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Norwegian Cruise Line Raises Prices of Drink Packages

LauraS

By LauraS,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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OceansMotion

OceansMotion

Posted
Posted
Demand? They give it away ... so how is there demand? Virtually no one pays the $89 or now $99 per day ...

 

 

 

No, but they do pay 20% gratuity on that extra $10.00 per day per person which is another $4.00 per day. Our 13 day TA price is $52.00 less for gratuity than when I checked today.

 

I also found out on my last cruise that the bartenders do not get that 20% tip added on to their account. I was under the impression that when they swiped their card before mine, it showed who served the drink, therefore giving them part of the 20% I paid on the package. Not so! Even though I paid gratuity I still throw a few dollars down every time we order so at least they know I appreciate their service.

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OceansMotion

OceansMotion

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Who actually purchases the NCL drink package? I never have. All this really does is allow them to charge more "gratuities" to cover the drinks they are serving with the Free at Sea UBP perk.

 

 

 

I don’t either but I save on the extra gratuities.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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No, but they do pay 20% gratuity on that extra $10.00 per day per person which is another $4.00 per day. Our 13 day TA price is $52.00 less for gratuity than when I checked today.

 

I also found out on my last cruise that the bartenders do not get that 20% tip added on to their account. I was under the impression that when they swiped their card before mine, it showed who served the drink, therefore giving them part of the 20% I paid on the package. Not so! Even though I paid gratuity I still throw a few dollars down every time we order so at least they know I appreciate their service.

where did you hear and who told you the bar tenders are not part of the tipping pool? I do not think this is correct. If you heard it from a bar tender, remember don't believe everything you hear.

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CruisinHarvey

CruisinHarvey

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where did you hear and who told you the bar tenders are not part of the tipping pool? I do not think this is correct. If you heard it from a bar tender, remember don't believe everything you hear.

 

Do you really think that with all the increases to UDP over the past couple of years, it was give their bartenders a raise? $138.60 per week per UDP passenger. On a mega ship, what is that 2000 people, about half, getting the free perk? just do the math. They'd be making more than any bartender I've ever talked to anywhere. Both my son and nephew were bartenders, and we laugh about it. NCL would have every bartender from every cruise line applying for work. Talking to bartenders on other cruise lines, that's just not the case.

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cliffd64

cliffd64

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Do you really think that with all the increases to UDP over the past couple of years, it was give their bartenders a raise? $138.60 per week per UDP passenger. On a mega ship, what is that 2000 people, about half, getting the free perk? just do the math. They'd be making more than any bartender I've ever talked to anywhere. Both my son and nephew were bartenders, and we laugh about it. NCL would have every bartender from every cruise line applying for work. Talking to bartenders on other cruise lines, that's just not the case.

 

The queston you have to ask yourself is who does it serve to tell you they aren't getting any tip money? If I was fishing for extra tips I'd cetainly paint a tale of woe. I am reasonably certain that at least a portion of the service charge/gratuity collected goes to the bartender, and server, and bar manager on down the line. I have noticed that service has mproved dramatically since they applied the service charge to the free beverage packages, whereas before there seemed to be no incentive to serve. So while it's probably not a simple math equation, I'm sure the gratuities do filter down to the bartenders and servers.

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Joebucks

Joebucks

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Who actually purchases the NCL drink package? I never have. All this really does is allow them to charge more "gratuities" to cover the drinks they are serving with the Free at Sea UBP perk.

 

And to say you're getting a "bigger discount"

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ron46936

ron46936

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This means the "free" drink package is now $20 per person per day. PLUS the free package is not available on the lowest cost cabins in any category, so that is another whammy. Altogether the "free" drinks add several hundred dollars to the price. So even though we are Platinum and have been for a long time we now go on Celebrity where they actually offer a free drinks on many cruises.

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cliffd64

cliffd64

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This means the "free" drink package is now $20 per person per day. PLUS the free package is not available on the lowest cost cabins in any category, so that is another whammy. Altogether the "free" drinks add several hundred dollars to the price. So even though we are Platinum and have been for a long time we now go on Celebrity where they actually offer a free drinks on many cruises.

 

 

That works for you! Enjoy!

 

There are several other reasons I will not cruise on Celebrity that have nothing to do with price however. It's more of a overall lifestyle difference.

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ron46936

ron46936

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That works for you! Enjoy!

 

There are several other reasons I will not cruise on Celebrity that have nothing to do with price however. It's more of a overall lifestyle difference.

 

 

Celebrity is definitely a different style geared to older passengers. I just am really against deceptive advertising. It's like the infomercials on TV that offer a second item free just pay separate shipping handling etc. and it ends up costing more than the item.

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CruisingNole

CruisingNole

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NCL has always had a drink package that costs twice that of their competitors. Their inflated cruise fares plus "gratuity" charges cover the cost of this "perk." It's obvious they raised the price to increase "gratuity" revenue. So I have to wonder...what happens when NCL no longer offers the drink package as a "perk?" Are people really naive enough to pay $120/day and not even get a bottle of water that sells for $.10 at my grocery store?

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Two Wheels Only

Two Wheels Only

Posted
Posted
So I have to wonder...what happens when NCL no longer offers the drink package as a "perk?" Are people really naive enough to pay $120/day and not even get a bottle of water that sells for $.10 at my grocery store?

People who intend on drinking more than $831.60 pp per week will buy the package.

People who don't intend on drinking $831.60 pp per week will not buy the package.

 

Many people suspect that NCL is heading towards all-inclusive in all or most markets and every guest 1&2 will get the UOB/UBP as part of the fare whether they want it or not. The only people who will buy the UOB/UBP at retail will be guests 3+ or people who book Sail Away. If/when that day comes, people will choose what works best for them....if they have the option.

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Ronin23

Ronin23

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Posted

For our upcoming cruise in 2019, we had the option of Free at Sea or 50%off the second guest. Taking the latter option saved us over $3k and was never going to be drinking that much worth of beverages....

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KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

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Many people suspect that NCL is heading towards all-inclusive in all or most markets and every guest 1&2 will get the UOB/UBP as part of the fare whether they want it or not. The only people who will buy the UOB/UBP at retail will be guests 3+ or people who book Sail Away. If/when that day comes, people will choose what works best for them....if they have the option.

 

 

Where NCL do have all inclusive, everyone gets the beverage package, so there is no need for guests 3+ to buy it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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NCL has always had a drink package that costs twice that of their competitors. Their inflated cruise fares plus "gratuity" charges cover the cost of this "perk." It's obvious they raised the price to increase "gratuity" revenue. So I have to wonder...what happens when NCL no longer offers the drink package as a "perk?" Are people really naive enough to pay $120/day and not even get a bottle of water that sells for $.10 at my grocery store?

there is already a long thread on this. Why start another one?

 

NCL has always had a drink package that is twice what other lines charge: NOT, maybe not as good but not always twice: that is an exaggeration.

 

how would you know what they have always had?: According to your post back when you cruised NCL in the spring it was your first cruise on NCL.

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