UBP price increase, $15 per drink? But...

[hawkeyetlse]

Everybody with UBP is handled the same onboard (that means no gratuities are charged) - if any gratuities are charged it's done before the cruise.

Unless you buy the UBP on board, of course… :D

 

I know what you meant, that everyone with the UBP is treated the same when they actually order drinks during the cruise: They sign a bill listing the price of the drink, the 18% auto-tip, possibly local taxes, possibly an additional write-in tip. And for a split second they wonder to themselves "Why am I signing a slip authorizing them to charge this full amount to my account???" Then they cross their fingers for the rest of the cruise and hope for the best… :(

[imakemistaeks]

Where did you read that? Beers are around $6, $7 with tip. Here are some photos of the temporary bar menu introduced last March, when they raised all the prices. (The prices have stayed the same since then, as far as I know.)

 

The $10 beer comment was made in a post on here somewhere and I didn't see a response debating it so I wasn't sure. I've only gone on Carnival so NCL is a whole new ballgame for me. Thank you for the pictures of the menu. That's extremely helpful!

[Pennbank]

When Travelling within an EU ports without visiting a non EU port

The UBP Pre purchased prior to boarding did not incur any VAT on drinks purchased

however if you purchase the UBP whilst on board then VAT was added to each drink.

 

All drinks incurred Service charge which was included in the price of the UBP.

[mabones]

This has probably been answered but here goes. I booked on the Escape for December 2016 & chose the UBP in February of this year. I have verified with my Consultant that when we booked nothing will change. I will not have to pay the 18% Gratuities because they were incorporated into the package at that time. The new change with the increased beverage amount from $11 to $15 will also apply. We have the best of both worlds!!

[Jbrattoncruise]

I don't know about the beverage package but you are able to pre-order Purified Water - 12 Pack for only $2.99. It is waiting for you in the room wrapped in a red bow and saves you from carrying it on.

 

 

 

Was this a joke? According the the NCL website the prices are quite a bit higher than $2.99. Have a look for yourself, http://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/bottled-water-packages

[Demonyte]

Does the Carnival beverage package included water? I think that would be a cruise line more in line with NCL, then Celebrity is.

 

I don't know about the beverage package but you are able to pre-order Purified Water - 12 Pack for only $2.99. It is waiting for you in the room wrapped in a red bow and saves you from carrying it on.

 

Was this a joke? According the the NCL website the prices are quite a bit higher than $2.99. Have a look for yourself, http://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/bottled-water-packages

 

If you read the post that was a reply to (I quoted them both for your convinience), they are talking about Carnival, not NCL.

[cubsfan2008]

Holy &*#@, 40 bucks for 12pack waters. I pay 2.50 for a 32 pack of bottled water locally (Niagara). So I pay a little less than 8 cents a bottle while NCL gouges at 3.33 a bottle. That's higher than 42x retail price. That is worse than the 4x price of the alcohol bottles to your room price.

Edited September 28, 2015 by cubsfan2008

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Holy &*#@, 40 bucks for 12pack waters. I pay 2.50 for a 32 pack of bottled water locally (Niagara). So I pay a little less than 8 cents a bottle while NCL gouges at 3.33 a bottle. That's higher than 42x retail price. That is worse than the 4x price of the alcohol bottles to your room price.

 

I'm not defending NCL's pricing, but the water they are selling are 12 packs of 1 liter bottles of Aquafina, not 8-12oz big box brand 32 pack. If you compare the retail cost of a 12 pack of 1 liter bottles of Aquafina (which should run $12.99-14.99 + tax at a big box store) we see that NCL are selling these at about a 3-4 times markup including their 18% "service charge", which is about right for the hospitality industry. RCCL sell 12 packs of 1 liter bottles of Evian for $47 including service charge, so NCL is in line with their peers on this one.

 

The $2.99 12 packs Carnival are selling are 16 oz bottles of "Carnival" branded water (most likely Crystal Geyser). Those 12 packs are sold for $4.99 once onboard. This special price was done to appease cruisers used to bringing on their own water, which Carnival no longer allows. I fully expectt the price to increase within the year to at least $5.99-6.99, and again within a year of that to somewhere around $7.99-8.99. The great deal will NOT last for long.

