No Alcohol in any UK ports - what! 😱

[SouthamptonCruiseFan]

5 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

 

In the (now distant) past I was able to get the taxes charged on beverage package drinks refunded after the cruise, but it's clear that NCL really, really wants to collect this tax. They may stop for a while but it always seems to come back sooner or later. What the actual legal basis is and whether the money is actually reported and passed along to the relevant port/country, I doubt any of us will ever know for sure. But the fact is that they benefit from charging the tax (because it discourages people from using their packages as much as they otherwise would), so they really have no incentive to stop doing it.

 

If anyone has recent experience with contacting NCL about these taxes, whether in the US or Europe or somewhere else, I'd love to hear about it (preferably in a new thread, since it's a distinct issue).

Thread started:

 

[cybermirth]

Am currently sailing on the NCL Dawn out of Southampton with a premium plus package.  No issues since our day of disembarkation.  Edinburgh was a tender port yesterday, we were served alcohol as soon as we got back on the ship.  Today, docked at Inverness, same thing, drinking a beer as I type this.  Tomorrow, will see what Stornaway holds.  Was able to grab unopened beers from the bar, just in case, and keep them in my room…

[Misself]

Haven’t read all the responses. Suffice to say I experienced NCL moving the goals posts on my last cruise.  I managed a refund of taxes plus a refund for one day of the free at sea package (Gibraltar), but I assume all this was purely out of ‘goodwill’ rather than accepting they were wrong.

 

 

I wonder if this is something BBC Watchdog would investigate?!? 

[rattla]

8 minutes ago, cybermirth said:

Am currently sailing on the NCL Dawn out of Southampton with a premium plus package.  No issues since our day of disembarkation.  Edinburgh was a tender port yesterday, we were served alcohol as soon as we got back on the ship.  Today, docked at Inverness, same thing, drinking a beer as I type this.  Tomorrow, will see what Stornaway holds.  Was able to grab unopened beers from the bar, just in case, and keep them in my room…

I guess you haven’t been to another English port or Belfast yet.   NCL Star was in Belfast a couple of days ago and that was affected too.

Why Scottish ports seem to be avoiding this seems to make no real sense to anyone at the moment…. I mean it’s good, but not sure it means the problem is resolved as I think last week Scottish ports were ok too? 🤷‍♂️

 

I think the real test will be when you get to Belfast and Liverpool on Friday and Saturday.

Edited May 17, 2023 by rattla

[DCGuy64]

4 hours ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

Though some posters are very passionate in thier discussion of this issue, it really is fairly insignificant in the overall perception and success of NCL operations.  I see no need (and it wouldn't happen anyway) for NCL to make a blanket apology:  that really only makes it more of an issue in the eyes of the many who consider it a very minor inconvenience.  

Well said. This is barely a blip but some are making it seem like the end of the world. 🤦‍♂️🙄

[Pooston]

11 minutes ago, cybermirth said:

Am currently sailing on the NCL Dawn out of Southampton with a premium plus package.  No issues since our day of disembarkation.  Edinburgh was a tender port yesterday, we were served alcohol as soon as we got back on the ship.  Today, docked at Inverness, same thing, drinking a beer as I type this.  Tomorrow, will see what Stornaway holds.  Was able to grab unopened beers from the bar, just in case, and keep them in my room…

 

So, did they serve alcohol whilst in port in Southampton?  They didn't on the 4th may sailing.  

 

They did serve out of all Scottish ports on that sailing.

 

Please keep us updated as to the situation in other British ports.

[teazy]

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-ships-banning-alcohol-in-ports/
 

I reached out to Jenni on cruisemummy and this is her article

[Centuryrace]

2 minutes ago, Pooston said:

 

So, did they serve alcohol whilst in port in Southampton?  They didn't on the 4th may sailing.  

 

They did serve out of all Scottish ports on that sailing.

 

Please keep us updated as to the situation in other British ports.

They are not serving alcohol in any UK port, although they are supposedly fixing it. It makes no difference if its a tender port or not. 

