Just Cruised With Premium Plus Beverage Package - Happy to Answer Questions

[moviegal]

Hello!

 

I just cruised on the NCL Joy and upgraded to the Premium Plus Beverage Package. I'm happy to answer any questions about what was and wasn't included. Believe me, we tried it all! Overall, we found the cost (we had to pay an additional $250 per person to upgrade from the "included" regular Beverage Package) absolutely worth it for us -- and we aren't even big drinkers.

[Dawnya00]

Can I upgrade at check-in at the pier?

[tallnthensome]

I suppose the biggest question I and others may have is what did you drink and how much in order to cover the $500 above the cost (service charge) of the typical drink package that it didn't cover? Your mileage may vary but If I paid $50 to add a large case of bottled water to the standard package I don't know what else there would be to cover it. 

[purpleally]

Experience with Veuve. Bottle?  Glass?

did you find any restrictions 

did you upgrade on board, if so, where

thank you!

[hogie23]

I saw on another thread there was a $35 limit for drinks, is this true?

Did it include Starbucks?

Sparkling water?

Were you limited with wine selection at dinner?

Thanks

[ejnsb]

Just jumping in to offer my experience.   We did the Epic Mediterranean in September.   My wife and I upgraded but two other couples we drank and dined with did not.  Servers were awesome.   We went through 13 bottles of Veuve Cliquot at dinner, happily shared with everyone.   At our regular bar, Maltings, our server encouraged others in our group to try drinks above the limit and charged them to us.  Got two large glasses of fresh oj every morning.   Drank all the single malt scotches.   Bought our friends numerous specialty coffee drinks.   Easily worth it for us. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

11 minutes ago, ejnsb said:

Just jumping in to offer my experience.   We did the Epic Mediterranean in September.   My wife and I upgraded but two other couples we drank and dined with did not.  Servers were awesome.   We went through 13 bottles of Veuve Cliquot at dinner, happily shared with everyone.   At our regular bar, Maltings, our server encouraged others in our group to try drinks above the limit and charged them to us.  Got two large glasses of fresh oj every morning.   Drank all the single malt scotches.   Bought our friends numerous specialty coffee drinks.   Easily worth it for us. 

But I thought it was against the rules for them to "share" your PPBP upgrades with others.  I'm going to bet that your experience is more the exception than the rule.  Nice that they included your dinner companions, though.  I had the PPBP one time on the Sun when they were doing their all inclusive deals.  It was a nice perk, for sure.

[RHilla619]

27 minutes ago, ejnsb said:

Just jumping in to offer my experience.   We did the Epic Mediterranean in September.   My wife and I upgraded but two other couples we drank and dined with did not.  Servers were awesome.   We went through 13 bottles of Veuve Cliquot at dinner, happily shared with everyone.   At our regular bar, Maltings, our server encouraged others in our group to try drinks above the limit and charged them to us.  Got two large glasses of fresh oj every morning.   Drank all the single malt scotches.   Bought our friends numerous specialty coffee drinks.   Easily worth it for us. 

What single malt scotches were included?

[Kirstys1]

It is against rules to share and package will be revoked if doing so, however, at dinner they are not too fussed about the bottles been shared. I had a similar experience on getaway in October, and lots of Veuve. 
 

going to the bar and getting drinks or Starbucks for other people is a definite no no. 

[ejnsb]

3 minutes ago, RHilla619 said:

What single malt scotches were included?

I don't remember all of them but Macallan Quest, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, several others.  Maltings had the largest selection.   And, although not a single malt, Johnnie Blue.

[tallnthensome]

41 minutes ago, ejnsb said:

Just jumping in to offer my experience.   We did the Epic Mediterranean in September.   My wife and I upgraded but two other couples we drank and dined with did not.  Servers were awesome.   We went through 13 bottles of Veuve Cliquot at dinner, happily shared with everyone.   At our regular bar, Maltings, our server encouraged others in our group to try drinks above the limit and charged them to us.  Got two large glasses of fresh oj every morning.   Drank all the single malt scotches.   Bought our friends numerous specialty coffee drinks.   Easily worth it for us. 

Sounds like your friends who didn’t pay for the upgrade got more worth out of it than you. 

[RHilla619]

1 hour ago, ejnsb said:

I don't remember all of them but Macallan Quest, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, several others.  Maltings had the largest selection.   And, although not a single malt, Johnnie Blue.

Really? JW Blue was included with the premium plus upgrade? Not doubting you, just pleasantly surprised to hear because I remember seeing on the promo flyer that JW Platinum was included, but no mention of JW Blue. May strongly consider upgrading on my next cruise!

Edited January 8, 2020 by RHilla619
spelling mistake

[Dawnya00]

@L1211 You have found the Starbucks to be included on the Sun correct? I can get a frap or whatever and it’s part of the premium beverage? 

[ejnsb]

29 minutes ago, RHilla619 said:

Really? JW Blue was included with the premium plus upgrade? Not doubting you, just pleasantly surprised to hear because I remember seeing on the promo flyer that JW Platinum was included, but no mention of JW Blue. May strongly consider upgrading on my next cruise!

You might be right.  I am not a fan of blue (or any Johnnie Walker blends) so it might have been the Platinum.

[moviegal]

20 hours ago, purpleally said:

Experience with Veuve. Bottle?  Glass?

did you find any restrictions 

did you upgrade on board, if so, where

thank you!

