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Drinks package questions


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I thought I understood the drinks package but after reading a recent review posted from someone who has just sailed on Balmoral I am a little puzzled.

 

The review is here

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=576121

 

It seems you cannot order a free tea or coffee from a bar ? Do you have to go to a restaurant as the review states there are no self service machines either. No free soft drinks available while eating in the restaurants ?

 

Is this the case?. We have a drinks package arranged and this news seems a tad disappointing.

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We brought a sheet of what was included with the AI package and posted it on a new thread here. I am not promising it is still up to date, but changes are few and far between so it will be a very good guideline, even now. The link to the thread, which is now on page 2 of this section is here :-

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2369466

 

Only speciality hot drinks, coffee etc are available in the bars and they are not on the AI list. There is a self service tea and coffee area in all ships, and that is usually open until about midnight. They are also served in the restaurants after the meal. The lack of hot drinks from a bar is one reason we do not always buy the AI.

 

Looks like soft drinks were available in the restaurants, though you may have to wait a while as they will probably have to get them from a bar (it is also possible that has changed). Someone may be able to update on that, we did not purchase the AI for the Fred cruises we have done since last May.

 

Regards soft drinks generally, only certain ones are included in the AI, basically the draught ones and not cans. Cans of cola are not included for instance, yet draught cola is, and if you order a ginger beer, which is canned that is not included, but ginger ale, which is produced on draught, is included. A list like the one in my link should be in your cabin when you board the ship.

 

There are also other points to note - if you order, perhaps a vodka and orange that is included, but cocktails are only half price.

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If you look on the Fred. Olsen website there is a description of what is included in the drinks package. Coffee and tea can be obtained all day. Special coffees etc are available at extra cost in the Bookmark Cafe or similar place. Soft drinks (by the glass) are available at the bars and are included in the package.

If you go for items outside the listed package items eg cocktails, wine (other than the "house" wine they will be at half price.

I have taken this package on several occasions and have found it good value. The price has risen from £10 to £15 but I think it is still worth while.

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We got soft drinks with meals on Balmoral, when we had free AI, but as Tring said, it was very slow as the waiter had to go down from the Spey dining room to a bar to fetch them. Then they were in very small glasses, so we had to order another, with another wait. I felt like suggesting they bring up the carton of juice! Got the feeling they only expect you to drink wine at dinner, even if the rules do say you can have soft drinks.

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This may be a stupid question but we have the drinks included on our forthcoming cruise on Braemar. We haven't been on a FO cruise since the inclusive drinks package was available. If, as we have often done in the past, we go with a couple from our table to one of the bars for a drink after supper and they do not have the all inclusive drinks package, how do we go about offering to buy them a drink? Does it mean the waiter will have to take both my husband's cruise card and mine for our drinks and then put the cost of the other couple's drinks on one of our cards? Sorry if I'm making this more complicated than it is.

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This may be a stupid question but we have the drinks included on our forthcoming cruise on Braemar. We haven't been on a FO cruise since the inclusive drinks package was available. If, as we have often done in the past, we go with a couple from our table to one of the bars for a drink after supper and they do not have the all inclusive drinks package, how do we go about offering to buy them a drink? Does it mean the waiter will have to take both my husband's cruise card and mine for our drinks and then put the cost of the other couple's drinks on one of our cards? Sorry if I'm making this more complicated than it is.

To start with, the chances are very high that they too will have the AI package. If they don't, then really I would not try to buy them a drink, as they could not reciprocate and would feel awkward. It would not be the 'getting a round in ' situation, where you take turns. Just let everybody order their own drinks with their own cards.

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Just came off the Balmoral after a cruise to Spain

 

There is a tea and coffee machine in the Palms Cafe on deck 7 which is available all day together with a selection of teas and a hot water option.

 

This is free of charge but you have to get it yourself, the half price option of "speciality" coffees has been removed and you now pay full price in both the coffee shop and all the bars.

 

Tins of beer and soft drinks are available in the Palms but draught beers are chargable!!?, I cannot speak for the other restaurants as we do not use them.

 

For us the price increase from £10.00 to £15.00 has not given us any more than we had before, still no dark rum on offer, and a reduction in choice as speciality coffees are now full price.

 

We were on one of the first cruises to have the new package and I wonder if the "regular Fredders" got a shock when they rec'd their onboard account at the end of the cruise as staff were not always informing passengers of the price increases and not everybody reads all the gumf in their cabin folder if they think they know what goes on!:rolleyes:

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That's not good at all. I have always told everyone that Fred has the best drinks package of any cruise line but with the price increase plus these new restrictions it's no longer looking like such good value.

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We have found the all inclusive package to be a good deal in the past; now it's gone up in price we'll have to see how we feel about this on our next cruise. We were told by staff there would be more choice of wines and some spirits e.g. gin. As a rum (not gin) drinker a dark rum would be a plus for us, and if they are now charging for draught beers we make rethink whether it's worth our while in the future.

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If you look at the AI info on Tring's link, you can see that draught beers are only available in bars. In the buffet and restaurants, it has always been just cans of beer on AI. So this is nothing new.

