Are we the only ones who decline the free drink pkg on NCL?

[hallux]

Add me to the count of "decline it".  I'm their least-favorite customer - I don't drink or gamble, I'm simply there for the ride, 'hotel room' and food, oh, and the amazing camaraderie among guests!  I drink water, from the tap in the room or whatever the bartender puts in the glass.

[mking8288]

Never once, in our 25+ years of cruising, do we take any "free" drink package (not alcohol, not soda plans, etc.) and that is true with all of our NCL cruises.  I don't drink alcohol and DW doesn't drink much, if any -  absolutely stay sober at weddings, parties or similar gatherings when driving is involved, especially afterward.  For me, I get headaches from touching that stuff. 

[IrieBajan54]

I don't drink sodas period and only drink alcohol (wine/beer) occasionally at home. Have been cruising with NCL for the past 9 years without the drink package. Like some others stated, if I had it, I would over-consume to justify the purchase. Luckily, I book Sail-Away which negates the problem of have to decline the so-called FREE at sea.

[rabidstoat]

I very rarely drink alcohol, some sailings I might have one drink, others none. And I hate Pepsi. I therefore always decline the drink package too. 

 

Now if I could get them to stop putting that free bottle of wine in my cabin every sailing I'd be set! Is there a way to get them to stop that? It just takes up space as I never drink it. It would suck if you were a recovering alcoholic who doesn't drink and they kept putting it in your cabin.

[ChiefMateJRK]

19 hours ago, pokerguy90 said:

So when we booked our cruise our TA said  “your the first of her clients to ev br er decline that offer”.

 

19 hours ago, pokerguy90 said:

 Boy was she  confused at us over this one.   

Were you, in fact, her very first client??  It sure sounds like it.

[Slark]

18 hours ago, craftygrandma said:

We always decline the drink package on NCL.  

Ditto.

[cooncat_mom]

DD and I don’t drink so always decline the alcohol package. We did try the soda package once, but just don’t drink enough soda to make it worth the money. (We used to get Royal’s soda package because they had the do it yourself soda machines with flavored water. Loved that!)  We do, however, get the water package. ..We’re used to well-water and the ship water is kind of meh. The water package we finish!

Edited May 8, 2022 by cooncat_mom
Added a thought…

[nicoleinwi]

Decline here as well. We might each have one alcoholic drink a day, sometimes 2. Cheaper to just pay for them vs tips they charge you for on the free drink package. I remember years ago maybe 2016 we had a Western Med cruise and got the drink package straight up free, no paying tips. Took it then. 

[complawyer]

while my wife and i never decline, she doesnt drink very much, and i find i drink more throughout the day to justify my having bought  it.

 

if we both broke it down to a dollar total day by day, we'd probably be better off declining, but it's so much more convenient when included with the entire booking.

on the other hand, however what's starting to annoy me is limiting the initial dinner package to just the 2

[kelib]

Would anyone on board recently know if they still offer the wine bottle package? 
I used to do sailaway package and get 6 bottles of wine since that is pretty much what I drink. Between them and the cheap bottle you get as a returning passenger that I used for mimosas I was pretty much set. 

[KeithJenner]

5 hours ago, kelib said:

Would anyone on board recently know if they still offer the wine bottle package? 
I used to do sailaway package and get 6 bottles of wine since that is pretty much what I drink. Between them and the cheap bottle you get as a returning passenger that I used for mimosas I was pretty much set. 

On the Jade a couple of weeks ago there was no sign of Viva Vino being offered. I didn’t specifically ask, but on previous cruises I would see some mention of it somewhere (freestyle daily or a sign at a bar).

[KeithJenner]

11 hours ago, rabidstoat said:

Now if I could get them to stop putting that free bottle of wine in my cabin every sailing I'd be set! Is there a way to get them to stop that? It just takes up space as I never drink it. It would suck if you were a recovering alcoholic who doesn't drink and they kept putting it in your cabin.

No need to do anything. It dropped off the latitudes benefits earlier this year.

 

You do seem to still get it if you are in a suite though.

Edited May 8, 2022 by KeithJenner

[hallux]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

No need to do anything. It dropped off the latitudes benefits earlier this year.

 

You do seem to still get it if you are in a suite though.

I didn't realize that.  That explains why it wasn't in my room in March..

[rscales2]

I have always declined. The September 23 Transatlantic cruise on the Prima is the my first time.

[melodyesch]

10 hours ago, complawyer said:

 

if we both broke it down to a dollar total day by day, we'd probably be better off declining, but it's so much more convenient when included with the entire booking.

We bought the drink package the last two cruises and we’re kind of in the same position.  I don’t drink all that much.  So DH actually kept a list on his phone of every drink we had and we came out about $10 ahead.  But even if we hadn’t, it’s prepaid and nice to not have to keep tabs on it, except for the one experiment week.

