Another Drink Card Question

[teacherman]

Our first HAL cruise in a long time is only 2 weeks away.  We will be on the Koningsdam.  For convenience, I am thinking of using some of our OBC to buy a drinks card.  Is it an actual card, or is it somehow just "added" to you regular stateroom card?  Can I use it to order 2 drinks, one for me and my wife, at the same time, or do we each have to have our own card?  Can you use it at Happy Hour?  If so, how do you get the second drink for the lower price?  Can it be used in the dining rooms for wine?  If money is left on it at the end of the cruise (not very likely) do you get it refunded back to your OBC and credit card?  Any information/advice is welcome.  Thank you.

[OVgirl]

5 minutes ago, teacherman said:

Our first HAL cruise in a long time is only 2 weeks away.  We will be on the Koningsdam.  For convenience, I am thinking of using some of our OBC to buy a drinks card.  Is it an actual card, or is it somehow just "added" to you regular stateroom card?It is an actual card.  Can I use it to order 2 drinks, one for me and my wife, at the same time, or do we each have to have our own card? You can order as many drinks as you like with the card. Of course, you would have to be at the same place at the same time. If you each have a card you can order when you aren't together.   Can you use it at Happy Hour?  If so, how do you get the second drink for the lower price? Yes you can use it at happy hour. They will price the second drink as the happy hour $2. Can it be used in the dining rooms for wine?You can use it in the diningroom for wine, either by the bottle or by the glass.  If money is left on it at the end of the cruise (not very likely) do you get it refunded back to your OBC and credit card? Any balance remaining will be refunded back to your onboard account.  Any information/advice is welcome.  Thank you.

 

Just remember that some of the HAL given OBC might be nonrefundable.

[teacherman]

Thank you for the information.

[Charlies Aunt]

Could I also ask how do you know how much you have left on the card? Are you given an invoice with each transaction? Forgive me for butting in but I have just bought some of these cards for our next cruise and am interested in how you keep a check on the amount left on the card.

 

[faerievert]

There's very little advantage to using a drink card purchased with OBC. Unless you have an important reason to keep the drinks off your account, like if you absolutely need a separate card to force you to stay within a drink budget, I would advise you just charge everything to your room and have one less thing to carry (and worry about losing). 

 

Note: You no longer have to wait until the end of the cruise to check your account if your concern is with tracking the charges -- you can check it on the ship's intranet, on your room's TV, or on paper printed near the front desk area, all self-serve.

[RuthC]

33 minutes ago, Charlies Aunt said:

Could I also ask how do you know how much you have left on the card? Are you given an invoice with each transaction?

 

When you first use the Beverage Card you activate it with your cabin card. It acts like a 'smart card' that's been loaded with the purchased amount of money.
With each drink comes a sales slip showing the amount of the drink and the remaining balance. You save this until the next drink, compare the deducted amount and balance to what it should be, then toss the old slip.

I find that a Beverage Card makes it so much easier to check my account since there is only the one initial charge on my bill. All those individual charges make for a much longer bill to review.

[Charlies Aunt]

7 minutes ago, RuthC said:

When you first use the Beverage Card you activate it with your cabin card. It acts like a 'smart card' that's been loaded with the purchased amount of money.
With each drink comes a sales slip showing the amount of the drink and the remaining balance. You save this until the next drink, compare the deducted amount and balance to what it should be, then toss the old slip.

I find that a Beverage Card makes it so much easier to check my account since there is only the one initial charge on my bill. All those individual charges make for a much longer bill to review.

 

 

Many thanks for the speedy reply RuthC.  What a great scheme and so much easier to keep the accounts straight. I think it is the way to go in future especially on longer cruises,

[Betty in Cozumel]

Does each purchase show the cost of the drink ($5) and the gratuity?  

[thunderbay]

is there such a thing as a coffee card?  All I want is to purchase a specialty coffee each morning.  On Princess I had a punch card.  I believe it was about $30 and you got unlimited coffee/tea and about 10 specialty coffees

[Krazy Kruizers]

8 hours ago, thunderbay said:

is there such a thing as a coffee card?  All I want is to purchase a specialty coffee each morning.  On Princess I had a punch card.  I believe it was about $30 and you got unlimited coffee/tea and about 10 specialty coffees

 

HAL no longer has the specialty coffee cards -- that was many years ago.

[Krazy Kruizers]

8 hours ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

Does each purchase show the cost of the drink ($5) and the gratuity?  

 

If you have the Beverage Card, the receipt will show the cost of the drink and the gratuity and how much you have left on the card.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We love the Beverage Cards because it makes less checking all those charges on your shipboard account -- especially on long cruises.

 

Once I get a new slip, I compare it to the old slip and then throw out the old slip.  

 

If you pre-order the cards, when you get to your cabin, you will find the card in your cabin with your name on it.  Of course you will have to go to a bar and activate it.