UBP Price Increase to 89$ pp pd?

[purpletequila]

Does anybody actually buy the UBP? I imagine the vast majority of people who have it got it as a perk.

 

So for most cruisers, the real news is that there's a $1.80 per day increase.

 

Not really the point though. They raise the price to capture more revenue through the service charge while giving nothing in return. A $10 increase on $79 is not a small increase. They should include bottled water. Can you think of any other line charging anywhere near $89 a DAY without including water or high end alcohol?

[purpletequila]

I wasn't aware the service charge on Haven bookings was a relatively new addition. I would guess that the change did not adversely affect booking enough to reverse the decision, so we will see if this increase will. The value of the Haven is obviously there for many folks.

 

Overall I think we can expect more, not less fees going forward.

 

I wonder if the value is really there though since there seems to always be a good number of Haven rooms open for bidding 80 days out.

[purpletequila]

In other areas where costs are going up the operator/manufacturer avoids increasing the headline price by alternative strategies such as decreasing the product size or using cheaper materials.

 

Cruise lines don't operate for our benefit, they operate for their bottom line and to the benefit of their sharehodlers, and if costs go up/profits reduce then somewhere along the waythey need to incease their take, ideally without needing to increase the headline price. Upping the cost of the UBP to take in an extra two dollars or so on the service charge, and levying the service charge on Haven guests is one way of doing it. If an extra two dollars is paid by just half of the guests on a 2,000 passenger ship, that comes out at $100,000 pa, and a lot more on the big ships. I don't know what the net average profit is per customer, maybe somebody can tell us, but I suspect we would probably be surprised at how low it is, hence the need to increase the take where possible.

 

Eh. I doubt it's that low. Look at what the CEO is taking home. It was way above the norm for the industry last I checked. Good for him. Whatever. But I wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with this if the increase service charge to us actually went to those serving us.

[purpletequila]

Nobody like changes, especially when they don't feel the value is there. We've vacationed at Disney for close to 20 years and the value to us has fallen year after year because the price just keeps climbing. Still their resorts and parks are packed, so someone must find it valuable-much like I feel I'm getting a good deal on NCL, lol.

 

Think I actually read that attendance had declined for the first time in years this year. Could be wrong.

[tbo]

Think I actually read that attendance had declined for the first time in years this year. Could be wrong.

 

That is very possible, but it is still far from the old days. I've heard that part of the reasoning in raising prices is for crowd control, so if attendance is down, it's working. They make as much or more profit with less guest capacity, less expense to them.

[Traj]

We do the free at sea alcohol package but I would never break even. But we don't book excursions thru the ship and the other restaurants are not important to us, so it's still a savings in that respect.

 

 

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[OrlandoSingleCruiser]

Not really the point though. They raise the price to capture more revenue through the service charge while giving nothing in return. A $10 increase on $79 is not a small increase. They should include bottled water. Can you think of any other line charging anywhere near $89 a DAY without including water or high end alcohol?

 

Just think, at $13 extra per person on each sailing on the Escape alone it means millions extra in their pockets.

 

The Escape has a capacity of 4,266. Let's say the average number of passengers onboard is 4,000 with 2/3 having the UBP package. That's 2,668 passengers with the UBP. This turns out to be about $35,000 in additional revenue per week on the Escape alone. That's a little over $1,800,000 per year on just 1 ship. So with that 1 little change they generated about $10 million extra across their fleet and that's not even including people that will actually spend the extra $10 per day to buy the UBP.

[Air2Cruise]

This just in... LOL :halo::loudcry::eek::o

[POA1]

LOL, so does fake news... every day... sounds so real...

 

Good luck with that,

Apology accepted!

[shof515]

 

nearly $1,000 for the drink package once you add the required 18%...whoa!!

[NLH Arizona]

 

nearly $1,000 for the drink package once you add the required 18%...whoa!!

Seems expensive to me. I wouldn't purchase it, as I could never drink that much without falling overboard at some point and I will have to put a pen and paper to the 18% gratuity when deciding if I want to pick it as a perk.

[Two Wheels Only]

I don't know who actually buys the UBP but the ONLY way that I would do it is if 3 or more adults are in the same stateroom and guests 1&2 get the UBP promo and guests 3-whatever buy it. The total cost would be divided by everyone.

 

For a group of 4...

 

Guest 1 with promo - $112.14

Guest 2 with promo - $112.14

Guest 3 buys UBP - $735.14 :o

Guest 4 buys UBP - $735.14 :o

 

Each pays $423.64 for a 7 day cruise or $60.52 per day.

It might be better for 3 and 4 to get their own room and get the promo.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

I booked what is likely my last NCL cruise two days ago. Lucky timing. I'm paying solo rates for a 7-night cruise out of San Juan in February 2019. (Hopefully PR will be put back together by then. ) With booze and shorex credit I'm in for ~$1,850 for an obstructed Oceanview cabin.

 

This December I'm on a 7-night out of Miami on HAL, also paying solo. I also have my own reserved poolside cabana for the whole week, with perks and a full picture window in my ocean view cabin. I'm in for ~$1,350. That leaves me $500 to buy my own cheap drinks and shorex.

 

NCL is no longer a value proposition.

