Updated drink package information

[potchak]

So in case there is any confusion, when Holland started cruising again in July 2021, the drink package has been updated to be 15 of any kind of beverage. You will be charged if you go over 15 drinks of any type (alcoholic or not). I personally think this is ridiculous as most people do not start with alcoholic beverages and therefore their cheapest drinks will be earlier in the day and therefore they charge you for the more expensive beverages after you hit 15. I was pissed when I found this out. 

[sevenseasnomad]

Guess we'll be traveling with a little piece of paper with 15 circles.  Each time we order any beverage that costs, we'll cross off a circle.  As I don't drink alcohol, the unlimited nonalcohol package worked great.  May as well get the upgrade to alcohol and try some of those pretty drinks, which probably cost more than $11 with the tip.  My husband discovered years ago that each time they raised the price limit on drinks package, HAL also raised bar prices.  He stopped getting the package and discovered buying  a drink or two of his choice in the evening worked out really well, more cost effective than the package.  

 

I know this is going to stir up a lot of controversy, especially for those of us who enjoyed the unlimited drinks.  Granted none had any alcohol, but nobody knew I was drinking virgin drinks.  They looked like cocktails.  All the cruise lines have taken a financial hit, so maybe this is one way to try and recover, but it may make a lot of passengers unhappy/angry.  Not the best way to return to cruising.

[FOPMan]

Especially if they start promoting cappuccino in the lido for breakfast. Will a  double cappuccino count as two?

[roxybear135]

I was on the cruise last week and had a problem with the drink package because of this change.  Both my fiancé and I booked under the Have It All promotion which includes the standard beverage package.  If you look up this package on the HAL website, it still says it includes 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited nonalcoholic drinks.  My fiancé ended up going over the limit a couple of days because they charged multiple water bottles and sodas that I ordered to his card and they charged drinks he ordered one day (Irish coffees on the deck during Glacier Bay day because the orders were handwritten and not done directly on the computer) to his account the next day which went against the limit on a day when he hadn't ordered those drinks.  He ended up having over $100 in charges on his account because of this before we realized what was going on.  A couple of bartenders also told him he could order a double shot and it would count as two drinks but it didn't and they charged him the full price for the drink.

 

When we went to guest services, the young man working there was very rude and told us that we didn't understand the package and that we should know to not let the bar staff charge my drinks onto my fiance's card (I don't think there was any way for the bar staff to know that we had the beverage package and they easily could have been assuming that my fiancé was paying for my drinks).  It wasn't until I demanded to talk to the beverage director and explained the situation to him and also showed him what's on HAL's site that we finally got the problem fixed.  It was very annoying having to spend the rest of the trip counting how many drinks we had ordered to make sure we hadn't gone over when we were counting on unlimited water bottles and sodas.

 

I understand that HAL (like other travel companies and cruise lines) are hurting financially from the pandemic but they really need to do a better job of clearly laying out the terms of their packages and making sure that their website is up to date.  It was clear from the beverage director's reaction and frustration that we weren't the first people to have this issue.

Edited August 30, 2021 by roxybear135

[Boytjie]

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam Aug 14th cruise. I don't know whether the 15 drinks limit at that time was for all drinks or just alcoholic ones but, we did not come near either limit at any time.

 

When we both ordered a drink, we automatically gave them both our cards; I would never have assumed that the system - or the bar tender - would do a lookup to see if there was another person in the cabin with a beverage package that may cover the second drink.

 

Just about every night we ended up at the Gallery Bar for a nightcap or two, which were most often a double of some spirit. We were never charged for it (a double would have been over the individual drink limit).

 

We did have an issue when we were both charged for a cocktail at the Tamarind Bar pre-dinner and also once charged for Perrier in the Dining Room. A visit to Guest Relations had the charges reversed fairly quickly. 

