I'd be happy to book another Europeon Transatlatic but not without the Explore 4

[albingirl]

Because it would be a better situation at the end of the cruise.:)

[PathfinderEss]

Well only time will tell if they offer that package again.

[albingirl]

I agree. We'll see.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It would be nice if HAL did offer the Explore4 program again.

[whogo]

Because it would be a better situation at the end of the cruise.:)

I do not understand. Do you think you paid less with the Explore 4 program? I assumed that HAL marked up the price of the cruise with Explore 4 by more than what one could consume in included drinks.

[albingirl]

I do not understand. Do you think you paid less with the Explore 4 program? I assumed that HAL marked up the price of the cruise with Explore 4 by more than what one could consume in included drinks.

 

I suppose they do, but I watched for price decreases, and HAL gave me OBC.

For such a long cruise, it's nice not to worry about the final tab. No, we didn't ever max out on the card, but we enjoyed the coffees, water, wine, and drinks that came with the card.

[catl331]

or did you need it to help you finally see land again??:)

[albingirl]

or did you need it to help you finally see land again??:)

 

We did enjoy the days at sea.:)

[Caribbean Chris]

FYI, Celebrity doesn't give their inclusive-type promos at all on Transatlantics or Transpacifics (they call their version of Explore4 "123Go," Wave, or other variations - and currently include choices of gratuities, OBC, drinks package or all three in higher categories). So if you got it on a HAL cruise, that was really a bonus.

 

I guess the theory with Celebrity is that the re-positioning cruises are already discounted compared to other cruises. But the price has gone way up in recent years.

[LindaM]

No one could drink THAT much to pay for Explore 4. Believe me....I tried. If you can't get a cheaper price for the cruise without it, and you paid for it yourself, you are much better having the barbill at the end of the cruise. The only people who could get their money's worth are young people who buy buckets of beer all afternoon in addition to their other drinks.

 

We got Explore 4 once....I didn't have enough sense to ask if my cruise had 2 prices. I have a feeling at that point I had to get it. And, I loved it. But, I had to drink a LOT to get it up to the per day cost. Not worth it...I don't like drinking THAT much, just to get my money's worth.

[SeaBands]

but never drank half of what was on our card incl. getting doubles. We still preferred to drink our own liquor in the cabin before dinner while watching a movie. Now if you could Tivo the movie and go to a bar to pick up drinks and then come back and nor miss a lot of the film we might not have had to bring our drinks for the cabin.

[sail7seas]

but never drank half of what was on our card incl. getting doubles. We still preferred to drink our own liquor in the cabin before dinner while watching a movie. Now if you could Tivo the movie and go to a bar to pick up drinks and then come back and nor miss a lot of the film we might not have had to bring our drinks for the cabin.

 

I've never ordered cocktails by room service but could you do that?

 

[tooalto]

We had the Explore4 for our TA on the Noordam last fall. It was such a treat to be able to order a drink or2 at lunch and later in the evening without worrying about our final tab. We always load up our onboard account with credit before we sail and had a nice OBC from our online agency. We do our best to have enough so we have no bill at the end. The price of our cabin, an SS, never changed so we found Explore4 to be of great value.

[dfish]

I've never ordered cocktails by room service but could you do that?

 

 

I don't think you can use the SBP for drinks ordered from room service. They have to be able to scan your card and the room service waiters wouldn't be able to do that.

 

Other than that, I suppose you could.

[ZSandy25]

We really enjoyed the explore 4 pkg. No, we never drank the max but as others said it was nice to see the final tab at the end of cruise. We watched our cruise and the price remained solid in our category. I do like a cocktail while doing hair and makeup before dinner (only on a cruise;)) and DH would go to the Ocean Bar and bring one back for me. So it is self serve for room service:)

 

I loved being able to use it for my morning latte and the only time there was a charge was during the transit thru the canal and we got a beer off the rolling carts on deck. They had no way to swipe your card.

[chisoxfan]

We are going on our first HAL cruise and Explore 4 was a major reason we chose HAL. As far as pricing, we had the Signature package and dinner and

small additional OBC and never saw our cruise price lower than what we paid

over 8 mos. ago. I am only concerned that the Sig package is not a liberal as X drink package and cannot be upgraded,

Regarding drink packages in general we have become confirmed X cruisers in a large part because of their 123 GO promotions. It is truly extravagant for us to be able to order any drinks we want onboard (we usually upgrade package) and we are always amazed at how many drinks (of course water, sodas, and adult beverages) are consumed in a week. Average for my wife and I has been in the 110+ per week range.

I know there is 'no free lunch' but this is close as I watch prices pretty closely and have never seen pricing adjusted to where we would consider dropping this perk. On our 2016 X Carib cruise we receive drinks, tips, and 300 credit for a price that even with aggressive discounting was probably no more than 200 less per cabin without the perks.

 

Looking forward to HAL Alaska in June.

[cavecreekguy]

I've never ordered cocktails by room service but could you do that?

 

The Signature Beverage Package doesn't cover cocktails ordered via room service or from the mini bar that some cabins have.

 

For some reason I can't find the exact verbiage on the HAL site, but I know I've read that in the past.

[ithaca gal]

It also doesn't cover drinks at Half Moon Cay

[POA1]

I've never ordered cocktails by room service but could you do that?

 

I don't think so. Granted, we didn't actually try to, but room service and minibar are on the list of excluded places to use the SBP.

[DaveOKC]

I don't think so. Granted, we didn't actually try to, but room service and minibar are on the list of excluded places to use the SBP.

 

Just book a cabin near the aft elevator and you can pop up to the aft pool bar anytime!