No Alcohol in any UK ports - what! 😱

[cybermirth]

[Greener123]

“Certain ports of call”

 

60% then 🙄

[cybermirth]

Yes, not sure how many ports are affected.  Ten-day cruise, eight ports of call.  Three are in Ireland, so I am hopeful there.  Twelve miles out to sea before drinks here?  That’s 9 pm according to another poster.  We are sailing on Celebrity side-to-side just after this cruise ends, also out of Southampton - I’ll be very surprised to see the same policies in force there!

Edited May 14, 2023 by cybermirth

[dexddd]

So much for a Mother's Day mimosa.  At least they didn't use the old... For your convenience, of course...

[rattla]

32 minutes ago, cybermirth said:

Yes, not sure how many ports are affected.  Ten-day cruise, eight ports of call.  Three are in Ireland, so I am hopeful there.  Twelve miles out to sea before drinks here?  That’s 9 pm according to another poster.  We are sailing on Celebrity side-to-side just after this cruise ends, also out of Southampton - I’ll be very surprised to see the same policies in force there!

hate to be bearer of bad news but Belfast is in Northern Ireland which is also part of the U.K.  so only Dublin and Ringaskiddy that are not in the U.K.

[Pooston]

We were served alcohol in Belfast. But we weren't allowed alcohol in Southampton or Portland. It is absolutely NOT UK law (I live in the UK).  NCL do not want to pay taxes in those ports.  All other ships leaving from Southampton (including anthem of the seas) are serving alcohol 

[Pooston]

4 hours ago, rattla said:

Urghh, that’s naff!   I wonder what they will do in Scotland?  Would think they have the same HMRC/Customs rules?

I see Dawn is England 3 days and Scotland 3 days out of 10?!

 

There are no such rules (I live in the UK).

 

NCL are lying.

 

The only rule is that ships serving alcohol in those ports must pay taxes.....and NCL don't want to pay those taxes. 

 

All other cruise lines sailing from those ports are serving alcohol 

[Pooston]

2 hours ago, flamingo_fancies said:

It will more than likely be happening for the star in Belfast. This is what the Southampton port agent sent me when I questioned the restriction. So its a case of NCL not paying duty and VAT rater than the narrative they are trying to spin.

 

It didn't happen in Belfast. Only Southampton and Portland

[luv2kroooz]

This is so sad to read. What a dishonest, disreputable company. They will eventually anger enough customers. All they would have to do is add another sentence at the bottom of their sign stating they were issuing a pro rata refund of service charge and beverage package for the missed days. Why would they think they are entitled to charge customers and then keep customers money for a service they don't provide? I really feel for those that paid decent money to upgrade to the premium plus and now can't even enjoy the offerings. How unethical can a company be? Wow. I own a business and operate it for profit. However, I operate it in an ethical, prudent manner. I would never think to rip people off like this. Well, this stuff tends to catch up and work itself out. At the end of day, NCL will be accountable for it's unethical behavior.

[bbnmom]

In the US when in port you just have to pay the taxes which still relieves NCL of the burden. I wonder why they don't handle it that way. I wonder how much per drink it would be. I don't think it amounts to much in the U.S. Or am I confused?

 

[flamingo_fancies]

13 minutes ago, Pooston said:

 

It didn't happen in Belfast. Only Southampton and Portland

How strange

[Norwayfan1]

This all seems to blow that 'the port only gave us two days' notice' excuse out of the water.

 

What a load of baloney from NCL.

 

I'll be asking for a pro-rata refund for the days they don't deliver the service and products they promised. I don't care if that amounts to a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things... I'll do it as a point of principle.

[belchro22]

7 minutes ago, flamingo_fancies said:

It didn't happen in Belfast. Only Southampton and Portland

Can we hope that maybe the issue was resolved by the time ship reached that port?🙂

[Greener123]

8 minutes ago, belchro22 said:

Can we hope that maybe the issue was resolved by the time ship reached that port?🙂

No, that was in the middle of the other two. 

[flamingo_fancies]

7 minutes ago, belchro22 said:

Can we hope that maybe the issue was resolved by the time ship reached that port?🙂

It seems doubtful  unfortunately ☹️ as I belive portland  was the last port of call yesterday prior to disembarkation in Southampton today. There are people who have got on the Dawn in Southampton today saying the signs are back out.🤔

[teazy]

Just got the freestyle for tomorrow…. Belfast…. No alcohol … that’s a whole day… anyone that stays on board tomorrow will not be able to have even a glass of wine on deck. We don’t leave until 7pm so I reckon that must be thousands saved. 
We will be platinum after this cruise, Seriously reconsidering any loyalty to NCL. It stinks, this policy could take the company down. Very very angry

 

[Twolittleboys]

This seems so strange. Surely they MUST know that this will upset customers. I am not a big drinker but if I have a drink package I expect to be able to get a drink unless it is really impossible due to regulations etc. (which it clearly isn't as other cruise lines manage).

 

I can't imagine NCL would willingly do this. Do they need to save money that badly? 

