upgrading drink package

[hmorrow]

I tried to upgrade my, have it all drink package, on the phone. They said I can only do it onboard, and it is $11.80 a day to upgrade to the elite alcohol pkg. Does anyone know if that is the price. NOT complaining- lol, but it seemed low....

[REOVA]

You probably won't know the actual answer until you get onboard, but whatever it is, it will be per person and both persons in cabin may have to purchase. The cost is also the delta in what you already paid, so having an extra 3 drinks of premium beverage to cover the cost seems about right. 

[Cruise Suzy]

1 hour ago, hmorrow said:

They said I can only do it onboard, and it is $11.80 a day to upgrade to the elite alcohol pkg.

 

That's true - and it needs to be done before you order any beverage. Any bar should be able to handle the transaction. It may or may not be cost effective now that you pay only the difference plus 18% between your drink and the $11 of your Signature Beverage Package.

[hmorrow]

16 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

That's true - and it needs to be done before you order any beverage. Any bar should be able to handle the transaction. It may or may not be cost effective now that you pay only the difference plus 18% between your drink and the $11 of your Signature Beverage Package.

I wonder if there is a list of the items in each package, specifically, the wines, by the glass.....

[Cruise Suzy]

https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Beverage-Packages-2021.pdf

[Dutchman48]

1 hour ago, Cruise Suzy said:

https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Beverage-Packages-2021.pdf

Thanks for the link.

[scooter6139]

When did HAL change the Elite package to exclude unlimited non-alcoholic drinks and move to the everything is part of the 15 drink maximum?

[0106]

@scooter6139  I believe the Elite Package has unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and a daily limit of 15 alcoholic beverages.

[L-Goose]

6 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

When did HAL change the Elite package to exclude unlimited non-alcoholic drinks and move to the everything is part of the 15 drink maximum?

The Signature package is the one with all beverages (both alcoholic & non-alcoholic) counting toward the 15 daily limit.  The Elite package is as 0106 describes.

[Josie201]

Currently on Koningsdam. We asked to upgrade on day one.  Bartender asked what we like to drink.  Mostly wine, grey goose and a few nice cocktails.  He said really not worth it to upgrade.  Only a couple of wines not in the regular package.  Limit is still 15 drinks total on the elite package.  We can just pay the extra couple of dollars if we get something above the package limit.  We are on for 24 days so the upgrade would have been close to $500.  We did buy a water package and are drinking a lot more ice/tap water than we normally do but it tastes great and is always cold.  And, we have found most of the bars don’t have most of the wines showing on the menu.  But we have been enjoying Decoy chardonnay and Cabernet which hasn’t been on any list.  
 

Also the bartender told us they no longer sell beverage cards.  

[Josie201]

5 minutes ago, L-Goose said:

The Signature package is the one with all beverages (both alcoholic & non-alcoholic) counting toward the 15 daily limit.  The Elite package is as 0106 describes.

Not what we were told yesterday on Koningsdam. Limit on both packages is 15 total.  

[oakridger]

 Interesting info @Josie201

 

You might want to show the beverage manager this, which is on the HAL website right now!  It's under "Terms and Conditions" on the link below.

 

"The Elite package has a daily limit of 15 alcoholic beverages with a menu price of $15 or less. Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

The Signature package has a daily limit of 15 alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks with a menu price of $11 or less."

 

Cruise Drink & Beverage Packages | Holland America Line

 

~Nancy

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by oakridger

[scooter6139]

2 hours ago, oakridger said:

 Interesting info @Josie201

 

You might want to show the beverage manager this, which is on the HAL website right now!  It's under "Terms and Conditions" on the link below.

 

"The Elite package has a daily limit of 15 alcoholic beverages with a menu price of $15 or less. Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

The Signature package has a daily limit of 15 alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks with a menu price of $11 or less."

 

Cruise Drink & Beverage Packages | Holland America Line

 

~Nancy

 

 

I'd upgrade to the Elite if it is still unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, as that would be more in line with other Cruise lines and beverage packages.  Was kind of surprised when I read they limit on the Signature one too.  Thought of asking if I could add the Unlimited Coca Cola one if it is number locked.

