ncl. ultimate drink package READ / CALL

[sparks1093]

If you would all stop and think for a minute what the OP is saying makes perfect sense, and is probably true . . .BUT . . . what he is not saying is just as important.

 

I suspect that the list of specialty drinks has been whittled down to 10 or so. Those are the ones you would find in a menu. You don't see standard drinks like rum and coke, bourbon and water, a martini, a margarita, etc. in a menu. Does anyone ever recall seeing those in a menu . . .right I didn't think so.

 

What has probably happened is that the special junk has been done away with but the old standards are still there.

 

I might be wrong - but I am boarding the Dawn tomorrow so I will try to grab a phot and some info before we sail and get it posted for you.

 

Yep, makes sense.

[sparks1093]

You are paying for it in the price. Your analysis is correct, but think of it terms of not raising the price, but not lowering prices.

NCL decided it needed to fill it ships more. They could have easily lowered that Balcony price to $599.

Instead they decided that by offering the UBP it would be more beneficial because of the mark up on alchohol in general, and the likelihood that many will not drink up to the cost of the program especially with the days in port.

 

Make no mistake about it you are paying for it in your cruise fare by not getting reduced fares that cost NCL more real $$$ rather than a % of that amount by offering the package.

 

$999 for a balcony seems to be the going rate for a new ship in the NYC market, but yes, in the end it is all paid for one way or another:). In any case I find the OP's report believable, although the why may not be evident. (Of course it all could be misunderstanding too ;) ).

Edited February 28, 2015 by sparks1093

[bobstheboy]

I usually believe there is no such thing as a free lunch, but some of the NCL deals here in the UK have been amazing, I have booked two cruise for November and March 2016. Both on the Epic, 10 nights with $200 OBC and UBP in an aft balcony for 600 pounds per cruise ($900) pp a bargain if ever I saw one.

[titangas]

$999 for a balcony seems to be the going rate for a new ship in the NYC market, but yes, in the end it is all paid for one way or another:). In any case I find the OP's report believable, although the why may not be evident. (Of course it all could be misunderstanding too ;) ).

 

Too me the biggest reason not to believe the OP is that not only has there not been anyone else on the Gem to confirm this, or post this in another thread, and also not a peep or mention of it on the 13 other ships sailing.

 

If this was truly some sort of transition, upgrade to systems etc. It would be fleet wide.

Edited February 28, 2015 by titangas

[sparks1093]

Too me the biggest reason not to believe the OP is that not only has there not been anyone else on the Gem to confirm this, or post this in another thread, and also not a peep or mention of it on the 13 other ships sailing.

 

If this was truly some sort of transition, upgrade to systems etc. It would be fleet wide.

 

There is something to that, no doubt. We shall see (as General Patton used to say, initial reports are always worse than they are:)). (I should also point out that just because I find something believable it doesn't mean that I actually believe it, just means that my mind isn't made up one way or another;)).

[seguetocaribe]

Too me the biggest reason not to believe the OP is that not only has there not been anyone else on the Gem to confirm this, or post this in another thread, and also not a peep or mention of it on the 13 other ships sailing.

 

If this was truly some sort of transition, upgrade to systems etc. It would be fleet wide.

 

EXACTLY what I was thinking! If there was truth to this, there would certainly be more threads started by others who are effected by this.

[Debde]

I've spent most of my time over at the RC forum but with my first NCL coming up, I've been lurking here quite a bit.

With a change like this so abrupt and fast, over at Royal this would be discussed, screamed about, multi-threads popping up and investigated to a point where a possible website crash could occur!!:p;)

Seriously though-one would think someone else would have had some report from that ship and others.:confused:

[bjtravelnews]

On my previous cruises, there was a menu at the bar that included maybe 8 - 10 specialty drinks. These were the ones being promoted by the ship. They were good, but expensive (generally ranging from $10 to $12 on up). Perhaps with the pricing changes, as others have stated, the ship is limiting selections for th UBP because bartenders are unsure of what to charge. From a public relations standpoint, NCL should have given bartenders some allowance for those who have the UBP. Better to be a little generous upfront and keep people happy than deal with the anger and backlash from those who feel ripped off.

Anyway - I remembered that I had seen a list of alcohols included in the UBP somewhere and did a search. Here's a link to that page for those of you who are interested:

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/norwegian-drink-lists/

BTW - It's a 2014 list, but it will still give everyone a general idea of what to expect for the package.

Edited February 28, 2015 by bjtravelnews

[rvsullivan]

The OP was posting all of this as the Gem was turned around and back to NY harbor for a medivac. Could be they were using the "restricted" menu such as Houston has while in U.S. waters. I agree with others that we would be hearing the screaming from the ship without an internet connection if this were true. I don't believe it's real!!

[conandrob240]

Too me the biggest reason not to believe the OP is that not only has there not been anyone else on the Gem to confirm this, or post this in another thread, and also not a peep or mention of it on the 13 other ships sailing.

