Why NCL Premium PLUS Adult Drink Package?

[Sthrngary]

9 minutes ago, molemaui said:

Currently booked on Prima in Haven. So far, the cost per night is higher than my last Silversea or Oceania cruise. Hope it's worth it!

@molemauiPlease share your experience.  There is something so exciting being on a brand new ship.  I can't wait to read your review.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[renji]

2 minutes ago, molemaui said:

Never sailed Crystal but have sailed Oceania several times. Absolutely the best food at sea in my opinion. (Was looking forward to eating at Nobu on Crystal but they're gone). Silversea is almost as good but a bit too formal for me. 9 of 12 nights on my last Silversea cruise several months ago I had to wear a jacket after 6:00. Very little distinction between formal and semi formal. Between Silversea and Oceania, I'd go Oceania every time. 

 

Currently booked on Prima in Haven. So far, the cost per night is higher than my last Silversea or Oceania cruise. Hope it's worth it!

The Nobu on Crystal was amazing but the nightlife a little sleepy (although they sometimes had good dance hosts).  I once heard Oceania had less healthy options? Silversea doesn’t sound right for us in that case.  We did the Princess Grill on Cunard and thought the food was amazing, and m there was some balance on jacket vs button down nights, and at least an amazing ballroom and at least on QM2 a decent nightclub.   

 

I just did the Owner’s suite on Prima, I loved it, looking forward to comparing the bliss.  I’m more into the gym/spa, dinner and dancing than shows though…

[renji]

19 hours ago, akny said:

Sorry things have changed. Ordered the yellow label at french restaurent. Waiter wanted to see everyone's card before bringing glasses. 

I did notice that at Le Bistro. Did not happen in Haven or Los Lobos. 

[renji]

7 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@renji A lot is made of what Crystal Cruises was.  I will tell you I was quite impressed with the "Personalized Service", "Butler", "Drinks/Lounges" and "Food".  I was not impressed at the time with the upkeep of the ship.  

 

Oceania will be easy for me to both enjoy and evaluate.  The ship was just Drydocked, the food is always highly rated and I love cooking classes.  I want a chill cruise experience with my friends joining us vs. a energetic experience.  I am at a point where a Scotch and a game of Gin over looking the water is just fine.  Age does that to a person.  Evolutions. 

 

I am happy to report back and thank you for asking.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Enjoy!

[cruiseinfoseeker]

I see the NCL literature now excludes what they are coining as "Connoisseur Collection" beverages from it's premium plus upgrade package. This term is added in addition to the already noted flights and "experiences" so I'm wondering what the heck this is now.

 

anyone how knowledge of what a connoisseur collection beverage is?  

 

(I'm going to look at other posts and threads and probably ask this question in other places that I think it may get noticed as well)

[roxette]

2 hours ago, cruiseinfoseeker said:

I see the NCL literature now excludes what they are coining as "Connoisseur Collection" beverages from it's premium plus upgrade package. This term is added in addition to the already noted flights and "experiences" so I'm wondering what the heck this is now.

 

anyone how knowledge of what a connoisseur collection beverage is?  

 

(I'm going to look at other posts and threads and probably ask this question in other places that I think it may get noticed as well)

Some Remy Martin cognacs, for example. I belive They carry Louis XIII, They cost several thousands of dollars per bottle. They have it in the Whisky bara, at least on some ships.

[cruiseinfoseeker]

6 hours ago, roxette said:

Some Remy Martin cognacs, for example. I belive They carry Louis XIII, They cost several thousands of dollars per bottle. They have it in the Whisky bara, at least on some ships.

 

Maybe. But they were "experiences" and/or part of flights only which were already excluded (and flights and experiencesare also still in the literature as exclusions) This seems to be a new category "connoisseur collection" they've added but who knows what NCL considers within it.

