UBP Price Increase

[JamieLogical]

I know there are a lot of different conversations happening on this thread at this point, but I see over and over again on this forum, “Who actually can drink enough to make the UBP a good deal?” Well. Millennials can. I shudder to think what my bar bill would be if not for the UBP. For our next cruise, the difference in cost between a Sail Away balcony and a guarantee was $130pp. We paid $124pp in gratuities for the UBP. I would definitely be facing a bar bill in excess of $254 if not for the promo. I’m under no illusion my drinks are “free,” nor are any of the friends I’ve cruised with. But we’ve found a cruise fare with amenities that make it worth it to us.

 

And really, that’s who I think NCL is chasing with the Free at Sea promotion — the next generation of cruisers. There’s a lot of talk about people being surprised by how much they’re paying, and I’d argue my peers who can afford to take even a budget cruise on NCL are pretty good with money. I guarantee they’re looking at total cost, not just the per person cabin rate, when they book. And honestly, now that my friends are a little older and more settled in our careers, we cruise NCL because we can afford to take a nicer cruise than four of us crammed in an inside cabin on the greyhound of the seas.

 

I hear you. Even with the new price raising the service charge to $20 per day, it's still a bargain. I mean, that's basically 2-3 drinks per day, right? I easily drink 8-10 drinks on a normal cruise day and if I really hit it hard a day or two, I could go well beyond that. It's not difficult to drink eight drinks a day without even thinking about it while cruising. One or two mimosas or screwdrivers at breakfast or some Bailey's in your coffee... a drink or two between breakfast and lunch... a drink or two in the afternoon... a drink with dinner... and a drink or two after dinner... you are already up to eight without ever even being drunk. Even if you are only awake 16 hours a day on the cruise, that's only one drink every two hours...

[9876]

I hear you. Even with the new price raising the service charge to $20 per day, it's still a bargain. I mean, that's basically 2-3 drinks per day, right? I easily drink 8-10 drinks on a normal cruise day and if I really hit it hard a day or two, I could go well beyond that. It's not difficult to drink eight drinks a day without even thinking about it while cruising. One or two mimosas or screwdrivers at breakfast or some Bailey's in your coffee... a drink or two between breakfast and lunch... a drink or two in the afternoon... a drink with dinner... and a drink or two after dinner... you are already up to eight without ever even being drunk. Even if you are only awake 16 hours a day on the cruise, that's only one drink every two hours...

 

The only point I have is that you do pay for the package and perks in the difference between sailaway rates and the regular ones. It can still be a good deal but remember, nothing is free.

[JamieLogical]

The only point I have is that you do pay for the package and perks in the difference between sailaway rates and the regular ones. It can still be a good deal but remember, nothing is free.

 

I usually consider the difference between Sail Away and non-Sail Away as being able to choose my room. On most of the sailings I have been on or booked, the difference in price is about $100-150 per person. I have been able to book a nice angled balcony on all three of my upcoming cruises. Had I booked Sail Away, I could have been in any balcony on any deck. For me, the extra balcony space and choice of deck is well worth the extra cost. Plus I usually get the SDP as well, and even that by itself is what? $80 per person or something? We did purchase the SDP out of pocket on one cruise and definitely felt it was worth what we paid. So I could reasonably subtract the cost of that from the price difference between Sail Away and non-Sail Away as well.

[willsears94]

I usually consider the difference between Sail Away and non-Sail Away as being able to choose my room. On most of the sailings I have been on or booked, the difference in price is about $100-150 per person. I have been able to book a nice angled balcony on all three of my upcoming cruises. Had I booked Sail Away, I could have been in any balcony on any deck. For me, the extra balcony space and choice of deck is well worth the extra cost. Plus I usually get the SDP as well, and even that by itself is what? $80 per person or something? We did purchase the SDP out of pocket on one cruise and definitely felt it was worth what we paid. So I could reasonably subtract the cost of that from the price difference between Sail Away and non-Sail Away as well.

 

Wow, are we siamese twins :o I had done the same thing my first cruise with NCL paying for SDP, but that was because I was an IC. Then, after booking OC and above, I received the 2 perk offer which led me to start booking Angled Spa Balcony. In my opinion, NCL has the best spas of the big 3 (and it is not even close).

 

My point is the slightly higher price that NCL proposes has been made null-and-void in my experience due to the included perks that I now consistently use. In actuality, the higher price (if there is one in my class) is a good thing given that is detracts the annoying children of RCCL and the obnoxious drunks/ annoying children of CCL. Sure, you are still going to encounter those groups on NCL, but in my experience, it has been of a lesser degree.

