Sale including Bev Pkg for longer cruises?

[rebdunn]

Have only been on HAL a couple of times, and I have a question for you veterans!  I saw earlier this month there was a sale which included bev packages (and WiFi) on cruises less than 22 days in length.  We are considering the Grand South American voyage in Jan 2023 for 74 days.  74 days without the drink package is a big ask for me!  And it would be very expensive to purchase it!

Anyone know if HAL ever offers the bev pkg on long duration cruises?  We thought we might wait to book until we see that.

Thanks

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

4 minutes ago, rebdunn said:

Have only been on HAL a couple of times, and I have a question for you veterans!  I saw earlier this month there was a sale which included bev packages (and WiFi) on cruises less than 22 days in length.  We are considering the Grand South American voyage in Jan 2023 for 74 days.  74 days without the drink package is a big ask for me!  And it would be very expensive to purchase it!

Anyone know if HAL ever offers the bev pkg on long duration cruises?  We thought we might wait to book until we see that.

Thanks

Not on Grand cruises

[Hlitner]

HAL does offer drink package promotions on quite a few long cruises.  That being said, those drink package promotions are not free and the price of the cruise is normally increased for the promotions and often reduced once the promotion ends.  Once upon a time we had a 42 Oosterdam cruise booked (transpacific, Australia, NZ) with the beverage package.  Once the promotion ended we were able to "reprice" our booking, save nearly $11,000 (that is a lot of booze) and give up that promotion.  

 

We have always suggested that cruisers look at their own spending habits (based on experience) and price-out the value of packages based on their real value to you....not the value assessed by the cruise lines.  So, for example, if a couple spends an average of $70 per day (per couple) and a drink package is valued (by the cruise line) at $140 it is not really worth $140 to you.   I also have a big problem with the available wines by the glass on HAL (which is what you get with the drink package).   Packages (on any cruise line) are not always as good as they might appear.

 

Hank

[Tampa Girl]

I have never heard of a drink package on a HAL Grand Cruise.  However, if it is any help, we have found that we do not imbibe as much on these long cruises, so your cost w/o the drink passage will probably be considerably less than if you are on a shorter cruise.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

I have never heard of a drink package on a HAL Grand Cruise.  However, if it is any help, we have found that we do not imbibe as much on these long cruises, so your cost w/o the drink passage will probably be considerably less than if you are on a shorter cruise.

We had an interesting discussion with a friend who is a hotel manager on another major cruise line.  He explained the obvious which is that cruisers drink a lot more on sea days then on port days.  And when there are many long port days in a row the drinking really goes down because passengers are exhausted, drink less, and go to sleep earlier.  Since the cruise lines track beverage sales with sophisticated software they realize that they make more profit selling drink packages on cruises that have fewer sea days.  So I guess since Grand Cruises always have many sea days this is a consideration.  On the other hand, they have offered the beverage packages on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise which, in many ways, is similar to a Grand Voyage.  And when we booked long cruises involving transpacific itineraries they did push drink packages.  

 

For 3,4 and 5 Star Mariners HAL has always offered nice discounts on wine packages.   For us it makes a lot of sense to buy wine packages with our 50% discount and then pay for our other drinks.  It is actually a lot cheaper then buying a drink package.  If we were a 1 or 2 Star Mariner we might give more consideration to the drink package.

 

Hank

[rebdunn]

Thanks Hlitner and Tampa Girl for the help!

I am a bit ashamed to admit that we have gone thru the calculations, and we have found that we generally do get our money's worth with the packages.  I have a fancy coffee in the morning, my husband and I may have a beer or glass of wine with lunch, a cocktail before dinner, wine with dinner, a port with dessert, then a bottle of beer on the balcony before bed.  Wow.  That sounds bad.

Anyway, you guys are right that I probably wouldn't maintain that pace on a 74 day cruise, don't drink as much on port days, and I could be more conscious of my drinking - but for me it is also worth something to not have to think about it at all when I order a nice glass of port.  If I was paying by the drink, I probably wouldn't order it.  

I realize that is irrational.

Anyway, I believe that the sale earlier this month included bev pkg, gratuities, WiFi, onboard credit and a discount on shore excursions.  Yes, the prices went up if you took that offer (you could select with or without), but only about the cost of the bev pkg and gratuities.  The others were thrown in.  Seemed worth it to me. But not available on the 74 day Grand Voyage.

Considering we are thinking of shelling out a huge amount of $ to go on the Grand voyage, I guess that I shouldn't be so worried about it.  My dear husband says that if the sale doesn't happen, we will take a shorter cruise to Antarctica and the Chilean fjords - then the Amazon some other year.  Of course, that would still be wonderful - but the dream of 2 and a half months on board!!!

 

[Hlitner]

That last post made me smile.  DW and I can give you two a run for the money.  I am a coffee nut and will always get a few cappuccinos every day.  But since we are 5 Star Mariners (and it is the same for 4 Star) we only pay 50% of the cost for the expresso drinks.  On sea days I do love my Bloody Mary and DW will usually get a mimosa.  At lunch I will often have a beer (or wine if we go to the MDR) and DW might enjoy wine.  If its a nice day and we are in our deck chairs there might be a need for another victual during the afternoon.  Then prior to dinner we always enjoy "cocktail time" and then there is always wine with dinner (we generally go through half a bottle per night).  After dinner we both enjoy some adult beverages and since we are late night folks (on HAL that means staying up past 9:30) I will often have some late evening Cognac.    With all that we still cannot justify paying $60+ per person/day for a package.  If we can get a package for about $40 per person/day then its OK on HAL.   While some other lines like Celebrity often have good deals on drink packages we have not been able to find that with HAL.  Perhaps this will change in the future.

 

For serious drinking we have found much more to like on some other cruise lines.  MSC's Yacht Club is really nice since it comes with an excellent drink package with a terrific selection.  Seabourn was amazing since that line is all-inclusive.  Seabourn includes decent caviar (no extra charge) which is something I really enjoy.  Buying caviar on most cruise lines can cost over $50 per portion.  On Seabourn I would just ask the bar tender and a few minutes later a big platter appeared with caviar and all the little extras that make it such a treat.   No charge.

 

We generally book our HAL cruises through a favorite high volume discount cruise agency.  They generally offer multiple price options for HAL including the usual promotions which are enhanced with generous OBCs (which you don't get when you book direct with HAL).  But this agency also offers what I call a "bare bones" price for HAL which is a heavily discounted price on the cruise with zero amenities.   When we do the math that bare bones deal is hard to beat.   A friend of mine argues that you save lots of money at the front end (before the cruise) but you do end up with a pretty big onboard bill at the end of the cruise.  For us we still save a lot of money (measured in thousands on longer cruises).  My cruise agent tells me a lot of her customers would rather pay more money up front and have no bills after the cruise.  They do this even if it costs them more money (total).

 

Hank

[Sunriseatsea]

Hank - I know you can’t name the high volume discount cruise agency, but a few clever hints would be appreciated 😉!

[KirkNC]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

.  My cruise agent tells me a lot of her customers would rather pay more money up front and have no bills after the cruise.  They do this even if it costs them more money (total).

 

Hank

As a retired CPA, this approach has always baffled me.