„Nickel and Diming“ questions

[mousefan73]

Booked first RCL cruise for 2019. June Rome 7 nite on the Oasis. Never cruised. We actually have our cruise on DCL this year. Dream in Bahamas , pricey but doable. Now the Med cruises price differences OMG!! We are paying 4200 ( 4 „adults“ balcony) non-ref fare vs 12,000 DCL !!!!

What I hear is that NCL looks cheaper as base fare but once you add on all the extras, DCL is not much more. In my case what 7,000 of extras can NCL nickle and dime us. ??

We do not plan any extra dining. We plan only to eat at the free places. I would rather use those upcharge fees for eating in port. Soda package we will take. So add that 200/300 as we are still faaaar from DCL.

What other things besides Starbucks, dining, spa, casino, bar will NCL nickle and dime us on? Do the teen clubs charge?
Does ice skating cost?

Zip, surf are free. Food we want is free. Soda we pay for. The one or two beers per day are planned in. Gratuities check.
What else am I missing??

 

[crabbymom]

You are not missing anything. Ice skating is free, you can eat three (or more!) meals a day for free, you are already purchasing the soda package, you know you will need to pay grats and bar drinks. The comments about Royal "nickel & diming" people really stem from how many times you will be asked if you want to purchase extras. It can seem like a lot, but a polite "No, Thank you" works every time! Disney has MORE restaurants that are included in the price, but there is no way you will starve on any cruise ship! Also, you will LOVE that itinerary! We did a Med cruise this past summer on the Freedom and loved every minute! Have a blast and never fear...you will be hard pressed to spend $7000 in extras...as long as you stay out of the casino!

 

[msjprincess]

On RCCL you don't have to pay for extras if you don't want to. Besides soda I can't think of anything that is free on DCL but you have to pay for on RCCL. I may be wrong though. And if you happen to be in a Boardwalk balcony you get a free soda package for 2 people.

 

[starvenger]

I've said this before but on Royal there is more opportunity to SPEND money on board versus DCL. And those opportunities are usually quite visible - you can't help but see the Sbucks kiosk, and on Oasis the duty free/gift shops/sale islands are smack dab in the centre of the promenade. But unless you buy something at the jewelry store or go wild at Kate Spade, I doubt you can spend your $7K difference.

The comments about Royal "nickel & diming" people really stem from how many times you will be asked if you want to purchase extras.

People often say that the staff aggressively push the drinking packages. I personally didn't see it on Harmony back in August, but maybe I was just lucky or simply not interested. I did get the 10 drink card when it was offered around day 4. Better value for me as I'm not a heavy drinker.

 

[msjprincess]

I've said this before but on Royal there is more opportunity to SPEND money on board versus DCL. And those opportunities are usually quite visible - you can't help but see the Sbucks kiosk, and on Oasis the duty free/gift shops/sale islands are smack dab in the centre of the promenade. But unless you buy something at the jewelry store or go wild at Kate Spade, I doubt you can spend your $7K difference.


People often say that the staff aggressively push the drinking packages. I personally didn't see it on Harmony back in August, but maybe I was just lucky or simply not interested. I did get the 10 drink card when it was offered around day 4. Better value for me as I'm not a heavy drinker.

I've also read about it but never witnessed it. My last 2 cruises were both on Independence. There tables set up to buy beverage packages on the Promenade and outside the Windjammer, but that's it. I've read about people being approached to book specialty restaurants but I've never seen it.

 

[starvenger]

I should mention that staff were wearing shirts that advertised the drink package, which is pushing product, but in a passive manner. I have no issue with this, although I can see where one might.

 

[crabbymom]

I've said this before but on Royal there is more opportunity to SPEND money on board versus DCL. And those opportunities are usually quite visible - you can't help but see the Sbucks kiosk, and on Oasis the duty free/gift shops/sale islands are smack dab in the centre of the promenade. But unless you buy something at the jewelry store or go wild at Kate Spade, I doubt you can spend your $7K difference.


People often say that the staff aggressively push the drinking packages. I personally didn't see it on Harmony back in August, but maybe I was just lucky or simply not interested. I did get the 10 drink card when it was offered around day 4. Better value for me as I'm not a heavy drinker.

