Why NCL Premium PLUS Adult Drink Package?

[Juncti]

If you're in the Haven and have an open mind definitely do the plus upgrade. The first time I went to the bar and started talking to the bartender trying to figure out what to drink he was like "let me see your card" and as soon as he saw I had the plus he lit up and got excited. It pretty much unlocks the full bar and all the variations of drinks they know how to make. 

 

That time he made me a Woodford Reserve old fashioned with maple syrup (a drink I have been attempting to recreate since I got home, getting close). 

 

Other days I'd be sitting there and ask for a rum drink, they'd get some of the best rums out and make a drink with that and the drinks would be different depending on which of the 3 bartenders were on duty. One guy made this spicy rum drink with hot sauce in it. Never would have thought to do that but it's an experience I would have missed without the plus.

 

We'd order bottled water with every meal, why not we had the package keep it coming. Went through a bunch of bottles of wine, tried lots of new things.

 

Not to mention the Starbucks. We probably got 3-6 drinks a day from there.

 

Not sure how much benefit it would be outside the Haven since I'm not sure all the bars stock the ultra premium stuff, and they certainly don't have the specialized Haven mixers. But if we ever get Haven again the Plus will be a no question upgrade. 

 

One thing that shocked me this trip, Crown Royal is now a Plus package drink, or upcharge for regular package.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Juncti

[kdawg954]

On 12/21/2021 at 9:14 PM, Cruise Gopher said:

That’s a different “sparkling wine”. Definitely not as good. 

 

It is honestly the worst "champagne/sparkling wine" I've ever tasted.  I took one sip and poured the rest down the sink.  It was that bad.

[aubreyc1988]

1 hour ago, Juncti said:

If you're in the Haven and have an open mind definitely do the plus upgrade. The first time I went to the bar and started talking to the bartender trying to figure out what to drink he was like "let me see your card" and as soon as he saw I had the plus he lit up and got excited. It pretty much unlocks the full bar and all the variations of drinks they know how to make. 

 

That time he made me a Woodford Reserve old fashioned with maple syrup (a drink I have been attempting to recreate since I got home, getting close). 

 

Other days I'd be sitting there and ask for a rum drink, they'd get some of the best rums out and make a drink with that and the drinks would be different depending on which of the 3 bartenders were on duty. One guy made this spicy rum drink with hot sauce in it. Never would have thought to do that but it's an experience I would have missed without the plus.

 

We'd order bottled water with every meal, why not we had the package keep it coming. Went through a bunch of bottles of wine, tried lots of new things.

 

Not to mention the Starbucks. We probably got 3-6 drinks a day from there.

 

Not sure how much benefit it would be outside the Haven since I'm not sure all the bars stock the ultra premium stuff, and they certainly don't have the specialized Haven mixers. But if we ever get Haven again the Plus will be a no question upgrade. 

 

One thing that shocked me this trip, Crown Royal is now a Plus package drink, or upcharge for regular package.

I mean, I just have a hard time justifying an extra 500.00 for 2 people for this package, I think if I just paid the difference, it probably wouldn't add up to 500.00. 

[kdawg954]

So I bit the bullet and upgraded for my New Years cruise on the Epic.

 

$487 after gratuity for 2.

 

Was the best decision I've made on any cruise (well and the $100  p/p Club Balcony Suite upgrade from the Inside Cabin this same cruise).

 

I can absolutely attest that the bartenders get giddy when they see you have the P+ and they absolutely remember you because of your status.

 

This was a New Years cruise, and basically I don't believe there was ever a limit to the amount of bottles you could have at dinner.  Every single night we had a nice bottle of Red wine for Dinner with a bottle of San Peligrino.  When dessert came we would order a bottle of Moet Chandon and they would ask if we'd like it opened and we said no and the server was like cool you can take it with you just consume in your cabin.

 

We stocked up most of the week and when New Years Eve came we went to the pool deck with a couple of bottles and a room service ice bucket and we celebrated in style.  It was a fantastic experience.

 

We ordered Starbucks every day, and the cool think about that is you basically can splurge on all the upgrades you want.  So I didn't have to settle for the $5-6 coffee, my coffee's were the $8 to $9 ones.

 

I swear we had at least 50 boxes of the purified water this cruise between us.  Was so easy to just go to the bar and get 2 for the room before we go to bed.  

