Can't bring soda on board anymore

[Feelin' Nauti']

If they don't include water in the UBP

 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Feelin' Nauti'

[Blondie008]

Okay - time for some smiles :D

Check out these water babies

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=pfxB5ut-KTs

[mcatmcat]

If NCL views RCCL as their primary competition and is going to model their policy regarding bringing beverages on board and prices for purchase of individual bottles and packages of bottles after RCCL, then they should ALSO match RCCL and expand their "top tier" beverage package to include bottled water, specialty coffee and fresh juices. And RCCL charges $79 for that package, so there's NCL's price point. ;)

 

 

Policy that is not enforced for years. I'm not familiar with NCL that much but I remember when they denied passengers from taking food out the buffet which it only lasted a few weeks.

This case is similar to Royal rules, you can't bring water onboard ( but if you do we will delivery it to your stateroom ) lol

[SNJCruisers]

Don't forget to include your 18% on your "perks", bottled water, coffee. It's $100 pp just paying the gratuity for the drink package.

So, the 300 differential is now down to 200 after paying the 18% on the drinks package and can be further reduced by 15 after paying the 18% on the SDP and another 150 by choosing the 150 OBC as your second perk on Celebrity. So, you end up paying 35 more dollars to cruise on Celebrity, but you do lose out on 3 nights of specialty dining on NCL. I think most educated cruise veterans would choose Celebrity in this comparison since it's only 5 bucks a day, unless of course you're a myopic NCL fan.

[SNJCruisers]

Not sure which 7 nt cruise you used as an example but to compare apples to apples we need to look at 7 nt cruises from FLL/MIA as those are the ports Celebrity sails from.

 

NCL Getaway is doing an 8 nt Christmas cruise on the 18th so that's not a fair comparison.

 

By default we must use the Escape 12/17 7nt Eastern Caribbean.

BF balcony with Beverage and 3nt dining packages (plus the service fees) is $2692.60 total for two..

 

By comparison the Celebrity Reflection on 12/17 7nt Western Caribbean

2D balcony with GoBetter Classic beverage package and $300 OBC per cabin $2472.00 total for two.

GoBetter is currently at GoBig price.

 

I know which I would choose :D

 

Again NOT apples to apples - Eastern Carib is always more than Western - but a fair try anyway

Well, not always.....Escape doing the Eastern is 135 for 3 port stops, while the Getaway is 150 doing the Western for 4 port stops. Even if they both did the same number, it is usually no more than an extra 25-40 bucks to cruise the East versus the West. And besides, the Celebrity choice is 220 bucks cheaper, and has 300 in OBC versus 3 nights in a specialty on NCL and has a substantially better drinks package.

[AquaMarineFerret]

If there's no cork there's no corkage fee' date=' Right? ;);)

Pack a box of wine.[/quote']

 

Great idea, but boxes are expressly excluded. Mind you, many wine bottles in the UK now have screw caps rather than corks...

 

Maybe they should just replace the term "corkage" with something more accurate?

:)

[insidecabin]

Great idea, but boxes are expressly excluded. Mind you, many wine bottles in the UK now have screw caps rather than corks...

 

Maybe they should just replace the term "corkage" with something more accurate?

:)

 

Never had a wine box picked out on any cruise line.

 

RCI out of Miami I was in the naughty room and they said fine to the bottles of wine and the box of cider and the tins of beer in the case, all they wanted to keep back was the bottle of whiskey(which was for family in US anyway).

 

We got them all there on NCL TA from Southampton.

[luvtheships]

This is a deal breaker for me. I drink a lot of water and wouldn't mind buying it on board if it was reasonable priced. I like taking the smaller bottles with me when I go on shore so 1 liter bottles won't work. I refuse to pay their prices and on top of that 18% + service charge! Carnival reduced the prices of their water when they stopped letting you bring it on board AND they don't charge anything thing else like the service charge! This also means I would have to carry a lot of water back to my room every day from the buffet to keep in my room. Drinking water from the bathroom facets is FILTHY.

