Signature Beverage Package? 15 drinks a day? Yikes

If you like wine the choices available in the package by the glass are a disappointment. Hoping when Americas Test Kitchen comes aboard they will upgrade the wine selection. Odd that many expensive liquors are included and wine options are of low quality.

I loved reading all the different ways folks use these or not. It still does not work for me money wise, even tho I love the idea of just not looking or worrying about the booze bill. That being said I treated us to a $400.00 credit Booze Beverage Credit that I received as part of my Visa Reward Card (free points). So when we reach that level guess we will quit drinking...NOT:p And got $150.00 in Casino cash. Thanks for posting I hope this helps folks decide.

I buy the wine package for dinner. We have a drink or two at sail away, or after a day doing an excursion. We never buy water, you can drink all the water you want for free. We have been offered the Explore4 package & it's not worth it for us. On none of our cruises have we ever drank enough to pay for it self. Like you say different stroke for different folk.

Allan

Forget about the 15 drink limit per day. You probably will not hit that limit, more power to you if you do !! Think of the SBP as 6 or 7 drinks per day. Anything over that and you are drinking free. And that does include the 15% service charge. If you go ala carte, you will pay the $7.95 drink price plus 15%.

If you have a specialty coffee or hot chocolate in the morning, a few bloody-Marys or beers for lunch, a pre dinner cocktail (you can order doubles with the plan), a glass of wine at dinner, an after-dinner drink at the casino or showroom, and take a bottle of water back to your cabin at night, you are already saving money with the SBP. However, if all you do is have coffee or ice tea in the Lido, and a glass of wine at dinner, save your money, it's not worth it.

I like the peace of mind knowing that my total beverage costs are paid for before I board the ship, and I won't get that "sticker-shock" when the final bill comes on departure day.

Forget about the 15 drink limit per day. You probably will not hit that limit, more power to you if you do !! Think of the SBP as 6 or 7 drinks per day. Anything over that and you are drinking free. And that does include the 15% service charge. If you go ala carte, you will pay the $7.95 drink price plus 15%.

If you have a specialty coffee or hot chocolate in the morning, a few bloody-Marys or beers for lunch, a pre dinner cocktail (you can order doubles with the plan), a glass of wine at dinner, an after-dinner drink at the casino or showroom, and take a bottle of water back to your cabin at night, you are already saving money with the SBP. However, if all you do is have coffee or ice tea in the Lido, and a glass of wine at dinner, save your money, it's not worth it.

I like the peace of mind knowing that my total beverage costs are paid for before I board the ship, and I won't get that "sticker-shock" when the final bill comes on departure day.

Have doubles and you wipe the 15 drinks a day down to 7 per day!

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It averages out to 1 beverage an hour, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, very doable!

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When the ship is still docked in FLL cruiseport, there is an additional tax on drinks.

How much does that add to a drink.

I take it that 7.95 drinks would not be covered under the SBC plan at that time.

Are drinks of the day still 6.95, and is that under 8.00 in the cruiseport.

Thanks

When the ship is still docked in FLL cruiseport, there is an additional tax on drinks.

How much does that add to a drink.

 

I take it that 7.95 drinks would not be covered under the SBC plan at that time.

 

Are drinks of the day still 6.95, and is that under 8.00 in the cruiseport.

 

Thanks

If the menu says $8 or anything less, you can order it for "free." If it says anything above $8 then you pay whatever the price is, plus the service charge.

OK... got it.

Normally at port the price is drink+tip+tax. With the SBC drinks under 8.00, all is covered.

Starting to like this SBC Explore4 package more :)

For our 7 day Carribean scheduled in Feb the Explore4 price difference is $133 pp. I priced it with and without. What a bargain! Deduct the cost of the Pinnacle Grill dinner, which we would do anyway, and the drinks cost is $98 pp for the week. We'll also bring a couple bottles of nice wine and a couple of sparkling, because we live in Napa. I can do this with my liver tied behind my back.

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We only just purchased a drink package for the first time on our last cruise (Princess) and enjoyed having it. Honestly, I couldn't tell you if it was a good investment financially or not, but it was worth adding the price to the cost of our vacation just for the feeling of being a bit more...pampered? Maybe that's not quite the right term, but it was sure nice to not think about ordering that cappuccino or espresso, or the bottle of water to take for longer excursions. Want a glass of white with the appetizer and a glass of red with the entree? Sure. Fresh squeezed OJ every morning. And that's in addition to the occasional alcoholic beverages. Not even giving it a second thought was nice.

Of course, if you are one who wouldn't give it a thought anyway, more power to you. Unfortunately, I tend to be a penny-pincher at the time of purchase, so having all that paid for pre-cruise and out of sight/out of mind on the cruise made it feel so much more luxe.

We are happy to have the package included on our upcoming 18-night. Quite a few relaxing sea days, so it's going to be super sweet!

So I don't look at it as I need 15 drinks a day but more likely if I will drink more than 6-8 drinks. I plan 2 mimosas for breakfast a special coffe mid morning along with 2-3 bottles of water 2 beers at lunch and the a couple frozen drinks by the pool and another 2-3 waters 2 glasses of wine at dinner and then a evening cocktail along with 2-3 waters. I certainly make out cheaper.

I drink approx 120 ounces of water a day. Dislike Soda or lemonade like sparkling water when I can get it

Agreed 15 drinks a day can be easy...

