71% price increase for in room liquor

[bluesplayer]

Hoping someone will try to upgrade to elite and post here.  Is that possible with the new pricing?

[Brewgirl1]

18 minutes ago, bluesplayer said:

Hoping someone will try to upgrade to elite and post here.  Is that possible with the new pricing?

I’d love to know how much it costs to upgrade. 

[old mike]

7 hours ago, Woofbite said:

For some reason Skyy Vodka is only $40 a liter compared to $69 or more for the others.  I figure they missed it so I snagged some for our November trip before they notice.

Thanks for that, grabbed a bottle for our next cruise,  vodka is simply ethanol and water never mind what the distillers hype might claim   Those price increases sure are steep. 

[Tom O.]

58 minutes ago, DoggyDaddy said:

I did what TomO suggested, but did it a few days ago. Curious, would a soda card work for cans of tonic water (at the half price)?

 

DD

It has been a while since I have had a beverage card, but I believe you can not use it for mini-bar items. It can only be used in restaurants and bars. And they will simply squirt what you order into a glass - not very convenient for mixing drinks in your room.

But the cans of non-alcoholic mixers are the same price as sodas - not sure what the latest price is, But there will probably be only one can of tonic in your fridge. But, you can call room service an they will bring you some more.

[AJSkarbo]

8 hours ago, bluesplayer said:

Hoping someone will try to upgrade to elite and post here.  Is that possible with the new pricing?

I contacted my TA to upgrade from the standard to the elite on my upcoming Eurodam sailing. I will report back with what she tells me.

[TAD2005]

If you purchased the SBP online at $44.95 plus 15%, upgrading is simple, just cancel the purchase and buy the EBP at $49.95 plus 15%.   If you wait to upgrade until you board, then HAL provided OBC comes into play and all bets are off.  The whole reason HAL charges more for either package if you buy it onboard is because you are using (in most cases) HAL provided free OBC for part or all of the package.   They would rather you use your own cash to buy either package online instead of using free OBC.  

[TriumphGuy]

We got the Signature Beverage Package included "free" with our upcoming 14 day TA in April. However, I still like to have a drink on the balcony before dinner. Interesting that Tanqueray Gin is more expensive than Bombay Sapphire.
I'll probably still buy a bottle of Bombay and bring along a case of tonic. Unless, I can use my SBP to get a can of tonic for the cabin? Anybody know if I can do that with the SBP?

Edited January 8, 2020 by TriumphGuy

[kazu]

1 hour ago, TriumphGuy said:

Unless, I can use my SBP to get a can of tonic for the cabin? Anybody know if I can do that with the SBP?

 

You can use your SBP to pick up a can of tonic or two at a bar and then take it to the cabin.  No problem at all 😉 

 

Take both your cards if you want 2 cans at a time.  It’s no problem.
 

[TriumphGuy]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

You can use your SBP to pick up a can of tonic or two at a bar and then take it to the cabin.  No problem at all 😉 

 

Take both your cards if you want 2 cans at a time.  It’s no problem.
 

Nice to know! Thank you!

[Crusinsusan2]

On 1/6/2020 at 6:57 PM, old mike said:

Thanks for that, grabbed a bottle for our next cruise,  vodka is simply ethanol and water never mind what the distillers hype might claim   Those price increases sure are steep. 

 

Purchased the same on the Sky Vodka while still $40.00 for our upcoming ($19.00 @ home and ok w this pricing.)

Holy cow-just checked the Jose Cuervo tequila (lowest end tequila) pricing. Last trip 43.00 in room, today's price $69.00.  Weekly special @ our local Rite aide $8.99 for the same. I understand, appreciate and expect a significant markup for a restaurant on land or cruise for wine or liquor but this increase is simply bat**** crazy.  

[AJSkarbo]

On 1/6/2020 at 8:24 PM, bluesplayer said:

Hoping someone will try to upgrade to elite and post here.  Is that possible with the new pricing?

I contacted my TA today. She stated that since we got the SBP as a perk we could not upgrade the difference before the cruise. So I guess if you get it thrown in as a perk it isnt possible to get the new pricing.

[crystalspin]

Right and if you want to upgrade on the ship (BEFORE using the SBP even once), it will cost the difference between the lowest price for SBP and the higher price for the EBP -- Is that still $15pppd? for both/all persons in the room.

 

OTOH, that's still the price of one glass of wine per person per day.

[PigsCanFly]

I purchased a bottle of Bacardi Gold when we first booked our Feb cruise.  It was $46.50.

After reading this thread, I went to check the price now, and I guess I got the lastbottle because it is no longer listed.  The Bacardi White is listed at $69. though.  I will hope that the bottle is in the room when we embark and I will darken my drinks with the Pepsi Zero I carry onboard.  (or diet Coke when I run out of Pepsi).  The other bottle prices do seem to be much higher than I have seen them in the past.

 

[TAD2005]

With the SBP,  we always take 2 cans of ginger ale and 2 bottles of water back to our cabin at night.  We stop at any bar and order it.   I offer both of our cards to the bartender, and he says "I only need one card because you are eligible for unlimited sodas and water with the SBP".   So, don't worry if you only have your cabin keycard and you want 2 or more cans of tonic.

[Petronillus]

As Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story:

 

DW & I have just returned from our 17-day transit of the Panama Canal on the Oosterdam. Knowing what I read in this thread, when I pre-ordered a 1-litre bottle of Chivas Regal for delivery to our stateroom, I was not surprised at the $92 price I was charged. The surprise came when, having finished off the first bottle, I ordered a second from Beverage Service. The second bottle was delivered to our stateroom @ $67.85 ($59 plus a 15% gratuity).

