Drink Promotion...Again

[roger001]

Yea...I know. But I wanted to say my two cents worth abut this. I'm a fan of NCL, having cruised with them 15 times and two more booked. I was booking yet another today. I tried applying the UDP when booking. Ridiculous. This was for a 14 day PC cruise. If I selected the "free" drink promotion,. it was going to cost me an additional $562 dollars. The "service charge" associated with the drink package was $322 and it then bumped me off the AARP price for the cruise, costing me an additional $240.

 

Now...NCL, I love you. But let's get a little more honest in this "what a good deal" advertising you keep posting. This is offensive and really hurts customer goodwill. My opinion. And yea....I know this is a rehash. But I now feel better.

[LrgPizza]

It's still a great deal for me because paying just the gratuities on the drink packages is significantly cheaper than paying the price of the drink package plus the gratuities. I know not everyone generally uses the drink package though, so in your case, I wouldn't select it. Sorry it isn't working out.

[Vacationlover2]

I may be wrong but I think if you call NCL you can have them apply your AARP rate. Sometimes things just don't work online.

[DGP1111]

I'm not sure why the promotion name drops off on the line offering the AARP pricing, but I know it does . . . happened to me several times as well.

 

Call your personal cruise consultant, or the general NCL line if you don't have one, and they can 'bump' you back to having the promotion with AARP pricing . . . as long as you meet the 9-month caveat for that discount.

 

Have a good cruise!!

:)

 

.

[roger001]

I may be wrong but I think if you call NCL you can have them apply your AARP rate. Sometimes things just don't work online.

 

Good idea. If I got the AARP price back, then, on 14 day the drinks still might be cheaper even with the "service charge".

[hawkeyetlse]

If you are still interested in booking, you might consider calling NCL and seeing if the rep can find a way to combine the UBP promo and the AARP price. It's totally up to NCL to decide which promos are stackable, so you never know.

 

I would also say that I would never consider buying the UBP for a 14-day cruise at the regular price (14 × $64 + 18% = $1060 :eek:). But if they offered to sell it to me for $280, which is basically what they are telling you (the charges you mentioned were for 2 people, right?), I would be all over it.

[deladypilot]

We booked the Escape and got the AARP & Drink package but had to call our PCC. It is kind of a pain if you wish you book online but the few extra dollars saved by making the call was worth it.

 

Good luck. Let us know what happens

[roger001]

We go through a TA who does a great job for us. I'll have her do the booking and get the AARP back. We don't' drink a bunch, but on 14 days, the "free" $322 cost will still be a better deal than not.

[cliffd64]

Yea...I know. But I wanted to say my two cents worth abut this. I'm a fan of NCL, having cruised with them 15 times and two more booked. I was booking yet another today. I tried applying the UDP when booking. Ridiculous. This was for a 14 day PC cruise. If I selected the "free" drink promotion,. it was going to cost me an additional $562 dollars. The "service charge" associated with the drink package was $322 and it then bumped me off the AARP price for the cruise, costing me an additional $240.

 

Now...NCL, I love you. But let's get a little more honest in this "what a good deal" advertising you keep posting. This is offensive and really hurts customer goodwill. My opinion. And yea....I know this is a rehash. But I now feel better.

 

How is it not a good deal for you if the total cost of the package you are getting for free is $1792 for the two of you? If you purchased it outright, guess what... you STILL would have to pay the gratuity charge so that is a wash. The $322 would have to have been paid whether you were paying for it or getting as a promo.

 

I don't know about you, but 23 dollars a day for two people to have free drinks (as many as they want) is a deal I would take any day of the week!

[roger001]

We go through a TA who does a great job for us. I'll have her do the booking and get the AARP back. We don't' drink a bunch, but on 14 days, the "free" $322 cost will still be a better deal than not.

 

TA got the AARP price, got the drink package with the drink service charge reduced to only $100 (same as if NCL had thrown in a $222 OBC), and the TA tossed in $225 OBC. So, now we've got 3 more cruises booked. Now, sit back a watch the prices go up ....or down maybe.

[Jane Don]

Yea...I know. But I wanted to say my two cents worth abut this. I'm a fan of NCL, having cruised with them 15 times and two more booked. I was booking yet another today. I tried applying the UDP when booking. Ridiculous. This was for a 14 day PC cruise. If I selected the "free" drink promotion,. it was going to cost me an additional $562 dollars. The "service charge" associated with the drink package was $322 and it then bumped me off the AARP price for the cruise, costing me an additional $240.