After all Baileys is now a P+ item and certainly isn't $$ valued 

[European_CruiseGirl]

Sounds like they have started to use a term which was previously used only on RSSC. RSSC has all drinks included, except for connoisseur brands… Haven’t been able to locate which brands RSSC considers connoisseur brands…

[Luv2cruze me and u]

On 12/25/2022 at 1:14 PM, molemaui said:

 

You are the guru! We sail the Prima shortly and know our cruise experience will be enhanced as a result of your posts. 

 

I was looking at your "signature" at the end of your post and saw you sailed the Norway. The Norway was the first cruise my wife and I sailed on back in 1990 or 1991 (can't remember) What I can remember is it cost me 280,000 Marriott points and whet our appetite for cruising. 

 

Hope your holidays and 2023 are great. Thanks again. 

We did the Norway for our honeymoon back in 1989.  Seems like there are alot of us still hitting the seas!

 

[erin21497]

Is this new?  The disclaimer on the package now states the following:

 

Premium Plus wine by the bottle is limited to one bottle at dinner per package. Wine is to be consumed at the restaurant.

[sjacobs11]

12 minutes ago, erin21497 said:

Is this new?  The disclaimer on the package now states the following:

 

Premium Plus wine by the bottle is limited to one bottle at dinner per package. Wine is to be consumed at the restaurant.

Sort of a bummer when they change the terms well after we've paid in full for what we THOUGHT we would receive.

[New2cruise2022]

13 minutes ago, sjacobs11 said:

Sort of a bummer when they change the terms well after we've paid in full for what we THOUGHT we would receive.

I would imagine these kind of changes and availability are why some (many) people will not pay for this service on future cruises and may take their cruise dollars to another line that they deem to have a better/cheaper offering. 

[cruiseny4life]

20 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

I would imagine these kind of changes and availability are why some (many) people will not pay for this service on future cruises and may take their cruise dollars to another line that they deem to have a better/cheaper offering. 

Have you sailed yet?

 

Other cruise lines may not do exactly this in terms of premium plus, but they have their own negatives. Since I don't care about the alcohol in my cup (so long as it's alcohol), NCL is still good for me. I know it's not for others and that stinks, especially if it's due to these changes.

[New2cruise2022]

35 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Have you sailed yet?

 

Other cruise lines may not do exactly this in terms of premium plus, but they have their own negatives. Since I don't care about the alcohol in my cup (so long as it's alcohol), NCL is still good for me. I know it's not for others and that stinks, especially if it's due to these changes.

No. Not yet. And I am more in your category. I don’t think any consumers are inspiring change. The offering is the offering. I have pretty measured expectations. I don’t have a go-to brand or a need beyond what is offered. My comment is that there will be people that will test their loyalty with other cruises to see if the grass is greener. I chose NCL over the others because the bottom line for what I wanted in a cruise is offered by NCL. 12 more days and I will start my journey to reporting back. 

[JandC_Cruising]

Hello all, I figured I would report back to this very detailed thread based on our most recent experience.

We have upgraded to the Plus package on 4 of our past 5 cruises.

We just got off the Encore on Sunday and here are a few observations/experiences:

 

1. The wine lists throughout the ship no longer had any indicators of what bottles were included in the plus package.  On our past cruises, all the lists that either indicated "Premium Plus", had an "*", or were in bold print .  We were simply told that we could get a bottle at dinner (1 for each passenger with the plus package) of ANY wine that was sold by the glass.   We did not ask for a wine and find that it was no on board.  There were three of us dining each night and we typically had 2 bottles.  Only one night did we get three bottles and that was because the waiter brought and opened a White (of the same vineyard) by accident.  He left the extra bottle and we only drank 1/2 of it.  We had other plans so we didn't try to leave with the left overs.

 

2.  Veuve Champagne was surprisingly listed prominently at Ocean Blue, but not at Le Bistro...We had it at OB without any issue.  Le Bistro was promoting the Pommery Brut Royal ($120 without package but free with the Plus), even though the napkin ties still had the Veuve cards attached.

