New Drink Card Policy - any thoughts?

[MaduroJim]

We sailed on the Noordam late last year and they had begun a new practice since we had last sailed on HAL.

 

On the first day of the cruise, we seemed to be descended upon in any open space by waiters seeking to sell us punch-cards for wine and/or coctails. It really detracted from the classy atmosphere we had come to associate with HAL from sailing on the Veendam, Zuiderdam and Westerdam.

 

I'm not a HAL-hater - a Superior or Deluxe Verandah suite is calling my name just about any time I look to book a cruise, but everyone in our group found the practice rather annoying.

 

Was I just overly-sensitive because of the 4-hour embarkation process in New York, or are others feeling the same?

[jhannah]

I have not experienced this ... but then you have sailed since I have so maybe it's different now. I hope this isn't fleet wide. They've always sold cards and packages, but they've not been agressive on any of our cruises. I don't care for hard-sell techniques and am hoping this isn't the way things are to be from now on.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On one of our cruises the bar staff was really pushing the wine cards, soda cards, cocktail cards.

 

But on our last 23 day Ryndam cruise -- that didn't happen - in fact some of the var tenders and winestewards seemed annoyed when people wanted to buy a wine card.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Twice again!!

 

So sorry!!

[twinkletoes4445]

We're going to be on the Noordam next year, and I hope we don't have to deal with something like this, and, no, I don't think you're overly sensitive. I find things like that to be very annoying. When we were on the Zuiderdam last February, I don't recall anyone asking us to buy a drink card (or anything, for that matter).

[MaduroJim]

Thanks Krazy - now all I have to do is retire so I can take that 23-day cruise... :-) Maybe it's just a ship-by-ship thing...as Twinkltoes said, we didn't experience that on the Zuiderdam, so it was just a bit of a surprise.

[cruz chic]

But on our last 23 day Ryndam cruise -- that didn't happen - in fact some of the var tenders and winestewards seemed annoyed when people wanted to buy a wine card.

 

I found the same thing on my Ryndam cruise in Oct.07. I had to ask for it and he did seem a bit annoyed.

[Sundagger]

Yes, it probably is a ship's decision on how to handle the cards. On the Oosterdam last month, I *wanted* a wine card, but they weren't selling them in the terminal nor anyplace obvious upon boarding the ship. I finally got one from a wine steward at dinner.

[rochelle_s]

Perhaps there was an in house contest going on for the staff to see who could sell the most cards. What becomes a game for the staff and dollar signs for the company could very well be something truely annoying to the guest. If this be the case, perhaps this should be re- thought out by management. If they want to run a contest, do it for one day at the start of the cruise and that's it. By then the guests will be aware of the drink card availability and can purchase later if they are interested.

[antibes]

Having sailed with HAL over the last five years I have found it declining to its "owners" status of Carnival. Recently 10/07 sailed out of NY oh what a diasaster that was....basically the 6 of us were passively threatened when we took our bags to shoreman 'if you want to see your bags better pay up' tho the HAL representative at Airport said DO NOT TIP ANYONE. well running around in my undies didn't appeal to me. We then made our way up to the check in area and waited for four hours, standing around. The worse ever (20+) cruises . LUCKILY we opted for assigned seating there were 8 of us. They have been slowly changing HAL ships to OPEN SEATING...one level of diningroom is assigned and the other open. What a nightmere, we were located toward the dining room door and saw several folks begging to get into assigned seating. The service was lacking in assigned and even poorer in open seating. HAL is no longer on my list to sail. If I want a carnival experience I will sail with them (NOT). Looking forward to Celebrity again.

[blazerbob]

As I recall, they introduced the wine cards just over a year ago and were beginning to offer them for sale on the various HAL ships, but not on all the ships at the same time. It took a few months before all the HAL ships finally had them available. Because the "word" hadn't gotten around to all the bartenders and stewards, many of them knew nothing about the cards when asked by the patrons. There was a lot of discussion on this website then as to which ships had them available, "where can I purchase a card, do you have to pay tax if you buy them in port?" etc, etc.

