Advantage to pre-purchasing PREMIUM PLUS BEVERAGE PACKAGE???

[SakeDad]

We have the regular included drink package that covers anything up to $15.....we are looking at purchasing the PREMIUM PLUS package for our 11 day ($382 pp now) but it's not until July and it looks like we have to pay as soon as we book it. Is there an advantage to buying it now (several months before we even have final payment) or can we wait and book it for the same price with final payment? THANKS

[FLcruisergrl]

The advantage is that you lock in the price. You don’t know right now what the price will be next year. It’s unlikely that it will get cheaper.

[phillygwm]

If you're purchasing Premium Plus ONLY, I'd probably wait.  Sure, the price might go up, but the advantage of waiting until you're onboard is that you can use OBC (assuming you have some) to purchase the package.

 

Since it's been offered, though, I've been purchasing FAS Plus, which is P+ plus Internet, a couple more specialty meals, and a second person excursion credit.  That can only be purchased in advance of boarding.  My next cruise is about a year from now.  I'm not purchasing that right now; I tend to spread out the cost in the months before.  Plus, if Amex or another of my cards offers another promo, I want to have something to spend it on.

[Sailing12Away]

 I've never seen a sale or price drop. It is what it is. So if you're comfortable with the price and want to add the charge to your card now, go for it. That will help split the costs up a bit across different billing cycles. 
 

We're interested in trying out the advanced drink package at least once, but our last trip was 10 days, this next one coming up is 15, and the one after is another 10 day. Those prices add up quick on the long journeys.

 

We're not particular to top shelf liquor since we mostly stick with cocktails and it would be a bit wasted on those, but hubby loves his bubbly in both alcoholic and non varieties. Much cheaper to just buy a bottle of sparkling water every other day than to pay an extra $500+ per person.

[Greygooser]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

If you're purchasing Premium Plus ONLY, I'd probably wait.  Sure, the price might go up, but the advantage of waiting until you're onboard is that you can use OBC (assuming you have some) to purchase the package.

 

Since it's been offered, though, I've been purchasing FAS Plus, which is P+ plus Internet, a couple more specialty meals, and a second person excursion credit.  That can only be purchased in advance of boarding.  My next cruise is about a year from now.  I'm not purchasing that right now; I tend to spread out the cost in the months before.  Plus, if Amex or another of my cards offers another promo, I want to have something to spend it on.

To me the FAS plus is the way to go if you want to upgrade. For my sailing that leaves in 13 days, I have an offer to upgrade to premium plus beverage for $348. The FAS plus that includes that, along with additional Specialty Dining, Unlimited Internet upgrade, and more excursion credit is $420. For $72 more dollars, that would be the move IMO. If the costs are comparable for your cruising and you think you'd take advantage of any of those additional items, I would strongly consider that. Good luck!

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

We're not particular to top shelf liquor since we mostly stick with cocktails and it would be a bit wasted on those, but hubby loves his bubbly in both alcoholic and non varieties. Much cheaper to just buy a bottle of sparkling water every other day than to pay an extra $500+ per person.

Maybe.  I've gotten Premium Plus (or FAS+) for my last few cruises.  I'm a solo traveler so it obviously costs me half what you'd pay.  Personally, I almost breakeven on non-alcohol alone.

 

It's $34.80/day.  A bottle of Pellegrino is $6.  I usually have 3-4 over the course of the day (including dinner.)  Call it $20 on average.  I'm not a huge coffee drinker but I may have a Starbucks or 2 daily.  Average it to $10.  So I'm $4.80 short.  Between the bottles of wine with dinner and the <ahem> several glasses of Veuve Clicquot, it's a great value for me.

 

If you like specialty dining, need Internet, and go on NCL excursions, FAS+, at $49/pp/day probably makes even better sense.  As a solo, that's $42 for me because I obviously don't get the second $50 excursion discount.  So $7/day for Internet, which I need -- you may not -- and a couple extra meals.

[Sailing12Away]

22 hours ago, phillygwm said:

Maybe.  I've gotten Premium Plus (or FAS+) for my last few cruises.  I'm a solo traveler so it obviously costs me half what you'd pay.  Personally, I almost breakeven on non-alcohol alone.

 

It's $34.80/day.  A bottle of Pellegrino is $6.  I usually have 3-4 over the course of the day (including dinner.)  Call it $20 on average.  I'm not a huge coffee drinker but I may have a Starbucks or 2 daily.  Average it to $10.  So I'm $4.80 short.  Between the bottles of wine with dinner and the <ahem> several glasses of Veuve Clicquot, it's a great value for me.

 

If you like specialty dining, need Internet, and go on NCL excursions, FAS+, at $49/pp/day probably makes even better sense.  As a solo, that's $42 for me because I obviously don't get the second $50 excursion discount.  So $7/day for Internet, which I need -- you may not -- and a couple extra meals.

That's just it, we really don't care about internet at all. Between the free minutes, extra minutes for lattitudes status, and unlimited wifi when we're off the ship - we don't need or want internet. We can each buy 2 more meals for $70 each, and again, with the 2 free ones from lattitudes we don't *need* them.

