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

[TheCaveman]

Do you mind if I was what was the total cost incl tips, tax, etc for the upgrade?

 

$500 for 2 adults for 7 days?

[Dawnya00]

7 minutes ago, Kirstys1 said:

Terms and conditions seem to indicate it only includes coffee whilst dining. (however maybe these are old terms?) 

There is a currently a thread of a cruiser who has used their PPBP at Starbucks on their 5 day Sun cruise, just disembarked this morning. I don't know why you are linking something from the NCL UK site.

[YankeesFan4Life]

31 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

They didn't charge you for the bottle?

Not with the PPBP!  It's on their bottle list with the * next to it

[Kirstys1]

Just now, Dawnya00 said:

There is a currently a thread of a cruiser who has used their PPBP at Starbucks on their 5 day Sun cruise, just disembarked this morning. I don't know why you are linking something from the NCL UK site.

Ncl automatically links me to UK as I’m UK based. I can’t access the USA without tricking it into thinking I’m in the USA. 
 

the beverage package terms should be the same though, it’s just the gratuities that’s are different for us, I’ve asked a couple of barmen who work for ncl the question who I have as  Facebook friends - one has just left the sun but no reply yet... 

[JustAPilot]

See my thing about this upgrade is why advertise on your website all drinks by the glass are included but then one day decide to deny someone a glass of "expensive" wine or one ship no longer serves bottles of Veuve but others still do? And then you can't really argue it because they just point you to the small print saying they can change their mind when ever they feel like it..

[Kirstys1]

13 minutes ago, Dawnya00 said:

There is a currently a thread of a cruiser who has used their PPBP at Starbucks on their 5 day Sun cruise, just disembarked this morning. I don't know why you are linking something from the NCL UK site.

So answer from my barman friend, yes as he left they made the package the same as across the fleet, including Starbucks,  however he recommends waiting and buying onboard to confirm current terms as they keep messing with the terms... 

[herdingdogmom]

5 hours ago, Dawnya00 said:

There is one, with branded cups and Fraps.

Ah, Starbucks is a welcome addition from the last time we sailed the Sun. I’m guessing it is where the lobby bar used to be.  Was a new lobby bar added as well?

 

Any idea if the Sun has the iced teas like on the Joy?  Escape’s Starbucks did not have the iced teas in November.

[L1211]

On 1/7/2020 at 8:46 PM, 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? 

Yep. Anything at Starbucks was included on the Sun. 

[L1211]

35 minutes ago, herdingdogmom said:

Ah, Starbucks is a welcome addition from the last time we sailed the Sun. I’m guessing it is where the lobby bar used to be.  Was a new lobby bar added as well?

 

Any idea if the Sun has the iced teas like on the Joy?  Escape’s Starbucks did not have the iced teas in November.

Here’s the menu from the Sun. Disembarked today. Did a live review if you are interested including PPBP and dining plan. 

[L1211]

5 hours ago, JustAPilot said:

See my thing about this upgrade is why advertise on your website all drinks by the glass are included but then one day decide to deny someone a glass of "expensive" wine or one ship no longer serves bottles of Veuve but others still do? And then you can't really argue it because they just point you to the small print saying they can change their mind when ever they feel like it..

Just disembarked the Sun today. Bottle service was quite limited and Veuve was not included. Wine was very frustrating because nice wine by the glass was ONLY available in the dining rooms. And good luck trying different wines in the MDR. The wait staff is already stretched too thin. Champagne bar needed to include high end wines!!

[L1211]

6 hours ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

Not with the PPBP!  It's on their bottle list with the * next to it

The Silverado is no longer on the list. Well not on the Sun. It was available by the glass but only in dining rooms. No bars. 

[mncruiser84]

Do you have a list of wines available? Was there any limit on how many bottles you could get at each meal?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[YankeesFan4Life]

9 hours ago, mncruiser84 said:

Do you have a list of wines available? Was there any limit on how many bottles you could get at each meal?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

If I recall, it was 1 bottle per person with the PPBP,  but I think one night we actually got a bottle of Veuve, a Hampton Water and the bottle of Lucente...If not, order two bottles, then BTG..

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 hours ago, L1211 said:

Just disembarked the Sun today. Bottle service was quite limited and Veuve was not included. Wine was very frustrating because nice wine by the glass was ONLY available in the dining rooms. And good luck trying different wines in the MDR. The wait staff is already stretched too thin. Champagne bar needed to include high end wines!!

They are so incredibly inconsistent it's just stupid!  I was on the Sun back in August.  Had the PPBP.  Could not get a Starbucks to save my life but bottles of Veuve were served to us, almost forced on us at lunch and dinner.  And I don't give a fig about the fine print...NCL need to get it together and standardize the PPBP offerings across the entire fleet...just like they have done with the price to upgrade.

