New to NCL questions (planner sale,free excursions,beverage package,other)

[Docbizarro]

Hello all, new to NCL, have done a bunch of Royal

 

1) Items in the planner (like the beverage upgrade, WiFi, excursions etc). Do they go on “sale” like on Royal? Or is the price I see now the price I should always expect?

 

2) one of the “free at sea” perks I got with my booking was the “free excursions”, which I read as a $50 credit per port. is this per stateroom or per person? Also I’m doing a Bermuda cruise which has 3 days in Bermuda, is this considered one port or 3? (So how much credit am I getting? $50? $100? $150? $300?)

 

3) Am I really going to run into much problem

with the drink package that comes with free at sea? As long as I don’t need top shelf?

 

4) Is there any big differences between royal and NCL that I should be preparing myself for? (Good or bad) I’m going on the Joy out of NY to Bermuda, 7N

 

thank you!
 

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Docbizarro

[complawyer]

the price  you see now will stay the same until you actually board.. it then goes up  $50  shore excursions are per room notper person, and although dont quote me, if there are different excursions on different days it shouldbe $50 for each day.

 

for years, we have just stayed with the drink package offered and have passed on the upgrade.  

 

as long as you dont go for the top shelf you can be very satisfied with tis package,

 

i start my day with a glass of champagne or mimosa with breakfast, a chivas with lunch, an afternoon mojito, another chivas or 2 with dinner, an after dinner glass of tawny port, and maybe another drink or two if i go to the casino. works for me

 

by the way, bon voyage

[Back to school]

10 minutes ago, complawyer said:

the price  you see now will stay the same until you actually board.. it then goes up  $50  shore excursions are per room notper person, and although dont quote me, if there are different excursions on different days it shouldbe $50 for each day.

 

for years, we have just stayed with the drink package offered and have passed on the upgrade.  

 

as long as you dont go for the top shelf you can be very satisfied with tis package,

 

i start my day with a glass of champagne or mimosa with breakfast, a chivas with lunch, an afternoon mojito, another chivas or 2 with dinner, an after dinner glass of tawny port, and maybe another drink or two if i go to the casino. works for me

 

by the way, bon voyage

 complawyer, I like the style!

[SpainAlien]

6 hours ago, Docbizarro said:

Hello all, new to NCL, have done a bunch of Royal

 

1) Items in the planner (like the beverage upgrade, WiFi, excursions etc). Do they go on “sale” like on Royal? Or is the price I see now the price I should always expect?

 

2) one of the “free at sea” perks I got with my booking was the “free excursions”, which I read as a $50 credit per port. is this per stateroom or per person? Also I’m doing a Bermuda cruise which has 3 days in Bermuda, is this considered one port or 3? (So how much credit am I getting? $50? $100? $150? $300?)

 

3) Am I really going to run into much problem

with the drink package that comes with free at sea? As long as I don’t need top shelf?

 

4) Is there any big differences between royal and NCL that I should be preparing myself for? (Good or bad) I’m going on the Joy out of NY to Bermuda, 7N

 

thank you!
 

 

Welcome to the NCL side of CC

 

1. prices are fixed, no sales

2. $50 credit is for the first named passenger per excursion. I have three excursions booked at one port, I got $50 off each 

3. the drinks package is fine, it covers cocktails and frozen cocktails, wine and beers each up to a maximum $15 per drink.  https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

4. I normally sail RCCL or NCL and find them to be comparable as regards food, service and entertainment but found some of the cabins to be smaller

 

I hope this helps 

 

 

[fubarbloke]

8 hours ago, SpainAlien said:

3. the drinks package is fine, it covers cocktails and frozen cocktails, wine and beers each up to a maximum $15 per drink.  https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

The link goes to a page with another link to a liquor list:

 

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-beverage-package-2019.pdf

 

Is this what comes with the "free" package? Looks decent enough for daily drinking. I was afraid it would be dive bar well brand stuff.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, fubarbloke said:

Is this what comes with the "free" package? Looks decent enough for daily drinking. I was afraid it would be dive bar well brand stuff.

