drink more than 6 beers a day while on vacation, the UBP may be a good idea for you- i know it is for us.

 

You would need 2 buckets a day everyday to break even. My view if you have a few ports and mostly drink beer you can not make the UBP pay.

 

It worked for me on the 7 day Breakaway TA. I was drinking wine at 9.75 a glass plus tip 5 glasses, a couple at lunch and 3 with dinner paid for the UBP. Anything else I drank including soda was gravy. Had there been 3 port days I would not have broken even. Headed to Bermuda in August no UBP for me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone - Jim

[qosmo8]

Well i got the UBP and prepaid that gratuity(ya i still argue with myself lol) so basically my cruise is 100% prepaid and i shouldn't have any bill unless i buy from shops or bingo etc, and i did it months before my cruise( lil here lil there) and i gotta admit i like that i really won't have to worry bout a bill:D oh ya i do have to buy some white henny lol so a lil bill

and i think some people are in denial about how much they drink 7 drinks on a cruise hmmm between lunch, lounging round pool, dinner, the shows, karaoke(always better with booze), gambling, nightclubs, general socializing etc etc and a night cap ya 7 drinks easy

[Single Cruiser]

Even though I saved about $100 on the Breakaway TA it was more about the budgeting for me. I knew what my onboard bill would be and if one particular night I was getting on having a good time I wouldn't be worrying oh, that's my 4th Vodka tonight.. Same days I was under a little, some days over a lot.

 

And drinking the alco pops like Smirnoff Ice (included in UBP) it quickly adds up.. :D

[OutOfRosenheim]

Hi, my upcoming cruise in Oct. 2013 transatlantic (west) is my first on NCL. We like to have a bottle of wine for use on the balcony during the day. If I understand correct, UBP will not be helpful then, we would have to walk to a bar, get next glass, return to cabin , etc. etc. Sound more like gym than cruising...:rolleyes:

 

Is there any better approach for (bottle) wine lovers? Or have they a special price for UBPs when purchasing a bottle for the cabin? My travel-agent was lost when I asked. I know you have the option BYOB, with a $15 cork fine for 0,7liter bottles. But then there is this 23kg limit to the baggage, I probably cannot order a pack of 6 or 12 bottles ahead from outside due to weight limits.

 

Thank you for any advice.

 

-- Gino

[KeithJenner]

Hi, my upcoming cruise in Oct. 2013 transatlantic (west) is my first on NCL. We like to have a bottle of wine for use on the balcony during the day. If I understand correct, UBP will not be helpful then, we would have to walk to a bar, get next glass, return to cabin , etc. etc. Sound more like gym than cruising...:rolleyes:

 

Is there any better approach for (bottle) wine lovers? Or have they a special price for UBPs when purchasing a bottle for the cabin? My travel-agent was lost when I asked. I know you have the option BYOB, with a $15 cork fine for 0,7liter bottles. But then there is this 23kg limit to the baggage, I probably cannot order a pack of 6 or 12 bottles ahead from outside due to weight limits.

 

Thank you for any advice.

 

-- Gino

 

There is a wine package which you can buy. There are three levels and at the middle one, your wine ends up costing about $24 a bottle so as long as you drink less than two bottles a day it will be cheaper for you as well as more convenient. You can also take the bottles out of your room or get them stored for meals, so it can work out well.

 

I also like to have a bottle of wine in my cabin for the evening, so I get some bottles from the wine package and then just buy beers whenever I want on top of that. In two recent cruises including a Transatlantic with no ports, I have spent less than the UBP each time.

 

If I hadn't taken advantage of the wine package or beer buckets then I would probably have spent more than the UBP though, so it really is worth making use of the other packages available if not doing the UBP.

[OutOfRosenheim]

There is a wine package which you can buy. There are three levels and at the middle one, your wine ends up costing about $24 a bottle so as long as you drink less than two bottles a day it will be cheaper for you as well as more convenient. You can also take the bottles out of your room or get them stored for meals, so it can work out well..

 

Thank you for the detailed explanation. That was very helpful. I will probably skip the UBP until it has more flexible and easier options.

[RIguy12]

We just returned from Bermuda, and used the UBP for our cruise. Both of us in our 30s. We had a few drinks in the afternoon, a martini before dinner. 2/3 glasses of wine with dinner, then a drink with the show, a drink at the casino. Anywho...we ended up much higher than the $49/day.

 

What we did learn (VERRRRRY IMPORTANT !!!!) is that the staff only gets a "cut" of the included tip on the UBP. At the end of the week, each waiter/cocktail server/bartender ends up with about $30pp. They DO NOT LIKE THE UBP. After we found that out, we started tipping on the additional tip line, $1 per drink.

 

I maybe opening a can of worms here, but I suggest anyone who gets the UBP and enjoys the service from their server add an additional tip.

 

This made the staff much more friendly and made us feel better they were getting an appropriate tip. :)

[AlexandNessa]

Just throwing in our review of the UBP:

 

1) totally loved it and made out on the deal. Two big thumbs up from us.

 

2) had an issue at Teppanyaki where our server offered us a drink and I showed my card with my sticker. She said, oh you're on the beverage plan, let me bring you one of our beers. I told her as long as it was included on our plan, that'd be great. I had two. When we signed for the bill, I noticed the beers I had were 5.95$ each, and I immediately questioned her about them being covered since I knew it was only beers 5.50$ and under. She assured me this was the beer she always served her UBP guests and not to worry. You guessed it ... they were the only two drinks I was charged for all week. I immediately addressed this with guest services, not to have them removed, but to please educate our server so no one else was misled. The charges for my two beers were removed anyway on principle, as they called it. We thought that was an extremely nice gesture.

 

3) It was a bit unnerving to see all the charges piling up on our folio. I was told not to worry; the charges would be removed. When I woke up on the last morning, there were still drink charges there when I checked our folio on the TV. We grabbed the copy of our printed bill, and we could see there that all the charges were removed, except for our extra tips and the two beers from Teppanyaki.

 

4) We always tipped extra, and found service to be fantastic. We especially loved the kids at O'Sheehan's. They wouldn't even ask if we wanted another, and our drinks never went empty, unless we told them we were done. One night I asked if the B52 shots were included in our plan. They were, and then the bartenders would make us their own similar concoctions and passing them out to us. We signed for those as usual, and they were all included in our plan.

 

5) I had more than my share of mudslides at the pool. I would mix the m&m's in with it (they left m&m's out at the Haven). I would call that "lunch."

 

6). The 16 oz aluminum beer cans would get warm quickly outside, so my hubby and I would ask for a bucket with ice if we were sitting at the pool. Worked out great. As I said, we tipped well, and would not have expected that as a matter of course.

 

7) If I were getting up and hubby was comfy, I'd simply grab his card and show both cards and get two drinks, even though i was the only one getting the drinks. We tended to use the same bartenders who knew us and what we drank, so not sure if this helped.

 

8) We never had an issue leaving our tab open and then signing at the end of the night. Loved that as we had less chits to track.

 

 

:D

[KeithJenner]

The people I was with had exactly the same issue at Teppenyaki on the Breakaway transatlantic.

[AlexandNessa]

The people I was with had exactly the same issue at Teppenyaki on the Breakaway transatlantic.

 

Clearly, the Teppanyaki servers need a refresher. That was my intent when I addressed the issue at guest services. I provided the server's name, not to get her into any trouble, but in the hope the issue wouldn't happen again to someone else.

Edited June 18, 2013 by AlexandNessa

[qosmo8]

Just throwing in our review of the UBP:

 

1) totally loved it and made out on the deal. Two big thumbs up from us.

 

2) had an issue at Teppanyaki where our server offered us a drink and I showed my card with my sticker. She said, oh you're on the beverage plan, let me bring you one of our beers. I told her as long as it was included on our plan, that'd be great. I had two. When we signed for the bill, I noticed the beers I had were 5.95$ each, and I immediately questioned her about them being covered since I knew it was only beers 5.50$ and under. She assured me this was the beer she always served her UBP guests and not to worry. You guessed it ... they were the only two drinks I was charged for all week. I immediately addressed this with guest services, not to have them removed, but to please educate our server so no one else was misled. The charges for my two beers were removed anyway on principle, as they called it. We thought that was an extremely nice gesture.

 

3) It was a bit unnerving to see all the charges piling up on our folio. I was told not to worry; the charges would be removed. When I woke up on the last morning, there were still drink charges there when I checked our folio on the TV. We grabbed the copy of our printed bill, and we could see there that all the charges were removed, except for our extra tips and the two beers from Teppanyaki.

