NCL ships completely running out of types of alcohol

[tetleytea]

2 hours ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

 

Yes.  I have done that on the last three cruises on NCL.  I can't justify spending $40.00 per day for two of us just for drinks.

 

You mean the "Free at Sea" program charges more in gratuities than my wife would spend just buying 2 drinks a day on her own?   When do I see this charge on my folio?   I saw a $30 gratuity bill when I paid for the cruise, and I thought that was for the Free at Sea.  Trying not to feel bamboozled.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

52 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

 

You mean the "Free at Sea" program charges more in gratuities than my wife would spend just buying 2 drinks a day on her own?   When do I see this charge on my folio?   I saw a $30 gratuity bill when I paid for the cruise, and I thought that was for the Free at Sea.  Trying not to feel bamboozled.

 

You won't see it in your folio.  You are charged when you booked the cruise. 

[deliver42]

The free at see charges are in your booking conformation, not in your folio. That $30.00 is for something else.

[The Shrike]

5 hours ago, tetleytea said:

 

You mean the "Free at Sea" program charges more in gratuities than my wife would spend just buying 2 drinks a day on her own?   When do I see this charge on my folio?   I saw a $30 gratuity bill when I paid for the cruise, and I thought that was for the Free at Sea.  Trying not to feel bamboozled.

On your invoice you should see "Bev Srv Charge".  It comes out to $39.60 per day.  If you and your wife drink an average of four drinks per day it's paid for itself.  If you don't and you're not past final payment you can call your PCC and get it removed and pay as you go on the ship.

[phillygwm]

6 hours ago, tetleytea said:

 

You mean the "Free at Sea" program charges more in gratuities than my wife would spend just buying 2 drinks a day on her own?   When do I see this charge on my folio?   I saw a $30 gratuity bill when I paid for the cruise, and I thought that was for the Free at Sea.  Trying not to feel bamboozled.

Look at your confirmation.  You'll see a line called "Bev Srv Chg."  That's your cost for the "free" beverage package (it's technically to cover gratuities.)  It amounts to $19.80 pp/day.  Similarly, the line below that is "Din Srv Chg."  That's $10 pp X number of FAS specialty meals you receive.

 

To answer your question, drinks average $10-ish so, as a general rule, two drinks pp/day is your breakeven point.

Edited July 9, 2022 by phillygwm

[pdmlynek]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:35 PM, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Pretty sure the NCLH supply systems are well aware of what they have in stock and what is short in the inventory.

I am pretty sure that the @JGmf posted his suggestion in jest.  😄 

[wil e coyote]

6 hours ago, tetleytea said:

 

You mean the "Free at Sea" program charges more in gratuities than my wife would spend just buying 2 drinks a day on her own?   When do I see this charge on my folio?   I saw a $30 gratuity bill when I paid for the cruise, and I thought that was for the Free at Sea.  Trying not to feel bamboozled.

The Free at Sea beverage package also includes soda. I believe if you opt out of the FAS package, you need to pay-as-you-go for soda, or buy the soda package which is $9.95 per person per day.

[pdmlynek]

On 7/7/2022 at 6:26 PM, phillygwm said:

...

Booze should be one of the first things they'd spend on because a shortage is going to leave a bad impression for people.  People won't be posting irate messages because Ocean Blue is out of sea bass 🙂

...

 

 

Actually, booze would be one of the LAST things that a cruise line would spend money on.  Almost everything on a cruise ship seems to me to be more important than alcohol.  

 

I think that food is more important.  Imagine having no food on board, and compare it to having no booze.

 

Water is also more important than alcohol.  Try to go without potable water for a few days.  Having half the ship die of thirst would make the other passengers more irritable than not having booze.

 

Fuel is also more important.  Running out of Tito's, Grey Goose and Skyy in the middle of the cruise is unpleasant, but running out of low-sulfur heavy fuel in middle of the cruise means no propulsion, not electricity, no freezers, no fresh water, no waste water treatment, no cooking.  I think that passengers would notice that more.

 

The same can be said for safety equipment, salaries for personnel, docking fees, navigation equipment, communication, etc.  

 

As a matter of fact, I can't think of anything that is less important for the cruise line to spend money on than booze.  Booze should be the last thing to worry about.

[PATRLR]

16 minutes ago, wil e coyote said:

the soda package which is $9.95 per person per day.

Only because this scared me into thinking they raised the price on me, the soda package is $7.95 per day  20% gratuity, so, $9.54/day.

[Crown Vic]

Guess they moved the “Friends of Bill W” meeting into the main theatre for all the extra attendees…cheers!

[tetleytea]

i see the $280 beverage package charge on my booking.   I upgraded from MX club balcony "suite" to MA club balcony "suite" ("suite" in quotes, because Holland's vanilla balconies are bigger than Norwegian's "suites"), and for some reason the Free At Sea was only <$100 more than not having it on the MA class cabin.  It was like $300-$400 for on the MX class.   All told, MA was $500 more expensive total, and (thank goodness) that was already reflected in the booking bill.

