Why are drinks so expensive

[Toofarfromthesea]

Can you please give me the correct explanation of "vacation destination" that applies to everyone. And how long do you have to be gone? Do you have to leave town? I thought the water park close to where I live was a vacation destination. How about a ball game. The beach or mountains? Do you know how every Canadian, American, Asian, European, Australian, Indian etc considers what a vacation destination is.

Factually right. I do not think so unless you ask everyone. And I mean everyone on the world.

I am ready to take your survey.

 

OK, you win. A nation with over 300,000,000 people doesn't have more vacation destinations than a country with less than 50,000,000.

 

Silly me, and I thought vacation destination was self-obvious.

[Toofarfromthesea]

I’ll just let you have the last word. It’s obviously REAL important to your sense of .... worth .... or manhood .... or something.

Pffffft.

 

 

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Yes, embrace the mantle of victimhood. Far better than admitting your snarky comment was wrong.

[ElaineKeagy]

OK, you win. A nation with over 300,000,000 people doesn't have more vacation destinations than a country with less than 50,000,000.

 

 

 

Silly me, and I thought vacation destination was self-obvious.

 

 

 

Yes, embrace the mantle of victimhood. Far better than admitting YOUR snarky comment was wrong.

 

 

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[richstowe]

I’ll just let you have the last word. It’s obviously REAL important to your sense of .... worth .... or manhood .... or something.

Pffffft.

 

 

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Yes, embrace the mantle of victimhood. Far better than admitting YOUR snarky comment was wrong.

 

 

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What happened to letting someone have the last word ? :D

Frankly I don't care about any of this but it is amusing . Odd but amusing .

[Trimone]

Hmm, I bet the OP is talking about Matua sauvignon blanc.

 

We sailed Escape 10/17. Matua by the glass on UBP. Great!

Sailed again on Escape 2/18. Not by the glass. Initially brought some other horrible wine told to be Matua. Then told Matua not available by the glass. Other iterations followed... was really disappointed. The only other SB available was North South (which was awful). Once I was given a glass of chardonnay as a substitute (without my approval.) A tasty crisp white wine in Caribbean cruising doesn't seem like a ridiculous request. Very disappointed with this matter.

You’ve got it in one, exactly what happened with us, although they did offer 20% off due to having UBP, but who wants to drink whole bottle? And reasealing the bottle for the next day brings out those acid tastes, happened with Hendricks as well.

[karoo]

Hmm, I bet the OP is talking about Matua sauvignon blanc.

 

 

 

We sailed Escape 10/17. Matua by the glass on UBP. Great!

 

Sailed again on Escape 2/18. Not by the glass. Initially brought some other horrible wine told to be Matua. Then told Matua not available by the glass. Other iterations followed... was really disappointed. The only other SB available was North South (which was awful). Once I was given a glass of chardonnay as a substitute (without my approval.) A tasty crisp white wine in Caribbean cruising doesn't seem like a ridiculous request. Very disappointed with this matter.

 

 

 

That’s the wine I was talking about too. And I agree totally with your comment on the North/South. The Matua is the only Sav Blanc I find onboard that is actually drinkable and a true Sav Blanc as I know it.

 

 

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[smithop]

You’ve got it in one, exactly what happened with us, although they did offer 20% off due to having UBP, but who wants to drink whole bottle? And reasealing the bottle for the next day brings out those acid tastes, happened with Hendricks as well.

 

 

 

(raises hand) my wife and I can finish a bottle no problem.

 

 

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[newmexicoNita]

Man!!! This sucks. I knew it was coming. Hendricks not included anymore. I told myself that's the last draw. It sucks too. I'm finally Platnium on NCL. My next cruise is Princess with free alcohol pacakage. So...

 

Just remembering the glory days of the original NCL "free" pacakage.. tips included. Even Woodford reserve was included back then...

when was that? I have been cruising NCL for over 20 years, just about 1 a year and sometimes 2 of 3. I never remember a free UBP with no gratuities and a better selection than now. Yes, there may not have been no tips but not a total selection of alcohol There has always been a price limit per drink . let me also add, you will find a price limit and selection on Princess as well I believe I know other lines do have limits, some more restrictive than NCL with the exception of water.

 

Now go, enjoy your Princess cruise. I lot of people love the line. Just don't expect the drink program to be quite you seem to be thinking.

[Maniacal Cruiser]

If you think the prices are ok? I will rest my point, personally I think they are extortionate. Plus service charge and already paid DSC. Look P&O prices

 

 

Simple solution, don't buy what you think is overpriced! EOS.

[Maniacal Cruiser]

I hope your team wins or we will never here from you again. And here in the US could most of us could care less about the world cup. We here do not even care about our own soccer league. Look at the attendance and ratings. Fox is losing money. I myself am watching a Laverne & Shirley rerun.

