Beverage package and water

[saphir]

Hi,

What is the price of the Beverage Package and the water bottles and special coffees are included?

Thank you.

[dogo88]

Water and special coffees are included.

Price is about $50 + 15% per person per day. If you consume more than 5-6 drinks daily, alcoholic and non alcoholic, it's worth the price.

[jimlouisesophie]

If you purchase the Signature Beverage Package pre cruise, it is $44.95 + 15% SC and includes alcoholic, non alcoholic, pop, water and spiked coffee beverages for a maximum of 15 drinks per day per person in each cabin over the age of I believe 21 and includes drinks $9 (before gratuities) or under. If you buy the package while on the cruise it is $49.95 per day.

[saphir]

Thank you.

[Tampa Girl]

If you purchase the Signature Beverage Package pre cruise, it is $44.95 + 15% SC and includes alcoholic, non alcoholic, pop, water and spiked coffee beverages for a maximum of 15 drinks per day per person in each cabin over the age of I believe 21 and includes drinks $9 (before gratuities) or under. If you buy the package while on the cruise it is $49.95 per day.

 

I believe the service charge is included in the $44.95 or $49.95/day.

[OVgirl]

I believe the service charge is included in the $44.95 or $49.95/day.

You pay the 15% service charge on the price of the package and then it's covered for all the beverages that you order.

[Fouremco]

I believe the service charge is included in the $44.95 or $49.95/day.

I wish! Here's what the website says:

 

Prices are per day at $44.95 if pre-booked online compared to $49.95 if purchased on board. A 15% service charge will be automatically applied to your purchase.

[jimlouisesophie]

I have heard from other cruisers that at the end of the day if their 15 drink limit has not been reached, they would just get more drinks, take it back to their room (perhaps put the drink from the glass(s) into another bottle to be used later

[Tampa Girl]

I wish! Here's what the website says:

 

Prices are per day at $44.95 if pre-booked online compared to $49.95 if purchased on board. A 15% service charge will be automatically applied to your purchase.

 

Well . . . wishful thinking . . . I stand corrected.

[Fouremco]

Well . . . wishful thinking . . . I stand corrected.

I've wished for years that advertised prices in stores, online, in flyers, etc., etc., would be inclusive of all taxes and service charges. It would make life so much easier and eliminate any possible confusion. I was very pleasantly surprised recently when I purchased some Nespresso coffee pods online for the first time and discovered when submitting the order that the price was all-inclusive. It's high time that others followed their lead.

[Crew News]

Hi,

What is the price of the Beverage Package and the water bottles and special coffees are included?

Thank you.

 

This link will help you:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Beverage-Packages.pdf

[TAD2005]

If you have the SBP, you don't have to concern yourself with the price of the bottles of water and specialty coffees. They are way under $9. You only have to watch your beverage count for the day. And yes, the $44.95 online price and $49.95 onboard price does NOT include the 15% service charge. Total price, per day is $51.70 purchased online, at least 4 days prior to your cruise. Your cabin card will have SBP printed in the upper right corner. Enjoy the SBP, you are on vacation and the captain is driving !!

[jimdee3636]

For better or worse, I know a fair amount about drink packages. (My wife and I have purchased them on our last two HAL cruises and our three Oceania cruises, all within the past two years). Here are what I see as the pro's and con's:

 

PRO'S.

1. If you're at least a moderate drinker, you will probably break even or come out ahead monetarily most days.

2. Even if you don't come out ahead, you won't have a million little bar receipts to save and then reconcile with your onboard account statement on the last day of the cruise.

3. You don't have to stop and think about whether a particular purchase is worth the cost. I occasionally get the urge for an after-dinner Bourbon, but only a really small one---served "neat." When using the package, I'll just tell the bartender to give me half the usual pour. If I was paying by the drink, I'd have to think about whether it's worth it to pay $9.00 (or more), plus tip, for an extremely small drink. Most likely, I'd either skip it (and thereby deprive myself) or order a full-size pour to "get my money's worth" (and thereby have one drink too many that day---I would probably have had a martini or two before dinner and wine with dinner).

 

CON'S.

There's really only one: You'll probably drink more than you usually do, especially at lunch. On a short cruise that's no big deal, but most of our cruises have been in the 12 to 17 day range (including four transatlantics). On sea days, it's all too easy with a drink package to have a second glass of wine at lunch, or a Bloody Mary at breakfast.

