Must you purchase a beverage package?

[pugmadkate]

Are any beverages included for free? Water, iced tea, etc? Or must one buy a beverage package?

 

Also, if I understand this correctly, everyone in a cabin must buy the same beverage package. That is a problem because my husband and adult son want to buy packages that include alcohol and due to a medical issue, I cannot drink alcohol. I don't want to pay for drinks I cannot have! Any ideas?

[Sequim88]

I believe you can get a waiver on packages with sufficient documentation from a doctor.

 

Water, coffee, tea. cocoa, ice tea, lemonade, milk at the least are complementary. I might have forgotten something else. There are soft drink packages too otherwise ala carte on those.

[dfish]

You do not have to buy a beverage package. I would suggest that your husband and son sit down and do the math and see if it would be a benefit to have a package or not. You have to drink quite a bit each day to get your money's worth.

 

I would never buy the drink package as I don't drink enough to make it worth it. Instead, I pay as I go for individual drinks. I figured out what it would cost me if I had two specialty coffees per day along with three alcoholic drinks and the overall cost was a little more than half the cost of the beverage package. I am much better off paying as I go.

[kdn hawaii]

On RCI, you can buy individual packages. I've been the only one on a beverage package before in my room. Not an alcohol package though. Mine included soft drinks, specialty coffee, and mixed non alcoholic drinks like pina coladas.

 

 

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[kdn hawaii]

Sorry. Just saw that you are on Holland.

 

 

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[pugmadkate]

This is great information! Thank you!

So, if did "pay as you go" do we need to buy those pre-paid beverage cards that come in $25, $50 or $100 amounts? Is that a physical card that one must carry or can you just charge it to your room like in hotel? Clearly, I've never been on a cruise!

[POA1]

This is great information! Thank you!

So, if did "pay as you go" do we need to buy those pre-paid beverage cards that come in $25, $50 or $100 amounts? Is that a physical card that one must carry or can you just charge it to your room like in hotel? Clearly, I've never been on a cruise!

No, you can just charge the drinks to your room.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We don't buy the Beverage Packages as we do not drink that much. Your son and husband should sit down and right down what they might drink each day.

We do like to buy the $250 Beverage Cards which can be used to buy all drinks including bottles of wine. By buying the Beverage Cards I don't have to keep track of a lot of receipts at the end of the cruise.

[eileeshb]

You might want to get a look at a few drinks menus from the cruise line to get an idea of alcohol pricing onboard though, don't assume the prices will be similar to bar pricing at home.

[pugmadkate]

We do like to buy the $250 Beverage Cards which can be used to buy all drinks including bottles of wine. By buying the Beverage Cards I don't have to keep track of a lot of receipts at the end of the cruise.

 

If I were to buy a pre-paid card, is that a physical card I have to keep on me? I'm wondering because we are traveling with our adult son and niece and her fiancé. I'd want them to be able to use the pre-paid card as well. If it's a literal card, then it would make sense to buy a few cards to pass out. If it's pre-paid on our account, then we could just buy one.

 

Thank you to everyone for your help. This is the whole gangs very first cruise so we have a lot of questions!

[POA1]

If I were to buy a pre-paid card, is that a physical card I have to keep on me? I'm wondering because we are traveling with our adult son and niece and her fiancé. I'd want them to be able to use the pre-paid card as well. If it's a literal card, then it would make sense to buy a few cards to pass out. If it's pre-paid on our account, then we could just buy one.

 

Thank you to everyone for your help. This is the whole gangs very first cruise so we have a lot of questions!

It's a cars and works just like a gift card. It needs to be there when the drinks are purchased as the server will swipe it in the POS system.

[liketraveling]

You can buy the cards ahead of time and they will be delivered to your cabin with your name on it and whoever' you order a card for with there name on it.

 

You can also buy beverage cards from any of the bars once you are on board.

 

I ordered a $100.00 card for a24 day cruise. I went through it after 14 days and bought a second $100.00 card. I didn't use the whole 2nd card so I was credited with the balance on my final bill.

 

You don't need the card your room key will work. I use the card for conscience.

[pugmadkate]

Another question...I see that water is included for free but does that include water bottles or just glasses of water? I'd like to be able to take a few water bottles on our excursions and also just to tote around the ship. I'm leaning towards buying the prepaid cards rather than the beverage packages but am still not quite sure.

[regnig]

"Free" water does not include bottled water. BUT, you can bring onboard all the bottled water you want with no problem. Additionally the water from the tap in your bathroom is clean and pure and most drink it or fill empty water bottles with it there by eliminating the need to buy costly bottles on board.