 

 

 

I now regret having bought 2 of there certs for advanced deposits on future cruises. I will find a couple of 1-2 day cruises to use them on and not spend one dime on board unless they lower their prices on the bottled water and get rid of the 18% and service charge. I'll bring a couple of filter bottles with me. I cruise 3 times a year and spend a lot on board but it won't be with NCL.

 

 

 

I will also write them and let them know they have lost a customer.

 

 

Certs only work on longer cruises not 1 or 2 day deals I believe

[luvtheships]

Great idea, but boxes are expressly excluded. Mind you, many wine bottles in the UK now have screw caps rather than corks...

 

 

 

Maybe they should just replace the term "corkage" with something more accurate?

 

:)

 

 

How about the Ncl screw the pax fee?

[Frick_&_Frack]

We sail September 25th, 2016 on the breakaway - still no email from NCL or TA..... I guess they are going month by month to figure out exactly what the repercussions might be before notifying all? (Lol) Has anyone else received notification on the changes who are sailing in September? I already paid in full and finished the check in process last month. Not surprised; just curious......

 

I got my e-mail on Friday, 7/1; however, I only got it *after* I had e-mailed, and NCL called and spoke to me. ;) I sail September 10th.

[sparks1093]

Lukewarm indeed, nothing ice can't cure:)

 

Who wants to drink watered down water?:cool:

[LMaxwell]

My wife read USA Today this morning, and was impressed that I was quoted near the beginning of the article. She wasn't even looking for the article, so she was especially surprised to see it. Yay me.

 

Anyway, regarding the DSC removal, I've posted this in other threads, but I should repeat it here.

 

It is absolutely true that removing the DSC does NOT subtract from crew pay. Every penny of the DSC goes to NCL. No matter how many people remove it, the crew gets paid the same. It is sometimes referred to as "gratuities" as a trick to get people to feel bad about removing it. (The trick is working great, btw!)

 

The only exception to this involves if you state a reason blaming an individual. So if your stated reason was, "My room steward was lousy", then they will reprimand the room steward. But if you list a general reason such as, "Didn't like service on board in general", nobody will get in trouble, and nobody's pay will get docked.

 

Some have asked for my source on this. I cannot provide that here, but I can assure you that my statement above is correct.

 

HOWEVER, I would only suggest removing the DSC if you absolutely never plan to cruise NCL again.

 

This is because all DSC removal requests now have to go through the Miami office. There is a reason for this. Such removal requests are logged, and the fact that you demanded the removal is stored. It can easily be used against you later.

 

How?

 

They can refuse other requests for you in the future. For example, let's say you took a cruise where the toilet didn't work for most of the time. When you contact the Miami office for a partial refund, they will see that you were a prior DSC remover, and may choose to compensate you less or not at all.

 

They can blacklist you from special offers and promotions.

 

They can even ban you from NCL entirely. (Don't laugh -- another cruise line banned someone for repeated complaints about them on CruiseCritic!)

 

It's just not a good idea to remove the DSC and be labeled by the Miami office as a problem customer, especially given Del Rio's apparently attempt to drive away "value" cruisers as of late.

 

Again, if this is your last NCL cruise ever, then by all means remove the DSC if that's your backdoor way of recovering funds from this whole drink fiasco.

 

Otherwise I would not recommend doing it.

 

I can already tell you that I will not be removing the DSC unless I have a legitimate problem with a specific service situation on the ship.

 

I have never removed the DSC in my time cruising NCL.

 

Edited July 7, 2016 by LMaxwell

[skyeman27]

This is crazy. You would honestly leave a cruise line over a case of water? Sorry to say but many of the other cruise lines already have this policy in place. I think you are going to be disappointed where ever you go.

 

It is not just the water, it is a compilation of nickle and dimes. I would be disappointed if I sail NCL again. I will stick with Carnival for most of my cruises and will not be disappointed. Carnival's nickle and dimes are not as heavy as NCL's...