I agree. I have never had an "aggressive" sales push. Now, I purchase the drink package prior to leaving, and on Oasis and Allure, you can actually use your SBucks card if you have one. Even the spa ladies really just ask as you walk by and a polite "No thank you" is all it takes. I know some people get annoyed when the specialty restaurant people come around the buffet tables and try to drum up reservations, but since they are willing to negotiate on price at that point, I will talk to those folks! There are deals to be had!

 

[lynch34]

I think the "nickel and diming" statement is vastly overstated. I was a bit concerned about this on RCL but I felt both cruiselines were pretty close in terms of amenities that were free. In terms of cost, its a no-brainer. Honestly, I think RCL is the better overall product and it's impossible to justify the cost that Disney puts on their cruises. Both good products but my kids, my wife and myself all preferred RCL. That's super because now they all want to cruise more and I can afford to do it because RCL is so reasonable.

 

[starvenger]

I would agree. I won't say that it's not there because, well, it is, but it is more than you see on DCL (and more visible). Just not substantially so.

But some people do like to avoid upsells, and thus paying a premium for DCL and their passive approach to add-ons works for them. Completely understandable imo.

 

[TLPL]

Hi. We just booked our first cruise with RC. We don't drink alcohol and Not even soda, we do drink water and iced tea. So will we need to buy bottle water package for our cruise?

 

[starvenger]

Technically speaking, you can't bring any drinkable liquids on board besides your 2 bottles of wine per stateroom. But my last cruise, I bought a case of water from Target and brought it aboard on my carry on with no issues (except for the fact that I had to carry it). The free water is fine imo but my wife doesn't like it so we tried bringing bottles on board. Guess they're more concerned about people smuggling liquor.

If you do want to buy bottled water on board I think the refreshment package has that included? That would give you European coffees and fresh squeezed juices (maybe virgin cocktails?) as well. Personally it's not my thing but may work for you.

 

[crabbymom]

Hi. We just booked our first cruise with RC. We don't drink alcohol and Not even soda, we do drink water and iced tea. So will we need to buy bottle water package for our cruise?

You do not need to buy bottled water if you don't want to. There is always water and iced tea available in the Wind Jammer. If you have a reusable bottle, you can always go there and fill it up. Use their cups though, they won't let you just dispense straight into your bottle!

 

[TLPL]

You do not need to buy bottled water if you don't want to. There is always water and iced tea available in the Wind Jammer. If you have a reusable bottle, you can always go there and fill it up. Use their cups though, they won't let you just dispense straight into your bottle!

That is great. We will remember to bring water bottle. Thanks for the tip.

 

[bumbershoot]

What other things besides Starbucks, dining, spa, casino, bar will NCL nickle and dime us on? Do the teen clubs charge?

Not sure about teen clubs but the kid clubs have later hours for a charge. My son never felt the need to do the extra hours.

Everything but the casino is an extra charge on Disney too (no casino on Disney). And Disney even room out fun stuff that Royal still has (arcades) to match royals Ben and Jerry ice cream by putting in vanellopes.

IMO it’s soda that’s the difference.

I've said this before but on Royal there is more opportunity to SPEND money on board versus DCL.

Good way of putting it.

Hi. We just booked our first cruise with RC. We don't drink alcohol and Not even soda, we do drink water and iced tea. So will we need to buy bottle water package for our cruise?

Iced tea is included in the fare. As are from-concentrate juices and brewed coffee.

If you WANT bottled water you can buy the water package, which is a case of one liter Evian bottles.

 

[Laz]

We never buy a drink package. We do not drink that much alcohol, and there is always water, tea, lemonade and coffee available in the Windjammer. We do not pay for any special dinning and always feel we have had plenty of delicious food.

 

[msjprincess]

Booked first RCL cruise for 2019. June Rome 7 nite on the Oasis. Never cruised. We actually have our cruise on DCL this year. Dream in Bahamas , pricey but doable. Now the Med cruises price differences OMG!! We are paying 4200 ( 4 „adults“ balcony) non-ref fare vs 12,000 DCL !!!!

What I hear is that NCL looks cheaper as base fare but once you add on all the extras, DCL is not much more. In my case what 7,000 of extras can NCL nickle and dime us. ??

We do not plan any extra dining. We plan only to eat at the free places. I would rather use those upcharge fees for eating in port. Soda package we will take. So add that 200/300 as we are still faaaar from DCL.

