Best value on the free offerings

[nuthut]

Which two offers have the best value? Consider we would be using all three, which one saves us the most on a five night cruise?

1. Free meal in specialty restaurant ($15 service charge)

2. $50 off a shore excursion

3. Free wi-fi (250 minutes)

Thanks, first time on NCL

[Sauer-kraut]

I wouldn't book with any of them, and go for the discounted cabin price.

[Alatraveler1]

31 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

I wouldn't book with any of them, and go for the discounted cabin price.

 

Exactly.

 

1) You've already paid for meals with the cruise fare.  $15 bucks off something you don't have to pay for and is an extra charge is no deal.

2) The ship offered shore excursions will most likely be more than $50 more expensive than your party could do the same excursions on you own.

3) WiFi costs them nothing to offer it to you.  Therefore it's no "deal".

 

Run the numbers, and might I also suggest you compare similar cruises on other lines to be sure you're getting the best deal.

[HOSKI]

The one we are having a really hard time using is the shore excursions.  We found NCL excursions way too expensive.  We have booked our own instead of using the credit and saved money.

[cottagers2000]

9 hours ago, nuthut said:

Which two offers have the best value? Consider we would be using all three, which one saves us the most on a five night cruise?

1. Free meal in specialty restaurant ($15 service charge)

2. $50 off a shore excursion

3. Free wi-fi (250 minutes)

Thanks, first time on NCL

Having just returned from a week on the Epic, I can confirm that the three worst meals were in La Cochina Le Bistro and Cagneys. I am only pleased that l was not actually paying the total cost of 140 dollars. The food was not cooked to my liking and the cut of meat in Cagneys was very poor

Edited August 3, 2019 by cottagers2000
Extra

[newmexicoNita]

10 hours ago, nuthut said:

Which two offers have the best value? Consider we would be using all three, which one saves us the most on a five night cruise?

1. Free meal in specialty restaurant ($15 service charge)

2. $50 off a shore excursion

3. Free wi-fi (250 minutes)

Thanks, first time on NCL

This depends solely on your habits and reason for cruising. For us:

1st specialty dining

2nd shore excursions 

3rd wi-fi as we rarely use the computer on a cruise. 

[newmexicoNita]

6 hours ago, HOSKI said:

The one we are having a really hard time using is the shore excursions.  We found NCL excursions way too expensive.  We have booked our own instead of using the credit and saved money.

Totally agree but there are times when an NCL sponsored shore excursion make more sense. On our upcoming cruise we found one that we thought, with the $50 off was as good a deal as we could get if we booked privately. The thing that sold us on this one was: when I checked I learned Carnival offers the same excursion and charges $10 more than NCL> Of course in all honesty, we are also platinum plus and get an addition credit, so sometimes it is a good deal to go through NCL> 

[dbrown84]

I find that the excursion credit is the best value.  It probably works better for me because I travel solo.  So I get the full $50 discount for myself instead of it being spread among everyone in the cabin.  I have yet to see a NCL excursion that is $50 more than a private one

[CruisingNole]

24 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

I find that the excursion credit is the best value.  It probably works better for me because I travel solo.  So I get the full $50 discount for myself instead of it being spread among everyone in the cabin.  I have yet to see a NCL excursion that is $50 more than a private one

 

You aren’t looking very hard.

[Oakman58]

9 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

You aren’t looking very hard.

 

Why not give some examples?

[drvmywifecrzy]

1 Dining

2 Wifi

3 Shore Ex

 

DIning - specialty food is good and service is outstanding , plus they tend to have unique drinks in those locations

wifi - nice to use while you potty, helps me know how much time during my trip I spend doing that

Shore Ex - good for free stuff on GSC or Harvest Caye (IE Free float rentals)

[All-ready2cruise]

I'm a solo cruiser as well and have found it much easier to do NCL shorex when I have the $50 discount.  I might find a less expensive shorex with a private company, however, I prefer to go with NCL. 

[MotownVoice]

For the record, your cruise fare does not pay for specialty restaurants.  Granted, you generally only pay a $39 cover charge to dine at a couple, or if it’s a la carte you’ll end up with a similar bill, so it’s not a huge deal you’re getting.  Also worth noting, the $15 service charge you list in item 1. is a fee you’re still paying, that’s not the value of of the upgrade.   

 

So is $40 a great deal?  Not really.  But it’s not true to say you’re already paying for a steak at Cagney’s with your regular cruise fair.   The food you get for your fare is served in the dining rooms and in the buffet.

