New Limits for Beverages Brought Onboard?

[sophienfred]

I'm just really surprised to see that we're even allowed to bring anything on board as I was under the impression that they took any alcoholic beverages off you! Seems wine is allowed and I guess we might like to take advantage of this to the tune of a couple of bottles. :)

The big problem will be WHAT wine ... we're coming from NZ and as my H only drinks kiwi and aussie reds here, it will be a pretty hit and miss affair to choose something he may or may not like, while in Europe. And as he usually only pays $12NZ a bottle (lol we aren't wine snobs!) the corkage fee now on HAL, which is $19 and heaven only knows what currency that means and how it converts to ours, is a mite daunting.

Ah well .... it's only money :eek:

 

Incidently, anyone tell me how much a bottle of water costs on board? And it's not possible to drink tap water?

 

I'm totally a newbie as you can tell .....

[kazu]

for what it's worth :confused: we book suites and enjoy a drink in our cabin. We order HAL's wine for dinner and have lots of their wine/drinks throughout the cruise.

 

but we have a suite to relax and enjoy the view. We order their vodka, but like spicey clamato juice, so we bring that along with wine that dh enoys. (the good spicey clamato is not available on the ships, nor is the wine that we bring).

 

If you are paying a premium price for your room, then I think if you want to have a 'free' drink in it, you have already paid for the privilege.

 

We don't load cases on or anything like that, but our selections are usually better than Hal's. sorry, so I like their current policy and frankly, if they limit what you can bring, I doubt the price will go down. JMO :D

[sail7seas]

One needs to consider that bringing unlimited extra wine, soda, and mixers seems like a great idea it is in the long-run going to produce I feel an very negative sitution.

While some just bring a few items or a 6 pack.....others flaunt case lots.

In a economic world Holland America is sooner or later going to calculate the fiscal impact to their operations as they recently did in the end of the wine card.

 

Second, I read threads about fare slashing and selling down rather than promoting a more "up scale" marketing.

 

It may be just me, but it dosent sound very upscale or classy for what appears a lower class of cheap skates interested in penny pinching. Comes across like something Jeff Foxworthy might do.... You might be a redneck sortt of thing? I hardly think as someone suggested, this an adult activity...sounds more like a bunch of college or high schooler booze bingers...

Since beverage sales account for a large portion of the Holland America profit margin it seems very counter-productive to push this issue at all.

 

Look at this as though it were your business... and your trying to keep prices down and still support your family... Would you look kindly at people who tried at every turn to short-change or cheat you? I dont think your would like that very much

 

I would highly suggest that if you cant afford buying drinks or wine on the cruise...that you might need to reconsider taking the cruise.

I recently on a 2 week cruise bought all my liquor on the ship...except for a 6 pack of pepsi.... really is it really necessary at all?

 

Very Well Said :) It has been quite a few cruises since I have even considered bringing on my own beverages and when I have it has only been Champagne/sparkling wine because there was a particular one we liked and HAL's lower priced sparkling wine has not always been to our liking. I would never considering bringing on sodas and bottled water when HAL already has it.

 

I personally think HAL needs to change their rules and have a limit of 1 to 2 bottles per person of wine/sparkling wine and be done with it. Why should they be any different than the other cruise lines and lose profits.

 

Besides the more you spend the more days you get toward your next level ;) Unless you are already 4 Star :o

 

For years I have mentioned on this board that HAL should limit the amount of wine/champagne brought on board -- 1 bottle. Allowing people to bring on as much wine/champagne as they want only keeps HAL charging higher prices for their own on-board selections. If people were limited to what they brought on board -- then HAL could certainly lower their prices for bottles of wine/champagne.

 

I read here to often about people sneaking bottles of hard alcohol in their checked luggage. We are not among those people. We do buy HAL's alcohol -- some people complain that even that is over priced -- but if they lived in our state where we are governed by a State Liquor Control Board -- HAL's prices are just about the same as what we pay at home -- and HAL sells 1 liter bottles -- our state is just a fifth.

 

On our recent cruises -- besides the alcohol we bought for our cabin -- we also bought quite a few of the new Beverage Cards.

 

And although we are not big wine drinkers -- we do buy an occassional bottle of wine.

 

 

I think HAL should limit the amount of wine brought aboard to one bottle per person and a six pack of soda OR water.

 

 

I don't think they should permit people to slap luggage tags on cases of wine/water/soda.

 

Just my opinion.

[kazu]

I think HAL should limit the amount of wine brought aboard to one bottle per person and a six pack of soda OR water.

 

 

I don't think they should permit people to slap luggage tags on cases of wine/water/soda.

 

Just my opinion.

 

and when they do, they will be in real competition with some of the other cruise lines. including the luxuries - take the few little glasses of wine/water/soda out of the equation and do the math - HAL could lose - :eek: JMO.

