Signature Beverage Package Question

[jaguarstyper]

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to purchasing the Signature Beverage Package online, ahead of time? Or are you better off waiting until you board to purchase it? Not sure if there is any price difference or if there is any special pricing onboard. I've decided its probably worth purchasing, I'm just not sure if I should just buy it now or wait until we board. Can you get it through the concierge in the Neptune Lounge?

[PathfinderEss]

Sorry don't know if there is any bennifits to buying drink cards on line versa on the ship. You can get drink cards from any bar on the ship. I'm sure the concierges can get those cards for you too.

Edited December 11, 2014 by PathfinderEss

[neptuno]

Spoke with HAL rep today, there is no discount for pre-purchasing. And , the drink cards are dollar/dollar, no discount like the 2/1 fountain soda package for $25. The SBP for our money is not in the cards, @ over $1447 for 14 days, no way we would care to drink that much, 30 drinks/day/2 persons, = $3.45 each drink. Sounds like a bargain.....but only if you can pound 15/day/person. No thanks. If you only drink 7/day it equals $6.90/drink, might as well go a la carte. And, there are no decent wines by the glass included, only Santa Carolina is under $7.

[Alberta Quilter]

There is one benefit to purchasing in advance and that is your names will be printed on your cards. That can be quite helpful when sitting with others who also have their SBP cards so you know which card belongs to which person. This is true, too, with regular beverage cards.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Very true -- all the Beverage Cards that we have pre-purchased do have our names on them.

Sadly no discounts on either the Signature Beverage Cards or the Regular Beverage Cards once you get on the ship. The soda card is the only card that gives you a discount.

If you wait until you are on the ship, you must buy the Signature Beverage Card either on Embarkation Day or the next day.

For us to buy the Signature Beverage is a big waste of money.

[jaguarstyper]

Thanks everyone. Since we embark on Sunday, its probably too late to purchase in advance now anyway. I'm really on the fence whether its worth it or not. However, I'm inclined to get it just to see how it works out. I guess we'll just wait until we're onboard at this point.

[Alberta Quilter]

Thanks everyone. Since we embark on Sunday, its probably too late to purchase in advance now anyway. I'm really on the fence whether its worth it or not. However, I'm inclined to get it just to see how it works out. I guess we'll just wait until we're onboard at this point.

 

Unless you're each going to drink at least 7 $7 beverages per day, it's not worth it. I wouldn't buy it but I got it for "free" as part of the Explore4 promo. I loved it because it was "free" (or as some say, included with your cruise fare) and very easy to use. But I would never buy it. I simply can't, and won't, drink that much. We used it for coffee, and pop, as well as the couple of alcholic beverages a day that we would normally drink on a cruise. We tried the wine by the glass and didn't care for it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited December 12, 2014 by Alberta Quilter

[jaguarstyper]

Unless you're each going to drink at least 7 $7 beverages per day, it's not worth it. I wouldn't buy it but I got it for "free" as part of the Explore4 promo. I loved it because it was "free" (or as some say, included with your cruise fare) and very easy to use. But I would never buy it. I simply can't, and won't, drink that much. We used it for coffee, and pop, as well as the couple of alcholic beverages a day that we would normally drink on a cruise. We tried the wine by the glass and didn't care for it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

You're absolutely correct. I almost hesitate to say this because it makes us sound kind of lushy, but I honestly don't see a problem drinking 7 or more drinks a day. We usually enjoy a bloody Mary or mimosa or two in the morning with breakfast. A few drinks throughout the day when poolside or out and about, a pre-dinner drink, a drink with dinner and then evening in the casino or whatever. It sounds like a lot, but when spaced out throughout the entire day, its really not that outrageous. Add in a specialty coffee here and there. Obviously, port days will be less than sea days.

 

We are on vacation, and we do enjoy having drinks, so I think in the end, it will be a reasonable return on the investment. If we find its not worth it, then at least we will know.

 

I also think it makes more sense on a 7 day cruise. Its easier to kick back and be naughty for a week than it is for two, three or more weeks straight.

[Alberta Quilter]

You're absolutely correct. I almost hesitate to say this because it makes us sound kind of lushy, but I honestly don't see a problem drinking 7 or more drinks a day. We usually enjoy a bloody Mary or mimosa or two in the morning with breakfast. A few drinks throughout the day when poolside or out and about, a pre-dinner drink, a drink with dinner and then evening in the casino or whatever. It sounds like a lot, but when spaced out throughout the entire day, its really not that outrageous. Add in a specialty coffee here and there. Obviously, port days will be less than sea days.

 

We are on vacation, and we do enjoy having drinks, so I think in the end, it will be a reasonable return on the investment. If we find its not worth it, then at least we will know.

 

I also think it makes more sense on a 7 day cruise. Its easier to kick back and be naughty for a week than it is for two, three or more weeks straight.

 

You are also correct and you don't sound lushy. I didn't mean to sound judgemental in my posting either. When I said that I won't drink that much it's because I'm such a cheap date that I would be under the table if I had more than a few drinks in a short period of time!

 

As long as you feel that you can get your money's worth out of the package, go for it. I just don't recommend it for a light drinker.

 

Try to find the Bloody Mary cart in the Lido in the mornings! It's almost a breakfast buffet!!

[sun~]

It also depends if you are going to be gone for long port days.

 

My husband felt it was worth it. He would get a couple of coffees in the morning, beers and DOD in the afternoon, and cocktails in the evening. It was pretty hard to drink the swill that is the house wine on HAL.

 

I used it for bottles of water and cocktails. It probably wasn't worth it for me. We go on a chartered cruise with fewer port days (2.5 or 3 on a 7 day) and we have stayed on board at the odd port. We also are up from 9am to 4am (or later? earlier?) so it is more of a week long party.

