Upgrade Signature Drink package to Elite drink package?

[swsf99a]

Just wondering if HAL lets you upgrade a Signature Drink package to an Elite Drink package once you are onboard??  The cost difference is about $42.  Our cruise includes the Signature drink package. I know other cruise lines let you upgrade either before or once onboard.

[CruiserBruce]

Yes. Discussed here frequently.

[ottahand7]

We just did it aboard NS.  Poor value IMHO after DF did so.  Onboard it was $10 pp per day onboard the NS. We complained since it was double upcharge versus prepurchase. Got some $$ credited back. I love bourbon.  Very few options in that extra range to make it pay. We are drinking a lot of Whistle Pig Rye and Patron Anejo.  Many ones I really want to try are in the $16-18 range.  Probably should have kept the upcharge onboard and bought a Mariner discounted wine package and bought the one offs whiskies I crave.  Or spend the $$ on onboard tasting experiences. Just my 2 ¢. 🥃

[RedIguana]

1 hour ago, ottahand7 said:

We just did it aboard NS.  Poor value IMHO after DF did so.  Onboard it was $10 pp per day onboard the NS.

Did you have the the package as part of the Have it All promotion? I have seen conflicting reports as to whether you can upgrade from that. For me it would be a great value for me, as the wine I prefer is under the Elite but not the Sig, and unlike RCL apparently you pay full price and not the difference? First HAL sailing coming up next month, if I can upgrade great, if not might be worth bringing a few bottles on board and paying corkage. 2 free bottles per cabin would be nice, but am pretty stoked about trying HAL.

[swsf99a]

Our package is part of the Have it All promo.......we will be on the Rotterdam March 20th....it was originally the Eurodam in 2021, was cancelled, rebooked to Niew Amsterdam on March 19, 2022, then HAL cancelled it and we were offered the Rotterdam March 20th....did get some extra OBC. We would just like to upgrade to the Elite Beverage package. We will see how that goes !! Thanks for all the comments!

[ottahand7]

4 hours ago, swsf99a said:

Our package is part of the Have it All promo.......we will be on the Rotterdam March 20th....it was originally the Eurodam in 2021, was cancelled, rebooked to Niew Amsterdam on March 19, 2022, then HAL cancelled it and we were offered the Rotterdam March 20th....did get some extra OBC. We would just like to upgrade to the Elite Beverage package. We will see how that goes !! Thanks for all the comments.

You may want to call your Holland rep and get something in writing about the upcharge. We were not expecting $10 pp.  

 

4 hours ago, RedIguana said:

Did you have the the package as part of the Have it All promotion? I have seen conflicting reports as to whether you can upgrade from that. For me it would be a great value for me, as the wine I prefer is under the Elite but not the Sig, and unlike RCL apparently you pay full price and not the difference? First HAL sailing coming up next month, if I can upgrade great, if not might be worth bringing a few bottles on board and paying corkage. 2 free bottles per cabin would be nice, but am pretty stoked about trying HAL.

We had a hiccup boarding the NS on 2/13. The young lady was going to allow us to pay corkage on our first two bottles and confiscate the remainder.  She had the guidelines printed for our review.  We had to have her call her supervisor and finally got it ironed out.  All the wine we order is already the Signature beverage package I have to look hard to find something above $11, Miraval rose and a couple of sparklers. Look at Roger Jett photography beverage lists and see if it is really worth it to you. Cheers. 🍷

 

[RedIguana]

17 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Look at Roger Jett photography beverage lists and see if it is really worth it to you. Cheers. 🍷

I've seen his list earlier, great post. It shows the Oberon at $14 a glass. It is my go to on RCI, although it is a $2.12 upcharge with their DBP.  I think it was showing as $55 a bottle on HAL, occasionally  find it local on a BOGO that averages out at $12-$13 a bottle. So even paying $20 corkage on those would save me $20 a bottle, and leave more room for water and stuff under the 15 drink max. I also have a few cases of Ghost Pines around the house that due to some pretty good circumstances ended up at about $8 a bottle. At home I usually stick to 2 drinks when I go out to dinner (1 beer and a glass of Cab, or 2 glasses of Cab) at most. On a ship I don't have to worry about driving, and I can kill a full bottle between 6 pm and 1 am. I can't even come close to 15 alcoholic drinks a day though. 

[Boytjie]

We had a Signature package as part of our fare in Alaska in August on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

As soon as we boarded we asked a waiter by the Lido pool to upgrade us. He was very eager but had some issues and eventually three others got involved! We were told to wait a few minutes before using it. When I checked my account on the app I noticed that we were charged for a full new Elite package! 😮 

After lunch - and a drink - we headed to Guest Services where it was quickly sorted out. Ours was one of the first cruises since they restarted it so I just assumed it was due to everything being "new" again.