[Centuryrace]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Well said. This is barely a blip but some are making it seem like the end of the world. 🤦‍♂️🙄

Actually, when I go on holiday and my ininersry and paid for extras I expect to get exactly what I pay for. Ncl have made a mess of this. It's not the end of the world but it immediately spoils the cruise. It may not matter to you but then you will be in a tiny minority. 

[Greener123]

6 minutes ago, teazy said:

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-ships-banning-alcohol-in-ports/
 

I reached out to Jenni on cruisemummy and this is her article

A few errors in the article. First reported on Dawn 4/05 not Star 11/05 and seemingly not impacting Scottish ports 

[Pooston]

6 minutes ago, Centuryrace said:

They are not serving alcohol in any UK port, although they are supposedly fixing it. It makes no difference if its a tender port or not. 

 Yes, I know this. I was on the 4th May cruise.  Please see cybermirth's post above which seems to indicate there were no problems in Southampton on his trip 

[KeithJenner]

And that excuse is acceptable once, maybe twice, but not as many times as this has happened to NCL.

 

if it is down to administrative issues then get on top of them so that it doesn’t keep on happening.

[DCGuy64]

Just now, KeithJenner said:

And that excuse is acceptable once, maybe twice, but not as many times as this has happened to NCL.

 

if it is down to administrative issues then get on top of them so that it doesn’t keep on happening.

Leaving aside the possibility that administrative bungles can happen more than once across multiple countries (yes, shocking I know), what's your solution? If you ran NCL, how would you fix this? I'm curious to know.

[cybermirth]

My earlier post wasn’t clear.  In Southampton on the NCL Dawn, no alcohol was served until we were far away from the port.  I was served alcohol in Cagney’s on embarkation night at 8:42 pm (we asked our server to notify us when they could serve).  Since 8:42 pm on embarkation night, we have had no more issues getting alcohol - we have had one sea day, one day anchored just off Edinburgh/New Haven, and today we are docked at Inverness.  Lots of alcohol to be had.  There was a notice that Belfast would be an issue, but I am hoping that will be resolved before we get there.

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, cybermirth said:

My earlier post wasn’t clear.  In Southampton on the NCL Dawn, no alcohol was served until we were far away from the port.  I was served alcohol in Cagney’s on embarkation night at 8:42 pm (we asked our server to notify us when they could serve).  Since 8:42 pm on embarkation night, we have had no more issues getting alcohol - we have had one sea day, one day anchored just off Edinburgh/New Haven, and today we are docked at Inverness.  Lots of alcohol to be had.  There was a notice that Belfast would be an issue, but I am hoping that will be resolved before we get there.

Thank you for this, good to know all is not lost. It's amazing that 99% of people complaining about this aren't even on the ship, and those who actually ARE, aren't so terribly upset. 🤷‍♂️

[Centuryrace]

7 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I take it you are on the ship now and have been personally impacted by it?

I am along with 2000 other pretty angry folk. I had dinner with the officers last night and this was discussed. Not resolved though. I don't comment on things I am not being affected by. 

[DCGuy64]

Just now, Centuryrace said:

I am along with 2000 other pretty angry folk. I had dinner with the officers last night and this was discussed. Not resolved though. I don't comment on things I am not being affected by. 

If you spoke with the officers, did they have anything to add?

[KeithJenner]

7 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Leaving aside the possibility that administrative bungles can happen more than once across multiple countries (yes, shocking I know), what's your solution? If you ran NCL, how would you fix this? I'm curious to know.

Well firstly, I wouldn’t run NCL because that isn’t my thing, but a company like NCL should have review processes and anything like this should be fully investigated through those systems and improvements identified and managed.

 

When it went wrong on the Jade last year the whole process should have been reviewed and improvements made. Then when it happened again on the Gem it should have caused a further review with higher level management involved and any further improvements made.

 

Then, there was Gibraltar when they could have another look it this before we got to where we are now.

 

This isn’t rocket science, and it is very relevant that other lines aren’t having these problems because it shows that it is something that competent professionals can do without messing up once, let along twice, three times or however many times they are up to now.

 

They aren’t very good at this, and they really need to get better. That is basically what I have been saying all this time. If you don’t care whether they get better then that’s your issue but I’m certainly not going to accept that.

