New Stuff? Wine by the glass. Happy Hour. Expediated disembarkment?

[ualtim]

Just got off the Veendam today and wanted to report some of the latest things that we experienced. Anyone heard of these before?

Wine by the Glass package - You could buy a wine package that entitled you to ten glasses of wine for a specified sum. There were three levels offered. 1) House brands for approx $34. 2) Select Wines (Nathanson Creek Chardonnay, Meridian Chardonnay, Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc, Beringer White Zinfandel, Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Savignon, Modavi Cabernet Savignon, and Meridian Merlot) for $50. 3)Exclusive wines for approx $75 (Never looked at that list closely so I can not remember the wines to chose from.)

Happy Hour - Everday there was a happy hour that lasted from 3PM to 4:30PM where you could get 2 for 1 drinks at the Dolphin Bar. That bartender was quite busy for those 90 minutes per day as a lot of passengers were taking HAL up on the deal.

Expediated Disembarkation - Anyone who was willing to carry their own luggage (all of it, no luggage outside the door at night) down the gangway could depart as soon as the ship was cleared by customs and immigartion. You were assigned disembarkment group "X" and could get off the ship early if you had your own plans once ashore. As usual, you had to state your intentions early in the cruise and then stick with it. Not sure how many people chose plan "X", but it seems like a good idea if thats your thing.


Anyone else experience any of these enhancements recently? We cruised on the Zuideredam last Sep/Oct and have not seen any of these in place on the Zuiderdam or any previous HAL cruise.

Loved the wine by the glass deal. My wife does not enjoy wine as much as I do, so by the glass came in handy on a few occasions. You can redeem your ticket for a glass of wine in the dining room or any bar on board. A great idea!

[dakrewser]

"Wine by the glass" deal must be very new as no one else has mentioned it before and it certainly wasn't available on the O'dam a couple of weeks ago. Expediated debarkation has been available for a while, just not publicized. "Happy hour" is also something I hadn't heard before on a HAL ship although 2-for-1 drinks aren't really new.

Thanks for reporting on these changes!

[Sailboater]

We had the "Wine by the Glass" on the Statendam to Hawaii last April. I didn't mention it as I thought it was a "normal" thing. The bar staff sold them the first day on the ship but don't recall if they were available later in the cruise. We had ours and it seemed like the word spread quickly that we did and we were really only approached twice that day and those approaches were just a few minutes apart.

[JaniceB]

Thank you for the information. This is the first time I have read about any of the things you mentioned. Hopefully, you had a great cruise.

[ualtim]

Thats what we thought. We had never expeienced a Happy Hour on HAL nor the Wine by the glass package and could not find any postings stating as such. I do not know if they are testing it out on a trial basis or if it is coming fleet wide. I do know that the bar staff were pushing the wine by the glass deal and happy hour fairly agressively all week. There were extra waiters by the pool and an extra bartender at the Dolphin bar to handle the load most days during the 2 for 1 happy hour and it was still hard to get a drink sometimes due to the volume of orders being handled.

[ualtim]

We had the "Wine by the Glass" on the Statendam to Hawaii last April. I didn't mention it as I thought it was a "normal" thing. The bar staff sold them the first day on the ship but don't recall if they were available later in the cruise. We had ours and it seemed like the word spread quickly that we did and we were really only approached twice that day and those approaches were just a few minutes apart.


They were available all week if you wished to purcahse additional cards on the Veendam this past week. Everytime I turned a card in, I was asked if I needed more cards. Its a great program, and I hope they keep it.

As a side note, the cigar selection was far greater on the Veendam this time as compared to the last time we sailed on her in March of 2003. Maybe the hotel manager (or whoever decides what will be offered on board) has the authority to create special offers such as these which is why they are not fleet wide. We enjoyed the enhancements and are hoping they will be available on the Westerdam in December.

[dot73]

I like the "wine by the glass" deal. I travel solo and enjoy one glass with dinner. The $50 deal sounds good. I hope my upcoming Ryndam cruise offers this deal.

[ualtim]

Thats the one I chose as well. The Mondavi Caberbet Savignon and Savignon Blanc were excellent. I spent most of my tickets on those two wines and a couple on the Meredian Merlot.

[Pudgesmom]

A month or two ago there was a thread about sharing (or not) bottled wine at dinner with tablemates. I guess it can produce some ackward situations if only one couple or person has purchased a bottle. I wonder if HAL is trying to address this situation? I think the wine be the glass might be easier to work with in this situation.

Beth

[WISCruiser]

I wish they had put something in the daily newspaper concerning that, as I would have used that, as I always carry all my things onboard with me and never check anything. Thankyou for that great information. I shall now always go down to the Front Desk and tell them that I want an "X" disembarkation classification. The stuff you learn on these boards are -Fantastic- :D

[Typhoon1]

Plan X sounds like my kind of plan. Wish they had been doing it years ago.

[localady]

UALTim-
A question: Did you have to use the entire 10 tickets yourself, or could you order a glass for yourself and a companion?

Thanks in advance!:cool:

[Iggipolka]

I love the wine by the glass concept. Does anyone know if this is offered on the Oosterdam?

[K&RCurt]

We didn't have the wine by the glass card on the Westerdam last week. We would have LOVED that. We had a bottle of wine with dinner the first night in the Pinnicale and it was too much between the two of us for one sitting. If we would have kept that up we would have slept through all of the shows!

[dakrewser]

I love the wine by the glass concept. Does anyone know if this is offered on the Oosterdam?

It wasn't on our trip two weeks ago....

