Extra Expenses

[Wngsfan]

I have been reading many negative threads regarding NCL and all the extra fees. I have already paid for everything upfront.....including gratuities, UBP, SDP, gratuities, excursions etc.

 

Unless I were to use the spa facilities, go into the casino or purchase something in the gift shop, is it not possible to incur zero additional charges?

 

After prepaying everything, I am assuming that we will have a very minimal bill at the end of our cruise. I guess I just don't understand why other people complain so much when everything is explained at the time of booking, and most things can be purchased ahead of time. Am I missing something?

 

This will be our first ever cruise and we plan on having a great time, meeting new friends, and at the end of it all, we will have many memories with little or no additional fees incurred.

[tel2]

I have been reading many negative threads regarding NCL and all the extra fees. I have already paid for everything upfront.....including gratuities, UBP, SDP, gratuities, excursions etc.

 

Unless I were to use the spa facilities, go into the casino or purchase something in the gift shop, is it not possible to incur zero additional charges?

 

After prepaying everything, I am assuming that we will have a very minimal bill at the end of our cruise. I guess I just don't understand why other people complain so much when everything is explained at the time of booking, and most things can be purchased ahead of time. Am I missing something?

 

This will be our first ever cruise and we plan on having a great time, meeting new friends, and at the end of it all, we will have many memories with little or no additional fees incurred.

 

If you order room service (except limited continental breakfast), go to add'l pay restaurants, go to pay restaurants that aren't included in your package, order upcharge items that aren't included in your package, order double entrees at pay restaurants (only one entre per person), play bingo, order bottles of wine, order premium liquors not included on your package, use things in the mini-bar, go to spa, bowl, play video games, go to ice bar, you will incur additional expenses. if you don't, you will not.

 

I have had bills that exceeded a thousand dollars, and I have also had bills that were under 100. dollars. It is all about choices, and I like deciding what I want to pay for.

 

Terry

 

Terry

[flowers44]

Yes, you should come off the ship with a very small balance if you have prepaid all of your extras. DH and I have left the ship several times with less that $25 on our OBC. The only thing you might want to check on is if the 18% gratuity is covered by your UBP and SDP. I seem to remember on this board that they are now adding 18% onto the drinks that you are served and the dinners at the specialty restaurants. Not sure but you might want to check that out. NCL changed that on reservations made after March 2015 to not include the gratuity. Maybe someone who has had these two packages lately can give you the answer.

[hugocruiser]

I have been reading many negative threads regarding NCL and all the extra fees. I have already paid for everything upfront.....including gratuities, UBP, SDP, gratuities, excursions etc.

 

Unless I were to use the spa facilities, go into the casino or purchase something in the gift shop, is it not possible to incur zero additional charges?

 

After prepaying everything, I am assuming that we will have a very minimal bill at the end of our cruise. I guess I just don't understand why other people complain so much when everything is explained at the time of booking, and most things can be purchased ahead of time. Am I missing something?

 

This will be our first ever cruise and we plan on having a great time, meeting new friends, and at the end of it all, we will have many memories with little or no additional fees incurred.

 

Yes you can! We had a wonderful time on our last cruise and walked off with bill that was less than $5. The only charges we inured were taxes for our drinks while in port Canaveral. If you choose to utilize only the free things, which there are plenty you can have a wonderful time without extra charges. Had I not needed a few Corona's before we set sale I would have had no additional charges.

[LrgPizza]

Yes, you can very easily end your cruise owing nothing, or close to nothing. We've done that before. Like you we take care of specialty dining, beverages, gratuities before we leave. That leaves basically nothing, unless we get something in the gift shop or buy a future cruise reward. We don't use the spa, don't play bingo, etc.

[LrgPizza]

The only thing you might want to check on is if the 18% gratuity is covered by your UBP and SDP. I seem to remember on this board that they are now adding 18% onto the drinks that you are served and the dinners at the specialty restaurants. Not sure but you might want to check that out. NCL changed that on reservations made after March 2015 to not include the gratuity. Maybe someone who has had these two packages lately can give you the answer.