Edited September 28, 2015 by AtlantaCruiser72

[JuneauMe]

 

What I am waiting for clarification about is how they will handle people who have booked further out, like for 2016/2017. If you already have the promotional UBP on your booking, any applicable service charges are already listed in your cruise invoice to be paid by your final payment date. Is that all they mean by "paying" the gratuities? In which case, the UBP price increase does not affect any existing UBP bookings. Or do they actually require people to pay those service charges with a credit card by October 1st, otherwise NCL will issue them a new invoice with higher charges?

I called my PCC about this because I was also confused. He told me that anyone who has already booked has there price protected. As you said, there is no way to pre pay the UBP grats, so somebody is just posting a prank with that "0fficial NCL statement" :rolleyes:

[queenschick9b]

I called my PCC about this because I was also confused. He told me that anyone who has already booked has there price protected. As you said, there is no way to pre pay the UBP grats, so somebody is just posting a prank with that "0fficial NCL statement" :rolleyes:

 

 

I had to pre-pay my 18% grat on the perk when I purchased my fare.

[Linda the Book Lover]

I had to pre-pay my 18% grat on the perk when I purchased my fare.

 

It depends on when you booked and received your promo. We booked over a year ago and we also do not have to pay the 18%.

[JuneauMe]

I had to pre-pay my 18% grat on the perk when I purchased my fare.

 

How? Mine show on my invoice, but there is no option for pre paying them.

I know you can pay your DSC

Edited September 28, 2015 by JuneauMe

[queenschick9b]

How? Mine show on my invoice, but there is no option for pre paying them.

I know you can pay your DSC

 

 

I guess it was when I booked it- I had no choice it was just added to my balance.

[cubsfan2008]

I'm not defending NCL's pricing, but the water they are selling are 12 packs of 1 liter bottles of Aquafina, not 8-12oz big box brand 32 pack. If you compare the retail cost of a 12 pack of 1 liter bottles of Aquafina (which should run $12.99-14.99 + tax at a big box store) we see that NCL are selling these at about a 3-4 times markup including their 18% "service charge", which is about right for the hospitality industry. RCCL sell 12 packs of 1 liter bottles of Evian for $47 including service charge, so NCL is in line with their peers on this one.

 

The $2.99 12 packs Carnival are selling are 16 oz bottles of "Carnival" branded water (most likely Crystal Geyser). Those 12 packs are sold for $4.99 once onboard. This special price was done to appease cruisers used to bringing on their own water, which Carnival no longer allows. I fully expectt the price to increase within the year to at least $5.99-6.99, and again within a year of that to somewhere around $7.99-8.99. The great deal will NOT last for long.

 

Thanks. At least at 1L it brings it more in line with the other pricing. I was thinking basic 16oz bottles and was floored lol. Makes better sense now.

[LMaxwell]

Thanks. At least at 1L it brings it more in line with the other pricing. I was thinking basic 16oz bottles and was floored lol. Makes better sense now.

 

It's friggin' water. thanks for reminding me about the great Carnival deal; just ordered two for my December carnival cruise.

 

I too am booked on the Escape and booked before there were any additional charged on UBP, so I am not expecting anything to change.

[Selluks]

Where did you read that? Beers are around $6, $7 with tip. Here are some photos of the temporary bar menu introduced last March, when they raised all the prices. (The prices have stayed the same since then, as far as I know.)

 

Is that still the menu all over or did they bring back the old menus with updated prices?

[House_Atreides]

Hi everyone

 

I talked with my PCC this morning. I asked about the increase to $15.00 and he said as of today, no...it's still at $11.50 per drink. As far as the 18% it did not apply to me as I had booked the cruise before the gratuity charges came out.

 

I was concerned about VAT charges because my next cruise leaves from Barcelona, however my concerns were allievated when I was told as long as I got the UBP when I purchased the cruise there would be no VAT charges. I will, however, look at my folio at the end of the day to make sure that this is the case.:confused:

[LMaxwell]

Hi everyone

 

I talked with my PCC this morning. I asked about the increase to $15.00 and he said as of today, no...it's still at $11.50 per drink. As far as the 18% it did not apply to me as I had booked the cruise before the gratuity charges came out.