 

My husband liked it since he knew how much we spent during the week. The jury is out for our upcoming LRBC cruise on January 18th.

 

jaguarstyper - as an fyi we are members of the Ottawa Jaguar Club, we have two kitties. '88 XJSC in grenadier red and a '95 X300 in sage green

[jaguarstyper]

jaguarstyper - as an fyi we are members of the Ottawa Jaguar Club, we have two kitties. '88 XJSC in grenadier red and a '95 X300 in sage green

Very cool! I have a '54 XK-120 DHC, which is my pride & joy and I still have the '06 S-Type R, which is starting to get a little long in the tooth and a bit tatty. I have my eyes on a '15 F-Type R, but I'm having difficulties with the sticker shock. :eek: But then I'll have to change my handle. :rolleyes: Maybe someday.

 

:cool:

Edited December 12, 2014 by jaguarstyper

[dessert first]

I am disappointed to hear that my free Signature Beverage Package has no decent wine, my adult beverage of choice! Recommendations?

[jimmy2x]

If a drink costs more than $7, does ones pay the difference or the full price?

[POA1]

If a drink costs more than $7, does ones pay the difference or the full price?

Full price.

[RuthC]

I am disappointed to hear that my free Signature Beverage Package has no decent wine, my adult beverage of choice! Recommendations?

Use your cabin card and purchase what does appeal to you. Save the SBC for those drinks it covers that DO appeal.

After all, since the SBC is free to you, there's no loss in paying for a drink you like. It's what you would be doing had you not received the free card.

[POA1]

I am disappointed to hear that my free Signature Beverage Package has no decent wine, my adult beverage of choice! Recommendations?

Try the wine you can get with the package first. The experts (Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, Decanter, etc.) rated the SBP wines from a low of 83 for the Santa Carolina Merlot to a high of 89 for the same winery's Cabernet Sauvignon. A score of 83 is considered good, while an 89 is at the high end of very good.

 

We drink a fair amount of wine and found most of the wine covered by the SBP to be fine. For what it's worth, the much maligned Santa Carolina Cab rates as high as any of the other, more expensive Cabs by the glass on the list.

 

We set aside some time from our super busy schedules to do a comparative tasting of the SBP wines. We tasted the whites, and then the reds. DW and I got a glass of each. We took a taste. Rinsed. Switched glasses, and tasted again. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. At the end, you'll know what you liked and what you didn't. They were pouring Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc as part of the SBP earlier this month. That's a welcome addition, since there was only a Chardonnay & Pinot Grigio on the Signature Beverage Package earlier in the year. (Nobilo Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc, 2013, got an 89 from Wine Spectator.)

 

The important thing to remember is that it's free wine. :)

[POA1]

There is one benefit to purchasing in advance and that is your names will be printed on your cards. That can be quite helpful when sitting with others who also have their SBP cards so you know which card belongs to which person. This is true, too, with regular beverage cards.

If you really want to have your name on your card, you can always demagnetize the old one. The replacement that the front desk issues will have your name printed on it.

 

DW accidentally wiped two regular, dollar value beverage cards with her purse before we realized that the magnetic clasp was the culprit.

You can probably find a less expensive way to demagnetize your card if you're not traveling with a bunch of handbags. ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

If a drink costs more than $7, does ones pay the difference or the full price?

 

 

They will ask you for your ID card for drinks over $7 which will go on your shipboard account.

[Blue Mudshark]

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to purchasing the Signature Beverage Package online, ahead of time? Or are you better off waiting until you board to purchase it?

 

If you buy it on board, you may be charged local and/or state tax if the ship is still in port. I think Florida ports do this, so you might want to purchase in advance or wait until you're at sea if your cruise is based in Florida.

[Vict0riann]

I am disappointed to hear that my free Signature Beverage Package has no decent wine, my adult beverage of choice! Recommendations?

 

We found the wines we could buy with the SBP card acceptable, and could include the "Sip and Savour". We could get the house wines in the Pinnacle, too, although we usually took one of our own bottles. The Canaletto has some different wines, too. And, at the International dinner, there are others that are in the right price range, also Prosecco, anywhere, we also liked the Kir Royales.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Vict0riann

[jaguarstyper]

We did end up getting the beverage card and I definitely feel I got my money's worth. Even with all of the complementary drinks we received in the Casino, which was quite surprising. I've been offered the occasional free drink in HAL's casino on previous cruises, but this time we were offered comp drink(s) every evening. Maybe this is something new for frequent players. We do tend to be casino dogs on cruises. LOL

 

I found the house cabernet to be drinkable, but just barely. I wouldn't choose it had I been paying by the glass. Mostly we drank Stoli bloody Marys, Grey Goose & soda, Chivas on the rocks and Heineken. All were covered by the SBC. My daughter settled in on the prosecco for most of her drinks.

 

FYI, there were no taxes charged even though we were still in port in FLL. All in all, I thought it was a good value.

[mbda179296]

Does anyone know if drinks made with absolute are covered under the SBP?

[jaguarstyper]

Does anyone know if drinks made with absolute are covered under the SBP?

 

Yes, they are. A martini may not be, because its considered a double. However, I did have a Grey Goose martini, planning to use my ship card to pay for it. When I handed the bartender my ship card, he said "No sir Tim, use the beverage card <wink>". I love the bartenders on HAL!

[molly/sheba]

The $7.00 limit on beverages - what about the 15% tip, is that to be factored into the total cost?

[RuthC]

The $7.00 limit on beverages - what about the 15% tip, is that to be factored into the total cost?

No, that comes after. For example, if my cocktail costs $6.95, plus service charge, it meets the $7.00 maximum limit.