More at Sea

[UKstages]

On 9/30/2024 at 11:45 PM, UKstages said:

i'm curious to see how they handle casino guests with elevated status.

 

right now, a very big benefit (for some players) is free drinks throughout the ship. ("elite" players actually get premium + drinks and free unlimited wifi.) so what will they do for casino guests in the new world order?

 

 

responding to my own post... just today the casinos at sea benefit  page was updated to indicate that elite players get the premium plus drink package, but that it will be "upgrading to unlimited starbucks package on sailings starting 1/1/2025." 

 

and that raises more questions than it answers, as the "starbucks package" (as I understand it) is just for coffee and juice and tea drinks from starbucks. (although you can get bottled water in land-based starbucks... do they sell it on NCL, too?)

 

presumably they mean that players will get the "more at sea" drinks package with starbucks added on top. but it doesn't say that. and it still doesn't solve for the problem of missing pellegrino/aqua panna and premium plus beverages.

 

8 minutes ago, Sillygirl82 said:

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

 

the cover charge is $40, $50 or $60 depending on the restaurant, but you only pay that if you choose to buy additional specialty meals in addition to what's already included in "more at sea." NCL has applied a unique meaning to the term "cover charge" not used anywhere else on the planet. all their restaurants will now be "prix fixe" venues, but that "cove charge" is only paid by folks who want additional specialty dining, not already in their "more at sea" package.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I’d rather have that Starbucks package than the alcohol one.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours 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:

 

We just looked at our April 2026 Panama Canal booking and our FAS+ packages have been restored on that distant cruise as well. 😀

[stitchcreek]

1 hour 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

But we’re not getting Starbucks or water in 2025

[Sillygirl82]

And here's our answer-  I just got an email that for everyone that booked free at sea plus- we will keep starbucks, water, additional specialty dining and internet and will be refunded the beverage portion as that will convert to the more at sea beverage package.  

 

I'm happy with this.  

[azappraiser]

10 minutes ago, Sillygirl82 said:

And here's our answer-  I just got an email that for everyone that booked free at sea plus- we will keep starbucks, water, additional specialty dining and internet and will be refunded the beverage portion as that will convert to the more at sea beverage package.  

 

I'm happy with this.  

 

Can you share that?  The flyer only says we're keeping 2 spec dinners, Unlimited Internet & 2nd pass ShoreX $50 credit.

Free at Sea Plus Package Discontinuation Email.pdf

Edited Thursday at 09:24 PM by azappraiser
added attachment

[rnfulk]

11 minutes ago, Sillygirl82 said:

And here's our answer-  I just got an email that for everyone that booked free at sea plus- we will keep starbucks, water, additional specialty dining and internet and will be refunded the beverage portion as that will convert to the more at sea beverage package.  

 

I'm happy with this.  

When are you sailing? I just got an official email as well that says we keep everything from Free at Sea Plus, but Premium Plus beverage package will be refunded (no amount listed) and we’ll get more at sea drink package at no extra charge. Nothing about keeping Starbucks or water. Our sailing is March 2025.  

Edited Thursday at 09:24 PM by rnfulk
Typo

[Sillygirl82]

15 minutes ago, azappraiser said:

 

Can you share that?  The flyer only says we're keeping 2 spec dinners, Unlimited Internet & 2nd pass ShoreX $50 credit.

Free at Sea Plus Package Discontinuation Email.pdf 14.42 MB · 0 downloads

You are right- We are losing starbucks and waters!  That was my favorite part!  

 

Better be a good refund.

Edited Thursday at 09:37 PM by Sillygirl82

[New2cruise2022]

3 minutes ago, Sillygirl82 said:

You are right- We are losing starbucks and waters!  That was my favorite part!  

Having FAS+ in 2025 is a pickle. The Internet and the dining is a win, but the refund portion needs to come close to covering a water and Starbucks package or having the FAS+ may not have advantageous math. 

[rnfulk]

15 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Having FAS+ in 2025 is a pickle. The Internet and the dining is a win, but the refund portion needs to come close to covering a water and Starbucks package or having the FAS+ may not have advantageous math. 

Totally agree. Without the mysterious refund I will be losing money by keeping FAS+ instead of just buying meals and internet separately and factoring in the ShoreEx savings. I guess we’ll see how it all plays out when they announce the refund amount. 