[sail7seas]

The deep price reductions HAL has made for many of their cabins on many cruises worry me. What quality product can they continue to provide if they have low prices and permit unlimited amounts of 'on board revenue' to be brought aboard taking away from revenue?

 

The menus continue to change?

What happens to the quality?

The amount of staffing decreases?

 

This is a for profit business and they are letting too much be brought aboard

 

IMO

 

[RuthC]

And it's not possible to drink tap water?

The tap water is fine to drink. It's what's poured into your glass in the dining room. Your coffee is made from it. The ice in your cocktail is made from it.

No need to pay good money for water in a bottle that isn't any better, or any more pure.

[sail7seas]

The ship's water is more pure and tasty than many of the bottled waters.

[peaches from georgia]

I can't believe HAL's wine list is so bad that people have to bring their own wine on by the case(s). There is nothing acceptable on HAL's extensive list? Heck, some people are bringing on cheap boxed wine and then saying it is not because they don't want to pay the price to buy wine on board, it's because they just can't find anything they like on HAL's list. Give me a break.

[sophienfred]

The tap water is fine to drink. It's what's poured into your glass in the dining room. Your coffee is made from it. The ice in your cocktail is made from it.

No need to pay good money for water in a bottle that isn't any better, or any more pure.

Thanks for that Ruth! I'll be drinking a lot of that then :-)

[Boytjie]

I was reading another board and saw that someone had posted that HAL was going to start limiting beverages brought onboard to 3 bottles of wine/champagne and 6 bottles/cans of soft drinks per person. I questioned it and got a reply that she was told that two weeks ago on Zuiderdam. I didn't see anything on the HAL website about limits but thought I'd check here if any recent cruisers had heard anything about new limits.

 

If it was true I am sure we would have seen LOTS or people post about it here. That kind of news would travel fast.

[Boytjie]

While some just bring a few items or a 6 pack.....others flaunt case lots.

 

I guess I am a 'flaunter'... we took on 2 cases of champagne! I mean, I just slapped labels on the cases it came in and put it out there with the luggage for everyone to see. (All within HAL's rules, no less!)

 

Fact is that we had 4 balcony cabins in a row and threw a sunset cocktail hour on our combined balconies when we left HMC on the last night. HAL was so upset by our flaunting that they supplied us with 72 champagne glasses and more ice than we could ever need. The were so mad that they actually came and cleaned up everything the flaunters left behind while going to dinner (and buying wine for dinner!)!

 

Full disclosure: we were on a charter that notoriously sells about three times the alcohol that a normal cruise does. ;)

 

In a economic world Holland America is sooner or later going to calculate the fiscal impact to their operations as they recently did in the end of the wine card.

Then why did they replace it with a different kind of beverage discount card?!

 

It may be just me, but it dosent sound very upscale or classy for what appears a lower class of cheap skates interested in penny pinching. Comes across like something Jeff Foxworthy might do.... You might be a redneck sortt of thing?

If Jeff could come up with something comparable to our party I'd be glad to hang with him. Oh heck, I'd hang with him anytime, I think he's funny. Maybe I am a New York red neck? :rolleyes:

 

Since beverage sales account for a large portion of the Holland America profit margin it seems very counter-productive to push this issue at all.

Don't you think HAL has looked at this while coming up with the existing rules? They must still be making enough money on liquor sales.

 

Look at this as though it were your business... and your trying to keep prices down and still support your family... Would you look kindly at people who tried at every turn to short-change or cheat you? I dont think your would like that very much

I follow HAL's rules, I am not cheating or short changing them out of anything.

 

I would highly suggest that if you cant afford buying drinks or wine on the cruise...that you might need to reconsider taking the cruise.

I recently on a 2 week cruise bought all my liquor on the ship...except for a 6 pack of pepsi.... really is it really necessary at all?

You really need to stop jumping to conclusions. I can afford to - and do - buy lots of alcoholic beverages on the ship.

[Boytjie]

Allowing people to bring on as much wine/champagne as they want only keeps HAL charging higher prices for their own on-board selections. If people were limited to what they brought on board -- then HAL could certainly lower their prices for bottles of wine/champagne.[/font]

 

And you know both those statements to be a fact? :confused:

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

And you know both those statements to be a fact? :confused:

 

 

Yes -- when HAL didn't allow people to bring on cases of wine and champagne -- the prices HAL charged were very reasonable.

This was way back when you could even buy alcohol for room consumption in the boutiques.

[Gaucho39]

Are the people who are so worried their waiter is forced to juggle a pepper and dance at the Master Chefs dinner,just as concerned...

 

For the poor crew members back, that has to hump your cases of wine,soda, and water to your cabin?