 

Our next cruise is a 30 night Volendam cruise next February (San Diego to Lima, Peru and return) and we're seriously considering paying for our drinks one at a time. I enjoy drinking and I love getting my money's worth, but after thirty days of more-or-less unlimited drinks I'd need a liver transplant!

[TAD2005]

We're booked on the 28 day R/T San Diego, Hawaii, Tahiti, Marquesas Eurodam cruise this March, 2019. Most of our cruises are 20 days and up. This cruise of 28 days has 18 sea days, so there will be plenty of lunches with quite a few Heineken Drafts. We have found that we always make out with the SBP, usually in the hundreds of $$$. Specialty coffees in the morning in the Crow's Nest (what's left of it), draft beers and bloody mary's for lunch, pre-dinner cocktails in the Ocean Bar, a glass of wine or 2 at dinner, after dinner cocktails in Billboard Onboard, and a few bottles of water to take back to the cabin. No... we are not sloppy drunks. We are on vacation, the captain is driving, and we both know our limits. But with a break-even point of 5 - 6 drinks at $7.50, we always come out way ahead over paying as you go. So, yes, on the 28 day cruise next March we will have the SBP.

[Trapper44]

The other side of the argument. The SBP for our last cruise was over $1200 each. We decided to get a wine package (one to three glasses) for dinner. We also purchased $350 worth of beverage cards. We had decided that if we wanted a cocktail or a drink we would order it. We both love coffee but not the "specialty" type just plain coffee. Our waiter kept us full of coffee, water, and V8 juice at breakfast. We did enjoy pre dinner drinks and after dinner drinks when ever we desired. We did bring a few bottles of water onboard for our room and purchase a couple of the 2 liter bottles onboard. So for an investment of 600 to 700 dollars we had all the drinks we wanted rather than spend $2400 to $2500 for the SBP. Short version is YOU need to decide if you want the SBP. It was included on our Alaska cruise and I will agree my wife did enjoy looking at the list of drinks and saying "I have never had one of those. Wonder what it tastes like." It caused a lot of alcohol to be wasted!

[Archipelago]

Where can a passenger go to see what drink prices are now ? I'm trying to decide between the SBP and the elite SBP. Would hate to purchase the SBP and not be able to get a bloody mary.

[TAD2005]

With the regular SBP ($51.70 per day incl. service charge) you can get just about any mixed drink you can imagine. You can even get a Wang Wang, which has 6 different kinds of alcohol. Unless you demand top shelf scotch, just about any mixed drink or "neat shots" are included. Bloody Mary's with all but 2 brands of vodka are included. The only area where the SBP falls short is in the wine department. You can get house brands of whites and reds, but if you want specific brands, the EBP ($63.20 per day incl. service charge) would be better for you. The SBP limit is $9 menu price. The EBP (Elite Beverage Package) is $15 menu price limit. Both get you 15 beverages per day, including bottled water, specialty coffees, sodas, wines, all beers, and spirits. You can order doubles (or even triples) as long as it is in one glass. I have never had a problem getting a drink before the unenforced 5 minute time limit. As long as you aren't trying to sneak a drink to a friend, there are no limitations.

[jimlouisesophie]

post 17, very informative info, tks....r u sure of the double/triple shots in one glass counting as only 1...good news, though...how does one keep track of the number of drinks they have had per day?

[TAD2005]

post 17, very informative info, tks....r u sure of the double/triple shots in one glass counting as only 1...good news, though...how does one keep track of the number of drinks they have had per day?

 

I never said that doubles or triples count as one drink. I routinely order a double Absolute gimlet in the Ocean Bar before dinner. No problem getting it, but it does count as 2 of your 15 for the day. You just can't order 2 drinks at the same time in 2 separate glasses. They will suspect that you might share it with an acquaintance.

You are on your own as far as counting your daily 15. HAL's bartenders and waiters are there to sell you drinks, plain & simple. The last thing they would do is tell you that you just ordered the 15th drink of the day. And believe me, it is possible if you like doubles, specialty coffees and bottles of water, which also count towards your 15. If you exceed your 15, they will happily keep on pouring. Any drink over the 15 will go onto your onboard account. If you are curious, log into the free onboard website and go to your onboard account. There, you will see every drink you had, the full price including the service charge, and then it is reversed out because of the SBP. Any drinks that are not reversed, either exceeded the base menu price of $9 or you went over your daily 15.

