Still confused about "Free At Sea" open bar inclusion, if there are additional tax or gratuities on top the drinks I order?

[gam888]

I am considering booking NCL Sun "Free At Sea" promotion, which includes wifi, shore excursion credit, 1 specialty dinner and "Open Bar".

 

I am still not a 100% sure if there is any extra charges when we order drinks on the ship with our "Free At Sea" promotion. Although I have been told that there should not be any additional charges for either tax or gratuities on the drinks I order, as long as the ship is not in a specific port that has that extra VAT tax requirement. 

 

Here is a couple of sentences on the NCL Policy that concerns me: This was on a previous post by another Cruise Critic member. 

 

For the "Free At Sea" promotion:

"Government taxes, port expenses & fees, discretionary onboard service charges and/or gratuities are additional."

 

"Guests are responsible for 20% gratuities on the retail value of the Unlimited Open Bar Package ($21.80 USD per person per day)"

 

So does it apply to the "Free At Sea" promotion that I am considering choosing, which includes this "open bar", and I am supposed to have paid for the gratuities up front already when I book the cruise? 

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

Yes, the 20% is paid upfront for the grats with the drinks package as well as 20% on the specialty dining.  Once onboard, no other taxes or grats are due with each individual drink ordered, unless there are certain European ports that have a VAT tax.

[shof515]

3 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Yes, the 20% is paid upfront for the grats with the drinks package as well as 20% on the specialty dining.  Once onboard, no other taxes or grats are due with each individual drink ordered, unless there are certain European ports that have a VAT tax.

similar here in the states they are some states that do have a state sales tax on drinks when the ship is in port . once the ship reaches international waters there is no tax

[gam888]

Here is what is showing on the web site as I was proceeding to book:

The wording is as follows: 

 

"Free At Sea", Claim Your Free Offers:

 

• Open Bar

  Save up to US$1,400 on all the spirits and cocktails, wines, draft beer, juice and soda for all guests 21 years or older. Gratuities will be added to your booking.
• Specialty Dining

  Save up to US$160 and savor free meals at our Specialty Dining venues for Guests 1 & 2. Gratuities will be added to your booking.

   

  • Subtotal

    CA$3,243.04
  • Gov. Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses

    CA$750.02
  • Open Bar Gratuities

    CA$643.24
  • Specialty Dining Gratuities

    CA$26.82

  Total Due

  CA$4,663.12

   

  Where it says Open Bar Gratuities for $643.24, I presume it means it covers the prices of the drink package including the gratuities as well? 

[Two Wheels Only]

10 minutes ago, gam888 said:

Where it says Open Bar Gratuities for $643.24, I presume it means it covers the prices of the drink package including the gratuities as well? 

 

The PBP is one charge and there is a 20% service charge on that. The promo "pays" the PBP and you pay the service charge of $643.24. 

 

 

[bones774]

Can a person decline the Open Bar package or is it all or none?

thanks

[Nilbog]

14 minutes ago, bones774 said:

Can a person decline the Open Bar package or is it all or none?

thanks

Yes, when booking your cruise you can un-check any of the FAS offers.

[tallyho8]

I always uncheck the dining options so that I don't have to pay the gratuities on that offer as I am Sapphire and already get 2 free special meals on a 7 day cruise and like to spend a few days eating the meals in the regular dining room or Buffet or other choices.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

16 hours ago, bones774 said:

Can a person decline the Open Bar package or is it all or none?

thanks

Yes

[MagnoliaBlossom]

If you are in certain states, TX and LA for certain, you will be charged the state tax on your drinks until you leave state water.  Usually comes to less than $1 per drink.

 

if you are having a comp dinner in Cagneys, say, and decide to add a lobster tail to your steak, there is a gratuity added to that $25 add on.

 

if you order a drink that is more than the $15 limit, say you get a glass of wine that is $17/glass you will pay a gratuity on that overage amount.

 

this was from my experience last week on the BA.  Hope that helps.  All prices I used are in USD.

[mjkacmom]

41 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Yes

Really? I thought all eligible passengers needed to accept the UDP or decline it.