[POA1]

Another question...I see that water is included for free but does that include water bottles or just glasses of water? I'd like to be able to take a few water bottles on our excursions and also just to tote around the ship. I'm leaning towards buying the prepaid cards rather than the beverage packages but am still not quite sure.

Just tap water. There is a bottle fill station in the Lido. Take a refillable water bottle with a wide opening once the cap is removed. You'll be all set. Or, you can buy bottles of water at any lounge or bar or the Lido. HAL bottled water is fairly reasonable. You can also bring on your own bottled water.

[Boytjie]

Sorry. Just saw that you are on Holland.

 

Yeah, people asking questions about cruises on the Holland America boards are usually sailing on HAL. ;)

[kdn hawaii]

Yeah, people asking questions about cruises on the Holland America boards are usually sailing on HAL. ;)

 

 

Well in my defense, I was NOT on the Holland boards. This post was under "TRENDING" where all cruise lines and posts fall if they are current. So I only realized it when I saw "Holland" under the post in small faded lettering. Next time I'll be sure to look at that first before posting so I don't offend anyone. I'll delete my post next time. Or you could just ignore it? [emoji849]

 

 

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[Boytjie]

Well in my defense, I was NOT on the Holland boards. This post was under "TRENDING" where all cruise lines and posts fall if they are current. So I only realized it when I saw "Holland" under the post in small faded lettering. Next time I'll be sure to look at that first before posting so I don't offend anyone. I'll delete my post next time. Or you could just ignore it? [emoji849]

 

I did not realize one can get to specific cruise line threads from elsewhere. You learn something new every day. :)

[FlCatLover]

Is there a way to get seltzer/bubbly water by the glass in the buffet? Does it cost extra like soda pop?

[POA1]

Is there a way to get seltzer/bubbly water by the glass in the buffet? Does it cost extra like soda pop?

Yes, but it does cost extra. The most economical way to get it is to order a bottle of sparkling water. If you don't finish it all in one sitting, you can cap it for later.

[dee2673]

To the OP: just want to make sure you realize you don't HAVE to buy any beverage card at all. If you have any onboard credit, drinks will be charged against that amount. If your cruise has a lot of port days, then you may be off the ship and not drinking onboard. Neither The beverage cards nor the package cover the mini bar in your room. If you want to have them for convenience, then sure get one for everyone. As another poster said, you can get the unused amount credited back to you, if there is one. Also you don't have to worry about checking your account for accuracy with a beverage card, since drinks would go against the card and not your onboard account . Have a great cruise!!

 

 

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[mafig]

Is this beverage card new? I haven't been on HAL for a while and just quickly look at this board. I've been on Celebrity and MSC lately where we've had a beverage package and just assumed that HAL either didn't have one or that you had to pay $55 per person per day for the whole cruise.

 

I like the sound of these cards. Any further information on this?

[cb at sea]

EVERYTHING is available "a la carte"...everything! No packages are needed at all...but, sometimes they can save you money. It depends on your eating/drinking habits!

[POA1]

Is this beverage card new? I haven't been on HAL for a while and just quickly look at this board. I've been on Celebrity and MSC lately where we've had a beverage package and just assumed that HAL either didn't have one or that you had to pay $55 per person per day for the whole cruise.

 

I like the sound of these cards. Any further information on this?

The simplest way to think of them is as prepaid gift cards for beverages. They don't really do anything other than give you an alternative to putting beverage purchases on your room account. Years ago you got a bonus of around 10%, but no longer.

 

Using them keeps your room account folio "cleaner" and possibly helps you watch what you spend on beverages.

[OlsSalt]

This is great information! Thank you!

So, if did "pay as you go" do we need to buy those pre-paid beverage cards that come in $25, $50 or $100 amounts? Is that a physical card that one must carry or can you just charge it to your room like in hotel? Clearly, I've never been on a cruise!

 

There are happy hour specials too - second drink as long as it is the same is I believe $2. We have only one bar drink per cruise - our traditional sail away Tropa Mango Mojito after the muster drill. So I did not even know what SBP even meant.

 

DH used to get the wine packages but has been unhappy with the choices, of late so he does not even get that any longer. I like my San Pellegrino at dinner so that is as far as I go and that gets signed off in the Main Dining Room by the wine steward when we order a bottle - which follows me until it is finished. 2-3 days and the bubbles are still good. The charge shows up later on the final bill. We do fine with the available free beverages, as reported above. They also offer a very nice array of bagged teas, including PG Tips as well as multiple herbals and spiced.