[jimlouisesophie]

post 9..Tks for clearing this up..you r a wealth of information...I always carry a very small notebook with me while traveling, so will just mark down the number of drinks we both have on a daily basis indicating if it is a single, double, water, liqueurs, etc. or like you mention, go to the app. One final question, can one also order a double wine, silly question, but wanted to cover all the bases..Tks again for your help.

[KroozNut]

Why do people go on for post after post providing misinformation regarding OP's question, I will never understand.

 

 

Rather than provide the misinformation, wouldn't it be more helpful to the OP to point them to the appropriate link, or HAL guide that actually provides the right answer? :confused:

[Fouremco]

Why do people go on for post after post providing misinformation regarding OP's question, I will never understand.

 

 

Rather than provide the misinformation, wouldn't it be more helpful to the OP to point them to the appropriate link, or HAL guide that actually provides the right answer? :confused:

It might be more helpful for the OP if you were to identify what information was erroneous and provide the correction. As it stands now, you post throws doubt on all posts, including the vast majority which provide accurate information.

[KroozNut]

It might be more helpful for the OP if you were to identify what information was erroneous and provide the correction. As it stands now, you post throws doubt on all posts, including the vast majority which provide accurate information.

 

IMHO, your characterization of 'the vast majority of posts' as providing accurate information is a stretch at best.

[rambollet]

JimDee3636 - Your Pros and Cons are spot on, at least for my experiences with 7 day cruises. Enjoyed the freedom of ordering top shelf and having a specialty coffee or limoncello after dinner without considering the costs. Even on port days when we planned on being off ship, I would enjoy my specialty coffee in the morning and try a variety of different wines in the evening while also grabbing some flavored waters to stock the cabin. But as you indicated, I did drink more than I normally would. Like having a beer (or 2) with lunch instead of iced tea.

 

For better or worse, I know a fair amount about drink packages. (My wife and I have purchased them on our last two HAL cruises and our three Oceania cruises, all within the past two years). Here are what I see as the pro's and con's:

 

PRO'S.

1. If you're at least a moderate drinker, you will probably break even or come out ahead monetarily most days.

2. Even if you don't come out ahead, you won't have a million little bar receipts to save and then reconcile with your onboard account statement on the last day of the cruise.

3. You don't have to stop and think about whether a particular purchase is worth the cost. I occasionally get the urge for an after-dinner Bourbon, but only a really small one---served "neat." When using the package, I'll just tell the bartender to give me half the usual pour. If I was paying by the drink, I'd have to think about whether it's worth it to pay $9.00 (or more), plus tip, for an extremely small drink. Most likely, I'd either skip it (and thereby deprive myself) or order a full-size pour to "get my money's worth" (and thereby have one drink too many that day---I would probably have had a martini or two before dinner and wine with dinner).

 

CON'S.

There's really only one: You'll probably drink more than you usually do, especially at lunch. On a short cruise that's no big deal, but most of our cruises have been in the 12 to 17 day range (including four transatlantics). On sea days, it's all too easy with a drink package to have a second glass of wine at lunch, or a Bloody Mary at breakfast.

 

Our next cruise is a 30 night Volendam cruise next February (San Diego to Lima, Peru and return) and we're seriously considering paying for our drinks one at a time. I enjoy drinking and I love getting my money's worth, but after thirty days of more-or-less unlimited drinks I'd need a liver transplant!

[TAD2005]

post 9..Tks for clearing this up..you r a wealth of information...I always carry a very small notebook with me while traveling, so will just mark down the number of drinks we both have on a daily basis indicating if it is a single, double, water, liqueurs, etc. or like you mention, go to the app. One final question, can one also order a double wine, silly question, but wanted to cover all the bases..Tks again for your help.

 

I don't know why one would order a double wine, but you probably could. The problem would be fitting a double pour of wine in a typical wine glass. It won't fit, and you would most likely get only 1-1/2 instead of a double. And you definitely cannot get it in 2 glasses at the same time due to suspicions of drink sharing.