On-board drinks package upgrades

[deek72]

Do NCL ever offer discounts for you to upgrade your drinks packages on-board? I'm tempted to upgrade to Premium Plus but when I did this a few years ago on Royal Caribbean before sailing, I arrived on board to discover that others were upgrading for about half of what I'd paid 😔

[BirdTravels]

No discounts onboard. Stick with the basic premium package. All the alcohol you can drink without buying into NCL’s attempts to get more money from you. 

[deek72]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

No discounts onboard. Stick with the basic premium package. All the alcohol you can drink without buying into NCL’s attempts to get more money from you. 

I hear you. I'm torn but the thought of having to pay for water with a 'premium' drinks package is really galling, plus we're big coffee drinkers. I might just buy one of the water packages. They're expensive, the 24 litre one works out to about £1.50 a litre but I expect that's much cheaper than buying it over the bar. 

[saltsandknit]

I was talked out of upgrading to premium plus on my last cruise. I spent more than the upgrade cost on coffee, San Pelligrino and bottles of wine at dinner. I upgraded for my cruise in September on the Gem. Now that Starbucks is on all the ships I know I will spend more than the upgrade cost and I get a much better selection of wine by the glass. It just depends on how you like to cruise.

[deek72]

42 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

I was talked out of upgrading to premium plus on my last cruise. I spent more than the upgrade cost on coffee, San Pelligrino and bottles of wine at dinner. I upgraded for my cruise in September on the Gem. Now that Starbucks is on all the ships I know I will spend more than the upgrade cost and I get a much better selection of wine by the glass. It just depends on how you like to cruise.

Is Starbuck on Jade yet? I read it was to be rolled out onto all ships but couldn't find for sure if it was on Jade. 

Now you've made me think again about upgrading 😄

 

And yes, I like to cruise without having to worry about what everything is costing. 

Edited August 26, 2021 by deek72

[deek72]

We've decided to go for the upgrade now but it's not available to purchase on my account, suppose it's too late, we sail on Sunday.

Can you just upgrade at the first bar you go to or do you have to go to guest services? 

[saltsandknit]

5 hours ago, deek72 said:

We've decided to go for the upgrade now but it's not available to purchase on my account, suppose it's too late, we sail on Sunday.

Can you just upgrade at the first bar you go to or do you have to go to guest services? 

There will be a table for drinks packages you can upgrade there. Sometimes it’s in the atrium area sometimes it’s on the pool deck. You can’t miss it. 

[Beamafar]

How much does the upgrade cost?

[Shellbelle28]

19 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

How much does the upgrade cost?

To go to the highest level package it is $243.60 per person on a 7 day cruise (more for a longer cruise). And both passengers on a double occupancy reservation have to do the upgrade. 

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, Shellbelle28 said:

To go to the highest level package it is $243.60 per person on a 7 day cruise (more for a longer cruise). And both passengers on a double occupancy reservation have to do the upgrade. 

Thank you!

[happy cruzer]

Do they still do the wine by the bottle packages in the Atrium the first day?  Viva Vino?  Anyone have a recent flyer?  Thanks.

[phillygwm]

On 8/26/2021 at 9:06 AM, saltsandknit said:

I was talked out of upgrading to premium plus on my last cruise. I spent more than the upgrade cost on coffee, San Pelligrino and bottles of wine at dinner. I upgraded for my cruise in September on the Gem. Now that Starbucks is on all the ships I know I will spend more than the upgrade cost and I get a much better selection of wine by the glass. It just depends on how you like to cruise.

Exactly, there's no one answer because it depends on what you like to drink.  I hemmed and hawed before deciding to upgrade.  I like my bubbles, be it Veuve or Pellegrino 🙂  Looking at the menu, there's a lot I just won't avail myself of (don't do much hard liquor other than Bloodys or Margis) but it doesn't take a lot to run up $35.  The bottle of wine at dinner should do it alone.

 

I'm not a big coffee person but IS Starbucks included?  I do like their frappuchinos!

Edited August 28, 2021 by phillygwm

[saltsandknit]

3 hours ago, phillygwm said:

Exactly, there's no one answer because it depends on what you like to drink.  I hemmed and hawed before deciding to upgrade.  I like my bubbles, be it Veuve or Pellegrino 🙂  Looking at the menu, there's a lot I just won't avail myself of (don't do much hard liquor other than Bloodys or Margis) but it doesn't take a lot to run up $35.  The bottle of wine at dinner should do it alone.

