Updated drink package information

[CruiserBruce]

28 minutes ago, neeuqdrazil said:

I'll be sailing with HAL for the first time on Zuiderdam to Alaska in just over a month, and they're offering an 'Unlimited Coca-Cola Package' that mentions something about a specialty cup to be used in conjunction with the promotion - does this mean that you have to use the cup, or just that you can use the cup? 

Pretty sure the specialty cup is on the Pinnacle class ships only (not Zuiderdam) for their soft drink machines.

[MikeD4134]

7 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

The attachment you provided clearly states the 15 beverage limit and that this includes soft drinks and coffee and .....

I just read that attachment and it very clearly states that the Elite has unlimited non alcholic drinks, the limit only applies to alchol.

[lderochi]

17 hours ago, DC1andDC2 said:

 if they were upgrading to Elite from the HIA Signature that the unlimited non-alcohol drinks does not apply in this case and they would count towards the 15 limit. 1968873714_071521-BeveragePackage.pdf
1.19 MB · 28 downloads

I can’t imagine that would be the case. That would require them to create an additional program for upgraded Elite vs regular Elite. I guess nothing should surprise me but that seems ridiculous. 

[KroozNut]

30 minutes ago, MikeD4134 said:

I just read that attachment and it very clearly states that the Elite has unlimited non alcholic drinks, the limit only applies to alchol.

 

But the basic SBP package DOES include "zero proof" beverages (water, soda coffees, etc) in the 15/day limit.

[DC1andDC2]

14 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

The attachment you provided clearly states the 15 beverage limit and that this includes soft drinks and coffee and .....

 

Under terms and conditions, it clearly says "Elite Package includes all beverages up to $15 in value and includes unlimited Zero-Proof beverages."  I will be showing this document if they tell us non-alcoholic bevies count towards the 15 limit.  I have read many peoples posts indicating that this is what happened to them or they decided not to upgrade to Elite because they were told incorrect info onboard.

 

[SUESEABE]

@DC1andDC2 That is how I see it in terms and conditions and according to an older post on the subject that is indeed correct.

[Unlvswezel]

FWIW, I upgraded from the signature to the Elite on the Kdam in December for this reason. All NA drinks were unlimited and 15 alcohol drinks were included under $15.

[RedIguana]

On 3/19/2022 at 2:00 PM, Unlvswezel said:

FWIW, I upgraded from the signature to the Elite on the Kdam in December for this reason. All NA drinks were unlimited and 15 alcohol drinks were included under $15

On the March 13 sailing on the Rotterdam, guest services would not allow me to upgrade from the have it all signature BP to the Elite (I tried before ever using it). I did not try at a bar.

[Unlvswezel]

3 hours ago, RedIguana said:

On the March 13 sailing on the Rotterdam, guest services would not allow me to upgrade from the have it all signature BP to the Elite (I tried before ever using it). I did not try at a bar.

I think it has to be done from the Beverage Director prior purchasing any beverages. That’s what we were told so we went to a bar and asked for a director. 

[rochelle_s]

19 hours ago, Unlvswezel said:

I think it has to be done from the Beverage Director prior purchasing any beverages. That’s what we were told so we went to a bar and asked for a director. 

On the Eurodam in November I stopped at the Pinnacle Grill when I boarded to make a reservation, directly across the hall was a young lady selling drink packages.  She upgraded my drinks package manually with a slip of paper I signed. She mentioned it would be processed in the computer after sail-away. I then headed to my cabin where I found my room key, dropped my carry on and headed to lunch where I had no problem ordering beverages. 
 

Any higher priced drinks I might have had never appeared on my bill but funny enough for the first three days whenever I ordered sparkling water it did appear on my bill, which guest services eventually removed.

 

Perhaps the issue with guest services not being able to upgrade was the fact the ship was still in port, and the possibility of taxes being applied might have been a problem.

 

Rochelle

 

 

[strickerj]

I didn't see this anywhere on HAL's website or my confirmation, but I assume some drinks are free even without a beverage package (e.g. tap water, brewed coffee or tea, and maybe milk or juice with breakfast)? If so, I assume these don't count toward the SBP's 15-drink limit? Also, are sodas canned or fountain? If fountain, are refills (during the same sitting) included, or does each one count toward your limit?

 

Answers to these questions will dictate whether I think this is a reasonable change or I'm outraged. 😉

[HAL4NOW]

1 minute ago, strickerj said:

I didn't see this anywhere on HAL's website or my confirmation, but I assume some drinks are free even without a beverage package (e.g. tap water, brewed coffee or tea, and maybe milk or juice with breakfast)? If so, I assume these don't count toward the SBP's 15-drink limit? Also, are sodas canned or fountain? If fountain, are refills (during the same sitting) included, or does each one count toward your limit?

 

Answers to these questions will dictate whether I think this is a reasonable change or I'm outraged. 😉

We have sailed with and without a drink package. At breakfast we were able to have milk, chocolate milk, various juice choices, water, tea, etc. included, whether we had a drink package or not. At lunch/dinner water, tea, and lemonade were available without the drink package. I assume coffee is also included, but we don't drink coffee, so cannot say for sure.