 

Now...NCL, I love you. But let's get a little more honest in this "what a good deal" advertising you keep posting. This is offensive and really hurts customer goodwill. My opinion. And yea....I know this is a rehash. But I now feel better.

 

If you book through the UK site you don't pay the 18%. Furthermore, the posted price includes all taxes and port fees. It is well worth it to do a mock booking to determine if it is cheaper.

[hawkeyetlse]

TA got the AARP price, got the drink package with the drink service charge reduced to only $100 (same as if NCL had thrown in a $222 OBC), and the TA tossed in $225 OBC. So, now we've got 3 more cruises booked. Now, sit back a watch the prices go up ....or down maybe.

I'm glad you got a good deal, but if you were already planning to go through your TA, I wonder why you were so angry about the mock booking on the website? Is this the first time in 18 bookings you have come across limitations in the online reservation system when it comes to combining promos?

[roger001]

I'm glad you got a good deal, but if you were already planning to go through your TA, I wonder why you were so angry about the mock booking on the website? Is this the first time in 18 bookings you have come across limitations in the online reservation system when it comes to combining promos?

 

 

 

Yep...yep...yep. Sure is. First time, in the many I've researched...or booked, that it bumped me off the AARP price. But then....this drink promotion wasn't available when I "mock booked" those many times. I always do my own research, make my own selections, do it all.........then turn my selections over to my TA who then books and gets whatever additional she can when doing so. And....it could be that your European bookings with NCL respond differently on their web site than does the US booking. Go figure.

Edited October 19, 2015 by roger001

[missintuitive]

OP: I'm glad that it all worked out in the end for you:)

 

Is paying the gratuity on the drink package a better deal than paying for the drink package + the gratuity? YES!!! Is it "free" as advertised? NO!!! It's discounted but it definitely isn't free. The free* is just a marketing tool to get folks interested and clicking the banners. After that, you'll have to read the fine print. Loving math the way I do, its an insult to my mathematical mind. Free = $0 any number times 0 is 0!! 64*.18*7 (days) is a number that is more than 0 but much less than "full price." It's about 85% less. I think that saying that customers receive 85% off of the price of the regular drink package is just as effective as claiming that it's free*. That way it doesn't come off a "slick" marketing.

 

Full disclaimer: Personally, would never pay NCL the full price they are asking for the drink package since its limited without coffee and smoothies like the other lines. Plus all in the room would have to sign up and I don't always travel with drinkers. However, I will enjoy my UBP this time because I managed to book the deal when it was truly free...and made sure it was documented on my paperwork.

[Crusin6]

TA got the AARP price, got the drink package with the drink service charge reduced to only $100 (same as if NCL had thrown in a $222 OBC), and the TA tossed in $225 OBC. So, now we've got 3 more cruises booked. Now, sit back a watch the prices go up ....or down maybe.

 

 

Ok so you basically have just proven that a better price can be had by using a TA

 

I always do and always get a better price than the ncl online. I watch the prices likes a hawk btw

 

 

Fwiw....imho since the ncl IT Dept is not very competent......as recently proven in past months.....I would being making a phone call these days...be it to my TA....a PCP...or whomever....before booking anything on ncl

 

Just sayin

 

 

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[Vacationlover2]

Do you actually have to be 50 to get aarp? My hubby is 49. We want to book a cruise now for April 2017 when he will be 51

 

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[hawkeyetlse]

Ok so you basically have just proven that a better price can be had by using a TA

That's part of it, but there is also no reason for the website to take away the AARP rate once you select the UBP promo, since NCL does actually allow them to be combined. Of course an experienced NCL cruiser knows that the best deals are to be had through a TA, but a newcomer will start a mock booking, see how the offer keeps changing from screen to screen, and just walk away to another cruise line.

 

If they can't get their online booking system to handle special rates and promotions correctly, they should remove those options and tell people upfront to call NCL or their TA instead.

