What’s included on other lines that’s an extra charge on NCL?

[MyTMo777]

I have only sailed with NCL. I often read people saying that NCL “nickels & dimes” you to death. Because I have no experience with other lines for comparison, I’m curious to know: what exactly is included in other lines that NCL charges extra for?

[davekathy]

44 minutes ago, MyTMo777 said:

I have only sailed with NCL. I often read people saying that NCL “nickels & dimes” you to death. Because I have no experience with other lines for comparison, I’m curious to know: what exactly is included in other lines that NCL charges extra for?

List what you believe NCL charges extra for. 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, MyTMo777 said:

I have only sailed with NCL. I often read people saying that NCL “nickels & dimes” you to death. Because I have no experience with other lines for comparison, I’m curious to know: what exactly is included in other lines that NCL charges extra for?

I would have to say reasonably acceptable MDR food and service.  While all lines have cut back, NCL stands alone in badly served, poorly prepared, cheap food — in what I have to see as an intentional effort to boost sales in their alternative venues, of which they seem to have far more than other lines.

[lenquixote66]

I believe that NCL offers free ice cream while RCI only has soft serve.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We never use it, but room service had a $7.95 charge on our very recent Pearl cruise.  I know some others charge for that now too.  Otherwise I can't actually think of anything else.  Maybe selling pull tag prizes before shows?  Not many were buying.

 

The MDR was actually very good on the Pearl.  The buffet less so, with little variety, except at breakfast.

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I believe that NCL offers free ice cream while RCI only has soft serve.

Royal Caribbean has free regular ice cream in the MDR for meals, free soft serve on the pool deck, and "premium" ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's shop for a fee.

 

RCI also charges a $7.95 room service charge per delivery (order as much as you want).

[Heidi13]

Our cruise line of choice includes - all specialty restaurants, unlimited wi-fi, self-service laundry (including the soap), spa facitities, cabin service, drinks at lunch/dinner, ability to bring unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks aboard and will even open and serve you your bottles in a dining room/bar, included excursion in each port, resident historians, port fees, business class flights, transfers, etc. Our next cruise also include a drinks package, comp gratuities, baggage shipping pre-cruise and significant OBC.

 

In addition, they don't have annoying photogs, art auctions, shopping hosts, shoppies with tables blocking the alleyways peddling inches of gold and other junk.

 

We also receive exceptional service from waiters/waitresses that quickly greet you by name and the food in the MDR is both varied and edible.

 

The base fare may be higher, but the total cost is probably almost comparable.

[mjkacmom]

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Our cruise line of choice includes - all specialty restaurants, unlimited wi-fi, self-service laundry (including the soap), spa facitities, cabin service, drinks at lunch/dinner, ability to bring unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks aboard and will even open and serve you your bottles in a dining room/bar, included excursion in each port, resident historians, port fees, business class flights, transfers, etc. Our next cruise also include a drinks package, comp gratuities, baggage shipping pre-cruise and significant OBC.

 

In addition, they don't have annoying photogs, art auctions, shopping hosts, shoppies with tables blocking the alleyways peddling inches of gold and other junk.

 

We also receive exceptional service from waiters/waitresses that quickly greet you by name and the food in the MDR is both varied and edible.

 

The base fare may be higher, but the total cost is probably almost comparable.

But it appears, based on your description, that you don’t sail on one of the mass stream lines comparable to NCL, such as carnival or rcl.

[sparks1093]

All lines try to do their best to separate the passenger from their hard earned dollar and NCL appears to be the best at it. One example is they charge 20% gratuity for bar service versus 15% for CCl and 18% for Royal. NCL charges more for water and their drink package (yes, most people get it "free" but they still pay the 20% gratuity on the retail price which is about double what the other lines charge). Last I knew NCL charges a la carte pricing in the specialty restaurants, which probably costs the average passenger a bit more than set pricing (and of course some will save under that model). When Del Rio took over he asked "how can I get $5 to $10 more a day from you and your wife" and by golly, he seems to be doing it without a commensurate raise in value. (Another example, Del Rio raised the price of an individual soda by 25 cents, as I recall, not because soda was costing more but because 'the passenger is a captive audience and they will pay it'.) I do think that NCL, at least the NCL that I knew, was a little bit better than CCL and if the price were the same we'd sail with NCL again, but I'd feel like I was walking through a cow pasture always on the lookout for that cow plop to avoid it. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by sparks1093

[leaveitallbehind]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

Royal Caribbean has free regular ice cream in the MDR for meals, free soft serve on the pool deck, and "premium" ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's shop for a fee.

