A newbie’s note on drinks packages

[510picker]

5 hours ago, Tom O. said:

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.

Same here. I feel like I can "overindulge" enough and still save money from not buying the drink package.

[cruisecrazyct]

We will be on the Rotterdam in February and have the HIA package with the $11 limit. was it easy to upgrade?  how much was it?  thanks for your help.

[Blackduck59]

6 minutes ago, cruisecrazyct said:

We will be on the Rotterdam in February and have the HIA package with the $11 limit. was it easy to upgrade?  how much was it?  thanks for your help.

 check out the price of the drinks you like, they may be within the price cap, or less that a buck over. it may be more cost effective to just cover the overage. Perhaps by February the beverage package cap will have been raised to keep your favourite libation under the cap (assuming your drink was under the cap before)

[guy44134]

Just booked my first HAL cruise in almost 12 years and am still figuring out all the changes. I got the Have it All package which includes the Signature Beverage Package. Does the 15 drink per day limit also include non-alcoholic beverages (coffee, soda, water, etc.) in that total? I think it does, but just want to confirm. This certainly differs from Princess' packages. 

[Cruise Suzy]

10 minutes ago, guy44134 said:

I got the Have it All package which includes the Signature Beverage Package. Does the 15 drink per day limit also include non-alcoholic beverages (coffee, soda, water, etc.) in that total?

Yes non-alcoholic beverages are included in the 15-drink limit for the Signature Beverage Package.

[Boston Accent]

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a HAL ship. I heard that the only water to purchase ( no tap water) is purified water in a can. I am traveling on the Koningsdam in January and wonder if someone currently on it or any HAL ship could tell me if the have any Spring water. I am allergic to purified water and it’s a long way to Hawaii if I have no water. Thanks in advance. 
(UsuallyCrystal Geiser or Arrowhead are common ones other ships carry.)

Edited December 22, 2023 by Boston Accent

[oakridger]

21 minutes ago, Boston Accent said:

It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a HAL ship. I heard that the only water to purchase ( no tap water) is purified water in a can. I am traveling on the Koningsdam in January and wonder if someone currently on it or any HAL ship could tell me if the have any Spring water. I am allergic to purified water and it’s a long way to Hawaii if I have no water. Thanks in advance. 
(UsuallyCrystal Geiser or Arrowhead are common ones other ships carry.)

 

They sell some other waters listed on the Ocean Bar menu below provided by @Crew News.  Do they work?  You can't drink tap water? That's all I drink on board.

 

Ocean-Bar-Menu.pdf (rogerjett-photography.com)

 

 

~Nancy

[Henk123]

ABOUT THE PACKAGE

Our premium, Elite Beverage Package allows you to select from a variety of wine, beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, sodas, bottled water (sparkling or still, 400ml or less) & coffee. Only on the ms Koningsdam & ms Nieuw Statendam, the package includes Freestyle Coca-Cola which provides 100+ refreshing Coca-Cola flavors to choose from. Includes any beverage priced at $15.00 or lower (up to 15 beverages per day). Prices are per day at $49.95 if pre-booked online compared to $59.95 if purchased on board.

So only on Kdam and NSdam the coca-cola is free in this packedge.

[oakridger]

2 minutes ago, Henk123 said:

So only on Kdam and NSdam the coca-cola is free in this packedge.

 

Both beverage packages do include coca cola drinks in cans such as Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and I believe Caffeine Free Coke.  The "Freestyle" machine with all the varied flavors is only on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam.  The machine requires a special cup to be able to dispense.

 

From Ocean Bar menu:

 

 

~Nancy

[crystalspin]

13 minutes ago, Henk123 said:

Our premium, Elite Beverage Package allows you to select from a variety of wine, beer, spirits, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, sodas, bottled water (sparkling or still, 400ml or less) & coffee. Only on the ms Koningsdam & ms Nieuw Statendam, the package includes Freestyle Coca-Cola which provides 100+ refreshing Coca-Cola flavors to choose from.

Hi Henk!

Both the Signature and Elite Beverage Package covers Coca-Cola products, fountain or can; it's only on the Pinnacle Ships (including Rotterdam -- they just haven't updated the references after R'dam joined the fleet) that you will find the Freestyle Coke machines with their almost unlimited and somewhat crazy flavors, dispensed into a special plastic glass with a chip embedded in its base. As Nancy said.

[Boston Accent]

40 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

Both beverage packages do include coca cola drinks in cans such as Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and I believe Caffeine Free Coke.  The "Freestyle" machine with all the varied flavors is only on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam.  The machine requires a special cup to be able to dispense.

 

From Ocean Bar menu:

 

 

~Nancy

Thank you Nancy. I needed to know if either of the Bottled or Canned Water is “spring water”   not “purified water”. There is such a big difference in them.  I really appreciate you posting the menu because I checked and the Acqua Panna is Spring water!!! Thanks again!

