HAL Pre-Paid Beverage Cards

[Empehi]

I see that you can purchase pre-paid beverage cards in amounts like $100 or $200.

What would be the advantage of this. Why not just charge your beverages to your room card to be charge to your credit card on file?

 

Please, you experienced HAL cruiser explain these cards (I assume they can be lost and are just like cash).

 

Thanks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The reason I like to get the Beverage cards -- I don't have to keep all those receipts to check my bill at the end of the cruise.  Once we buy drinks with the cards, I just check to make certain that the remaining balance is correct and then throw out the old receipt.

 

If you pre-order the Beverage Cards, they will be in your cabin on embarkation day and they will have your name on them.

 

If we have a lot of ship board credit -- I wait until we are on the ship to buy them.

 

We tend to do cruises ranging from 14 - 21 days, so keeping all those slips is terrible when checking your bill.

[RuthC]

I prefer to purchase a beverage card (or two <hic>) for the cruise. I take longer cruises, and the charge for the beverage card appears as one charge on my statement at the end of the cruise. Were I to pay by the drink, every single one would appear, making the statement longer, and a lot more difficult to proof that final morning.
Much easier for me on what is already a busy morning.

[kazu]

I agree with the previous posters.  I like the card for that reason as well.

 

Not only that, since I am subject to exchange rates, it allows me to "choose" a time when I want to pay that exchange rate rather than be subject to the rate on a particular day (end of the cruise).

 

If you pre-order your card, your name is on it. If you do lose it, report it right away.  They can negate the old card so it cannot be used and give you a new one.  They will also confirm the balance and last use for you.  

[Dismomx5]

Another who preorders and pays for Beverage Cards for the simplicity of record keeping, especially with a hubby who would lose the receipts.  The exchange rate game is something to be played by those of us buying from Canada....we need to time it just right!  And, if you don't use it all up, you do get the remainder back.

[VMax1700]

Do the beverage cards have an expiry date or can the be used on a second cruise?

[mcrcruiser]

Interesting ,we did not know that we could purchase a pre paid beverage card .

[kazu]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

Do the beverage cards have an expiry date or can the be used on a second cruise?

 

They are only good for the cruise you are on.  Whatever is left on the card (credit balance) at midnight (or sometime after that) is credited to your on board account (refunded to you).

 

Now, if you are on a B2B, they can be carried forward of course.

[kazu]

23 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Interesting ,we did not know that we could purchase a pre paid beverage card .

 

They are listed under the beverages on the HAL site - available to be purchased in various denominations.

[Been There, Planning That]

This is a distantly related question.

 

We no longer drink alcohol but love the speciality coffees.  On our last cruise these coffees could not be prepared in the dining room kitchen and so the assistant steward had to run and 'splash' back.  This was always done graciously but we soon stopped as staff was so busy and rushed already.  And I don't imagine perked coffee would be possible.

 

Does anyone know if the Volendam has cappuccino making equipment nearby?

 

We only drink coffee with a meal so the card would only be used this way.  

 

Ruth

Edited November 19, 2018 by Been There, Planning That
Added

[Crusinsusan2]

We had never done a beverage card until gratefully suggested on here for our last 14 day cruise on the Zaandam.  We had debated adding the beverage package but after looking at per day cost vs just purchasing beverage cards we thought it would be interesting to try the beverage cards to see how much we really would consume.  We bought 2/$250.00 beverage cards, 1 $50.00 soda card for $25.00, and 1 4 bottle cellar package with the Mariner discount.  We definitely drank our fill, ended up with around $100.00 left on one card (refunded to account) and saved a bundle by not doing the beverage package. Best part as already said by most was no sticker shock when the final bill came, no receipts to keep track of and a non-cluttered final statement to review. Won't do it any other way going forward on Hal.          

[nickadelphia]

For us, we booked our cruise in May 2018 sailing this month, November 2018. The reason we purchased the pre-paid beverage cards is because it was easier for budgeting. Instead of us owing money at the end of cruise we just added money every month (May to November) to either on-board credit, a beverage card, etc. This is just our preference as it didn't seem like a big deal to just spend $50-$100 a month (May to November) and waiting for us when we board on our account or on cards to use onboard. Everyone is different but the biggest advantage is that you can purchase a $50 value soda card for $25 dollars before you sail. 

[TAD2005]

As part of promotions from HAL, we ended up with the Signature Beverage Package and two, $25 beverage cards.   This seems like a redundancy.   Yes, we could combine them for a nice bottle of wine,  but is it possible to simply turn these 2 cards in at the front desk for a $50 credit to our cabin account ?