 

RCI also charges a $7.95 room service charge per delivery (order as much as you want).

Regarding ice cream, Celebrity offers a selection of real ice cream flavors in their buffet at no charge v the RCL chocolate and vanilla soft serve and B & J's flavors for a fee.

Edited May 21, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[John Bull]

Am I right in saying that NCL, and only NCL, don't permit their passengers to bring aboard any sodas, any alcohol (not even the one-bottle-of-wine-per-person limit of most cruise lines). And that passengers who prefer to drink bottled water instead of tap water aren't even permitted to take aboard any of their own water?

 

I do know that they've always been first to increase the service charge on drinks and daily "gratuities".

 

And that if passengers want to reduce or remove the daily charge, their policy - if it hasn't been dropped in the face of criticism - is to charge the passenger and to require the passenger to complete a form for a refund post-cruise. I won't make a big deal of that cos we don't interfere with the charge, but I suspect that this policy borders on illegal.

 

Whilst pretty-well all cruise ships now offer premium-pay restaurants, NCL have gone over-board with a dis-proportionately high number of premium-pay outlets. Some folk, happy to pay more for a better experience, understandably see the wide choices as a plus, but I did wonder whether that would have an adverse effect on included dining. Mixed reports about that on this thread, but the temptation is clearly there  to both cut included-dining costs and encourage folk to pay for better 

 

My partner has sailed NCL several times (and enjoyed the cruises) but has said that she got bored with their sell-sell-sell  mentality.

 

My own views are second-hand, because I've not sailed NCL, and I've not seen NCL prices (in the UK) lower than other cruise lines to make up for the higher on-board costs so I can't see me sailing with them in the near future.

And their disgraceful handling of last month's NCL Getaway's trans-Atlantic, when they chose (chose, not forced) to cut the cruise short in order to get to dry-dock two days early, and to do so giving passengers just 7 days notice to fix hotels, change flights etc., has also significantly reduced the prospects of me giving them a try in future.

 

Like most people, I check reviews.

And like most people I ignore exceptionally good or exceptionally poor reviews, and look for frequently-repeated criticisms.

NCL's do seem to include this sort of nickel-and-diming.

 

JB  

[Joebucks]

Do yourself a favor and experience something yourself before you trust a bunch of "nickle and dime" horror stories. There's a product out there right now that you enjoy that someone else claims is a nickle and dimer. These stories usually lead to someone telling you why their choice is superior and all of the things they get "included". Yet they seem to always leave the price out. You know, those special cruise lines who zero out airfare and cocktails because they are feeling generous. 

 

We are so completely, overly, and utterly obsessed with having things "included", that we will pay much more to avoid feeling like we paid more. Makes sense, right? I haven't been on NCL. Do I believe people who say their food is poor? Sure. But don't assume everyone is looking for the same thing. Choice is the reason cruising is as big as it is today. You don't want socialism in your everyday life, so why do you want it with your cruise?

[Underwatr]

I think the OP's question is straightforward and not deserving of acrimony. 

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

Am I right in saying that NCL, and only NCL, don't permit their passengers to bring aboard any sodas, any alcohol (not even the one-bottle-of-wine-per-person limit of most cruise lines). And that passengers who prefer to drink bottled water instead of tap water aren't even permitted to take aboard any of their own water?

 

I

NCL does allow you to bring wine onboard but charges you a $15 corkage fee per bottle. Carnival prohibits anything in bottles (other than wine, you are allowed one 750ml bottle per adult with no corkage unless consumed in the MDR) but they sell bottled water for a reasonable $4.50 for 12 16.5oz bottles.

[dkjretired]

I believe NCL also charges for some shows, I know on our last cruise with them there was a Murder  Mystery show for 25pp.

Edited May 21, 2019 by dkjretired

[hallux]

13 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

While all lines have cut back, NCL stands alone in badly served, poorly prepared, cheap food — in what I have to see as an intentional effort to boost sales in their alternative venues, of which they seem to have far more than other lines.