[nferr]

If you don't drink it's a no brainer to decline. If you do drink, even moderately it's a no brainer to take the package. It's really not hard at all to run up $100 a day in bar tab. a glass of wine at lunch, a drink or two all afternoon at H20 or wherever,  a glass or two of wine at dinner, and then a couple at night at the venues. I mean you're on vacation. And some on board hit it a lot harder than that.  For $20 gratuity tab it's a bargain.

[Ottawa Lynne]

22 hours ago, rabidstoat said:

I very rarely drink alcohol, some sailings I might have one drink, others none. And I hate Pepsi. I therefore always decline the drink package too. 

 

Now if I could get them to stop putting that free bottle of wine in my cabin every sailing I'd be set! Is there a way to get them to stop that? It just takes up space as I never drink it. It would suck if you were a recovering alcoholic who doesn't drink and they kept putting it in your cabin.

We just told them not to include it and it didn't show up last time. Previously we tried to give it away and no one wanted it! They did offer to give us "wine" without alcohol.

[Ottawa Lynne]

We always decline the drinks package. I have one virgin daquiri a trip and one soda a day and my husband has none so no package makes sense for us.

 

We had an interesting thing happen to us last cruise just before Covid hit. Our card was mistakenly swiped at Cagney's for drinks - about $75 worth - on the last night of the cruise so we didn't catch it until we were off ship. We contacted NCL and told them that we don't drink and this was an error. They told us we should have bought the drink package if we didn't want to pay for drinks. We could not get them to understand that we.don't.drink. They refunded our money finally with a stern warning that they would not do it again. Interestingly, the other couple we travelled with (we shared a Haven cabin) had the same thing happen to them that night at another restaurant for $23 which NCL said they would refund but it never showed up on their credit card and they decided it wasn't worth the hassle to follow-up. It was too bad because it left a bad taste in our mouths.

[insidecabin]

On 5/7/2022 at 9:45 PM, IrieBajan54 said:

I don't drink sodas period and only drink alcohol (wine/beer) occasionally at home. Have been cruising with NCL for the past 9 years without the drink package. Like some others stated, if I had it, I would over-consume to justify the purchase. Luckily, I book Sail-Away which negates the problem of have to decline the so-called FREE at sea.

UK you can add free as sea to sail-away.

 

As it was a single price the included dinners were worth the cost that changed in Jan.

 

[TrueNorth74]

My wife and I have always declined it. Neither of us drink, and not having access to unlimited soda is helpful to the waistline 🙂

[hallux]

3 hours ago, Ottawa Lynne said:

We had an interesting thing happen to us last cruise just before Covid hit. Our card was mistakenly swiped at Cagney's for drinks

Interesting - on MY last cruise my card was somehow swiped for something that cost money at The Local during sail away, while I was on deck.  It was relatively quickly reversed though, once I let guest services know...

[Andros]

We have always declined drink packages.  We just don't drink enough to justify the cost.  I actually talked myself into adding it to our upcoming sailing this fall.  I figured $20 a day pp was reasonable and would do away with the hassle of signing a slip.  Fast forward 5 weeks and I came to my senses. I realized there is no way we would spend $630 on drinks( even for a 16 day TA).  Partner doesn't drink(maybe a sail away drink) and I don't drink much either.  Another huge factor is Pepsi products.  I just can't imagine a Jack Daniels and Pepsi would even taste good.  🤢  You will see me on board with my Coke attire.  🙃

[ysolde]

My husband and I don't drink, so we decline the drinks package.  We prefer Diet Coke to Diet Pepsi, and would love a wider variety of soaring waters on board (not to mention a tea and coffee package).  But you can't have it all.  

[cruiseny4life]

18 hours ago, Andros said:

I just can't imagine a Jack Daniels and Pepsi would even taste good

I tried a rum and Pepsi...gosh that just sounds weird. It wasn't great. No Capt. No Coke on board. 

 

We will be declining the drink package on our next cruise - he doesn't drink and I do when it's free which is an issue when it's Free at Sea! I had a couple of alcohol-induced naps on the last boat I was on . 🙂 

[steveknj]

My wife and I rarely drink, never drink alcohol at home and only drink at parties and what not, maybe an occasional glass of wine if we go to dinner.  The first few cruises we took before NCL started offering the "free" booze package, we never bought even a soda package.  Wife prefers water and I prefer iced tea.  We would get soda for my daughter.  But the last couple of cruises on NCL with the "free" package we took it.  I enjoy some of the sweet cocktails that I'd never order otherwise and they are fun to try, but if we didn't have it, I might buy one or two just to try them.  So I am SURE they are making nice money off of us.  But I like the idea that I can order and not have to think about it, but I'd never buy a drink package.  This upcoming cruise will be the first where my daughter can drink and I have no idea how much she might want to drink or not.  She also doesn't drink at home, so this will be her first drinking experience.   But really, we probably should decline it, but we won't.