[gizmo]

We had Happy Hour each night on the Rotterdam last April. We did not get a chance to take advantage of it because of the times. We had the 8:00 seating and usually went to the bar aroun 7:00 or so. Happy Hour was always over by the time we go there. People with early seating got to take advantage of it for pre dinner cocktails.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Westerdam - January 2005

Did not have the special wine by the glass deal.

Did have 2 for 1 drinks whenever Bingo was played - either in the Vista Lounge or the Crow's Nest. The only day it wasn't offered was the final Bingo - cover the card.

There was no offer of "speedy" disembarkation.

[Cruisechik]

I recently read they have a "wine with dinner" package. It includes one glass of wine with dinner each night for $19.99

[Sea Island Lady]

That would have to be a 4 night.

[ualtim]

UALTim-
A question: Did you have to use the entire 10 tickets yourself, or could you order a glass for yourself and a companion?

Thanks in advance!:cool:

When you buy the package, there is no identification on the 10 cards that links you to it. I am assuming with no way to identify it as your card, just about anybody could use it. Unlike the Unlimited Soda plan with places a sticker on your Cruise ID, you receive 10 tickets (coupons or whatever you want to call them) to turn in and redeem your glass of wine. Each package had a different colored card to identify what level you purchased. I hope they offer it again on the Westerdam in December.

[ekerr19]

We have bever seen the wine by the glass package, but I would be very interested in that one.

We have found Happy Hour on the past three of four cruises, sometimes it was not at a great time of day - and on the last two cruises, Bingo was always "half priced" drinks.
I had heard of express disembarkation, but we have never tried it. Thanks for reporting in on the changes! Glad you had a good time. :)

[localady]

TY Tim!

I will look for it on our March Zaandam cruise! I would love to be able to purchase a glass of wine (vs. a bottle) with dinner and this seems like a reasonable deal.:cool:

[ualtim]

I wish they had put something in the daily newspaper concerning that, as I would have used that, as I always carry all my things onboard with me and never check anything. Thankyou for that great information. I shall now always go down to the Front Desk and tell them that I want an "X" disembarkation classification. The stuff you learn on these boards are -Fantastic- :D


The only way we learned of Plan "X" (Early disembarkation) was through the disembarkation survey sheet/information sheet that they slip under you door early in the cruise. My wife tends to read everything before I even see it, so she was the one who told me about it. I am assuming from what DaKrewser is saying, that even if you are not offered it on the form that you can request it from the front desk.

With HAL now allowing us to stay in our stateroom during the disembarkation process and order room service breakfast, we are trying to stay on as long as possible before we get kicked off :).

[ualtim]

TY Tim!

I will look for it on our March Zaandam cruise! I would love to be able to purchase a glass of wine (vs. a bottle) with dinner and this seems like a reasonable deal.:cool:


It is definately a good deal at $5 a glass versus the $5.50 and up cost for most of the wines on the list. It is also a good deal for HAL as it will likely sell more wine by the glass which has a better proft margin than selling it by the bottle.

I am hoping that HAL continues and expands this program to all ships. I guess we can all start e-mailing HAL headquarters requesting it if we do not see it fleetwide soon. As a matter of fact, I guess I should fire of an e-mail today telling them how muched I enjoyed the option aboard the Veendam so they can get some positive feedback.

[doone]

I have never heard about wine by the glass, but I am liking that idea. Thanks for sharing that with us and I am hoping this applies to the Zuiderdam and Volendam when I sail them both next month.

[ualtim]

I fired off an e-mail to HAL expressing my happiness with the Wine by the Glass program and asking if it would be available fleet wide in the future. I will let you know what they say when they respond.

[doone]

Great, thanks, I would appreciate that.

[mick70]

No wine buy the glass last week on The Osterdam either, would have been nice.

[JaniceB]

I wonder if they offer this on the Ryndam since the SOE upgrades include a wine bar. You could try a new wine and then buy it by the glass for the rest of the cruise.

[ualtim]

Still no reply from HAL on my e-mail. I am beginning to think that the wine by the glass was a Veendam only thing :(

[doone]

I hope not, I like that idea and hope its offered on the Zuiderdam and Volendam when I sail them in March.

[Cauvet]

I love the wine by the glass concept--we like to have a martini before dinner so a bottle is usually too much.

My husband will flip over the early disembarkation. NOTHING drives him more crazy than waiting to disembark! We live a couple of blocks from the pier and if we pack right, will be able to walk home at 8 am. And gee, even go to work!

[CrabbyHarper]

I loved the term "expediated!" does that happen when you book through Expedia.com?

We had express disembarkation on the Maasdam on the Nov 9 cruise, although as suite passengers we really didn't need it. And I certainly didn't want to schlepp my own bags!

Incidentally, I never make a misteak in sppeling becuase I always proof reed.

Gerry the Crab

[ualtim]

I have some bad news folks. I just opened my letter from HAL regarding the wine by the glass program that I experienced on the Veendam. According to the Office of the President, "With regards to your inquiry on the wine by the glass packages, unfortunately we have learned this program will no longer be available on any of the ships in our fleet."

So, I hate to disappoint, but it looks like this will not be available on HAL in the near future. Hopefully, it will be revisited, but it looks like it is dead for now.:(

[dakrewser]

I have some bad news folks. I just opened my letter from HAL regarding the wine by the glass program that I experienced on the Veendam. According to the Office of the President, "With regards to your inquiry on the wine by the glass packages, unfortunately we have learned this program will no longer be available on any of the ships in our fleet."


Now that's poor marketing. More testing with different sized packages and different price points should be done.

[ualtim]

I hear ya. I was so glad to run into this on the Veendam and now I am kind of disappointed that it will no longer be available.