No alcohol in Greece (unless you have drink package).

[DCGuy64]

On 6/7/2023 at 5:05 AM, jennjess said:

I don't get the drinks package because I don't drink, but I wasn't allowed to buy a soft drink in Greek waters either.  It's not just alcohol that is affected.  Just wanted to clear that up.  Not a problem for me as I could go to the buffet and get something to drink.

Also those not from the USA, or I guess Canada, do pay for the drink package is isn't free!

Then get the package, you're probably paying $5 for a Coke so in 4 drinks you've made your money back. I just think the UBP is great value and if you're stuck on a cruise where you can only get your drinks if you have the package, that's a good reason to have it. That being said, this whole topic is kind of a joke. I'd bet my life this issue isn't anywhere near a common occurrence. It's just been a handful of cruises in a few countries. (Greece, Italy, and the UK, hardly the entire world)

[DCGuy64]

Just now, insidecabin said:

Its actually quite easy on NCL as the package is relatively poor.

 

My OH would be under if she did not have me encouraging her, she could do a cruise with zero drinks from the package.

Poor? OK, if you call 35 different cocktails and 20 types of wine and beer 'poor.' I certainly don't.

[DCGuy64]

13 hours ago, podgeandrodge said:

I asked in the Royal Caribbean thread and someone said "We were just in Greece last month and didn’t have any problems getting a drink in the Schooner.  We were also in Greece for 4 stops last year and no issues."

How much does RC charge? Last time I checked it was over $60 per person, per day. It helps to compare apples to apples.

[insidecabin]

15 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Poor? OK, if you call 35 different cocktails and 20 types of wine and beer 'poor.' I certainly don't.

That's fine for an alcohol(ic) drinker, NCL is an outlier not including water, coffee and tea at bars on their package.

 

That's what makes it a relatively poor.

 

[craig01020]

40 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

How? I don't see how that's possible. How much do you drink? 1 per day? What's the point, LOL? 😊

It's very possible with a port-intensive itinerary. Having 1 or 2 drinks in the evening doesn't add up to much.

Edited June 8, 2023 by craig01020

[craig01020]

28 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

How much does RC charge? Last time I checked it was over $60 per person, per day. It helps to compare apples to apples.

I think the point is that RC cruisers can buy a drink if they don't have the drink package.

[KeithJenner]

43 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

 I'd bet my life this issue isn't anywhere near a common occurrence. It's just been a handful of cruises in a few countries. (Greece, Italy, and the UK, hardly the entire world)

There has been no bar service in Greece for people without the beverage package on NCL for about a year now.

[DCGuy64]

6 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

There has been no bar service in Greece for people without the beverage package on NCL for about a year now.

Then those who didn't have it yet have presumably known about the issue and had plenty of time to request the UBP to avoid any service issues. I guess that's the silver lining in it. (But I still find it odd that other lines have allegedly not had the same issue.) And why isn't this a problem with Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, etc? They are all in the EU same as Ireland, Greece and Italy, how come this issue only affects some countries and not others? I suppose at the end of the day I'm happy we signed up for the beverage package since we're visiting Malta, Italy and Greece.

[DCGuy64]

20 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

I think the point is that RC cruisers can buy a drink if they don't have the drink package.

Yes and they pay dearly for the privilege, it seems. Your choices are pony up the measly $20/day in grats on NCL and get served, or shell out over 3x that on RCI. This is a no-brainer.

[DCGuy64]

25 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

That's fine for an alcohol(ic) drinker, NCL is an outlier not including water, coffee and tea at bars on their package.

 

That's what makes it a relatively poor.

 

That's not actually true, you know. We've gotten free water, coffee and tea on all NCL cruises. What  you have to pay for are premium coffees and teas (I hate Starbucks so that's moot, and my wife doesn't drink coffee at all) plus fancy bottled water. We use the free water dispensers and fill up our own bottles. So that doesn't make their selections poor at all. We get all the free water, coffee and tea we want and don't pay a penny extra.

