Explore 4 Drink Questions

[teacherman]

We have not sailed on HAL for several years, but we have 3 cruises scheduled with them.  We are being offered the Explore 4 and are interested in doing it.  It is MY understanding that it covers drinks, beer, wine, etc up to $9 per drink.  Does something like a gin and tonic fall within that range?  Also, if the drink is $10, do they just charge you the extra dollar, or can you not order it?  Is the 15% service charge billed to your account for each of the drinks, or is it included with the Explore 4?  We generally will have 2 drinks before dinner and a glass of wine with dinner.  Is this worth it for us, or should we just pay for the drinks?  Any information is welcome.  Thank you.

[CruiserBruce]

There are dozens and dozens of threads here on the drink package. If the cost is over $9, you will be charged the full price for the drink, it will not be applied to the drink program. Gin and tonic with non-high end gin will be covered by the package. Tip is included, you don't have to tip any additional.

 

Remember the plan also includes soft drinks and water, otherwise it doesn't sound worth it based on your spending.

[wales4ever]

15% is included in the price.  There are quite a few gins available for $9 including tonic (this is my main drink)  If you go over $9 you pay for the whole drink not the extra amount

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have your TA the cost of your cruise without the Explore4 program.  From what you said you drink, it does not sound it is worth it for you.

[terrydtx]

12 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Have your TA the cost of your cruise without the Explore4 program.  From what you said you drink, it does not sound it is worth it for you.

We were booked on our 2019 Alaska cruise with the lower SS Category non X4 rate until last week when my TA was able to get the X4 promo added to our cruise for an additional $50pp. Of course we jumped on it. The drink package covers many non alcohol drinks like soda and specialty coffees. My TA told me that the current X4 promo from HAL is actually a better rate than the current non X4 when you add in the $200 OBC for Suites and the PG dinner even if you do not drink very much. This current X4 promo ends on Nov 19th. It will be interesting to see if rates go back up after the 19th.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I imagine that rates will go up.

 

Glad you got a good deal.

[teacherman]

We just re-booked our 22 night cruise, moving it to our big box store agency, and also adding X4 package.  By doing this, we have received a large amount of OBC.  We have been sailing mostly RCCL and Celebrity where we get "free" drinks during the daily social hours.  So we really don't buy drinks very often.  Since this is a longer cruise with quite a few sea days, we decided to try it.  The cruise is not until January, 2020.  I hope there will still be a lot of available drinks in the $9.00 category.  Thanks to all for the information.

[mgetta3]

I was told by my TA that if I ordered a drink that was over $9 I would only pay the difference.  He has a lot of experience and I'm surprised to see that I would have to pay for the entire price of the drink.

 

[POA1]

28 minutes ago, mgetta3 said:

I was told by my TA that if I ordered a drink that was over $9 I would only pay the difference.  He has a lot of experience and I'm surprised to see that I would have to pay for the entire price of the drink.

 

Have you looked at the HAL price list? I'll give you a real life example from last fall. On NCL, the beverage package covered up to $15, and you paid the difference + 18% service charge. On HAL, the regular beverage package covers up to $9. Over that, you pay full boat. 

 

I drink Maker's Mark on the rocks. It's under $9 on HAL. So, I can have 15 drinks at no extra cost. On NCL, the same drink - and the same 1.5 oz pour was $17.95. For each drink, I'd pay $2.95 + 18% service, or $3.48. 

 

At 15 drinks, I'd be ahead $52.22 on Holland America. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by POA1

[POA1]

HAL Price Lists 2018:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-beverage-menus

 

Now, I realize that some of you are say, "NCL doesn't stop their beverage package at 15 drinks!"

[terrydtx]

35 minutes ago, mgetta3 said:

I was told by my TA that if I ordered a drink that was over $9 I would only pay the difference.  He has a lot of experience and I'm surprised to see that I would have to pay for the entire price of the drink.

 

Goes to prove donot always believe what your TA says. My own experience on HAL if the drink is $9.50 you pay the whole $9.50 plus gratuity.

[POA1]

This is true.

 

We can calculate the break-even points by taking the NCL per drink prices and the HAL full-drink, post limit prices  and comparing them.  As you can see, NCL becomes the better deal on drink #24.  That's 24 drinks at 1.5 oz each or 36 fluid ounces. If we convert to the metric (750 ml) bottles, you pull ahead on NCL at just a tad over 1.4 bottles of hard liquor.

 

 

Sure, you can make the point there are liquors on NCL where you you got crazy for "free" - in this case Bulleit Bourbon - but is that really the case you want to make?

[dee2673]

Op, check out the drinks menu. Almost everything is under 9.00 unless you’re an uncompromising high end drinker. It has been our experience that if the prices of drinks go up before your cruise, so will the dollar limit so that most of your drinking would still be covered. It is also our experience that your TA is incorrect. You don’t pay the difference if your drink is not covered, you pay for all of it. You COULD attempt to upgrade your drink package to an Elite one , once you get on board but those attempts are not always successful. The SBP also includes after dinner coffees and fancier coffee drinks too. You can bring as much water onboard as you can carry but it is also covered under your package 

[teacherman]

It would appear that If I try to get my money's worth, I will sleep through most of the cruise.  I would doze off somewhere around drink #4.

[stickey_mouse]

I will be traveling with a group in 2019. Right now, everyone is signed up for Explore 4. There are a few in the group that like to drink high end wines and whiskeys. If they wanted to upgrade to the Elite beverage package, would they just pay the difference between the Elite and Signature packages ($10 per day) to upgrade? 

[dee2673]

As I understand it, upgrading to the Elite package is hit or miss. You’d do it at one of the bars once you board. From what I’ve read not everyone is successful. I’ve never done it , just read about it. Some bartenders won’t. I don’t know if there’s an official stance 

[stickey_mouse]

43 minutes ago, dee2673 said:

As I understand it, upgrading to the Elite package is hit or miss. You’d do it at one of the bars once you board. From what I’ve read not everyone is successful. I’ve never done it , just read about it. Some bartenders won’t. I don’t know if there’s an official stance 

 

Some aren't successful in upgrading their package? Why wouldn't HAL want more money? 

[dee2673]

Could not presume to know

[crystalspin]

Don't drink anything on the Signature plan. Go from bar to bar until you find a bartender who knows how to upgrade you (your friends) to the Elite plan. It CAN be done, but for some reason NOT if you have any purchases against the SBP. The cost should be the difference between the two packages, $10/d. All adults sharing a cabin must upgrade if one does, so all should probably be present to get the upgrade registered. (Just presuming on the last point; anything to make it foolproof!)

[SeaBands]

when we had X4 in the past the bars served us doubles or even triples by swiping our cards 2 or 3 times.

[TAD2005]

You can get doubles (or triples) on the SBP.  No problem.  But a double will count as 2 drinks of your daily 15.   Just don't try to pour half of that double into a friend's glass who doesn't have the package.   The bartenders and waiters are aware of any drink sharing and the penalties are stiff.   You lose your package and there's no rebates on the unused days.   People scamming the system and sharing drinks is the reason why HAL (and other lines) require both in the cabin to purchase the same level of drink package. 

And the special after dinner drinks where you keep the little glass are included in the SBP and count as one drink.