Beverage Cards — What am I Missing?

[Tantsee]

Is there any advantage to buying a beverage card, other than having your drinks prepaid?  I’m just trying to decide whether or not it makes sense for us to buy one.  It would require carrying around two cards (key card and beverage card) instead of just the key card.  Am I missing an obvious (or not so obvious) benefit to having one?

[versuco]

I like to have everything paid for before boarding the ship, that is why we purchased beverage cards.  We usually sail on NCL and always get the drink package as a perk.  We like not having the sticker shock on our onboard account at the end of the cruise.  Really no other advantage unless you get the 50.00 soda card for 25.00.

[Gigi1977]

The soda card is discounted 50%.   Pay $25. for $50. The other cards are face value- so no advantage.   I think some people use them to budget.  

[sevenseasnomad]

Drink package is different from beverage card.  Separate drink packages to suit various tastes are currently available.  Drink packages are loaded to your key card, so you aren't carrying more than one card around at a time.  Beverage cards are sold with certain $ amounts from $50-$250 and are separate cards.  Yes, you'll have multiple cards to carry.  Have you considered buying one of the lanyards?  Key cards and probably beverage cards, too, have a hole perfect for using the lanyard.

[dobiemom]

I like the beverage card so all my drinks at NOT on my sign and sail statement and I have to keep ALL drink receipts. With the beverage card I throw away the old receipt after checking the new receipt and keep the new receipt until the next drink. 

[Tantsee]

6 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

I like the beverage card so all my drinks at NOT on my sign and sail statement and I have to keep ALL drink receipts. With the beverage card I throw away the old receipt after checking the new receipt and keep the new receipt until the next drink. 

Good to know.  That would be helpful.  Thank you!

[sevenseasnomad]

We prefer the Quench Package, but it is non-alcoholic.  It is unlimited drinks, however, which my son loves.  He probably ordered 6-8 specialty coffees, 9-10 mocktails, multiple bottles of specialty water and soft drinks per day.  He more than got his money's worth.  Yes, all those drinks landed on his statement, but it was no big deal because he wasn't charged for any of them.  Once he checked his statement each day, he tossed the previous day's receipts.  No big deal.

[RuthC]

16 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

I like the beverage card so all my drinks at NOT on my sign and sail statement and I have to keep ALL drink receipts. With the beverage card I throw away the old receipt after checking the new receipt and keep the new receipt until the next drink. 

Exactly. On longer cruises, especially, that can save a lot of precious time proofing out your statement on the final morning. 

[dogo88]

1 hour ago, Tantsee said:

Is there any advantage to buying a beverage card, other than having your drinks prepaid?  I’m just trying to decide whether or not it makes sense for us to buy one.  It would require carrying around two cards (key card and beverage card) instead of just the key card.  Am I missing an obvious (or not so obvious) benefit to having one?

 

You are spot on with your belief on any advantage of purchasing the beverage card. If carrying two (or more) cards and not having drink purchases on you regular account, though you can still buy drinks on your key card, is an advantage, then get one. Some folks like them others don't care.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

For me -- I like not having a ton of receipts to check over on the last morning of the cruise.  It isn't that hard to carry 2 cards.

[sevenseasnomad]

5 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

For me -- I like not having a ton of receipts to check over on the last morning of the cruise.  It isn't that hard to carry 2 cards.

We check our statement each day.  If there's a mistake, purser can rectify it quickly.  Waiting until the last morning has never occurred to us.  I guess we're too OCD to let a day pass without checking.  Also, I was married to a CPA.  I had to restrain him from checking twice a day.  Now that he has died, I guess his old habit of checking and double-checking that statement wore off.  Or maybe, it's a way of remembering him that I check my and my son's statements daily.

[msmayor]

It's also useful to know that with the beverage card, any amount that remains at the end of the cruise is credited back.  You don't need to use it all up before leaving.

 

We had a little over $14 left on our card at the end of our Eurodam cruise.  The credit showed up on our statement the morning we left the ship.

[kazu]

2 hours ago, msmayor said:

It's also useful to know that with the beverage card, any amount that remains at the end of the cruise is credited back.  You don't need to use it all up before leaving.

 

We had a little over $14 left on our card at the end of our Eurodam cruise.  The credit showed up on our statement the morning we left the ship.

 

 

Good point.  I check my account daily but I don’t need the hassle (or amount of paper) from checking numerous days of cruising.  It also makes you jog your memory or as your DH if he bought a drink at X place.  Add in that they don’t always say the place where you really bought the drink and the beverage card makes our life simple.

