Happy hour question on hal.

[portcbob]

Hi hal cruisers.

Doing our first hal cruise on the volendam in Alaska next year.

I have read that in happy hour you can purchase a beer and get the second for $2.00.

If this is correct will you be able to buy say 3 beers and get another 3 for $6.00. 

Also would all beers be opened together or can you take some unopened to your staterooms.

CHEERS Bob.

[Judyrem]

4 hours ago, portcbob said:

Hi hal cruisers.

Doing our first hal cruise on the volendam in Alaska next year.

I have read that in happy hour you can purchase a beer and get the second for $2.00.

If this is correct will you be able to buy say 3 beers and get another 3 for $6.00. 

Also would all beers be opened together or can you take some unopened to your staterooms.

CHEERS Bob.

Curious too.

[lstrong]

We have asked that the second beer not be opened and it was never a problem at happy hour. Enjoy!

[Krazy Kruizers]

As far as I know, you can only order two beers at a time -- one at regular price and the second for $2.

 

 

[catl331]

13 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

As far as I know, you can only order two beers at a time -- one at regular price and the second for $2.

But you can do that three times (or more) before you leave.

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, catl331 said:

But you can do that three times (or more) before you leave.

Absolutely you can. All drinks are buy first get second for $2. Great happy hour. Enjoy your first HAL cruise.

[Ferry_Watcher]

The earlier Happy Hour (4-5 PM) was our favorite time.  We would arrive early as there was a jazz combo, and the servers would come by and get our pre orders.  Our drinks would arrive a bit after Happy Hour started.  I wished that my husband and I had the same taste in drinks so we could have shared, but he is more of a beer type of guy, and I would order cocktails.  It was a bit weird (at least for me) having four glasses on the table at one time (two for me & two for him) - the optics didn't exactly cry out 'sophistication', but the price was right!  ;  )

 

As for the beer, sometimes his second bottle of beer arrived unopened and he would have to ask for it to be opened when he was ready to drink it, other times both would be opened.  All in all, it was a great deal, and we took advantage of it when we could.

[llbz327]

we also do that. we but 3 and get the next 3 $6.00 we always ask for them to be unopened. you can also ask for a bucket of ice. enjoy

[shebag]

Never had an issue buying as many beer as I wanted, they will sometimes keep them behind the bar for you to stay cold or an ice bucket.  If you don't drink them all you can take back to your room unopened and if you don't have a fridge, I have never had a problem switching a warm one for a cold one at the bar.  Cheers

[portcbob]

Thanks guys for all your answers. Appreciate it. Looks like I won't need a drinks package after all.😁

[richwmn]

One thing to mention here, a lot of the answers here depend on the attitude of the Bartender or Beverage Manager. I have seen people order 6 beers and get 3 of them for the happy hour price, I have also seen them being ordered in pairs. In addition, my preference is to have one drink delivered and the second one made when I finish the first. I generally have no problem having it done that way, but if too many people ask it will probably go away as it is quite a bit to keep track of. I have also had the pre order mentioned earlier and drinks served right after happy hour begins, but also drinks being served but not rung up until the official start of happy hour.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by richwmn

[taxmantoo]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

One thing to mention here, a lot of the answers here depend on the attitude of the Bartender or Beverage Manager. 

While I agree with this to a certain point, I believe the MOST important attitude is that of the individual passenger  😉 A pleasant demeanor, please and thank you will go a long way in getting what you want without any hassle. 

Edited November 4, 2019 by taxmantoo

[Judyrem]

6 hours ago, llbz327 said:

we also do that. we but 3 and get the next 3 $6.00 we always ask for them to be unopened. you can also ask for a bucket of ice. enjoy

Excellent!

[portcbob]

Thanks guys, you all are wonderful.

can't wait to see beautiful alaska and canada for the first time. The only thing we are not looking forward to is the 14 hour flight to vancouver from Australia.

CHEERS Bob👍

[sevenseasnomad]

8 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

The earlier Happy Hour (4-5 PM) was our favorite time.  We would arrive early as there was a jazz combo, and the servers would come by and get our pre orders.  Our drinks would arrive a bit after Happy Hour started.  I wished that my husband and I had the same taste in drinks so we could have shared, but he is more of a beer type of guy, and I would order cocktails.  It was a bit weird (at least for me) having four glasses on the table at one time (two for me & two for him) - the optics didn't exactly cry out 'sophistication', but the price was right!  ;  )

 

As for the beer, sometimes his second bottle of beer arrived unopened and he would have to ask for it to be opened when he was ready to drink it, other times both would be opened.  All in all, it was a great deal, and we took advantage of it when we could.

I can't recall the thread, but someone posted recently that on one of the ships, I believe it was K'dam, that Happy Hour no longer requires the identical drink, but the 2nd discounted drink can be any drink of equal to or lesser value than the first drink.  Everyone on the thread was hoping this policy moves through the fleet.  Also, the OP said the hour was extended by 30 minutes, so Happy Hour was an hour and half.  

[richwmn]

52 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

I can't recall the thread, but someone posted recently that on one of the ships, I believe it was K'dam, that Happy Hour no longer requires the identical drink, but the 2nd discounted drink can be any drink of equal to or lesser value than the first drink.  Everyone on the thread was hoping this policy moves through the fleet.  Also, the OP said the hour was extended by 30 minutes, so Happy Hour was an hour and half.  

The thread was

and in post #1 mentions that the second drink had to be the same, however in post #16 the OP mentions it is back to having to have the same second drink

 

[ghstudio]

On our recent Veendam cruise, happy hour extended from 3:30 to 5:30 and maybe a little later some days.  I ordered a happy hour drink at 5:45 one night and the bartender gave me the happy hour price for a double.  It's very flexible and if you get to know the bartender, it can get even more flexible.  (no tipping was involved...just pleasant conversation with the bartender during the cruise).