 

If you want to try something that is more than $15, the package will cover the 1st $15 and you'll pay the difference plus 20% on that difference. A $20 shot will cost $6 ($5 + $1) if you have the PBP.

[DaCruiseBug]

17 hours ago, Docbizarro said:

Hello all, new to NCL, have done a bunch of Royal

 

1) Items in the planner (like the beverage upgrade, WiFi, excursions etc). Do they go on “sale” like on Royal? Or is the price I see now the price I should always expect?

 

2) one of the “free at sea” perks I got with my booking was the “free excursions”, which I read as a $50 credit per port. is this per stateroom or per person? Also I’m doing a Bermuda cruise which has 3 days in Bermuda, is this considered one port or 3? (So how much credit am I getting? $50? $100? $150? $300?)

 

3) Am I really going to run into much problem

with the drink package that comes with free at sea? As long as I don’t need top shelf?

 

4) Is there any big differences between royal and NCL that I should be preparing myself for? (Good or bad) I’m going on the Joy out of NY to Bermuda, 7N

 

thank you!
 

 

 

My suggestion is that you stay with Royal or try Celebrity or MSC. NCL will drive you crazy with upcharges and fees. Their beverage package doesn't even include bottled water. You also have to pay for room service, and their food quality has been going down the drain quickly. Get the picture?

Also: Most NCL excursions are market up considerably (even more than other cruise lines) in order to inflate the price and make that $50 credit basically worthless. The only exceptions are the super cheap excursions since they can only mark up a $30 excursion so much...

Edited March 21, 2021 by DaCruiseBug

[JandC_Cruising]

18 hours ago, Docbizarro said:

Hello all, new to NCL, have done a bunch of Royal

 

1) Items in the planner (like the beverage upgrade, WiFi, excursions etc). Do they go on “sale” like on Royal? Or is the price I see now the price I should always expect?

 

2) one of the “free at sea” perks I got with my booking was the “free excursions”, which I read as a $50 credit per port. is this per stateroom or per person? Also I’m doing a Bermuda cruise which has 3 days in Bermuda, is this considered one port or 3? (So how much credit am I getting? $50? $100? $150? $300?)

 

3) Am I really going to run into much problem

with the drink package that comes with free at sea? As long as I don’t need top shelf?

 

4) Is there any big differences between royal and NCL that I should be preparing myself for? (Good or bad) I’m going on the Joy out of NY to Bermuda, 7N

 

thank you!
 

 

1.  As others mentioned, this is typically the "best" deal you will see.  Of course if you have any On Board Credits, you may consider buying stuff on-board rather than paying up front --- if you don't have a lot of other charges that you expect to use your OBC on.

2. The Shore Excursion Credit is $50 for the primary passenger per port per day.  So you can do an excursion in Bermuda each day and you will get a $50 discount for each...You cannot do two excursions on one day and get $50 off both.  Also, what many don't realize is that you can do an excursion upon the end of the cruise and that qualifies for the $50 credit as well.  So you could do a NYC excursion (not that there is one I would suggest), but you can.  

3. The regular beverage package (PBP) is generally all you need and covers all basic cocktails, beers, wines by the glass, etc.  It does NOT cover specialty coffees at the Starbucks or bottled water.  We've gotten the Premium Plus upgrade and made it worth our upgrade by drinking about 4 bottles of water each day, glasses of Veuve Clicquot every day, two free bottles of wine at each dinner, and several top shelf liquors over the week.  It totally depends upon what/how you drink.  

 

We are also doing the Joy to Bermuda in June of next year.  It is an awesome cruise.  We did the itinerary on the Escape in 2019 and had our 2020 and 2021 attempts cancelled.

 

You will love it!

[SpainAlien]

1 hour ago, JandC_Cruising said:

You cannot do two excursions on one day and get $50 off both. 

 

The NCL website shows $50 discount per excursion. 

 

I have booked three excursions in one day at Harvest Caye and got $50 off each

 

 

[julig22]

2 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

2. The Shore Excursion Credit is $50 for the primary passenger per port per day.  So you can do an excursion in Bermuda each day and you will get a $50 discount for each...You cannot do two excursions on one day and get $50 off both. 