 

I have to disagree as we have always had a glass of draught beer at lunchtime in Palms.

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I have to disagree as we have always had a glass of draught beer at lunchtime in Palms.

That isn't 'disagreeing'. It just means you got helpful waiters who didn't stick to the letter of the law. The rules haven't changed, they were just being enforced on JMyrtle's recent cruise.

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Tring's list won't be up to date, as it is from before the all inclusive price was increased and content of the package changed.

No, but the point is that draught beers were not included in restaurants on the old rules, not just the new ones. It is not a change.

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No, but the point is that draught beers were not included in restaurants on the old rules, not just the new ones. It is not a change.

 

What about the half price coffee in bars? Was that also breaking the rules?

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What about the half price coffee in bars? Was that also breaking the rules?

 

To the best of my knowledge half price coffee has never been included in the AI. My wife likes her Latte and we've always had to pay full price. To me this is the greatest shortcoming of the AI drinks package.

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Speciality coffees have never been half price and it is only them that have been available in the bars (or coffee shops). That is one thing that we have never liked about the AI. The prices are pretty low though, so it is possible some people thought the prices charged were not full price. The only half price is for what is termed 'premium' bar drinks and cocktails.

 

Fred's AI has always said that tea and coffee is available all day - but that solely refers to the self service tea and coffee, which of course is available to all, even if not on AI. I always thought that was very misleading.

 

The following section on the list I posted, also refers to drinks that were (and probably still are) available to all passengers, even if not on AI so again a 'somewhat strange section' to put on the AI list:-

 

From Room Service

Orange Juice, Grapefruit Juice or Milk;

Tea - Traditional English, Darjeeling, Assam, Earl Grey or Camomile;

Coffee - Regular or Decaffeinated

 

 

It is also true that only certain beers were allowed in the restaurants. I agree that a helpful waiter who was not unduly busy, may have provided it by going to a bar, but that does not mean it is part of the AI pack. Another possibility is to take a draught beer into the restaurant from a bar - no problem with that.

 

I did say the list I posted is a year old and was hoping someone may be able to list any changes - perhaps by bringing a list back from a ship and comparing. The things I remember being mentioned with the increased price were a wider selection of house wines, but reports I have seen seem to imply there is not a lot else that changed. I would love to know about any changes myself though, so would appreciate any other reliable detail regards that.

Edited by tring
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Will be on the Balmoral in five days time so will report back. I wonder if the reason we have always been able to get the draught beer in the Palms is because they have a bar in there so don't have to go far.

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Will be on the Balmoral in five days time so will report back. I wonder if the reason we have always been able to get the draught beer in the Palms is because they have a bar in there so don't have to go far.

 

Yes, of course you are right about the bar in the palms on Balmoral, and I think that may well be were the waiters get the drinks from, so draught beer will likely be available at that bar, whereas in most (possibly all) the other restaurants on Fred's ships the drinks are just kept somewhere in the restaurant. The AI list (as far as I know) is the same for all ships, so will give the situation in most restaurants.

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Just came off the Balmoral after a cruise to Spain

Tins of beer and soft drinks are available in the Palms but draught beers are chargable!!?

 

Sorry, misunderstood a bit, thought you were saying that draught beers weren't available on AI, but you were referring to in the restaurants. We've noticed that whatever drink people order with a meal in the main restaurants at night other than wine, we only drink wine with meals, it is brought by barstaff.

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We are due on Balmoral in August and the AI package was included in our cabin price as we booked early; we only noticed a change that the tips are no longer included in our early booking benefit.

Only one of us drinks booze ( me! ) and the speciality coffees and chocolate being reduced is a big plus. I seem to remember that they were paid for at half-price previously or so we thought. But I could be wrong.

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We are due on Balmoral in August and the AI package was included in our cabin price as we booked early; we only noticed a change that the tips are no longer included in our early booking benefit.

Only one of us drinks booze ( me! ) and the speciality coffees and chocolate being reduced is a big plus. I seem to remember that they were paid for at half-price previously or so we thought. But I could be wrong.

 

Sorry to tell you, but the speciality hot drinks are not half price with the AI and unfortunately, never have been. Having said that, I seem to remember some quite good prices for those compared to what you would pay in the big coffee shop chains in the UK.

 

The free drinks and tips offers come and go, so no specific, permanent rule on them being provided for early bookings. Given Fred's high initial prices though, there often is some sort of offer around at certain times and when cruises first come on sale tends to be one of those. Another time is early Dec and into the new year - many holiday companies give offers at that time of course to get attention in the peak booking season just after Christmas. Of course there is a 'summer sale' on now for some cruises departing over the summer, which they want to sell.

 

If we make a booking then we always make a print out of any offer that booking is subject to at the time of booking and I think the terms of any applicable offer tends to be written at the end of your invoice along with other details of T&C's, so worth looking at the full version of that, rather then the first couple of pages regarding the payments and details of the cruise. If you get email invoices those details may be on a different attachment - not totally sure, but they have been on our details. One offer may look similar to other offers, but there often are differences between them.

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