"Have it all" vs a la carte pricing

[zgscl]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

That could be true.  I don't drink on a short cruise so for me the drink portion has absolutely no value and usually on my short cruises I am in familiar territory and will not take a shore excursion.  

 

But having this discussion made me review all of the details and it seems that there has been a price drop on my cruise - so Yippee I will get a discount today

Yay for a price drop!! I always run the numbers and see what makes sense. I think it does depend some on cabin category and length of cruise. 

[Florida_gal_50]

54 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I went back and looked at my 21 day cruise with balcony and I agree with you, the difference was negligible and we selected HIA on that cruise.

I think hal really wants to push the have it all.  Like you I’m not much of a drinker.  Yesterday I was off the ship for at least 7 hours.  I had one Perrier and two drinks all day. I’ve got to try harder today 😛.  I do like not having to think about just having random things to drink.

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The poster you quoted was correct in my experience. There is usually not much difference in that pricing and have it all unless you have Mariner pricing or it’s closer to the cruise.  I often ask for that pricing and I’m always dissapointed.

I have always been disappointed by the mid tier fare too. But I also usually book a Neptune and always 7+ nights so not sure how the numbers pencil out on other categories. On my 5 night coming up there is no HIA fare and because I am already after final payment I booked the non-refundable flash sale. I think everyone really has to run the numbers for themselves though, the calculation changes so much depending on what one’s plans for shorex, drinks and WiFi are. I guess with a ton of OBC it could be a loss too if there is enough to cover everything already. But then again you can’t use OBC to pre-book 

[rkacruiser]

On 3/18/2022 at 10:21 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I think hal really wants to push the have it all.  Like you I’m not much of a drinker.  Yesterday I was off the ship for at least 7 hours.  I had one Perrier and two drinks all day. I’ve got to try harder today 😛.  I do like not having to think about just having random things to drink.

 

I do enjoy my adult beverage drinks when I want to order them as well as any others that I might choose to do.  I do not appreciate the added stress on my "vacation" by feeling that I really ought to keep count of the number of those drinks in order to get my money's worth by buying the package.  

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I do enjoy my adult beverage drinks when I want to order them as well as any others that I might choose to do.  I do not appreciate the added stress on my "vacation" by feeling that I really ought to keep count of the number of those drinks in order to get my money's worth by buying the package.  

LOL.  So just this week we did some of the math as it applies to a 28 day booked Asian cruise.  We booked that cruise at an attractive price because it has been rolled over for 3 years (due to Asian cruises being cancelled).  We do have a good price on a SS but that includes no additional amenities other then some OBC (much of it refundable).   Now HAL offers us the Have it All Package for $45 per person/day.  DW and I generally drink two glasses of wine at dinner, have at least one pre-dinner cocktail, and generally 2 (or more) after dinner cocktails (we generally stay up late).  In addition, if we are on a sea day or are not getting off the ship until late in the morning we will have a morning Bloody Mary or a Mimosa.  If on board for lunch we might have a beer or a glass of wine.  

 

Getting back to that $45 per passenger day I backed out $10 for the surf WiFi package.  They also give us $300 per person shore excursion credits (we have lots of ports so will us it).  That $300 equates to about $10 per person/day (this is a 28 day cruise).  So if we take the $45 and subtract $10 for Internet (we would buy that package anyway) and another $10 for the excursion credit we are essentially paying $25 per person/day for the drink package.  Two glasses of wine (at dinner) and one cocktail would easily exceed that price so we think, for us, it is a good deal

 

One other interesting calculation.  Since part of our OBC (hundreds of dollars) is refundable we are likely to get a few hundred dollars back at the end of the cruise.  We recently came off a Princess cruise where it was a similar situation (we had a drink/internet package) and lots of OBC.  A few weeks after the cruise we received a check from Princess in excess of $800!  Nice.

 

 

Hank

[Mary229]

On 3/18/2022 at 9:21 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I think hal really wants to push the have it all.  Like you I’m not much of a drinker.  Yesterday I was off the ship for at least 7 hours.  I had one Perrier and two drinks all day. I’ve got to try harder today 😛.  I do like not having to think about just having random things to drink.

Yes, I agree.  I think for me i see differences depending on length of cruise, cabin type, who  I am sailing with and their preferences or if I am solo.  It is a pencil to paper moment.  Often I book solo only finding a companion nearer to final payment so a refundable fare is a must. 