[JezzaC]

2 hours ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

If I recall, it was 1 bottle per person with the PPBP,  but I think one night we actually got a bottle of Veuve, a Hampton Water and the bottle of Lucente...If not, order two bottles, then BTG..

 

Actually the terms and conditions don't have any limit for that either. You can have 2 per transaction but it doesn't say you couldn't order two bottles for each course for example. It is really fun when they make their own rules on board.

[marazad16]

I've seen crazy inconsistencies in recent posts regarding PPBP. I'm sailing Wednesday and will update what I find. The above post of someone speaking directly to a ship bartender clarifies this mess perfectly. Its all fluid. I'll wait to upgrade on the ship.

[purpleally]

3 hours ago, marazad16 said:

I've seen crazy inconsistencies in recent posts regarding PPBP. I'm sailing Wednesday and will update what I find. The above post of someone speaking directly to a ship bartender clarifies this mess perfectly. Its all fluid. I'll wait to upgrade on the ship.

The inconsistency drives me nuts. Who knows what it will be in 45 days. !

no Veuve, no upgrade!

[Trimone]

Just looked on my upgrade for Joy February, please find enclosed 

[moviegal]

On 1/8/2020 at 12:38 PM, TheCaveman said:

Do you mind if I was what was the total cost incl tips, tax, etc for the upgrade?

 

$500 for 2 adults for 7 days?

The total upgrade cost was $249.00 per person for a 7 day cruise as part of a package that we originally purchased that included "free" drinks. I received an email offering the upgrade for that price, and we purchased it online before sailing. That $249.00 per person upgrade price included all of the gratuity, etc. It was worth the upgrade charge for us and, although we didn't drink like crazy to "get our money's worth," the entertainment value was off the charts! We could try whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, with no worries.

Edited January 9, 2020 by moviegal

[moviegal]

21 minutes ago, purpleally said:

The inconsistency drives me nuts. Who knows what it will be in 45 days. !

no Veuve, no upgrade!

Was on the Joy last week, and Vueve Clicquot WAS INCLUDED with the Premium Plus upgrade, both by the glass and by the bottle at dinner in the main dining rooms (Taste, Savor and Manhattan) as well as the specialty restaurants. Not all bars had it stocked, but most did, especially after the first night. I drank a LOT of it, too!

[moviegal]

6 hours ago, JezzaC said:

 

Actually the terms and conditions don't have any limit for that either. You can have 2 per transaction but it doesn't say you couldn't order two bottles for each course for example. It is really fun when they make their own rules on board.

We had no problem ordering multiple bottles of wine / champagne at dinner in the dining rooms. We would often have several different options on the table, a red and a white, for example. Most times when we'd order a glass, the waitstaff would push the "free" bottle on us. I think it makes it easier for them to serve, but we did waste a bunch of wine. We are definite wine snobs, and none of the wine choices were that good, to be honest. Except for the champagne selections. (We also did after dinner glasses of port, spiked coffee, etc.)

[moviegal]

18 hours ago, mncruiser84 said:

Do you have a list of wines available? Was there any limit on how many bottles you could get at each meal?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

The bottles and glasses included in the dining rooms had a limited selection (someone on this thread posted a photo of the dining room wine menu). We didn't encounter a by the bottle limit at dinner except at Le Bistro, but the server was just misinformed. We simply ordered more individual glasses and they brought a third bottle anyway.

 

I've attached photos from the Joy's wine bar below, which had a more extensive selection of wines by the glass (bottles ONLY available in the restaurants). This will give you a good idea as to the quality of what is served onboard.

 

However, I would NOT upgrade to the Premium Plus package if you only drink wine, and especially if you're a wine lover (or wine snob like me). I didn't find any of the wines to be satisfactory for me except for the champagne selections. That's why I upgraded - for the champagnes and the coffee / tea. I never once drank a glass of "regular" wine on my cruise.

 

Oh - and the Wine Flights were NOT included, but were clearly marked as such. You could order them with a discount with your PPB package.

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by moviegal

[moviegal]

On 1/8/2020 at 12:38 PM, TheCaveman said:

Do you mind if I was what was the total cost incl tips, tax, etc for the upgrade?

 

$500 for 2 adults for 7 days?

$249.00 per person, so I paid $498.00 TOTAL for two adults for 7 days for the upgrade to Premium Plus. That price included the gratuity charge.

[stefmaia]

20 minutes ago, Trimone said:

Just looked on my upgrade for Joy February, please find enclosed 

If you look at the bottom right hand corner of this flier you can see it was issued in 3/19. I’m wondering if the one they are handing out on board is different /updated?

[moviegal]

One other little thing that's worth mentioning - I sailed out of Los Angeles so when the ship was in port in California, everything we ordered that was "free" with the beverage package, was subject to local sales tax. This was ONLY in California and ONLY when we weren't sailing, but those little $1 - $5 tax charges added up! Just be aware.