[kazu]

Are the people who are so worried their waiter is forced to juggle a pepper and dance at the Master Chefs dinner,just as concerned...

 

For the poor crew members back, that has to hump your cases of wine,soda, and water to your cabin?

 

Well, we carry on our own when we bring it - however, I would guess that those cases aren't any heavier than some of the suitcases I have seen :eek:

 

and they do ship cases of wine, soda and water on board for sale in the bars, lounges and dining room.

[Gaucho39]

Well, we carry on our own when we bring it - however, I would guess that those cases aren't any heavier than some of the suitcases I have seen :eek:

 

and they do ship cases of wine, soda and water on board for sale in the bars, lounges and dining room.

 

Your post makes no sense.

 

Yes the cases of crap people slap luggage tags on,are no heavier than suitcases "You've Seen" it's just ADDITIONAL work.

 

They also ship bedding on periodically. Does that mean if people decided to bring their own bed,then should the crew lift carry and deliver them as well

 

What would you rather do,juggle a pepper for 5 minutes or hump 50 cases of wine,soda and water?

[hoidada]

Nothing like this topic to loosen the tongue....Cheers

[Boytjie]

Yes -- when HAL didn't allow people to bring on cases of wine and champagne -- the prices HAL charged were very reasonable.

Or was it inflation and/or cost related price increases?

 

This was way back when you could even buy alcohol for room consumption in the boutiques.

 

No idea when this was and how it has a cause/effect on the price of wine on board.

[Boytjie]

They also ship bedding on periodically. Does that mean if people decided to bring their own bed,then should the crew lift carry and deliver them as well

 

There's no limit to how much lugagge one can take onboard; someone brings one bag and a case of wine and another brings three bags. Which is worse?

[kazu]

There's no limit to how much lugagge one can take onboard; someone brings one bag and a case of wine and another brings three bags. Which is worse?

 

Thanks Peter, that's what I was trying to say, but obviously did not do it well. :o

[CowPrincess]

I think HAL should limit the amount of wine brought aboard to one bottle per person and a six pack of soda OR water.

 

 

I don't think they should permit people to slap luggage tags on cases of wine/water/soda.

 

Just my opinion.

 

The deep price reductions HAL has made for many of their cabins on many cruises worry me. What quality product can they continue to provide if they have low prices and permit unlimited amounts of 'on board revenue' to be brought aboard taking away from revenue?

 

The menus continue to change?

What happens to the quality?

The amount of staffing decreases?

 

This is a for profit business and they are letting too much be brought aboard

 

IMO

 

 

We find HAL's wine list to be mostly wines with which we are unfamiliar. Given the prices that are charged, we are reluctant to order something that we may not enjoy. I like being able to bring on wine that we know we enjoy and pay the corkage.

 

The corkage fee is pure profit, and saves HAL the acquisition costs, storage costs, wasteage costs, and the amount of time that would be spent dealing with people who complain about a $60 bottle of wine that they got ordered from the wine list and then didn't like.

 

You just know that the complaining pax would get their money refunded for the bottle they didn't like, the Maitre d' or Cellar Master would spend 1/2 hour dealing with the problem, and the complainers would probably get a comped bottle for their "inconvenience".

 

I honestly think that HAL's wine policy as it is now is very reasonable, and appreciated by many.

[inheaven]

I called HAL in December 2010 to ask how much wine/champagne and soda was allowed to be brought onboard. We are scheduled for Westerdam in February. I was told that it would be "as much as the passenger can carry."

[kazu]

I called HAL in December 2010 to ask how much wine/champagne and soda was allowed to be brought onboard. We are scheduled for Westerdam in February. I was told that it would be "as much as the passenger can carry."

 

and really, that's plenty anyways :D you can always pick up more in port. We have always carried ours on. :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

I called HAL in December 2010 to ask how much wine/champagne and soda was allowed to be brought onboard. We are scheduled for Westerdam in February. I was told that it would be "as much as the passenger can carry."

 

I don't know if I would do this -- but I have read here where some people but a luggage tag on a CASE of wine and have it delivered to their cabin.

I can't imagine how it is delivered without a bottle or 2 not getting broken. Espcially after the way I see the luggage being thrown around.

[taxmantoo]

I don't know if I would do this -- but I have read here where some people but a luggage tag on a CASE of wine and have it delivered to their cabin.

 

I can't imagine how it is delivered without a bottle or 2 not getting broken. Espcially after the way I see the luggage being thrown around.

 

That is what I do. If the case is properly packed and secured, there is no problem.

That is the way most wines originally come from France, Italy, Spain, Australia, etc. to America...in a cardboard box. ;) The cheaper wines are the ones that come over in stainless steel tanks to be bottled at destination.