1. Bottle of water

2, Specialty coffee dry

3,4 Mimossa with breakfast

5, Bottle of water

6. White wine with lunch

7. Specialty coffee wet

8,9. Late afternoon cocktail

10,11 white and red wine with dinner

12, specialty coffee, wet or dry

13,14 showtime, piano bar, casino drinks...

15 bottle of water.....

More or less.....

I enjoy it for the fact you don't have a huge drink bill at the end of the cruise. You also don't have to keep track of anything. Some days, HAL might come out ahead and other days I'll come out ahead. It's also nice knowing you can try every cocktail and not feel guilty if you don't like one and just order something different. I tend to drink a lot when I'm on vacation because I like trying all of the various cocktails. Do they have special "cocktails of the day" on HAL like on other lines?

 

Just wanted to let you know there are other reasons for purchasing the package and I do so on every cruise. :)

We don't drink a lot but do have a cocktail for happy hour (2 "Raspberry Sunrises "made with RUM is yummy-First one is $6.95 plus 15% tip & Second one is $1.00 plus tip based on the $6.95 ) plus several speciality coffee's during the day..Perhaps a Baily's in place of desert for dinner & another cocktail during the shows if not having a Baily's with dinner..

We just got off of an 11 day cruise yesterday & did not have a large drink bill, at the end because we purchased two $100 drink Cards & two 5 bottle wine packages for dinner..We did not use the second card that much & HAL gave us an auto. refund on what we did not use.. The last night we used our drink cards for glasses of wine as ran out of bottles..

I used to drink a bloody Mary or a Mimosa on an early a.m. flight, but no more..It would put me back to sleep now that I'm a bit older..LOL But If I do drink in the a.m., would just use the drink card..They give you a counting after each use & you can throw the old receipts away.. Therefore, no end of cruise bill indicating drinks or coffee's..You can always buy another drink card & get refunded for balance not used at end of cruise which is done by HAL automatically..

BTW we never buy water..We've always filled our insulated water bottles from the Tap & put them in the cooler overnight.. All ships including HAL's tap water is better than our water here at home..At home we only drink filtered water..

Forgot to mention they always have the "special Drink of the day" on HAL They were all $6.50 but don't know if you could get the second one for a dollar as never had one, because we like the Raspberry rum punch..

especially on the rum drinks as they seem quite weak. I have several JW black and my partner has Grey Goose rather than the bar pour so it ends up close to the 15 drinks when we add the water in.

I know it's probably been answered here and I'm sorry I live in Europe and added tax is on all prices before we pay I have the explored 4 for my cruise and just want to check does that include the tax I know it sounds silly and if not do I need to do a calculation of my drinks to ensure I stay under the $ 7 or 8 which ever it is limit . Thanks

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Yes it has been all covered including port taxes on drinks, just read the posts in this thread.

Yes it has been all covered including port taxes on drinks, just read the posts in this thread.

Thanks my brain dead sleep deprived brain wouldn't let me process the info thanks for taking the time to reply

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Hi all I thought I’d resurrect this thread rather than start a new one.

I too am a little confused and seeking clarification if possible. I’ve read posts in this thread and other threads about the SBP that say if you purchase the package, which I think is currently $44.95 per day in advance, a 15% service charge is added. Therefore service charge not added to individual drinks.

I haven’t read any posts that specifically indicate the situation when the SBP is included in the Explore4 promotional pacakage, only that when the Explore4 is thrown in many would happily use the SBP that wouldn’t purchase it.

I’ve just booked my first cruise (total newbie), with HAL, and the Explore4 was included. Is anyone able to specify whether a 15% service charge will be added to my shipboard account for drinks obtained on the SBP - on a per drink basis - and therefore making the service charge element payable at the end? I don’t actually mind if there is a service charge added to each drink but it’s nice to know in advance what to expect.

Thanks,

Bretty

I’ve just booked my first cruise (total newbie), with HAL, and the Explore4 was included. Is anyone able to specify whether a 15% service charge will be added to my shipboard account for drinks obtained on the SBP - on a per drink basis - and therefore making the service charge element payable at the end? I don’t actually mind if there is a service charge added to each drink but it’s nice to know in advance what to expect.

Bretty, the Explore4 promo package also includes the 15% upcharge. You are good to go!

You and my DW would get along marvellously. She is quite partial to champagne, prosecco, sparkling, et al. A lovely bit of enjoyment as we age somewhat gracefully. :)

We enjoyed the drinks only because....... it was included!!!!

We booked a 12 day trip while on a 7 day trip. Drink package and $50-$100 credit per person. I loved it! I never drink cocktails but I took advantage of 2-3 per day and beer here and there.

I would get the "fruity drinks virgin style" as my daughter liked the "strawberry lemonade". She liked to lick the sugar around the rim..

No way would we ever drink the 15 limit. Usually is a bucket of beers on the lido on a sea day at most..

I will admit to claiming more than one glass of free Champaign down in the signature shops though!

Bretty, the Explore4 promo package also includes the 15% upcharge. You are good to go!

 

You and my DW would get along marvellously. She is quite partial to champagne, prosecco, sparkling, et al. A lovely bit of enjoyment as we age somewhat gracefully. :)

Bah! Who wants to grow old gracefully?

Thanks for the info, that’s both good and surprising to know. Makes me look forward to the trip a little more :cool: