Jade Drink Package

[detroitlions]

No, drinks such as Irish Coffee are available in the package if the bar has coffee available (not all do). The reference to specialty coffees is the coffee bar drinks like Cafe Mocha etc. You can get all the Irish Coffee you want.

Order a coffee and order a Jamison mix said jamison into coffee with sugar and there you go.

[Ewoodspark]

Order a coffee and order a Jamison mix said jamison into coffee with sugar and there you go.

 

Not exactly an Irish coffee though:)

[detroitlions]

Thats what I am talking about... Time to try everything. And I will.;)

[detroitlions]

Not exactly an Irish coffee though:)

Has Jamison and brown sugar maybe whip cream on top. SO you can get it traditional most people dont put the brown sugar in cause they dont have it at the bar. You can keep the whip cream all you need is cream.

[detroitlions]

I understand that speciality coffees are not included in the UBP. Does that include after dinner drinks like Irish Coffee? I can see no reference to these liqueurs at all

Are served in the dining room.. And under $10

[Ewoodspark]

Are served in the dining room.. And under $10

 

Not according to this post by marciemi

 

Just off the Epic and we found that while nearly everything was included, coffee drinks were not. Not just the plain espresso but even the alcohol ones. We asked at two bars and were told that you had to pay for things like Irish Coffee, Spanish Coffee, etc. with the UBP. I didn't ask about the Martini but the whole page they had of coffee drinks (that were all like $8-10, not the $3-5 non-alcoholic ones) were not included. I'm not a huge coffee fan so didn't worry about it but just wanted to give a heads up on my experience.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Ewoodspark

[conny111]

Not according to this post by marciemi

 

Just off the Epic and we found that while nearly everything was included, coffee drinks were not. Not just the plain espresso but even the alcohol ones. We asked at two bars and were told that you had to pay for things like Irish Coffee, Spanish Coffee, etc. with the UBP. I didn't ask about the Martini but the whole page they had of coffee drinks (that were all like $8-10, not the $3-5 non-alcoholic ones) were not included. I'm not a huge coffee fan so didn't worry about it but just wanted to give a heads up on my experience.

 

That is bad. All the time I read that Irish coffee is included in the UPB, there are hundreds of comments here. So this must be new that it is not included anymore :-(

[sea_u_onboard]

With the UBP can you order soda also? What about bottled water?

 

Can you use it on the private island or do you have to pay for your drinks while off the ship?

[triptolemus]

With the UBP can you order soda also? What about bottled water?

 

Can you use it on the private island or do you have to pay for your drinks while off the ship?

 

Yes - soda

no - bottled water

yes - private island, if you mean Great Stirrup Cay.

 

http://www.ncl.com/promo/ultimate-beverage-package/terms

Edited February 20, 2015 by triptolemus

[LULUsMOM]

hello

my fiance and i are currently on the hunt for a cruise for our honeymoon, and the jade's mediterranean sailing out of venice is awful tempting, although we have never cruised with ncl before. One of the promos on with the sailing now includes free unlimited beverage packages. Just wondering if there are any catches to it. I noticed that the small print stipulates that the drinks included must be under 10 dollars... I typically prefer slushy drinks that tend to be more expensive. Would they be included? And does the 15% gratuity count per drink or per day? Thanks!!

 

your concern is not whether your drink fits the $10 catagory................. As a (4 cruise a year solo traveller,) i find my favorite bar and bartenders the first night and tip them and from then on they know theyre going to get another tip somewheres down the line and im good to go. I have whatever i want. I just came off the jade from a christmas cruise in the medd. I saw people who tipped with 2 or 3 drinks in front of them because they didnt know which one they would like. (small tips here and there are the key

your concern should be...what am i paying for this free liquor package? Because nothing is free. The offers that come to me are eg. $1299 ov with a ubp or $799 without. Then buy your own or.........just buy your drinks outright. Since i am a solo traveller. And have to pay for 2 persons, my advice is study, study, study all the offers (on the net) and compare, compare!!!

I always end up with a balcony and all the liquor and fine food i want..........but it takes hard work!!!!

[sea_u_onboard]

We have choosen the package as part of the current FREE offer. If I had to pay for it I would pass as I don't drink that much.

[Demonyte]

We have choosen the package as part of the current FREE offer. If I had to pay for it I would pass as I don't drink that much.

 

Same here. And I'd go as far as claiming that having the "free" package doesn't even affect the amount we drink overall.

[Guindalf]

Same here. And I'd go as far as claiming that having the "free" package doesn't even affect the amount we drink overall.

 

Funny, a LOT of people say the same thing but end up drinking far more than normal!

 

I'm not suggesting getting drunk all the time, but trying new cocktails, having a beer or glass of wine with lunch or dinner or even just getting a soda through the day will increase the amount you would normally have if you were paying for it!