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Boston Accent

[Blackduck59]

I really hate to break it to people but "spring water" isn't just pumped into a truck and bottled. It is pumped into a truck where it goes to a purified, sterilized and then bottled. Just to be clear a "spring" is simply a shallow well and I'll take my tap water (which comes from a large reservoir here in Victoria, it  is piped into a processing plant where it "ozonated" and chlorinated to keep it safe while it is in the pipes) over most "spring" water every time. I'm afraid I am unable to grasp the idea of being "allergic" to purified water. I'm guessing if the choice was between purified water or no water the requirement that it be "spring" water would probably drop.

[Bill B]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm afraid I am unable to grasp the idea of being "allergic" to purified water.

 

Me too - I'll drink the ship's water from the bathroom tap. 😃

[POA1]

4 hours ago, Boston Accent said:

Thank you Nancy. I needed to know if either of the Bottled or Canned Water is “spring water”   not “purified water”. There is such a big difference in them.  I really appreciate you posting the menu because I checked and the Acqua Panna is Spring water!!! Thanks again!

 

Just off the Nieuw Statendam last week. The canned water is spring water. I think it's from Italy.

[Trapper44]

On 12/21/2023 at 3:03 AM, POA1 said:

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

 

 

We were onboard Rotterdam in November. I drink Buffalo Trace on the rocks so decided to try a Whiskey Smash. Liked it so well that I had several every day after that. My point is that they were less than the $11 limit on the SBP because I was never charged for any of those drinks. In fact one bartender wanted to make me one with Makers Mark. The price on your list is $12 so the price of that drink did go up. I would not call Buffalo Trace a top shelf drink.

 

[ExArkie]

11 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I really hate to break it to people but "spring water" isn't just pumped into a truck and bottled. It is pumped into a truck where it goes to a purified, sterilized and then bottled. Just to be clear a "spring" is simply a shallow well and I'll take my tap water (which comes from a large reservoir here in Victoria, it  is piped into a processing plant where it "ozonated" and chlorinated to keep it safe while it is in the pipes) over most "spring" water every time. I'm afraid I am unable to grasp the idea of being "allergic" to purified water. I'm guessing if the choice was between purified water or no water the requirement that it be "spring" water would probably drop.

I am with you. “Spring water” is groundwater that pumps itself out to the surface, as opposed to our using mechanical devices to bring it to the surface. Certain contaminants are more likely to be found in spring water via runoff and certain other contaminants are likely to be found in groundwater via infiltration. Either one needs to be filtered and sterilized before consuming. 
 

The only advantage I have seen to spring water is the spring on my grandfather’s property when I was a child. The water in it was remarkably cold, so it served as an excellent refrigeration unit for a watermelon.

 

As for allergic reactions, there is an extremely rare condition called aquagenic urticaria that results in a histamine release when one is exposed to water. It occurs with treated or untreated water, so not specific to purified water. It is possible one could be overly sensitive to chlorine or chloramines and have a reaction to the water sanitization process. That would make one more sensitive to the nonpurified water.

[Boston Accent]

11 hours ago, POA1 said:

Just off the Nieuw Statendam last week. The canned water is spring water. I think it's from Italy.

Thank you for your help!

[Toofarfromthesea]

14 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I really hate to break it to people but "spring water" isn't just pumped into a truck and bottled. It is pumped into a truck where it goes to a purified, sterilized and then bottled. Just to be clear a "spring" is simply a shallow well and I'll take my tap water (which comes from a large reservoir here in Victoria, it  is piped into a processing plant where it "ozonated" and chlorinated to keep it safe while it is in the pipes) over most "spring" water every time. I'm afraid I am unable to grasp the idea of being "allergic" to purified water. I'm guessing if the choice was between purified water or no water the requirement that it be "spring" water would probably drop.

 

Being allergic to purified water is a new one on me.  But about 15 years ago I had gastric bypass surgery and for several years afterwards I couldn't drink water.  If I did it made me feel terrible.  It didn't matter if it was tap water, purified water, spring water, or carbonated.  But the strange thing was that if I added any kind of flavoring to it, even a very small amount, I was fine.  Tea?  No problem.  A little Chrystal Light?  No problem.  Plain water, big problem.

 

Eventually it went away, but I sure drank a lot of green tea in those years.

[Haljo1935]

19 hours ago, POA1 said:

Just off the Nieuw Statendam last week. The canned water is spring water. I think it's from Italy.

@Boston Accent here's the canned water available on NS.

[Bill B]

It has always amazed me people are willing to pay 800 times the price of potable tap water for bottled water, especially when the source of a considerable percentage of bottled waters is a municipal water supply somewhere.

[KC12]

On 12/20/2023 at 11:37 AM, lisiamc said:

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! 

Where non alcoholic items limited on the Have it all package? Thank you

[Cruise Suzy]

5 minutes ago, KC12 said:

Where non alcoholic items limited on the Have it all package? Thank you

 

Non-alcoholic beverages count towards the limit of 15 for Signature Beverage Package - whether purchased separately or included as part of a HIA booking. However, if you have the Early Booking Bonus (often referred to as HAI Plus) it includes the Elite Beverage Package and non-alcoholic beverages are not counted towards the limit of 15.