[Loralye]

New to NCL... Long time cruiser to RCCL, Carnival, Princess & Celebrity.

 

The fact that my family could bring water, soda & energy drinks onboard did play a role (among other things) in choosing NCL over the other lines doing similar southern Caribbean trip. Yes, I am disappointed, and yes it may play a role in my decision in the future. I am hoping NCL makes some sort of adjustment to their water pricing before we sail. To charge $50 per small case of water is outrageous. My family drinks 1 to 2 cases of 24 pack water cases per week!!! And no, I do not want to drink the ship water as my last trip involved some serious swelling in legs and feet (first ever after many cruises). It is not something I want to ever experience again!!!

 

Instead of bashing each other on this board for their opinion, keep things on point... The media is starting to get on NCL's back!!!

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2016/07/06/norwegian-cruise-line-beverage-ban/86742538/

[david_sobe]

Just wow. This story has exploded all over the media with quotes from this exact thread. The USA Today article has already been posted. But local papers all over Florida also have similar articles highlighting how this puts NCL at odds with all other cruise lines.

 

OUCH :eek:

 

This is where NCL is going to get bitten. There are thousands of people searching for cruises right now...always looking for the best deal. Bringing your own water may not even have occurred to them. But now thanks to the genius of FDR....they now do. After all this media attention NCL is going to lose out on many of these customers. "Hey that is a great idea...we can bring our own beverages on Carnival or RCCL.

I don't see other cruise lines following this. I see the opposite with marketing from other cruise lines "Still free to bring your own water..."

 

Fees, prices, and gratuities keep going up with NCL but what the customer normally gets as "included" keeps getting smaller and smaller.

 

I have not read this entire thread. But I am surprised many of the cheerleaders did not chime in with the ridiculous statements of justification and praise. Remember the food in the cabin policy where the cheerleaders cried "it's a safety thing" . A safety thing? Huh? It was clearly to prevent passengers from saving money. Yes this is a safety reason. NCL does not know where that bottled water came from and wants to protect its customers.

 

We get it FDR. Cut back every nickel and dime and raise every feel, price and gratuity. Pure genius.

Edited July 7, 2016 by david_sobe

[richstowe]

It is not just the water, it is a compilation of nickle and dimes. I would be disappointed if I sail NCL again. I will stick with Carnival for most of my cruises and will not be disappointed. Carnival's nickle and dimes are not as heavy as NCL's...

I'll sail NCL again but only if the cruise price is so low that I can be confident even if they make last minute changes , my bottom line will be OK .

 

My wife read USA Today this morning, and was impressed that I was quoted near the beginning of the article. She wasn't even looking for the article, so she was especially surprised to see it. Yay me.

 

Anyway, regarding the DSC removal, I've posted this in other threads, but I should repeat it here.

 

It is absolutely true that removing the DSC does NOT subtract from crew pay. Every penny of the DSC goes to NCL.

 

 

HOWEVER, I would only suggest removing the DSC if you absolutely never plan to cruise NCL again.

 

 

 

Otherwise I would not recommend doing it.

 

I can already tell you that I will not be removing the DSC unless I have a legitimate problem with a specific service situation on the ship.

 

I have never removed the DSC in my time cruising NCL.

Interesting information . If you believe removal or reduction of DSC doesn't harm employees , why won't you do so ?

[janpo]

My wife read USA Today this morning, and was impressed that I was quoted near the beginning of the article. She wasn't even looking for the article, so she was especially surprised to see it. Yay me.

 

Anyway, regarding the DSC removal, I've posted this in other threads, but I should repeat it here.

 

It is absolutely true that removing the DSC does NOT subtract from crew pay. Every penny of the DSC goes to NCL. No matter how many people remove it, the crew gets paid the same. It is sometimes referred to as "gratuities" as a trick to get people to feel bad about removing it. (The trick is working great, btw!)

 

The only exception to this involves if you state a reason blaming an individual. So if your stated reason was, "My room steward was lousy", then they will reprimand the room steward. But if you list a general reason such as, "Didn't like service on board in general", nobody will get in trouble, and nobody's pay will get docked.