[roxybear135]

There were a few times where my fiancé would order a drink and hand them his card and then I would finally decide what I wanted and place my order and try to give my card but they wouldn't take it.  I never had a drink package on a cruise before and my fiancé had never been on a cruise before, so we assumed they could look up my account from his card since we were in the same room.  It wasn't until we got more forceful with insisting they take both cards and individually charge them that we finally got this issue to stop.  We told the beverage director about this and he agreed that the bar staff needed more training in this area because it shouldn't be on the guests to know all the ins and outs of how charging drinks works and that they should always be asking for a card when someone orders a drink.

[Boytjie]

@roxybear135 OK. We just handed them our cards and said: "we both have the package" and that was that.

[CruiserBruce]

From less than a week ago:

 

 

[Evilmuffin]

I have been back and forth with regards to purchasing the drink package on my upcoming cruise in December.   I am on a B2B cruise on the Eurodam.   The first 10 day cruise, a drink package was not included as one of the “perks”, but on the 2nd 7 day cruise, it is Have It all, so I do have a drink package for it.   I have been searching the internet for an update drink menu to make the calculations to see if it’s worth having the drink package.   All the menus that I have found so far indicate that a 15% service charge will be added so since it is now 18%, they obviously are not the most up to date.    I know that I will not reach the 15 drink maximum, but I need to figure out if I would spend more than $59 dollars a day on drinks to justify getthing the card.   Since alot of wine by the glass is approx $14 after service charge, 4 glasses of wine would be enough.   Unfortunately it doesn’t include anything from the mini-bar in your room, so I need to consider how much time I will spend out of my cabin when not ashore.   I will have alot of my meals in my cabin as I am a solo cruiser this time.   I may just get the drink package this time and make sure I keep count and see if it’s worth it for the future.   

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, Evilmuffin said:

Since alot of wine by the glass is approx $14 after service charge,

If you have the SBP. or the HIA promo, you only need to be concerned with the price of the drink, not the gratuity, as that is included in the package or promo. 
Most cocktails are included in the SBP or HIA. I believe drinks are covered up to $11. 

[Evilmuffin]

4 minutes ago, RuthC said:

If you have the SBP. or the HIA promo, you only need to be concerned with the price of the drink, not the gratuity, as that is included in the package or promo. 
Most cocktails are included in the SBP or HIA. I believe drinks are covered up to $11. 

The package is $589.40 for a ten day cruise.   Which means I will be paying approx $59 per day.   The only way it is worth purchasing is if I would be buying more than $59 of drinks a day paying as I go.   If I am drinking 5 drinks a day at $8.00 a day, then no, it is not worth it.   But if I am drinking 5 glasses of wine, it would be.   This is for the elite package and it’s $15.00 max per drink.   I saw some wines at $14.00 for 5 oz glass.   There is five 5 oz glasses of wine in a 750 bottle of wine.  If I was to purchase that on my own,, it would be $70 so the card is the better bargain.    And this just completely made my decision for the drink package.   Definitely will purchase it.  

[VMax1700]

@Evilmuffin soda, water and speciality coffees are also included in the package, so if you start the day with a latte or three and a can of coke at lunch and a doppio after dinner etc, it can make a difference.

 

Also take into your calculation that you can take a couple of bottles of nice wine onboard at embarkation and pay $20 corkage on a bottle.

[roxybear135]

3 hours ago, Evilmuffin said:

I have been back and forth with regards to purchasing the drink package on my upcoming cruise in December.   I am on a B2B cruise on the Eurodam.   The first 10 day cruise, a drink package was not included as one of the “perks”, but on the 2nd 7 day cruise, it is Have It all, so I do have a drink package for it.   I have been searching the internet for an update drink menu to make the calculations to see if it’s worth having the drink package.   All the menus that I have found so far indicate that a 15% service charge will be added so since it is now 18%, they obviously are not the most up to date.    I know that I will not reach the 15 drink maximum, but I need to figure out if I would spend more than $59 dollars a day on drinks to justify getthing the card.   Since alot of wine by the glass is approx $14 after service charge, 4 glasses of wine would be enough.   Unfortunately it doesn’t include anything from the mini-bar in your room, so I need to consider how much time I will spend out of my cabin when not ashore.   I will have alot of my meals in my cabin as I am a solo cruiser this time.   I may just get the drink package this time and make sure I keep count and see if it’s worth it for the future.   