Edited August 3, 2019 by MotownVoice

[Joanne G.]

"Best value" is definitely subjective.   Like others on this thread, my next NCL cruise is as a solo.   Best value for me is the $50 per port shore excursion.  My cruise has 12 ports in unfamiliar cities in Europe, and the sights can be some distance from the ports.  I feel more comfortable booking excursions with NCL rather than going off on my own, and that $50 credit is all mine, not shared with a cabin mate.

 

Next best value for me is the internet time, because I like keeping in touch with friends and family.  This is even more important as I will be solo on the cruise.    Based on the rates for buying internet time without the perk, the 250 minutes appear to be worth $125.00.   I will upgrade for more time when onboard.

 

Specialty dining?  Not for me.  I would not use that for dining alone.

 

I picked the beverage package as my 3rd perk.  I was shocked at the amount of the tips on a 14  day cruise!  But it works out to about the value of a couple drinks a day if I bought drinks individually.  So, I will make use of it.   (I was disappointed that it doesn't include specialty coffee or bottled water.)

[Casino Comp Chick]

12 hours ago, nuthut said:

Which two offers have the best value? Consider we would be using all three, which one saves us the most on a five night cruise?

1. Free meal in specialty restaurant ($15 service charge)

2. $50 off a shore excursion

3. Free wi-fi (250 minutes)

Thanks, first time on NCL

 

The internet minutes will only be 100 as it’s a shorter cruise,

Edited August 3, 2019 by Casino Comp Chick

[MotownVoice]

10 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

 

The internet minutes will only be 100 as it’s a shorter cruise,

 

“DOH!”

[NYcruzzer]

13 hours ago, nuthut said:

Which two offers have the best value? Consider we would be using all three, which one saves us the most on a five night cruise?

1. Free meal in specialty restaurant ($15 service charge)

2. $50 off a shore excursion

3. Free wi-fi (250 minutes)

Thanks, first time on NCL

 

If you are not interested in the UBP then I would book sail away rate . 

[Oakman58]

8 minutes ago, NYcruzzer said:

 

If you are not interested in the UBP then I would book sail away rate . 

 

The only issue I have with a sail away rate is you can't choose your cabin, you have to take what they give you.

[NYcruzzer]

7 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

The only issue I have with a sail away rate is you can't choose your cabin, you have to take what they give you.

 

That is quite true. I wish the sail away rate did give you an option to pick a cabin. Even if NCL limited the option of selecting a Cabin  to folks booking at least 4 months in advance .. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by NYcruzzer

[HOSKI]

2 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

Shore Ex - good for free stuff on GSC or Harvest Caye (IE Free float rentals)

Where do you find the float rentals to use the credit?  We could not find any online to book.

[April42749]

14 hours ago, nuthut said:

Which two offers have the best value? Consider we would be using all three, which one saves us the most on a five night cruise?

1. Free meal in specialty restaurant ($15 service charge)

2. $50 off a shore excursion

3. Free wi-fi (250 minutes)

Thanks, first time on NCL

If you want to keep in touch, pick the wifi.

Personally, I see know need to ever spend anything on extra food.

Even though I go on sailaway rate I book some NCL excursions.  Sometimes we don't book any excursions.  But, the price to pick a cabin is more than $50 ($100 for 2) over the sailaway rate. 

If you're not fussy about where the cabin is located, I'd go with sailaway rate. 

[Sauer-kraut]

1 hour ago, HOSKI said:

Where do you find the float rentals to use the credit?  We could not find any online to book.

Book a clamshell to use the credit up.

[dbrown84]

1 hour ago, April42749 said:

If you want to keep in touch, pick the wifi.

Personally, I see know need to ever spend anything on extra food.

Even though I go on sailaway rate I book some NCL excursions.  Sometimes we don't book any excursions.  But, the price to pick a cabin is more than $50 ($100 for 2) over the sailaway rate. 

If you're not fussy about where the cabin is located, I'd go with sailaway rate. 

I would agree with this.  I travel on casino certificates (comped fare), so I get no savings there.  I'm not picky about my room at all, so I would also pick the sail away rate if I was actually paying the cruise fare.  

[dbrown84]

4 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

Book a clamshell to use the credit up.

Or the stand up boards, which only cost $27.  Some have said they still got the full $50 credit even when booking something less than$50.  I don't know if this is true or not.

[HOSKI]

1 hour ago, Sauer-kraut said:

Book a clamshell to use the credit up.

Those aren't listed online for me to book.  We would use it on that if we could.  Do you book it once you get off the ship and still use the credit?