beverage cards

[irishjim]

looked on HAL site to price these cards and they want $90 for a $100 dollar value,can anyone confirm if the price has gone up? As I recall I paid just under $80 on my last cruise in April.
Thanks in advance.
Jim.:D:D:D

[Linda&Vern]

looked on HAL site to price these cards and they want $90 for a $100 dollar value,can anyone confirm if the price has gone up? As I recall I paid just under $80 on my last cruise in April.
Thanks in advance.
Jim.:D:D:D
The "new" cards were just introduced fleet wide on October 5, 2010.

[jtl513]

As I recall I paid just under $80 on my last cruise in April.Are you thinking of a 20-glass wine card for $77.63? If so, those are extinct.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Those prices you see on HAL's web site are correct for the new Beverage card.

We found them very convenient on our cruises.

[moonlady6]

Another "dumb" question from a first-time cruiser: does buying a beverage card make each drink cheaper, or are drinks the normal price and with a card you just don't have to fish out cash to pay?

[RuthC]

Another "dumb" question from a first-time cruiser: does buying a beverage card make each drink cheaper, or are drinks the normal price and with a card you just don't have to fish out cash to pay?
With the beverage card, the drinks are the same price as without the card. The value is in the "bonus" charge allowance. When you pay $45 for the card, you can purchase $50 worth of beverages. The $90 card gets you $100 worth of beverages.
Eleven percent more drinking free! :D

[Bill B]

Eleven percent more drinking free! :D
Yes, but only if one uses the entire value of the card. If one doesn't use at least the amount paid for the card, there is no discount.

So... if you have a card... drink up... cheers!

[catl331]

Yes, but only if one uses the entire value of the card. If one doesn't use at least the amount paid for the card, there is no discount.And once the residual balance falls below the price of a can of soda that money is lost. You can't use two cards (either two bev cards, or one bev card and your room key card) for the same transaction, and you can't turn in the bev card at the front desk for a refund of the balance because you've used more than the purchase price. :(

We won't buy one, but will use any given us by our TA! :)

[deneen716]

How does the beverage card work?

[Bill B]

Essentially, it's a pre-paid debit card and the price of what you order is subtracted.

[tjcox9]

And once the residual balance falls below the price of a can of soda that money is lost. You can't use two cards (either two bev cards, or one bev card and your room key card) for the same transaction, and you can't turn in the bev card at the front desk for a refund of the balance because you've used more than the purchase price. :(

We won't buy one, but will use any given us by our TA! :)

Very recently on the Volendam, we were able to use the remaining portion of the card and put the remainder on our onboard account. Actually, we did this twice. Perhaps this varies from ship to ship...............

[Krazy Kruizers]

An example -- we each buy a Grey Goose on the rocks at $6.95 -- that equals $13.90. Then there is the 15% gratuity that is added on -- for $13.90 that is $2.09. So each time we each ordered a Grey Goose on the rocks -- $15.99 was subracted from the Beverage card.

Whenever we saw that the amount left on the Beverage card was getting low (you always get a receipt) -- we would buy another another.

We bought 5 cards for 14 days -- really should have known more about this the first couple of days of the cruise -- could have saved more than the $50 that we did save. The Ryndam even allowed you to use the card to buy bottles of wine.

[catl331]

Very recently on the Volendam, we were able to use the remaining portion of the card and put the remainder on our onboard account. Actually, we did this twice. Perhaps this varies from ship to ship...............

How much was your balance? They told us if we used, say, $30 worth we could get back $15 from the $45 price, but once we used more than $45 worth there was no more refund. This was on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

[RuthC]

And once the residual balance falls below the price of a can of soda that money is lost. You can't use two cards (either two bev cards, or one bev card and your room key card) for the same transaction,
Like tjcox9, I was able to supplement the small balance on my beverage card by charging the difference to my on-board account. This was in October on the Veendam.

I suspect that the procedure is so new that there is a learning curve as to how the cards are supposed to work. Eventually, there will be a uniform understanding.

[KirkNC]

Very recently on the Volendam, we were able to use the remaining portion of the card and put the remainder on our onboard account. Actually, we did this twice. Perhaps this varies from ship to ship...............



