Beverage Package Drink Limit

[cavecreekguy]

That's also the case with Princess. Only booze counts against the 15 drink max.

 

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But this is not how HAL has run its Signature Beverage Package. And this is the first person I've seen who reported that they've made this change.

[Bill B]

I just looked at purchasing a SBP for my booked cruise and it says nothing about only alcoholic drinks counting toward the 15 per day limit.

[cavecreekguy]

O.k. so I just got off the phone with HAL. I was ordering a fridge for my cabin on the Volendam.

 

I asked the guy if non-alcoholic beverages were counted towards the 15 beverages per day limit on the signature beverage package. He said that they no longer count towards that limit, and that this is a recent change.

 

So YAY!

 

I will still check with the bar guys on my next cruise.

Edited August 11, 2018 by cavecreekguy

[swscruiser]

We were on the Eurodam in Jan this year and non alcoholic drinks were covered bu not counted toward the 15 Limit

[fatcat04]

Hip hip hooray!! One less thing to worry about. We knew we would never get close to 15 alcoholic beverages but with those yummy coffee drinks and smoothies and fun mocktails plus bottled water we did worry we would get to our evening cocktail and be maxxed out. This will be a good change. :)

[KroozNut]

We were on the Eurodam in Jan this year and non alcoholic drinks were covered bu not counted toward the 15 Limit

 

This what I was wondering.. If it is true that non-alcohol beverages do not count toward the 15-drink limit (which is awesome), then are we charged regular price for those beverages?

[POA1]

This what I was wondering.. If it is true that non-alcohol beverages do not count toward the 15-drink limit (which is awesome), then are we charged regular price for those beverages?

Not on CCL or Princess. They're included but don't count toward the 15 limit.

[KroozNut]

Not on CCL or Princess. They're included but don't count toward the 15 limit.

 

Great... hope HAL is doing the same on our upcoming Eurodam sailing. We have the SBP with X4. :)

[POA1]

Great... hope HAL is doing the same on our upcoming Eurodam sailing. We have the SBP with X4. :)

I'm hoping the same. However, I don't think we've ever hit the limit even though we usually had water and cappuccino and espresso after dinner.

 

It makes sense to homogenize the program across the CCL brands.

[dshroyer]

This is the first time I've heard of this policy change. In the past, all drinks were counted towards the 15 per day limit, including bottled water, specialty coffee and soda.

 

I've actually been planning on purchasing a separate beverage card for use when I purchase water, soda and coffee, because these purchases have occasionally put me over the limit on sea days. So I won't have to pay full price for the expensive evening cocktails in the Crow's Nest.

 

we were on the Eurodam in Jan and April of this year. In Jan we had the package. When we ate at the MDR the waiters said "would you like some Perrier you have the package"? We said "no that will count towards are drinks". they assured us that it would not. Then we talked to a few bartenders and they also said that water, soda, coffee does not count.

 

So in April I cornered the beverage manager. He said that it was "only alcoholic drinks" that they count. My guess is that they only count alcohol for insurance reasons. (probably cheaper insurance if they have a policy of limiting drinks)

 

Now this may just be the Eurodam but that is the way it was. I also read another post where another person was on another ship and after 15 drinks they started charging him, so he went to the main desk and told them it was only alcohol drinks and then they backed out all of the other charges.

 

I made a video about this here:

[dshroyer]

That's also the case with Princess. Only booze counts against the 15 drink max.

 

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And Princess and HAL are under the same corporate umbrella. So that makes sense.

[TAD2005]

I agree. On the previous HAL ships I have been on, any beverage, be it anything from water to a Wang Wang (6 different types of alcohol), they all count for your 15 drink limit. The proof of the pudding is your online cabin folio, accessed through the free part of the HAL Navigator in your cabin. Every beverage I had was charged, and then reversed with the beverage package. If you see it charged and reversed, then that beverage, even a simple can of Coke, counted towards your 15 limit. Don't pay any attention to the offhand comments of the bartenders or beverage manager. Pay attention to what the bean counters in the Front Office do when they total your drink consumption for each day. Totally different group of people and totally different rules.

 

However, this was based on our last cruise in March 2018. If the rules have changed since then, that would be a welcome improvement. And after watching dshroyer's post #35 and his You Tube video, I stand corrected. That is fantastic. I have always wondered why a 25 day cruise also earned 25 additional days in spending credit when I am sure I never spent $7500 onboard. But I did have the Signature Beverage Package on all of those cruises, either via Explore-4 or purchased.

Edited August 11, 2018 by TAD2005

[dshroyer]

I agree. On the previous HAL ships I have been on, any beverage, be it anything from water to a Wang Wang (6 different types of alcohol), they all count for your 15 drink limit. The proof of the pudding is your online cabin folio, accessed through the free part of the HAL Navigator in your cabin. Every beverage I had was charged, and then reversed with the beverage package. If you see it charged and reversed, then that beverage, even a simple can of Coke, counted towards your 15 limit. Don't pay any attention to the offhand comments of the bartenders or beverage manager. Pay attention to what the bean counters in the Front Office do when they total your drink consumption for each day. Totally different group of people and totally different rules.

 

However, this was based on our last cruise in March 2018. If the rules have changed since then, that would be a welcome improvement. And after watching dshroyer's post #35 and his You Tube video, I stand corrected. That is fantastic. I have always wondered why a 25 day cruise also earned 25 additional days in spending credit when I am sure I never spent $7500 onboard. But I did have the Signature Beverage Package on all of those cruises, either via Explore-4 or purchased.

