Pre-purchased Wine Package

[Cruzer Two]

I just returned from a Caribbean cruise on the Koningsdam and was told that if you pre-purchase a wine package over the internet before boarding the ship that the 15% gratuity is not charged.  Since I don't have a current booking on HAL, I can't find anywhere on their website that shows the price of a pre-purchased wine package.  Can anybody shed a little light on the subject.  In addition, I know that if you purchase a beverage before the ship leaves FLL you are charged Florida Sales Tax on the purchase.  Does this also apply to purchasing a wine package before leaving the port of FLL.  Thanks!  

[Tom O.]

First I have to say that the 15% is still charged, but it is included in the price.

Here are the prices of the 6 bottle packages. There are 3 levels of quality.

Cellar #1 $194.35

Cellar #2  $263.35

Cellar #3  $309.35

There are also 4 bottle and 8 bottle packages.

[MAVIP]

2 minutes ago, Tom O. said:

First I have to say that the 15% is still charged, but it is included in the price.

Here are the prices of the 6 bottle packages. There are 3 levels of quality.

Cellar #1 $194.35

Cellar #2  $263.35

Cellar #3  $309.35

There are also 4 bottle and 8 bottle packages.

In Cellar #2 the 6 bottle package costs a tiny little bit more per bottle than the 4.  A mistake?

[Tom O.]

3 minutes ago, MAVIP said:

In Cellar #2 the 6 bottle package costs a tiny little bit more per bottle than the 4.  A mistake?

The price I see for the 4 bottle package of cellar #2 is $171.35

[kazu]

41 minutes ago, Cruzer Two said:

I just returned from a Caribbean cruise on the Koningsdam and was told that if you pre-purchase a wine package over the internet before boarding the ship that the 15% gratuity is not charged. 

 

 

If you pre-purchase the wine package the 15% gratuity IS charged.  It is included in the price.

 

If you purchase on board, the price is less but then the 15% gratuity is added so the price works out to be the same as the pre-purchased wine package.

41 minutes ago, Cruzer Two said:

 

 

 

Since I don't have a current booking on HAL, I can't find anywhere on their website that shows the price of a pre-purchased wine package.  Can anybody shed a little light on the subject.  In addition, I know that if you purchase a beverage before the ship leaves FLL you are charged Florida Sales Tax on the purchase.  Does this also apply to purchasing a wine package before leaving the port of FLL.  Thanks!  

 

No, there is not sales tax applied to wine packages.  HAL processes the charge when you are out of waters where tax must be levied.  This is why you sometimes don’t see the charge for 2 or 3 days 😉 (Spanish waters are a good example of this).

[Tom O.]

3 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

If you purchase on board, the price is less but then the 15% gratuity is added so the price works out to be the same as the pre-purchased wine package.

 

 

Kazu is correct there is no advantage to buying the packages ahead of time. And I have heard that sometimes they are out of stock of a certain label, and you should check before you choose which package to buy.

[kazu]

1 minute ago, Tom O. said:

And I have heard that sometimes they are out of stock of a certain label, and you should check before you choose which package to buy.

 

Quite true.  One of the reasons we wait to buy it on board along with the fact that the wine stewards get credit if it’s bought on board. 😉 

[MAVIP]

Winecard on board Cellar #2 

4 bottles $ 149  + 15% service = $ 171,35  excl service $ 37,25/bottle

6 bottles $ 229  + 15% service = $ 263,35  excl service $ 38,16/bottle

8 bottles $ 289  + 15% service = $ 332,35  excl service $ 36,13/bottle

 

[Tom O.]

2 minutes ago, MAVIP said:

Winecard on board Cellar #2 

4 bottles $ 149  + 15% service = $ 171,35  excl service $ 37,25/bottle

6 bottles $ 229  + 15% service = $ 263,35  excl service $ 38,16/bottle

8 bottles $ 289  + 15% service = $ 332,35  excl service $ 36,13/bottle

 

Yes those are the same prices I see for pre-purchase, except that they include 15%. It does look like the 4 bottle package is a better value than the 6 bottle. There is a lot of inconsistent pricing in the liquor dept. Especially since the recent increase in prices. I suggest to take advantage of the the 4 bottle pricing now, before they discover their error.

[MAVIP]

2 minutes ago, Tom O. said:

I suggest to take advantage of the the 4 bottle pricing now, before they discover their error.

I never told them during our 4 cruises last year 🙂.  If you order f.e. 4 or 6 you can always (I think before you finish the last bottle) upgrade to the higher number. Wine steward will gladly handle this. 

[Cruzer Two]

52 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

 

If you pre-purchase the wine package the 15% gratuity IS charged.  It is included in the price.

 

If you purchase on board, the price is less but then the 15% gratuity is added so the price works out to be the same as the pre-purchased wine package.

 

No, there is not sales tax applied to wine packages.  HAL processes the charge when you are out of waters where tax must be levied.  This is why you sometimes don’t see the charge for 2 or 3 days 😉 (Spanish waters are a good example of this).

Thanks very much for the information!

[Cruzer Two]

One more question, just to clarify: Is they any sales tax charged for wine packages purchased online at home before boarding the ship? Thanks!   

[kazu]

18 minutes ago, Cruzer Two said:

One more question, just to clarify: Is they any sales tax charged for wine packages purchased online at home before boarding the ship? Thanks!   

 

There shouldn’t be.  If the option is available for delivery “at sea” that means that sales tax could apply.  Just choose delivery “at sea” and you will be fine.  The confirmation will be still in your cabin on embarkation day.  It might come a bit later than when you board but it will be there that day.

[Domnul Paul]

Are these the wine packages (all three categories in all three quantities) to which the 25% discount for 3-star mariners applies?  (25% off the price of any package — with gratuity applied to the non-discounted price?)   Thanks, an up-coming trans-Atlantic will be the first time we’ve been eligible for a discount.

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, Domnul Paul said:

Are these the wine packages (all three categories in all three quantities) to which the 25% discount for 3-star mariners applies?  (25% off the price of any package — with gratuity applied to the non-discounted price?)   Thanks, an up-coming trans-Atlantic will be the first time we’ve been eligible for a discount.

 

Yes, those are the wine packages being discussed.  

[Tom O.]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

Yes, those are the wine packages being discussed.  

 

Kazu, It seems there have been a lot of threads lately on wine packages, beverage cards, etc. A lot of questions are from people who are new to HAL. This must mean that the HAL website is not doing a good job in making it clear. People who have worked a lot with the website have figured it out, but it is very confusing to others.

One thing HAL needs to really improve, is that someone cannot shop for beverages unless there is a cruise booked. Since many cruise lines offer beverage packages (including HAL) as incentive to book, people trying to compare cruises really need to be able to see what the beverage packages would cost if purchased separately.

At any rate it is good that people like you can help them understand it.

[Cruzer Two]

On 2/16/2020 at 12:36 PM, Tom O. said:

Absolutely! I tried to find the information on the HAL website before asking the question, but as you say "you can't look if you ain't booked"! Stupid!

 

One thing HAL needs to really improve, is that someone cannot shop for beverages unless there is a cruise booked. Since many cruise lines offer beverage packages (including HAL) as incentive to book, people trying to compare cruises really need to be able to see what the beverage packages would cost if purchased separately.

At any rate it is good that people like you can help them understand it.