Has CCL (like NCL has)stopped passengers taking food back to their room

[jimbo5544]

As I said in my reply, they may charge for a few more things.....but no one is forcing you to buy them. You have a choice on what you purchase no matter which line you are sailing on. Some lines offer more for fee items than others. Just like if you are purchasing a car, not all makes and models offer the same things included and/or upgrades that you can purchase. I love having the choices. If you choose to purchase items on a cruise, then you are nickel and diming yourself. NCL did not dig in your pocket and pull out your change...you did.

 

I understand your reply and also believe that options are a good thing. There is a fine line between an option and the feeling that some things which use to free now cost money. Don't want to belabor the point anymore....

[sparks1093]

As I said in my reply, they may charge for a few more things.....but no one is forcing you to buy them. You have a choice on what you purchase no matter which line you are sailing on. Some lines offer more for fee items than others. Just like if you are purchasing a car, not all makes and models offer the same things included and/or upgrades that you can purchase. I love having the choices. If you choose to purchase items on a cruise, then you are nickel and diming yourself. NCL did not dig in your pocket and pull out your change...you did.

 

And while that is true the typical cruiser will have to spend more money on NCL to have the same things they would have on other lines for less- more for gratuities on drinks, more for basic room service, more for drinks, more for the drink package (if purchased), etc. While all of these fees are generally avoidable the fact does remain that you can't do the same things on NCL that you can do on other lines for less in all cases. If I were to go on NCL I would have to sacrifice something to spend the same as I would on CCL or any other line. For instance, we don't use the drink packages so for us it costs 3% more to enjoy the same drinks on NCL as it would on CCL (not to mention that NCL just raised its drink prices) because NCL charges an 18% gratuity for bar service versus CCL.

 

To me the definition of nickel and diming is a simple one- it is when a vendor 1) charges more than the competition for the same product or 2) charges for things the competition doesn't charge for. Since NCL does do both of those things it is clear that they do nickel and dime their passengers. That the passengers can avoid the charges easily isn't the point at all.

[Warm Breezes]

And while that is true the typical cruiser will have to spend more money on NCL to have the same things they would have on other lines for less- more for gratuities on drinks, more for basic room service, more for drinks, more for the drink package (if purchased), etc. While all of these fees are generally avoidable the fact does remain that you can't do the same things on NCL that you can do on other lines for less in all cases. If I were to go on NCL I would have to sacrifice something to spend the same as I would on CCL or any other line. For instance, we don't use the drink packages so for us it costs 3% more to enjoy the same drinks on NCL as it would on CCL (not to mention that NCL just raised its drink prices) because NCL charges an 18% gratuity for bar service versus CCL.

 

To me the definition of nickel and diming is a simple one- it is when a vendor 1) charges more than the competition for the same product or 2) charges for things the competition doesn't charge for. Since NCL does do both of those things it is clear that they do nickel and dime their passengers. That the passengers can avoid the charges easily isn't the point at all.

 

And just the opposite just occurred for us. We never purchase the drink packages on either line as I don't drink enough to make it pay for buying it for the 2 of us. But we did get the UBP on NCL as a promo (paying $200 for the 2 of us in gratuities). The gratuities we are paying on our 7 day NCL Cruise for the 2 of us is less than the drink package would be for 1 of us (not including the gratuity) on our 5 day CCL Cruise next month. This made the package on NCL worth the price for us to try it for a cruise. So in this case, by your definition, CCL would be nickel and diming us for their beverage package if we chose to get it next month ;).

[sparks1093]

And just the opposite just occurred for us. We never purchase the drink packages on either line as I don't drink enough to make it pay for buying it for the 2 of us. But we did get the UBP on NCL as a promo (paying $200 for the 2 of us in gratuities). The gratuities we are paying on our 7 day NCL Cruise for the 2 of us is less than the drink package would be for 1 of us (not including the gratuity) on our 5 day CCL Cruise next month. This made the package on NCL worth the price for us to try it for a cruise. So in this case, by your definition, CCL would be nickel and diming us for their beverage package if we chose to get it next month ;).