I brought the discrepancy to the attention of Guest Services, who after a short period of pondering refunded the pre-reorder and charged the lower, in-room rate for the first bottle.

Great was the joy in Cabin 5130!

[AtleeH]

On 1/3/2020 at 11:06 PM, CafeBruno said:

Last week, I was shopping for our Feb. 23 14 day Nieuw Statendam cruise, and put some stuff in the HAL website shopping cart, but didn't actually buy them - in-room liquor, internet package, shore excursions, etc. Today I checked again and the liquor i was planning to have delivered to our stateroom more than doubled in price! My bottle of Absolut vodka went from $43.75 last week to $69 today, an increase of 58%. My bottle of Crown Royal went from $53.75 last week to $92 today, a 71% increase!! Needless to say I cancelled them both. Really wish I had completed the purchase last week at the reasonable prices - but I will not buy at the new prices. Seriously HAL, a 71% increase??? 

 

I'm so glad I can take it, or leave it, WRT alcohol.  During football tailgating season, I take it a lot, but during the off season, I mostly leave it.  At the prices charged for alcohol on any cruise ship, I can very easily leave it.  I can survive very nicely on the regular coffee, water, etc available on Lido and Dining Room.

[Roger88]

Nothing to be surprised with here. Travel to any European hotel and you will find the same liquor you could buy in a store but like 3x more expensive. Eastern Europe is a bit different story though.. the prices there a bit lower than in the rest of Europe.

Can you bring booze with you on board?

[kazu]

3 hours ago, Roger88 said:

Can you bring booze with you on board?

 

No you cannot.  The only thing you can bring on board that is alcoholic is wine and aside from the free bottle permitted at embarkation there is an $18 corkage fee charged for each bottle brought on board.

[Hlitner]

On 1/7/2020 at 6:27 PM, TriumphGuy said:

We got the Signature Beverage Package included "free" with our upcoming 14 day TA in April. However, I still like to have a drink on the balcony before dinner. Interesting that Tanqueray Gin is more expensive than Bombay Sapphire.
I'll probably still buy a bottle of Bombay and bring along a case of tonic. Unless, I can use my SBP to get a can of tonic for the cabin? Anybody know if I can do that with the SBP?

I will not get into actual pricing on this board but "free" is usually anything but.  You might want to take a look at how much your cruise costs today, without the beverage package.   And no, the SBP does not include anything delivered to your cabin.  Of course you can always get anything at a bar that is included and bring it back to your cabin.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We only ever have a bottle of wine in our room.

 

We typically look at HAL, Celebrity, and Princess first.  That line up could be changing.

 

They all seem to be going downmarket a little.  But I have to say, of those three cruise lines, HAL is giving us fewer and fewer  reasons even to consider their ships.  And we are in their demographic...both in our late sixties.  

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by iancal

[slidergirl]

On 1/4/2020 at 6:54 AM, CruiseMGM said:

Darn, wish I'd purchased when I made the rez last week. Some "good" news, though, at least a few of the bottled wines you can pre-purchase for your cabin actually went down in price (Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay was $61.25, now $56.35), and the Sommelier wine packages don't appear to have changed for the 6 or 8 bottle packages.

 

Captive audience!

You were paying $56.35 for a bottle that costs around $11 in the liquor store????   We use that Chard at our wine & cheese socials at my hotel - the hotel board told us that we can't go above $15/bottle...  

 

For the high prices of hard liquor?  Have you ever gone to a nightclub/concert where they have "bottle service?"  To me, it's a little akin to what HAL is doing to let you have a "private place" to drink vs mingling with the masses at a bar.  It's not as outrageous as bottle service ($200 for a bottle of low-end vodka like Grey Goose, Kettle One), 2 bottle minimum at the table), but is does track a little,  

Edited February 23, 2020 by slidergirl

[Djptcp]

Always ordered Myers Rum for DH at $36 and just checked for our Dec. Veendam cruise and it's now $69! What a disappointment. We stopped ordering liquor for our Carnival cabins a long time ago because they had just gotten too expensive. Looks like we'll do the same now for our HAL cruises.

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I will not get into actual pricing on this board but "free" is usually anything but.  

 

Based on the OP putting the word “free” in quotes I’m guessing they already know that.

[Tom O.]

A lot of people complain of being nickel and dimed for drinks and all sorts of other services. They will point to premium cruise lines that include all those items without extra cost.

But those premium cruise lines charge much more for their cruises. What happens there is that the passengers who make extensive use of these services are being subsidized by the ones who use them the least.

I would prefer to have a cheap cruise ticket and then later choose what kind of goodies I want on board. I will usually refrain from overspending when I see what the charge is. But sometimes I like to splurge too, but the point is that it will be my idea to spend extra. I will not be doing it just because it is included in the fare, and feel I need to take advantage of it.

[TriumphGuy]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I will not get into actual pricing on this board but "free" is usually anything but.  You might want to take a look at how much your cruise costs today, without the beverage package.   And no, the SBP does not include anything delivered to your cabin.  Of course you can always get anything at a bar that is included and bring it back to your cabin.

 

Hank

Hence the quotes around "free".
We booked this about a year ago. When they had the promo for the SBP, I called our TA and asked if I could get it, as it was about a week after we booked.
The TA was able to get not only the SBP for both of us, but a "free" dinner for two in the Pinnacle Grill, a few hundred bucks of OBC, some courtesy OBC from the TA, and a welcome plate of chocolate covered strawberries. (ok, I like strawberries)
Yes, I could probably get it cheaper now, if it's not sold out, but overall I'm happy with the deal we got. And we got a good deal on Premium Economy seats with Delta and Air France.

Edited February 24, 2020 by TriumphGuy