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The drinks are absolutely NOT free. $595.00 is a FLAT FEE regardless of the length of cruise or number of drinks.
I always tip at least 20%. At this rate we would have to drink nearly $3,000 worth of drinks on a cruise to be tipping 20%. If I agreed to tip 100% it still wouldn't total $595.00.
Do you actually believe NCL gives this $595 to the bartenders? On a ship with 2,000 cabins this would total more than one million dollars. This is simply revenue for NCL. A "fair" system would be to add a 20% gratuity (or whatever % you designate) to your beverage total. And yes, they do track every drink, free or not, on your ship card.
Does your bar bill on a cruise run$3000.00?
Finally, if this is "free" why do the other cruise lines NOT do this with their free drink promotions?
I think you're hallucinating. Either that or you're pulling that information out of your lower orifice.
The gratuity charge is based on the retail value of the premium drink package ($99/day) and is simply 20% of that amount, which works out to $19.80/day. And it is most definitely not a flat fee regardless of the length of the cruise. Your contention is completely laughable and is easily proven wrong by simply going to their website and checking the official information.
Here allow me to link the info from NCL's website for you since you apparently are having difficulty finding it for yourself. I assume that you're capable of actually scrolling down to the pertinent section.
I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. Politically it is administered separately by the Mainland but is very much part of China. Physically it consists of Hong Kong Island (a small part) and the New Territories which were leased by Great Britain and later returned to China. It all shares a common border with the mainland.
Just did a Google search and found that several lines have now cut Hong Kong from their ports.
ALSO: A port in Vietnam prohibited a cruise ship from docking there, presumably to prevent the introduction of the virus.
There is border control between Hong Kong and Mainland China. In the neighboring city of Shenzhen, there are already 314 confirmed Coronavirus cases. But in Hong Kong just 23.
Usually the regular insurance company will treat any offshore medical claims as out-of-network claims. And likely there is deductible.
Regular Medicare covers zero outside of the US. My Medigap (United Healthcare) covers up to $50K lifetime, which can be blown through pretty quickly. Anyone on Medicare leaving the US needs decent medical coverage from another policy.
I don't see your point. The beverages are free. You're not suggesting that the bartenders and servers shouldn't still be tipped by patrons on the value of those "free" drinks, are you?
When you go to a casino in Las Vegas and get served a free drink by a cocktail waitress, you still give her money as a tip for taking your order and bringing you your drink don't you? (At least, I would hope that you do!)
So what's the difference between tipping a cocktail waitress for your free drink in Las Vegas and tipping your bartender for your free drink on an NCL cruise?
You have been duped by marketing. The beverages are not FREE. Do any mock booking and look at the difference between the Sail-Away rate (bare bones) and any of the other categories. The beverage package is built in to the rate. No cruise line would hand out all that liquor to passengers for free. It's a business where the shareholders are numero uno.
If you want to argue that the so-called FREE beverage package is better for drinkers compared to buying individual drinks that would be more plausible.
As for all the chaos in Asia, Norwegian followed by HAL are getting the worse coverage on social media. They have both been reactive. On the other hand, the proactive Royal Caribbean is getting better coverage by cancelling 8 cruises and offering refunds or credits.
The Norwegian ship, Spirit, which was to relocate from Europe to Asia has had all cruises through November cancelled. The ship is now going to remain in Europe. I have tremendous sympathy for all the Spirit passengers who are now left to pick up the pieces with non-refundable air, hotels, etc. etc. and whatever measly compensation Norwegian will offer.
Last edited by Rastafellow; 02-06-2020 at 04:28 PM..
Reason: comma
I think you're hallucinating. Either that or you're pulling that information out of your lower orifice.
The gratuity charge is based on the retail value of the premium drink package ($99/day) and is simply 20% of that amount, which works out to $19.80/day. And it is most definitely not a flat fee regardless of the length of the cruise. Your contention is completely laughable and is easily proven wrong by simply going to their website and checking the official information.