 

Since my wife doesn't drink wine but I like to have a glass or two with dinner, the wine cards were perfect for me. When we were preparing for our Mex. Riviera cruise on Oosterdam last March, I purchased a 10 glass card directly from HAL via phone before we left. When we boarded the ship, we were stopped and asked about four times at different areas of the ship by the crew if we wanted to purchase a wine card during the first hour as we walked around. We just explained that we had already purchased our card. It was NOT high pressure. The crew were very polite when asking us. Maybe because it was something new at that time that they wanted to be sure that everybody knew that it was available. After all, how much do we pay attention to the p.a. announcements on the ship? I can't speak for the current situation, but we didn't experience "high pressure", only frequent "requests to buy" cards. After the first day we were never asked again. However, our experience with the wine steward and the wine card is a story unto itself. :( :(

 

Bob

[MaduroJim]

However, our experience with the wine steward and the wine card is a story unto itself. :( :(

 

Bob

 

Bob, you know you can't just leave us hanging like that. ;) what happened?

 

BTW, several of the folks that came with us on the trip did take advantage of the cards - as was suggested earlier in the thread, there might have been a contest or something that caused the extra pressure.

 

We sail a couple of times a year and are just trying to get a feel for whether or not this is an isolated incident - the vote so far seems to be that it's sporadic.

 

We do like sailling out of New York, and the combination of the horrible embarkation process and some of the Carnival-like changes turned us off.

 

I have enjoyed sailing out of Bayonne on Celebrity - fly into Newark the night before, stay overnight and grab a taxi to the port the next day.

 

After reading the note on several of the Forums about not being a "whiner", I was hesitant to ask this question, but I really was curious if this was a HAL trend or not.

 

After all that, don't forget to share the story!

[ILVMM]

Sailed on Volendam 12/23 - 1/2/08 and we were never approached by anyone looking to sell a wine/cocktail card. We were approached by someone trying to sell bottles of champagne - constantly - but then it was the holiday cruise!

 

I inquired about a "soda" card and was told they could only be purchased at the bar. The soda cards are not for anything canned - - fountain soda only.

[cands]

We are just back from Statendam, where the staff and service were exemplary, as usual. There was no pressure to buy the soda or wine cards. We arrived late and bought our soda card from the wine steward on the first night in the dining room.

 

Our wine steward happily provided our sodas each night. The other two couples at our table had wine cards and were happy with these. We received no 'attitude' from any server about the use of our soda card.

All the people we met were happy with the cards.

We were so happy with the wine steward that we tipped him $25 at the end of the cruise. (He, along with many others had made our cruise most enjoyable).

 

Steve.

[cands]

I inquired about a "soda" card and was told they could only be purchased at the bar. The soda cards are not for anything canned - - fountain soda only.

 

I don't know whether this is a ship by ship thing, but on Statendam the soda card produced a can each time, including Caffeine free Diet Coke, which was a definite plus for me!

 

Steve.

[sail7seas]

We have never felt 'pounced' upon. A few stewards ask if we want one. We say No, Thank You and that's the end of it. No big deal. You want one, buy it. You don't want one; say so.

 

Lots of people want those cards and it's good they make them available IMO

If no one was buying them, they would do away with them.

 

If that's the only thing you found negative, then I'd say you had a GREAT cruise and am happy to hear it. Noordam is a fantastic ship with an awesome crew IMO

As to sailing out of New York, you best do it soon if you wish to sail from New York on HAL. They are repositioning Noordam to Florida next season.

 

 

 

[iceman93]

I pretty much agree with ALL of the viewpoints expressed here! While I personally don't mind being asked once or twice on embarkation day if I want to buy a soda or wine card, I do see how it could cheapen the experience if the things were being constantly foisted around in a carnival-hawker-like way. I find the frequent bingo announcements and the art auction mess to be low-brow enough--I, like most everyone here, chooses HAL because it is elegant but not stuck up, and classy but not stuffy.

