More At Sea is a downgrade if you had FAS+

[kmetz]

Honestly I don't see how this could in any way be an upgrade for those that had Free at Sea Plus.

• Starbucks is gone
• Bottled water is gone
  • No more Pellegrino
• 2 extra specialty dining are gone
• No more freshly-squeezed juices

 

Does anyone know if they nixed the '66 Prosecco and Clicquot in Le Bistro? With FAS+ you were able to get it by the glass.

 

Honestly, this destroys what I enjoyed most about NCL, a package that covered it all (basically) and not having to worry about anything.

 

So to my understanding, there will only be one beverage package now and that's the one that is being offered. Correct? 

Thanks!

[roxette]

There is also a Connoisseur package, an upgraded beverage package, on the way.

[macewank]

It's not entirely fair to compare "More At Sea" and "Free At Sea Plus" because "More At Sea" is intended to replace the basic/default "Free At Sea"

Having said that, I agree 100% with your point.  It's silly that they are not offering an all-inclusive upgrade to More At Sea that bundles internet, starbucks, and bottled water/dining/etc.. together.

Seems like an attempt to drive more onboard spend to me.

[kmetz]

1 minute ago, macewank said:

Seems like an attempt to drive more onboard spend to me.

Why not just increase FAS+ and keep it as it was? 

Glad I will have it for my Christmas cruise and my Thanksgiving one.

 

[macewank]

Just now, kmetz said:

Glad I will have it for my Christmas cruise and my Thanksgiving one.

 

I'd go into that with cautious optimism.  I hadn't booked FAS+ yet for my December cruise and it's no longer a purchasable option.  I'm pretty livid.

[kmetz]

1 minute ago, macewank said:

I'd go into that with cautious optimism.  I hadn't booked FAS+ yet for my December cruise and it's no longer a purchasable option.  I'm pretty livid.

Woah... what? 

Even if it was already paid for? I was told by NCL that current bookings remain unchanged. Current as in... I booked in January 24 for November 24 and December 24. Paid in full a few weeks ago.

I would be beyond livid to be honest. 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 07:07 PM by kmetz

[Mississippian]

12 minutes ago, kmetz said:

Woah... what? 

Even if it was already paid for? I was told by NCL that current bookings remain unchanged. Current as in... I booked in January 24 for November 24 and December 24. Paid in full a few weeks ago.

I would be beyond livid to be honest. 

 

 

The FAS+ has been stripped off my November cruise even though it is paid for. Every part of the package is important to me, from having drinkable wine, to unlimited Internet, to two specialty meals. Maybe they will honor it, but it doesn't show up.

[Eno]

For cruises already booked sailing prior to 2025 FAS+ will be honoured. There will be no upgrades from MAS in 2025 only MAS. High end drinks will be in a connoisseur grouping where you can use a 15.00 drink credit towards purchasing the individual drink. So no package that 

will include high end drinks water Starbucks or fresh squeezed juices. 

[New2cruise2022]

I arrived at the same thought as OP when I first heard about it. I am a fan of FAS+. Sure, the premium alcohol was great — but I can get that on other lines. The real perk of FAS+ was the inclusion of Starbucks and bottled water. The Aqua Panna and San Pellegrino are nice perks. I would have them with every meal and just sitting in the buffet to have a snack and some nice water. The energy drinks (Red Bull) were also a nice inclusion. Not to mention the easy bundling for unlimited internet. 

[ETski]

I have a cruise booked for Nov 2025. We have regular Free at Sea. Will that stay the same? Poor bartenders they will have more the 2 beverage packages to deal with. 

[david_sobe]

Royal just eliminated Starbucks from their drink package.  Every line is trying to squeeze more and more from passengers in clever ways.  I suppose the marketing team at NCL found out that the word "More" is better than the word "Free."

Personally I wish they would scrap all these slick marketing campaigns and give us a bottom line cruise fare, reasonable cover charges for additional drink packages and specialty packages.  But this marketing is making cruise fares stay higher and people take them which is buying into specialty dining which is a big money makers for the cruise line.
But to each their own.  Some people will swear there is a deal in there somewhere.

[DCGuy64]

8 minutes ago, ETski said:

I have a cruise booked for Nov 2025. We have regular Free at Sea. Will that stay the same? Poor bartenders they will have more the 2 beverage packages to deal with. 

delete.

Edited Tuesday at 07:55 PM by DCGuy64

[Liljo22]

12 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Royal just eliminated Starbucks from their drink package.  Every line is trying to squeeze more and more from passengers in clever ways.  I suppose the marketing team at NCL found out that the word "More" is better than the word "Free."

Personally I wish they would scrap all these slick marketing campaigns and give us a bottom line cruise fare, reasonable cover charges for additional drink packages and specialty packages.  But this marketing is making cruise fares stay higher and people take them which is buying into specialty dining which is a big money makers for the cruise line.
But to each their own.  Some people will swear there is a deal in there somewhere.

Royal didn't include Starbucks in their package already.  They did include specialty coffee using Starbucks products.  Is that no longer included?  

 

How many times did you see people complain on here about NCL calling their promotion Free at Sea when you had to pay gratuities.  More is a better way to describe it.  

