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Drinks package questions


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As we got a good deal we went to Norway in March, Hamburg in April and then May after the offer changed, so I kept the on board accounts to compare the two packages.

 

In March and April I was able to order a coffee latte in the coffee shop at the reduced rate of £1.20 instead of £2.40 and then take it thru to the Morning Light and order a double brandy to go with it.

 

In May no such luck, not even a double measure of spirits unless our server was in a good mood.

 

As for the gratuities we always go to the guest services desk and sign the waiver, we then divide the amount we should have paid by three and pay it to the maid, the Head Waiter in The Palms and the manager of what ever bar we use, that way it goes where we want rather that "Fred's" pocket.

 

If we didn't do that some would go to the waiter in the m.d.r., I'm sure he is very nice but, as we never set foot in the place...

 

We were told by other guests that the maid is forced to hand over all her tips to her manager on pain of dismissal, I hope that is not the case.

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This was also the Lido Lounge on The Balmoral, but don't forget we were on there the first week in May when the drinks package changed so they were probably being a little more strict, I must admit that things did seem to get more relaxed as the week went on.

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This was also the Lido Lounge on The Balmoral, but don't forget we were on there the first week in May when the drinks package changed so they were probably being a little more strict, I must admit that things did seem to get more relaxed as the week went on.

 

I am surprised as I was expecting you to say the Morning Light and I was beginning to think there as a difference between the bars.

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Speciality coffees have never been half price and it is only them that have been available in the bars (or coffee shops). That is one thing that we have never liked about the AI. The prices are pretty low though, so it is possible some people thought the prices charged were not full price. The only half price is for what is termed 'premium' bar drinks and cocktails.

 

Fred's AI has always said that tea and coffee is available all day - but that solely refers to the self service tea and coffee, which of course is available to all, even if not on AI. I always thought that was very misleading.

 

The following section on the list I posted, also refers to drinks that were (and probably still are) available to all passengers, even if not on AI so again a 'somewhat strange section' to put on the AI list:-

 

From Room Service

Orange Juice, Grapefruit Juice or Milk;

Tea - Traditional English, Darjeeling, Assam, Earl Grey or Camomile;

Coffee - Regular or Decaffeinated

 

 

It is also true that only certain beers were allowed in the restaurants. I agree that a helpful waiter who was not unduly busy, may have provided it by going to a bar, but that does not mean it is part of the AI pack. Another possibility is to take a draught beer into the restaurant from a bar - no problem with that.

 

I did say the list I posted is a year old and was hoping someone may be able to list any changes - perhaps by bringing a list back from a ship and comparing. The things I remember being mentioned with the increased price were a wider selection of house wines, but reports I have seen seem to imply there is not a lot else that changed. I would love to know about any changes myself though, so would appreciate any other reliable detail regards that.

 

We are just back yesterday and I have an up to date list if you have any specific questions. The most notable changes that I can see is the change from Boddingtons draught to Newcastle Brown Ale plus the extra choices in wine. There is now also a Bar Manager's special on the all inclusive list. I know this was a special gin once and another day a fruity vodka.

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We are booked on Balmoral in August so for us this is most interesting; many thanks. The changes are very small.

We do hope that there has been no change in the provision of breakfast in the cabin without charge. We enjoy this benefit greatly as we can have a slow start to the day. :D;) Filling the order form is a nice ritual and then hanging it on the door knob outside is always the last thing that we do in the day. Usually, the only restaurant breakfast that we have is on the day of departure.

Can I take it that this is still available? Did you use the service?

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We are booked on Balmoral in August so for us this is most interesting; many thanks. The changes are very small.

We do hope that there has been no change in the provision of breakfast in the cabin without charge. We enjoy this benefit greatly as we can have a slow start to the day. :D;) Filling the order form is a nice ritual and then hanging it on the door knob outside is always the last thing that we do in the day. Usually, the only restaurant breakfast that we have is on the day of departure.

Can I take it that this is still available? Did you use the service?

 

Yes, the room service breakfast is just the same.

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Here is an updated Al drinks flyer for Fred's ships

 

Thank you for posting this, I am sure lots of people will find it useful. I did not realise the wine choice had increased so much and IMO it is not necessarily a good move. With the previous wines the bottles were used very quickly, but with the new choices the open wine bottles will be round for much longer, so there is a risk if being given a glass of wine from a bottle that has been open longer than I would have liked.