 

3.  We had Aqua Pana and San Pellegrino at every dinner and most lunches (even in the Buffet) and easily got that from a couple of random bars to have a bottle in our room each night.

 

4.  Starbucks was included, but we didn't take as great advantage of it as we should have.  (oh...and this was our fault as DW didn't see the clear words on the Starbucks machine in the buffet that self-service machines ARE NOT INCLUDED IN ANY BEVERAGE PACKAGE...fair warning)

 

5.  Maltings had a good selection of Whiskey's and Scotches (Whistle Pig Rye, Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve, Macallan Quest, and others)  We also saw these in the Vibe, Observation lounge, Alist Bar, and even the Social for the Comedy Show.

 

6.  As always, CHECK YOUR ONBOARD ACCOUNT EVERY DAY!  We had two bottles (one at Manhattan Room and one at Ocean Blue) accidently charged to us.  The Manhattan room one was because we had three of us at the table (we all had the Plus package) but they attached the 3rd bottle to my card rather than the single person from the other cabin.  The Ocean Blue one was because they sent a runner to "Onda" to pick up the wine and they ran the card there without realizing it was for our dinner).  I got both corrected at Guest Services without issue.

 

So, in short, for us the package is still worth it.  We drink a bunch of premium whisky and have a lot of bottled water throughout the cruise.  The biggest disappointment for us was that they were clear that only wines by the glass qualified for the free bottles.  I know there were several bottles from past cruises sill on the wine lists, but we could not select them because our waiters claimed they were no longer included since they were not offered by the glass.  We made the most of it however and still enjoyed all but one bottle we had selected.  

 

Hope this report provides some recent insight and value to others.

 

Happy Cruising All!

  

[Sthrngary]

23 hours ago, Luv2cruze me and u said:

We did the Norway for our honeymoon back in 1989.  Seems like there are alot of us still hitting the seas!

 

I am with an old client friend this week.  Cruising came up.  He has cruised 35 times.  His first cruise was the SS Norway.  Small and funny world.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[nonibop]

2 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Hello all, I figured I would report back to this very detailed thread based on our most recent experience.

We have upgraded to the Plus package on 4 of our past 5 cruises.

We just got off the Encore on Sunday and here are a few observations/experiences:

 

1. The wine lists throughout the ship no longer had any indicators of what bottles were included in the plus package.  On our past cruises, all the lists that either indicated "Premium Plus", had an "*", or were in bold print .  We were simply told that we could get a bottle at dinner (1 for each passenger with the plus package) of ANY wine that was sold by the glass.   We did not ask for a wine and find that it was no on board.  There were three of us dining each night and we typically had 2 bottles.  Only one night did we get three bottles and that was because the waiter brought and opened a White (of the same vineyard) by accident.  He left the extra bottle and we only drank 1/2 of it.  We had other plans so we didn't try to leave with the left overs.

 

2.  Veuve Champagne was surprisingly listed prominently at Ocean Blue, but not at Le Bistro...We had it at OB without any issue.  Le Bistro was promoting the Pommery Brut Royal ($120 without package but free with the Plus), even though the napkin ties still had the Veuve cards attached.

 

3.  We had Aqua Pana and San Pellegrino at every dinner and most lunches (even in the Buffet) and easily got that from a couple of random bars to have a bottle in our room each night.

 

4.  Starbucks was included, but we didn't take as great advantage of it as we should have.  (oh...and this was our fault as DW didn't see the clear words on the Starbucks machine in the buffet that self-service machines ARE NOT INCLUDED IN ANY BEVERAGE PACKAGE...fair warning)

 

5.  Maltings had a good selection of Whiskey's and Scotches (Whistle Pig Rye, Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve, Macallan Quest, and others)  We also saw these in the Vibe, Observation lounge, Alist Bar, and even the Social for the Comedy Show.