 

Some have asked for my source on this. I cannot provide that here, but I can assure you that my statement above is correct.

 

HOWEVER, I would only suggest removing the DSC if you absolutely never plan to cruise NCL again.

 

This is because all DSC removal requests now have to go through the Miami office. There is a reason for this. Such removal requests are logged, and the fact that you demanded the removal is stored. It can easily be used against you later.

 

How?

 

They can refuse other requests for you in the future. For example, let's say you took a cruise where the toilet didn't work for most of the time. When you contact the Miami office for a partial refund, they will see that you were a prior DSC remover, and may choose to compensate you less or not at all.

 

They can blacklist you from special offers and promotions.

 

They can even ban you from NCL entirely. (Don't laugh -- another cruise line banned someone for repeated complaints about them on CruiseCritic!)

 

It's just not a good idea to remove the DSC and be labeled by the Miami office as a problem customer, especially given Del Rio's apparently attempt to drive away "value" cruisers as of late.

 

Again, if this is your last NCL cruise ever, then by all means remove the DSC if that's your backdoor way of recovering funds from this whole drink fiasco.

 

Otherwise I would not recommend doing it.

 

I can already tell you that I will not be removing the DSC unless I have a legitimate problem with a specific service situation on the ship.

 

I have never removed the DSC in my time cruising NCL.

 

 

It quoted me too. Right under your quote. Only thing is, I didnt say that .:D

[daka]

Bye, Bye Norwegian....we'll be sticking with Celebrity and Royal (hopefully they will NOT follow suit)

[senior gal]

This is also a deal breaker for us. There are multiple issues with HOW NCL managed this new policy and it's not just about being resistant to change, it's about respect for the customer/guest and not being treated as though we are only money machines.

1. the abrupt notice. We, as with many other folks, have already made final payment and plans for an upcoming cruise, so feel trapped, with no good options.

2. the all or nothing aspect of it - they could allow (as other cruise lines do) small quantities , like a 6 pack, of cola. This quantity does not impede embarkation and can be screened

3. they gouge passengers with gratuity charges for handing you an overpriced can of diet coke (or in NCLs case, diet pepsi)

4. some people (like me) do not drink coffee, but do drink diet coke and enjoy being able to drink IN MY CABIN in the morning or late at night (or whenever I feel like it for that matter)

5. the inconvenience and lack of choice-

We take at least 2 cruises a year and NCL will no longer be on our list of preferred lines.

[Merriem]

With reference to Celebrity. You are not comparing equal products NCL is a different market

[richstowe]

Had to go back to an earlier post and my response . I guess I was right .

 

Quote: Originally Posted by LrgPizza View Post

LMAO!!!!

 

This might be the news of the century to you, but trust me, the world in general doesn't give a fat rat's ass and shouldn't. HAHAHAHAHA! Funniest post ever.

 

"Twenty hostages killed in attack in Bangladesh, and in other news - self-important woman has to suffer a 7 day cruise without her Diet Coke."

LMAO!!!!

You believe the media pick stories based on importance or newsworthiness ?

Now that's funny ! Have you actually watched what passes for news these days ?

The truth is most would rather hear this story then about another terrorist attack .

Welcome to the media world of today . :eek:

[chisox021]

So, I assume this is a blanket reply to all, since it didn't actually comment on my issue... and I never mentioned liquor either....

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

My original email:

 

Sir, forwarded to you per Ms. Ewart's out of office...

 

I would like to voice my displeasure on your new policy on bringing bottled beverages on your ships. I have sailed it the past and have always brought on a case of bottled water, as it's very convenient for me and my family.

 

I am due to sail on 23​ July, and I know I speak of many, many other people who also feel this is not a good change for NCL. Security etc., isn't a very good reason for this change..... Additionally, you still charge upwards of $40.00 for a 12-pack of water, and that sir, if absurd.