[craig01020]

2 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Yes and they pay dearly for the privilege, it seems. Your choices are pony up the measly $20/day in grats on NCL and get served, or shell out over 3x that on RCI. This is a no-brainer.

Wrong. You just pay for the individual drinks without buying the drink package. Not a difficult concept to grasp.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, craig01020 said:

Wrong. You just pay for the individual drinks without buying the drink package. Not a difficult concept to grasp.

For the price of fewer than 2 cocktails on Royal, you get unlimited drinks on NCL. Definitely not a difficult concept to grasp, you're right. 😉

[insidecabin]

11 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's not actually true, you know. We've gotten free water, coffee and tea on all NCL cruises. What  you have to pay for are premium coffees and teas (I hate Starbucks so that's moot, and my wife doesn't drink coffee at all) plus fancy bottled water. We use the free water dispensers and fill up our own bottles. So that doesn't make their selections poor at all. We get all the free water, coffee and tea we want and don't pay a penny extra.

Fine if you want to go to the buffet or cabin all the time you want something

 

If in a lounge you need to pay. 

[mjkacmom]

20 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Fine if you want to go to the buffet or cabin all the time you want something

 

If in a lounge you need to pay. 

You can get a glass of water anywhere. If unlimited alcoholic beverages and soda means I can’t sit at a bar and order coffee and tea, that’s fine, I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a coffee or tea at a bar.

[graphicguy]

As @DCGuy64 mentions, water (which is quite good out of the tap…I’ve seen their system…it’s cleaner than most you get in a bottle), coffee, juices, fruit “punch”, milk….are always available no charge. Those are available at the buffet and bars (which are about every 100 feet). 

 

The few (the VERY few) who don’t have a Free at Sea package probably don’t drink a lot of alcoholic beverages, if at all.  If they do drink a lot, and insist on paying a la carte….well, they aren’t very smart cruisers as that’s a very expensive proposition if you drink more than a couple of drinks/day.  Buying the drink package on board without Free at Sea is also a poor decision as they’re expensive (as they are on most cruise lines).

 

So, in Greece, U.K. Or whatever European country you sail, you should probably now know that without Free at Sea, don’t expect alcohol because of the way the ports charge VAT and the way NCL breaks it out separately.  It’s really as simple as that.

 

If you want alcoholic drinks everywhere all the time, get the Free at Sea drink package.  

[DCGuy64]

35 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Fine if you want to go to the buffet or cabin all the time you want something

 

If in a lounge you need to pay. 

I think I've only ever ordered 1 espresso at the pool bar, otherwise I only drink coffee in the morning at breakfast, which is in the Garden Café. The way I see it, if walking down to get a coffee is that much of a hardship while I'm on vacation, well then maybe I should just stay home. I feel like at this point, people are just looking for excuses to complain.

[Norwayfan1]

I know passengers use social media to share advice and opinions on cruise lines and cruise ships, but it is bonkers that they now seem to have to use social media to find out something as basic as whether they will be able to buy a drink on a forthcoming cruise.

 

NCL know they will not be serving drinks in Greece, except to passengers with drinks packages. Apparently this has been the case for a while. So for God's sake just put it in the T&Cs somewhere - assuming it isn't already - for everyone to see.

 

Some people won't care... and those that do care, can use that information as they see fit. Guest Services would also have something concrete to show passengers who complain on board.

 

It's not hard.

[graphicguy]

14 minutes ago, Norwayfan1 said:

I know passengers use social media to share advice and opinions on cruise lines and cruise ships, but it is bonkers that they now seem to have to use social media to find out something as basic as whether they will be able to buy a drink on a forthcoming cruise.

 

NCL know they will not be serving drinks in Greece, except to passengers with drinks packages. Apparently this has been the case for a while. So for God's sake just put it in the T&Cs somewhere - assuming it isn't already - for everyone to see.

 

Some people won't care... and those that do care, can use that information as they see fit. Guest Services would also have something concrete to show passengers who complain on board.