 

6.  As always, CHECK YOUR ONBOARD ACCOUNT EVERY DAY!  We had two bottles (one at Manhattan Room and one at Ocean Blue) accidently charged to us.  The Manhattan room one was because we had three of us at the table (we all had the Plus package) but they attached the 3rd bottle to my card rather than the single person from the other cabin.  The Ocean Blue one was because they sent a runner to "Onda" to pick up the wine and they ran the card there without realizing it was for our dinner).  I got both corrected at Guest Services without issue.

 

So, in short, for us the package is still worth it.  We drink a bunch of premium whisky and have a lot of bottled water throughout the cruise.  The biggest disappointment for us was that they were clear that only wines by the glass qualified for the free bottles.  I know there were several bottles from past cruises sill on the wine lists, but we could not select them because our waiters claimed they were no longer included since they were not offered by the glass.  We made the most of it however and still enjoyed all but one bottle we had selected.  

 

Hope this report provides some recent insight and value to others.

 

Happy Cruising All!

  

This is the included drinks updated . (If we were to upgrade on our November cruise)

 

[Sthrngary]

5 hours ago, erin21497 said:

Is this new?  The disclaimer on the package now states the following:

 

Premium Plus wine by the bottle is limited to one bottle at dinner per package. Wine is to be consumed at the restaurant.

Well folks, that is NEW.  It seems sharing how to get the most from The Premium Plus Beverage Package and the Haven has been noticed by NCL. I don't know if I should take this as a complement or a criticism.  For those reading this comment and have not read my post before.  I am the Author of the Secrets to the Haven and The Premium Plus Beverage package Op-Ed's.  I am also very rarely negative on this or other social media sites.  I am making an exception today with this post.

 

I share this fact so I can make this statement.  It is clear that NCL has been attempting to find ways to reduce costs which will increase profits.  The copied quote by @erin21497 that "bottle of wine are limited to one at dinner and has to be consumed at the meal" is a "DEAL BREAKER" for me.  My recent cruise experience not being able to find a decent Chardonnay on our last NCL Cruise was not the experience I have had in the past nor want in the future. I am extremely disappointed with NCL

 

I know it does not make a difference nor should it to anyone out there.  I am nobody and not famous. I personally will NO longer purchase or recommend the Premium Plus Beverage Program.  As it relates to the NCL Haven, I will NO longer purchase or use the NCL Haven until the prices come down to be competitive.  Therefore I will personally NO longer recommend the NCL Haven.  

 

I would like to thank NCL for the memories and will hope that as they make a profit to pay their debt that they will recognize we a client have options.  We work hard for our money and are some times fickle. My future cruise will be with other brands including but not limited to NCL sister brands.  

 

I have everyone Cruises well and Enjoys Every moment.  Life is to short. 

[JM0115]

26 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Well folks, that is NEW.  It seems sharing how to get the most from The Premium Plus Beverage Package and the Haven has been noticed by NCL. I don't know if I should take this as a complement or a criticism.  For those reading this comment and have not read my post before.  I am the Author of the Secrets to the Haven and The Premium Plus Beverage package Op-Ed's.  I am also very rarely negative on this or other social media sites.  I am making an exception today with this post.

 

I share this fact so I can make this statement.  It is clear that NCL has been attempting to find ways to reduce costs which will increase profits.  The copied quote by @erin21497 that "bottle of wine are limited to one at dinner and has to be consumed at the meal" is a "DEAL BREAKER" for me.  My recent cruise experience not being able to find a decent Chardonnay on our last NCL Cruise was not the experience I have had in the past nor want in the future. I am extremely disappointed with NCL

 

I know it does not make a difference nor should it to anyone out there.  I am nobody and not famous. I personally will NO longer purchase or recommend the Premium Plus Beverage Program.  As it relates to the NCL Haven, I will NO longer purchase or use the NCL Haven until the prices come down to be competitive.  Therefore I will personally NO longer recommend the NCL Haven.  