 

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[CruisingUS]

I booked what is likely my last NCL cruise two days ago. Lucky timing. I'm paying solo rates for a 7-night cruise out of San Juan in February 2019. (Hopefully PR will be put back together by then. ) With booze and shorex credit I'm in for ~$1,850 for an obstructed Oceanview cabin.

 

This December I'm on a 7-night out of Miami on HAL, also paying solo. I also have my own reserved poolside cabana for the whole week, with perks and a full picture window in my ocean view cabin. I'm in for ~$1,350. That leaves me $500 to buy my own cheap drinks and shorex.

 

NCL is no longer a value proposition.

 

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IMO, the value that NCL provided was always just middle of the pack compared to other CL.

 

I chose them in the past due to the freestyle cruising, but that isn't unique any more to NCL....for the most part...I still say that it is more of a hassle on other CL.

 

Also, NCL has to raise more money to pay off the debt of these billion dollar ships. They ain't free. They have to pay it off somehow...even if it is $2 at a time

[newmexicoNita]

Seems expensive to me. I wouldn't purchase it, as I could never drink that much without falling overboard at some point and I will have to put a pen and paper to the 18% gratuity when deciding if I want to pick it as a perk.

for people who drink more than a couple drinks a day, it is a great perk and you are going to pay the 18% whether you order a drink the normal way or have the UBP as a perk.Would i buy the package? Nope, it is way out of our budget and we can just cut back in our drinking if the price is too high.

[legion_ninja]

I heard that Princess cruise line is going to (or now does) impose a daily drink limit for their AIBP, maybe NCL didn't want to have a daily drink limit so they upped prices instead...

 

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[POA1]

I heard that Princess cruise line is going to (or now does) impose a daily drink limit for their AIBP, maybe NCL didn't want to have a daily drink limit so they upped prices instead...

 

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Yes. 15 alcoholic beverages, plus unlimited non-alcoholic beverages like bottled water, soda, smoothies, specialty coffee, etc.

[NLH Arizona]

for people who drink more than a couple drinks a day, it is a great perk and you are going to pay the 18% whether you order a drink the normal way or have the UBP as a perk.Would i buy the package? Nope, it is way out of our budget and we can just cut back in our drinking if the price is too high.

Nita, I've always gotten it as a perk, but cruise in a suite, so I haven't had to pay the 18% (even though I tipped $1 per drink in cash) and now that suites have to pay it, I'll have to see if the perk would still be beneficial to me or do I pick another or decline it.

[BostonGal35]

who is actually BUYING the UBP anyway? 99% are probably getting it as a pick 1/2/all promo.

 

even tho that means the weekly charge on the "free" package goes up, that's still a great value when drinks are $10+ a pop. in 2 days its paid for itself.

[spiff2]

I paid for it once on Celebrity 10 day cruise. For 2 people it was around $1300. But since water and specialty coffees were included we easily broke even. Plus better liquor ie Woodford Reserve was in the package. But everything just seems to taste better when you get it as a perk. Going on Epic 3-24-18.

[ray98]

who is actually BUYING the UBP anyway? 99% are probably getting it as a pick 1/2/all promo.

 

even tho that means the weekly charge on the "free" package goes up, that's still a great value when drinks are $10+ a pop. in 2 days its paid for itself.

 

 

Exactly. While the price is up there compared to other lines virtually everyone is comped in some sort of way which is a rarity in the industry.

 

My upcoming cruise was $100 more than Carnival but still $200 less than RCCL. I am in $100pp for tips which still has me saving $250pp over Carnival which made it the cheapest cruise. It doesn't always work out that way but simply math can show you the best deal.

 

If they day comes where the perk goes away I would never consider purchasing it for that amount and would simply look at the competition.

[Bosrox]

who is actually BUYING the UBP anyway? 99% are probably getting it as a pick 1/2/all promo.

 

even tho that means the weekly charge on the "free" package goes up, that's still a great value when drinks are $10+ a pop. in 2 days its paid for itself.

 

 

Exactly..we are booked on a group cruise on NCL so our service charges are all waived. We do have to pay the tips, so about $220 total for the week. With that added to the cost of our cruise, it is only $70 more TOTAL for the 2 of us, than our upcoming CCL Magic cruise. That $70 is easily worth the booze and the 3 free specialty dining meals. By the time I add booze and a supper at the steakhouse to my Magic cruise, it's going to be at least $1000 more than my NCL.

[macandlucy]

I think a lot of us tend to cruise NCL and so it's mainly their price increases we notice. But like you, Bosrox, when I priced out a Baltics cruise for next summer, NCL was the clear winner in value compared to both Princess, RCL and Celebrity. (We also really love the whole freestyle thing and think that other cruise lines "anytime dining" offerings are pale comparisons.)

[csopi]

I can't drink $105 worth of Captain and Coke in a day.

 

**** these guys.

 

 

 

No, but I can certainly drink more than the $ 112.14 service charge for 7 days if the UBP is still part of the promo.

A little over $12 increase is not the end of the world, annoying as they seem to do this constantly, but still nowhere near being a deal breaker.

Edited September 29, 2017 by csopi

[Maplemoose]

So are changes like this retroactive? i.e. if a cruise is booked and the UBP gratuities paid would they charge the increase in your final bill?