 

We were basically known as the VeuVeu twins . . . as when we went to Shakers we always ordered a glass of the $35 Veuve Cliquoet the entire cruise.  The only bad part about this was, it wasn't easily accessible on the ship.  I asked the pool bar to bring some up for New Years and they said they would but it didn't happen, only Prosecco but the Moet bottles made up for it.  Literally only Shakers and dining rooms had it.

 

Every drink we upgraded to the top of the line stuff.  Patron Anejo and Don Julio Respasado for tequila based drinks, and Don Julio Blanco for tequila shots.  Hendricks for any Gin based drinks.  Macallen Quest for Scotch and Zacapa for Rum.  Highest vodka was Belvedere and Grey Goose, both included in the regular package.

 

We only did the freshly squeezed OJ once but it was included and we often got the Bubbly can sparkling water as our mixer.

 

Just an incredible experience.  This cruise was a special one so I absolutely overdid it with the champagne drinking.  Just thinking about my bar bill without the drink package LMAO.  But even without New Years, I liked the vibe this upgrade gave me and I don't think I could cruise without this package ever again . . . I'd make sure I save the extra money to get it just to make the time that much better.

 

Plus I never had a hangover at any point, and I drank like crazy.  I like that.

 

Hopefully this helps people out and feel free to ask any questions as I really pushed the limits here.

[SireDoime]

Water should be included in ALL adult drink packages.

It's stupid I have to pay 490$ to upgrade from Premium to Premium Plus for water.

[kdawg954]

2 minutes ago, SireDoime said:

Water should be included in ALL adult drink packages.

It's stupid I have to pay 490$ to upgrade from Premium to Premium Plus for water.

 

I actually agreed with this before my cruise.  Now I understand it better, Only because you can get water almost anywhere on the ship.  The way we stopped at the bar for 2 cartons, we could of easily just asked the bartender for 2 waters in a cup.  It was a bit of a luxury to just be able to grab the cartons and toss them wherever but if I had a stainless steel water bottle I always carried a cinch sak with me so while slightly less convenient it would of done the trick.

 

Its definitely a perk of the upgrade and gets heavy use, but probably the upgrade that is the easiest to get around without additional cost.  Canned drinks/squeezed juices/bottles/high end liquor all cost extra.  Water on the ship is accessible everywhere and free.

[SireDoime]

3 hours ago, kdawg954 said:

Water on the ship is accessible everywhere and free.

Exactly. But, is the free water the premium bottled water or is the water by the glass "on tap"?

NCL even forbids you to bring bottled water on the ship :
 

"Effective for sailings July 15, 2016 and beyond, guests are prohibited from bringing any beverages -- including liquor, beer and non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda and juices -- on board either as carry-on or checked luggage, with the exception of purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers for use in conjunction with medical devices or for the reconstitution of infant formula; and fully sealed and/or corked wine bottles for personal consumption onboard that is subject to screening and a corkage fee (for guests 21 years of age or older)"

 

So it seems pretty petty of NCL, to me. I really don't need to upgrade out of the Premium, but this whole affair makes me miss the drink package I had with Celebrity.  Oh well...

 

Moving on..

Edited January 5, 2022 by SireDoime
unfollowing with no notifications

[Juncti]

7 minutes ago, SireDoime said:

Exactly. But, is the free water the premium bottled water or is the water by the glass "on tap"?

NCL even forbids you to bring bottled water on the ship :

Too many people started replacing the water with vodka to sneak drinks on the boat. There were companies selling sealed lids you could pop the water cap off and replace the contents and put a fresh sealed cap on so it looked unopened. Think I remember people doing that with tea as well and bringing similarly colored liquor. I remember looking into it back in the day before the drink packages, but looked like way too much hassle. Now with the packages I don't really worry about it. 

[kdawg954]

 

32 minutes ago, SireDoime said:

Exactly. But, is the free water the premium bottled water or is the water by the glass "on tap"?

NCL even forbids you to bring bottled water on the ship :
 

"Effective for sailings July 15, 2016 and beyond, guests are prohibited from bringing any beverages -- including liquor, beer and non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda and juices -- on board either as carry-on or checked luggage, with the exception of purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers for use in conjunction with medical devices or for the reconstitution of infant formula; and fully sealed and/or corked wine bottles for personal consumption onboard that is subject to screening and a corkage fee (for guests 21 years of age or older)"

 

So it seems pretty petty of NCL, to me. I really don't need to upgrade out of the Premium, but this whole affair makes me miss the drink package I had with Celebrity.  Oh well...

