Only Beer and Wine policy in Italian/Spanish Ports? Current Guests?

[Krydstosser]

Hello Guys

 

I would like to hear from current guests (Or just disembarked) on ships visiting Spain and Italy!

 

1. Do you have this "Only Beer & Wine Policy" when in those ports?

 

2. Do they serve Spirits/Cocktails when you have the Drinks Package (In Ports) If not when do they open for serving Spirits/Cocktails? Is it 8:30 Pm or later? 

 

3. Are you satisfied with this policy?

 

Why do I ask about this? I have a Cruise with Getaway in June and I bought the Premium Plus Package. I think NCL should have told me about this "Only Beer and Wine" policy before i bought it. Just my opinion. 

 

I only cruise once or twice a year and do not go to bars the other part of the year so there for I pay a little extra for our drink package. I prefer premium brands and prefer Cocktails and not Beer and Wine. If you think this I weird thats okay with me but maybe you understand my curiosity to this subject regarding this "Wine & Beer" Policy. 

 

If my spelling is not correct bear with me I am danish and my English is rusty 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by Krydstosser

[Greener123]

Seems to be the case… haven’t seen anything to the contrary… 

 

my TA contacted NCL and they assured her that there were no restrictions in Livorno 🙄

[Krydstosser]

14 minutes ago, Greener123 said:

Seems to be the case… haven’t seen anything to the contrary… 

 

my TA contacted NCL and they assured her that there were no restrictions in Livorno 🙄

I have cruised with many Cruise lines RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, P&O and 2 times with NCL, I think this Beer & Wine and restriction is outrageous! The Free at seas Pacakage was my main reason to chose NCL and now this BS! I am really P..sed actually! 

[Travelling2Some]

39 minutes ago, Krydstosser said:

I have cruised with many Cruise lines RCL, Celebrity, Carnival, P&O and 2 times with NCL, I think this Beer & Wine and restriction is outrageous! The Free at seas Pacakage was my main reason to chose NCL and now this BS! I am really P..sed actually! 

Agree.  The FAS is usually the main reason we choose NCL and I think that is true for many passengers.  Very bad business sense to mess with one of their chief selling points.  It looks so desperate that I wonder about their solvency. 

 

Off topic but I regretfully had to cancel a cruise this morning with Carnival.  Our deposit was non-refundable and we understood and accepted that when we booked.  A deal's a deal (unless you're dealing with NCL apparently).  However, I just got an surprise email from them giving me back half the deposit amount as a good-will gesture.  What a refreshing contrast!  

[Mommapadraig]

I wish I knew someone on board right now but I don’t. My friend was on last week. He had the drink package. He could get alcohol in port in Civitavecchia but could only get beer and wine while in Livorno. We were on board on the last TA and were told  by a couple bartenders that NCL would only be serving beer and wine when the Epic is docked overnight in ports this summer. From what I could find Those cruises do not start until mid June so I don’t know if that is still the plan. They are having overnights in Livorno, Civitavecchia and Barcelona. From posts on the other site the Livorno beer and wine is in place when just stopping for the day…we had a cruise booked with 3 overnight stops and have cancelled it. Between this and the untruths being told currently  in the UK we figure there will be Plenty of time to cruise when this is sorted.

[Krydstosser]

1 hour ago, Mommapadraig said:

I wish I knew someone on board right now but I don’t. My friend was on last week. He had the drink package. He could get alcohol in port in Civitavecchia but could only get beer and wine while in Livorno. We were on board on the last TA and were told  by a couple bartenders that NCL would only be serving beer and wine when the Epic is docked overnight in ports this summer. From what I could find Those cruises do not start until mid June so I don’t know if that is still the plan. They are having overnights in Livorno, Civitavecchia and Barcelona. From posts on the other site the Livorno beer and wine is in place when just stopping for the day…we had a cruise booked with 3 overnight stops and have cancelled it. Between this and the untruths being told currently  in the UK we figure there will be Plenty of time to cruise when this is sorted.

Am I unfair? I paid for the Plus Package and I mean they should serve me at sea and in the Port. I get more and more Pi...d

[Mommapadraig]

3 minutes ago, Krydstosser said:

Am I unfair? I paid for the Plus Package and I mean they should serve me at sea and in the Port. I get more and more Pi...d

In my opinion you are not. I felt it was unfair with the free at sea package. I can’t Imagine paying for the plus with these restrictions. Can you cancel the plus package?

Edited May 20, 2023 by Mommapadraig
Typo

[luv2kroooz]

I can only speak to Livorno. We were there three weeks ago. Yes, only beer and wine served while in port from 7am til 7pm. Even after we left port, NCL did not serve anything but beer and wine for the remainder of the evening. The sign posted above was prominently displayed at each bar.

Edited May 20, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[Krydstosser]

1 minute ago, Mommapadraig said:

In my opinion you are not. I felt it was unfair with the free at sea package. I can’t Imagine paying for the plus with these restrictions. Can you cancel the plus package?