 

Discount Lovers :-

 

The "regular tea and coffee" and the whole of the room service section on this up to date list still refer to things that have always been available to all passengers (and presumably still is) and was on the original list. As I had commented earlier, this is very misleading. The tea and coffee is from the self service point as only speciality coffees are available in the bars and from a recent post, it appears the price of that has more or less doubled for all passengers - the original price was far less than the reported £2.40, which is presumably why some people thought they were getting half price hot drinks with AI).

 

I have not seen any comments about any withdrawal of room service, here or elsewhere, so I think it very unlikely that this has changed.

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Interesting, thanks for posting it.

 

Tring, I take the opposite view and welcome the expansion of choice of wines, for me this makes the AI cost increase well worth it.

 

I do take your point that they will need to manage the open bottles to ensure that the wine is fresh however they may use an enomatic (sic) system in the bars?. A lot of pax have the AI package so let's hope the bottles move quickly enough.

 

I will do my bit to ensure that that happens;p

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Irish Cream is a new addition as well - I remember my husband mentioning that when the change was first mentioned by Fred. That will not mean Baileys though and I do think that is much better than the other ones now offered, but I am sure I will be able to force it down :)

 

See what you mean about the Red wine choice, nb125, I am not a fan of Merlot or Pinotage either, but perhaps it will be a good excuse for me to try the low alcohol, which is no bad thing since our next AI cruise is for 33 nights. We were not going to get the AI for that, but having been told it was going up, we were fearful that bar prices would rise as well. We will see the bar menu on a mini cruise next week.

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That's a shame, I was hoping for a cocktail of the day!

 

There is still a cocktail of the day but that is chargeable. You need to make sure you ask for the Bar Manager's special as the waiters sometimes assume you mean the cocktail.

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There is still a cocktail of the day but that is chargeable. You need to make sure you ask for the Bar Manager's special as the waiters sometimes assume you mean the cocktail.

Thank you. Though if it is just a different gin or vodka, I doubt I will be ordering it. I wish their AI included cocktails like other cruise lines do. Half-price isn't the same. Cruise&Maritime include them in their £17 per day package.

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Thank you. Though if it is just a different gin or vodka, I doubt I will be ordering it. I wish their AI included cocktails like other cruise lines do. Half-price isn't the same. Cruise&Maritime include them in their £17 per day package.

 

Sometimes you just need to ask for the right thing, for instance a Bloody Mary would be charged half price, but a vodka and tomato juice with a splash of worcester sauce is included in the AI. Although I like cocktails, I find a spirit with a fresh orange juice (from a carton) is a good alternative (e.g. rum and orange) - no fancy glass etc. but tastes pretty good.

 

I have also ordered an alcohol free cocktail and my husband has ordered a spirit, which he drinks fairly quickly before ordering another drink, if you get my gist. Still half price for the alcohol free drink, but costs less than the alcoholic version.

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Sometimes you just need to ask for the right thing, for instance a Bloody Mary would be charged half price, but a vodka and tomato juice with a splash of worcester sauce is included in the AI. Although I like cocktails, I find a spirit with a fresh orange juice (from a carton) is a good alternative (e.g. rum and orange) - no fancy glass etc. but tastes pretty good.

 

I have also ordered an alcohol free cocktail and my husband has ordered a spirit, which he drinks fairly quickly before ordering another drink, if you get my gist. Still half price for the alcohol free drink, but costs less than the alcoholic version.

 

That's clever! Will bear it in mind!

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This may be a stupid question but we have the drinks included on our forthcoming cruise on Braemar. We haven't been on a FO cruise since the inclusive drinks package was available. If, as we have often done in the past, we go with a couple from our table to one of the bars for a drink after supper and they do not have the all inclusive drinks package, how do we go about offering to buy them a drink? Does it mean the waiter will have to take both my husband's cruise card and mine for our drinks and then put the cost of the other couple's drinks on one of our cards? Sorry if I'm making this more complicated than it is.

Hi there

We have used the drinks package a lot. It is definitely Not transferable. You can not use the package to buy for others. Pay as normal if you want to treat

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