 

I picked the MA category specifically to be on the Observation Deck.  I figured most people probably don't like the noise, but because this is Alaska I wanted the Observation Lounge and Deck 16 to be immediately accessible, so I could access either the starboard or port side if there's a wildlife sighting.  Plus breakfast, coffee, and drinks are all right there in the lounge.  But I certainly wouldn't have paid $500 more for that if Free At Sea was not part of it.   The so-called $85 "value" for the specialty dining, I assigned $25 value.   How often do you pay $85/pp at a restaurant?  Let alone when food is already paid for in the MDR?

 

 

[CruiseManMikeFromPA]

Bliss SEA to Alaska 6/25/2022 had very little whiskey at most bars to start, and towards the end except for Matlings it was pretty much JW Black. No moscato by the glass for the wife. No cab sav in Cagney's by the glass the night we ate.

 

No the end of the world but it seems petty and annoying not to be able to have any American whiskey without an upcharge by the last 2 days.

[CaptainBazz]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:19 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Oddly, I had never even tried a bloody Mary until about a year ago because I'm not a big fan of tomato juice.  It was actually my DD who encouraged me to try one, and a Grey Goose spicy bloody Mary is now a buffet breakfast staple. 😎  Hey, don't knock it until you try it! 🤣

Try the Canadian version...a Bloody Caesar...made with Clamato juice and vodka...plus a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce...way better than a Bloody Mary IMO 😄

[JennKach]

An example of how NCL is managing supply issues from April.  We left out of Tampa and the next day we were in Key West.  The ship is late leaving Key West so we hang out on our balcony to observe, fully expecting a late shore excursion to come hurrying aboard.  The F&B manager, several other officers and a bunch of crew members with carts were outside.  45 minutes after we were supposed to leave, they all came back on the ship empty handed.  It turned out a supply shipment was late to Tampa, so they arranged for the truck to meet the ship in KW.  The truck driver got lost and never made it to KW.  We knew these details from speaking with the F&B manager the next day, but they didn't share the exact content, other than to say it was important.  I never noticed any shortages so apparently it wasn't something I needed!

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, CaptainBazz said:

Try the Canadian version...a Bloody Caesar...made with Clamato juice and vodka...plus a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce...way better than a Bloody Mary IMO 😄

Thanks.  You may have missed that I said "spicy" bloody Mary.  That adds the Worcestershire and Tabasco, so it sounds like exactly the same thing only different (the difference being the Clamato vs. bloody Mary mix?)

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, CaptainBazz said:

Try the Canadian version...a Bloody Caesar...made with Clamato juice and vodka...plus a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce...way better than a Bloody Mary IMO 😄

My wife makes her Marys with Clamato.  The first time she told me that I thought she was messing with me.  Then I tried one and it was great.  Now I need to tell her she's making a Caesar, not a Mary.

Edited July 9, 2022 by The Shrike

[MarkusToe]

I'm fine having no vodka coming from Russia....

[RD64]

6 hours ago, CaptainBazz said:

Try the Canadian version...a Bloody Caesar...made with Clamato juice and vodka...plus a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce...way better than a Bloody Mary IMO 😄

Agreed - nothing beats a Caesar, but it does depend on the type of Clamato juice used. Motts (a Canadian standard) is a good go to, but I have been told that there are some brands from British Columbia which are better.

[YVRteacher]

I’m going camping near Whistler this week and have packed whiskey, amaretto, tequila, beer, rum, piña colada mix and white wine (from the Latitudes dinners) that I brought home off the Jewel in May.  All set with the Premium Beverage Camping Package!

[aggie311]

5 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

I'm fine having no vodka coming from Russia....

Agreed. But there are many other countries who make vodka. Belvedere, Ketel One, Grey Goose, Skyy, Absolut, Tito’s are all non-Russian vodkas. 

Edited July 10, 2022 by aggie311

[CaptainBazz]

18 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks.  You may have missed that I said "spicy" bloody Mary.  That adds the Worcestershire and Tabasco, so it sounds like exactly the same thing only different (the difference being the Clamato vs. bloody Mary mix?)

Yes, the only difference is the juice...Tomato v Clamato (Clamato is a commercial drink made of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried clam broth and MSG).

Tastes better than it sounds 😂

[PTC DAWG]

No vodka, no peace. 

[RosieRoo]

On the Pearl a couple of weeks ago they didn’t have a Reisling which was available on the package (under $15 glass) but you could get the Chateau St Michelle for $21 a glass which is $6 over the package limit. I can buy the whole bottle at home for $10. I have never seen it anywhere for $21 a glass, not even in the city. 

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, RosieRoo said:

On the Pearl a couple of weeks ago they didn’t have a Reisling which was available on the package (under $15 glass) but you could get the Chateau St Michelle for $21 a glass which is $6 over the package limit. I can buy the whole bottle at home for $10. I have never seen it anywhere for $21 a glass, not even in the city. 

A ship is much more expansive to operate than a land based business. 🙂

[jmh87]

Just off the Joy. The no Vodka didn't bother me too much, but there was another interesting development. My rum and Pepsi's switched to rum and Coke the last 2 days.