Signature Beverage Package, yay or nay?

Thank you so much much to everyone who has voted and/or weighed in so far. I appreciate all the advice and ideas!

I wish I could have gotten the beverage package "for free" under Explore4 but the base price of the cruise went up enough from what I paid to make it not worth changing our reservation to avail of the offer.

the idea of just purchasing on-board credit in advance is fabulous and something I hadn't thought of before. Maybe we will try to do this in the months leading up to the sailing.

Please keep your ideas flowing!!

One other thought not brought up yet. Can the beverage packages be used in the MDR and specialty restaurants? I believe the last time we cruised a couple years ago they did not.

The drink package will cover (as shown above) most bar drinks. However, the wine that is included is very limited. There is always the wine package (discounted up to 50% based on status) or wine by the bottle if you prefer better wines. The package wines are a step up from call wines, but not the best. We have had the package when included in our cruise fare, but would never buy it alone.

Looking at the prices POA1 posted (oh my goodness thanks for that!) we will totally get our money's worth. On vacation it's nothing for us to get a couple bloody marys at breakfast, have a couple cocktails before dinner, after dinner, etc. Add to that bottled water and pop and we are good.

Can anyone answer a question? Where do you get the bottled water, like the San Pelligrino 1L bottle at? The bar? How many can you order at a time? They would be nice to get before getting off the ship.

Looking at the prices POA1 posted (oh my goodness thanks for that!) we will totally get our money's worth. On vacation it's nothing for us to get a couple bloody marys at breakfast, have a couple cocktails before dinner, after dinner, etc. Add to that bottled water and pop and we are good.

 

Can anyone answer a question? Where do you get the bottled water, like the San Pelligrino 1L bottle at? The bar? How many can you order at a time? They would be nice to get before getting off the ship.

You can get 1 liter bottles of water at just about any bar, and even in the MDR. Just ask the wine steward and he will bring it to your table. We always grab a bottle the night before a shore excursion and carry it with us. The bottles they sell at the gangway cannot go onto your beverage package, you pay for those on your room account. The 2 bottles of water in your cabin also are not covered by the package. But if you get thirsty late at night and don't feel like throwing something on to go out and buy a bottle, grab one of the cabin bottles, but remember to replace it the next day, ASAP. We have had no problem getting 2 bottles of water on one card.

I voted "NO" to a beverage package. Though dh and I do drink more than normal on a cruise we would never come close to 15 per day. Also I always order a bottle of our favorite liquor and bring ample mixers as we enjoy sitting in our cabin and having a drink together. Dh usually gets a latte in the morning we each have a drink before dinner some times we order a bottle of wine and maybe a drink after dinner. If we are on a warm weather cruise we may get a drink at the pool in the afternoon. That is about all. No way would we even come close to a 'break even point".

If you add up the $$ you are paying for all these drinks, you're getting pretty close to the price of the SBP.

You might want to check that out.

You can get 1 liter bottles of water at just about any bar, and even in the MDR. Just ask the wine steward and he will bring it to your table. We always grab a bottle the night before a shore excursion and carry it with us. The bottles they sell at the gangway cannot go onto your beverage package, you pay for those on your room account. The 2 bottles of water in your cabin also are not covered by the package. But if you get thirsty late at night and don't feel like throwing something on to go out and buy a bottle, grab one of the cabin bottles, but remember to replace it the next day, ASAP. We have had no problem getting 2 bottles of water on one card.

Thanks for those details!!!

One other thought not brought up yet. Can the beverage packages be used in the MDR and specialty restaurants? I believe the last time we cruised a couple years ago they did not.

When I had the SBP, I was always able to use it in the MDR and the PG. This would have been in 2014 and 2015.

Can the beverage packages be used in the MDR and specialty restaurants?

Yes, the SBP can be used anywhere drinks and other beverages are sold, including the MDR and specialty restaurants. :)

One other thought not brought up yet. Can the beverage packages be used in the MDR and specialty restaurants? I believe the last time we cruised a couple years ago they did not.