[grayjay]

As an "almost non-drinker" I still find it strange that you may have Irish coffee ( if you can still have it on the package) until it comes out of your ears but you can't order a capuccino or a bottle of water. In my opinion Celebrity offers the better deal here with their beverage package. But as their prices are sky-high right now because of all the promos they're running, NCL comes back into my focus.

[rvsullivan]

In general the coffee shops are not part of NCL anymore and are more of a franchise arrangement. Similar to Ocean Blu I guess. Bottled water has always been an issue with NCL and they don't offer much of a "package" for water at any time. For anyone that says they had trouble getting a drink that was mixed with regular coffee, I think your not trying hard enough. Most/all the bars have a pot of coffee brewing somewhere nearby. If the drink takes regular coffee to make it, i.e. Baileys and coffee, Irish Coffee etc. it is included in the package. If they refuse you, call the Beverage Manager or the Hotel Director and it will be fixed.

[Demonyte]

Funny, a LOT of people say the same thing but end up drinking far more than normal!

 

 

 

I'm not suggesting getting drunk all the time, but trying new cocktails, having a beer or glass of wine with lunch or dinner or even just getting a soda through the day will increase the amount you would normally have if you were paying for it!

 

 

We are pretty stuck with what we drink - some rum cocktails or slushy drinks during the day, I don't drink sodas that much to begin with (without the package I usually bring my own) and around dinner we always drink wine and/or cocktails with or without the package. So for us my original statement still is true.

 

In general I'm so used to NCL that I don't find NCL's drink menus having many new drinks that I'd even like to try outside my "loop". However this matter is a really good point why the drink package on a not-so-familiar cruise line is good, we just had our first Celebrity cruise and there I did experiment a lot because I wasn't familiar with their drinks - especially the ones in Molecular Bar. Also experienced a few misses that I'd have been bummed out about without the package as the drinks were $12 (Martinis) and $13 each (Molecular Bar drinks)

[insidecabin]

The thing with the Jade and the Spirit trips is they qualified for both the UBP and UDP and the prices when the promotion started were very reasonable/bargains

 

quite a few trips an OV was $499pp, $625inc tax with the UBP and UDP, sometimes the UK pricing was a little bit better.

 

best price at the moment on the 10/11n itineraries with both included is $669 + $125tx

 

best UK price is £509

 

even at these higher prices this is bargain cruising, only needing a small amount of speciality dining and a few drinks to more than justify the extra cost over the cheapest price for the same trip ($469/£319 so about $20pppd)

 

The cheapest this cruise is on different date are $319+$125 or £299 uk $30-$35pppd for UDP and UBP + a better cabin.

[conny111]

In general the coffee shops are not part of NCL anymore and are more of a franchise arrangement. Similar to Ocean Blu I guess. Bottled water has always been an issue with NCL and they don't offer much of a "package" for water at any time. For anyone that says they had trouble getting a drink that was mixed with regular coffee, I think your not trying hard enough. Most/all the bars have a pot of coffee brewing somewhere nearby. If the drink takes regular coffee to make it, i.e. Baileys and coffee, Irish Coffee etc. it is included in the package. If they refuse you, call the Beverage Manager or the Hotel Director and it will be fixed.

 

Last week on the Jade we asked at several bars, but no way, it seems that they have changed it now, all of the drinks, which have coffee and a liqueur are not included in the UPB.

One bartender explained us very detailed which drinks are included and which not. And even when I said that it is regular coffee, so the Irish coffee etc. should be included, but it doesn't matter. He said that all coffees with a liqueur are not included!

So maybe there really is a change now in the UPB!

[hawkeyetlse]

On our last cruise we got our own coffee from the buffet or from the 24 hour place. I don't think most of the bars, or any of the bars, had coffee brewing. The bartenders had no issue with pouring a shot of something into the mug. As far as they are concerned, it is just a shot of liquor, which is included in the UBP. I did not try to order anything fancier, like Irish Coffee or Espresso Martini. Maybe those are no longer available.

[denatravels]

I understand that speciality coffees are not included in the UBP. Does that include after dinner drinks like Irish Coffee? I can see no reference to these liqueurs at all

 

 

I was staying in a studio cabin so I would go to the studio lounge and get a latte. Then go to the nearest bar and add a shot of liquor. Bottom line-- none of the "adult" coffees are included.

 

I did have 1 drink that was not included (sangria) and not on the menu-- I saw someone order it and it looked good. The bartender rang it up as wine, and so it ended up being covered.

[hawkeyetlse]

Why wouldn't sangria be covered? I had a couple from the buffet bar last month, and they were included. But at that bar, they didn't have a computer swipe my card and print out a ticket, so I can't look up the price. Not more than $6 I don't think, less than even the cheapest glass of wine.