It's been all excursions for awhile -  if the primary passenger is able to fit in multiple excursions, they will get $50 off of each one.

[JandC_Cruising]

21 hours ago, julig22 said:

It's been all excursions for awhile -  if the primary passenger is able to fit in multiple excursions, they will get $50 off of each one.

Thank you for correcting me...I believe this changed since our 2019 cruise.  That's is great if you can do multiple in one day.  It still only applies to passenger 1 however, so you technically cannot get $50 off multiple, if for example you want to do one activity and your child for example wish to do something else. 

Here is the link to the current terms and conditions:

https://www.ncl.com/termsandconditions/promotions 

I also noticed they specifically have removed Pre and Post cruise excursions from the offer.  That's too bad, because we have a cruise out port Canaveral and planned and thought of doing the post cruise Space Center tour...

[julig22]

7 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

I also noticed they specifically have removed Pre and Post cruise excursions from the offer.  That's too bad, because we have a cruise out port Canaveral and planned and thought of doing the post cruise Space Center tour...

Per current T&C: $50 Shore Excursion Credit is applicable to all tours, including debarkation tours

 

9 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Thank you for correcting me...I believe this changed since our 2019 cruise.  That's is great if you can do multiple in one day.  It still only applies to passenger 1 however, so you technically cannot get $50 off multiple, if for example you want to do one activity and your child for example wish to do something else.

It only applies to the primary passenger - if that person is able to go on 3 short excursions for example, they would get $150.  Has nothing to do with what anyone else on the booking does.

[AstoriaPreppy]

On 3/20/2021 at 8:38 PM, Docbizarro said:

Hello all, new to NCL, have done a bunch of Royal

 

1) Items in the planner (like the beverage upgrade, WiFi, excursions etc). Do they go on “sale” like on Royal? Or is the price I see now the price I should always expect?

 

2) one of the “free at sea” perks I got with my booking was the “free excursions”, which I read as a $50 credit per port. is this per stateroom or per person? Also I’m doing a Bermuda cruise which has 3 days in Bermuda, is this considered one port or 3? (So how much credit am I getting? $50? $100? $150? $300?)

 

3) Am I really going to run into much problem

with the drink package that comes with free at sea? As long as I don’t need top shelf?

 

4) Is there any big differences between royal and NCL that I should be preparing myself for? (Good or bad) I’m going on the Joy out of NY to Bermuda, 7N

 

thank you!
 

 

A few additional notes on NCL:

• You'll be fine with the beverage package, as long as you don't drink bottled water. Bartenders will give you tap water by the glass, but don't expect liters of Evian to take off the ship on your excursions, or San Pellegrino with dinner. The upside: NCL lets you order two drinks at a time (I assume this is to take stress of the bartenders and servers since most everyone has the beverage package). So, on NCL you can order two beers, or a shot and a beer simultaneously. 
• As noted, NCL marks up their shore excursions to ridiculous levels. This is because most people get the $50 per stateroom discount (per port day), and mid level frequent guests (and up) get percentage-off discounts. So basically, everyone on NCL is getting discounts and the shore ex are marked up dramatically to make up for this. 
• In Bermuda, you should get $50 off the shore ex for each day you're there. So if you're there Monday-Wednesday, you'll get $50 off Monday, $50 off Tuesday, etc.
• NCL internet and Wifi is... abysmal. Like dial up speeds and pretty much non functional. Royal Caribbean internet is spectacular in comparison.
• Re differences between NCL and Royal: lots of people like NCL... it's laid back, the dress code is largely non-existent, and they try lots of new things. Personally, I prefer Royal Caribbean. The service on NCL can be inconsistent. Lots of times, it seems like the crew are going through the motions, where Royal staff often seems to be working hard to exceed your expectations. We've also found NCL main dining rooms to be the worst out of all of the mass market lines, but lots of people on the boards here are fine with them. When we sail NCL, we book specialty dining for every night of the cruise... we haven't needed to do that on Royal.
• That said, you probably won't have a bad time, just set realistic expectation and know each line has strengths and weaknesses!