[strickerj]

1 minute ago, HAL4NOW said:

We have sailed with and without a drink package. At breakfast we were able to have milk, chocolate milk, various juice choices, water, tea, etc. included, whether we had a drink package or not. At lunch/dinner water, tea, and lemonade were available without the drink package. I assume coffee is also included, but we don't drink coffee, so cannot say for sure.

Hope so, the Mrs. and I need our coffee. 🙂

[roxybear135]

49 minutes ago, strickerj said:

Hope so, the Mrs. and I need our coffee. 🙂

Regular coffee is free of charge and you can get it in the dining room, buffet, or with room service.  Surprisingly, room service had the best free coffee (we usually got specialty coffee from Explorations Cafe before heading to breakfast in Club Orange because the coffee there was vile).  If you want any specialty coffee, you have to pay for it or use one of the drinks included in your beverage package if you have one.

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, strickerj said:

tap water, brewed coffee or tea, and maybe milk or juice with breakfast? If so, I assume these don't count toward the SBP's 15-drink limit?

Correct!  Water, Iced Tea, Coffee and Tea are available in Lido for close to 24 hours a day. Lemonade is available at meal times from the server. All are free and Drinks Package is not required.

I have been know to finish breakfast and take a glass or two of juice back to the room and put in the 'fridge' for later in the day again, no Drinks Package required.

 

[Georgie562]

Any actual update on the bevy packages?

So elite is still 15 drinks only no matter alcoholic or non alcoholic

[KroozNut]

I believe the consensus is that the Elite package only counts non-alcoholic beverages in the 15 beverage limit, while the SBP counts all beverages (including non-alcoholic) in the limit.

[CruiserBruce]

6 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

I believe the consensus is that the Elite package only counts non-alcoholic beverages in the 15 beverage limit, while the SBP counts all beverages (including non-alcoholic) in the limit.

Think it's the other way around. The Elite package has unlimited non-alcoholic beverages,  but 15 total alcoholic beverages. 

 

 

 

[KroozNut]

4 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Think it's the other way around. The Elite package has unlimited non-alcoholic beverages,  but 15 total alcoholic beverages. 

 

 

 

 

You're right, I guess I had it backwards..😳

[VMax1700]

8 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

You're right, I guess I had it backwards..😳

That's ok.  Sometimes HAL does too! 😉

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Once again - why does HAL make all this so complicated and difficult and why are they seemingly unable to get all of their staff to follow one set of protocols?  Never mind the fact that they are the ONLY mainstream line to count non-alcoholic beverages towards a daily limit.  Sister lines Princess and Carnival - 15 alcoholic, unlimited non-alcoholic.  Celebrity, Royal, NCL no limit on # of drinks per day whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic.  HAL is non-competitive as a result of bad and inconsistent policies/procedures.

 

I love the HAL product but WILL NOT sail with them again until they fix this issue.

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by AtlantaCruiser72

[KroozNut]

10 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Once again - why does HAL make all this so complicated and difficult and why are they seemingly unable to get all of their staff to follow one set of protocols?  Never mind the fact that they are the ONLY mainstream line to count non-alcoholic beverages towards a daily limit.  Sister lines Princess and Carnival - 15 alcoholic, unlimited non-alcoholic.  Celebrity, Royal, NCL no limit on # of drinks per day whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic.  HAL is non-competitive as a result of bad and inconsistent policies/procedures.

 

I love the HAL product but WILL NOT sail with them again until they fix this issue.

 

 

Trust me, I feel your pain. 😕 But I'm not quite at the point where I'm ready to jump ship (pun not intended). Not yet anyway..

[Georgie562]

13 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Once again - why does HAL make all this so complicated and difficult and why are they seemingly unable to get all of their staff to follow one set of protocols?  Never mind the fact that they are the ONLY mainstream line to count non-alcoholic beverages towards a daily limit.  Sister lines Princess and Carnival - 15 alcoholic, unlimited non-alcoholic.  Celebrity, Royal, NCL no limit on # of drinks per day whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic.  HAL is non-competitive as a result of bad and inconsistent policies/procedures.

 

I love the HAL product but WILL NOT sail with them again until they fix this issue.

 

It really is a buzz kill (he he)

Only reason why I'm cruising HAL next month is because I got an awesome casino deal that I couldn't pass up. But their beverage policy will certainly push me away from booking future HAL cruises.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

13 hours ago, KroozNut said:

 

Trust me, I feel your pain. 😕 But I'm not quite at the point where I'm ready to jump ship (pun not intended). Not yet anyway..

Unless HAL have a truly unique itinerary, at this point I have to go where I feel my spend as a consumer gives me good value, with the inclusions I prefer and polices that I deem fair. In the near term that appears to be lines like Princess, Celebrity and even in some cases NCL. 

[Kiwifan56]

Hi, has anyone had any luck upgrading to Elite onboard?

 

Cheers, Russell.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Kiwifan56
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