 

Moving on..

 

It's filtered tap water, which is basically what the carton water is.

 

I agree with you on the Celebrity drink package tho, included Evian bottled water and all the coffees and drinks . . . And the gratuities.

 

It's a big reason why I never did NCL outside of a 3 day Black Friday booze cruise but that is a different argument in itself.

 

 

[Wink87]

On 12/13/2021 at 3:09 PM, Sthrngary said:

I am the author, thank you. Exactly. We had a ball.  Thank you again.

Gary, dh and I are in a Haven Penthouse on Dec 4 thru Panama Canal. He does not drink. I want to upgrade to the premium plan. Will NCL let me purchase the upgrade for only myself?  TIA

[purpleally]

On 12/21/2021 at 8:07 PM, phillygwm said:

And you get the free bottle in your room 🙂

 

 

The one in the room is swill.

[edspec]

I upgraded on my cruise last week, and I would definitely do so again if I was cruising by myself.  DH doesn't drink much so would be hard to justify for two, but I loved it for me.  Great wines, bottled water which I drink all day at home, numerous sugar free Red Bulls.  

[phillygwm]

32 minutes ago, purpleally said:

The one in the room is swill.

Yeah. I'm NOT a wine snob but even I always tell my room steward to make it disappear.  When I was at the CruiseNext desk, they asked that I bring it down to them in the future because, believe it or not, some people complain to them that they didn't receive theirs.  

 

I somehow had a visual of everyone on Deck 3 getting their drink on with all the donated bottles of Cold Duck 🙂

Edited January 6, 2022 by phillygwm

[Cruise Gopher]

46 minutes ago, edspec said:

I upgraded on my cruise last week, and I would definitely do so again if I was cruising by myself.  DH doesn't drink much so would be hard to justify for two, but I loved it for me.  Great wines, bottled water which I drink all day at home, numerous sugar free Red Bulls.  

So they let just one person in the room upgrade? Did they give you any trouble about it? Were you in the Haven? I want to upgrade mine but DH doesn’t so it would be amazing if just I could do it. 

[edspec]

I was by myself on this cruise.

[kenzie]

13 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

So they let just one person in the room upgrade? Did they give you any trouble about it? Were you in the Haven? I want to upgrade mine but DH doesn’t so it would be amazing if just I could do it. 

I was on getaway in Haven in October and they would not allow just one to upgrade, it had to be all in a cabin.

 

[Sthrngary]

13 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

So they let just one person in the room upgrade? Did they give you any trouble about it? Were you in the Haven? I want to upgrade mine but DH doesn’t so it would be amazing if just I could do it. 

This is hit or miss.  I have upgraded just two of four but it was an act of congress.  The odds are really low.  I am sorry to say.

[viperfoth]

Can I do a bottle of Veuve for appetizers and then another bottle for dinner

 

What about wife getting completely different bottle?

 

what do they do if you don’t drink it all?

[Cruise Gopher]

16 minutes ago, viperfoth said:

Can I do a bottle of Veuve for appetizers and then another bottle for dinner

 

What about wife getting completely different bottle?

 

what do they do if you don’t drink it all?

You cannot order bottles of Veuve period.  You can order 20 glasses of it in a row, but they don't give you a bottle of it like they do on some of the other wines.

[kdawg954]

56 minutes ago, viperfoth said:

Can I do a bottle of Veuve for appetizers and then another bottle for dinner

 

What about wife getting completely different bottle?

 

what do they do if you don’t drink it all?

 

Veuve bottle not included, only the glass, unlimited.  Moet Chandon bottle is included and ordered a bottle every night for the room at dessert (was a NYE cruise) and did a bottle of wine and Pellegrino for the meal.  We usually just went to the glass of wine if we finished a bottle of wine before we left but we absolutely could of did a second bottle and the Moet if we wanted to.

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, viperfoth said:

Can I do a bottle of Veuve for appetizers and then another bottle for dinner

I am not sure you can get a bottle of Venue period.  We were able to get glasses.  We did some damage for sure.  Remember, they will give a you a bottle of "Selected" wines and those list change so you might have a favorite you think is offered and it is not.  The offerings are quite nice though.  

