Coke cards & coffee cards??

Our cruise next July will be the first for my wife and I on HAL.

 

We've been on Princess before and always bought the coffee card and coke card. Is there the same or a similar card available on HAL ships?

 

If not, what arrangements can we make to get real brewed coffee. She and I drink anywhere from 4 - 6 cups a day between us.

 

Thanks.

Our cruise next July will be the first for my wife and I on HAL.

 

We've been on Princess before and always bought the coffee card and coke card. Is there the same or a similar card available on HAL ships?

 

If not, what arrangements can we make to get real brewed coffee. She and I drink anywhere from 4 - 6 cups a day between us.

 

Thanks.

 

There are no coffee card equivalents on HAL. Not even sure if brewed coffee such as they do at the International Cafe on Princess, is readily available. Beans are used (unlike the coffee syrup on Princess Horizons Cafe) in the Lido Buffet but the coffee brewers I've seen are the massive machines that brew large amounts of coffee or there are specialized expresso makers found in the Explorations Cafe. MDR and specialty restaurant coffee is possibly brewed in smaller makers; my DW says the coffee there is better and tastes like it may be brewed in the small pot manner similar to the International Cafe coffee.

 

Soda cards will buy you a roughly 6 ounce fountain soda at all bars. Rarely will you get a full can, although it does happen occasionally. You'll get $50 worth of fountain soda for the $25 cost of the card.

 

I'm sure you'll get some better guidance on just how HAL makes some of its coffee from others here. :)

Edited July 17, 2015 by 0bnxshs

The Explorations Café has better coffee -- but you do have to pay for it.

No coffee cards anymore on HAL -- they were offered a few years ago.

If you are going to be drinking other beverages as well (in addition to the 4 to 6 cups of coffee) you might want the Signature Beverage Package, which I understand includes *any* beverage under $7 so you could get the good stuff at Explorations Cafe (which is as good or better than any good coffee shop at home - definitely better than Starbucks IMO) plus any cocktails, beer, soda, bottled water, etc. Just bringing this up because I'm getting the Signature package for the first time for upcoming cruise and realizing it's kind of a big deal!

Unless my memory is failing, I don't think the Explorations Cafe had regular brewed coffee, only specialty coffees. The coffee in the Lido buffet on HAL is good, much better than the syrup based buffet coffee on Princess. I always buy a coffee card on Princess, but the coffee on HAL was just fine.

The coffee on the Lido is brewed albeit in big 'urns' but is not too bad. A beverage card may work for you as allows for coffees in Exploration Café (which are also brewed), plus sodas, etc. The cost of the item purchased is just deducted from your balance.

Beware the soda that comes out of the hoses (which is what you get with the soda card). They are usually very weak and/or taste funny. I received a couple of glasses of soda that tasted so bad I did not drink them. Next cruise I will be purchasing individual cans when I feel like a soda.

DH always gets a beverage card. He's able to get cans of diet coke both in the Lido and in the DR. He also uses it to get his mid-afternoon coffee and my Chai latte. Regular beverage card, not the signature one.

The HAL coke card is not worth bothering with. You pay $25 to supposedly get $50 worth of soda, however the card only provides fountain soda in small glasses over lots of ice. You are better off paying as you go and getting a full can.

The Princess card is quite a deal as there are no limits on quantity.

The HAL coke card is not worth bothering with. You pay $25 to supposedly get $50 worth of soda, however the card only provides fountain soda in small glasses over lots of ice. You are better off paying as you go and getting a full can.

The Princess card is quite a deal as there are no limits on quantity.

 

Couldn't have said it better.

The HAL coke card is not worth bothering with. You pay $25 to supposedly get $50 worth of soda, however the card only provides fountain soda in small glasses over lots of ice. You are better off paying as you go and getting a full can.

The Princess card is quite a deal as there are no limits on quantity.

 

You can request the can when ordering soft drinks. It costs a bit more but worth it if you do not like what comes out of the fountain. We have always used our soda cards to purchase the cans. You can also request no ice in your glass. I don't know how large the glasses are, but we have never had a small glass. In fact we usually don't finish the glass that the fountain drinks are served in.

 

Also, you can buy cans of soda at happy hour. Buy one and get the second for $1. You can request the can not be opened so you can take it back to your cabin.

My experience on the Statendam this year was completely different than the other posters. I felt the $25 dollar card where you get $50 dollars’ worth of sodas was a great value. In all cases I received at least 18 ounces of soda in a tall glass. All of the drinks came from a can. The unused value left on the card was refunded to me at the end of the cruise, that is, if you do not use at least $25 worth of soda, that money is refund. After you spend $25, you can figure the rest of the sodas from that card are free and the remaining value is not refunded. The cost for a glass of soda including the gratuity was $1.77. That means a can of soda in the glass works out to about $1.18. Roughly 28 drinks can be bought with a $50 card.

I've read the posts and need some clarification. The way I understand it, a $50 credit for a soda card costs $25, and that card can be used to buy either by the glass OR by the can, but cans would cost a little more. Is that correct? Also, if buying during happy hour, can the same soda card be used to then buy two cans?

 

Last question ... is there any advantage to buying the soda card now, rather than waiting until we are on the ship? Thanks everyone.

Our cruise next July will be the first for my wife and I on HAL.

 

We've been on Princess before and always bought the coffee card and coke card. Is there the same or a similar card available on HAL ships?

 

If not, what arrangements can we make to get real brewed coffee. She and I drink anywhere from 4 - 6 cups a day between us.

 

Thanks.

 

If you are fortunate enough to be in a Neptune Suite, the Neptune Lounge has really good coffee - they have a machine that brews one cup at a time of regular, espresso, capachino - if your a coffee drinker that makes it almost worth the price of the suite.

The coffee available elsewhere on the ship is OK - but it is available all day and I think all night in the Lido.

I am looking at a non-electric machine that makes a small amount of coffee each time - all you need is hot water - which is readily available in the Lido - and your own coffee.:)

I've read the posts and need some clarification. The way I understand it, a $50 credit for a soda card costs $25, and that card can be used to buy either by the glass OR by the can, but cans would cost a little more. Is that correct? Also, if buying during happy hour, can the same soda card be used to then buy two cans?

 

Last question ... is there any advantage to buying the soda card now, rather than waiting until we are on the ship? Thanks everyone.

 

The $50 credit for $25 is correct. However this is for soda by the glass only. They may pour the soda from a can but you will get only a glass. To get an unopened can of soda falls under a different beverage card. I found you cannot even get an glass of soda at a poolside bar and carry it to your table, a server had to carry the glass to the table. I believe when buying an unopened can of soda it will cost more than a glass.

 

I purchased the cards before our cruise as I believe they were not available once we boarded the ship.

I am looking at a non-electric machine that makes a small amount of coffee each time - all you need is hot water - which is readily available in the Lido - and your own coffee.:)

We often take our little Aeropress (check 'em out at BB&B). A little bother, but makes quite good java -- sort of a hearty pour-over kind of thing. Analogous to a French press but without the crud. Downside is it uses a prodigious amount of coffee grounds; upside is even so-so coffee generally has SOME goodness in it which, if there ,Aero press will extract for you. Well, there is a second downside, which is if you produce one of these at your table in the Lido cafe, you will become "that coffee nut over by the window." Not a bad trade.