Complimentary drinks in Neptune Lounge?????

[kdakda]

Did this this "complimentary drinks test" get implemented fleet-wide????   (see below)

 

This was posted several months ago:

"We are on Oosterdam right now; this is our first cruise since covid.  We were quite surprised to find out there are complimentary drinks in the Neptune lounge for a couple hours every evening (not just on the first night of the cruise).  There is a decent selection of wines, liquors, beers, and soft drinks."

[schildiams]

Is this only for suite guests?

[oakridger]

Neptune Lounge is only for Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests.  Not for Vista and Signature Suite guests. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by oakridger

[Torquer]

I happened to be the OP back in August that experienced the free drinks in the Neptune Lounge on Oosterdam.  It really worked out well and all the guests seemed very pleased by it.  I also have not seen anyone post about it on other ships, so I am thinking it is not going to spread across the fleet.  If so, it is really too bad since it put HAL more in line with the way other cruise lines give free drinks to their top suite guests.  Oh well...perhaps this new thread will turn up some new information about the topic from others.

[kdakda]

I haven't read anyone else post about this either, which is disappointing.   We love Holland, but don't feel they deliver that much for the price of a Neptune Suite.  

[BobbiSox]

I've stayed in many Neptune Suites on many different ships and never have  been offered complimentary drinks. They did have a welcome party with complimenty champagne. It never concerned me, but DH drinks alcohol, so it would be nice if they gave away at least a few drinks to those of us who pay that higher price for a nicer experience.

Edited October 27, 2022 by BobbiSox
typos

[Torquer]

FYI...the original thread about Oosterdam and free drinks in the Neptune Lounge is this one:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2872521-oosterdam-testing-new-perk-in-neptune-lounge

[Arizona Wildcat]

Suite prices have skyrocketed as so many have lots of FCC to "use or lose".  Value of Suites is in each user's opinion.

[kazu]

I will be on the Oosterdam in a week and will post on my LIVE thread if there are free drinks in the NL.

[Ibis]

Yes, during our time on Oosterdam from September 28 to October 22 wine, beer, other drinks were complimentary in the Neptune Lounge in the evening from approximately 5:00 til 8:00. We thought it was a very nice addition to Suite amenities, particularly since so many have disappeared over the past few years. We will be moving from a Vista to a Neptune suite on Volendam on Saturday November 5 and very eager to see if this new perk will be available. 

[JanDom]

Hi, will be on Oosterdam in September.

Has anyone been in the neptune

lounge the last month and are some drinks

still included ?

Thanks 

[Torquer]

8 minutes ago, JanDom said:

Hi, will be on Oosterdam in September.

Has anyone been in the neptune

lounge the last month and are some drinks

still included ?

Thanks 

The only time we have ever seen free alcoholic drinks in the Neptune Lounge was our cruise on Oosterdam in August 2022.  It is very unfortunate that this was never propagated to other ships in the fleet.  HAL is very much behind other cruise lines in this regard for their upper-level suites.

[JanDom]

We got a good price (compared to a balcony cabin) for a Neptune suite.

i do not drink much alcohol, maybe two glasses of wine a week, so the signature drinking package is not the best choice for me. 
my husband will be happy to get some beer or wine included before going to dinner… 

[Tampa Girl]

1 hour ago, JanDom said:

Hi, will be on Oosterdam in September.

Has anyone been in the neptune

lounge the last month and are some drinks

still included ?

Thanks 

 

It was not included on the Oosterdam in October, 2023, although our HIA package was usable in the NL.  We simply signed a sheet in the NL when we poured the drink.

[cruisinsusin]

Same on recent Nieuw Amsterdam- honor bar present with form to sign for drinks taken

[Hobar]

Will be in a Neptune Suite in March 2024, so hopefully I will remember to post during or after cruise.  (Often times I am too busy during cruise to go on CC, and after cruise I take a break from CC.)

[canadianbear]

For our cruise in November on the Eurodam if you had the HIA there is a form to fill out in Neptune lounge.  Otherwise it’s the honor bar. We found it very convenient as we could grab cans of pop for our fridge using the form with HIA. 
 

 

[JanDom]

…we will then use the mini bar and the wine package because we will get discounts as we are 4 star members ….

so sad they did not introduce it Fleet whide 

[CruiserBruce]

While I like and support the idea of a complimentary happy hour in the Neptune Lounge,  I understand the other side. First, it's a smaller space. Secondly,  the concierges are not bar staff. It would require one, or maybe 2 bar staff at probably the busiest time of the day for bar staff. I am not sure the facility can support much more than the already provided limited alcohol service.

[Real NHDOC]

There was probably some confusion over the change in policy at HAL that led to this happening because I have never heard of any complementary happy hour in the Neptune lounge.
 

Pre covid you could use HIA to get your included drinks in the NL but for a short period in 2021-2022 HAL implemented a policy that the honor bar in NL was excluded from HIA. There was a great deal of pushback so sometime in 2022 it was officially changed back to being included in HIA.
 

When we were getting our drinks after that final change the concierge wasn’t requiring us to fill out the honor bar form, they just said take your own drinks. It’s possible that people without HIA were under the impression that it applied to everyone (HIA and non HIA guests) but I think it only applies to those guests with HIA. 

[CruiserBruce]

8 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

There was probably some confusion over the change in policy at HAL that led to this happening because I have never heard of any complementary happy hour in the Neptune lounge.
 

Pre covid you could use HIA to get your included drinks in the NL but for a short period in 2021-2022 HAL implemented a policy that the honor bar in NL was excluded from HIA. There was a great deal of pushback so sometime in 2022 it was officially changed back to being included in HIA.
 

When we were getting our drinks after that final change the concierge wasn’t requiring us to fill out the honor bar form, they just said take your own drinks. It’s possible that people without HIA were under the impression that it applied to everyone (HIA and non HIA guests) but I think it only applies to those guests with HIA. 

Oosterdam did a test run of some type of complimentary happy hour.

[Real NHDOC]

6 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Oosterdam did a test run of some type of complimentary happy hour.

As I was trying to say I am thinking that this “test run” was really a misinterpretation of the change in policy that was taking place during 2022 when HAL went back to including HIA coverage in the NL. It wouldn’t be the first time that the crew misunderstood what was being said and mistakenly thought it was “free drinks” instead of just being included in HIA. It would have been odd to have had HAL go from not letting HIA guests get drinks to everyone getting free drinks, though I suppose it is possible. 

[Torquer]

4 hours ago, Real NHDOC said:

As I was trying to say I am thinking that this “test run” was really a misinterpretation of the change in policy that was taking place during 2022 when HAL went back to including HIA coverage in the NL. It wouldn’t be the first time that the crew misunderstood what was being said and mistakenly thought it was “free drinks” instead of just being included in HIA. It would have been odd to have had HAL go from not letting HIA guests get drinks to everyone getting free drinks, though I suppose it is possible. 

No that is not correct.  It was an actual test being done on the Oosterdam.  The NL concierge was quite explicit on this point and told us we should write on the survey how much we liked this perk so that it might become a standard fleet-wide perk.

 

See my first post in this thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2872521-oosterdam-testing-new-perk-in-neptune-lounge