A newbie’s note on drinks packages

[lisiamc]

Hi, we are currently on Rotterdam, on our first ever Holland America cruise, and having a great time. However, the drinks package has been giving us serious headaches. I’ve learned a lot today that I wish I had known earlier in the cruise, and I’m happy to share, in case anyone else has the questions we’ve had. We bought the Have it All package before we got on board, and that includes drinks up to $11 per drink, which doesn’t go quite as far as it did before the drink prices incresed recently. On our second day, we decided to upgrade to the Elite package. I asked if the limit was still fifteen drinks, and it is. What no one explained, and I didn’t know to ask, is that the fifteen drinks limit doesn’t include non-alcoholic drinks like cappuccino, Perrier, cans of water, soft drinks, etc. (still not sure if that applies to the Signature package as well) so we’ve been carefully counting total drinks and wondering why items were unexpectedly appearing on our bill, getting upset when two drinks were charged to one card instead of one to each, etc. Well, today I went to the Customer Service desk over some charges that I didn’t understand, and discovered that only alcoholic drinks count, so we don’t need to worry as much. I don’t think we will ever come close to 15 alcoholic drinks in one day! We had some mysterious charges where a server hit the wrong key, and an extra tip that went on as a different charge, and the wrong package level was used for calculating the excess (two glasses of more expensive wine went on the card as an extra charge of $5.90 instead of $2.36) That was easily straightened out, so all is well now.

 

If I can save anyone from the confusion we’ve had, that’s my good deed for the day. Keep an eye on your account, and if you have the Elite package, you don’t have to worry about about the non-alcoholic drinks total! 

[crystalspin]

28 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

If I can save anyone from the confusion we’ve had, that’s my good deed for the day. Keep an eye on your account, and if you have the Elite package, you don’t have to worry about about the non-alcoholic drinks total! 

Thanks for confirming that the Elite's 15-count is only alcoholic drinks. There was some confusion over HAL-published descriptions earlier this year. Glad they've got it straight!

 

Another trick, for those that stay with the Signature Package, is to stock up on waters (beers or soda if you have a refrigerator) on port days when you probably won't hit the 15-mark.

 

Always a good idea to keep an eye on the account. Navigator makes it so easy! Last new years, we had more than one incidence of being charged full-price alcoholic beverages in specialty restaurants, despite having the SBP. 

[mawvkysc]

@lisiamc were there a lot of drinks just over the $11 limit? Previously when  looking at bar menus I saw very little need to upgrade. Sounds like it’s changed 

 

[oakridger]

6 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

@lisiamc were there a lot of drinks just over the $11 limit? Previously when  looking at bar menus I saw very little need to upgrade. Sounds like it’s changed 

 

 

As we have been discussing on a couple of the other current threads, "In the Past" when the drink prices for standard type drinks increased over the Beverage Package upper limit, HAL also raised the upper limit for the packages so most drinks such as martinis, margaritas, rum and cokes, etc. were within the Signature Beverage Package.  As @kazu stated in another thread today, she thinks that this is what will happen also.  If HAL does not raise the package upper limit, then I will be really angry!!!

 

That said, the package limits and prices should occur at the same time, NOT raise the limit after the drink prices go up and current cruisers are caught in the middle!! Hopefully this gets straightened out ASAP!!

 

~Nancy

[AtlantaCruiser72]

If HAL raise the drink prices so that a majority of beverage options are outside the limits of the SBP this likely will be my last cruise with them. They already have the most restrictive beverage package in the industry. Mixed with reports f significant cutbacks in the onboard product I’m starting not not look forward to sailing with them in just over a month. 
 

The continued cutbacks in the ocean cruising industry, along with increased pricing for virtually everything have led me to book my next three cruise adventures on River Cruises, which honestly I never thought would be the case. 

[POA1]

11 hours ago, lisiamc said:

If I can save anyone from the confusion we’ve had, that’s my good deed for the day. Keep an eye on your account, and if you have the Elite package, you don’t have to worry about about the non-alcoholic drinks total! 

Thanks for sharing! I did know this, but not everyone does, so it's good to share the info.

[POA1]

50 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

As we have been discussing on a couple of the other current threads, "In the Past" when the drink prices for standard type drinks increased over the Beverage Package upper limit, HAL also raised the upper limit for the packages so most drinks such as martinis, margaritas, rum and cokes, etc. were within the Signature Beverage Package.  As @kazu stated in another thread today, she thinks that this is what will happen also.  If HAL does not raise the package upper limit, then I will be really angry!!!