Absolutely. Pretty much anywhere except Half Moon Cay and for buying water at the gangway before you leave the ship in port. (We just get water at a bar or in the Lido before we head down.)

If you are getting water, it makes sense to get the 1.5L bottles because they use up a single drink of your 15. (Unless that's too much to carry.)

So the poll at the beginning indicates more "No's" posted votes and comments than "Yes's". So going strictly by the poll the OP should not get the package. I would ask the OP to return to the forum after the cruise and let folks know what the final decision was and was it the correct one for him? Since only the OP knows what he will consume. Hopefully after he factors in the cruise effects and family dynamics.

Dan

I voted "NO" to a beverage package. Though dh and I do drink more than normal on a cruise we would never come close to 15 per day. Also I always order a bottle of our favorite liquor and bring ample mixers as we enjoy sitting in our cabin and having a drink together. Dh usually gets a latte in the morning we each have a drink before dinner some times we order a bottle of wine and maybe a drink after dinner. If we are on a warm weather cruise we may get a drink at the pool in the afternoon. That is about all. No way would we even come close to a 'break even point".

That's the big mistake many people make when deciding if the SBP is for them. They see the 15 drinks a day and say "there's no way I would drink that much", erroneously thinking you have to drink 15 beverages to break even. Not even close. Do the math. The break-even point is 5 or 6 drinks, based on an average mixed drink of $7.95 plus 15% SC. With the service charge, it adds up very quick, around $9.14 per drink. The SBP is $51 per day, including the 15% SC. With the number of beverages you specify, you will come very close to breaking even or exceed it. So, enjoy yourself, and don't be concerned about sampling a beverage you never had before just because of the cost.

The break even point is somewhere in the neighborhood of six drinks a day. If you'f including specialty coffees and bottles of water, adjust accordingly.

If you have three glasses of wine at dinner, you're halfway there. Thrown in a couple of cocktails and a beer with lunch, and you're at breakeven. But that's every day for the duration of the cruise, and that might not be your pattern.

The other aspect is that if you have already paid for the package, you incentivise not saying no. Whereas if you are paying as you go, then at some point you make a value judgement about whether those extra couple of drinks after dinner are worth the extra charge on your shipboard account.

I would benefit from the package at 6 drinks/day if the cruise was all sea days. But considering time spent in ports...and especially with HAL not allowing the package to apply to their own private island...the package would not benefit me.

So the poll at the beginning indicates more "No's" posted votes and comments than "Yes's". So going strictly by the poll the OP should not get the package. I would ask the OP to return to the forum after the cruise and let folks know what the final decision was and was it the correct one for him? Since only the OP knows what he will consume. Hopefully after he factors in the cruise effects and family dynamics.

 

Dan

Yes, I will do this in June!!

I say go for it! ;):)

Thank You POA1 for your extensive post. I understand the concept of the spreadsheet in you post but am not sure about the Wine section where there are multiple combinations i.e. 1 1, 1 2, 2 4, 3 5, 2 3 etc. Could you please let me know what these numbers represent.

Thanks for any help you can provide

Another vote for "no", don't buy.

The only times we've had a beverage package have been during a promotion. We've never thought it a good deal. Many of our favourite wines are excluded from the package.

IMO, if you drink highballs, you're better off than if you're a wine drinker.

Hello. I wonder if someone can answer this. We know for sure that we will purchase the signature drinks package on our SA cruise as we are both reasonably heavy drinkers when on holiday. My question is this: If on a sea day we wanted to maximise on the fifteen drinks and have all alcohol, would we be allowed to charge the cheaper drinks like water, soda and coffees on our sea pass account? Also during happy hour would we be able to have the first as part of the package, and charge the cheaper one to our account?