I only experienced the MDR 3 times on my recent NCL cruise, the service was acceptable one of the three times, compared to what I've received on Royal.  Granted - on Royal I sat at the same table every night with the same service staff.  As for food quality - I assure you the food is better than anything I'm eating at home (I'm not married, I can safely say this without worrying about having to sleep on the couch tonight) so that's not really a concern/consideration to me.

 

9 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

I believe NCL also charges for some shows, I know on our last cruise with them there was a Murder  Mystery show for 25pp.

There may be one show that has a fee.  On Bliss there is Prohibition, which includes beverage sampling.  I would have liked to see that show but as a non-drinker I wasn't paying the $30 for it.  The rest of the performances are included.

 

As for the "nickel-and-diming" - another place people might see that is in activities.  On the ships with the go-karts there is a $15 charge (now up $5 from earlier sailings) to enjoy them.  RCI has ships with bumper cars for which there is no charge, except for the hour waiting in line to get on.

Edited May 21, 2019 by hallux

[sparks1093]

 

35 minutes ago, hallux said:

 RCI has ships with bumper cars for which there is no charge, except for the hour waiting in line to get on.

To be fair there would be an hour wait even if there was a charge.

[FlyerTalker]

6 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

But it appears, based on your description, that you don’t sail on one of the mass stream lines comparable to NCL, such as carnival or rcl.

 

The OP never qualified the question as to NCL vs (fill in the blank).

 

I probably cruise on the same line as Heidi13 along with others of that type.  The only times I have to pull out my key card is to open the door to my room and to show at the gangway.

 

And yes....those other lines are nickel and diming in comparison.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I should qualify my answer to say that we don't, or rarely drink; otherwise I would think the service charge added to the 'free' drink package with NCL would be a bummer, since with some other lines this is included.

 

You also pay a service charge with soft drinks, etc  (which we don't use) and specialty dinners; this one isn't that bad, compared to the drinks.

 

Since we never take advantage of the added charge venues, such as bowling, doesn't bother us.  

 

I don't like that you can't bring bottled water on board, but I am fine with bringing a few empty bottles and refilling.  I'd buy some of their water--it seems to have gotten cheaper--but I don't want to be carrying 16 oz. bottles around--too big and awkward.

 

You need to really compare just what you are getting with the so-called free choices.  For our recent cruise, to have the 3 or 4 'free' choices added would have been over $400 per person, and we wouldn't even use some of the choices.  So, sailaway cabin worked just fine for us.

[paul929207]

On Princess, there is a $3 charge for room service pizza. No charge for any other room service.

 

Princess has self service laundries.

[SantaFeFan]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

The OP never qualified the question as to NCL vs (fill in the blank).

 

Hmmm, the op did title her tread as "What's included on other lines that's an extra charge on NCL?" THAT pretty much qualifies it as an "NCL vs (fill in the blank)" question to me. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[SantaFeFan]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

The OP never qualified the question as to NCL vs (fill in the blank).

 

Odd, a duplicate copy of my comment was automatically posted!! Sorry 'bout that.

Edited May 21, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[cb at sea]

All of the mainstream lines have PLENTY of "extra for fee" things!  No worries.  You are under NO obligation to purchase anything extra.  It's totally up to you!

 

All  (except Disney) charge for sodas....most have "for fee" gourmet ice cream.  Most have FREE ice cream for dessert nightly in the DR....and many have soft=serve (frozen yogurt) either in the buffet or on the pool deck.   All charge for booze someway or another...either a package or increased pricing, or a la carte.

 

Cruising isn't as cheap as you think from the cabin price.  But, it's up to YOU what you spend!

[MyTMo777]

I appreciate the responses. It seems that all cruise lines charge for some extras - even those such as Heidi13 sails with; their upcharges simply make the base fare higher. I think I’d rather start with a lower base fare and then add on those things I’d actually use. 

[Heidi13]

17 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

But it appears, based on your description, that you don’t sail on one of the mass stream lines comparable to NCL, such as carnival or rcl.

Affirmative, we do not sail on mainstream mega ship lines. Note: the OP did not specify mass market, just what other pax receive that you pay for on NCL.