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Yes, I agree.  I think for me i see differences depending on length of cruise, cabin type, who  I am sailing with and their preferences or if I am solo.  It is a pencil to paper moment.  Often I book solo only finding a companion nearer to final payment so a refundable fare is a must. 

Although we think the package makes sense for us (read my previous post) we do think it is not a good thing for many other HAL cruisers.  So lets be honest about longer HAL cruises.  The line attracts an older clientele .  Although I am in my 70s there have been HAL cruises where I counted myself among the younger crowd onboard :).  But what have we seen on our many HAL days?  Folks line up at 5pm to have dinner, go to an early show, and are generally in their cabin by 9:30.  When we were on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise DW and I would close down the piano bar (had Barry from Boston) most evenings around 11:45.  By 11 there were generally no more than 10 cruisers in that bar.  The HAL fans are not about late nights and lots of drinking (when a drink package makes sense).  They are early to bed and early to rise.

 

Even when we have had a livelier crowds that might stick around for the last set of the BB KIng Group, we never noticed those folks gulping down a lot of adult beverages.  15 drinks a day?  I doubt if HAL has a major problem with folks hitting that max.

 

Hank

[ScoutDiver]

I am young by Holland American standards.   I chose them for an up coming Alaskan cruise, because I did not want a party boat.  

 

I can not imagine more than 1 alcoholic drink a day.  15 indicates to me that the person has a problem.   I do not want them wrecking my trip.

 

Seaborne is too expensive and spends too much on marketing.    

 

I wanted to go back to Glacier Bay.

 

NCL and even Celebrity just  are sort of turnoffs.  RCL ships are too big and are really party boats.   Alaska is the destination and not  the ship.

 

I am going to spend a few days in Whistler, BC for more scenery before the cruise.  

 

I might consider Seaborne, but not as a Solo.

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by ScoutDiver

[Florida_gal_50]

10 minutes ago, ScoutDiver said:

I am young by Holland American standards.   I chose them for an up coming Alaskan cruise, because I did not want a party boat.  

 

I can not imagine more than 1 alcoholic drink a day.  15 indicates to me that the person has a problem.   I do not want them wrecking my trip.

 

Seaborne is too expensive and spends too much on marketing.    

 

I wanted to go back to Glacier Bay.

 

NCL and even Celebrity just  are sort of turnoffs.  RCL ships are too big and are really party boats.   Alaska is the destination and not  the ship.

 

I am going to spend a few days in Whistler, BC for more scenery before the cruise.  

 

I might consider Seaborne, but not as a Solo.

 

15 drinks is more than I would drink in 3 days but I have read people have 5 or 6 coffees first think.  Personally I'd go to the  lido.

[DaveOKC]

The first time we had a Signature Beverage package we thought it was 15 drinks for the two of us, and we never even exceded that!  

[trixiee]

I like the HIA because it offers me choice.  Once in a while I enjoy a latte, and perhaps a mimosa for breakfast if we’re feeling celebratory.  We generally take 1 vacation per year, and I don’t like to feel like I’m being nickle and dimed- I like to treat myself when I’m on vacation.  I don’t want to worry about “what time is happy hour? And which bar is it in”? 
If I want to take a couple of cans of water ashore, I can.  If I want to have a beer with my lunch, I can.  If I want a pre-dinner, with dinner and post-dinner drink, I can!  I would never (I don’t think!) go over 15 drinks per day however I’m happy to pre-pay for the HIA just so that I don’t have to hear that Ching, Ching in my head every time I order a drink.

[AFNavigator]

On 3/19/2022 at 9:02 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

15 drinks is more than I would drink in 3 days but I have read people have 5 or 6 coffees first think.  Personally I'd go to the  lido.

In addition to non-restaurant specialty coffees (and teas), the packages also apply to soft drinks, juices, canned water, mocktails, etc.,  and even milkshakes.  If it's a hot sea day, or if you want to take some soda or water with you on a port stop, you actually can put a pretty big dent in that 15/day limit some days before you even touch an alcoholic drink.

[Trapper44]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:26 PM, trixiee said:

I like the HIA because it offers me choice.  Once in a while I enjoy a latte, and perhaps a mimosa for breakfast if we’re feeling celebratory.  We generally take 1 vacation per year, and I don’t like to feel like I’m being nickle and dimed- I like to treat myself when I’m on vacation.  I don’t want to worry about “what time is happy hour? And which bar is it in”? 
If I want to take a couple of cans of water ashore, I can.  If I want to have a beer with my lunch, I can.  If I want a pre-dinner, with dinner and post-dinner drink, I can!  I would never (I don’t think!) go over 15 drinks per day however I’m happy to pre-pay for the HIA just so that I don’t have to hear that Ching, Ching in my head every time I order a drink.

