Why NCL Premium PLUS Adult Drink Package?

[tcase518]

The op nailed it. Financially it makes no sense. Fun wise, totally worth it. The experience with the sommelier at dinner was incredible. 
 

Having San Pelliegrino at every meal. Fun

 

fresh squeezed juice in the morning. Fun

 

Cappuccino. Fun

 

Macallan everywhere. Super fun

 

of course you can drink yourselves into the package, but I don’t think that’s the point. You get it for the experience.

 

[Sthrngary]

8 minutes ago, tcase518 said:

The op nailed it. Financially it makes no sense. Fun wise, totally worth it. The experience with the sommelier at dinner was incredible. 
 

Having San Pelliegrino at every meal. Fun

 

fresh squeezed juice in the morning. Fun

 

Cappuccino. Fun

 

Macallan everywhere. Super fun

 

of course you can drink yourselves into the package, but I don’t think that’s the point. You get it for the experience.

 

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

[Selion]

On 11/6/2021 at 4:28 PM, pbenjamin said:

Is there anyone here other than Sthrngary who can say that they were able to upgrade only one of two people in the stateroom onboard?  If so, how and where?

Just got off the Bliss yesterday.  Tried to upgrade myself only to PP on the first day of cruise (12/12), was told no.  All people in the cabin need to be upgraded.

 

Bronze, not in Haven.  Reason I mention status & Haven is because I saw the bartender looked at my ship card before answering.

[phillygwm]

I just sailed on the Bliss with the P+ package.  It was, for me, well worthwhile.  I probably had 2-3 bottles of Pellegrino every day plus 1-2 Venti Macchiatos in Starbucks before I even started on the alcohol.  Add to that a few glasses of Champagne each day and a bottle of wine with dinner and it made sense financially.

 

Even if it were more of a close call, not having to worry about the bar bill, looking at the app whenever I order a drink was worth the cost of the package.  I'll be sure to get the package on my next sailing.

[Vinny_B]

6 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I just sailed on the Bliss with the P+ package.  It was, for me, well worthwhile.  I probably had 2-3 bottles of Pellegrino every day plus 1-2 Venti Macchiatos in Starbucks before I even started on the alcohol.  Add to that a few glasses of Champagne each day and a bottle of wine with dinner and it made sense financially.

 

Even if it were more of a close call, not having to worry about the bar bill, looking at the app whenever I order a drink was worth the cost of the package.  I'll be sure to get the package on my next sailing.

 

I agree! I paid for the upgrade for an upcoming cruise, I can easily justify it personally in fresh juice, energy drinks and coffee over a 11 day trip. Then bring in the Bookers, Woodford Reserve,  Macallan  & Talisker and not even a second thought about it. 

[bigrednole]

I can see for some it is worth it and can easily understand it. For us, it is not worth an extra ~$500. My wife barely drinks, maybe 3-4 in a day. If it wasn't part of "Free" at Sea, we wouldn't get the drink package to begin with. I cannot justify the cost. I know I would just about break even, but my wife would severely miss it just on the regular drink package. I don't drink the top shelf alcohol nor will I drink up to the 15 drink max each day. I guess on average, I will have maybe 10 and wife 3-4.

 

For those with more refined tastes than us, I can see it being worth it. I definitely can taste the difference, but it never was a decision factor for me. 

[ggTexasGal]

1 hour ago, bigrednole said:

I don't drink the top shelf alcohol nor will I drink up to the 15 drink max each day. I guess on average, I will have maybe 10 and wife 3-4.

NCL does not have a specified number of drinks per day limit!

[bigrednole]

1 minute ago, ggTexasGal said:

NCL does not have a specified number of drinks per day limit!

Well, slap me and call me stupid :). At least now I can be sure to try a lot of different things.

[phillygwm]

4 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

NCL does not have a specified number of drinks per day limit!

I think you might have meant the dollar limit.  On the basic drink package, you get all alcohol up to $15/drink.  The P+ doesn't have that limitation.  Even so, if your favorite drink is, say, $17 you're probably better paying the $2.40 per drink incrementally.

