"Have it all" vs a la carte pricing

[Mary229]

23 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

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.

On my 7 day cruise we were discussing earlier in this thread my sis wanted HIA, I saw the price drop and we were offered a cheap HIA .  The actual back room was a rebooking but we kept our room, other perks and air. 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

On my 7 day cruise we were discussing earlier in this thread my sis wanted HIA, I saw the price drop and we were offered a cheap HIA .  The actual back room was a rebooking but we kept our room, other perks and air. 

That's good.  For my cruise I got decent pricing as I booked on a mariner rate.  Over time the rate dropped drastically but the have it all never did.  It would have cost me around another $200 more than I ended up paying in the last minute upgrade.

[GeorgesGal]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:02 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.

Yes, that 15 drinks per day includes specialty coffees (I need my two cappuccinos in the morning!), sodas and bottled waters, so it's easy to reach that max number when you drink these non-alcoholic drinks as well!

[ScoutDiver]

5 expressos, 4 Cappuccinos, 3 red bull or equivalent,  3 diet cokes, and iced tea for dinner   🤪

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, ScoutDiver said:

5 expressos, 4 Cappuccinos, 3 red bull or equivalent,  3 diet cokes, and iced tea for dinner   🤪

I’d be wired for sound.  You don’t have to pay for iced tea.  

[USN59-79]

On 3/19/2022 at 6:02 PM, Hlitner said:

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

I think we are on the same 2023 cruise with you on the Westerdam around Japan.  Since our last one was on the same ship in 2020 and we usually cruise three months a year, we have saved up a lot of "cruise cash".  I could easily afford the HIL, but would feel bad that I was not getting my money's worth.  I generally drink 2-3 red wines before dinner and my DW only drinks white wine if we are having fish.

They haven't offered it to me, but I would probably pass if they do.

Ray

[jeh10641]

My liquid consumption runs to cranberry juice/ wife's coffee with breakfast (free), four ice teas at lunch for the two of us (free), four more ice teas at dinner (free); once every two or three days, a pina colada (shared with wife if in the Caribbean) and free water daily.  My wife may have three or four specialty coffees in 12 days. No drink package is worth that. Our travel agent got us two $50 drink packages on our last cruise (12/01/21) and we did not use all of that. Do not take a lot of ship excursions because of our particular interests/noninterest.

[pmjnh]

Thanks so much for everyone's feedback, and the lively conversation! After doing the math we decided that the beverage package was not for us. I will get the wifi package , though, because we will have many days at sea . We do like happy hour during trivia! That and wine at dinner are the really the only times we drink. We bring our own water bottles and drink from the stateroom tap. 😬 

 

 

[CruiseMark]

The HIA didn’t make sense for me for the following reasons:

1.  I don’t drink alcohol, so I could get a soda package for $66.

2.  I’m just going to Alaska, so I’ll have cell reception/Internet in port.

3.  The shore excursion $100 credit wasn’t enough to offset the overall HIA price difference. 
 

Even if I ordered all three a la carte, it would total about $266 compared to the $500+ difference for HIA.

[Crew News]

25 minutes ago, CruiseMark said:

The HIA didn’t make sense for me for the following reasons:

1.  I don’t drink alcohol, so I could get a soda package for $66.

2.  I’m just going to Alaska, so I’ll have cell reception/Internet in port.

3.  The shore excursion $100 credit wasn’t enough to offset the overall HIA price difference. 
 

Even if I ordered all three a la carte, it would total about $266 compared to the $500+ difference for HIA.

Just a note that cruise ships, upon arrival and everyone trying to use the local cell towers, tend to overwhelm the local cell system.  As passengers disperse on excursions and not use their cell phones, both internet and phone service get better.

[jeh10641]

On cruises longer than 7 days, try the prepaid laundry package. You can use it endlessly and pack less clothing. For our 12/01/21 we did it for $77 only $7/day of unlimited laundry.  We used it about every other morning. Best value I have ever had on a cruise!

 

Jim

[robertandann]

58 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

On cruises longer than 7 days, try the prepaid laundry package. You can use it endlessly and pack less clothing. For our 12/01/21 we did it for $77 only $7/day of unlimited laundry.  We used it about every other morning. Best value I have ever had on a cruise!

 

Jim

How do you sign up for the laundry package?

[jkrislc]

4 hours ago, robertandann said:

How do you sign up for the laundry package?

It's available through the cruise planner online.

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, robertandann said:

How do you sign up for the laundry package?

There is a laundry bag and list hanging in your stateroom closet.  When you fill out the list, place a checkmark in the "Unlimited" box.

[pmjnh]

9 hours ago, robertandann said:

How do you sign up for the laundry package?

You can wait til you are onboard or you can purchase the laundry package on you planner once you are booked. Look in "indulgences".