 

And just to clarify, I’m not saying that NCL are greedy or cheating anything, I’m just saying they seem to be rubbish at ensuring they do the correct admin to provide their customers with what they promised. That’s not a good look for a multiple billion dollar company.

[KeithJenner]

It’s interesting that when a new cruiser comes along and complains that their holiday went wrong, there are usually a group of people on here telling them that it is their fault because they missed something.

 

However, when it’s the cruise company that forgot the form it’s all ok apparently. 🙂

[Centuryrace]

8 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

If you spoke with the officers, did they have anything to add?

They admitted that it was an administrative bungle relating to the way UK booze duty is handled. They were trying to fix it. Have they? Don't know and won't find out as it won't affect us again unless I want a bloody Mary on disembarkation day. Some folk have indicated it may have been fixed on the Dawn now. But I can't comment on that either. 

[insidecabin]

33 minutes ago, Greener123 said:

A few errors in the article. First reported on Dawn 4/05 not Star 11/05 and seemingly not impacting Scottish ports 

Cruise mummy is notorious for inaccuracies and out of date information.

[Centuryrace]

13 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

You're right in one sense: I'm the only one who refuses to get on the bandwagon of "NCL is evil." Then again, I pride myself on being able to see all sides of an issue, not just the popular one, and I like being able to say "hang on a minute" when everyone else is saying "get onboard, everyone else thinks this, so you must, too." That's just not who I am.

I am not saying NCL are evil. NCL cruises are good value and usually very good. However if you pay for a package that is including alcohol and only told when you embark that it will not be available and NCL refuse to acknowledge the problem or refund the portion of the package fee that is not right. Sadly it is common in today's world that slers think they can not supply what the customer has paid for with no recourse. I have 2 more cruises booked with NCL and have deposits which commit me to 4 more. But I like to receive what I pay for or a full explanation and refund when I don't. 

[Norwayfan1]

17 minutes ago, Centuryrace said:

They admitted that it was an administrative bungle relating to the way UK booze duty is handled. They were trying to fix it. Have they? Don't know and won't find out as it won't affect us again unless I want a bloody Mary on disembarkation day. Some folk have indicated it may have been fixed on the Dawn now. But I can't comment on that either. 

Are there any extra taxes being charged during your itinerary (like the dreaded Spanish tax)? Just curious!

[Norwayfan1]

I think a good way of judging a company is how well they deal with problems that are clearly upsetting people - regardless of where the fault lies.

 

I recall that, when cruises restarted (but Covid still caused restrictions), Marella Cruises had to make some itinerary changes to a round-UK cruise. Not their fault at all, but they sent letters of apology and offered full refunds - and for anyone who chose to cruise anyway despite the changes, they gave £100 per passenger OBC.

 

I thought that was quite classy. 

[DCGuy64]

12 minutes ago, Centuryrace said:

I am not saying NCL are evil. NCL cruises are good value and usually very good. However if you pay for a package that is including alcohol and only told when you embark that it will not be available and NCL refuse to acknowledge the problem or refund the portion of the package fee that is not right. Sadly it is common in today's world that slers think they can not supply what the customer has paid for with no recourse. I have 2 more cruises booked with NCL and have deposits which commit me to 4 more. But I like to receive what I pay for or a full explanation and refund when I don't. 

I think that's a very reasonable approach. Like you, I want what I paid for. On my last NCL cruise, I had a couple of issues with food, at both Cagney's and Moderno. Both were rectified immediately after I spoke up.

 

22 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

It’s interesting that when a new cruiser comes along and complains that their holiday went wrong, there are usually a group of people on here telling them that it is their fault because they missed something.

 

However, when it’s the cruise company that forgot the form it’s all ok apparently. 🙂

There are many "camps" on Cruise Critic. Two of the most commons ones are what I'd call the "cheerleaders" and the "haters." Cheerleaders support their line of choice, come what may, justifying everything the cruise line does and attacking anyone who criticizes it. Haters do the opposite: they carp and complain about every slight, imperfection, error, or inconsistency and, in their turn, they attack anyone who questions their reasonableness, rationale, or in any way defends the cruise line. I think we need to get away from this binary approach, but this is how it is.