[Greener123]

4 minutes ago, teazy said:

Just got the freestyle for tomorrow…. Belfast…. No alcohol … that’s a whole day… anyone that stays on board tomorrow will not be able to have even a glass of wine on deck. We don’t leave until 7pm so I reckon that must be thousands saved. 
We will be platinum after this cruise, Seriously reconsidering any loyalty to NCL. It stinks, this policy could take the company down. Very very angry

 

What’s the mood onboard? Imagine big queue at guest services and lots of unhappy sailors? 

[luv2kroooz]

3 minutes ago, Twolittleboys said:

This seems so strange. Surely they MUST know that this will upset customers. I am not a big drinker but if I have a drink package I expect to be able to get a drink unless it is really impossible due to regulations etc. (which it clearly isn't as other cruise lines manage).

 

I can't imagine NCL would willingly do this. Do they need to save money that badly? 

Yes, they need cash very, very badly to service staggering amounts of debts from Corona. Look at their recent financials and recent stock price.

 

No, they couldn't care less about their customers. They've proven that over and again throughout the years on a myriad of issue. Less than 10% of the general population has taken a cruise. NCL can continue to deceptively market to unsuspecting customers by charging them for a service that they can not provide and then not offering a refund. It is the equivalent of theft and stealing, but there are lots of unsuspecting newbies that are prime targets. 

 

This is why we only do business with NCL at very last minute, bargain basement rates. This way we don't have to worry (for the most part) about itinerary changes, shortened port calls, changes to beverage offerings, etc. Plus, when they pull recurring, unethical stunts, we don't have a ton of money tied up with them and have the protection of our credit card company should a dispute arise. Often times, we have taken the cruise vacation before the payment to the card company is due.

[teazy]

13 minutes ago, Greener123 said:

What’s the mood onboard? Imagine big queue at guest services and lots of unhappy sailors? 

Very unhappy customers. Many asking for gratuities back or refusing to pay, and also requesting partial refunds on drinks package. Lots of complaint forms to Miami being completed

[ziggyuk]

So......

I can give them the benefit of the doubt that 2 days was not enough notice to pay the bill for Southampton, but hey, they told us it was only Southampton & Dover & Belfast would not be an issue.

Now we are told there will be no Alcohol in Belfast, the whole day, well did they not have enough notice this time...... Or are NCL just shy of paying the taxes that are due. They are not shy in making us pay for the package.

 

This is wearing thin now!!

Edited May 14, 2023 by ziggyuk

[ziggyuk]

I'm buying wine off the ship as I'm in Mondeo tomorrow night and I'm not having another specialty meal wine free, they better let us pour it!

[IrieBajan54]

17 minutes ago, teazy said:

Very unhappy customers. Many asking for gratuities back or refusing to pay, and also requesting partial refunds on drinks package. Lots of complaint forms to Miami being completed

Glad to read passengers are pushing back against this unscrupulous business practice. I noticed the cheerleaders have disappeared with all their alternative facts.

Edited May 14, 2023 by IrieBajan54
correction

[Captain-John]

4 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

I noticed the cheerleaders have disappeared with all their alternative facts

 

This. It never fails to amaze me how many things people are happy to 'let go' after spending thousands on a cruise and agreeing to be provided with certain services in return. It's an incredibly one sided contract to begin with, and then we have people who defend large corporations who have resources, experience and whose job it is to deliver on what was promised to the customer - it really blows my mind.

 

NCL should be proactive in offering profuse and sincere apologies, along with refunds and compensation on top for this issue - anything less shows contempt for the customer (although I can see why they do it, as so many are happy to roll over and 'go with it' as gets evidenced on Cruise Critic all the time).

[Travelling2Some]

23 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Yes, they need cash very, very badly to service staggering amounts of debts from Corona. Look at their recent financials and recent stock price.

 

No, they couldn't care less about their customers. They've proven that over and again throughout the years on a myriad of issue. Less than 10% of the general population has taken a cruise. NCL can continue to deceptively market to unsuspecting customers by charging them for a service that they can not provide and then not offering a refund. It is the equivalent of theft and stealing, but there are lots of unsuspecting newbies that are prime targets. 

 

This is why we only do business with NCL at very last minute, bargain basement rates. This way we don't have to worry (for the most part) about itinerary changes, shortened port calls, changes to beverage offerings, etc. Plus, when they pull recurring, unethical stunts, we don't have a ton of money tied up with them and have the protection of our credit card company should a dispute arise. Often times, we have taken the cruise vacation before the payment to the card company is due.

Norwegian has always been our favorite line, chiefly because of their entertainment and FAS drink package.  But there are only so many times you can lie to your best customers.  We will be taking your approach in the future.  During the pandemic I saw over and over that they were willing to continue advertising and collecting final payments on cruises that we all here at CC knew would never sail.  Recently they have engaged in some shady itinerary antics whose obvious purpose was to save money and this is yet another of those stunts.  To be desperate and foolish enough to mess with the drink package makes me wonder about their solvency.