Beverage cards vs. paying on board

[Wanderlust.]

What is the benefit of purchasing a beverage card? It is just convenience?

 

Thanks in advance :)

[PathfinderEss]

Yeah, pretty much, that's is the case. Depending on which card you buy there can be a tiny savings.

[kazu]

Not having a bunch of charges and pieces of paper to worry about goes a long way with me. Not to mention budgeting since we buy ours in advance, it helps spread out the cost of the cruise.

[Caribbean Chris]

Are the cards still made of paper that the bartenders or waiters punch per drink?

 

I was cleaning a closet and threw away a few old cards from a cruise five or six years ago. Both soft drink cards had un-punched places. They weren't transferable to use on future cruises.

 

Dumb on our part, but if a lot of people do it, no wonder they like to sell them.

[0bnxshs]

Are the cards still made of paper that the bartenders or waiters punch per drink?

 

I was cleaning a closet and threw away a few old cards from a cruise five or six years ago. Both soft drink cards had un-punched places. They weren't transferable to use on future cruises.

 

Dumb on our part, but if a lot of people do it, no wonder they like to sell them.

 

No, they are plastic with a magnetic strip and the size of your room key. If you order before the cruise, online, your name will be printed on it too (helps make sure you are getting yours back.)

Edited March 17, 2015 by 0bnxshs

[sprockie]

It seems that a handful of cruise lines are using the beverage package perk more often. I'm all for that. Just had that on Celebrity and I really enjoyed it. I'm not a big drinker, but really enjoyed the feeling of using my card and not adding it up in my head or thinking about what my tab will be. Got a good price on the cruise too with 3/4 passenger free. I hope the cruise lines use this more often as a promotion.

[highscar]

If using a beverage card as a 4 star mariner would the 50per cent discount apply for the special coffees in the explorer lounge?

[DaveOKC]

No, they are plastic with a magnetic strip and the size of your room key.

 

And that can be an issue! One time I handed the cabin card to our server and got the drink charged to the cabin instead of being "free".

Edited March 17, 2015 by DaveOKC

[kazu]

If using a beverage card as a 4 star mariner would the 50per cent discount apply for the special coffees in the explorer lounge?

no, it is not. You have to use your room card to get that. They can't link the two for whatever reason.

[Mtn2Sea]

I learned on our last cruise that, if you lose your beverage card, you can go to the front office and get a replacement. The balance on the new card is adjusted based on the purchases placed on the lost card. (Not that this happened to me! :))

Edited March 17, 2015 by Mtn2Sea

[Hlitner]

The beverage cards (10 drink cards) used to give the owners a slight discount (I think it was about 10%) on drinks. But then HAL changed the pricing so that there was absolutely no advantage to the drink card. So now, we see it as one more card to carry around and it has no real purpose since it is just as easy to use your cruise card.

 

Hank

[Lizzie68]

Not having a bunch of charges and pieces of paper to worry about goes a long way with me. Not to mention budgeting since we buy ours in advance, it helps spread out the cost of the cruise.

 

Exactly that. Easier to keep track and already paid for. If anything is left on the card (not likely!) it gets reimbursed to your account.

[ski ww]

I think it only matters if you drink a lot. You pay for it before the cruise or after cost is the same. I think the cruise line makes money on it because drinks that are left over at the end is found money for the cruise line or are left overs refunded at the end of the cruise?

Allan

[Caribbean Chris]

Here's a question (since we haven't sailed on HAL in four years but will again in April):

 

Do all the bartenders and dining room wine stewards ask for and swipe your card now (either beverage or room card) in order to complete the transactions?

 

In other words, everything done electronically and no more signatures and pink paper copies of the drink charges?

[lazey1]

Here's a question (since we haven't sailed on HAL in four years but will again in April):

 

Do all the bartenders and dining room wine stewards ask for and swipe your card now (either beverage or room card) in order to complete the transactions?

 

In other words, everything done electronically and no more signatures and pink paper copies of the drink charges?

 

Yes, it is all electronic now, including the Lido and the main showroom.

[Caribbean Chris]

Yes, it is all electronic now, including the Lido and the main showroom.

 

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully this has cut down on questionable charges on the room account that showed up despite no signature on any paper tab.

[RuthC]

I think the cruise line makes money on it because drinks that are left over at the end is found money for the cruise line or are left overs refunded at the end of the cruise?