 

4) We always tipped extra, and found service to be fantastic. We especially loved the kids at O'Sheehan's. They wouldn't even ask if we wanted another, and our drinks never went empty, unless we told them we were done. One night I asked if the B52 shots were included in our plan. They were, and then the bartenders would make us their own similar concoctions and passing them out to us. We signed for those as usual, and they were all included in our plan.

 

5) I had more than my share of mudslides at the pool. I would mix the m&m's in with it (they left m&m's out at the Haven). I would call that "lunch."

 

6). The 16 oz aluminum beer cans would get warm quickly outside, so my hubby and I would ask for a bucket with ice if we were sitting at the pool. Worked out great. As I said, we tipped well, and would not have expected that as a matter of course.

 

7) If I were getting up and hubby was comfy, I'd simply grab his card and show both cards and get two drinks, even though i was the only one getting the drinks. We tended to use the same bartenders who knew us and what we drank, so not sure if this helped.

 

8) We never had an issue leaving our tab open and then signing at the end of the night. Loved that as we had less chits to track.

 

 

:D

u2 are my heroes, sounds like you had a great time and worry free(somewhat folio will drive me nuts) as far as booze went. and i never had a B52 shot but guess i'll try it since its paid for lol

[AlexandNessa]

u2 are my heroes, sounds like you had a great time and worry free(somewhat folio will drive me nuts) as far as booze went. and i never had a B52 shot but guess i'll try it since its paid for lol

 

Yes, do give some of the shooters a try! Enjoy!

[kelee2405]

What a great review of the package - thank you so much!

 

We are leaving Sunday, on the Breakaway, and have been debating the package but I think after reading your recommendations it seems like it is worth it.

 

What about room service? We want to have a bloody mary or mimosa on the balcony - can we do that with the UBP?

[AlexandNessa]

What a great review of the package - thank you so much!

 

We are leaving Sunday, on the Breakaway, and have been debating the package but I think after reading your recommendations it seems like it is worth it.

 

What about room service? We want to have a bloody mary or mimosa on the balcony - can we do that with the UBP?

 

No, room service beverages are excluded. Fortunately, our room was close to the Haven lounge bar, so we would just go grab something and take it back to the room. Also not included would be any minbar purchases.

 

Enjoy!

 

Also want to add that we were not given a list or anything as to what brands were included/excluded. We were simply told that beers 5.50$ & under, any glass of wine 10$ & under, any drink 8.50$ & under were covered. I got a few fountain sodas from the bar as well. They were included. House brand for my Boody Mary was Absolut. I had Jack n Gingers as well, no problem.

Edited June 18, 2013 by AlexandNessa

[qosmo8]

this is the list i have, but guess there's more that's included, but this is just an idea of whats offered Edited June 19, 2013 by qosmo8

[jenny105]

You're awesome! Thanks so much for the review. We are definitely getting UBP.

[Cruisegirl6]

We also had the drink package and it saved us a lot of money we would of doubled our drink cost if we didn't have the card.

 

Yes, they have a glitch with their system on the tv it would show charges for drinks we were reassured that we would not be charged, my father in law worried about this from time to time, for my other half and I we said why not trust them worst case we will dispute with ncl or credit card no problems, needless to say no drinks were charged but the extra tips which we gave.

 

My father in law also got the package but it was not worth it for him, so if you drink 7 plus drinks in the entire day/night its worth it if not NCL remains to have the best prices when it comes to coctails than other cruise lines and NCL still offers a larger glass, unlike the other cruise lines giving much smaller glassware now and charging higher prices.

[jenny105]

Has anyone purchased UBP before their cruise? You have to get a sticker onboard to put on your card right?

[Cruisegirl6]

We purchased before the cruise your allowed up to 45 days prior to departure....in our cabin we had confirmation and details about the program waiting for us with instructions but when we boarded we were told to go to deck 6 to the main bar and we got our there, it was already entered that we paid and they place a sticker on our sail and sign card.

[qosmo8]

We purchased before the cruise your allowed up to 45 days prior to departure....in our cabin we had confirmation and details about the program waiting for us with instructions but when we boarded we were told to go to deck 6 to the main bar and we got our there, it was already entered that we paid and they place a sticker on our sail and sign card.

 

You can buy it at anytime from bon voyage gifts, i already have mine:)

 

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more or you can just call them Call us at 1.800.327.7030 Item # UBP Description Unlimited Beverage Package Price $49.00/day