 

LOL, on a limited case by case basis maybe it could be viewed that way but comparing apples to apples, line for line I don't think it would hold up in most cases (and yes, your gratuities are less than the total package on CCL but NCL's package is still $30 more per day and it offers less choices). Del Rio has done his best to ensure he's going to get $5 to $10 more from each passenger each day through a variety of changes.

[Warm Breezes]

LOL, on a limited case by case basis maybe it could be viewed that way but comparing apples to apples, line for line I don't think it would hold up in most cases (and yes, your gratuities are less than the total package on CCL but NCL's package is still $30 more per day and it offers less choices). Del Rio has done his best to ensure he's going to get $5 to $10 more from each passenger each day through a variety of changes.

 

I will stand firm in my opinion that it is totally subjective. Del Rio can try his best but only the passenger can allow it to happen. I'm pretty sure I am not allowing it to happen to me when I compare what I am spending CCL vs NCL on a pp/pd basis and as a bonus I am getting unlimited drinks and 4 specialty dinners on NCL vs individually purchased drinks on CCL which I will definitely get less of and 1 specialty dinner on CCL (which will cost me more than the gratuities on the 4 I am getting on NCL). In the end I calculate I will be paying very close to the same amount on a pp/pd basis when all costs are added together, but I will be getting more on NCL for that pp/pd amount than I will be getting on CCL in my opinion.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love sailing on both cruise lines and if I didn't think I was getting what I wanted out of that vacation for the price I paid, I wouldn't have booked on both of them. I just have a hard time with this nickel and diming business people keep trying to say is happening on NCL. It hasn't been proven at all by my spending habits on various lines, which tells me that it is subjective and that it only happens if passenger digs in his pocket and willingly hands his change over for the items he wants to purchase.

 

FWIW....NCL's UBP includes everything I would normally drink on any cruise and since I am not paying $30 more for it a day than Carnival, but actually paying what 1 alcoholic drink and 1 soft drink would cost me per day on CCL...I think I am coming out ahead on my NCL cruise on this one.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Warm Breezes

[les37b]

I will stand firm in my opinion that it is totally subjective. Del Rio can try his best but only the passenger can allow it to happen. I'm pretty sure I am not allowing it to happen to me when I compare what I am spending CCL vs NCL on a pp/pd basis and as a bonus I am getting unlimited drinks and 4 specialty dinners on NCL vs individually purchased drinks on CCL which I will definitely get less of and 1 specialty dinner on CCL (which will cost me more than the gratuities on the 4 I am getting on NCL). In the end I calculate I will be paying very close to the same amount on a pp/pd basis when all costs are added together, but I will be getting more on NCL for that pp/pd amount than I will be getting on CCL in my opinion.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love sailing on both cruise lines and if I didn't think I was getting what I wanted out of that vacation for the price I paid, I wouldn't have booked on both of them. I just have a hard time with this nickel and diming business people keep trying to say is happening on NCL. It hasn't been proven at all by my spending habits on various lines, which tells me that it is subjective and that it only happens if passenger digs in his pocket and willingly hands his change over for the items he wants to purchase.

 

FWIW....NCL's UBP includes everything I would normally drink on any cruise and since I am not paying $30 more for it a day than Carnival, but actually paying what 1 alcoholic drink and 1 soft drink would cost me per day on CCL...I think I am coming out ahead on my NCL cruise on this one.

 

Obviously nickel and diming isn't the name for this, but what is the term for refusing to sell you a drinks package where you can have 15 drinks for $49.99 and then make you pay full price for every drink you have instead..... And then add 15% gratuities and then a further 24% tax on the total of each drink which could have been completely avoided?

