More at Sea

[UKstages]

nope.

 

it was specifically designed to appeal to a small number of people. 

 

kindly read the rest of my post and all will be revealed.

[DCGuy64]

4 minutes ago, UKstages said:

it was specifically designed to appeal to a small number of people. 

No, it was not "specifically designed to appeal to a small number of people." That is your interpretation of it, not NCL's design.

[RocketMan275]

15 minutes ago, UKstages said:

nope.

 

it was specifically designed to appeal to a small number of people. 

 

kindly read the rest of my post and all will be revealed.

Like all programs, FAS Plus was designed to produce a profit sufficeint to justify it's existance.  It didn't do that. It's gone.  Popularity in a small niche doesn't mean it was sufficeintly profitable.

[bkrickles1]

10 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

No, it was not "specifically designed to appeal to a small number of people." That is your interpretation of it, not NCL's design.

Exactly!!

I'm sure NCL would have loved to have sold it to 30, 40, 50+% of their passengers.

[UKstages]

58 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

No, it was not "specifically designed to appeal to a small number of people." That is your interpretation of it, not NCL's design

 

were you at the board meeting at which this was decided?

 

did you attend the ad agency pitches?

 

if not, i think that probably means that your statement about those who purchased it being "too few in number" is your interpretation. this is a forum in which we exchange ideas and opinions. pretty much every time you see my user name followed by a comment, i am interpreting something or offering my opinion.

 

premium plus was wildly successful with its target audience. NCL most likely ditched it because it wasn't financially viable... not because people didn't buy it, but because those who did took full advantage of it and the program may not have been appropriately priced. 

 

54 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Popularity in a small niche doesn't mean it was sufficeintly profitable.

 

i have said this repeatedly.

 

the difference is that i place the blame upon NCL for poor program design and/or pricing, not for attracting too few people who were interested. it was a niche program, poorly rolled out and probably set at too low a price point to accommodate super users. 

 

 

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, UKstages said:

the difference is that i place the blame upon NCL for poor program design and/or pricing, not for attracting too few people who were interested. it was a niche program, poorly rolled out and probably set at too low a price point to accommodate super users. 

Then again, it could have been a bad idea to begin with.  

[mikegw2]

The fact is we don't know the rationale behind NCL's offering of FAS+ or the financial performance of the program.  I do know that no single product or offering needs to be profitable depending on the target market.  What if NCL's data tells them that passengers who buy FAS+ also gamble more, buy spa services more, by Vibe and Thermal suite passes, use NCL shore excursion more, shop onboard, tip more, or stay in the Haven or club balcony suites. FAS+ would be a pretty cheap offering to keep those passengers coming back. To those passengers, the $500-$600 to buy FAS+ may be a drop in the bucket.

 

I've been CEO of three banks, and I can tell you that we offered products that we lost millions of dollars on every year because they were targeted to the bank's most profitable and loyal customers who made us ten times more than we lost on those "bad or poorly designed" products.   

[stitchcreek]

I think I’ve seen a couple of different replies to what happens if you have FAS+ for 2025.

1) Fully refunded

2) All perks remain except the beverages + element, so partial refund.

 

Anyone confident they’ve got the correct answer yet? Or news on when to expect that refund? (assuming it’s automatic)

[rscales2]

They could have charged an additional charge of $25 a day for Premium alcohol and call that More at Sea.

[ocdb8r]

10 hours ago, stitchcreek said:

I think I’ve seen a couple of different replies to what happens if you have FAS+ for 2025.

1) Fully refunded

2) All perks remain except the beverages + element, so partial refund.

 

Anyone confident they’ve got the correct answer yet? Or news on when to expect that refund? (assuming it’s automatic)

Not confident in anything; there are also reports in the other MAS threads that some with 2025 cruises were told (and sent confirmation) that their FAS+ benefits will remain and no changes will be made.

 

Clearly NCL didn't prepare any training or a clear answer for agents, so everyone is just saying what they "think" the answer is.  I suspect until there is some formal communication everything remains speculation.

[insidecabin]

On 10/2/2024 at 12:41 PM, luv2kroooz said:

Yeah, that is a good point. It can apply to US as well, though. By way of example, you can buy princess plus onboard for $60 per day. So a 7 day cruise costs $420, but when bought onboard you can apply OBC. So, if you get $50 from your TA and $100 from shareholder now your cost for the package would be $270, or $39 per day, which gets you 15 alcoholic drinks per day which includes water and coffees, plus fully unlimited, fast internet, plus some specialty dining, plus your daily gratuities for your waitstaff and cabin steward. Obviously, you need to factor in base fares, too, but the comparison can be made.

Don't forget OceanNow includes delivery to nearly any location including cabin at no extra cost which in effect is a fully stocked mini bar included, those not on the OceanNOw menu you can collect from bars for cabin
(They have a selection of spirit miniatures at the ice cream place) .

if you don't hit your 15 alcohol you can carry over using alcohol that comes in sealed containers( beer, cocktails and others ifkyk) ether delivered or collected from bars.

Sometimes in UK Plus is available at 50%, for UK the base price is £50(£45 if paying $60 on board)
Also because plus is classed as a fare any additional discount like the the UK Blue light card(10%) applies to the package as well as the base fare(including taxes and fees).

In the UK Free at Sea was often 50%, will be interesting to see how long before the first More at Sea discount.

 

More at Sea wins on dining as Plus only included 2 casual(cheap) options, the more expensive princess Premier($90) has unlimited drinks and Speciality dining

[UKstages]

5 hours ago, ocdb8r said:

Clearly NCL didn't prepare any training or a clear answer for agents, so everyone is just saying what they "think" the answer is.