 

On the booking info page when looking up specifics, they don't mention anything about unlimited non-alcoholic  drinks, only the 15 per day max:  

 

7 DAY ELITE SIGNATURE BEVERAGE PACKAGE

If a Signature Beverage Package or Elite Beverage Package is purchased before your cruise, each guest over 21 years of age who is booked in the same stateroom must also purchase the same package. If this package is not purchased for each guest prior to the cruise, the stateroom account will be charged for the guests who have not purchased the package

Our premium, Elite Beverage Package allows you to select from a variety of wine, beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, sodas, bottled water (sparkling or still, 400ml or less) & coffee. Only on the ms Koningsdam & ms Nieuw Statendam, the package includes Freestyle Coca-Cola which provides 100+ refreshing Coca-Cola flavors to choose from. Includes any beverage priced at $15.00 or lower (up to 15 beverages per day). Prices are per day at $49.95 if pre-booked online compared to $59.95 if purchased on board. A 18% service charge will be automatically applied to your purchase. The Elite Beverage Package must be purchased for the entire duration of the voyage. All adults over 21 years old booked in the same stateroom must also purchase the package. The package excludes purchases made in the Mini Bar, Chocolate Seduction, Room Service, beverages purchased on Half Moon Cay and any self-service draft beer. Packages are non-transferable or refundable. No sharing is permitted. Participants may order only one drink at a time and must be 21 years or older. Beverage Management reserves the right to evoke the package if misused and reserves the right to refuse service for any reason, including refusing service of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated guests.

 

 

Just the non-booking page has the non-alcoholic info.   Wish they would make up their mind and be more specific.  

 

Elite Beverage Package

A stunning array of premium spirits, cocktails, and wines $15 or under, including Dale DeGroff’s Original Cocktails and all the benefits of Signature & Quench. 15-drink daily limit, unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

 

Also at the bottom of the page in the Terms and Conditions, as @oakridger pointed out

Edited January 9, 2023 by scooter6139

[HALcruiser2001]

I think that the posts about unlimited nonalcohol are correct.  I will be upgrading to Elite once onboard since I will blow out my drinks with water and other drinks, not because of the drink price limit, that seems to be a bonus.

[oakridger]

However, @Josie201was just told today on Konnigsdam that the Elite package was 15 drinks total (alcoholic and nonalcoholic)!!  

 

3 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

Just the non-booking page has the non-alcoholic info.   Wish they would make up their mind and be more specific.  

 

🤷‍♀️

HAL is indeed being inconsistent which seems to be consistent!!

 

~Nancy

Edited January 9, 2023 by oakridger

[kayleighgirl]

Is there a way to tell how many of your 15 drinks you have used?   Is it on the app. Or Will they tell you you have reached the maximum or just charge you the full amount?       

[ksmaxey]

We are on the Rotterdam currently and they are no longer allowing passengers to upgrade to Elite onboard.  Very few menus for drinks are available as there was a price increase on most things as we boarded.  The menus that are present do push paying the difference for any beverage over $11. 

Since we have upgraded many times it does feel like a bait and switch change.  The whole reason I liked the Elite was because of the wine options AND not having my statement littered with beverage charges. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

13 hours ago, kayleighgirl said:

Is there a way to tell how many of your 15 drinks you have used?   Is it on the app. Or Will they tell you you have reached the maximum or just charge you the full amount?       

 

Drinks on a package do not show up on the app. I doubt that a server will know if you've reached your limit. But do people really get to 15 in a single day? I never get close to that cap. 

 

1 hour ago, ksmaxey said:

We are on the Rotterdam currently and they are no longer allowing passengers to upgrade to Elite onboard.  Very few menus for drinks are available as there was a price increase on most things as we boarded.  The menus that are present do push paying the difference for any beverage over $11. 