Millennials like the entertainment and late night that is not offered so prominently on MSC, Celebrity, and Regents, and I am not ready to give up the ghost. Who hasn't seen a show or gone to the nightclub and ended up at O'Sheehans..that's part of the magic. As stated before, for the millennial, NCL offers the best bang for the buck (for now...).

[4774Papa]

I know there are a lot of different conversations happening on this thread at this point, but I see over and over again on this forum, “Who actually can drink enough to make the UBP a good deal?” Well. Millennials can. I shudder to think what my bar bill would be if not for the UBP. For our next cruise, the difference in cost between a Sail Away balcony and a guarantee was $130pp. We paid $124pp in gratuities for the UBP. I would definitely be facing a bar bill in excess of $254 if not for the promo. I’m under no illusion my drinks are “free,” nor are any of the friends I’ve cruised with. But we’ve found a cruise fare with amenities that make it worth it to us.

 

And really, that’s who I think NCL is chasing with the Free at Sea promotion — the next generation of cruisers. There’s a lot of talk about people being surprised by how much they’re paying, and I’d argue my peers who can afford to take even a budget cruise on NCL are pretty good with money. I guarantee they’re looking at total cost, not just the per person cabin rate, when they book. And honestly, now that my friends are a little older and more settled in our careers, we cruise NCL because we can afford to take a nicer cruise than four of us crammed in an inside cabin on the greyhound of the seas.

I am now 70 and have evolved into primarily a wine drinker. Two martinis and a glass of wine for dinner will put me down for the evening. My typical drinking on a cruise will involve three small glasses of wine before a meal and at most half a bottle of wine for dinner, perhaps just one glass with dinner.

 

Yes, I have had moments in my life when I drank a lot, but not consistently every day, like on a cruise.

I went to Oktoberfest in Munich three times and the most I drank was the second time, I had six liter sized glasses of beer over an 8 hour period.

 

In college, I once polished off 3/4 of a bottle of bourbon, but then could not drink bourbon for six months.

 

When I read what some people drink on a cruise, it frankly curls the hair on the back of my neck! These people are killing them selves. I had a friend (not a real close friend) that was a heavy drinker that died at 65 of liver failure.

 

My doctor advises drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks a day and that wine or brandy is best.

 

I know everyone makes their own health decisions in life, but these beverage packages seem to encourage over consumption.

[TFLG]

, “Who actually can drink enough to make the UBP a good deal?” Well. Millennials can. I shudder to think what my bar bill would be if not for the UBP. For our next cruise, the difference in cost between a Sail Away balcony and a guarantee was $130pp. We paid $124pp in gratuities for the UBP. I would definitely be facing a bar bill in excess of $254 if not for the promo. I’m under no illusion my drinks are “free,” nor are any of the friends I’ve cruised with. But we’ve found a cruise fare with amenities that make it worth it to us.

 

And really, that’s who I think NCL is chasing with the Free at Sea promotion — the next generation of cruisers. There’s a lot of talk about people being surprised by how much they’re paying, and I’d argue my peers who can afford to take even a budget cruise on NCL are pretty good with money. I guarantee they’re looking at total cost, not just the per person cabin rate, when they book. And honestly, now that my friends are a little older and more settled in our careers, we cruise NCL because we can afford to take a nicer cruise than four of us crammed in an inside cabin on the greyhound of the seas.

 

Well I certainly can drink enough to cover the full cost even if I was paying it (I'm a pro;p). But my wife, no way. So if we had to pay the ludicrous "full price" of the UBP and the gratuity we would lose a ton of money. However on Carival where it's $60/day total it's a win. We come out ahead. And even paying for the booze package on Carnival the total cruise cost in most of the ones I've priced out is less than NCL. NCL used to be a good deal, even when buying the booze package. Not so much anymore unless I wait till the last minute and snag a deal.

Been sailing Celebrity quite a lot lately and been getting pretty good deals overall. Beautiful ships, better food than NCL but they can be a bit boring if you catch one with an old crowd. We did a 12 day Celebrity cruise around the Great Barrier Reef in April that was only $500 more than my upcoming 7 day Mexico cruise on the Bliss! (similar cabin, similar perks). That just illustrates how crazy NCLs pricing is getting.

We have a Bliss cruise coming up in 3 weeks and would have loved to book another one for next year but I got a 10 day on Celebrity with nearly identical perks for WAY less than a 7 day on the Joy was going to cost. And Celebrity doesn't add any additional cost to the perks.