 

Not only can I absorb some of the cost of on board life in advance (my choice) it also lets those of us whose currency is not U.S. $ to either dollar cost average our purchases or even choose a time when we think the exchange rate is ‘good enough’ rather than be a victim of one day in time (disembarkation day) for the charging of all onboard expenses at whatever exchange rate it is at the time. 😉 

[bennybear]

We had them for the first time,  and did like the idea of not all the little charges on our final statement.   The only downside is that we only got a Receipt once in 23 days.  We found  we were overcharged once but that was rectified.   Don’t know if this is just on K, at times we were shown balance on the iPads, but more often nothing. 

[daisy-mae]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

Good point.  I check my account daily but I don’t need the hassle (or amount of paper) from checking numerous days of cruising.  It also makes you jog your memory or as your DH if he bought a drink at X place.  Add in that they don’t always say the place where you really bought the drink and the beverage card makes our life simple.

 

 

 

Good point. However, is there no chance that mistakes can happen with a beverage card (double charge, wrong amount, etc.)?

What would be the difference between verifying your on board account and your card balance, other than the fact that the card value is declining while the charges on the account are increasing?

 

 

[dobiemom]

4 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

 

Good point. However, is there no chance that mistakes can happen with a beverage card (double charge, wrong amount, etc.)?

What would be the difference between verifying your on board account and your card balance, other than the fact that the card value is declining while the charges on the account are increasing?

 

 

Yes, mistakes can happen. The difference is (if you do NOT check your onboard statement every day) with a beverage card you will find the mistake right away. If you are charging your cabin for drinks and do not check your onboard statement every day (and I do not) then you will might not find the mistake for a few days. 

[kazu]

29 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

 

Good point. However, is there no chance that mistakes can happen with a beverage card (double charge, wrong amount, etc.)?

What would be the difference between verifying your on board account and your card balance, other than the fact that the card value is declining while the charges on the account are increasing?

 

 

 It's quite simple to me.

 

If I order my beverage card ahead of time it has my name on it so a) I know I have the right card back.

 

 

the slip you get shows your previous balance,, the charge and the new balance.  I just keep the most recent lip and it''s easy to check.   I haven't seen a muck up yet, but if. I do,, it's easily fixed with the server. 😉 

[T8NCruise]

22 hours ago, RuthC said:

Exactly. On longer cruises, especially, that can save a lot of precious time proofing out your statement on the final morning. 

 

And not to mention the number of entries and increased number of pages to check on your account.  That, I think, is a huge advantage, so much easier to skim over your account each day without having all those extra charges for drinks, special coffee, soda, etc.

[bennybear]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

the slip you get shows your previous balance,, the charge and the new balance.  I just keep the most recent lip and it''s easy to check.   I haven't seen a muck up yet, but if. I do,, it's easily fixed with the server. 😉 

 

Dont know if it is just pinnacle ships but on the K we only got one receipt in 23 days.  Since this was our first beverage card we didn’t know what to expect and did find an error after the fact when the balance declined a little too quickly.  

Edited October 28, 2019 by bennybear

[kazu]

Just now, bennybear said:

 

Dont know if it is just pinnacle ships but on the K we only got one receipt in 23 days.  Since this was our first beverage card we didn’t know what to expect and did find an error after the fact when the balance declined a little to quickly.  

 

I haven’t been on the King, but I”ve been on the Westerdam, Rotterdam, Prinsendam (a few times) since I bought beverage cards and always got a receipt each time.

 

The day I don’t, I will request one.  I like to know where I stand.  A receipt should be given each time IMO.  And it always has been so far and I hope it continues that way.

[bennybear]

Agree completely!  Often we were just shown our balance on an IPad,  but most  times nothing.  Literally only one receipt.   We learned quite quickly, after we had to check things out as we had several hundred dollars in beverage cards.   But I am,  wondering if that is a new norm on the Pinnacle ships?  

Edited October 28, 2019 by bennybear

[Cruise Suzy]

11 hours ago, bennybear said:

Often we were just shown our balance on an IPad,  but most  times nothing.  Literally only one receipt.   We learned quite quickly, after we had to check things out as we had several hundred dollars in beverage cards.   But I am,  wondering if that is a new norm on the Pinnacle ships?

 

Koningsdam in February was the same - no receipt ever. When I asked for one, I was told the balance.