[Moby0215]

OP: I'm glad that it all worked out in the end for you:)

 

 

 

Is paying the gratuity on the drink package a better deal than paying for the drink package + the gratuity? YES!!! Is it "free" as advertised? NO!!! It's discounted but it definitely isn't free. The free* is just a marketing tool to get folks interested and clicking the banners. After that, you'll have to read the fine print. Loving math the way I do, its an insult to my mathematical mind. Free = $0 any number times 0 is 0!! 64*.18*7 (days) is a number that is more than 0 but much less than "full price." It's about 85% less. I think that saying that customers receive 85% off of the price of the regular drink package is just as effective as claiming that it's free*. That way it doesn't come off a "slick" marketing.

 

 

 

Full disclaimer: Personally, would never pay NCL the full price they are asking for the drink package since its limited without coffee and smoothies like the other lines. Plus all in the room would have to sign up and I don't always travel with drinkers. However, I will enjoy my UBP this time because I managed to book the deal when it was truly free...and made sure it was documented on my paperwork.

 

 

You are wrong in your rationale. It is absolutely free. Similar to if you had a coupon for a free meal from a restaurant. You go to said restaurant, sit down, are waited on, check comes, price is zero, but you still have to tip your waitress. Same concept here.

 

 

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[Jane Don]

Do you actually have to be 50 to get aarp? My hubby is 49. We want to book a cruise now for April 2017 when he will be 51

 

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Nope, I am 42 and had it for about 10 years. I like to travel :p

[Vacationlover2]

Oh. So I can get it? I am 45. That's so weird

 

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[Jane Don]

Oh. So I can get it? I am 45. That's so weird

 

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I just tried a mock membership with my real age and it worked.

 

https://appsec.aarp.org/MSS/join/application?keycode=UABMBC1&EWHERE-MBCHAE-MEM-BB1-RL1

Edited October 19, 2015 by Jane Don

[Demonyte]

You are wrong in your rationale. It is absolutely free. Similar to if you had a coupon for a free meal from a restaurant. You go to said restaurant, sit down, are waited on, check comes, price is zero, but you still have to tip your waitress. Same concept here.

 

Better comparison can be found directly from cruise industry: when 3rd and up sail "free", they still have to pay service charges, port fees&taxes, etc. Price of the cruise is still zero, just like price of an included drink is zero with this free UBP (unless one has to pay some taxes).

[missintuitive]

Better comparison can be found directly from cruise industry: when 3rd and up sail "free", they still have to pay service charges, port fees&taxes, etc. Price of the cruise is still zero, just like price of an included drink is zero with this free UBP (unless one has to pay some taxes).

 

I get the point but adding a service charge means that it really isn't free. Taxes are different. There are no taxes charged on the open sea so that goes out the window (unless you're still in port). Technically, service fees and gratuities for house keeping are discretionary...the UBP service fees and gratuities are mandatory. At a restaurant, I have an option to adjust up or down based on the level of service...not so with UBP. I would put really good money on it that the bar tenders are not receiving all the money from the gratuities. Which still means its not free.

[Moby0215]

I get the point but adding a service charge means that it really isn't free. Taxes are different. There are no taxes charged on the open sea so that goes out the window (unless you're still in port). Technically, service fees and gratuities for house keeping are discretionary...the UBP service fees and gratuities are mandatory. At a restaurant, I have an option to adjust up or down based on the level of service...not so with UBP. I would put really good money on it that the bar tenders are not receiving all the money from the gratuities. Which still means its not free.

 

Service Charge/Gratuity/Tip...Whatever you want to call it...Needs to be paid whether or not the actual package is free or not. Do you just expect the bartender to work for free??? Whether or not you believe that the money actually goes to the bartenders is irrelevant to the fact that you still need to pay the tip. I don't get how you people cannot see that the package and the gratuities are 2 separate items and the package can be free but the gratuities are not. It boils down to if you don't think it is a good deal to only have to pay the 18% for all you can drink then you would be better suited to pick a different promo.

[roger001]

The fixed amount gratuity service fee on a 14 day cruise is $23 a day. That amount would equate to two persons drinking $130 worth of drinks each day, every day of the cruise. At an average price of mixed drinks, that would be about 6 to 7 drinks each, each day. We consume about half that amount. So NCL collects about twice the gratuity amount we would normally pay. Realizing some folks will far, far, far exceed our drinking amount, then your mileage may vary. Even with our amount of drinking, the promotional package is certainly a good deal. However, advertising it as free....it ain't.