 

[JandC_Cruising]

5 hours ago, julig22 said:

Per current T&C: $50 Shore Excursion Credit is applicable to all tours, including debarkation tours

 

It only applies to the primary passenger - if that person is able to go on 3 short excursions for example, they would get $150.  Has nothing to do with what anyone else on the booking does.

Quote from T&C link  … pre and post tours ARE NOT eligible. 
 

 

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Quote from T&C link  … pre and post tours ARE NOT eligible.

You can use the credit for a tour that takes you to the airport after your cruise.

[KeithJenner]

On 3/23/2021 at 12:24 AM, JandC_Cruising said:

Quote from T&C link  … pre and post tours ARE NOT eligible. 
 

 

Surely that is referring to pre or post cruise land tours, where you book an additional few days tour before or after the cruise, rather than a disembarkation excursion.

[JandC_Cruising]

52 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Surely that is referring to pre or post cruise land tours, where you book an additional few days tour before or after the cruise, rather than a disembarkation excursion.

Thanks for pointing that out....and don't call me Shirley 🤣

[brovol]

Wife and I have sailed on most of the mainstream lines multiple times, and find that, while they all have their own general character, they are still more alike than different.  Most of the things people either rave about or complain about a certain cruise line, as compared to another, are subjective; food, entertainment, etc.  I enjoy a very casual vacation, with several options, but little commitment.  There are a few things I would have NCL do differently, but i do appreciate the "freestyle" concept.  I have to wear a tie to work each day, so the last thing on want on vacation is to pack and wear one.  Food is a big deal to me, and NCL satisfies my palate.  It seems that each cruise line has some great food concept that it does particularly well.  Love the bread pudding on Holland, and the sandwich/deli station on Carnival. 

 

In short, I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with NCL.  And besides, cruising is like pizza and sex; even when it is "bad" it is still good.

[graphicguy]

On 3/21/2021 at 12:17 PM, fubarbloke said:

 

The link goes to a page with another link to a liquor list:

 

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-beverage-package-2019.pdf

 

Is this what comes with the "free" package? Looks decent enough for daily drinking. I was afraid it would be dive bar well brand stuff.

NCL doesn't exclude a lot on the Bev Package.  I easily find something I like from the choices.  Definitely not well liquors.  Beer choices are good, too.

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Thanks for pointing that out....and don't call me Shirley 🤣

 

[redsox1584]

On 3/21/2021 at 3:17 PM, JandC_Cruising said:

We've gotten the Premium Plus upgrade and made it worth our upgrade by drinking about 4 bottles of water each day

Do you recall approximately how much the bottles of water were onboard?  Trying to figure out if the Premium Plus upgrade is worth it 

[Zippeedee]

26 minutes ago, redsox1584 said:

Do you recall approximately how much the bottles of water were onboard?  Trying to figure out if the Premium Plus upgrade is worth it 

Water is now Just Water in boxes. You can get 12 liters delivered to your room for about $36, 24 for $54. Sparking water was around $5 for a smaller bottle but that was in 2019. I’m probably going to upgrade to the premium package for my next cruise. I love my Veuve, water and good coffee.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Zippeedee
Added details

[BirdTravels]

33 minutes ago, redsox1584 said:

Do you recall approximately how much the bottles of water were onboard?  Trying to figure out if the Premium Plus upgrade is worth it 

 

 

6-liter Just Water Package $16.95

12-liter Just Water Package $29.95

24-liter Just Water Package $44.95

 

(I think that you still need to add 20% tip to the prices above)

 

[Shidah]

Although in the minority here we do upgrade our drink package mainly for the ability to order several bottles of wine at dinner then take them back to the room, the espresso martinis, Hendricks gin, verve, and the list goes on.   We’ve upgraded since NCL first came out with the option and it just helps to add to the overall vacation.

[classy_cruiser]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

6-liter Just Water Package $16.95

12-liter Just Water Package $29.95

24-liter Just Water Package $44.95

 

(I think that you still need to add 20% tip to the prices above)

 

Can you bring empty reusable water bottles and just dump a glass of ice water in them to take onshore?