Wine.. ...?????

[POA1]

18 hours ago, san diego spartan said:

Yes.  Thanks.   Very detailed and helpful. However do I have to have OBC to do this?

 

No, as Kazu said, it's easier if you don't try to use non-paid OBC. We ran into trouble in 2016 because we had a lot of non-purchased OBC and they did not want to upgrade us. Being a persuasive lad, I was able to get it done, but it took me having to go to a bar, the concierge, the front desk, and finally one more bar until I could convince someone to take my money. Other people on other ships had no problem, but the Eurodam in late 2016 was not wild about doing it. 

 

That's the only reason I mentioned the paid OBC. I figured that I could argue the case that they could use it, or refund it. Paid OBC is refundable. However, we lucked out and had no problem on the Zuiderdam. 

[esmo]

I  have a questions here re: the drink packages. This is only our second HA cruise (Nieuw Amsterdam in August), we usually cruise on Princess. I have purchased the beverage package on Princess which gives us pretty much what I see on the package with HA - except I am confused on bottles of wine. With our Princess package we could go to any bar on the ship and purchase any available bottle of wine for 50%. Glasses of wine in the MDR/bars were included in our package. We like to have a bottle or wine in our room for a before dinner glass or a before bed glass. Do we need to purchase a wine package in addition to the beverage package to get bottles of wine included? If so, mathematically it appears I would be better off purchasing on-board credits in advance (to lower that post-cruise "sticker shock"). I am assuming that things like specialty coffees, soft drinks, iced tea etc are also included in the beverage package.

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, esmo said:

I  have a questions here re: the drink packages. This is only our second HA cruise (Nieuw Amsterdam in August), we usually cruise on Princess. I have purchased the beverage package on Princess which gives us pretty much what I see on the package with HA - except I am confused on bottles of wine. With our Princess package we could go to any bar on the ship and purchase any available bottle of wine for 50%. Glasses of wine in the MDR/bars were included in our package. We like to have a bottle or wine in our room for a before dinner glass or a before bed glass. Do we need to purchase a wine package in addition to the beverage package to get bottles of wine included? If so, mathematically it appears I would be better off purchasing on-board credits in advance (to lower that post-cruise "sticker shock"). I am assuming that things like specialty coffees, soft drinks, iced tea etc are also included in the beverage package.

 

 

short and sweet - as to the beverage package - right now, it’s any drink $9 or under (gratuity doesn’t count) - so any alcoholic, non alcoholic, soft drink, etc ar included.  By the way Iced tea is free on HAL for everyone 😉 

 

As to the bottles of wine - no, sadly the package does not include that.  So if you buy a bottle of wine you either pay the price or you can alternatively get a package.  I guess most people with the SBP don’t as my wine steward was shocked we wanted a package last year.

 

If you like wine, then yes, I would be tempted to say you are probably better off buying OBC and choosing what you want how you want.

 

It’s just a matter of math and looking a the choices and doing what’s right for YOU 😉 That’s the most important thing 😄 

[esmo]

Thanks - I think I will do the OBC for my estimated bar tab. Seems easier that way.

 

[NCLiz99]

Is there a change in the per drink price limit for Elite Bev Pkg, now that the SBP covers drinks up to $11?

[RMS Olympic]

New question.... if I purchase a drink package, is it difficult to get a glass of wine at the dinner table and possible second during a long meal?  Are there bar staff to take the drink order or does that responsibility fall on a server already stretched thin between multiple tables?

Thanks

[catl331]

48 minutes ago, RMS Olympic said:

Are there bar staff to take the drink order or does that responsibility fall on a server already stretched thin between multiple tables?

On our last couple of cruises wine by-the-glass was handled by the waiters, and the wine steward only dealt with bottles.

[fatcat04]

2 hours ago, RMS Olympic said:

New question.... if I purchase a drink package, is it difficult to get a glass of wine at the dinner table and possible second during a long meal?  Are there bar staff to take the drink order or does that responsibility fall on a server already stretched thin between multiple tables?

Thanks

This last cruise was our first with a bev pkg. We had an excellent wine steward in the mdr. Onthe first night in the MDR meeting our wine steward, we let her know that we like multiple glasses and with which courses we wanted them served. From then on she knew the drill and everything ran smoothly. Every night we just ordered everything up front and it was bought out at the right time. She also always knew we liked a dessert wine before departing which she unfailingly got to us on time. We were spoiled.

Edited April 18, 2019 by fatcat04

[RMS Olympic]

Thanks for the responses! Now to decide which drink package.....

Leaning towards the Elite even if I don’t drink much......it just gets the exspenses out of the way. I hope the bartenders don’t treat passengers with packages any different than pay as you gopassengers. I tip a lot so maybe it doesn’t matter. Before any comments on the tipping, it’s part of my trip taking care of hard working people.

 

[crystalspin]

On 4/18/2019 at 2:26 PM, RMS Olympic said:

I hope the bartenders don’t treat passengers with packages any different than pay as you gopassengers.

Hi

We have SBP through Explore4, and the bartenders and barservers could not be more attentive nor pleasant. If anything they are faster to fill your glass! They may get a little less per drink (or not) but people with a package are faster to order the next one. 

[TAD2005]

On our Eurodam cruise, the wines by the glass were always handled by the wine steward, not the waiters.   She had a small tablet with a card swipe attachment.  She enters your wine order at the table, swipes your keycard, and another wine steward shows up with your glass of wine in a few minutes.   We arranged with her to have a specific wine for us each evening (we have fixed dining 8:00 pm) and the first glass was there when we sat down.   The wine steward also handled the after dinner drinks in the same way.