I drank my weight in Vueve Clicquot. No issues whatsoever getting it by the glass or bottles at dinner (in the specialty restaurants and dining rooms). Most bartenders started to know me since not many had the Premium Plus package, and would automatically start pouring Vueve when I walked up. They'd even give me two glasses at a time, which saved me a trip back up to the bar, LOL!

 

The only thing I was not allowed to order was one night in the Taste dining room: I wanted a glass of Silverado Vineyards Cabernet and they flat-out refused. Several people said it should've been included, but I asked for the Beverage manager and he wouldn't do it. It was listed at $31 / glass on the menu, but nowhere could anyone point to where there was a $35 limit. Everything else was fine to get.

 

I did not upgrade onboard (did it beforehand online), but you could do it at the Guest Services desk, or they had a couple of tables set around where you could buy the upgrade.

Edited January 8, 2020 by moviegal

[moviegal]

20 hours ago, Dawnya00 said:

Can I upgrade at check-in at the pier?

I'm not sure, but there were plenty of places to upgrade once you boarded the ship. Look for the drink package tables, or you can head to Guest Services.

[moviegal]

20 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

I suppose the biggest question I and others may have is what did you drink and how much in order to cover the $500 above the cost (service charge) of the typical drink package that it didn't cover? Your mileage may vary but If I paid $50 to add a large case of bottled water to the standard package I don't know what else there would be to cover it. 

I'm not a big liquor drinker but I found it worth the expense simply for the entertainment. I had lots of fresh juices, water, and more Starbucks teas and coffees than I've consumed in my life, ha ha. I also almost exclusively drank the champagne, and it was worth it for me. I really enjoyed having the shaken green iced teas, I drank at least 4 of those a day. My husband got his money's worth with high-end bourbon. It was fun to go to any bar and just try something.

[moviegal]

19 hours ago, hogie23 said:

I saw on another thread there was a $35 limit for drinks, is this true?

Did it include Starbucks?

Sparkling water?

Were you limited with wine selection at dinner?

Thanks

Hi! Noone onboard ever told us there was a $35 / drink limit, but we DID have an issue trying to order a glass of Silverado cabernet in the main dining room one night (it was priced at $31/glass). Most everything on the menu was priced under that. Husband drank Whistle Pig Rye, which was priced at $35/glass, with no problem. I drank Vueve Cliquot champagne that was $35/glass. Still not sure what the deal was with that glass of wine, though.

 

On the Joy, it DID include Starbucks, and it included EVERYTHING, from frappuccinos to mochas to cappuccinos to Teavana shaken brewed teas to nitro cold brew. You could get ANY size, from small to large.

 

Sparkling water was included, and I drank lots of it! You could get liter bottles at some bars and in the restaurants. I was served Pellegrino.

 

The wine selection at dinner (by the bottle) was very limited, but you COULD get Vueve Cliquot champagne by the bottle. There were a few decent by the glass wines that were offered too.

[moviegal]

18 hours ago, ejnsb said:

I don't remember all of them but Macallan Quest, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, several others.  Maltings had the largest selection.   And, although not a single malt, Johnnie Blue.

Here are the menus from my Joy cruise. Had no problem getting any of these by the glass with the PPB.

[moviegal]

17 hours ago, Dawnya00 said:

@L1211 You have found the Starbucks to be included on the Sun correct? I can get a frap or whatever and it’s part of the premium beverage? 

I did not sail on the Sun, but on the Joy, everything on the Starbucks menu WAS included in the PPB. I drank so many freshly brewed iced teas!

[herdingdogmom]

17 hours ago, Dawnya00 said:

@L1211 You have found the Starbucks to be included on the Sun correct? I can get a frap or whatever and it’s part of the premium beverage? 

I don’t think there is a Starbucks on the Sun.  The Atrium Cafe has signs that they serve Starbucks coffee.  It didn’t look like a Starbucks menu nor their cups. Couldn’t tell if they offered blended/frap drinks,  but regular espresso drinks would be covered.

[YankeesFan4Life]

Heard that they might have excluded Veuve recently?  Is that true?  Sailing in April, and definitely enjoy my champagne.  It was flowing pretty heavily on Breakaway in August!  

 

Someone mentioned the Silverado Cab, I had a similar issue in Taste with Lucente, they didn't want to serve the glass, so I said bring the bottle!  Had a glass and left the bottle!  Their loss!

[Georgia_Peaches]

47 minutes ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

Someone mentioned the Silverado Cab, I had a similar issue in Taste with Lucente, they didn't want to serve the glass, so I said bring the bottle!  Had a glass and left the bottle!  Their loss!

They didn't charge you for the bottle?

[Dawnya00]

1 hour ago, herdingdogmom said:

I don’t think there is a Starbucks on the Sun.  The Atrium Cafe has signs that they serve Starbucks coffee.  It didn’t look like a Starbucks menu nor their cups. Couldn’t tell if they offered blended/frap drinks,  but regular espresso drinks would be covered.

There is one, with branded cups and Fraps.

[Kirstys1]

18 hours ago, Dawnya00 said:

@L1211 You have found the Starbucks to be included on the Sun correct? I can get a frap or whatever and it’s part of the premium beverage? 

The terms and conditions seem to be different for the sun. Personally I would ask this question onboard before buying the upgrade. Terms and conditions seem to indicate it only includes coffee whilst dining. (however maybe these are old terms?) 
 

for Sun : https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/terms/premium-plus-beverage-package

 

for the other ships I guess they use these: https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-plus-beverage-package.pdf

 

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Kirstys1