 

You will be able to use "Security" as the reason for this change if you lower your prices, dramatically, for bottled water. You are out to make money, and I think every cruiser understands that, but please don't grossly overcharge for water - as it's a great convenience for all who cruise.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Their reply:

 

Dear Sir,

 

We are in receipt of your email in regards to our new policy of not being able to bring bottled water onboard. It is indeed correct that we no longer allow water bottles, juice, liquor onboard. There are exceptions to this rule as with medical needs and the like. Attached please refer to the link on our website that will give you detailed information.

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#can-i-bring-water-or-soda-board

 

We thank you for understanding.

 

Sincerely,

Lourdes Sayus | Executive Office/ Resolution Specialist

1-800-456-7298 | ext 26278

Norwegian Cruise Line ®

7665 Corporate Center Drive | Miami FL 33126

 

Freestyle Cruising ®

ncl.com

 

--------------------------------

 

So, why not just say, "sucks to be you, and we will still charge upwards of $40 per 12-pack of water..... As far as your and other's concerns, go shyt in your hat... We will do what we want and nickle and dime you to death!"

 

Sincerely, NCL, the cruise line who doesn't care, cause you will pay what we charge anyway....

[$hip$hape]

Great idea, but boxes are expressly excluded.

Mind you, many wine bottles in the UK now have screw caps rather than corks...

 

Maybe they should just replace the term "corkage" with something more accurate?

:)

 

More accurate? Are you inferring a screw charge?:rolleyes:

Edited July 7, 2016 by $hip$hape

[LrgPizza]

Had to go back to an earlier post and my response . I guess I was right .

 

Quote: Originally Posted by LrgPizza View Post

LMAO!!!!

 

This might be the news of the century to you, but trust me, the world in general doesn't give a fat rat's ass and shouldn't. HAHAHAHAHA! Funniest post ever.

 

"Twenty hostages killed in attack in Bangladesh, and in other news - self-important woman has to suffer a 7 day cruise without her Diet Coke."

 

 

I still stand by my post, even more so after reading the "news" articles. What the hell has journalism come to when message forums and anonymous people are quoted? Such a joke!!! I remember when people used to actually go to school for journalism. Now any moron can cut and paste from the web. That's not news reporting, but it's funny!!! Yeah, my point is proven that it isn't newsworthy, whether or not it's in the news. Trust me, the world in general doesn't give a fat rat's ass that poor Buffy can't drink her Nestle water for 7 whole days of her posh life. Oh the humanity! I realize to you that might be the worst thing you can imagine, but then you don't live in reality.

 

The fact that people like you are cheering this makes you a part of the problem. Congratulations.

 

By the way, you should learn how to use the quote function.

[sparks1093]

I still stand by my post, even more so after reading the "news" articles. What the hell has journalism come to when message forums and anonymous people are quoted? Such a joke!!! I remember when people used to actually go to school for journalism. Now any moron can cut and paste from the web. That's not news reporting, but it's funny!!! Yeah, my point is proven that it isn't newsworthy, whether or not it's in the news. Trust me, the world in general doesn't give a fat rat's ass that poor Buffy can't drink her Nestle water for 7 whole days of her posh life. Oh the humanity! I realize to you that might be the worst thing you can imagine, but then you don't live in reality.

 

The fact that people like you are cheering this makes you a part of the problem. Congratulations.

 

By the way, you should learn how to use the quote function.

 

"Well it proves one thing, Mr. Hooper. It proves that you wealthy college boys don't have the education enough to admit when you're wrong.";)

 

It's not a big deal to you, I get that, but you seem to underestimate how big a deal it is for others (and I would say that NCL made the same mistake:)). Right, wrong or indifferent, this is news and NCL deserves what they are getting. Is it stop the press type of news? Nope. But most major news outlets do have entertainment and travel sections and it's certainly worthy of being covered in either one of those sections. (And for the record the policy itself isn't that big of a deal to me although DW will miss bringing on her own coca cola, but the way NCL spun this does bother me.)