 

 

Actually I COULDN'T care less about kickball.

[PTC DAWG]

(raises hand) my wife and I can finish a bottle no problem.

 

 

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Agree, I was thinking, who doesn't finish a bottle of wine? :D:D

[CRUZERWANNABE]

IMO , NCL prices are similar to RC and Celebrity . A large % of Celebrity and NCL guests receive a drink package as a perk so for them seeing high drink prices is affirmative . Carnival's stable of brands has prices about 20% lower . Some like HAL have great happy hour deals . Finally all brands except Norwegian allow you to bring on a bottle of wine per adult , max 2 to a cabin at no charge . Plus the others allow you to bring on soda and water . Carnival sells water for a fraction of NCL and you can still bring on soda .

I'm sure some will disagree with all the above . TS :D

 

I agree with drink pricing being pretty much the same across cruise lines. Celebrity's drink package is so much more inclusive and costs much less if you were to buy it outright. We are taking our first RC cruise, and although they usually do not offer the drink package as a perk, they often run awesome sales (we paid $42 PP per night) for their best package and again are way more inclusive. I am more of a specialty coffee and water drinker, and the Norwegian package does not include either. Hubby, on the other hand, gets the most of his drink package :D I have yet to sail Norwegian, I figured with the "free" drink package, the total price compared to other lines, I probably could afford to buy some water and coffee drinks, begrudgingly though.

[NyYankees2k3]

when was that? I have been cruising NCL for over 20 years, just about 1 a year and sometimes 2 of 3. I never remember a free UBP with no gratuities and a better selection than now. Yes, there may not have been no tips but not a total selection of alcohol There has always been a price limit per drink . let me also add, you will find a price limit and selection on Princess as well I believe I know other lines do have limits, some more restrictive than NCL with the exception of water.

 

Now go, enjoy your Princess cruise. I lot of people love the line. Just don't expect the drink program to be quite you seem to be thinking.

 

I don't really understand your comments. It sounds like you think I am making it up.

 

The UBP back in November 2015, was one of the first times they started doing this. I recall very well, because it was my honeymoon cruise. Back then, there was no charge for gratuity. It was included in the package.

 

The purpose of my comments is since then, they have had less benefits each year. They have slowly take away various "premium alcohol's" that used to be included.

[adam_s_allen]

I don't really understand your comments. It sounds like you think I am making it up.

 

The UBP back in November 2015, was one of the first times they started doing this. I recall very well, because it was my honeymoon cruise. Back then, there was no charge for gratuity. It was included in the package.

 

The purpose of my comments is since then, they have had less benefits each year. They have slowly take away various "premium alcohol's" that used to be included.

 

I have also taken a couple NCL cruises with the UBP as a perk and didn’t have to pay any extra for the gratuities. They also had one of my favourite drinks included, cherry grey goose. Now they charge 7 dollars more for it over the non flavoured grey goose.

[newmexicoNita]

Agree, I was thinking, who doesn't finish a bottle of wine? :D:D

after 2 or 3 bottles we do not finish the last one. :'):cool:

[LMaxwell]

when was that? I have been cruising NCL for over 20 years, just about 1 a year and sometimes 2 of 3. I never remember a free UBP with no gratuities and a better selection than now. Yes, there may not have been no tips but not a total selection of alcohol There has always been a price limit per drink . let me also add, you will find a price limit and selection on Princess as well I believe I know other lines do have limits, some more restrictive than NCL with the exception of water.

 

Now go, enjoy your Princess cruise. I lot of people love the line. Just don't expect the drink program to be quite you seem to be thinking.

 

December 2016 on Escape; UBP was completely free, no additional charges, more selection because more included under price cap.

[newmexicoNita]

I agree with drink pricing being pretty much the same across cruise lines. Celebrity's drink package is so much more inclusive and costs much less if you were to buy it outright. We are taking our first RC cruise, and although they usually do not offer the drink package as a perk, they often run awesome sales (we paid $42 PP per night) for their best package and again are way more inclusive. I am more of a specialty coffee and water drinker, and the Norwegian package does not include either. Hubby, on the other hand, gets the most of his drink package :D I have yet to sail Norwegian, I figured with the "free" drink package, the total price compared to other lines, I probably could afford to buy some water and coffee drinks, begrudgingly though.

according to our Travel Agent what you say about Celebrity is true but the basic drink package only allow liquor up to $10 which makes a big difference and you can not just buy a drink that is over the amount and pay the difference like you can on NCL. Which is the better deal? I guess it depends on how you look at it but yes, Celebrity does have a good drink deal. I do agree about the water and specialty coffee but for us it makes little difference cause we just refill our water bottle anyway and we couldn't care less about specialty coffee.