 

I'm not a big coffee person but IS Starbucks included?  I do like their frappuchinos!

yes Starbucks is included. A latte is $5 a bottle of Pelligrino is $6 a glass of Veuve is $35  a bottle of wine $45+ it doesn't take a lot. I prefer a bottle of wine at dinner, sometimes it's hard to get a second glass otherwise.

[Beamafar]

4 hours ago, saltsandknit said:

 

“I prefer a bottle of wine at dinner, sometimes it's hard to get a second glass otherwise.”

 

Are bottles of wine included in the Premium Plus package?

Edited August 29, 2021 by Beamafar

[phillygwm]

10 hours ago, saltsandknit said:

yes Starbucks is included. A latte is $5 a bottle of Pelligrino is $6 a glass of Veuve is $35  a bottle of wine $45+ it doesn't take a lot. I prefer a bottle of wine at dinner, sometimes it's hard to get a second glass otherwise.

Thanks.  Just confirms my decision.  This cruise, with the latest discounts, cost a lot less than any other I've been on so I'll splurge on the specialty dining and drinks!

[ggTexasGal]

6 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

“I prefer a bottle of wine at dinner, sometimes it's hard to get a second glass otherwise.”

 

Are bottles of wine included in the Premium Plus package?

It took several clicks, but here is the recent PPB information I found on NCL: 

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

premium - plus -beverage -package - 2021 v2 - July21.pdf

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, ggTexasGal said:

It took several clicks, but here is the recent PPB information I found on NCL: 

https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

premium - plus -beverage -package - 2021 v2 - July21.pdf 282.22 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks a mil. 😊

 

We usually sail with MSC. We’re trying NCL for the first time next Sunday and I’m trying to familiarise myself with it.  As I only booked yesterday, I don’t have a huge amount of time to do so.  I’d already booked a 3 day staycation for next week so I’m stretched.

[Nicky Mouse]

On 8/27/2021 at 9:21 AM, Beamafar said:

How much does the upgrade cost?

Basically about $35/day.

Edited August 31, 2021 by Nicky Mouse

[Beamafar]

3 minutes ago, Nicky Mouse said:

Basically about $35/day.

Thank you.  We reckon it’ll be worth it to us, having seen what’s included. 

[Nicky Mouse]

9 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Thank you.  We reckon it’ll be worth it to us, having seen what’s included. 

I've done it the last two cruises, and I get my money's worth on coffee drinks (with bailey's added), bottled water, and the discounts on tastings.

 

Plus each time once the bartenders know I have it they start suggesting things to try that are included that I wouldn't have thought to try.

[Beamafar]

Sounds good!   I add Baileys to hot chocolate and have at least one on a cruise for elevenses. 
 

We’ve had the PremiumPlus on MSC several times, which has similar offerings to NCL. Unfortunately they’re doing away with it from Winter sailings so we’re hoping to enjoy it for the last time in October. 

[Twinbooty]

Wow....so on the drinks package you can't get a glass of water but you can get a $15 cocktail? 

 

Wife might not be happy.... lol...

[Beamafar]

54 minutes ago, Twinbooty said:

Wow....so on the drinks package you can't get a glass of water but you can get a $15 cocktail? 

 

Wife might not be happy.... lol...

Seems like a crazy policy to me, too.  I believe you can get ‘tap’ water in the bars and restaurants, it’s just bottled water that’s not included. 

[limeyalchemist]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:45 AM, Shellbelle28 said:

To go to the highest level package it is $243.60 per person on a 7 day cruise (more for a longer cruise). And both passengers on a double occupancy reservation have to do the upgrade. 

If you have an adult and an 18 yo in a cabin, what would it cost to upgrade to premium plus?  Obviously, the 18 yo will get the soda package from the free at sea deal.  Does only the adult pay the premium plus added charge in this situation?

[limeyalchemist]

Can passengers who are 18 yo and have parental written permission to drink alcohol use their standard beverage package to get alcoholic drinks included, or can they only get soda included?

 

Thx.