Another reason to stay with Princess

[timtrek]

That's what I get for shopping around.....

 

My wife and I were looking for a short cruise next April to celebrate our Birthdays on and I decided to take a quick look at a Big Box TA to see what was available on the West Coast. I saw a very low price on a 5 day out of Los Angeles on NCL. $399 seemed very reasonable to me for an Ocean View with a "window" rather than a porthole, so I did a test booking. The price quote was over $1300. I thought there must be something wrong. So, I went to the NCL website and found the same cruise and same price for the ocean view I wanted. Then I saw they were offering 2 "freebies" which I had to choose. I picked Free Dinning and Free Drinks, continued the booking and then found where that extra $100 pp fee came from. I was paying a service fee for the freebies. Huh - Princess never did this (please dont get any ideas Princess, I like it the way it is). When I priced it out it appeared I was paying the gratuities for the drinks and dinning. I googled the issue and found it was what I had thought.

 

I even went to the NCL CC forum and found all the threads about this issue. It seems if I want the low price, I couldnt take the "freebies". Then I remembered with the current Sip and Sail if you dont take the drinks, you get a OBC credit (in my mind this evens out the price hike a bit). Not so on NCL. At least when Princess raises the price of a cruise prior to a sale I know what I am getting. I would rather know up front than get hit with a service fee for something I am given for "free"

 

This is probably not news to most of you, but it really surprised me. So, looks like we are celebrating another set of Birthdays with Princess. :)

[Krozulo]

I found the same thing when I was looking at HAL and comparing a Hawaii cruise at the same time as Princess' Hawaii cruise. There was some "promotion" going on with HAL and if you wanted it then you had to pay extra. I don't remember what the promotion was now; I decided against HAL for other reasons.

[Lucky TGO]

Good for you it's always good to save $$$. Happy Birthday!!! and have a great cruise.

Tony

[Happy2cruise]

Just want to say enjoy your birthday cruise...great way to celebrate:D

[MrMan]

If you get a comped meal at a restaurant don't you tip on the retail price of the meal. Don't really understand the issue. Were you expecting not to tip on the bar tab

[Rosethorn40]

If you get a comped meal at a restaurant don't you tip on the retail price of the meal. Don't really understand the issue. Were you expecting not to tip on the bar tab

 

The Promo on NCL says "Free Drinks" and "Specialty Dining." If it was truly free the gratuities would be included as well (And if you book one of their Haven Suites the gratuities are included into the "free" promos-built into the price of the suite).

 

When dining at a specialty restaurant on board a ship I have always included a tip, even though it does feel a bit like tipping twice; I paid a daily gratuity with my auto tips that should take care of the dining staff since I am eating in a specialty restaurant rather than the main dining room. For the record I tip based on what I estimate the meal would cost in a land based restaurant rather than the fee charged.

[riclop]

That's what I get for shopping around.....

 

My wife and I were looking for a short cruise next April to celebrate our Birthdays on and I decided to take a quick look at a Big Box TA to see what was available on the West Coast. I saw a very low price on a 5 day out of Los Angeles on NCL. $399 seemed very reasonable to me for an Ocean View with a "window" rather than a porthole, so I did a test booking. The price quote was over $1300. I thought there must be something wrong. So, I went to the NCL website and found the same cruise and same price for the ocean view I wanted. Then I saw they were offering 2 "freebies" which I had to choose. I picked Free Dinning and Free Drinks, continued the booking and then found where that extra $100 pp fee came from. I was paying a service fee for the freebies. Huh - Princess never did this (please dont get any ideas Princess, I like it the way it is). When I priced it out it appeared I was paying the gratuities for the drinks and dinning. I googled the issue and found it was what I had thought.

 

I even went to the NCL CC forum and found all the threads about this issue. It seems if I want the low price, I couldnt take the "freebies". Then I remembered with the current Sip and Sail if you dont take the drinks, you get a OBC credit (in my mind this evens out the price hike a bit). Not so on NCL. At least when Princess raises the price of a cruise prior to a sale I know what I am getting. I would rather know up front than get hit with a service fee for something I am given for "free"

 

This is probably not news to most of you, but it really surprised me. So, looks like we are celebrating another set of Birthdays with Princess. :)

 

You need to find a better TA.

[caribill]

When dining at a specialty restaurant on board a ship I have always included a tip, even though it does feel a bit like tipping twice; I paid a daily gratuity with my auto tips that should take care of the dining staff

 

Correct.

 

The specialty restaurant staff are included in sharing the daily "auto-tip".

 

So if you pay an extra tip there, you are indeed tipping twice. Many people feel the service there deserves it.

[easyboy]

That's what I get for shopping around.....

 

This is probably not news to most of you, but it really surprised me. So, looks like we are celebrating another set of Birthdays with Princess. :)

Good to know. Enjoy the birthday celebration on your cruise!

[GUT2407]

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Love Princess.