We did the exact same thing on the Noordam, we went through several cards on out 17 day cruise and always ran them down to $0.00.

Kirk

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did the same thing on the Ryndam. On the last night of the cruise we had a few dollars left on our last Beverage card -- went ahead and used it to partially pay for our final drink of the cruise and used our regular ID card to pay off that final drink -- which was only about a couple of dollars.

[Bill B]

They told us if we used, say, $30 worth we could get back $15 from the $45 price, but once we used more than $45 worth there was no more refund.
That's correct... but tjcox9 was not getting a refund - they were using a combination of the remaining ballance on the Beverage Card (to bring it to $0) and a charge to their onboard account to make up the difference in the price of their order.

[deneen716]

Does this work on soda too?

[RuthC]

Does this work on soda too?
Mine did for me on the Veendam in October. YMMV. Mine was an "all purpose" beverage card that worked for (apparently) everything except bottled water (didn't try that).

There's also a soda card, which is a better bargain if you drink a lot of soda. You pay $25 to get $50 worth of soda.

[deneen716]

Thanks. How do you purchase one? Is it a fountain soda or can?

[RuthC]

Thanks. How do you purchase one? Is it a fountain soda or can?
The new soda card is for cans. It can be purchased from any lounge steward or bartender, so long as the ship has started with the new cards.
Some people may get them as gifts from their TA. My beverage card was such a gift (and a great one, too, imo).

[catl331]

That's correct... but tjcox9 was not getting a refund - they were using a combination of the remaining ballance on the Beverage Card (to bring it to $0) and a charge to their onboard account to make up the difference in the price of their order.As I said before, on the Nieuw A they wouldn't let us use two cards for a single transaction. We had two $50 bev cards given to us by our TA, and once the balance was below $2 or so, they wouldn't let us use that card in combination with the other beverage card or our key-card or get a refund. I guess from other's experiences, the Nieuw A was doing it wrong in early October. :( But at least it was our TA's few bucks, not ours, that was lost.

[Bill B]

...and once the balance was below $2 or so, they wouldn't let us use that card in combination with the other beverage card or our key-card or get a refund. I guess from other's experiences, the Nieuw A was doing it wrong in early October.
You're more complacent than I. Given the same situation, I'd be screaming 'bloody murder' - "I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS... OR TWO BUCKS WORTH OF BOOZE!"

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks. How do you purchase one? Is it a fountain soda or can?

You can purchase the Soda / Beverage cards either online or at any bar once you are on the ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

As I said before, on the Nieuw A they wouldn't let us use two cards for a single transaction. We had two $50 bev cards given to us by our TA, and once the balance was below $2 or so, they wouldn't let us use that card in combination with the other beverage card or our key-card or get a refund. I guess from other's experiences, the Nieuw A was doing it wrong in early October. :( But at least it was our TA's few bucks, not ours, that was lost.

The first time they do that to me I would be at the front office screaming!!

No way are they going to make money off me.

Hope you wrote that down on your Comment Card at the end of the cruise.

[KirkNC]

Like tjcox9, I was able to supplement the small balance on my beverage card by charging the difference to my on-board account. This was in October on the Veendam.

I suspect that the procedure is so new that there is a learning curve as to how the cards are supposed to work. Eventually, there will be a uniform understanding.

I think it is as RuthC says, this would not be the first time HAL applied something differently on different ships (dare I say it....dress code :eek:).

Kirk

[JJ33328]

I was a fan of the old wine/cocktail cards and when I heard they were discontinued I was hesitant to purchase the new cards for fear that I wouldn't be able to use the whole amount and waste any savings I might realize from buying them.
I called HAL and was told that unlike the wine/cocktail cards, any unused balance would be credited to your on-board account at the end of the cruise.
So if you are on a budget, and don't want to overspend on alcohol while on the cruise, the new drink cards are the way to go.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I was a fan of the old wine/cocktail cards and when I heard they were discontinued I was hesitant to purchase the new cards for fear that I wouldn't be able to use the whole amount and waste any savings I might realize from buying them.
I called HAL and was told that unlike the wine/cocktail cards, any unused balance would be credited to your on-board account at the end of the cruise.
So if you are on a budget, and don't want to overspend on alcohol while on the cruise, the new drink cards are the way to go.