 

 

we had explore 4 over a year ago and all charges were on your bill and then backed out. (like you mentioned)

 

that no longer happens. you will not see any charges on your bill. So i think the policy has changed.

[fatcat04]

 

I made a video about this here:

 

I watched it. Very informative, thanks.

 

The double Mariner days you mentioned intrigue me. I knew suites got double Mariner days and 1st and 2nd in a cabin earned an extra day for every $300 in spending. Do the extra days earned via the beverage package essentially replace the $300 per day spending days? Hope what I am asking makes sense.

[kazu]

we had explore 4 over a year ago and all charges were on your bill and then backed out. (like you mentioned)

 

that no longer happens. you will not see any charges on your bill. So i think the policy has changed.

 

We had Explore4 for the 1st time on our 1st segment of our B2B. I never saw one beverage charge on our bill and I do check on the Navigator.

 

I know the Navigator can differ from the actual bill a bit. But they were both identical in this aspect - May-June 2018

[dshroyer]

I watched it. Very informative, thanks.

 

The double Mariner days you mentioned intrigue me. I knew suites got double Mariner days and 1st and 2nd in a cabin earned an extra day for every $300 in spending. Do the extra days earned via the beverage package essentially replace the $300 per day spending days? Hope what I am asking makes sense.

 

 

Yes. You are limited to the amount of sailing days.

So if it is a 7 day cruise, and you get the beverage package, plus book a bunch of excursions and such. You can only earn 7 days of "on board spending". Even though you may have actually earned 9 days. You cannot earn more "on board days" then the days sailing.

[TAD2005]

I just checked the HAL website and their policy statements concerning the Signature and Elite beverage packages have not changed. They still state that the packages will cover "many wines, beers, liquors, mixed drinks, water, sodas, and specialty coffees, all under $9 or $15, up to 15 beverages per day. They do not say anything about non-alcoholic beverages not counting in the 15 per day total. If this policy has officially changed, and is not just an individual ship promotion to foster more package sales, then I wish HAL would change their posted policy to settle this issue once and for all. But expecting HAL to concern themselves about some minor text errors on their website right now is expecting too much. They seem to have FINALLY got their website working maybe 80%. But this is an issue for another thread, of which there are many.

[cavecreekguy]

we were on the Eurodam in Jan and April of this year. In Jan we had the package. When we ate at the MDR the waiters said "would you like some Perrier you have the package"? We said "no that will count towards are drinks". they assured us that it would not. Then we talked to a few bartenders and they also said that water, soda, coffee does not count.

 

So in April I cornered the beverage manager. He said that it was "only alcoholic drinks" that they count. My guess is that they only count alcohol for insurance reasons. (probably cheaper insurance if they have a policy of limiting drinks)

 

Now this may just be the Eurodam but that is the way it was. I also read another post where another person was on another ship and after 15 drinks they started charging him, so he went to the main desk and told them it was only alcohol drinks and then they backed out all of the other charges.

 

I made a video about this here:

 

As I mentioned in my more recent post, I spoke with someone at HAL headquarters, and he confirmed that this is a recent, fleet-wide change. Now, we do know that we can't always trust what we hear on the phone. But between your posts and that, I'm feeling very comfortable that non-alcoholic beverages no longer count towards the 15 per day limit.

 

I'm glad about this because when I'm ordering coffees in the morning and bottles of water to take on excursions, I don't want to have to worry about paying full price for my night cap in the Crow's Nest at the end of the evening.

[BAHunt]

Thanks for the tip!

 

 

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[SeaBands]

we never hit our limit and most drinks were doubles. Bottled water was counted in the package. My partner drinks less than I so if I'm near the limit we just use her card.

[ROBERTEVANOVER]

What is the price difference to upgrade from SBP to Elite.? We will be on a 12 day Med Cruise.

 

 

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[KroozNut]

My partner drinks less than I so if I'm near the limit we just use her card.

 

Isn't this practice know as 'sharing', which is strictly forbidden under SBP rules / policy? DW and I have the X4 SBP on our upcoming Eurodam sailing, so am just curious about this.

 

Thanks! :)

[TAD2005]

It sure sounds like sharing to me. Once you hit the magic 15 limit, you are paying full freight for each drink. If you hand your wife's card to the bartender/waiter and order a drink, then, when it is served to your wife, she shoves the drink over to you and you drink it, you are considered to be sharing. Once you hit that 15 drink limit, you effectively have no beverage package until the next day when it resets. You have just been lucky that the bartender didn't flag you on that move. Of course, from a waiter's point of view, denying someone a drink kills a $1+ tip that they would normally get. So, unless a bar manager or higher up is hanging out in the bar area, you will probably get away with it 90% of the time.

[kazu]

What is the price difference to upgrade from SBP to Elite.? We will be on a 12 day Med Cruise.

 

 

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It's just under $5 pp I believe.

[TAD2005]

What is the price difference to upgrade from SBP to Elite.? We will be on a 12 day Med Cruise.

 

 

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If you paid cash (credit card) for your SBP, then it's east to upgrade to the Elite package. Just visit any bar or the front desk and ask to upgrade. It will cost you another $10 per day plus 15% service charge or $11.50 per day on top of what you already paid. If you got your SBP through Explore-4, then you may have to hit a few bars and keep asking for the upgrade. Some are reluctant. On other ships, they actually promote the upgrade. Either way, you should do it as soon as you board, and before you order your first drink. I don't think you can change your mind and do it on day 5 of a 12 day cruise.