 

It's not hard.

I agree it’s not hard.  But, NCL could put it in BOLD, 48pt font, italicized, painted on the hull of the ship, and someone, somewhere will say they were “blindsided”, “Unaware”, “want a refund”, etc.

[Norwayfan1]

Just now, graphicguy said:

I agree it’s not hard.  But, NCL could put it in BOLD, 48pt font, italicized, painted on the hull of the ship, and someone, somewhere will say they were “blindsided”, “Unaware”, “want a refund”, etc.

That applies to anything. It's no excuse for not telling people. If the information were in the T&Cs (even in quite small type!)  I personally would have little sympathy with the complainers. Buyer beware, and all that.

[graphicguy]

2 minutes ago, Norwayfan1 said:

That applies to anything. It's no excuse for not telling people. If the information were in the T&Cs (even in quite small type!)  I personally would have little sympathy with the complainers. Buyer beware, and all that.

Well…now you know!

[insidecabin]

52 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I think I've only ever ordered 1 espresso at the pool bar, otherwise I only drink coffee in the morning at breakfast, which is in the Garden Café. The way I see it, if walking down to get a coffee is that much of a hardship while I'm on vacation, well then maybe I should just stay home. I feel like at this point, people are just looking for excuses to complain.

Just pointing out an area where NCL could up their game with service and package  improvements.

 

Just include the bar coffee tea in the packages, the machines are there.

 

OH would often love a tea while I down my pints.

Deal breaker no, inconvenience yes.

 

Can still leave the Starbucks venue as a charge/premium plus option.

(We don't do it so don't care) 

 

In the current market you don't need to give people reasons not to book when they are comparing options.

 

NCL have more issues than they need to around drink service, it puts some people off.

[Norwayfan1]

41 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Well…now you know!

Maybe NCL like to create a sense of excitement and uncertainty in their passengers prior to sailing! 😁

[insidecabin]

4 minutes ago, Norwayfan1 said:

Maybe NCL like to create a sense of excitement and uncertainty in their passengers prior to sailing! 😁

NCL are not unique in failure to notify passengers of deveation from the product sold.

 

Even when it's a legal requirement to do so. 

[jennjess]

I wasn't aware I couldn't buy a non alcoholic drink in Greek waters before I went and I visit these pages quite often.  Sure I'm not the only one caught out.  It would be nice if NCL warned people of this fact when they booked a cruise with Greek ports ( or for that matter any ports with restrictions).  But for me it wasn't a major problem but would have been nice to know.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, Norwayfan1 said:

I know passengers use social media to share advice and opinions on cruise lines and cruise ships, but it is bonkers that they now seem to have to use social media to find out something as basic as whether they will be able to buy a drink on a forthcoming cruise.

 

NCL know they will not be serving drinks in Greece, except to passengers with drinks packages. Apparently this has been the case for a while. So for God's sake just put it in the T&Cs somewhere - assuming it isn't already - for everyone to see.

 

Some people won't care... and those that do care, can use that information as they see fit. Guest Services would also have something concrete to show passengers who complain on board.

 

It's not hard.

I would agree with you, especially if this is a semi-permanent issue (sort of like last year when NCL warned people they'd have to pay a fee to enter Bermuda, but then the legislature abolished that fee and it no longer applied). However, let's assume for now that this only applies to NCL and not other cruise lines. I'm not sure how they'd word that in the T&C's. I think it's much more likely this is a short-term problem, not a long-term one.

 

41 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Just pointing out an area where NCL could up their game with service and package  improvements.

 

Just include the bar coffee tea in the packages, the machines are there.

Agree 100%. I think it's odd those items aren't automatically part of the beverage package. Then again, lines who do include them charge a lot more, so I could see a person who doesn't consume fancy coffee and tea complaining that he shouldn't have to pay for something he doesn't want. I guess whatever solution, there will be opposition. NCL could include access to the Thermal Spa and then raise their prices, eliciting howls of protest from non spa goers. I'm not sure what the right answer is.