Is the NCL Drink Package worth it??? Free at Sea? Everything you need to know before you chose...

If you plan to only have one drink a day, it's not worth it. The free at sea open bar drink package includes soda, so there is no reason to get hammered. The Plus packages are good if you are a snob. Another reason not to get it, is if your spouse doesn't drink, or doesn't drink much.

Could I just buy Starbucks gift cards and load them onto my Starbucks app and pay with that on an NCL cruise ?

Thanks So Much for that information im sailing soon and didn't read the fine print . Keep up the great work

Thanks for pointing out that NCL does not allow you to bring bottled water onboard! I would not expect that based on my experience with CCL

Most of my cruises always have the free at sea promos for early bookings.

You can take each members card and ring up 2 drinks per card at the transaction. No need to walk multiple times, just bring all the cards at the same time.

I sailed NCL in Dec 22 as a solo traveler. I even upgraded the beverage package. Made reservations for my Specialty Dining option.....which they promptly lost as soon as I was onboard....and since it was a holiday cruise, there were nearly 1000 over capacity with all the kiddos.......almost an hour long wait for Starbucks....Never got to use my Specialty Dining option since the had lost my reservation and everything was booked. Customer Service wasn't just bad....it was non-existent. Worst cruise I've ever taken.

Going to sail on the norwegian soon. Very straight forward video to understand

There is no way you will drink as much as you pay for this garbage. It's a scam, you can get normal beverages from the buffet areas, and pay for an occassional drink if you want. I found it a great waste of money paying for a beverage package that I didn't fully need. NCL will nickel and dime you to death with all their packages. Save your money, Just pay for your cabin. Be careful of your excursions, many of them were tiring and a waste of time. went to Pisa, total boredom, who cares about a crooked tower you can't go up, not for me.

We just paid 300 dollars for the FREE drink package. That's about 20 dollars per day per person in tips. Not sure what kind of fuzzy math they're using to arrive at this number. We'd have to drink 20 drinks per day between us to have that make sense, assuming a 2.00 tip per drink. The drink package gratuitues is higher than the standard gratuities for cabin stewards and waitstaff. How does that make sense? I really get sick of the dishonest pricing breakdowns all the cruise lines use. Many years ago the feds started forcing the airlines to include taxes and fees in advertising. Perhaps they need to do the same with the cruise industry.

Uhm there are 4 bars on decks 17 &18 not 1. Prima, Waves, Vibes, observation lounge. There is also a heaven bar but I won't count that.
19 bars for 3200 passengers is actually the most amount per passenger at sea. You seem to be exaggerating.

Hi miss, does the free at sea include sodas along with alcohol. Thnx

Not all ships have a Starbucks so be sure and check if that matters in your decision.

VAT charge(Tax) for every drink on mediterranean cruise from Rome 10% on every drink.Keep in mind.

Love love love NCL’s Free at Sea program. Just took a cruise with them in April & had so much fun!

Do all packages, if one cabin mate purchases one, require everyone in their cabin purchase that package?

We were 4 people in a room 3 adults and they were charging us $700 per trip for the “free drinks “ which was totally not worth it

Remember, for those who want to conserve on your budget when you board the ship and got to a bar or restaurant while the ship is still considered IN port, taxes are charged on all drinks and purchases while in a USA port. New Orleans even charges taxes till you are out at sea by at least 3 miles beyond the Mississippi River.

Starbucks on some NCL ships don't use the Starbucks Card or app, like the Escape which tells you they only accept your room key, so get a receipt to get stars later and keep track if drinks to be sure your account is not overcharged.

Energy drinks like redbull and containers of water are free in the casino plus drinks even without the drink pkg, but you need to be playing.

ARE YOU CATHOLIC? YOU HAVE THE SUN GOD SYMBOL ON YOUR NECKLACE. THIS IS AN ABOMINATION IN THE BIBLE. THIS VIOLATES THE 1ST AND 2ND COMMANDMENT OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS. NO OTHER GODS OR SYMBOLS. YESHUA "JESUS" DIED ON A TREE (ACTS 5:30 KJV).

Is there a list of cruise lines that have Starbucks (so I can avoid them)?

On a NCL cruise right now, our 2nd one in 6 years (frequent cruisers but use luxury lines). Ive NEVER seen so much nickel & diming in my cruising experiences). We have the premium bev pkg and we cant even get bottled water. They’ve jacked up prices on their beverages so anything over $15 is charged to your account (which includes my most fave basic cocktails. This is our last NCL cruise. For the same price at NCL, Princess Plus provides much more, and better service. The wait staff availabilty is a J O K E. We had to get up and wait in the crazy long line every time. I detest being ripped off…..I work way to hard for my money and for the price paid ($6k+ for a 7 day on Pearl) customers deserve a true vacation! Back to Princess & Celebrity for us! NCL, NEVER AGAIN!

For me it isn’t about getting the money back for the drink package it’s more about not having to keep track of drink expenses.

Not free but the drink package is a lot better deal than most other cruise lines.

Great video! Just wondering if soda package includes seltzer water too. Thanks for the info!

