Signature Beverage Card or Beverage Card?

[trixiee]

Trying to decide between purchasing a Signature beverage card for each of us, or a couple of beverage cards.  What's the breakeven formula?  I did see it once, but a quick search proved fruitless.

 

TIA!

[Gigi1977]

55 minutes ago, trixiee said:

Trying to decide between purchasing a Signature beverage card for each of us, or a couple of beverage cards.  What's the breakeven formula?  I did see it once, but a quick search proved fruitless.

 

TIA!

I think I’ve seen 5 or 6 alcohol  drinks per day for break even ?? And you may order up to 15.   And I do agree these boards have gotten impossible to search. . . 🙁 

[kazu]

I find it comes down to how many drinks you will order - take those non alcoholic drinks into account too and do a bit of math that matches what you typically do.

 

Also, look at how port intensive your cruise is.  You aren’t going to be taking advantage of the package while you are in port.

 

I find doing a bit of math and usually the beverage card is better for us - but I like wine and the wine in the SBP just doesn’t suffice as my sole wine which is probably one of our main reasons for selecting the beverage card (can order the expensive stuff at happy hour 😉 ) wine packages and a bit of corkage 😉 

 

[trixiee]

41 minutes ago, kazu said:

I find it comes down to how many drinks you will order - take those non alcoholic drinks into account too and do a bit of math that matches what you typically do.

 

Also, look at how port intensive your cruise is.  You aren’t going to be taking advantage of the package while you are in port.

 

I find doing a bit of math and usually the beverage card is better for us - but I like wine and the wine in the SBP just doesn’t suffice as my sole wine which is probably one of our main reasons for selecting the beverage card (can order the expensive stuff at happy hour 😉 ) wine packages and a bit of corkage 😉 

 

Thank you Kazu.  I think that's what we we do.  I plan on bringing on 4 bottles of wine, 2 for in cabin, and 2 for dinner... and yes, we have 3 port days and one day at Half Moon Key where we will not be "enjoying" the privileges of the SBC.  As fellow Canadians, it just seems very pricey - especially with an additional 32% for exchange.

Much appreciated!

Trixiee 

[Krazy Kruizers]

We don't drink enough to consider buying the signature drink package.  

 

There are times when we like to order the better bottles of wine and the signature drink package won't even allow you to buy any bottles of wine.

 

So we buy the Beverage Cards.

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, trixiee said:

Thank you Kazu.  I think that's what we we do.  I plan on bringing on 4 bottles of wine, 2 for in cabin, and 2 for dinner... and yes, we have 3 port days and one day at Half Moon Key where we will not be "enjoying" the privileges of the SBC.  As fellow Canadians, it just seems very pricey - especially with an additional 32% for exchange.

Much appreciated!

Trixiee 

 

Happy to help and I feel your pain on the exchange rate.

 

You are smart to take HMC into account.  You definitely can’t use anything there.

With the # of port days you have, I”d skip the SBP too 😉 

[Tom O.]

8 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

We don't drink enough to consider buying the signature drink package.  

 

There are times when we like to order the better bottles of wine and the signature drink package won't even allow you to buy any bottles of wine.

 

So we buy the Beverage Cards.

 

Hello KK, Can you remind us of what the advantage of using Beverage Cards over just paying for the drinks individually?

[trixiee]

Are any unused $$ left on the beverage cards reimbursed to your credit card, or to your onboard account?

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, trixiee said:

Are any unused $$ left on the beverage cards reimbursed to your credit card, or to your onboard account?

 

Reimbursed to your on board account first.  If your on board account is a credit balance then it is credited to your credit card.

[Krazy Kruizers]

1 hour ago, Tom O. said:

 

Hello KK, Can you remind us of what the advantage of using Beverage Cards over just paying for the drinks individually?

 

You don't have all those receipts to check on the morning of departure to make certain that your bill is correct.

 

When I get a receipt using the Beverage Card, I just check to make certain that the correct amount has been charged and throw away the old receipt.

[Cruzaholic41]

I don’t recall getting receipts for drinks on HAL for the past few years. 