[BirdTravels]

1 minute ago, Liljo22 said:

Royal didn't include Starbucks in their package already.  They did include specialty coffee using Starbucks products.  Is that no longer included?  

 

How many times did you see people complain on here about NCL calling their promotion Free at Sea when you had to pay gratuities.  More is a better way to describe it.  

 

Royal didn't include Starbucks [store] coffee in their package. You could go and get specialty coffee in the Cafe Promenade or the buffet bar. 

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, kmetz said:

Honestly I don't see how this could in any way be an upgrade for those that had Free at Sea Plus.

• Starbucks is gone
• Bottled water is gone
  • No more Pellegrino
• 2 extra specialty dining are gone
• No more freshly-squeezed juices

 

Does anyone know if they nixed the '66 Prosecco and Clicquot in Le Bistro? With FAS+ you were able to get it by the glass.

 

Honestly, this destroys what I enjoyed most about NCL, a package that covered it all (basically) and not having to worry about anything.

 

So to my understanding, there will only be one beverage package now and that's the one that is being offered. Correct? 

Thanks!

You left out the $49 PPPD upcharge to FAS+.

 

[kmetz]

Hopefully they bring a companion package to this. Doubtful but one can hope.

 

[david_sobe]

21 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Royal didn't include Starbucks in their package already.  They did include specialty coffee using Starbucks products.  Is that no longer included?  

 

How many times did you see people complain on here about NCL calling their promotion Free at Sea when you had to pay gratuities.  More is a better way to describe it.  

That's a good point.  Perhaps they got sued too many times for false advertising?  There could be another reason the word free was removed and replaced with more when they are almost identical in what the programs offer.   I subscribe to many cruise vlogs on youtube.  A very recent video had people saddened they could no longer get their Starbucks on the drink package.  They stated that Royal just changed it and it was no longer included.  I don't get drink packages on Royal so I took them at their word.  So they make coffee with Starbucks products but its not Starbucks?  Sounds the same to me 😉

Edited Tuesday at 08:27 PM by david_sobe

[macewank]

9 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You left out the $49 PPPD upcharge to FAS+.

 

....right? I mean, $42 in my case as a solo, but nobody's pretending there wasn't a fee. 

The issue here is that they made FAS better with MAS, and completely took away the upgrade FAS+ option.  For those of us that have historically sailed with FAS+, it's a raw deal because there are perks included in FAS+ that literally are not available in any package moving forward. Some of us made use of those perks.

 

edit:  And for those of us sailing in the next 3 months, we've lost the FAS+ package and will not have access to the upgraded MAS dining credit and beverage availability.

 

Edited Tuesday at 08:29 PM by macewank

[RocketMan275]

9 minutes ago, macewank said:

....right? I mean, $42 in my case as a solo, but nobody's pretending there wasn't a fee. 

The issue here is that they made FAS better with MAS, and completely took away the upgrade FAS+ option.  For those of us that have historically sailed with FAS+, it's a raw deal because there are perks included in FAS+ that literally are not available in any package moving forward. Some of us made use of those perks.

 

edit:  And for those of us sailing in the next 3 months, we've lost the FAS+ package and will not have access to the upgraded MAS dining credit and beverage availability.

 

But, in your case, you're saving $42 PD.

[macewank]

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

But, in your case, you're saving $42 PD.

At the expense of:

 

Unlimited internet: $29.99 PPPD

Starbucks: $16.50 PPPD

(this is already more than $42 PPPD)

2 Specialty Dining: $120 (2x $60 under new pricing)
Fresh juice + bottled water:  no package inclusion. 100% a la carte.

And for those paying $49 PPPD:

a $50 per tour credit on excursions for the 2nd person in the room (1st person gets it with the regular FAS package)

[kmetz]

I used the unlimited water and fresh juices significantly (made for a better mimosa). 

Sad to see it go. Hopefully we will have a replacement soon. 

[yakcruiser]

As a neutral observer who has never upgraded to the FAS+ package, I do believe that those who did upgrade to the + package for cruises that depart before the end of the year got hosed.

Edited Tuesday at 08:49 PM by yakcruiser

[RocketMan275]

6 minutes ago, macewank said:

At the expense of:

 

Unlimited internet: $29.99 PPPD

Starbucks: $16.50 PPPD

(this is already more than $42 PPPD)

2 Specialty Dining: $120 (2x $60 under new pricing)
Fresh juice + bottled water:  no package inclusion. 100% a la carte.

And for those paying $49 PPPD:

a $50 per tour credit on excursions for the 2nd person in the room (1st person gets it with the regular FAS package)

I'm not disputing that MAS is a new loss to some.  I am pointing out that when you list the things lost, you should include losing out on paying an additional $42.

[New2cruise2022]

I agree with @macewank  This is not an attempt to make MAS comparable to FAS+. I think to put it more simply, off an MAS+ to add the rest of what is lost. Princess has nice tiers with Plus and Premier. It is easy to understand what you get at the different price points. 

[New2cruise2022]

2 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

As a neutral observer who has never upgraded to the FAS+ package, I do believe that those who did upgrade to the + package for cruises that depart before the end of the year got hosed.

So if FAS+ was already purchased and I travel in 4 weeks, I don’t get the inclusions I purchased?