cruzin4us

If you used HAL's site to book everything -- it should show up within a day.

If you called Ship Services -- then it will not show up on your reservation and you will need to keep all e-mails for confirmation.

I booked my cruise with a TA, but I purchased the liquor on the Hal website. I only purchased them a couple of hours ago, so maybe I just have to wait until Monday to be able to view?

I just purchased a bottle of Bailey's and 2 bottles of distilled water for my husbands C-Pap machine. Is there anywhere on HAL's website that shows items I have paid for?

I buy a bottle or two of liquor/wine every time I get paid, but I can't seem to find my purchases on the website? Do I just need to keep a stack of emailed confirmations? If I'm missing something, please tell me!

The cabana attendants only work until 5. You can have lunch in your cabana, bit I'm not sure if you get dinner served there.

Good point....lol Guess I will just have to settle for lunch ;)

We are renting the Family retreat cabana on our upcoming Oct. 5th Panama Canal Trip. We were quoted $899 for the 16 day cruise. To me this is a bargin considering what I will pay for everything else.

They rent very similar cabanas at Harrah's around the pool and they rent for $500 a day.

Having my own private shade and never having to worry about getting a lounge chair makes it worth it to me.

Search "images" on google and it may help you make your decision. We are on Nieuw Amsterdam and we can eat dinner from the Tamarind in our cabana. I'm looking forward to the cabana above everything else.

Do I sound a bit biased?

Thank you all for answering my question.....it makes much more sense to me now!

If I have already booked a cruise and they offer the Explor 4 package, would this be something I would be able to apply towards my cruise or is it only for future cruises that I book during the promotion?

We've sailed 30 some cruises. We got spoiled getting our first SBP with the Explore 4 promo. It's kind of like sailing in a Neptune Suite. Once you have all the benefits, it's hard to go back.

 

1.The best thing about it is never having to think twice (or feel guilty) about ordering anything to drink. You get the opportunity to be adventuresome and test and try drinks you might not order! If you don't like what you ordered, you leave it behind and don't feel like you just threw away the cost of the drink!

 

2. When we initially sailed without the package, I would always think twice about every time I ordered a drink! How big was my bill getting and what would my shock be at the end of the cruise?

 

3. Total relaxation - we have a date with each other over 2 glasses (each) of champagne every morning....Poolside "fun drinks"....a glass of cheer during Bingo.....specialty coffees and deserts mid-afternoon.....refreshing waters for your backpacks for excursions....cocktails before and after dinner.....at BB Kings, the shows or piano bar! The whole day sails by and you never think twice about placing your order!

 

3. Signature vs Elite - I am very happy with Signature - the bulk of all my alcohol choices (commonly top shelf at most restaurants) are included. The lack of great wines in the package doesn't bother us. We satisfy our wine desires with purchasing wonderful bottles of wine (off the Pinnacle wine list) with our dinners.

 

3. If we don't have the package as a promo, we now always buy the package, regardless of the length of the cruise or the port intensiveness of the cruise. (yes, you do get more bang for the buck on cruises with more sailing days). And if we buy it, we always choose to buy the package pre-cruise so it's already paid for ahead of time. What a pleasure not having the downer of a big beverage bill at the end of the fabulous cruise!

Thank you for the response to my question. You answered everything I needed to know.

Because we didn't book under one of the promos, I was vacillating back and forth on whether or not not purchase. I think after many hours of comparing the main attraction for me anyway is the better tequila choices. Jose Cuervo is not tequila in my mind. I enjoy sipping a nice tequila but all of them would be excluded in the Signature Pkg. Patron Anejo is $13.95 and I could see myself sipping on a couple of these in the evening. That alone is $27.90.....My bar tab at the end of the cruise would be huge if I only had 2 daily shots if Patron....:o

I like the fact that I won't feel "guilty" as you said when ordering a new drink in the slight chance I may not care for it. We also have quite a few sea days and we are going thru Panama which I know is HOT which means I will probably drink a bit more.

My drink estimates:

2 shots of Patron Anejo: $27.90 (after dinner/casino)

1 Passion Blossom 13: $9.95 (pool)

1 San Pellegrino: $4.50

1 Baileys & Coffee: $6.95

1 Red Bull: $4.95

2 Glasses of Wine with Dinner: $24.50

Total: $78.75 x 16 days = $1,260 And this doesn't include any water, specialty coffees or soda.......

These seems like a conservative estimate of what I would drink. Sometimes less, sometimes more. I could easily see myself sipping on 2-3 cocktails while lounging in my cabana poolside.

If I were to choose the SBP, I could probably make do, but I wouldn't get my tequila or my wine choice. Being a Southern California gal, I like my tequila :D

The bummer of this for me is, my husband would fit under the SBP pkg quite easily....he drinks vodka and beer. It would be nice if he could get the SPB and I could get the EBP, but apparently it's either one or the other if I understand this correctly.