[gknep]

I did the math and the pre-cruise price for the SBP seems to work in my favor. Between the non-alcoholic beverages  and the beers and cocktails that I enjoy while cruising I have no problem accounting for the daily costs. I don't tend to do wine on cruises so the very limited wines available in the package are not a problem. 

[TAD2005]

The Signature Beverage Package (SBP) is not a card,  it is encoded into your cabin keycard.   The beverage card is like a pre-paid debit card in various denominations that you can use for any beverage, anywhere, except HMC and your cabin mini-bar.  That is a separate card,.

With the SBP, you just present your cabin key card to the waiter or bartender and the point of sale terminal recognizes that you have the SBP and no charge is recorded, except your daily alcoholic beverage count of 15 is tallied.  With the SBP, you also get included the equivalent of the Quench Package, which is unlimited bottles of water, cans of soda, and specialty coffees.    Your after dinner cappuccino is covered.  With an average alcoholic beverage menu price of $8.95, plus 15% service charge,  your break-even point is 5 drinks.  Drink 6 and up is free, until you hit 15 for the day.   You can order doubles of any drink, and it counts for 2 of your daily 15.    The maximum drink price under the SBP is $11 menu price.  You do not have to consider the 15% SC in your calculations to see if a drink is covered.   There are no additional service charges added to your cabin account.

The Elite Beverage Package costs more, ($69.00 per day including the SC) and allows the same 15 alcoholic beverages per day, but the max price is up to $15 per drink, which does include a lot of wines that would not be covered under the SBP. 

If you do decide to purchase the SBP, definitely buy it online, before your cruise.   With the 15% SC, it will cost $51.70 per day, per person.   If you wait to buy it onboard, it will cost $63.20 per day.   

You mentioned you are bringing your own wine onboard.  Depending on how many other drinks you might consume other than your own wine, you will have to judge for yourself if the SBP is worth it. Definitely include the cost of bottles of water, sodas and specialty coffees in your calculations.

Edited January 3, 2020 by TAD2005

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

I don’t recall getting receipts for drinks on HAL for the past few years. 

 

Interesting.  I’ve never NOT gotten receipts on HAL - even with my beverage card.

 

but, we’ve only been on the Prinsendam, S & R ships, vista ships and a signature class (a long time ago).

 

haven’t been on the Pinnacle ships, though.  Perhaps that is the difference?

[bennybear]

Maybe, because they sure don’t give them on the Koningsdam.   Best scenario was they showed you the balance on an iPad.   I would prefer the slips as we caught a few errors. 

[Aquahound]

My last cruise was on Eurodam.  No drink receipts.  Then again, I had the SBP, so that might have been the reason. 

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

My last cruise was on Eurodam.  No drink receipts.  Then again, I had the SBP, so that might have been the reason. 

 

I forgot about the SBP.  That may well be why some people don’t get receipts.

 

I had SBP for one segment of my Prinsendam cruise and I didn’t get receipts (nor did I need them).  When the 2nd segment started and I didn’t have SBP, I received receipts for my Beverage Cards and my drinks charged to the room.

 

[Cruise Suzy]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

My last cruise was on Eurodam.  No drink receipts.  Then again, I had the SBP, so that might have been the reason. 

 

I didn't have a package and didn't get receipts in February on the Koningsdam. Usually had to ask if I wanted to know the balance.

[bennybear]

4 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

I didn't have a package and didn't get receipts in February on the Koningsdam. Usually had to ask if I wanted to know the balance.

The same, also on K.  

[TAD2005]

The cost of the Elite Beverage Package has dropped.   It used to be $59.95 plus 15% service charge, purchased onboard or online.    The online price is now $49.95  (only $5 more than the SBP)  and they charge $59.95 if you wait to buy it onboard.   The max drink price is still $15 menu price.

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

The cost of the Elite Beverage Package has dropped.   It used to be $59.95 plus 15% service charge, purchased onboard or online.    The online price is now $49.95  (only $5 more than the SBP)  and they charge $59.95 if you wait to buy it onboard.   The max drink price is still $15 menu price.

 

thanks 🙂. That’s good news.

But since our favourite splurge wine on board is $17/$18, we’ll stick with the beverage card and happy hour for it.  Discovered it on the Prinsendam - hope they have it on the Zuiderdam 🤞