Allan

If you're talking about the basic Beverage Card, then any remaining monies left on the card at the end of the cruise are refunded. Those can be purchased in varying amounts, so if you have an idea how much you're likely to drink, you can fairly easily plan to purchase the best amount in the first place.

 

It's the Signature Beverage Card that has no refund if you don't drink the full 15 drinks per day maximum.

[Typhoon1]

It's really just another way of hiding funds.

 

Instead of charging your onboard account, you're using money already spent.

[sprockie]

I think it only matters if you drink a lot. You pay for it before the cruise or after cost is the same. I think the cruise line makes money on it because drinks that are left over at the end is found money for the cruise line or are left overs refunded at the end of the cruise?

Allan

 

Not to mention that their cost to make a drink is likely no more than $1. With the cheap cost of liquor in the U.S., over a 7 day cruise, I bet they have less than $100 invested if the person uses ALL of his/her drinks per day.

[HealthyTouch101]

Also, you can purchase OBC before the cruise so you can use that to budget your expenses. I bought several hundred dollars ahead of time via HAL site and any excess was simply credited to my credit card. No large bill after the cruise and everything processed promptly.

[Hlitner]

Ok so please call me naïve :). When I go on a cruise I can buy a beverage card for $100 which is charged to my onboard account. Or, I can buy X number of drinks for $100 which is charged to my onboard account. At the end of the cruise either charge is simply put through to my credit card. As to pieces of paper (receipts) we totally ignore any receipts since they have little use. When there is an error on a ship it is usually because something is inadvertently charged to one's account by error. But keeping receipts does absolutely no good when it comes to proving that something was not charged by you. On HAL, if we notice an incorrect charge we simply stop by Guest Relations where they quickly investigate and correct. Having some receipts for drinks we have bought does nothing to prove what we did not buy!

 

And this gets to a huge negative for HAL. When we go on Celebrity can check our cabin Television anytime (day or night) and see everything charged to our onboard account. If we go on Princess we can stop by one of the kiosks at any time, swipe our cruise card, and get an up to date statement of all onboard charges. But on HAL we have to go to Guest Relations and wait in line just to ask for a current statement. HAL needs to more into the 21st Century. We know the line is over 150 years old, but there is no reason to use 150 year old technology :).

 

Hank

[sammiedawg]

There is no advantage to the HAL beverage card for soft drinks. You get cheap pours over a cup of ice, a disgustingly miserly serving of soda. You are better of buying a can and paying as you go. I don't worry about the little chits of paper, dollar amount too small to worry about. I watch liquor purchases on my bill but not soft drinks.

I know soft drinks, specialty coffee and bottled water are revenue sources but cheap soda pours are so irritating.

The Princess unlimited soda card is a great deal.

Edited March 19, 2015 by sammiedawg

[Tripper10]

Also, you can purchase OBC before the cruise so you can use that to budget your expenses. I bought several hundred dollars ahead of time via HAL site and any excess was simply credited to my credit card. No large bill after the cruise and everything processed promptly.

 

Just curious, why would anyone ever just buy OBC? Why not just pay at the end of the trip? Isn't that like letting HAL just hold your money or credit for you?

[ellieanne]

This past cruise was the first time I've used a pre-purchased beverage card.

 

Normally I cruise by myself, and if I have a drink every other day it's a lot on the cruise, so I haven't found a need for a drink card. I'm perfectly happy with the free beverages (water, tea, and juices for breakfast) on the cruises. But this past cruise I was cruising with my husband and he's a 4-Cokes-a-Day kind of guy, in addition to enjoying a drink with dinner and/or a nightcap. It made sense for us to pre-purchase a drink card so he had a pre-set limit on drinks. It was a bonus for us that he didn't use the entered amount and what was left unused was refunded to our account.

 

I'd say if you're an infrequent drinker, of any kind, there is no real benefit to a pre-purchased card. But I found it's definitely worth it to have one if you're trying to keep track of your budget and keep on-board spending in check.

[kazu]

Just curious, why would anyone ever just buy OBC? Why not just pay at the end of the trip? Isn't that like letting HAL just hold your money or credit for you?

 

It can help spread out the cost of the cruise, budget wise, especially if you are on a longer one.

 

And if you happen to be dealing in a different currency and the exchange rate is favourable, you can save money. In our case the Canadian dollar has plummeted against the U.S. $. The obc I bought earlier has now saved us about 15% in the exchange;)

 

The same thing applies for the beverage cards we purchased.

Edited March 19, 2015 by kazu