 

That said, the package limits and prices should occur at the same time, NOT raise the limit after the drink prices go up and current cruisers are caught in the middle!! Hopefully this gets straightened out ASAP!!

 

~Nancy

Nancy - We just got off the Nieuw Statendam on Sunday, a mere four days ago. We were on board a HAL ship, plying the same Caribbean waters as the Rotterdam was when the alleged price increases were taking place.

 

Were there drinks over $11? You betcha. There have always been a few cocktails over the SBP limit. There probably always will be.

 

You know what was over the limit? Some cognacs, some high end Scotch, some tequilas, and some wines by the glass.

 

You know what was over the SBP limit in 2014, roughly ten years ago when I started writing about the beverage packages?  Some cognacs, some high end Scotch, some tequilas, and some wines by the glass.

 

The big change was that you didn't used to be able to pay the difference. Now you can pay a buck or two for that one or two beverages that you would like to have - but they're over the SBP cap. Before the change, you either upgraded to the Elite Beverage Package or you paid full price.

 

Were there pictures of the drink menus with these new, higher prices. (I'm asking because I don't honestly know what the thread said. I was on a HAL ship at the time and I knew it wasn't true in my case. So, not feeling the need to introduce an unnecessary chunk of negativity into my life, I ignored the thread.)

 

If there are photos of the new prices, as there surely would be - 'cause it ain't like it's hard to find a handheld device with a camera from which you can post photos in 2023 - I would like to see them.)

[POA1]

Because we have a Rotterdam Cruise booked, I can see some of the drink menus in the Navigator app. I can also see the dinner menus, Lido menus, etc. in real time. The restaurant menus are the same as what's on board. The drink menus will as well. (Again, I know this from last week.)

 

Here is the current BB King Lounge drink menu.

 

 

If you wanted the $11.50 Rhythm & Blues on the SBP, they'll make it with a less expensive bourbon than Buffalo Trace. Same applies to the Hoochie Coochie. (These drinks are sugar bombs though.)

 

 

Bottom line: You can get almost all of "over" drinks made in an "under" way. All you need to do is ask. Preferably at the bar, so the bartender can hear you. Out on the club floor during a band's set is not the way to go.

[POA1]

The Rolling Stone bar menu. FWIW, there are less expensive Chardonnays than the $12 Kendall Jackson. Just ask.

 

 

[POA1]

Most normal drinks, unless they have very high end "call" liquors, are covered by the SBP.

 

I drink Maker's Mark on the rocks. My wife drinks Ketel One with a splash of soda and a lime. Both are now, and have been since the dawn of HAL drink packages, been covered by the SBP. (The Bubble of Awesome pretty much guarantees this will always be the case.) Both of those spirits are top shelf "call" brands on land.

 

Try not to stress about things that don't matter or random rumors on the internet. If you drink expensive booze, you already know it and you are expecting to need the EBP.

[Haljo1935]

Hey @POA1 thanks for the menus. I'll see what I can snag this week from the K'dam (once I finally get there, ugh).

We got off NS as you got on - I know the Lemon Drops were not $12 - my cabinmate drank them daily (proof via a lovely snippet w/a singing server in my Live, I digress) and never had a charge.

[POA1]

I'll throw this last menu up. It's from the Half Moon Bar which is exclusive to the Rotterdam. This is a high end bar and it's got fairly complicated craft cocktails with prices that reflect it. I'm not 100% that I will have to all the pages in the right order. It's a big menu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

5 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Hey @POA1 thanks for the menus. I'll see what I can snag this week from the K'dam (once I finally get there, ugh).

We got off NS as you got on - I know the Lemon Drops were not $12 - my cabinmate drank them daily (proof via a lovely snippet w/a singing server in my Live, I digress) and never had a charge.

Lemon Drops aren't $12. The BB King version made with Grey Goose are, at least they were as late as Saturday night.

 

That's why I made the recommendation about subbing out the expensive call liquor. I doubt anyone would be able to tell a vodka swap.

 

There's a $12 Cosmopolitan on the MDR menu. Sub out the Cointreau for Curacao and, viola! SBP drink.

[POA1]

The second part of the ridiculously complicated Half Moon Bar menu. (We all know that the Institute of Cheer is headed there on day one, right?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by POA1

[Caribbean Chris]

@POA1 Thanks for posting the Half Moon Bar menu!  I was intrigued but too busy to read it on our one-and-only, 5-day Rotterdam cruise.