Here allow me to link the info from NCL's website for you since you apparently are having difficulty finding it for yourself. I assume that you're capable of actually scrolling down to the pertinent section.
Calm down, double up on your meds, and pull your panties back out of your "lower orifice".
I concede I was mistaken about the fee being the same for all cruise lengths. I was looking at a series of Transatlantic Cruises. For 15 day cruises, the Premium Drinks Pkg. would be $3000.00 for two, and the required gratuity would be $595. Yup, 20%.
If only paying $595.00 for free drinks seems "free" to you, go for it! Why not charge a 20% gratuity per drink served??? Because it's a marketing gimmick and money maker for NCL. Don't kid yourself into believing they give this windfall to the bartenders. ($595 per cabin X 2000 cabins) They would be multimillionaires in no time.
I haven't seen this duplicated on, for example, Princess when they offer free drinks. Am I wrong?
Try to stay calm if/when you reply.
Last edited by Futuremauian; 02-06-2020 at 07:00 PM..
Today Japan confirmed 61 cases of the coronavirus onboard the Diamond Princess under quarantine off of Japan.
Most cruise lines are cancelling multiple Asian cruises and giving full refunds. NCL is standing firm in their refusal to give refunds or cancel cruises.
People will remember this when booking future cruises.
Regular Medicare covers zero outside of the US. My Medigap (United Healthcare) covers up to $50K lifetime, which can be blown through pretty quickly. Anyone on Medicare leaving the US needs decent medical coverage from another policy.
Spot on. We've buy travel insurance to cover medical costs everytime we leave the country AND weve had the unfortunate need to use it. But it's not just medicare - most private and employer health insurers have zero or minimal overseas coverage. Not all Medigap policies have any overseas coverage.
We pay for insurance to cover major risks- MEDICAL EXPENSES.
We do not purchase travel insurance to refund our money if we need to cancel for reasons other than health, or to cover lost baggage, trip delays, etc, Some Travel medical policies include limited coverage for those expenses, but I'm of the mindset that if we can't afford to self insure for those small expenses and cant afford to lose the cost of the trip, we shouldn't be taking the trip. (I admit that if we were spending $10k or more, I'd probably buy cancellation for any reason coverage, but I don't expect that situation to ever happen. )
The number of Coronavirus cases on the quarantined Diamond Princess has risen to 63 as of today.
The Holland America Westerdam was denied entry at Guam, the Philippines, and Japan because it had stopped at Hong Kong. It is now cruising off the coast of Taiwan looking for a place to dock and end the cruise. Maybe back to Hong Kong?
RCCL and NCL are now denying boarding to anyone (including crew) holding a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport.
Not a good time to be on an Asian cruise.
Last edited by Futuremauian; 02-08-2020 at 11:35 AM..
My friend and her friend just returned from a horror-of-a-cruise to Hawaii. My friend got deathly sick just one day out of L.A. and her friend followed a day later, sick as dogs, they thought they were going to die. Black tarry diarrhea was one symptom.
When they reached Honolulu they beelined it to a Hospital ER where they tested and tested, but couldn't put their finger on it, and were indicating, possibly, Type A flu. They were given some meds but when they reached Maui they were even sicker. So they jumped shipped (didn't realize you had to pay $$ to leave a ship, it cost them $1k each) and flew back to TX.
My friend is slowly recovering with penicillin and she shivers at reading of this ship in Yokohama Bay with 2600 passengers who are quarantined for 2 weeks in their rooms! I can't, can't, can't imagine being quarantined on a ship for even 3 days, let alone 2 weeks.
I think this incident alone is going to permanently deter many from ever taking a cruise again.
Imagine if this had happened to my friend, one day out on a cruise from London to NYC!
Too many travelers have safety in mind when traveling, thinking a cruise is the safest! Well, well, well! I'd rather face a mugger infested city than face something like this!
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On a ship with 2,000 cabins this would total more than one million dollars. This is simply revenue for NCL. A "fair" system would be to add a 20% gratuity (or whatever % you designate) to your beverage total. And yes, they do track every drink, free or not, on your ship card.
