"Free" drinks package - do we now have to pay 18% service charge?

[fshagan]

As a first-timer, I was surprised to find out about the beverage surcharge for the UBP. We almost chose another perk, actually, as our beverage surcharge was $228.46CDN pp for our 12 day cruise (total of $456.92 for the two of us), which was a bit of a sticker shock. But when we spoke to the TA about it, she explained that really....that's less than the cost of two drinks per day. So if we are going to drink more than 2 drinks (and based on photos I've seen of the size of the cups, even I can manage that with my low tolerance!) then it's well worth it.

 

I can't imagine ever spending the money on the UBP for our cruise length, if it weren't free. It was like $1600CDN per person. I don't spend that much on alcohol in a year, at home! Or even two years! That's the price of another trip! :o

 

We don't drink enough of the stuff NCL has on the UBP to make it worth the 18% service charge! So we always choose another promo. We might pay it if they had specialty coffees, bottled water, and the other things most lines include in their beverage package, but not just for booze and the limited wines they offer.