 

I was concerned about VAT charges because my next cruise leaves from Barcelona, however my concerns were allievated when I was told as long as I got the UBP when I purchased the cruise there would be no VAT charges. I will, however, look at my folio at the end of the day to make sure that this is the case.:confused:

 

Are you saying that if drink prices increase next month along with the increase in UBP price, if you already have a UBP from a promo it will only cover up to $11.50 (I thought it was $11), even though many of the cocktails could be over that point? So UBP would basically be like caps and corks but with house brand spirits included?

 

I thought this seemed simple enough but the more I read the more confusing it becomes.

[wmwmarmstrong]

It's friggin' water. thanks for reminding me about the great Carnival deal; just ordered two for my December carnival cruise.

 

I too am booked on the Escape and booked before there were any additional charged on UBP, so I am not expecting anything to change.

 

You are welcome. It is a great deal and I will enjoy as long as it lasts. No "service charge" is added!

[asrivas]

I called my PCC about this because I was also confused. He told me that anyone who has already booked has there price protected. As you said, there is no way to pre pay the UBP grats, so somebody is just posting a prank with that "0fficial NCL statement" :rolleyes:

Same experience. We are booked on the spirit 5/19/2016 and have a UBP promo. Called ncl and was told that the initial price would be protected and that there was no need to pay anything at this point. The invoice had been raised and we need to pay as per usual schedule. We only paid the $400 pp initial booking amount.

 

Sent from my SM-G850Y using Tapatalk

[abe3]

Same experience. We are booked on the spirit 5/19/2016 and have a UBP promo. Called ncl and was told that the initial price would be protected and that there was no need to pay anything at this point. The invoice had been raised and we need to pay as per usual schedule. We only paid the $400 pp initial booking amount.

 

Sent from my SM-G850Y using Tapatalk

 

 

Nothing to worry about as usual. People all worked up about rumors and all you have to do is call NCL and get the answer. Thanks for calling NCL and reporting back.

[LrgPizza]

Are you saying that if drink prices increase next month along with the increase in UBP price, if you already have a UBP from a promo it will only cover up to $11.50 (I thought it was $11), even though many of the cocktails could be over that point? So UBP would basically be like caps and corks but with house brand spirits included?

 

I thought this seemed simple enough but the more I read the more confusing it becomes.

It's only confusing because people are posting a lot of crap information. It's going to work the exact same way the last 2 UBP price increases have worked. Those already booked with promo or who already bought the package will benefit from the higher drink limit, but have no changes to their costs. End of story.

[hawkeyetlse]

Is that still the menu all over or did they bring back the old menus with updated prices?

They quickly brought back the full menus specific to each bar, with the new prices. Eventually they will move to digital menus, so they can change the prices as often as they like. :p

[punkincc]

Hi everyone

 

I talked with my PCC this morning. I asked about the increase to $15.00 and he said as of today, no...it's still at $11.50 per drink. As far as the 18% it did not apply to me as I had booked the cruise before the gratuity charges came out.

 

I was concerned about VAT charges because my next cruise leaves from Barcelona, however my concerns were allievated when I was told as long as I got the UBP when I purchased the cruise there would be no VAT charges. I will, however, look at my folio at the end of the day to make sure that this is the case.:confused:

 

Well, we all know that PCCs are never wrong about anything.:rolleyes:. The information he gave you has two glaring errors, so I would not put too much faith in his answer. The current max limit on drinks is $11, not $11.50. And I would advise you to read the Terms and Conditions for the UBP, which state "your check may reflect applicable VAT for certain ports or itineraries".

 

If and when the "official" announcement comes out, the PCC will have the info, just like the rest of us.

[hawkeyetlse]

The information he gave you has two glaring errors, so I would not put too much faith in his answer. The current max limit on drinks is $11, not $11.50. And I would advise you to read the Terms and Conditions for the UBP, which state "your check may reflect applicable VAT for certain ports or itineraries".

The $11.50 is slightly wrong (but maybe the poster misheard, or simply mistyped it here). But what the PCC said about VAT is fully consistent with the text you quoted (which basically says nothing about any specific cruise), and it also matches what people have reported for cruises out of Barcelona this season (including Western Med sailings that do not leave the EU VAT area). Edited September 29, 2015 by hawkeyetlse