 

1 hour ago, viperfoth said:

What about wife getting completely different bottle?

 

Allow me to answer this question this way.  My wife ordered a bottle of White (Selected) and I ordered a bottle of Red (Selected).  No issue.  Also, not issue whether lunch or dinner is fine.  You could actually do it at breakfast also but I did not see that done. 

 

15 minutes ago, kdawg954 said:

1 hour ago, viperfoth said:

what do they do if you don’t drink it all?

 

You can't get the Premium Plus Plan unless each person in the suite has it.  So if you don't drink adult beverages, it is a total waste of money.  That is my opinion anyway.

 

BTW, I also live in Birmingham, Alabama.  Small world. 

[raschueller]

4 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

I am not sure you can get a bottle of Venue period.  We were able to get glasses.  We did some damage for sure.  Remember, they will give a you a bottle of "Selected" wines and those list change so you might have a favorite you think is offered and it is not.  The offerings are quite nice though.  

 

Allow me to answer this question this way.  My wife ordered a bottle of White (Selected) and I ordered a bottle of Red (Selected).  No issue.  Also, not issue whether lunch or dinner is fine.  You could actually do it at breakfast also but I did not see that done. 

 

You can't get the Premium Plus Plan unless each person in the suite has it.  So if you don't drink adult beverages, it is a total waste of money.  That is my opinion anyway.

 

BTW, I also live in Birmingham, Alabama.  Small world. 

I am still a tad confused. I can order a bottle with dinner and one with lunch as well? We got the plus package because it just makes sense for us, but the ability to be able to order a bottle of wine with each meal would be a huge plus.

 

 

[kdawg954]

29 minutes ago, raschueller said:

I am still a tad confused. I can order a bottle with dinner and one with lunch as well? We got the plus package because it just makes sense for us, but the ability to be able to order a bottle of wine with each meal would be a huge plus.

 

 

 

I don't want to give the wrong answer here.  But I was told I can order an included bottle with any restaurant meal, at any time, unlimited amount.   At dinner I was encouraged to order a second bottle of wine, in to do the Moet at dessert if I wanted to.  Obviously this doesn't mean u can just order a bunch of bottles for the room.  We took one sealed bottle of Moet Chandon to the cabin 7 nights in a row, in addition to the wine bottle(s) we drank at the table.

 

I never bothered with breakfast or Lunch because it was so easy to go to the pool bar and get a drink.  I only cared for wine at dinner.  But from what I was told it wouldn't of been a problem.  Keep in mind there is a lot of glasses that aren't included in the "bottle" so once I did a bottle i switched to a glass of something to try it vs. getting a whole other bottle of something else or what I was drinking.

 

Keep in mind some servers are more versed in this package than others, but the ones that were more familiar absolutely loved to see the card and knew the power of it.

[Sthrngary]

36 minutes ago, raschueller said:

I am still a tad confused. I can order a bottle with dinner and one with lunch as well? We got the plus package because it just makes sense for us, but the ability to be able to order a bottle of wine with each meal would be a huge plus.

 

 

Lots of folks are confused.  Allow me to do my best to help you.  If you have the Premium Plus Beverage Package, you can order a bottle of selected wine at lunch and dinner.  Not just one at each meal.  Each member of your party can order a different bottle of selected wine.  My wife and I ordered a bottle, we were having a little too good a time and order another one each at the same meal.  We took the remaining wine back to the suite for night caps.  

 

So, yes, you can order at each meal and multiple within reason.  

 

Cruise well.

[raschueller]

1 minute ago, Sthrngary said:

Lots of folks are confused.  Allow me to do my best to help you.  If you have the Premium Plus Beverage Package, you can order a bottle of selected wine at lunch and dinner.  Not just one at each meal.  Each member of your party can order a different bottle of selected wine.  My wife and I ordered a bottle, we were having a little too good a time and order another one each at the same meal.  We took the remaining wine back to the suite for night caps.  

 

So, yes, you can order at each meal and multiple within reason.  

 

Cruise well.

I thought this package was worth it before 🙂 My partner has never had top shelf anything (her idea of good right now is a cheap bottle of peach Moscato). I am looking forward to her having a top shelf experience, and having wine for the balcony. You literally just made my day!