I’m just looking for ways to maximise the value of the package :-)

We haven’t cruised with HAL yet but have on RCI last year. I debated long and hard whether to do the package, it just seemed like so much money to spend on drinks!!

In the end I went for it and it was a very good decision.

I don’t know if we broke even, I think we probably did but I certainly didn’t count! We just relaxed and ordered whatever we wanted. Plus I used the opportunity to try a few new cocktails which I would not have done if I was paying cash!! We ordered fresh juice with breakfast, went down early morning and had coffees, beers by the pool, cocktails and wine with dinner. Also because we had packages the waiters in the mdr had our drinks waiting for us based on what we had ordered before which was a nice touch. Even cokes for the kids some days we had more than others but we just didn’t think about it.

Family of 5 going at Christmas and I will definitely book drinks packages especially as I looked yesterday and the pound is pretty strong to the dollar at the moment

Enjoy your cruise

We haven’t cruised with HAL yet but have on RCI last year. I debated long and hard whether to do the package, it just seemed like so much money to spend on drinks!!

In the end I went for it and it was a very good decision.

I don’t know if we broke even, I think we probably did but I certainly didn’t count! We just relaxed and ordered whatever we wanted. Plus I used the opportunity to try a few new cocktails which I would not have done if I was paying cash!! We ordered fresh juice with breakfast, went down early morning and had coffees, beers by the pool, cocktails and wine with dinner. Also because we had packages the waiters in the mdr had our drinks waiting for us based on what we had ordered before which was a nice touch. Even cokes for the kids �� some days we had more than others but we just didn’t think about it.

 

Family of 5 going at Christmas and I will definitely book drinks packages especially as I looked yesterday and the pound is pretty strong to the dollar at the moment��

 

Enjoy your cruise

Spot on. Your experience is exactly why the drink package is worth getting. Obviously you need to do the basic calculations to determine if it makes sense. But a lot of folks, the first time looking at drink packages, confuse the name drink package with drunk package, and assume it means you need to consume 15 alcoholic drinks a day. Not true. A blend of juices, specialty coffees, soda, water, sparkling water and alcoholic drinks will meet the criteria of 15 drinks. Plus no receipts to peruse and determine if correct nor erroneous drink charges on your final bill. Very similar to dining packages that other lines offer. Unfortunately HALs limited specialty restaurants means dining packages are extremely limited if offered at all.

Dan

Hello. I wonder if someone can answer this. We know for sure that we will purchase the signature drinks package on our SA cruise as we are both reasonably heavy drinkers when on holiday. My question is this: If on a sea day we wanted to maximise on the fifteen drinks and have all alcohol, would we be allowed to charge the cheaper drinks like water, soda and coffees on our sea pass account? Also during happy hour would we be able to have the first as part of the package, and charge the cheaper one to our account?

I’m just looking for ways to maximise the value of the package :-)

Our first cruise so we decided to get the drink package mostly because of the convienence and not having to keep track of how much we are drinking!

Having a couple Bloody Mary's with breakfast, trying some specialty coffees, getting bottled waters to take on tours, drinks with dinner and a few more at the bar, we should be covered!

Hello. I wonder if someone can answer this. We know for sure that we will purchase the signature drinks package on our SA cruise as we are both reasonably heavy drinkers when on holiday. My question is this: If on a sea day we wanted to maximise on the fifteen drinks and have all alcohol, would we be allowed to charge the cheaper drinks like water, soda and coffees on our sea pass account? Also during happy hour would we be able to have the first as part of the package, and charge the cheaper one to our account?

I’m just looking for ways to maximise the value of the package :-)

The game we play is to purchase the SBP, get coffee in the morning, have drinks all day through dinner etc.. then Log into your account see how many drinks you have left, go to the closest bar and purchase cans of soda, bottles of water to take back to your cabin to cap out your 15 drinks.

So the next day we have cans of soda/water etc during the day without using your 15 expensive(Alcoholic) drinks, repeat daily for the rest of the cruise.