[joekerstef]

Before my first HAL cruise, I read about the beverage cards here on the board and read the advice posted by many of the same folks who have posted on this thread. I found the argument of not having to keep track of all of those individual charges on your account and their corresponding receipts to be persuasive. For me, it's no hassle at all to carry a second card around since everything's in my wallet. And any unused amount is credited back to your onboard account. Also it's an expense that I can pay for ahead of time so my credit card takes that much less of a hit when my final cruise bill is posted to my account. Having a beverage card makes my life a little easier and I'm all for that.

[Krazy Kruizers]

15 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

As part of promotions from HAL, we ended up with the Signature Beverage Package and two, $25 beverage cards.   This seems like a redundancy.   Yes, we could combine them for a nice bottle of wine,  but is it possible to simply turn these 2 cards in at the front desk for a $50 credit to our cabin account ?

 

 

Yes, you can turn those Beverage cards in and get shipboard credit.

[the2ofus]

Just to be clear, if I buy the beverage card ahead of time, does the purchase count as part of my "cruise days" like other on-board purchases?  Also, I used to wait until after the ship left port so that state sales taxes would not apply.  I'm assuming there would be OH sales tax if I ordered the card ahead of time.

[RuthC]

1 minute ago, the2ofus said:

Just to be clear, if I buy the beverage card ahead of time, does the purchase count as part of my "cruise days" like other on-board purchases?  Also, I used to wait until after the ship left port so that state sales taxes would not apply.  I'm assuming there would be OH sales tax if I ordered the card ahead of time.

Yes, the purchase counts toward your on-board spending as all purchases in advance of sailing do.
Order the card for delivery 'at sea' and there will be no sales tax charged; the card will likely be in your cabin when you board. If ordered for your cabin before sailing, there will be Florida sales tax, if that is where you are sailing from.
Not all embarkation ports charge sales tax.

[Paulinda]

We weren't charged sales tax last year when we prepurchased beverage cards or Pinnacle Grill dinners.  I believe they did count towards cruise days but could be wrong.     We didn't use up our balance on the cards and were credited back for the remaining balance.  

[TrolleyGirl]

We gifted my parents a cruise for their anniversary, as part of it we purchased them a pre-paid beverage card. That way they would feel free to enjoy themselves and not worry about how much any of the beverages cost.

[boards]

An update on getting a receipt.  We were just on the Koningsdam and unless you asked for a receipt it was not offered.  You can check your account very easily on your TV.  You can also get a copy of your account off a machine beside the front desk.

[LoveHAL]

For those that have a HAL Visa card, you can use 5000 points to purchase a $50 Beverage Card. If you use the HAL Visa to pay for any HAL related items (cruise fare, air via HAL, etc.) you get 2 points per dollar spent. So, make $2,500 of HAL purchases and you can get a $50 Beverage Card. That equates to 2% cash back. I realize that other credit cards might give a better "cash back" rate, but I am happy with the not paying for some drinks on board. 

 

It works for me. 

[joekerstef]

No sales tax charged when you purchase the beverage cards. They're basically like a gift card, you're just giving them payment ahead of time for whatever beverages you're buying on the ship. Tax will be charged on the price of your drink  if applicable (ie in port or territorial waters) when you order your beverage on the ship. 

Whatever portion of the beverage card that you actually spend will count toward your onboard spending credit. So if you bought a $100 beverage card but only used $75 of it, the $75 counts towards your spending and the unused $25 gets refunded to your onboard account, lowering the amount charged to your credit card on file by $25.

[CherryG]

We just got back Sunday night from a HA cruise, and for the first time bought a $100 beverage card.  I would definitely do again.  We aren't big drinkers, and the balance was credited back to our account at the end of the cruise.  It was easy to hand the card to the server and not have to sign anything.  

[dianelevene]

If you buy the $50 soda card for $25 and you don't use all of that, can you still get that credited back to your account?  I bought one for my daughter but then realized that she isn't much of a soda drinker.

[Been There, Planning That]

14 minutes ago, dianelevene said:

If you buy the $50 soda card for $25 and you don't use all of that, can you still get that credited back to your account?  I bought one for my daughter but then realized that she isn't much of a soda drinker.

This is related.  While there's no coffee card bargain, would remainder on a coffee card also be credited back?

 

Thanks in advance to responding experts.

 

Ruth