 

Everyone's mileage will vary on this one.  As I stated earlier, I surprised myself with how close I came to justifying the cost on non-alcohol alone.  Probably $25-30/day.  Several bottles of Pellegrino, a couple Venti Caramel Macchs, etc.   Then, Veuve Clicquot is $35/glass, so that would be $22 incrementally.   One glass and the Plus package now makes sense.  Of course, I probably would have foregone that glass if I had the basic package.  So there was the conscious upfront decision to "live a little."

 

Of course, if you're not a big drinker, or are only drinking beer, basic wine, and soda, there's absolutely no rationale for the Plus package.

Edited December 21, 2021 by phillygwm

[jetact]

23 hours ago, Selion said:

Just got off the Bliss yesterday.  Tried to upgrade myself only to PP on the first day of cruise (12/12), was told no.  All people in the cabin need to be upgraded.

 

Bronze, not in Haven.  Reason I mention status & Haven is because I saw the bartender looked at my ship card before answering.

So can anyone say if you can upgrade on the ship to the plus package if you are in Haven? Its worth it for the wife but not for me to upgrade.

[Sthrngary]

2 hours ago, jetact said:

So can anyone say if you can upgrade on the ship to the plus package if you are in Haven? Its worth it for the wife but not for me to upgrade.

Hit or miss.  I did it with FCC on the Joy in late November of this year.  When on the ship, I attempted to get of my two children upgraded at my expense.  NO GO.  They have a reason but it makes little sense.  Regardless, reach out to the Haven Online Desk and ask.  That is your best bet. 

[Juncti]

For us when we got the Haven upgrade bid accepted we decided to go for the plus package as well. After having sailed, we pretty much agreed if we get Haven again do the plus upgrade, if not, don't. 

 

Mainly because of the Haven bartenders who are light years above pretty much any other bar staff you'll encounter on the ship. The plus pretty much unlocked the full bar and gave them free reign to make unique drinks.

 

Neither of us drinks neat or rocks of the super high end liquor, if you do you can probably justify the upgrade as it's hard to mess up those. 

 

The Haven bar had all kinds of unique mixers, my favorite of the week was a Woodford Reserve old fashioned that they smoked with the smoke gun. Didn't change the taste, but they poured the smoke and drink over the ice and as you drank you'd continue to catch the smell of the fresh charred wood chips. 

 

Not getting that anywhere else on the ship.

 

TLDR - If you are in Haven or get a bid upgrade, go for it. Yes your trip is more expensive because of the Haven bids, yes the plus is adding even more, but go all in  if you like to drink. 

 

Also, have an open mind and give the bartended room to make you new things. If you always order the same thing they're just going to make what you asked for, if you ask them to fix you something with rum that's fruity, they'll come up with some unique mixes for you. Same with pretty much every spirit they have in stock

[kdawg954]

So I'm doing a NYE cruise which means champagne will definitely be a thing.  Is there Champagne on the regular drink package?  Do we know what kind?  If there isn't then I am gonna have to upgrade as that night is definitely gonna pay for itself

[Cruise Gopher]

1 hour ago, kdawg954 said:

So I'm doing a NYE cruise which means champagne will definitely be a thing.  Is there Champagne on the regular drink package?  Do we know what kind?  If there isn't then I am gonna have to upgrade as that night is definitely gonna pay for itself

I believe Prosecco is free with the basic package.  It was ok. 

[phillygwm]

35 minutes ago, Cruise Gopher said:

I believe Prosecco is free with the basic package.  It was ok. 

And you get the free bottle in your room 🙂

 

 

[Cruise Gopher]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

And you get the free bottle in your room 🙂

 

 

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

[ChrisNY2]

Maybe this should be an obvious answer - but with the Premium Plus package, can you upgrade a drink on the menu to premium liquor?  Such as - can you go to the mojito bar and have them use premium rum in one of their listed mojitos instead of the basic rum? Or a margarita with don Julio, for example?