Well -- not exactly.

One person on another thread reported that he/she had bought the $100 Beverage card (costs $90). They only used $87 on the card by the end of the cruise. They thought that they would get $13 shipboard credit. They only got $3 shipboard credit. The $87 spent was subtracted from the $90 that they actually paid for the card.

[catl331]

You're more complacent than I. Given the same situation, I'd be screaming 'bloody murder' - "I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS... OR TWO BUCKS WORTH OF BOOZE!"Maybe if we had paid for the cards ourselves (rather than getting them free from our TA) we might have made more of an issue of it.

How do you purchase one? As others said, you can buy one at any bar ... or you can also pre-order them on-line at HAL's site just like the old punch cards: For Booked Guests > Book ... Indulgences

[PC168]

First time going to HAL. How much is a can or glass of coke? I want to see how many can they get out of the $50 card for the $25.

Thanks.

[PC168]

One more question, if we select on line before we board, how do we pay? Do I pre-paid now or they will debit my on board account?
Thanks.

[jtl513]

First time going to HAL. How much is a can or glass of coke? I want to see how many can they get out of the $50 card for the $25.

Thanks.
$1.95 plus 15% service charge, so you can get 22 cans.

[Dog Drool]

Do the cards work with the Happy hour/ 2 for 1 sales? Thought I read they did not.
Does the bartender get kudos for selling me the card? I can wait to buy it on board if it will make the bartender happy.
If I buy it on ship to avoid sales tax do I have to wait till we are out to sea? going out of Fl

[tjcox9]

Do the cards work with the Happy hour/ 2 for 1 sales? Thought I read they did not.
Does the bartender get kudos for selling me the card? I can wait to buy it on board if it will make the bartender happy.
If I buy it on ship to avoid sales tax do I have to wait till we are out to sea? going out of Fl

On the Volendam, they did indeed work for happy hour!!!!! As far as kudos for the bartender/waiter getting kudos, don't know about that one.

[Krazy Kruizers]

One more question, if we select on line before we board, how do we pay? Do I pre-paid now or they will debit my on board account?
Thanks.

If you buy the cards online -- you pay now with your credit card -- so keep it handy if that is route you want to take.

We just bought ours once on the ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do the cards work with the Happy hour/ 2 for 1 sales? Thought I read they did not.
Does the bartender get kudos for selling me the card? I can wait to buy it on board if it will make the bartender happy.
If I buy it on ship to avoid sales tax do I have to wait till we are out to sea? going out of Fl

They really don't keep track of who sells the cards as there is no bonus for them.

There is no tax on the card itself.

BUT -- if you are sailing out of Florida and use the card before you are 10 miles out to sea -- they will deduct the price of the drink, the 15% gratuity and the Florida tax from the card.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do the cards work with the Happy hour/ 2 for 1 sales? Thought I read they did not.




It depends on the ship and the type of Happy Hour they have.

Some ships do the 2 for 1 drinks -- buy one drink ar regular price and get the second one free -- sometimes there are limits as to the brands that are included in this offer.

On the Ryndam we could buy any drink we wanted -- we like Grey Goose -- Got the first drink at $6.95 and the second one for $1. And the new Beverage cards could not be used for their Happy Hour.

[LuAnn]

1) Will the card work for coffee/tea drinks in the Explorations Cafe (one's with out any alcohol)? Say iced coffee, chai tea lattes etc?

2) Can I take the card from one ship to another if I don't "use" up the entire card on 1 cruise?

Thanks so much!! LuAnn

[RuthC]

1) Will the card work for coffee/tea drinks in the Explorations Cafe (one's with out any alcohol)? Say iced coffee, chai tea lattes etc?
They have worked on any and all liquid beverages. There have been reports that the cards didn't always work. I suspect this is due to the staff learning about the new cards, too.
2) Can I take the card from one ship to another if I don't "use" up the entire card on 1 cruise?
The card is good for the duration of that cruise only.