I've even contemplated purchasing a bottle of Patron and keeping it in my room.....But seeing as I just had a knee replacement and I have an aft cabin, I doubt I would keep making the trip to my room to pour myself a glass.

So......Laurie, just suck it up and pay for the EBP and quit worrying about it, you are on vacation ;p

We've sailed 30 some cruises. We got spoiled getting our first SBP with the Explore 4 promo. It's kind of like sailing in a Neptune Suite. Once you have all the benefits, it's hard to go back.

 

1.The best thing about it is never having to think twice (or feel guilty) about ordering anything to drink. You get the opportunity to be adventuresome and test and try drinks you might not order! If you don't like what you ordered, you leave it behind and don't feel like you just threw away the cost of the drink!

 

2. When we initially sailed without the package, I would always think twice about every time I ordered a drink! How big was my bill getting and what would my shock be at the end of the cruise?

 

3. Total relaxation - we have a date with each other over 2 glasses (each) of champagne every morning....Poolside "fun drinks"....a glass of cheer during Bingo.....specialty coffees and deserts mid-afternoon.....refreshing waters for your backpacks for excursions....cocktails before and after dinner.....at BB Kings, the shows or piano bar! The whole day sails by and you never think twice about placing your order!

 

3. Signature vs Elite - I am very happy with Signature - the bulk of all my alcohol choices (commonly top shelf at most restaurants) are included. The lack of great wines in the package doesn't bother us. We satisfy our wine desires with purchasing wonderful bottles of wine (off the Pinnacle wine list) with our dinners.

 

3. If we don't have the package as a promo, we now always buy the package, regardless of the length of the cruise or the port intensiveness of the cruise. (yes, you do get more bang for the buck on cruises with more sailing days). And if we buy it, we always choose to buy the package pre-cruise so it's already paid for ahead of time. What a pleasure not having the downer of a big beverage bill at the end of the fabulous cruise!

Thank you for the response to my question. You answered everything I needed to know.

Because we didn't book under one of the promos, I was vacillating back and forth on whether or not not purchase. I think after many hours of comparing the main attraction for me anyway is the better tequila choices. Jose Cuervo is not tequila in my mind. I enjoy sipping a nice tequila but all of them would be excluded in the Signature Pkg. Patron Anejo is $13.95 and I could see myself sipping on a couple of these in the evening. That alone is $27.90.....My bar tab at the end of the cruise would be huge if I only had 2 daily shots if Patron....:o

I like the fact that I won't feel "guilty" as you said when ordering a new drink in the slight chance I may not care for it. We also have quite a few sea days and we are going thru Panama which I know is HOT which means I will probably drink a bit more.

My drink estimates:

2 shots of Patron Anejo: $27.90 (after dinner/casino)

1 Passion Blossom 13: $9.95 (pool)

1 San Pellegrino: $4.50

1 Baileys & Coffee: $6.95

1 Red Bull: $4.95

2 Glasses of Wine with Dinner: $24.50

Total: $78.75 x 16 days = $1,260 And this doesn't include any water, specialty coffees or soda.......

These seems like a conservative estimate of what I would drink. Sometimes less, sometimes more. I could easily see myself sipping on 2-3 cocktails while lounging in my cabana poolside.

If I were to choose the SBP, I could probably make do, but I wouldn't get my tequila or my wine choice. Being a Southern California gal, I like my tequila :D

The bummer of this is, my husband would fit under the SBP pkg quite easily....he drinks vodka and beer. It would be nice if he could get the SPB and I could get the EBP, but apparently it's either one or the other if I understand this correctly.

I've even contemplated purchasing a bottle of Patron and keeping it in my room.....But seeing as I just had a knee replacement and I have an aft cabin, I doubt I would keep making the trip to my room to pour myself a glass.

So......Laurie, just suck it up and pay for the EBP and quit worrying about it, you are on vacation ;p

How do you get offered the Explorer4 pkg? I've seen it talked about but I've never figured out where or how to get it?

We have had the SBP "free" on past cruises and enjoyed having it so much that we will most likely purchase it for our next cruise.

When we do the math, it seems to be a good deal for us. A few drinks in the afternoon by the pool, some wine with dinner, an after dinner drink and I love my lattes in the morning with that little extra shot of Baileys.

Of course, on a cruise we drink a lot more than we do at home. All part of being on vacation.

 

Do the math and maybe expect to drink a bit more. And enjoy your cruise.

This is about the same as we drink (or me specifically). Bailey's & Coffee in the morning, couple of drinks by the pool, before dinner cocktail, wine with dinner, and probably a cocktail or two in the casino......and not to mention I have to fit in a latte in there somewhere.