[don't-use-real-name]

On 12/21/2021 at 8:14 PM, Cruise Gopher said:

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

Ya that is that fabulous vintage bottle of Lame Duc artificial champagne - - -

Best mixed with a strong dose of fruit (orange) juice !

[purplecow15]

We've always had the Premium package but after this last cruise, we're debating upgrading the Premium Plus. Can someone walk me through the pricing? If I upgrade for the 7-day cruise it says $243 per person plus 20% gratuity. If I add that to the cart will the original 20% charges on the "free"  package go away or will we now be paying it on top of the original fees? 

 

[ggTexasGal]

 Additional $29 per adult in stateroom, per day, plus 20% = $34.80 EACH ADULT x number of days of cruise.

Sample inclusions (subject to availability):

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-plus-beverage-package.pdf

[Cruise Gopher]

46 minutes ago, purplecow15 said:

We've always had the Premium package but after this last cruise, we're debating upgrading the Premium Plus. Can someone walk me through the pricing? If I upgrade for the 7-day cruise it says $243 per person plus 20% gratuity. If I add that to the cart will the original 20% charges on the "free"  package go away or will we now be paying it on top of the original fees? 

 

It’s on top of what you already paid for the “free” package. 
 

It’s $243 total per person for a 7 day. No extra gratuity on top of the $243

[Sthrngary]

7 hours ago, ChrisNY2 said:

Maybe this should be an obvious answer - but with the Premium Plus package, can you upgrade a drink on the menu to premium liquor?  Such as - can you go to the mojito bar and have them use premium rum in one of their listed mojitos instead of the basic rum? Or a margarita with don Julio, for example?

Yes

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, purplecow15 said:

We've always had the Premium package but after this last cruise, we're debating upgrading the Premium Plus. Can someone walk me through the pricing? If I upgrade for the 7-day cruise it says $243 per person plus 20% gratuity. If I add that to the cart will the original 20% charges on the "free"  package go away or will we now be paying it on top of the original fees? 

 

There will be both, so $54.60/day pp all inclusive, if I recall the exact pennies.  Yes, that's a lot of money.  Yes, it might still be worthwhile depending on your drinking habits (both alcohol and non.)

Edited January 5, 2022 by phillygwm

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

There will be both, so $54.60/day pp all inclusive, if I recall the exact pennies.  Yes, that's a lot of money.  Yes, it might still be worthwhile depending on your drinking habits (both alcohol and non.)

Great advice.  $54.60 which is for both guests in the room.  The number 1 question is if it is worth it.  The answer from my perspective is NO way.  Yet, I do it every time.  I like to try new things on my vacation that I quite frankly could not afford on a daily basis at home.  An example is I would have the best tequila which is 1942 which is $40.00 a shot.  I would have several every day.  My wife loves to have a full bottle of nice wine at dinner.  Those wines are selected only but very nice.  My wife takes the unused bottle (One or two glasses missing) back to the suite.  That is for her evening drink.

 

I like the bottled water at meal time.  Again, is it worth it.  No, for me yes.  If you don't like higher end items, I would skip it.  My thing is it is just my once a year break from reality.  

 

Thank you @phillygwm you are such a great contributor of CruiseCritic.com.  Thank you for everything you do.

[jetact]

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Great advice.  $54.60 which is for both guests in the room.  The number 1 question is if it is worth it.  The answer from my perspective is NO way.  Yet, I do it every time.  I like to try new things on my vacation that I quite frankly could not afford on a daily basis at home.  An example is I would have the best tequila which is 1942 which is $40.00 a shot.  I would have several every day.  My wife loves to have a full bottle of nice wine at dinner.  Those wines are selected only but very nice.  My wife takes the unused bottle (One or two glasses missing) back to the suite.  That is for her evening drink.

 

I like the bottled water at meal time.  Again, is it worth it.  No, for me yes.  If you don't like higher end items, I would skip it.  My thing is it is just my once a year break from reality.  

 

Thank you @phillygwm you are such a great contributor of CruiseCritic.com.  Thank you for everything you do.

I didnt see 1942 on the menu for the PP+ package. Damm I could drink that all day if its on the + package at no extra charge and make the plus package pay for itself.