[adam_s_allen]

Also even the X category cabins used to include a perk as long as you booked more than 3 months in advance I believe. That was a good time to sail cheap with drinks included.

[newmexicoNita]

I don't really understand your comments. It sounds like you think I am making it up.

 

The UBP back in November 2015, was one of the first times they started doing this. I recall very well, because it was my honeymoon cruise. Back then, there was no charge for gratuity. It was included in the package.

 

The purpose of my comments is since then, they have had less benefits each year. They have slowly take away various "premium alcohol's" that used to be included.

oh heavens no I do not think you were making anything up, I do remember one NCL cruise when there was no service added but that was all. The tip policy was changed when people decided they did not have to tip and didn't I do take exception with the comment about premium liquor. I can't speak for all types as I only know what we drink, but hubby is a huge scotch drinker ad is more than satisfied with the selection of single malts and I am happy with the vodka choices. Yes. some of the perks have gone up but this is true with all lines, just like the prices. We have noticed a huge difference in pricing but this too, is the same with all lines. yes, there are times when one will have an offer that is better than the next, but all in all they are all raising their prices and cutting back on some of what we love.

[VA5Stones]

Oh one of our favorite (unfavorite) topics.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2652968

 

We recently posted and commented on the UBP and not one person could state an improvement of the current UBP over NCL's prior $12 allowance (2015 and prior). Yes Makers Mark and Hendricks were previously under $12 and included. Now Maker Mark (which only costs NCL 10 cents more per drink than their low rate bulleit bourbon) is priced at $19 (a $4 upcharge), and a couple other bourbons which were $1 or $2 more, are now $5-$8 per drink upcharge. Not sure what inflated rate they now use for Hendricks. It would be fine if they charged an extra $1.50 or $2.00 for these upgrades, but $4-8 per drink more is ridiculous. They would probably make a lot more money with a smaller upcharge, because more people would chose to upgrade.

 

With regard to wine, NCL is worse than ANY other cruise line, it's not even close. Their "included" wines are atrocious and they have almost no reasonable upgrades to chose from. They don't have one single cabernet upgrade from their basic undrinkable option.

 

When it comes to beer drinkers, the package is great. You can pretty much get any beer you want. For the rest of us, the UBP is becoming more expensive and delivering fewer options.

[ElaineKeagy]

Did. I. Not. Just. Read. This. Same. Post. A. Few. Pages. Back....?

When I become this obsessed with drinks, packages, beers, wines, and it influences what cruise line or itinerary I take, I’m checking myself into rehab.

 

 

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[karoo]

oh heavens no I do not think you were making anything up, I do remember one NCL cruise when there was no service added but that was all. The tip policy was changed when people decided they did not have to tip and didn't I do take exception with the comment about premium liquor. I can't speak for all types as I only know what we drink, but hubby is a huge scotch drinker ad is more than satisfied with the selection of single malts and I am happy with the vodka choices. Yes. some of the perks have gone up but this is true with all lines, just like the prices. We have noticed a huge difference in pricing but this too, is the same with all lines. yes, there are times when one will have an offer that is better than the next, but all in all they are all raising their prices and cutting back on some of what we love.

 

 

 

I have to admit- I do miss the espresso martinis now not being included in the UBP.

 

 

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[karoo]

Did. I. Not. Just. Read. This. Same. Post. A. Few. Pages. Back....?

When I become this obsessed with drinks, packages, beers, wines, and it influences what cruise line or itinerary I take, I’m checking myself into rehab.

 

 

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Do they teach punctuation in rehab too! Sorry - I couldn’t help myself. 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

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[NyYankees2k3]

oh heavens no I do not think you were making anything up, I do remember one NCL cruise when there was no service added but that was all. The tip policy was changed when people decided they did not have to tip and didn't I do take exception with the comment about premium liquor. I can't speak for all types as I only know what we drink, but hubby is a huge scotch drinker ad is more than satisfied with the selection of single malts and I am happy with the vodka choices. Yes. some of the perks have gone up but this is true with all lines, just like the prices. We have noticed a huge difference in pricing but this too, is the same with all lines. yes, there are times when one will have an offer that is better than the next, but all in all they are all raising their prices and cutting back on some of what we love.

 

Okay.. glad you mentioned single malts.. when was your last NCL Cruise? What single malts are still included in the drink package? I know when I went last year, many were not included anymore. Thanks

[ElaineKeagy]

Do they teach punctuation in rehab too! Sorry - I couldn’t help myself. 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

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I’ve never been. Trying. To. Avoid. That. [emoji53][emoji53][emoji53]

 

 

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