Not correct. No one with the package, whether purchased or received as a promo, ever has to pay gratuities on board. They either pay them at the time the package is purchased, received them included with the promo, or paid them at the time of final cruise payment if they received a promo and gratuities weren't included. Edited February 22, 2016 by LrgPizza

[hugocruiser]

Yes, you should come off the ship with a very small balance if you have prepaid all of your extras. DH and I have left the ship several times with less that $25 on our OBC. The only thing you might want to check on is if the 18% gratuity is covered by your UBP and SDP. I seem to remember on this board that they are now adding 18% onto the drinks that you are served and the dinners at the specialty restaurants. Not sure but you might want to check that out. NCL changed that on reservations made after March 2015 to not include the gratuity. Maybe someone who has had these two packages lately can give you the answer.

 

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this, so let me help explain. The gratuity is charged on the price of the package not each drink. If you receive the package for free as a promo, your only cost are the gratuity based on the price of the package had you paid for it, which are added to your bill that is due at final payment time not while on the ship. The exception to this is if you actually received the package completely for free which they were offering a year or so back then your gratuities were included in the Free package.

[hugocruiser]

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this, so let me help explain. The gratuity is charged on the price of the package not each drink. If you receive the package for free as a promo, your only cost are the gratuity based on the price of the package had you paid for it, which are added to your bill that is due at final payment time not while on the ship. The exception to this is if you actually received the package completely for free which they were offering a year or so back then your gratuities were included in the Free package.

 

Attached is a snip of the confirmation which will show you how the gratuities are charged. They are listed as bev service charge (UBP) and dine service charge (UDP)

[flowers44]

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this, so let me help explain. The gratuity is charged on the price of the package not each drink. If you receive the package for free as a promo, your only cost are the gratuity based on the price of the package had you paid for it, which are added to your bill that is due at final payment time not while on the ship. The exception to this is if you actually received the package completely for free which they were offering a year or so back then your gratuities were included in the Free package.

 

Thanks for clearing up the 18% gratuity. I have not personally sail on NCL since they started offering the UBP as a choice when booking. I was not sure how the gratuity worked. Thanks again, for clearing that up.

[hugocruiser]

No problem! There has been a lot of confusion regarding this on multiple boards, I don't think NCL has done a good job at explaining how it works b

[Demonyte]

I guess I just don't understand why other people complain so much when everything is explained at the time of booking, and most things can be purchased ahead of time. Am I missing something?

 

Yes, you are missing a lot actually. NCL's holding company merged with a company owning two other (smaller) cruise lines in 2014 and the top management staff was almost completely replaced. New head honcho hired his family and close friends in management positions and started making a lot of changes.

 

During last year (2015) there were dozens of changes, almost none of them benefiting and many adding extra costs for the customer, and people that had booked their cruises well in advance got very different product than the one they originally purchased. Not to mention that NCL's communication was abysmal and many people found out about the changes from here (only a small minority of cruise passengers even know about CC) or only after getting onboard.

 

For example we usually book our cruises at least a year in advance (our next cruise was booked over two years in advance) so having that many changes and extra costs within such short time period is just unacceptable for me.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Demonyte

[2hearted]

Most (not all) of the people that complain about the extra costs are those who don't do much if any research. Sounds like the OP did his/hers.

[Seatbelt_Bag_LOVE]

Reading all the threads before my first NCL cruise, I was concerned about how much "extra costs" could add up. Our final bill was $125. I'll break it down for you... $25 was tax on drinks while we were still in Miami. I must sound like an alcoholic! But really once the bartenders realized my friends, husband and i all had UBP, they would use one card for all the drinks. $60 was for deal or no deal & pull tabs. The rest was bowling, photo booth & gift shop. Seriously much less incidental charges than when I am on a land vacation!

[vicocala]

The real hidden costs of cruising aren't on the ship, they are off the ship. Travel, hotel rooms, gas, parking, tolls, dining in transit, all are factors that need to be included in your budget. It sounds like common sense, but these factors can cost as much as the cruise itself, depending on distance and destination of course. Another big hidden factor is incidentals purchased for the cruise (new wardrobe, hair/nails, sunglasses, lotions, etc.).