 

sadly, it appears, as with most NCL announcements, the "training" has consisted of distributing to cruise consultants essentially the same FAQs available to customers. and there are a lot of holes and misstatements and conflicting information in those documents. standard practice for NCL seems to be to throw spaghetti up against the wall and see what sticks. only after receiving feedback from customers do they realize what has been left unsaid or what needs clarification or what the edge cases are.

 

Edited Thursday at 02:04 PM by UKstages

[julig22]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

 

sadly, it appears, as with most NCL announcements, the "training" has consisted of distributing to cruise consultants essentially the same FAQs available to customers. and there are a lot of holes and misstatements and conflicting information in those documents. standard practice for NCL seems to be to throw spaghetti up against the wall and see what sticks. only after receiving feedback from customers do they realize what has been left unsaid or what needs clarification or what the edge cases are.

 

Rumor has it that the "lost" 300 wifi minutes for longer cruises was an oops and not an intentional change. So keep those thoughts and letters coming as part of the spaghetti clean up.

[quillwercruisers]

We sail in March of 25, reservation was made in Jan 24. The FAS+ is back on my reservation, and I am able to book excursions using the extra $50 excursion credit. This is from my Vacation Summary:

 

[New2cruise2022]

18 hours ago, mikegw2 said:

The fact is we don't know the rationale behind NCL's offering of FAS+ or the financial performance of the program.  I do know that no single product or offering needs to be profitable depending on the target market.  What if NCL's data tells them that passengers who buy FAS+ also gamble more, buy spa services more, by Vibe and Thermal suite passes, use NCL shore excursion more, shop onboard, tip more, or stay in the Haven or club balcony suites. FAS+ would be a pretty cheap offering to keep those passengers coming back. To those passengers, the $500-$600 to buy FAS+ may be a drop in the bucket.

 

I've been CEO of three banks, and I can tell you that we offered products that we lost millions of dollars on every year because they were targeted to the bank's most profitable and loyal customers who made us ten times more than we lost on those "bad or poorly designed" products.   

Costco chicken. 

[New2cruise2022]

2 minutes ago, quillwercruisers said:

We sail in March of 25, reservation was made in Jan 24. The FAS+ is back on my reservation, and I am able to book excursions using the extra $50 excursion credit. This is from my Vacation Summary:

 

Mine showed back up this morning too. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

2 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

sadly, it appears, as with most NCL announcements, the "training" has consisted of distributing to cruise consultants essentially the same FAQs available to customers. and there are a lot of holes and misstatements and conflicting information in those documents. standard practice for NCL seems to be to throw spaghetti up against the wall and see what sticks. only after receiving feedback from customers do they realize what has been left unsaid or what needs clarification or what the edge cases are.

 

This is so true. Just got the promo info the day before the general public and that’s about it.

Edited Thursday at 04:33 PM by PhillyTravelBug

[UKstages]

and I find it amazing (no, not really) that NCL hasn't yet sent out an email blast announcing the changes to its customers, both those booked and the former and future prospects it has in its email database. 

 

Edited Thursday at 05:05 PM by UKstages

[Sillygirl82]

I'm booked for an Alaskan cruise June of 2025 and had previously booked the FAS+.  I used the chat feature this morning and was told that the FAP+ would be refunded and I would lose all benefits.  After I asked for a drink list for the MAS included drinks they directed me to call the phone number.  I called and was told that I had the option of either using the MAS or the FAS+.  When I told her the chat told me something different she put me on a long hold.  She then verified that I can keep the free at sea plus which will keep all of my free at sea plus benefits.  Hope this is true!  

Edited Thursday at 05:58 PM by Sillygirl82
typo

[New2cruise2022]

10 minutes ago, Sillygirl82 said:

I'm booked for an Alaskan cruise June of 2025 and had previously booked the FAS+.  I used the chat feature this morning and was told that the FAP+ would be refunded and I would lose all benefits.  After I asked for a drink list for the MAS included drinks they directed me to call the phone number.  I called and was told that I had the option of either using the MAS or the FAS+.  When I told her the chat told me something different she put me on a long hold.  She then verified that I can keep the free at sea plus which will keep all of my free at sea plus benefits.  Hope this is true!  

When you chat, they will email you an Amenity Invoice. This will clearly show what you have (Internet, Premium Plus Bev, Spec Dining, Shore Cred)

[Sillygirl82]

The Amenity invoice is still showing all of the FAS+ amenities.

[stitchcreek]

But even if the amenities still exist for 2025, haven’t we now overpaid for it?

[cincicruisers]

All my specialty dining credits have shown back up in my summary this afternoon.  Very happy they are still honoring them.

[Sillygirl82]

1 hour ago, stitchcreek said:

But even if the amenities still exist for 2025, haven’t we now overpaid for it?

Well-- 

 

Internet is $30/day or $210 for one person

Starbucks is $115/pp or $230 total

Water- $30 for a 24 pack

not sure what the cover charge is but if i guess $50 pp then that is another $200

 

So total of $670 for all of that- I still think FAS+ is worth the price tag.  Although would be nice if they gave us a partial refund for the drink package portion.  

 

--- prices for a 7 day cruise

Edited Thursday at 08:01 PM by Sillygirl82

[New2cruise2022]

8 minutes ago, Sillygirl82 said:

Well-- 

 

Internet is $30/day or $210 for one person

Starbucks is $115/pp or $230 total

Water- $30 for a 24 pack

not sure what the cover charge is but if i guess $50 pp then that is another $200

 

So total of $670 for all of that- I still think FAS+ is worth the price tag.  Although would be nice if they gave us a partial refund for the drink package portion.  

 

--- prices for a 7 day cruise

I agree. I don’t need the alcohol to find the value in FAS+. Unlimited internet and Starbucks with still and sparkling water was the win for me. Also, I like Red Bull