Beverage cards vs. paying on board

[Krazy Kruizers]

On our recent cruises, we had the Signature Beverage Cards via the Explore 4 program. They were very handy for our regular cocktails. But if we had to buy them ourselves, not worth it as we do not drink a lot.

We had a lot of shipboard credit and did buy the regular Beverage Cards just to have fewer slips of paper and used them to buy bottles of wine at dinner.

[HealthyTouch101]

@Tripper10 I bought it about one month out from the cruise. It was simply convenient. I knew what we would definitely spend (the tips, Tamarind, our thermal spa subscription) so got enough to cover that stuff at a minimum.

 

I never carry a balance on a credit card, so before or after really doesn't matter, except that I shot a check out to the credit card company and it was paid for before we even got on the ship.

[HALaftSuitesfor2]

Think of the whole beverage drinking cards, package deal this way. You are paying for it, out of your pocket, one way or the other, no matter which way you go.

 

Pay ahead (add generic funds to your account, which we do) prior to sailing anytime with generic OBC, refundable to credit card if not spent, which can be used for any purchases, not just drinks. If you're budgeting, you can add this credit into your monthly budget and it helps with out of pocket expenses.

 

Pay ahead of time by buying beverage cards purchases, limit to buying only beverages at a $7.00 cap. Unused money refunded to credit card if not used.

 

Stay with the "free" explorer package, most definitely added to the base cabin fare per person when you book your cruise. Ever wonder why when you see a price drop, they take the explorer package away? Hello, it was in the cost of the booking.

 

Anyway you slice the pie, you are buying the pie, just in a different fashion. Exception, the explorer is money you will not get back if you don't spend all of it. So why not pocket a less expensive fare and spend your money your way?

[RuthC]

Pay ahead of time by buying beverage cards purchases, limit to buying only beverages at a $7.00 cap.

That is not correct. The standard beverage card has no limit, other than the amount left on the card, in the price of the beverage purchased.

It is the Signature Beverage Card, the one with the 15-drinks per day limit, that also has the $7 price per drink limit.

[HALaftSuitesfor2]

That is not correct. The standard beverage card has no limit, other than the amount left on the card, in the price of the beverage purchased.

It is the Signature Beverage Card, the one with the 15-drinks per day limit, that also has the $7 price per drink limit.

 

Oops, that's right, sorry

[Tampa Girl]

OP's question was not clear as to which beverage card was being questioned. We just got off a 10-day cruise where the Signature Beverage card was included. We found it to be very convenient. What surprised us was that even the premium or most of the premium beverages were included, such as Jack Daniels Black Label; Bombay Sapphire; Tanqueray Ten, etc. Premium brandies were not included. If you drink seven alcoholic drinks a day, you are ahead by four dollars. The cards were selling for $45 onboard. I have no idea what sodas cost since we don't drink them. For that reason, however, and because we can't consume seven alcoholic drinks a day, we probably wouldn't buy a Signature card.

 

Kazu - is there any discount in buying the card pre-cruise?

[Hlitner]

OP's question was not clear as to which beverage card was being questioned. We just got off a 10-day cruise where the Signature Beverage card was included. We found it to be very convenient. What surprised us was that even the premium or most of the premium beverages were included, such as Jack Daniels Black Label; Bombay Sapphire; Tanqueray Ten, etc. Premium brandies were not included. If you drink seven alcoholic drinks a day, you are ahead by four dollars. The cards were selling for $45 onboard. I have no idea what sodas cost since we don't drink them. For that reason, however, and because we can't consume seven alcoholic drinks a day, we probably wouldn't buy a Signature card.

 

Kazu - is there any discount in buying the card pre-cruise?

 

Geez, ONLY 7 drinks to be ahead :). We might be able to do that on a sea day but in a port day when only aboard late afternoon and evening doubt if we would drink that much. In fact, can't say that we have met many on our HAL cruises that would guzzle 7 drinks a day...although we do know one Aussie gent (a 5 Star Mariner) who easily puts down more then 7.

 

Hank

[Tampa Girl]

Geez, ONLY 7 drinks to be ahead :). We might be able to do that on a sea day but in a port day when only aboard late afternoon and evening doubt if we would drink that much. In fact, can't say that we have met many on our HAL cruises that would guzzle 7 drinks a day...although we do know one Aussie gent (a 5 Star Mariner) who easily puts down more then 7.

 

Hank

 

But don't forget the sodas and expressos. They count as part of the 15 drinks. How much do they cost?

[Cruising-along]

The only time we purchase the beverage card is when we get it "free" with our credit card points (HAL visa through Barclay). And then only if we don't want to use those points for something else. This time we chose to get a refund on our cruise fare and a beverage card.