[sparks1093]

I will stand firm in my opinion that it is totally subjective. Del Rio can try his best but only the passenger can allow it to happen. I'm pretty sure I am not allowing it to happen to me when I compare what I am spending CCL vs NCL on a pp/pd basis and as a bonus I am getting unlimited drinks and 4 specialty dinners on NCL vs individually purchased drinks on CCL which I will definitely get less of and 1 specialty dinner on CCL (which will cost me more than the gratuities on the 4 I am getting on NCL). In the end I calculate I will be paying very close to the same amount on a pp/pd basis when all costs are added together, but I will be getting more on NCL for that pp/pd amount than I will be getting on CCL in my opinion.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love sailing on both cruise lines and if I didn't think I was getting what I wanted out of that vacation for the price I paid, I wouldn't have booked on both of them. I just have a hard time with this nickel and diming business people keep trying to say is happening on NCL. It hasn't been proven at all by my spending habits on various lines, which tells me that it is subjective and that it only happens if passenger digs in his pocket and willingly hands his change over for the items he wants to purchase.

 

FWIW....NCL's UBP includes everything I would normally drink on any cruise and since I am not paying $30 more for it a day than Carnival, but actually paying what 1 alcoholic drink and 1 soft drink would cost me per day on CCL...I think I am coming out ahead on my NCL cruise on this one.

 

Yes, it is somewhat subjective since the individual passenger's needs will vary, but if you do enjoy room service for instance you will have to budget extra money on NCL that you wouldn't need to budget on CCL (or other lines for that matter), unless of course you choose to just forego this simple pleasure. I know that I spent $550 on drinks the last go round with NCL and I know that because of the increase in gratuity I would be paying more if I were on NCL (presuming of course the same level of consumption, but I would probably cut back our drinking to make up for the extra being spend on that or move it from somewhere else in the budget).

 

Yes, NCL includes everything you would drink, but CCL includes things that one might enjoy having as an option, such as a milkshake or a specialty coffee or even a bottle of water to take ashore on a shore excursion. If you want either of those on NCL then you would have to pay extra for them (and FWIW I wouldn't pay extra for them, I would just do without). That certainly wouldn't ruin my cruise by any stretch of the imagination, but neither would it give me the same experience I could enjoy on another line.

[Warm Breezes]

Yes, it is somewhat subjective since the individual passenger's needs will vary, but if you do enjoy room service for instance you will have to budget extra money on NCL that you wouldn't need to budget on CCL (or other lines for that matter), unless of course you choose to just forego this simple pleasure. I know that I spent $550 on drinks the last go round with NCL and I know that because of the increase in gratuity I would be paying more if I were on NCL (presuming of course the same level of consumption, but I would probably cut back our drinking to make up for the extra being spend on that or move it from somewhere else in the budget).

 

Yes, NCL includes everything you would drink, but CCL includes things that one might enjoy having as an option, such as a milkshake or a specialty coffee or even a bottle of water to take ashore on a shore excursion. If you want either of those on NCL then you would have to pay extra for them (and FWIW I wouldn't pay extra for them, I would just do without). That certainly wouldn't ruin my cruise by any stretch of the imagination, but neither would it give me the same experience I could enjoy on another line.

 

Your points reinforce the subjectivity of our own choices causing the nickel and diming since the only thing we ever order from room service is continental breakfast on port days there is no difference there for us between the 2 lines. This was the same for us when the lines didn't charge for anything on the room service. Without the drink package our alcohol consumption has usually been around 5-10 drinks total on any ship we have sailed so the price difference with the gratuities in total would be insignificant. As for the extra things CCL includes in their package, if we were to choose to get purchase it, as a diabetic I would not waste my carbs on a nonalcoholic milkshake, I don't drink coffee (Yuk) and DH prefers just plain coffee, and whenever we wanted bottled water on shore, we paid a dollar or two on shore and bought it there instead of packing some and taking it with us. In essence no significant difference in cost between lines for us on any of these issues.

[Warm Breezes]

Obviously nickel and diming isn't the name for this, but what is the term for refusing to sell you a drinks package where you can have 15 drinks for $49.99 and then make you pay full price for every drink you have instead..... And then add 15% gratuities and then a further 24% tax on the total of each drink which could have been completely avoided?