[jtl513]

2) Can I take the card from one ship to another if I don't "use" up the entire card on 1 cruise?No, but you can get a refund of the unused balance up to the price you paid. That is, if you use $30 on a $50 for which you paid $45 you can get $15 back, not $20. Notice in that case the card has saved you nothing. If you don't expect to use the full amount you might as well just charge drinks to your room card.

[Krazy Kruizers]

1) Will the card work for coffee/tea drinks in the Explorations Cafe (one's with out any alcohol)? Say iced coffee, chai tea lattes etc?

2) Can I take the card from one ship to another if I don't "use" up the entire card on 1 cruise?

Thanks so much!! LuAnn

I think that we were told that at 11 PM on the last night of the cruise -- the card ends!! You can not carry it over to another cruise.

[PC168]

Do I have to pay tax if I pay on line today?

[jtl513]

Do I have to pay tax if I pay on line today?Say that you want delivery "at sea". You will not be charged tax, and most likely the card will be in the room when you board anyway. :)

[RSVE821]

It depends on the ship and the type of Happy Hour they have.

Some ships do the 2 for 1 drinks -- buy one drink ar regular price and get the second one free -- sometimes there are limits as to the brands that are included in this offer.

On the Ryndam we could buy any drink we wanted -- we like Grey Goose -- Got the first drink at $6.95 and the second one for $1. And the new Beverage cards could not be used for their Happy Hour.

Just off the Zuiderdam. Generally, you were able to use the beverage cards at happy hour. On this ship, happy hour was 4-5pm in the Oceans Bar and Crow's Nest. Twice during the cruise, they also had a happy hour at the aft pool during a sail away party. At that happy hour they tend to hand write tickets instead of swiping cards. A friend tried to use his beverage card but was refused. When my friend pressed that he would only use his beverage card, the waiter just gave him the drinks (for free) and walked away in a huff. At another sail away happy hour he had no problem using the card. Also, premium brands were not included in any happy hour that I'm aware of. All house brand drinks were buy one get the second for $1.

[canadarocks]

All house brand drinks were buy one get the second for $1.

Well that's different, right? I thought it was always buy one get one free.

[RSVE821]

Well that's different, right? I thought it was always buy one get one free.

This was our first HAL cruise and based on what I had been reading here, I thought the second drink was to be free as well. Considering all the recent beverage changes, I was not really surprised. Not complaining because most other lines don't even offer a happy hour!

[mrk42]

Is there some advantage to the use of the beverage cards as opposed to a regular credit card?

[jtl513]

Is there some advantage to the use of the beverage cards as opposed to a regular credit card?Welcome to Cruise Critic!

The beverages cards sell at at 10% discount ($50 card for $45, $100 for $90), so IF you use all of it you've saved 10%. If you don't use as much as you paid, you can get a refund of the balance paid (not the balance of the face value) but then you haven't saved any money.

You can't use a "regular credit card" on the ship for anything except Future Cruise Deposits. All other charges go on you ship-board account.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just off the Zuiderdam. Generally, you were able to use the beverage cards at happy hour. On this ship, happy hour was 4-5pm in the Oceans Bar and Crow's Nest. Twice during the cruise, they also had a happy hour at the aft pool during a sail away party. At that happy hour they tend to hand write tickets instead of swiping cards. A friend tried to use his beverage card but was refused. When my friend pressed that he would only use his beverage card, the waiter just gave him the drinks (for free) and walked away in a huff. At another sail away happy hour he had no problem using the card. Also, premium brands were not included in any happy hour that I'm aware of. All house brand drinks were buy one get the second for $1.


When we were on the Noordam we could get Alsolut or Stohli's during Happy Hour but not Grey Goose so some ships do have different rules.

When we sailed on the Zuiderdam in 2009 -- ALL brands were available for the 2 for 1 special Happy Hour.

[mrk42]

Thanks very much....appreciate the help......

[Krazy Kruizers]

One of the first things we do when we get on a ship is ask about the Happy Hour --when and where and what is covers.