which of the 5 offers on ncl escape is best

[Kath2me]

i took the food and beverage,, but now wondering how much is the wifi ? don't want excursions for sure, am handicap so won't be doing any of those :cool:

[billfish]

We always take the Beverage Package and the Specialty Dining . Don't know if it is the Best Value but it a nice match to the way we cruise ?

[ColinIllinois]

i took the food and beverage,, but now wondering how much is the wifi ? don't want excursions for sure, am handicap so won't be doing any of those :cool:

 

 

If you haven't done so already, click on the promos and read the Terms and Conditions of each individual promo. Their are restrictions and charges you should know about on the "free" promos.

[Kath2me]

If you haven't done so already, click on the promos and read the Terms and Conditions of each individual promo. Their are restrictions and charges you should know about on the "free" promos.

Sorry, not sure what restrictions and charges there might be, I prepaid the tips also, so what am i not seeing ?

[sanger727]

Sorry, not sure what restrictions and charges there might be, I prepaid the tips also, so what am i not seeing ?

 

 

 

The poster is referring to the fact that the UBP and SDP require you to pay a service charge. If you have already chosen those perks then you have already paid the service charge; but just from a value stand point it depends on how much you want those. Internet has retail cost higher than SDP and lower than UBP. But that doesn't mean it has more value for you than the SDP. The UBP has the highest value but since you have to pay a $14 pp pd service charge, its not worthwhile to some light drinkers.

 

 

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[garycarla]

Scroll down the page and there are a few threads about FREE not being FREE.

 

If you get the booze package, you still have 18% on top of that.

 

Still a good deal for some people. Not so good for others.

[Kath2me]

im very confused on this bev and dining deal, i thought that by prepaying, that was for the sc and tips. is that not correct ?

[Two Wheels Only]

im very confused on this bev and dining deal, i thought that by prepaying, that was for the sc and tips. is that not correct ?

 

If you take the promo (SDP/UBP), you can choose to tip in the restaurant or at the bar but it is not required. You are charged 18% before you board the ship but are not charged anything while on-board as long as you don't order anything outside of the promo.

[Nelsj099]

When you order a drink at most bars there will be no receipt with the UBP, unless you are in the solo lounge or something where everything needs to be counted every day. So, in this case, you could say that you have prepaid the tips on your drinks. When you go to a specialty dining location they will run your card after your meal and you will need to sign for it. There is an option of adding an additional tip. I did specialty dining all but one night on my last cruise and I only added a tip one night the others I had already paid the 18% on top of the cost of prepaying the dining package so I did not feel guilty when leaving no additional tip.

[sanger727]

im very confused on this bev and dining deal, i thought that by prepaying, that was for the sc and tips. is that not correct ?

 

 

 

If you book your cruise and take no perks you will pay the cruise fare, port fees and taxes, and a $13.95 pp pd daily service charge to cover your room steward and wait staff. If you take the UBP as a perk you will pay all that plus approx $14 pp pd as a gratuity to the bar staff. If you take the SDP you will pay a small add on gratuity to cover the specialty restaurant staff.

 

If you have already booked with the UBP and SDP, both of those have been added into your fare. If you go back now and remove one of those perks and take wifi instead, you will get the corresponding gratuity refunded. So no UBP means no UBP gratuity. You'll still have the daily service charge, which may or may not be prepaid on your booking.

 

So yes. At this point you would have pre-paid all the gratuities and if your daily grats are prepaid them those are covered as well. But you would be owed a gratuity refund if you took the UBP or SDP off now and switched them for wifi.

 

 

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[catsea]

If you take the promo (SDP/UBP), you can choose to tip in the restaurant or at the bar but it is not required. You are charged 18% before you board the ship but are not charged anything while on-board as long as you don't order anything outside of the promo.

 

I am confused about this 18% that everyone is talking about. 18% of what? I was thinking you meant 18% of what you drink but that wouldn't make sense and you say they charge you before? And that is separate from the $14 per day service charge, right? Also, what would be outside the promo and is it easy to order something like that on accident or is it all obvious or marked as such?

[Kfamilycruise]

I am confused about this 18% that everyone is talking about. 18% of what? I was thinking you meant 18% of what you drink but that wouldn't make sense and you say they charge you before? And that is separate from the $14 per day service charge, right? Also, what would be outside the promo and is it easy to order something like that on accident or is it all obvious or marked as such?

 

 

18% is what you are charged for the beverage package when you pick your perk and this is for "tips" for the drinks. This is different than the daily service charge which is charged to you per person per day on the cruise that goes toward the room steward, etc ...

 

For the beverage package, everything $15 and under is included. If you go over the $15 per drink cost, you'll be charged the difference between the $15 and the cost of your drink.

 

Does that make sense?

[catsea]

18% is what you are charged for the beverage package when you pick your perk and this is for "tips" for the drinks. This is different than the daily service charge which is charged to you per person per day on the cruise that goes toward the room steward, etc ...

 

For the beverage package, everything $15 and under is included. If you go over the $15 per drink cost, you'll be charged the difference between the $15 and the cost of your drink.

 

Does that make sense?

 

Yes thank you! Do you have any idea how much the 18% comes out to? Is it 18% of the cost of the beverage package if you were to buy it outside of the offers?