[Ken the cruiser]

For us the unlimited internet, 2 additional specialty meals, AND the additional $50 for the 2nd person on an excursion, along with the water and Starbucks hot chocolate, were the reasons we booked FAS+. Now that Starbucks beverages and bottled water have been eliminated, it will be interesting to see how much of the $49 pp/day will be refunded to offset the cost of purchasing them onboard.

[RocketMan275]

I suspect the refund amount for the FAS+ beverage package will be $29 PPPD.  The same amount as was the price for upgrading the FAS to the FAS+ beverage package.

[Ken the cruiser]

21 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I suspect the refund amount for the FAS+ beverage package will be $29 PPPD.  The same amount as was the price for upgrading the FAS to the FAS+ beverage package.

That would be awesome if we got $58 per day refunded for the both of us on our 21 and 23 day cruises we currently have booked! 😁

[RocketMan275]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That would be awesome if we got $58 per day refunded for the both of us on our 21 and 23 day cruises we currently have booked! 😁

That will be the maximum you could expect.  Of course, NCL could argue that since many of the Plus beverages are include in MAS, they could decrease that amount a bit.  That would be a tough sell.

 

Still, if all drinks to $15 are covered in MAS, with only the amount over that amount charged, $58 a day would pay for a lot of that difference.

[ocdb8r]

10 hours ago, stitchcreek said:

But we’re not getting Starbucks or water in 2025

 

10 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Having FAS+ in 2025 is a pickle. The Internet and the dining is a win, but the refund portion needs to come close to covering a water and Starbucks package or having the FAS+ may not have advantageous math. 

 

10 hours ago, Sillygirl82 said:

You are right- We are losing starbucks and waters!  That was my favorite part!  

 

Better be a good refund.

 

11 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

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

Just remember, even if the refund is enough to buy the Starbucks package and a water package, you will be losing out on all sparkling water and premium bottled water (no Acqua Pana with the water package....it's simple small off brand plastic bottled water).  You also lose fresh juices (which we used every morning).  Even for non-alcohol drinkers, it's a big loss.

[schmoopie17]

On 10/1/2024 at 10:54 AM, laudergayle said:

I just made dining reservations for a Feb. 2, 2024 cruise.  We have 2 FAS meals and 2 Platinum meals.  Total of 4.  I reserved LaCucina, OceanBlue, Cagney’s and LeBistro.  I was not asked to pay anything.  Although the NCL website and app is throwing errors everywhere…the bookings did go through.

I just finished making specialty dining reservations for our February 6th cruise (booked in May).

 

Even though all four of the restaurants I booked (coincidentally, I booked all of the ones you did) said "Charge applies", I wasn't charged for any of them. No errors, no issues, no Platinum glitches. (Well, a minor issue since I also wanted to book Food Republic as our fifth one but reservations for that one are only done onboard.) But at least there were no issues related to the MAS fiasco. Sigh of relief...

 

@Sugar Magnoliadid you book yours?

Edited Friday at 12:30 PM by schmoopie17

[vacation44]

3 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I just finished making specialty dining reservations for our February 6th cruise (booked in May).

 

Even though all four of the restaurants I booked (coincidentally, I booked all of the ones you did) said "Charge applies", I wasn't charged for any of them. No errors, no issues, no Platinum glitches. (Well, a minor issue since I also wanted to book Food Republic as our fifth one but reservations for that one are only done onboard.) But at least there were no issues related to the MAS fiasco. Sigh of relief...

 

@Sugar Magnoliadid you book yours?

Great news and thank you for reporting back.   Hopefully, there will be no issues for me in three days.

[Sugar Magnolia]

14 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

 

@Sugar Magnoliadid you book yours?

Edited 12 minutes ago by schmoopie17

Yes, I booked Ocean Blue, Cagney’s, Le Bistro, La Cucina and Q. They all said “Charges Apply” but I was not charged for any bookings.

 

And just for the fun of it, I booked Teppanyaki at the end. Although it said “Cover Charge Applies” I was not charged for that booking as well. I know I would have been charged under the previous system.

 

I guess at some point I need to make final payment. Was hoping some charitable organization or person would step up to fund and enable my addiction.

 

[schmoopie17]

8 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

And just for the fun of it, I booked Teppanyaki at the end. Although it said “Cover Charge Applies” I was not charged for that booking as well. I know I would have been charged under the previous system.