Bottom line is you really need to shop around and figure the "all-in" cost. There are so many gimmicks with all the cruise lines these days.

[JamieLogical]

When I read what some people drink on a cruise, it frankly curls the hair on the back of my neck! These people are killing them selves. I had a friend (not a real close friend) that was a heavy drinker that died at 65 of liver failure.

 

My doctor advises drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks a day and that wine or brandy is best.

 

I assume that most people are like me and drink nowhere near as much in their real lives. In my real life I drink maybe zero to ten drinks a WEEK. Definitely average fewer than two per day.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Probably 22% service charge.

I would not be surprised which is why I am keeping an eye out.

[PTC DAWG]

I am now 70 and have evolved into primarily a wine drinker. Two martinis and a glass of wine for dinner will put me down for the evening. My typical drinking on a cruise will involve three small glasses of wine before a meal and at most half a bottle of wine for dinner, perhaps just one glass with dinner.

 

Yes, I have had moments in my life when I drank a lot, but not consistently every day, like on a cruise.

I went to Oktoberfest in Munich three times and the most I drank was the second time, I had six liter sized glasses of beer over an 8 hour period.

 

In college, I once polished off 3/4 of a bottle of bourbon, but then could not drink bourbon for six months.

 

When I read what some people drink on a cruise, it frankly curls the hair on the back of my neck! These people are killing them selves. I had a friend (not a real close friend) that was a heavy drinker that died at 65 of liver failure.

 

My doctor advises drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks a day and that wine or brandy is best.

 

I know everyone makes their own health decisions in life, but these beverage packages seem to encourage over consumption.

 

Yes, we all drink as much as we do on vacation, every day of the year.

 

Thanks for your concern.

[LrgPizza]

Yes, we all drink as much as we do on vacation, every day of the year.

 

 

 

Thanks for your concern.

 

 

No kidding. Not to mention that that post has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this thread, but I suppose that’s a concern for the moderators.

[redneckwop]

We are a family of 3 (DW & teenage DD) and we looked at Disney for a Christmas cruise, where my DW & DD our gold & DCL does't have a "drink package". The cost was almost double as what we paid for our cruise on 12/23/18, which will be our first on NCL. So we felt we were getting bonus with the UDP as a perk & only having to pay $18pp/pd for drinks, not that we drink like we did when we were in college. We book at least a year in advance so that we can pay it all off, including gratuities before we even board the ship. As my DW told me on our honeymoon "We are on vacation, don't be a cheap skate but don't be stupid either."

[stleda124]

This price is laughable.

[nab52782]

There’s probably a difference, as this is being disguised as “tips” (which they’re not) levied against an artificially-priced “free” item. The increase has nothing to do with the item being chosen or the employees that provide the service. It’s a fare increase, again and again, to the point that the face-value cost of the package is laughable.

 

 

Can you elaborate on your comment that these aren't tips? I'm a newbie and everything I've read and what I'd heard is that this is gratuity...am I missing something?

[Two Wheels Only]

Can you elaborate on your comment that these aren't tips? I'm a newbie and everything I've read and what I'd heard is that this is gratuity...am I missing something?

It's a "20% gratuity and beverage service charge"

How much goes to the bartenders vs. how much goes to NCL in unknown.

[BNBR]

It's a "20% gratuity and beverage service charge"

How much goes to the bartenders vs. how much goes to NCL in unknown.

 

 

Which is why it's not a tip. There is no way it all goes to the bartenders. Just do the math real quick. On Escape with 4,000+ cruisers, what do you think 2,500 or so with the free beverage package? It's probably more. That's $350,000 a week, minimum, in gratuity at $20/day. Figure a bartender makes $650/week would suggest Escape has well over 500 bartenders. Lol. I don't think so. I think my numbers are being conservative, too.

 

This is absolutely a fare increase. And it's just such a shady way to do it.

[BNBR]

Can you elaborate on your comment that these aren't tips? I'm a newbie and everything I've read and what I'd heard is that this is gratuity...am I missing something?

 

It's covering your gratuity. You do not need to tip the bartenders anything extra as you have already paid the service charge. It's much more than the tips would be... which is why others say it's a fare increase. But it does cover all of your beverage tips, if that is what you are curious about.

[Jana60]

Highest daily cost, but still no water included. At least they could have finally included water like the other lines.

 

 

I’d be willing to bet that if they were getting any people to actually purchase the beverage package they won’t be anymore. So with that being the case the NCL drink package is the cheapest package since all it cost you is 20 bucks a day for that gratuity fee!