My quandary lies in the fact that I can't get any of the wine or more specifically the tequilla I like in the SBP, I would need to step the pkg up to the elite.....but now we are taking big bucks. It's a shame my husband couldn't get the SBP and I would take the Elite pkg, but I get why HAL does what HAL does.

 

Pic didn't show up on my last post.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Now that's some serious wine hauling around device!!! I'd feel like James Bond toting that around ;p

And to think a case of wine weighs 49 lbs.....eeeeek

Wow, thanks to both of you for answering my question(s). You gave me just the answers I needed. I'm "thinking" I will just fill a carry-on suitcase with rollers with my wine, then get my DH to lug that one around until we get our room :)

I'd only consider doing this because we live so close to the port, otherwise I'd probably just suck it up and buy bottles on board. Being a wine lover can be an expensive habit...lol

I know a lot of you dislike the packages, but I really would like to hear from those that think either one of the packages is "worth it". I'm not looking for those that got it free either :), just the ones that paid for them. Thanks!

We are doing a 16 day Panama cruise and the liquor budgeting is driving me nuts.

We like wine with our dinner but none of the wine works with the beverage packages I've looked at (at least the wine I would drink). I could probably work within the elite pkg but that is $1065/pp x 2 = $2,130 for the cruise....yikes.

After doing the math, it makes sense for us to bring our 2 (free bottles, 1/pp) and then bring the rest of the wine onboard and pay the corkage fee. Heck, I can get some pretty good wine at Costco for $20 a bottle. $20 + $18 corkage = $38 and $38 x 16 days = $608. If I compare that to the wine I would remotely consider buying onboard it would be $85.10 x 16 = $1,361.60. That is a $753.60 difference :o. Enough to make me consider hauling onboard 16 bottles!

With that being said, we live close to the port and there is no air involved so it's just a matter of hauling them around for a bit.

So, my question(s) (finally :rolleyes:) are: How does this all work? Do they take them at embarkation and then deliver them back to me? Do they just charge me the corkage fee at the time I board? Do they hold them somewhere and I ask for a bottle and pay the corkage fee then? I don't care how they do it, I'd just like to be prepared. Thanks for answering another "wine" question ;)

Interesting about the $2 bills. I've traveled a lot, and I tip with them frequently. Many, many times I have been approached by other servers, bartenders, porters asking if I have any additional $2 bills that they could either buy or exchange money for them. I don't think I've ever seen anybody that I've tipped be upset, most are super thrilled and want to send it home to their kids or whatever.

On our last cruise I had an officer approach me and ask if he could buy one of the bills from me (seriously)....I had to laugh and pulled one out of my purse and gave it to him. He was so thrilled.....enough so that I still remember it...lol

I'm serious as can be on this, everyone that I have given a $2 bill to has been ecstatic to the point of overly thanking me. I guess to each his own on this one, but you may try a couple and see if the reaction is the same as what we receive.

I guess if I was tipping someone $20 in $2 bills, then it wouldn't have the same effect, but a random $2 bill for someone who pours me a nice drink at the bar goes a long way.....trust me ;p

1. Lots of $2 bills - They take up less space and you would not believe how thrilled people are to get a $2 bill.

2. Spare Duffle bag - We pack a spare duffle bag and use it to store all our dirty laundry for the trip home. We check it on the plane and deal with it when we get home.

3. Hand held fan - If you are going to a hot tropical place you will thank me for this bit of advice ---- BRING ONE

Alka Seltzer Cold Medicine (or something similar), Bandaids, TUMS, Advil/Tylenol or Aspirin. We have used these items almost without exception on every cruise. They are very expensive if you have to buy on board.

I know I'm a bit late in responding to this question, but for other readers:

We had an aft cabin on Infinity and it was HUGE, and I mean HUGE. I would grab one of those aft cabins anytime you see one available. As for going thru the canal, it would be a perfect choice. The canal transit is extremely hot and you can only be topside for a short period (my experience 3x now).

I want to do absolutely NOTHING but sit on my veranda and watch the wake....nothing more :cool:

We are gamblers.....and I would like to purchase $1,000 in shipboard credit so we can use this as our gambling funds while on board our 16 day cruise.

I wanted to make sure I can withdraw against this without paying the 3% service charge. We would be purchasing the Shipboard Credit prior to departure and use it as a bank account sort of speak. Is this possible?

I believe if I was to withdraw money that went on my cc then I would be subject to the 3%, but if I purchased Shipboard credits then it is really my money and shouldn't be subject to a fee.....am I understanding this correctly?

We are indeed on the Neiuw Amsterdam....forgot to clarify!

My DH wants to know if he will have access to the sauna and steam room after using the fitness center. Also, are the saunas/steam room located in the spa area or are there ones in the fitness room as well? (You can tell I don't use the fitness center :cool:)

We will be on the Neiuw Amsterdam in October.

Thanks in advance!