I bought it online Upgrade Wifi/Plus/Specialty dining, I will try next week to get my money back, I should have bought it thru my Travel agent but it was so easy to do it online at NCL so I did that. This Upgrade was expensive so only get wine and bear is not acceptable. 

 

When that said to begin with I choosed NCL because of the Drink package FAS. So I feel cheated anyway maybe I am unfair... 

 

[luv2kroooz]

Looks like 2023 is the same as 2022. This was discussed on MSC thread in May 2022. Since this is only happening to NCL over multiple years, one could conclude that NCL has made a business decision to market an unlimited open bar package without disclosing the restrictions associated with certain ports.

 

 

[schmoopie17]

4 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

 

Off topic but I regretfully had to cancel a cruise this morning with Carnival.  Our deposit was non-refundable and we understood and accepted that when we booked.  A deal's a deal (unless you're dealing with NCL apparently).  However, I just got an surprise email from them giving me back half the deposit amount as a good-will gesture.  What a refreshing contrast!  

Not really. We were considering booking a cruise on Carnival but we saw their cancellation policy which says each cancelled reservation will be subject to a $50 fee, with the balance being applied as a credit on a future cruise.

 

NCL's policy is you can cancel with no fee/penalty up until final payment.

Edited May 20, 2023 by schmoopie17

[Krydstosser]

20 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Not really. We were considering booking a cruise on Carnival but we saw their cancellation policy which says each cancelled reservation will be subject to a $50 fee, with the balance being applied as a credit on a future cruise.

 

NCL's policy is you can cancel with no fee/penalty up until final payment.

Instead NCL cheat and screw you with the "Unfree at Sea" package 😂

[fabnfortysomething]

the thread no alcohol in UK ports went so hot NCL had to back down

wonder whether same happens here

[kitkat343]

The thread on the UK is available here:  

Please also note that charging for drink packages and not refunding the cost if drinks are not provided is part of a larger problem of NCL decisions.  

 

On the January 8th Getaway cruise, NCL cancelled the port stop in the Dominican Republic and the morning of another port for environmental reasons.  They continued to list the original itinerary on their website, and didn't tell people prior to booking the itinerary changed, even people who called ncl to book directly.  They didn't let people change sailing dates, including people who purchased their cruise after the itinerary was changed and weren't notified of the real itinerary.

 

They've changed numerous other sailings, including cutting the inside passage from the spirit's alaska cruises and claiming that due to safety they were cutting Costa Rica and replacing it with Aculpalco on a Panama Canal cruise.  

 

 

[lori-annk]

I was on the May 6 breakaway. Yes at a port in Greece and in Livorno, beer and wine only. And they would not refund you for the premium plus. They were also out of many premium spirits at many bars. Also closed the pool bar at 7pm every night! It was truly disappointing and the communication was very poor. They left it to the staff to deal with upset passengers. 
 

if you didn’t have a drink package, you couldn’t even buy a soda pop. If you had a drink package, you could get beer or wine, but no spirits.

[Pghcrews]

1 hour ago, lori-annk said:

I was on the May 6 breakaway. Yes at a port in Greece and in Livorno, beer and wine only. And they would not refund you for the premium plus. They were also out of many premium spirits at many bars. Also closed the pool bar at 7pm every night! It was truly disappointing and the communication was very poor. They left it to the staff to deal with upset passengers. 
 

if you didn’t have a drink package, you couldn’t even buy a soda pop. If you had a drink package, you could get beer or wine, but no spirits.

Was it at all three of the Greek ports or just Athens?

[lori-annk]

Just one Greek port, I don’t remember if it was Athens or Olympia. 

[thedarklord]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:56 PM, schmoopie17 said:

NCL's policy is you can cancel with no fee/penalty up until final payment.

Unfortunately, that's not true for people booking from the UK (and other European countries maybe? Not sure). The other issue that causes is that if there's a price drop, it means the cancel and rebook you can do in the US comes at the cost of the deposit in the UK.

[insidecabin]

15 hours ago, lori-annk said:

I was on the May 6 breakaway. Yes at a port in Greece and in Livorno, beer and wine only. And they would not refund you for the premium plus. They were also out of many premium spirits at many bars. Also closed the pool bar at 7pm every night! It was truly disappointing and the communication was very poor. They left it to the staff to deal with upset passengers. 
 

if you didn’t have a drink package, you couldn’t even buy a soda pop. If you had a drink package, you could get beer or wine, but no spirits.

Had a similar staff shortage issue last year on Princess, picked a cabin next to a door to an aft pool & bar.

They closed early(6-7) as staff needed to man the indoor bars and restaurants.

It was quiet but June so light till late and great sailaways.

Shortages of galley staff restaurants part time.

 

Think some ships still struggling a year on.

[DCGuy64]

On 5/21/2023 at 1:51 PM, fabnfortysomething said:

the thread no alcohol in UK ports went so hot NCL had to back down

wonder whether same happens here

Naw, they're only refusing to serve people who complained about it on Cruise Critic. 😉