You can find all of the current prices in the Navigator app.  There's a menu uploaded for each bar that shows the prices for each drink.  I would say the vast majority of the drinks were under $11 but a lot of the wines were not.

[lcand1923]

Evilmuffin, Look at the wines included in both of the packages.  I, too, am a solo cruiser and tend to eat at the Lido and/or in my cabin.  I did the Elite Package one time and found the cost was not justified.  The SBP worked very well for me.  I, personally, would never cruise without it.

[Skipper's Mom]

Happy hours are your friend, LOL!

[Evilmuffin]

2 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

You can find all of the current prices in the Navigator app.  There's a menu uploaded for each bar that shows the prices for each drink.  I would say the vast majority of the drinks were under $11 but a lot of the wines were not.

Thank you.   I wasn’t going to download the Navigator app until later but I will do it now.  

[caviargal]

2 hours ago, Skipper's Mom said:

Happy hours are your friend, LOL!

 

Are these listed on the app?

[caviargal]

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

@Evilmuffin

 

Also take into your calculation that you can take a couple of bottles of nice wine onboard at embarkation and pay $20 corkage on a bottle.

 

We are bringing ten bottles on board and happy to pay corkage to drink what we prefer.

[Rooanna]

Just a thought that was mentioned to me on a cruise when trying to make this decision.  It matters how port intensive your cruise is too.  If you are gone all day it may be hard to get in those 4 glasses of wine or whatever you're drinking to make it worthwhile.

 

Just enjoy getting back to cruising whatever you decide......  

[NCTribeFan]

I have never purchased a drink package except on MSC, which is considerably less expensive (and more restrictive in choices).

 

Since I'm more of a wine and beer drinker, I typically purchase a wine package the first night in the MDR.  If a bottle is <1/2 full, I may take it back to my cabin and have a glass the next night while getting ready for dinner.  I'll have a beer or two during the day.  I do like to drink but rarely can justify purchasing a package.

 

Yes, Happy Hour is nice even without being 2-for-1 these days.

 

I love the people who say they purchase a drink package just so they don't have to worry about how much they're spending on drinks even though they won't get their money's worth!  What?  You worry about it while on the ship but not when -purchasing it?  Why?  As an accountant, I simply cannot comprehend that attitude.  But as a CCL shareholder, I encourage everyone to pay for something they won't use.  Let's help the cruise lines get back in the black! 😄

[Evilmuffin]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

@Evilmuffin soda, water and speciality coffees are also included in the package, so if you start the day with a latte or three and a can of coke at lunch and a doppio after dinner etc, it can make a difference.

 

Also take into your calculation that you can take a couple of bottles of nice wine onboard at embarkation and pay $20 corkage on a bottle.

Unfortunately coming from Canada, I won’t be bringing any wine in my luggage.   I’d have to find a liquor store in Fort Lauderdale.   But yes, there will be at least 3 lattes in the morning.

[kazu]

15 hours ago, Evilmuffin said:

Unfortunately coming from Canada, I won’t be bringing any wine in my luggage.   I’d have to find a liquor store in Fort Lauderdale.   But yes, there will be at least 3 lattes in the morning.

 

Total Wine has great prices and great selections.  If you are arriving the day of the cruise, you can even order in advance and have your cab stop there to pick it up 😉 

[Skipper's Mom]

16 hours ago, caviargal said:

 

Are these listed on the app?

:Yes, they usually have been listed in the daily schedule.

[Evilmuffin]

35 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Total Wine has great prices and great selections.  If you are arriving the day of the cruise, you can even order in advance and have your cab stop there to pick it up 😉 

 HAL is doing all my transfers.    I just went ahead and got the drink package.   Good to go.   

 

Thanks to everyone for their info/suggestions.    I downloaded the app and can see the menus for the restaurants, etc but not the drink menu.    Seems to be a nifty little app.    

[twodjs]

A question I never thought about before the 15 drink limit. If you buy the drink package and if you think you will exceed the 15 limit, can you just pay for the water or less expensive drinks outside of the package, so that they wouldn't count toward the total?