Since we have upgraded many times it does feel like a bait and switch change.  The whole reason I liked the Elite was because of the wine options AND not having my statement littered with beverage charges. 

 

Interesting about the price increase. I was on Eurodam last week and found plenty of cocktails at $11 or under. I wonder what they've gone up to?  I did see signs at the bars saying that you now only pay the difference if you go over the $11 limit on the signature package. That makes the package more reasonable. I don't mind paying a few dollars extra for a better glass of wine now and then, but I always thought it was very cheap on HAL's part to charge the full amount if you went over the price cap on a drink. 

 

[hmorrow]

3 hours ago, ksmaxey said:

We are on the Rotterdam currently and they are no longer allowing passengers to upgrade to Elite onboard.  Very few menus for drinks are available as there was a price increase on most things as we boarded.  The menus that are present do push paying the difference for any beverage over $11. 

Since we have upgraded many times it does feel like a bait and switch change.  The whole reason I liked the Elite was because of the wine options AND not having my statement littered with beverage charges. 

So can we upgrade before we get on, next month? By calling?

[ksmaxey]

9 minutes ago, hmorrow said:

So can we upgrade before we get on, next month? By calling?

I can't answer definitively but I can't expect that they will let you upgrade before if they won't let you do so upon embarkation

 

[hmorrow]

12 minutes ago, ksmaxey said:

I can't answer definitively but I can't expect that they will let you upgrade before if they won't let you do so upon embarkation

 

So I JUST got off the phone with guest services, and she said you MUST upgrade onboard. They do not have the ability to do it? 

[ksmaxey]

38 minutes ago, hmorrow said:

So I JUST got off the phone with guest services, and she said you MUST upgrade onboard. They do not have the ability to do it? 

I can say that I spoke with the Beverage Manager who I knew from previous cruises and he said there was a change in policy 2 weeks ago and no upgrades to the elite package are allowed

[2Long2NxtCrz]

56 minutes ago, ksmaxey said:

I can say that I spoke with the Beverage Manager who I knew from previous cruises and he said there was a change in policy 2 weeks ago and no upgrades to the elite package are allowed

So I'm new to HAL. Our August Alaska cruise will be our first. It came with "Have it All", which included a signature bev package. There didn't seem to be an option to buy a higher package at the time. And now it seems I cannot upgrade?

 

It's not for the higher price limit, but for the non-alcoholic drink quantity. My husband and I both drink a lot of waters and coffees in a day and to be limited to 15 total? I mean, it might be fine. I've never counted before on a cruise (and I hate the idea that I'll have to), but it seems pretty chintzy to include non-alcoholic beverages in the total, especially if there's no way for me to pay a bit more and get past that hurdle.

 

[lavictoria]

8 hours ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

It's not for the higher price limit, but for the non-alcoholic drink quantity.

The Elite Beverage Package does not include more beverages, just more expensive ones.

"Includes any beverage priced at $15.00 or lower (up to 15 beverages per day)." The Elite package does however include the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine so theoretically you could have unlimited soda refills if that were your jam.

 

It's possible the inability to upgrade (which btw was previously $11.80 per day, per person) may have changed since, until recently, if you ordered a $14 Scotch you would be charged the entire amount as well as the 18% gratuity even if you had not hit your 15 beverage limit for the day - now they charge the difference and 18% on that difference.

[scooter6139]

This was the last message on this I got from our PCC:

 

You CANNOT upgrade on line if you already have Have It All.  You can only upgrade on the ship and the cost will be $17.70 pp/per day extra.

 

If you prepurchase the elite w/out Have It All the cost is $58.94 per day. 

 

As long as you would also purchase wi-fi, take $100 worth of excursions and 1 specialty dinner (value $250) then paying $350 for Have It All means the beverage package is costing you $100 for 7 days or $14/day.  So $14 day plus the $17.70 to upgrade to elite will mean you are paying $31.70/day which is still a better deal than buying the Elite separately.

 

I hope you follow all that but the bottom line is you can ONLY upgrade to elite on the ship if you have Have It All on your booking.