[BirdTravels]

5 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Really? I thought all eligible passengers needed to accept the UDP or decline it.

You can decline the FAS open bar or specialty dining or both. 

[BirdTravels]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:30 PM, gam888 said:

For the "Free At Sea" promotion:

"Government taxes, port expenses & fees, discretionary onboard service charges and/or gratuities are additional."

 

"Guests are responsible for 20% gratuities on the retail value of the Unlimited Open Bar Package ($21.80 USD per person per day)"

 

So does it apply to the "Free At Sea" promotion that I am considering choosing, which includes this "open bar", and I am supposed to have paid for the gratuities up front already when I book the cruise? 

You pay the 20% gratuities on the retail price of the beverage package and the specialty dining if you accept it. It is applied to the cost of your cruise up front. It is a really good deal. 

 

When you are on board, there are no additional required gratuities for either the FAS beverage package or specialty dining package. If you choose to tip your waiter or favorite bar tender something extra, that is your choice. 

 

There are certain ports that require the cruise line to collect local taxes on the retail price of drinks while in port. Depending on tax rate, a buck, buck and a  half a drink.  

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

You can decline the FAS open bar or specialty dining or both. 

I get that, but I didn’t think NCL allowed only one passenger get the UDP up to not wanting folks with it getting drinks for others without it.

[PATRLR]

4 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I get that, but I didn’t think NCL allowed only one passenger get the UDP up to not wanting folks with it getting drinks for others without it.

Correct, Passengers #1 and #2 in a cabin must both either get the package or decline it.

[PATRLR]

@gam888  In summary, your $4663.12 bottom line includes everything for dining and drinking including the gratuities for the drink and dining package.  The only time you will pay anything additional is in ports that require collecting tax on the drink or if you order a drink that costs more than $15 (on a $17 drink, you will be charged $2 plus $0.40 gratuity.  If you order that $17 drink in a port that requires tax collection, you will be charged tax on $17).

You will still need to pay the daily service charge which covers service staff other than the bar servers and specialty dining servers.

Edited December 18, 2022 by PATRLR

[LDIdeals]

YES, you can decline any of the free offers on the promo you are booked for.  We declined both the Free Open Bar and Specialty restaurant because the gratuities that you are charged up front for those were way beyond what we would drink on our trip and we weren't particularly interested in the specialty dining.  Just let them know when booking or call and let them know you want to decline that portion of the promo before your final payment.

 

[dritan]

Hi - I'm wondering if it is different on the UK NCL site?  I'm considering whether to opt in or out of the Free At Sea package for myself and two children.  The price difference is approx £500 if I opt in but I don't see any reference to gratuities in the final pricing.  Looking at the Canadian example above, there is a line for both the dining package gratuities and the drinks package gratuities which just doesn't appear in the UK site.  I'd hate to go on board and then find a huge gratuity fee on top of the normal tips.  Anyone from UK clarify what they found?

[wcook]

Others have reported that, per UK law, the gratuities are baked into the UK price. The price you see is the price you pay. Such a crazy concepts to us Americans /s. 

[wcook]

I find 20% of $100+/day to be a very nice price for a drink package, but outrageous for gratuity of a free package. Ridiculous marketing, IMO. 

 

But I will say in practice the package works very smoothly. For sodas they just glance as the card and serve. For alcohols a quick swipe of the card. You never see a bill, have to write in $0 for an additional gratuity etc. 

[dritan]

Thanks - I'm considering go with the non Free at Sea option - it looks like I'd have to buy the 3rd person a soda package anyway and an extra £500 seems a lot for gratuities especially when one of the first two passengers is a child.  I'm not a big drinker so will probably just get them a soda package separately.

[mjkacmom]

16 hours ago, dritan said:

Thanks - I'm considering go with the non Free at Sea option - it looks like I'd have to buy the 3rd person a soda package anyway and an extra £500 seems a lot for gratuities especially when one of the first two passengers is a child.  I'm not a big drinker so will probably just get them a soda package separately.

If the first person is over 21, they get the UDP, in the 2nd is a child, they get the soda package and just pay gratuities on that. The 3rd doesn’t have to purchase anything.