Does free at sea speciality meal include guest or is it for one person

I beg to differ, it's not just well drinks that you get. My wife is a bourbon drinker and she gets top shelf (Buffalo Trace). We also get Tito's Vodka and other top shelf brands. Granted you can not have the Ultra Premium booze unless you upgrade but I don't consider what is available as well booze. Plus I am not sure where you are coming up with the 20 minute limit. We have never encountered a glass of anything on board that was $30+. There is a shot of some ultra exclusive cognac that was $80 per shot but that is a specialty, not something that people are going to continuously drink.

We cancelled NCL as our line of choice because of this all-inclusive and things such as wifi we do not use. Our purpose in cruising is to leave as much of the world behind.

Drink package generally not worth it unless you are as big drinker. For 2 the gratutities cone out to about $315 for a 7 day cruise

Do they add a gratuity on to every drink, if you buy them individually on board, without the package ?

They just increased the prices for free at sea packages, 100 euro became 200 euro and 150 euro became 250 euro, so crazy you don't even get, water with the normal drink package but you are allowed to drink alcohol up to 12 dollars per drink...same for coffee, you are not allowed to drink coffee with the package of free at sea (big scam) they can suddenly say that a certain drink costs more then 12 dollar so that you are not allowed to drink it anymore. it's a real surprise

Do they have any non-Starbucks coffee that is included? It doesnt make sense to allow you to get a $15 drink but not a $7 coffee haha

don't forget you get free drinks while gambling in the casino. One time I opted out of any drink package. But I still feel I was able to drink enough by just spending time in the casino playing

On my cruise April,2023. If you did not the drink package A "Screwdriver" cocktail was $14.95 + a 20% gratuity. If you wanted a "Double Shot" the total is $29.90 per drink + 20% gratuity. In Spain you also had to pay an additional 8% tax. Now here is the real deal. I believe that NCL waters down their liquor. There is NO WAY that a person can drink 4, double shot, drinks in 1.5 hours without feeling something, That's 8 shots of say Vodka in 1.5 hours. I know I can't I would be on the floor. . I did this for a "TEST" . Didn't feel a thing., seriously. Went to the gym and worked out after my TEST. Not sure about wine. I don't drink wine. Saying all of that. the one thing about the drink package is that you don't have to keep track of all your drinks and at $15.00 per drink it adds up. Remember the other person in your cabin has to take it as well. Yes , there was a Starbucks but very limited selection and NO ICE TEA or cold beverages. (Ice Tea is what live on) I believe one package allows you to get a can of COKE where another one doesn't Don't drink soda so I'm not sure on this oneAlso, according to another travel blog today. NCL is not allowed to serve alcohol in UK waters. Drink package or not. Something to do with NCL not paying taxes. Also, If you feel your service was not good you can get your gratuities refunded when you settle up your final bill. Also the free at sea internet for my 2 week cruise was 300 min. total per room, 1 device (say your phone) 9 times out of 10 you can get free wifi in the terminal building.

Hi, thank you. Going on Hawaiian NCL cruise in July. We booked the drinks package. Do you know if we can cancel the package for a refund as at most we’ll drink a few light beers. We went low carb for health reasons and too much alcohol wacks you.

I’d even change to the package that included Starbucks as I’m def coffee.
Many thanks

I know I should contact them but wanted to watch a few vids and wondered if you knew.

Went on NCL with free at sea drink package 2 months ago. Found that there were limited number of bars and the bars were closed as much as they were open. When they were open, the bars were understaffed and had long lines. Even getting a soda, included in the package, was difficult.

interesting

Funny thumbnail😂

The Starbucks package: My wife drinks coffee, I do not. Is this package one where everyone is the cabin has to be on the same package? Spending $120+ per week for her would not be a bad price. Spending $240+ per week for just her to enjoy her coffee would be atrocious.

Is milk included in the complementary drinks?

Thanks for your video. Do you or anybody else know what other bottled water they sell besides Flow water? Thanks.

This video was so informative. Thank you so much!

Nice explanation!

When you sit down for dinner thats included and you dont have the drink package, do they charge you for a soda with your meal? And is water in a cup free?

You should do a video about the free at sea plus. Best deal ncl has. For $294 you get the plus drink package, unlimited wifi, 2 specialty dinners, additional $50 off for the second guest on shore excursions. Add it all up it’s almost $500 on its own.

Can you fill up a water bottle at the buffet and take it to your room?

The Premium+ was such a great upgrade with the free at sea plus. I was on the bliss two weeks ago drinking $30-45 glasses of wine all week.

Only for US customers. Anyone purchasing cruises from NZ and Australia it’s all included, no extra gratuities charged.

Just sailed NCL for the first time in Dec.2022. Looking at the big 3 lines, IMO, I think that the free at sea is probably the best value. No limit on drinks per time (can come back 2min later) or per day. Much cheeper than paying per drink, unless you only drink just a couple per day. Have coke products which is preferred by us. Also, most bartenders were cool enough that if you had two room cards they would take one process it and give you two drinks with double shots per drink, technically equalling four drinks at once. And another thing that never gets mentioned is having the package is SUPER convenient. Otherwise they have to bill you and have you sign every time then you have to keep track.

Not worth it, if only one person drinks alcohol.