 

I was tempted to try to book Tepanyaki, but realized I had already booked the others. Under the "old" rules, the only way to avoid the charge was to book it first. But if you're saying that old rule doesn't apply, I could give it a shot.

 

UPDATE: Just after I typed about Tepanyaki, I ran it past Mrs. Schmoopie. We've been to Tepanyaki a few times and the novelty has kind of worn off. We've never done Food Republic and we both want to try it...so I guess that will be our firth one.

 

[rjm11]

part of the "premium beverage plus" thing was certain bottles of wine at meals. I don't see that listed anywhere with the new beverage program- just the 20% off bottles. Anyone know if there will still be bottles available? Is there still waived cork fees if you bring your own bottles if you have a beverage package?

[PammyMouse]

On 10/1/2024 at 4:55 PM, PammyMouse said:

Gone again.  This stinks, I was looking forward to the upgraded beverages and need the internet.  NCL, this might be my last.  Princess is a better value, heck MSC Yacht Club is a better value. PM

So... it was back again October 3, so I immediately purchased it.  We'll see how this goes.  PM

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

UPDATE: Just after I typed about Tepanyaki, I ran it past Mrs. Schmoopie. We've been to Tepanyaki a few times and the novelty has kind of worn off. We've never done Food Republic and we both want to try it...so I guess that will be our firth one.

Whatever reservations I might have about you @schmoopie17, I will always hold you in high regard for marrying Mrs Schmoopie. She chose wisely…and I meant Food Republic.

 

[JSar]

This is an interesting discussion example of "1st world problems". In summary - MAS offers more in terms of alcohol options than FAS, less than FAS+. But water/unlimited starbucks are not included. If you are in a balcony or above - you get more specialty dining. Cost differences vs value are still a bit TBD. People on longer cruises are screwed in terms of internet minutes included... but that might have been an error/oversite - again TBD. Some people have heard that previously purchased FAS+ will be honored, but apparently the staff are as confused as the customers. (I am sure I missed a few things... don't bother correcting me - I just don't care)

 

This is apparently a huge problem for those who drink a lot of alcohols or bottled water or Starbucks that are not included or those who need more internet on longer cruises... but those who are just fine without these things don't have much to complain about. 

 

Me? I don't care about Starbucks. I have bought a water package pre-cruise and never drink all of it and have reduced the amounts I buy in half with each cruse until my upcoming cruise I didn't buy any. I didn't drink alcohol at all on my first NCL cruise. I had just a couple margaritas on my next NCL cruise. My next cruise I will possibly do the same - but I dropped the alcohol package with all three. I do have ONE cruise in which I still have the alcohol package - it is a solo cruise - do I NEED it? Hmmm... might still drop it. And while I am addicted to my internet... it is kind of nice to be forced to go without it. I can make all my phone calls and do all my internet stuff on shore.  Didn't go to one specialty dining room on my previous cruises, will go to 4 this next cruise - but I consider it a holiday "splurge" for my 2 week Christmas/New Years cruise. 

 

So in the end... yeah.... lots of people are upset. But then - I presume there are lots of people out there like me who really just don't care. I would rather spend that alcohol/Starbucks/bottled water/specialty dining/internet money on actual experiences like outdoor activity excursions, visiting the local sites and spa treatments. And am feeling blessed to have these 1st world problems and grateful to be able to have these experiences. And if I think I am not getting my money's worth of anything... I would just drop whatever addon I was considering, or switch to a company that meets my needs better. These changes are for 2025... so most of us have time to re-evaluate our plans before final payment. 

Edited Friday at 01:40 PM by JSar

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

I just finished making specialty dining reservations for our February 6th cruise (booked in May).

 

Even though all four of the restaurants I booked (coincidentally, I booked all of the ones you did) said "Charge applies", I wasn't charged for any of them. 

 

I just received the verification email from NCL listing our reservations. It shows:

 

Cagney's - ala carte

Ocean Blue - ala carte

Le Bistro - $0.00 charge

La Cucina - $0.00 charge

 

Hoping we don't end up somehow getting charged for Cagney's and Ocean Blue.

[quillwercruisers]

11 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I just received the verification email from NCL listing our reservations. It shows:

 

Cagney's - ala carte

Ocean Blue - ala carte

Le Bistro - $0.00 charge

La Cucina - $0.00 charge

 

Hoping we don't end up somehow getting charged for Cagney's and Ocean Blue.

Or that the system doesn't cancel the whole reservation because it thinks that something should have been paid.