What other things besides Starbucks, dining, spa, casino, bar will NCL nickle and dime us on? Do the teen clubs charge?
Does ice skating cost?

Zip, surf are free. Food we want is free. Soda we pay for. The one or two beers per day are planned in. Gratuities check.
What else am I missing??

No, there is no charge for the teen clubs. Kids club charges after 10pm, but the teen club is always free.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

I've said this before but on Royal there is more opportunity to SPEND money on board versus DCL. And those opportunities are usually quite visible - you can't help but see the Sbucks kiosk, and on Oasis the duty free/gift shops/sale islands are smack dab in the centre of the promenade. But unless you buy something at the jewelry store or go wild at Kate Spade, I doubt you can spend your $7K difference.


People often say that the staff aggressively push the drinking packages. I personally didn't see it on Harmony back in August, but maybe I was just lucky or simply not interested. I did get the 10 drink card when it was offered around day 4. Better value for me as I'm not a heavy drinker.

More opportunity on Royal to spend money on board? Lol. All we bought was a magnet costing $8 when we sailed with them last year, now if we were on DCL we would have spent at list $300 in the shops.

 

[starvenger]

More opportunity on Royal to spend money on board? Lol. All we bought was a magnet costing $8 when we sailed with them last year, now if we were on DCL we would have spent at list $300 in the shops.

I'm not saying that you could spend more money buying things on DCL versus Royal, I'm saying that there are more places from which to buy on Royal versus DCL - hence, more opportunity to spend money.

DCL really only has the two places to buy gifts, and it's not in a high density area, whereas if you look at Royal, there is the gift store, a jewelry store, Kate Spade, the duty free shop, a t-shirt shop and that central area where all the sales are. All on the Promenade, which you are likely to walk through quite often. In retail terms, DCL has a standalone shop, whereas Royal has a strip mall, with the obligatory bar and takeaway pizza place.

And from a food perspective, DCL has 2 specialty restaurants, which are adults only (except for Palo brunch? Can't remember). Royal usually has more than 2, and kids are welcome. Again, more opportunity to spend, although I think Remy costs more than most of Royal's specialty places?

And let's not forget the casino. 'Nuff said there, I think.

So again, not spending more doesn't mean that you won't encounter more opportunities to spend. My apologies if I misrepresented that point.

 

[lark]

I moved from DCL to NCL and now we’re getting ready for our first RCI cruise, and so far I’m not loving all the charging. You have to actually pay to making any specialty dining in advance, and you are charged the full adult price even with kids — supposedly you get the difference between the kids price and the adult price back as OBC but it’s reportedly a hassle. There are a bunch of activities listed in my cruise planner for a charge. $110 for a behind the scenes tour is ok, I guess, but $30 for cupcake decorating? That’s $120 for a family of four! I’m sure there will be plenty of things to do on board for free but so far I’m a little e concerned.

 

[crabbymom]

I moved from DCL to NCL and now we’re getting ready for our first RCI cruise, and so far I’m not loving all the charging. You have to actually pay to making any specialty dining in advance, and you are charged the full adult price even with kids — supposedly you get the difference between the kids price and the adult price back as OBC but it’s reportedly a hassle. There are a bunch of activities listed in my cruise planner for a charge. $110 for a behind the scenes tour is ok, I guess, but $30 for cupcake decorating? That’s $120 for a family of four! I’m sure there will be plenty of things to do on board for free but so far I’m a little e concerned.

I think its really a matter of trying to offer the widest range of activities to appeal to the masses. For instance, I prefer to pay for my specialty dining ahead of time. I want everything done and paid for before I leave so I am not worried about it. Not everyone wants to do things that way, but its what is best for me. Also, I think $110 for a ships tour is outrageous, but I have done the cupcake class and loved it!

I am not positive what to tell you about the kids vs adult pricing for the dining, I can tell you that what we did was make (and pay for) reservations for the adults and teens (who would be eating off the regular menu anyway) and not for our youngest. Then when we got on board, we went to the dining room and changed our reservation. They didn't charge us for her until the night we ate. I would think that unless you have a gazillion kids (no judgement!! ), they would be able to accommodate the kids with your reservation. That way you can avoid the hassle of trying to get the difference back as OBC.

I am not sure which ship you are going on, or the ages of your children, but you are right. There will be plenty of free things for you and the family to do.