horseymike

Anyone had experience with this question regarding the quench package lately ?

Part of the benefit of buying a drink package is not having to sign , check account etc….

Maybe it’s time people closely evaluate their projected beverage consumption pre cruise.

Many may find the drink package is not worth it to them.

I personally believe that bar/ beverage service has seriously declined since the advent of the pre paid drink packages across many of the mainstream cruise lines.

Let’s face it , they already have the money , why be in a hurry to furnish the drinks ?
Pre drink package era , there was a beverage server or bartender every 10 feet on every cruise ship asking if you would like something to drink ? I remember.

Some people will get annoyed/ frustrated and walk away , chalk one up for the cruise line $.

46 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

It was a gal from Oklahoma but can’t remember her name.  She was pretty good

Her name is Crystal.

10 minutes ago, Houli58 said:

We are cruising next week on Ascent.  We pre-paid the gratuities up front.  Do we tip cash to the bartenders when we order drinks or is this part of pre-pay?  Also what about housekeeping.  Do we leave daily cash tip in stateroom?

Any beverage service will have a 20 % gratuity added to the charge. If you have a beverage package you have already paid the gratuity for your beverages ( unless you order a drink that costs more than your package allows ,)  in which case you will be charged the difference plus a 20 % gratuity on the difference only.

With regard to your cabin steward you have already paid for those gratuities, should you choose to pay additional gratuity in cash is totally up to you.

Very interesting thread here. I never gave it much thought.

Cruising with another line at the same port 2 times a few years apart, 

once there was a bus provided to take the ship passengers from the actual dock to the gate into the town ( quite a long walk ) the next time there was no bus provided.

I asked one of the local security officers why , he said the cruise line did not contract the bus service for this cruise. Interesting stuff.

Guess things like this are part of the port charges.

Hello Everyone,

Are the gratuities included when you purchase the Quench Beverage Package ?

Convenient at times , yes.

Essential , no.

It depends on what your priorities are , convenience take Uber / Lyft.

Saving $ , Brightline.

I am not a wealthy person , but I would take Uber or Lyft.

Hope whatever you choose goes well. 🍀

This is totally unacceptable. It should be reported to the Florida Department of Consumer Affairs. 
It may take a little time , but my experience is that they follow through on any price gouging that takes place at any time.

Thanks for the input Roy. I hope you are doing well.

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I know some Rotterdam cruises have been altered but it has always been announced well ahead of time.

 

If you haven't seen an itinerary deviation by now you should be good to go.

 

Rotterdam is too big to go through the original locks.  I would expect her to be the only HAL ship doing so since the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam have been banned from the new locks (except under unusual circumstances with no passengers).  The lifeboat mounting was modified on Rotterdam to all the boats to be fully inside, making the already narrow promenade deck inaccessible during the transit.

I have been through the original canal many times and wanted to experience the new locks just once, and was happy to have done it but the next time I would prefer the old locks.

 

Roy

Captain Hook 🪝 and Sargent Shultz.

Only kidding 🤣

Hope you have a great cruise 🚢.

On 9/15/2022 at 10:39 AM, wineoclock said:

We like ice in our drinks just not as much as Americans as it seems (well to me) that it waters the drink down too much… 

Cheers 🍻 

Very concise review, my favorite.

Glad you had a good time, thanks for sharing your experiences with us all.

Very well done.

3 hours ago, maureenk said:

It’s 8% off now. I’m waiting to buy on board  to use my shipboard credit. 

You should be able to use your OBC to book now and get the discount.

I would drive south to Ft. Lauderdale if given the choice.

On 1/11/2024 at 3:51 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I am scheduled to sail on the Rotterdam departing on January 26th for 9 nights. The cruise (both 9 & 21 day options) has shown as sold out since before Thanksgiving. We are booked on a casino comp fare that did not allow cabin assignment so are on a guarantee. We do net yet have a cabin assignment.  Should I be getting worried about being bumped and start working on alternate plans?

Hope everything goes well.🚢

Have a great time 👍

2 hours ago, Mike B Landlubber said:

To avoid disappointment I signed up early for a shore excursion next September rated as “strenuous”. Since that time, I had to have a knee surgery that isn’t recovering as well as expected. I will still be able to go on the cruise, but worry about doing the strenuous excursion, though I do have some lead time to hope my knee improves. I’m thinking of canceling this and shifting to a moderate excursion, but I see that I apparently used a shore excursion credit from Have It All to sign up for this, and it shows my refund as $0.00. If I cancel, will I get my shore, excursion, credit back, or is that gone if I cancel? I attempted a search, but can’t find this specific issue amongst a horde of generic shore, excursion cancellation questions.

I would contact the HAL resolution department in Seattle. Let them know your concerns, I have found them to be quite helpful.

What about a pick up for a group of 4 people ( one of which is handicapped ) and their luggage after a cruise to go to Delray Beach ?
Any suggestions on the best option for this situation ? 

I did not book our cruise through Costco, so I will try calling them .

When I tried to book online , the premium looked quite reasonable.

Thanks again.

To obtain a Cover More policy did you have to purchase your cruise from Costco Travel ?

I pay online. No issues to this point, we have cruised HAL about 5 times in 20 years.

17 th street in Fort Lauderdale is very close to Port Everglades, many hotels and restaurants there.

Your TA should  provide you with a copy of your cruise statement showing all the pertinent information concerning your cruise. Drink package, WiFi  cabin # etc.

Sometimes Celebrity runs a sale on Premium Drink package upgrades, your TA should be on top of that , but if you notice it on Celebrity website and or cruise critic let your TA know asap. You can always upgrade at the going rate before or onboard.

Once again, if you tell your TA what you have in mind to celebrate they can give you a few options.

Finally , once onboard go see the maitre d , see if he can help you secure an earlier dining time. I have found they do their best to accommodate you if possible.

Good luck 🍀. 
Hope you all have a great cruise 🚢 

Happy Birthday to your Mom.