[Jsipes]

DW and I always ask for a wine card, and a cocktail card as well. And sometimes a coke card , too. They are so convenient, save a bundle of $$ as well. But we have never had anyone push them on us.....sometimes I get the vibe, as Krazy said " they don't really want us to buy the cards." I think when you buy the cards it reduces the tips a perspective waiter might make. :) Jer the Bear

[ILVMM]

I don't know whether this is a ship by ship thing, but on Statendam the soda card produced a can each time, including Caffeine free Diet Coke, which was a definite plus for me!

 

Steve.

 

Get out! Really?!? CFDC is my favorite and i asked @ two different bars plus by room steward AND at the front desk. They all insisted it did not include CFDC, which is primarily why I purchased the card.

Not a chance! So I ended up turning it in and got the credit posted to my account.

[HokiePoq]

Cocktail cards? I didn't even know they offered cocktail cards! We asked for our wine card on the Veendam. Neither the Volendam nor the Veendam asked us about any type card.

Now that cocktail card sounds appealing to this marguerita lover!:)

[blazerbob]

Bob, you know you can't just leave us hanging like that. ;) what happened?

 

Okay Jim, here is my story. You may be sorry you asked. It's kind of long but it needs to be, in order to explain my experience.

 

My wife and I had a table for two and the first night at dinner in the lower main dining room the wine steward came to our table and asked if we wanted any wine. I told him that I had a wine card and wanted a glass of cabernet. I noticed the scowl on his face. He punched my card, made a quick "about face" and left. About 15 minutes later he returned, put down a glass half-filled with wine and without saying a word he quickly took off. The next evening at dinner, we had our appetizer and after we were served our salad, the wine steward still had not arrived to our table. We asked our waiter (who was very friendly and very efficient) to please call the wine steward to our table. He finally arrived when we were being served our main course. I asked for a glass of cabernet. His response was "I need your magic card". After punching it he returned shortly with a half-filled glass again, placed it down on the table and again didn't say a word and rushed away. I am not exagerating when I say "rushed". On the remaining cruise days he would come to our table but just stand there without saying a word waiting for me to initiate the request for wine or to decline. Each time he would return with the glass of wine, quickly put it down, do a 180 and rush off without a word. His demeanor took off some of the luster of our dining. We never had an opportunity to chat with him, unlike our waiter and his assistant who were very sociable with us.

 

The point of this story is that the wine cards were new at that time and I believe that by his attitude, this particular wine steward resented the change of having to now serve house wine by the glass and punch plastic cards at the dinner table instead of serving wine by the bottle. When I ordered wine by the glass in the show lounge, I had no problem with the waiters and I also received a much generous pour. This may have been an isolated situation with the wine steward, but even so, I had to be the one on the receiving end.

 

Jim, I see that you are from Chicago. I was born and raised there on the northwest side of the city until I died and went to heaven (San Diego).:) :)

 

Happy cruising,

 

Bob

[Cruise prn]

We just sailed on the Westerdam last week. I asked about a cocktail card and was told they didn't offer one. Can you tell me how much they cost and what ship had them?

[mutuelmanager1]

We just got off the Noordam Tuesday in NY, I bought the cards on line, they are kind of akward....but ok....they do save you money.....I bought a cocktail card from a waiter because it basicly saved you about $10.00...we didnt use all my punches on the soda and coffee cards.....but I will use them on the Eurodam next January....there was never any pressure to buy, now Princess trys to shove them at you and then when you show the card, they have this aweful look.....and then ignore you..lol.....I am elite on Princess and I have now chose to sail Hal and Celebrity

[mariner]

My 2 cents for what it's worth:

 

Consider this analogy.

 

Order a can of Coke. See how many glasses you get out of it.

 

Then order a soda with a soda card. Not the dame amount.

 

Same with a wine card.

 

Savings? NO.

 

You get what you pay for.

[cands]

Get out! Really?!? CFDC is my favorite and i asked @ two different bars plus by room steward AND at the front desk. They all insisted it did not include CFDC, which is primarily why I purchased the card.

Not a chance! So I ended up turning it in and got the credit posted to my account.

 

You betcha!! Everyone who had the cards agreed they were good value on the basis of getting a can for each 'punch'. I must admit we were surprised, based on what we've read on these boards.

 

Steve.