 

:confused: Not sure what you are referencing :confused:

[sparks1093]

Your points reinforce the subjectivity of our own choices causing the nickel and diming since the only thing we ever order from room service is continental breakfast on port days there is no difference there for us between the 2 lines. This was the same for us when the lines didn't charge for anything on the room service. Without the drink package our alcohol consumption has usually been around 5-10 drinks total on any ship we have sailed so the price difference with the gratuities in total would be insignificant. As for the extra things CCL includes in their package, if we were to choose to get purchase it, as a diabetic I would not waste my carbs on a nonalcoholic milkshake, I don't drink coffee (Yuk) and DH prefers just plain coffee, and whenever we wanted bottled water on shore, we paid a dollar or two on shore and bought it there instead of packing some and taking it with us. In essence no significant difference in cost between lines for us on any of these issues.

 

And that is all good for you (I really do mean that:)), but you aren't everyone else. There are two components to the analysis- an objective one where you compare everything line for line and determine which is more expensive and then a subjective one where you determine if it matters to you or not. The latter analysis does not change the former, it only means that for you it doesn't matter. Objectively the facts remain the same- NCL charges for things other cruise lines don't charge for and they charge more for what other lines do charge for. Now, that doesn't mean that NCL is evil or that they don't offer a good product because they do. But the first step in avoiding extra costs is to recognize that they are there to begin with.

 

I do hope that you get the same enjoyment from your NCL cruise that you've received in the past (actually I hope it's better than it was since that is Del Rio's goal). I look forward to your review.

[KatieCharlotte]

This was a good example of a cruiseline coming up with an idea and implementing it without understanding their passengers or thinking it through, and then scrapping it when enough passengers protested and explained why it was a really bad idea. I read the discussions when it first happened. There were the usual cruiseline defenders, saying that it was just a rumor, they never brought food back to their rooms, the rule was necessary for cleanliness and food safety, and complainers should find another cruiseline because it was a done deal. But NCL quickly realized that they made a mistake.

[Warm Breezes]

And that is all good for you (I really do mean that:)), but you aren't everyone else. There are two components to the analysis- an objective one where you compare everything line for line and determine which is more expensive and then a subjective one where you determine if it matters to you or not. The latter analysis does not change the former, it only means that for you it doesn't matter. Objectively the facts remain the same- NCL charges for things other cruise lines don't charge for and they charge more for what other lines do charge for. Now, that doesn't mean that NCL is evil or that they don't offer a good product because they do. But the first step in avoiding extra costs is to recognize that they are there to begin with.

 

I do hope that you get the same enjoyment from your NCL cruise that you've received in the past (actually I hope it's better than it was since that is Del Rio's goal). I look forward to your review.

 

You'll be waiting a while since I am a year out on our NCL cruise :D. I'll be back with the CCL in a little over a month:p. I plan on having a great time on both. And you are right. The key to all of this is research and knowing what the extra charges are, but it is still your choice to purchase. Now as we have seen things can change on any line from the time you book to the time you sail. We have seen that on Carnival and NCL since we usually do book a ways out and I don't expect things to remain the status quo as I know that is not how the cruising business works. But I try to keep up with the changes so my expectations are in line with reality when we sail and our expectations have almost always been surpassed on all the cruises we have been on.

[sparks1093]

You'll be waiting a while since I am a year out on our NCL cruise :D. I'll be back with the CCL in a little over a month:p. I plan on having a great time on both. And you are right. The key to all of this is research and knowing what the extra charges are, but it is still your choice to purchase. Now as we have seen things can change on any line from the time you book to the time you sail. We have seen that on Carnival and NCL since we usually do book a ways out and I don't expect things to remain the status quo as I know that is not how the cruising business works. But I try to keep up with the changes so my expectations are in line with reality when we sail and our expectations have almost always been surpassed on all the cruises we have been on.

 

That's okay, I am patient.:)