 

Not Starbucks fans at all, so that perk is lost on us, and getting hubby to drink water at all is a struggle so 1 bottle lasts him 2 days. The extra shore excursion credit is nice - but again, it's somewhat unfair as that is per cabin even though you pay per person for the upgrade to FAS+.

 

Everyone's situation is different and some folks swear by the FAS+ or premium drinks. For us, I'd rather put that extra money in towards a bigger bid on an owners suite which comes with whatever we want and a bigger room to boot.

[NRWPA]

5 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

That's just it, we really don't care about internet at all. Between the free minutes, extra minutes for lattitudes status, and unlimited wifi when we're off the ship - we don't need or want internet. We can each buy 2 more meals for $70 each, and again, with the 2 free ones from lattitudes we don't *need* them.

 

Not Starbucks fans at all, so that perk is lost on us, and getting hubby to drink water at all is a struggle so 1 bottle lasts him 2 days. The extra shore excursion credit is nice - but again, it's somewhat unfair as that is per cabin even though you pay per person for the upgrade to FAS+.

 

Everyone's situation is different and some folks swear by the FAS+ or premium drinks. For us, I'd rather put that extra money in towards a bigger bid on an owners suite which comes with whatever we want and a bigger room to boot.

Just wondering, with the new Latitudes benefits from 1/2022 I don't see that any free internet minutes are given for Latitude status anymore. Am I misunderstanding something? I was on Encore just prior to the change in benefits and won't be on again until January 2023. 

 

[phillygwm]

3 hours ago, NRWPA said:

Just wondering, with the new Latitudes benefits from 1/2022 I don't see that any free internet minutes are given for Latitude status anymore. Am I misunderstanding something? I was on Encore just prior to the change in benefits and won't be on again until January 2023. 

 

Technically that's correct.  You get the minutes as part of the FAS package.  You get a package discount for your status level but that won't make sense.

[Sigyn]

On 11/15/2022 at 4:19 AM, SakeDad said:

We have the regular included drink package that covers anything up to $15.....we are looking at purchasing the PREMIUM PLUS package for our 11 day ($382 pp now) but it's not until July and it looks like we have to pay as soon as we book it. Is there an advantage to buying it now (several months before we even have final payment) or can we wait and book it for the same price with final payment? THANKS

I went ahead and upgraded ahead of time since it included excursions to get the excursion credit so that I could book excursions at the discounted rate, too. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by njsmom

[Sailing12Away]

Guess I didn't pay attention since our sailing last month still had the bonus minutes - I guess based on when it was originally booked. For our next trip, my original booking made in December 2021:

 

My new receipt after repricing with a 4K reduction (and new 'perks'):

 

I guess with those new bonus $125 OBC we could upgrade the internet to fully unlimited or buy back the 2 missing meals. But saving 4K is worth losing internet minutes and meals to me.

[SakeDad]

Thanks everyone for some GREAT information. We are on an 11 day London to Iceland on Prima and already have 2 specialty dinners. With the fabulous main dining room and Indulge Food Hall reviews I have seen I don't think we need any more specialty dining. Also, as it's a very port intensive cruise with only 2 sea days internet onboard in not important. I may be interested in getting more port adventure discounts if they are included in the package, I will look closer for that.

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, SakeDad said:

With the fabulous main dining room and Indulge Food Hall reviews I have seen I don't think we need any more specialty dining. Also, as it's a very port intensive cruise with only 2 sea days internet onboard in not important. I may be interested in getting more port adventure discounts if they are included in the package, I will look closer for that.

The cost differential between P+ and FAS+, is $14 pp/day (if you're solo it's $7.)  So for $28 you get the extra $50 credit.  If you're going to purchase Premium Plus anyway, and you'll be on an NCL excursion more than every other day, it can make sense.  

[Hutcha]

Has anyone gotten the P+ or FAS+, and then added people to their booking? Do they automatically upgrade those people to P+, and just add it into the booking? Here's my dilemma. I have a 7 day Alaska booked for myself and wife. We would get the P+, so the FAS+ is a no brainer. We're looking at adding our son and his GF to our booking. He'll just be 21 that week, and unlikely to drink anything but beer. She's under 21. $500 (wife & me) for the P+ I can justify. Bumping that up $250 for my son is a hard pill to swallow. He just won't get any use out of it, aside from maybe water. I know I could take that $750 worth of drink package, and just pay a la carte, but I know when faced with putting the top shelf stuff on my final bill, I probably would not.

 

So, if I upgrade before I add them, will they still force me to upgrade them to P+??

[SakeDad]

Thanks everyone for your great answers and advice! As a result we booked the Free at Sea Plus upgrade package. For an 11 day cruise with only 2 sea days it was only $112 more per person than the regular premium package and we get additional specialty dining, 2nd person gets $50 off on NCL excursions (already have that for the 1st person and it's a port intensive cruise) and we get unlimited wifi including streaming....so as it's my 60th birthday we plan on only drinking the BEST and lots of champagne!!! It will pay for itself after 2 excursions! Just to upgrade to premium drinks would have been $765 but to get the PLUS was only $990 so it was a no-brainer for us!