 

I would like to thank NCL for the memories and will hope that as they make a profit to pay their debt that they will recognize we a client have options.  We work hard for our money and are some times fickle. My future cruise will be with other brands including but not limited to NCL sister brands.  

 

I have everyone Cruises well and Enjoys Every moment.  Life is to short. 

@Sthrngary it is very sad to see you go. You have been an inspiration to me and the reason I purchased the Plus package. Now I feel like I should cancel it. It is really sad that NCL is trying to cheap out on this. I think they and a lot of other companies do not think through their decisions. Penny-wise and pound foolish I guess. 

[JandC_Cruising]

7 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

My recent cruise experience not being able to find a decent Chardonnay on our last NCL Cruise was not the experience I have had in the past nor want in the future. I am extremely disappointed with NCL

Gary, I agree with this particular sentiment.  We were not impressed with the "available" Chardonnay or as they call them "Bold Reds" on the Encore last week.  Additionally, with the change to only offering bottles of wines that are already available by the glass, they have diminished the value of this package on the 'Wine" side of the program.  They used to have a very nice Lois Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse but that was missing and several others I know we've ordered before by bottle were blocked from our choices because they were not offered by the glass.

I know you have mentioned your wife likes to take the bottle back to the room.  While we did not test this "NEW" restriction, last week, I'm suspect if they would really enforce it. If they think they can leave a bottle on one party's table and then re-circulate it to others by the glass if it is left unfinished, there are sanitary issues at play.  it would be like re-serving un-eaten dinner rolls to another table.

 

We do a lot of whisky drinking and felt well served by the package on that front this past week.  My wife and I drank plenty of Aqua Pana and SIL with us was drinking San Pellegrino like it was going out of style.  Again, all valuable benefits of the program. 

 

We are definitely going to "test" taking unfinished bottles back to our room in March.  There will be 3 of us dining and we will all have the Plus package, so plan on ordering 3 bottles at each dinner.  There will definitely be left-overs.

 

Best wishes and happy NY!

 

[New2cruise2022]

@SthrngaryYour position seems well reasoned. It seems that Haven lite is becoming increasingly difficult to imitate. If Haven is the only way to capture good service, that leaves the vast majority the passengers underwhelmed. I may have arrived too late to the party here. 

[Sydneyberlin]

As long as you can still get a good bottle of French champagne and any available drink by the glass through this package, it’s still amazing value to us. You can still get those or not?

[JustAPilot]

4 hours ago, Sydneyberlin said:

As long as you can still get a good bottle of French champagne and any available drink by the glass through this package, it’s still amazing value to us. You can still get those or not?

The problem is actually finding “value” alcohol available onboard these days with all these changes. Bottles of Veuve for lunch and dinner was value, Moët bottles were value, Don Julio 1942 was value, Johnny Blue was value, Silverado Cab Sauv.
 

Now, I don’t see any wines on their “by the glass” list that are worth more then the premium plus package is worth.

 

Sure let me order bottles of your finest East West garbage in-house brewed wine. 

[DCGuy64]

As much as it's sad hearing about the P+ package declining, it cements my decision never to buy it. I was perfectly happy with the drinks that were part of the FAS package last month, and only splurged a couple of times, which saved me a ton of cash (which I promptly spent in the spa, LOL). NCL's gonna get me one way or another.... 😆

[cruiseny4life]

52 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

As much as it's sad hearing about the P+ package declining, it cements my decision never to buy it. I was perfectly happy with the drinks that were part of the FAS package last month, and only splurged a couple of times, which saved me a ton of cash (which I promptly spent in the spa, LOL). NCL's gonna get me one way or another.... 😆

Yep! I'm an easy drunk. Just give me booze. I don't really care what, though I do enjoy Capt. Morgan which is still missing from the ships. Otherwise, I'm not really into the different brands. I guess I should be thankful hearing all this from others that they are not getting what they paid for. I feel for them! It would be like me paying for the thermal suite, only to have the big pool or loungers out of order, with no refund.