That is exactly why we have gotten the HIA the last two cruises. As Hlitner said in a previous post by the time you subtract the dining package, the internet, and the excursion credit the drink package is not costing you the normal $45 per day. I just spent thousands of dollars on the cruise and I don't want to worry about am I drinking enough for my money spent. I have it so I can have a couple of glasses of wine, and not worry about cost if I have a beer at lunch or a drink during trivia etc. It is a personal choice to have it or not, same as an inside cabin, a balcony, or a suite. 

[jeh10641]

I am not an HIA subscriber. No way can my wife and I drink 15 drinks/person daily. She may have one special coffee (a la carte) every two or three days. We are not soda drinkers. WIFI is an iffy proposition for me since I use my tablet only to read books (downloaded) and to check email. I try to book shore excursions with locals but may buy one or two from HAL. We are generally not specialty dining fans but on our Rotterdam trip we did try all four with great success but I had two freebies so only had to pay for two.

 

For an 18-day cruise I would heartily recommend looking into a laundry package. On our 11-day trip it was $77.00 for our cabin (inside Main Deck) and we sent out clothes almost every day. That way we could pack less.

[Mary229]

For the sake of completeness there is actually a 4th fare category - the Future Cruise Credit - that you buy onboard.  You can then get the very lowest fare with a refundable deposit.  Again, you can “buy” the HIA package later if you change your mind 

[pmjnh]

43 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

For the sake of completeness there is actually a 4th fare category - the Future Cruise Credit - that you buy onboard.  You can then get the very lowest fare with a refundable deposit.  Again, you can “buy” the HIA package later if you change your mind 

Thank you, yes, we plan to book with FCC

[silversneakers]

Question:  If you have a NRF and have the HIA is the HIA portion refundable?

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, silversneakers said:

Question:  If you have a NRF and have the HIA is the HIA portion refundable?

HIA includes a refundable deposit. Perhaps I am not fully understanding the question 

[silversneakers]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

HIA includes a refundable deposit. Perhaps I am not fully understanding the question 

Is the HIA a separate transaction OR part of the fare?

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, silversneakers said:

Is the HIA a separate transaction OR part of the fare?

It is part of the fare and the promotion includes a refundable deposit unless you are past final payment date

Edited March 22, 2022 by Mary229

[Mary229]

@silversneakers if you are past final payment and still more than 30 days out you may be able to invoke the Covid cancellation policy and get full credit.  I don’t know if that credit is refund or FCC.  

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

@silversneakers if you are past final payment and still more than 30 days out you may be able to invoke the Covid cancellation policy and get full credit.  I don’t know if that credit is refund or FCC.  

I was recently told that it would be FCC if I cancelled under the 30 day offer.

[MTAK]

On 3/19/2022 at 8:02 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

15 drinks is more than I would drink in 3 days but I have read people have 5 or 6 coffees first think.  Personally I'd go to the  lido.

5 or 6 coffees first thing? Holy cow, I'd be a mess if I drank that much coffee. More so than 5 or 6 beers I think.

 

15 drinks per day is a lot for me whether alcoholic or not. That would be a beverage every hour or so.

Edited March 22, 2022 by MTAK

[Florida_gal_50]

59 minutes ago, MTAK said:

5 or 6 coffees first thing? Holy cow, I'd be a mess if I drank that much coffee. More so than 5 or 6 beers I think.

 

15 drinks per day is a lot for me whether alcoholic or not. That would be a beverage every hour or so.

Me too.  I'd be buzzed with all that coffee.  I do drink a lot of water in a day but usually that comes from the cabana or the tap.  I buy very little of it.  I generally don't drink until dinner but if I do it's perrier or a virgin caesar. 

[Florida_gal_50]

5 hours ago, silversneakers said:

Is the HIA a separate transaction OR part of the fare?

Actually it can be a separate transaction but that seems new to me.  At the tail end of my first week of my B2B I received an offer to upgrade to HIA for $45 USD per day.  I decided to do it even though it's probably more than I got out of it.  It's nice not to have to think about what you are drinking.  I know someone else that received this offer so I'm wondering if it's going out to people that are close in on their cruises.  It would have cost me much more to buy it with the cruise.