 

 

 

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[nab52782]

It's covering your gratuity. You do not need to tip the bartenders anything extra as you have already paid the service charge. It's much more than the tips would be... which is why others say it's a fare increase. But it does cover all of your beverage tips, if that is what you are curious about.

 

Yes, that was what I was wondering. I know the OP always has money to tip with from his reviews and I wondered if he (or anyone else) had further insights. I want to make sure they get tipped but I don't want to tip twice unless they give me a reason and I make that concious choice.

[Jana60]

Who buys this outright? Maybe a 3rd and 4th adult sailing free in a cabin?

 

 

The drink package would cost $831 per person for the third and fourth adult so unless someone is really stupid they should wait for a good sale on inside cabins and purchase one for the third and fourth adult rather than sharing one cramped little cabin with four people in it and paying $1662 + port charges for the privilege!

 

 

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[TheDougOut]

Yes, that was what I was wondering. I know the OP always has money to tip with from his reviews and I wondered if he (or anyone else) had further insights. I want to make sure they get tipped but I don't want to tip twice unless they give me a reason and I make that concious choice.

 

 

I don’t think there’s expectation for tips beyond the service charges (with butlers & concierges being the exception for suite guests).

 

From what I’ve witnessed, I’d say approx 10% of people routinely tip bar staff. Many people also leave something extra for their room stewards.

[BNBR]

I’d be willing to bet that if they were getting any people to actually purchase the beverage package they won’t be anymore. So with that being the case the NCL drink package is the cheapest package since all it cost you is 20 bucks a day for that gratuity fee!

 

 

 

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Except it's not really the "cheapest" considering NCL consistently has inflated fares to cover the cost. Just like they hide the fare increases as "service charges" - they also hide their beverage package costs in the fare. I'd argue that they may be one of the more expensive beverage packages at sea and they offer that absolute least amount with it, because, again, they have people convinced it's "free."

 

In other words, NCL has cruisers coming in with lower expectations because it's "free" - while at the same time happily paying more than competitors.

 

The marketing department is exceptional at NCL, I would give them that.

[fshagan]

Which is why it's not a tip. There is no way it all goes to the bartenders. Just do the math real quick. On Escape with 4,000+ cruisers, what do you think 2,500 or so with the free beverage package? It's probably more. That's $350,000 a week, minimum, in gratuity at $20/day. Figure a bartender makes $650/week would suggest Escape has well over 500 bartenders. Lol. I don't think so. I think my numbers are being conservative, too.

 

This is absolutely a fare increase. And it's just such a shady way to do it.

 

Bartenders earn from $3,000 to $4,000 a month on cruise lines according to the surveys on glassdoor.com. The reports are pretty consistent for all the lines that have employees reporting there (CCL, X, NCL, and RCL). NCL evidently has made the choice to pay the bartenders the wage without relying on the passengers to hand them cash. Like you, I would be very surprised if there's any increase in pay for the bartenders with this increase. But they keep coming back to work cruise after cruise, so they must be OK with the wages.

[erdoran]

So then the 20% "gratuity" isn't a gratuity, but a fee pretending to be a gratuity? Unlike the DSC which we know goes into a pot that gets shared among employees. Can't have it both ways, gratuity/service charge is presumed to go to staff in some manner (not to use to make payroll); 20% surcharge "because we can get away with it" is a different beast.

[TheDougOut]

Unlike the DSC which we know goes into a pot that gets shared among employees.

 

 

That contradicts what’s stated in the ticket contract.

 

“Certain members of Carrier’s crew are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that are funded in part by the service charge paid by each Guest. The charge, which is automatically added to your onboard account and subject to adjustment at your discretion, is intended to reward service provided in all departments and job categories and is distributed to employees according to Carrier's evaluation of job performance. A portion of the service charge collected by Carrier is also used for fleet-wide crew welfare programs.”

[erdoran]

That contradicts what’s stated in the ticket contract.

 

“Certain members of Carrier’s crew are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that are funded in part by the service charge paid by each Guest. The charge, which is automatically added to your onboard account and subject to adjustment at your discretion, is intended to reward service provided in all departments and job categories and is distributed to employees according to Carrier's evaluation of job performance. A portion of the service charge collected by Carrier is also used for fleet-wide crew welfare programs.”

 

Yep, I'm familiar with that - it applies to the DSC. Some of the chatter here seems to imply that it does NOT apply to the 20% autograt on UBP. I would be quite happy if that 20% did go into this pool, along with the DSC.