 

If this was truly some sort of transition, upgrade to systems etc. It would be fleet wide.

 

I don't know. If you think about a typical Cruisecritic week even with 13 ships, live reports are pretty rare. Probably fewer than one a week. Couple that with the fact that the big ships leave on Saturdays and Sunays and I am not surprised this is the only report. Let's see if more come in from Getaway in a few hours as people start to board and tomorrow from BA.

Edited February 28, 2015 by conandrob240

[seguetocaribe]

I don't know. If you think about a typical Cruisecritic week even with 13 ships, live reports are pretty rare. Probably fewer than one a week. Couple that with the fact that the big ships leave on Saturdays and Sunays and I am not surprised this is the only report. Let's see if more come in from Getaway in a few hours as people start to board and tomorrow from BA.

 

Yes, true that there are not a lot of live reports but I think that applies to the more 'typical' live reports - sharing their initial experience on the ship as compared to someone reporting such a big change like this one.. If this were truly happening, I really think that we would be hearing more about this.

[bradleyk]

We canceled a RCCI cruise and booked the 10/17/15 cruise on the Getaway in part because of the UBP promotion. I am following this with interest.

[Candycane_76053]

The OP hasn't posted anything as of late so I would assume the issue (if there was one) has been resolved. People are more inclined to take time out of their vacation to complain than to post a simple "all is well."

 

It is possible they just had a new bartender. If I were new and bombarded on embarkation day with folks wanting their "free" drinks, I'd only be making the ones on the menu that were spelled out for me! I come to this conclusion from the statement of "wouldn't know what to charge"

 

I also agree with most other posters but no reason to restate what they have said. Whole thing is highly suspicious.

[kjquilts]

I posted a link to this thread on the Getaway roll call for the cruise leaving today (lucky people) and asked if someone with the UBP would go to the Sugarcane Mojito Bar and order a Raspberry Guava Mojito or their drink of choice and let us know that all is right with the Ultimate Beverage Package world:)

[conandrob240]

The OP hasn't posted anything as of late so I would assume the issue (if there was one) has been resolved. People are more inclined to take time out of their vacation to complain than to post a simple "all is well."

 

It is possible they just had a new bartender. If I were new and bombarded on embarkation day with folks wanting their "free" drinks, I'd only be making the ones on the menu that were spelled out for me! I come to this conclusion from the statement of "wouldn't know what to charge"

 

I also agree with most other posters but no reason to restate what they have said. Whole thing is highly suspicious.

 

I wouldn't assume that at all. WE turn off our phones after sailing out of NYC harbor, don't buy and internet package and have no way to communicate and post until we get to another US port or decide to buy wifi at a local stop. The fact that we heard nothing else doesn't mean anything was resolved or not resolved.

[hpecorari]

I think we'll find out more today....and tomorrow and many other ships leave today and tomorrow than they did yesterday.

 

Harriet

[nfglory1]

I would agree that there would be another post about this from someone, somewhere by now. I mean the first thing I do when I get on the ship is go to the bar and order a drink and start my vacation. I guarantee before the five o clock sailing that I would have had a handful of drinks and seen what was available under the package. If I was upset, I'd be on here. Something that substantial would be all over if permanently true. All of this would have been within cell service as we would not have left port yet. OP posted originally at 4. I didn't check the itinerary but did they set sail at that point even? Just some thoughts.

[orangejeepgirl]

This thread had me up all night! Leaving on the Breakaway tomorrow and it would be a real bummer if this was true!

[conandrob240]

I really hope it's not true. But I am glad you can at least clear this up for us by, posting on this thread as soon as you board tomorrow! The suspense is killing me.

 

Have a great trip!

[fasted]

anybody know is Kahlua is included in the UBP

[CRAustin]

I believe they were not trying to mislead, but looked at the specialty menu on the bar top and with the raise in the price, but maybe the package being at a $10 limit until March 1st, it limited the # of specialty drinks for that cruise due to the price change but the UBP not being updated to $11 yet. Simple mistake/misunderstanding. I know I will be getting my drink on - on my next 3 cruises!!!

[conandrob240]

I hope so but it sounded like OP specifically asked what was going on and shared that other passengers were upset as well so it sounds like more to the story than one person misunderstanding a menu at a bar.

[trish1c]

I just booked a cruise this morning. My TA didn't say anything about changes in the UBP.

 

She did say NCL has been having computer issues with their servers since yesterday. Perhaps service is down / sporadic on many of the ships.

 

I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but one diabolical possible explanation could be that they were waiting until the freestyle choice program ends today before allowing upset people to post.

[conandrob240]

Freestyle choice plus continues tomorrow in a very similar iteration so, nope. And I would doubt your TA ( or even any of the PCCs) would be informed of these types of changes right out of the gate. Often, the people facing the customer are the last to know in a very long chain of info.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Someone posted on the GA roll call that all is well, apparently the OP wanted to ruffle some feathers and they did. [emoji12]