[Maverick61]

Yes thank you! Do you have any idea how much the 18% comes out to? Is it 18% of the cost of the beverage package if you were to buy it outside of the offers?

 

18% of the cost of the beverage package

 

As to what one is best - personal choice but if you drink virtually at all, the beverage package will likely be the most bang for the buck.

 

Myself I would never bother with the wifi package - when I am on vacation I want to unplug. But others may like it so you have to weigh what is important to you

[catsea]

18% of the cost of the beverage package

 

As to what one is best - personal choice but if you drink virtually at all, the beverage package will likely be the most bang for the buck.

 

Myself I would never bother with the wifi package - when I am on vacation I want to unplug. But others may like it so you have to weigh what is important to you

 

I agree it seems like an obvious choice to go for the beverage package, regardless of the fees. One of the best parts of being on a cruise is not having wifi or service, but I'm trying to plan my first solo cruise which would be the only reason I would consider wifi - so I could get in touch with my family if necessary. Still I doubt it would cost as much as drinks would.

[casofilia]

If it available we always choose the Discretionary Service Charge as our perk (Save c$14 a day) and it covers all tipping outside the suites. This is supposedly shared between all staff who deal with all passengers so does not go to bar staff nor specialty Restaurant staff who only deal with some of the pax.

 

If it is not we take the Specialty Dining Package on which we pay the 18% Service Charge

If we want a second we would take the Drinks Package on which we would have to pay the 18% Service Charge.

With both of the latter there is no need to tip further.

 

I have never heard anyone rave about the Shorex perk and the Internet one would be a last resort.

 

Mike

[Jana60]

i took the food and beverage,, but now wondering how much is the wifi ? don't want excursions for sure, am handicap so won't be doing any of those :cool:

The beverage package is by far the most expensive item that is offered so if you drink at all I would definitely keep that. But when prepaid gratuities is one of the choices that would be a better choice than the dining package because the prepaid gratuities for two people costs $186 for a 7 day cruise and there is no gratuity for it where as dining package only costs $81.42 per person ($162.82 for 2 people) if you purchase it separately and that price includes the gratuity unlike the dining package given "free".

 

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[sanger727]

Yes thank you! Do you have any idea how much the 18% comes out to? Is it 18% of the cost of the beverage package if you were to buy it outside of the offers?

 

 

 

Yes, it's 18% of the beverage package cost of $79 pp pd. Comes out to $14.22 pp pd, think the confusion is because both daily charges are approx $14. The DSC that everyone pays at $13.95 pp pd and the UBP service charge you pay if you get it as a perk at $14.22 pp pd.

 

 

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[Kath2me]

i called a ncl agent, just to assure myself, i def have the food and bev package, and my tips,SC have all been prepaid, I understand because 2 of us in the same room, they do upon arrival - checkin, the credit card we give them will get a 300.00 per cabin on it, if at the end of cruise i don't do anything that would be a charge , than my credit card won't get any charges on it... But LOL, don't really see that happening and thats ok, just want to have fun ( to a point ) and according to other forums i've read, periodically check my account for suspicious charges :confused:

[bob brown]

If it available we always choose the Discretionary Service Charge as our perk (Save c$14 a day) and it covers all tipping outside the suites. This is supposedly shared between all staff who deal with all passengers so does not go to bar staff nor specialty Restaurant staff who only deal with some of the pax.

 

If it is not we take the Specialty Dining Package on which we pay the 18% Service Charge

If we want a second we would take the Drinks Package on which we would have to pay the 18% Service Charge.

With both of the latter there is no need to tip further.

 

I have never heard anyone rave about the Shorex perk and the Internet one would be a last resort.

 

Mike

I would agree...the free DSC is by far the 'best value', as it is like giving you cash at full value...not the highly marked up value of the other perks....that is why they rarely offer that as one of the choices...

 

Also why they do not allow you to apply OBC to pay DSC...

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Only you can decide what's best. As others have said it depends on what's important to you. I drink very little so the beverage package isn't a deal for me (thought I do have it for my cruise next week because I'm cruising with a friend and I'm sure I'll be drinking more than usual. LOL). I have chosen the wifi before and that's a great deal for me because I cruise solo and keep in touch with my family. I understand a lot of people like to be disconnected when on vacation, but I wouldn't enjoy myself as much if I couldn't stay in touch, so it's important to me. One of the main reasons I cruise NCL is for the variety of dining options, so the SDP is something I frequently choose as well. These are "the best" for me, but something else will be best for someone with other priorities. I would never choose the shore excursion promo as I don't book excursions through the cruise line.

[catsea]

Is this promotion something that will be going away any time soon? I'm not sure if I want to book yet but I definitely don't want to miss out it's a great deal.

[bob brown]

Is this promotion something that will be going away any time soon? I'm not sure if I want to book yet but I definitely don't want to miss out it's a great deal.

It has been around for quite awhile now, but that's no guarantee, that it will stay on....sometimes the program 'ends', but then comes back a short time later, with the same or different perks...

[Pmorton3360]

I was looking at a solo and the dining package was 3 nights. I noticed because the gratuity added was so small.

 

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[snownow]

We always take the Beverage Package and the Specialty Dining . Don't know if it is the Best Value but it a nice match to the way we cruise ?

 

Same, The Wi-Fi is horrible and I vacation to get away from it.