[oakridger]

@POA1 Thanks for the menus but I know for sure that the Half Moon Bar prices are not current even with the other menus. (beers for example).  Also a glass of Veuve Clicquot is listed as $18 but all the new menu's I've seen since last summer raised it to $28!!!  I know this because I ordered it in November 2022 at $18 and was shocked to see that it's now $28!!

 

Anyway, nothing seems to be clear or consistent at the moment.  I do really feel that the packages will cover what most people usually drink. 😐

 

~Nancy 

[POA1]

1 hour ago, oakridger said:

@POA1 Thanks for the menus but I know for sure that the Half Moon Bar prices are not current even with the other menus. (beers for example).  Also a glass of Veuve Clicquot is listed as $18 but all the new menu's I've seen since last summer raised it to $28!!!  I know this because I ordered it in November 2022 at $18 and was shocked to see that it's now $28!!

 

Anyway, nothing seems to be clear or consistent at the moment.  I do really feel that the packages will cover what most people usually drink. 😐

 

~Nancy 

You are correct, Nancy. Veuve was $28 everywhere we went on the NS. However, if it does indeed still read $18 at the end of March, I'm afraid my "Live From" will be from a stool at that bar. It's right outside the Club Orange dining room after all.

 

I did not read the Half Moon menu before I posted it. That's on me. In my defense, it's a little long and kind of hard to read on my phone screen.

 

It's also the only menu I didn't see in person, since Half Moon is not on the Nieuw Statendam, while BB King and Rolling Stone are. The two music venues' drink prices track with what we saw in person.

[POA1]

Also, I am perfectly willing to take my old liquor list and ask the prices of a dozen types of booze every time I go to the bar. All the prices are in the POS system, including the $3 Myers Dark Rum floater for the Trader Vic's Mai Tai and the Pina Colada. In fact, you can get a floater on any of the frozen drinks I saw on the menu in the Retreat Cabanas. I'm pretty sure that it's the Crow's Nest bar menu because it's closest to Cabanaland.

 

I doubt that the POS system will allow it, but decades of IT experience make want to see if I can order a can of Coke and a quadruple floater. It would be $2.75 for the soda pop and 4x $3 = $12 for the rum. That's twenty five cents less than the EBP limit. (Hi. I'm a white hat hacker specializing in drink menus. I'm here to help root out system vulnerabilities. I won't rest until we make sure everything is locked down tight. Or, if there are systems bugs, until I pass out. 😁)

[POA1]

Got side tracked there. I haven't had my coffee yet.

 

My point is: If enough people ask for the prices of enough spirits - often enough - printed price lists solve their problem. They just haven't discovered their problem yet.

[Montanagirlalways]

5 hours ago, POA1 said:

Lemon Drops aren't $12. The BB King version made with Grey Goose are, at least they were as late as Saturday night.

 

That's why I made the recommendation about subbing out the expensive call liquor. I doubt anyone would be able to tell a vodka swap.

 

There's a $12 Cosmopolitan on the MDR menu. Sub out the Cointreau for Curacao and, viola! SBP drink.

oh I totally disagree on the vodka swap statement. I can certainly tell the difference between a cocktail made with low grade vodka and grey goose. Grey goose is smooth, no burn.

[510picker]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

Got side tracked there. I haven't had my coffee yet.

 

My point is: If enough people ask for the prices of enough spirits - often enough - printed price lists solve their problem. They just haven't discovered their problem yet.

Your last sentence is 100% spot on! I also want to add that during our November cruise on Rotterdam, the Half Moon Bar had Eagle Rare for $10 a pour! I was a happy man!

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Montanagirlalways said:

oh I totally disagree on the vodka swap statement. I can certainly tell the difference between a cocktail made with low grade vodka and grey goose. Grey goose is smooth, no burn.

And I disagree with your dissent. 😉 You could swap Ketel One or even the super neutral Smirnoff in for the Goose in a lemon drop pretty readily. Of course, if you want Grey Goose, you can have it. (Ironically, Grey Goose in a standard mixed drink is covered by the SBP.)  Off the top of my head, I'd suspect that the fresh lemon juice, raspberry, and the Grey Goose are what make the Roadhouse Drop hit the $12 mark.

[POA1]

1 hour ago, 510picker said:

Your last sentence is 100% spot on! I also want to add that during our November cruise on Rotterdam, the Half Moon Bar had Eagle Rare for $10 a pour! I was a happy man!

What??? All I want for Christmas....

[510picker]

24 minutes ago, POA1 said:

What??? All I want for Christmas....

It was a Christmas miracle :)

[Tom O.]

All this confusion with the drinks packages, is one of the reasons I never get them. I just pay for each drink. This also helps keep me from over indulging.