Beverage card and mariner discount

[shanni-shanni]

How does the beverage card and mariner discount (3 stars) work?

 

Is the discounted price of the beverage deducted from the card each time of the purchase?

 

Tom

[sail7seas]

I just reviewed the sheet describing the benefits added to the Star Mariner Program, effective January 5, 2013, and I do not see any discount for beverage card for any Mariners.

 

There are discounts for 3, 4 and 5 Star Mariners on Wine Packages and beverages at Explorations Cafe.

 

 

 

[shanni-shanni]

I just reviewed the sheet describing the benefits added to the Star Mariner Program, effective January 5, 2013, and I do not see any discount for beverage card for any Mariners.

 

There are discounts for 3, 4 and 5 Star Mariners on Wine Packages and beverages at Explorations Cafe.

 

 

 

 

I do not mean the price of the card.

 

What I mean is if you already purchased the card and when you use it on the ship, do you still receive your discount as a Mariner benefit? If so, how?

 

Tom

[solocanadian]

I do not mean the price of the card.

 

What I mean is if you already purchased the card and when you use it on the ship, do you still receive your discount as a Mariner benefit? If so, how?

 

Tom

Tom: I've been 3 star for years and never received any mariner discount on a beverage card. The only things you get discounted is a wine package and beverages in Explorations cafe - not on booze at the bars.

Merry Christmas, Gail:)

[PSR]

To get the coffee discount you have to use your room card. That has the mariner information. The beverage card does not. If you are lucky enough to have purchased a discounted beverage card, it is still more of a discount to use your room card than the beverage card (3 stars get 25%, 4 stars 50%).

 

Penny

[PathfinderEss]

Being a mariner, does not have any effect on buying a beverage card or on when you buy your beverages.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Three and Four Star Mariners only get discounts on the wine packages -- 3 stars = 25% and 4 stars - 50%. You can not use your beverage card to buy a wine package.

Same thing at the Explorations Cafe -- to get your 25% discount -- you have to use your regular ID card.

You can use the Beverage card to pay for a bottle of wine or the corkage fee if you bring your own wine to the dining room or to a bar/lounge.

There will be a Happy Hour -- time and place will be listed in the daily Explorer program. You buy one drink and get the second drink for $1. It must be the same drink. And you can not order premimun alcohols.

[serendipity1499]

To get the coffee discount you have to use your room card. That has the mariner information. The beverage card does not. If you are lucky enough to have purchased a discounted beverage card, it is still more of a discount to use your room card than the beverage card (3 stars get 25%, 4 stars 50%).

 

Penny

 

Agree with Penny...

Just disembarked the Noordam...Had purchased a prepaid Beverage Card & only used it to purchase drinks, not the wine packages or coffee's..

We purchased our wine packages & coffee in Explorations Café with our cabin key..The discount on the wine packages was automatically deducted on the final bill..Incedentally you pay the 15% Service Charge on the full wine package not on the discounted price..

Since we did not use the beverage card in full, they automatically refunded the balance less the $5.00 discounted amount on our final bill..

Probably will not plan on purchasing a prepaid beverage card on future cruises, since we don't drink cocktails that often but do have wine with dinner..

Cheers...Betty

[sail7seas]

Seeing there is no discount on beverage cards, why bother?

Why not simply purchase whatever beverage you want when you want it? I don't find it any bother to use our key card as needed.

 

JMO....

[RuthC]

Seeing there is no discount on beverage cards, why bother?

Why not simply purchase whatever beverage you want when you want it? I don't find it any bother to use our key card as needed.

 

JMO....

I find it so much easier to proof out the final bill when there is one beverage charge on it, instead of one or two (or ???) for every day. One charge vs 60 is a lot less checking!

It takes a lot less time on that full last morning, when I am trying to dress, finish last-minute packing, and eat my breakfast while it's hot. Not to mention the fewer pieces of paper HAL has to use to print the bill. I bet those can add up considerably.

[solocanadian]

I find it so much easier to proof out the final bill when there is one beverage charge on it, instead of one or two (or ???) for every day. One charge vs 60 is a lot less checking!

It takes a lot less time on that full last morning, when I am trying to dress, finish last-minute packing, and eat my breakfast while it's hot. Not to mention the fewer pieces of paper HAL has to use to print the bill. I bet those can add up considerably.

I'm with you on this Ruth. I often have 5 or 6 drinks a day - used to hate keeping all those slips and chcking them off. The card makes it so much easier. :)

[sail7seas]

I find it so much easier to proof out the final bill when there is one beverage charge on it, instead of one or two (or ???) for every day. One charge vs 60 is a lot less checking!

It takes a lot less time on that full last morning, when I am trying to dress, finish last-minute packing, and eat my breakfast while it's hot. Not to mention the fewer pieces of paper HAL has to use to print the bill. I bet those can add up considerably.

 

 

I see your point. Thanks. :)

 

I am curious, though, are there really that many errors? I can't say in all our years of cruising, we've ever encountered numerous erroneous charges though I'm sure there might have been a slip up here or there.

 

I have read here about charges that are posted after having received final bill and credit card bill does not match the amount on final bill. From time to time, we read about that happening.

 

[SilvertoGold]

I see your point. Thanks. :)

 

I am curious, though, are there really that many errors? I can't say in all our years of cruising, we've ever encountered numerous erroneous charges though I'm sure there might have been a slip up here or there.

 

I have read here about charges that are posted after having received final bill and credit card bill does not match the amount on final bill. From time to time, we read about that happening.

 

 

Sail: we pay cash so we have to get up to the Front Office to settle the account early in the morning of disembarkation.

 

Once I got up there to find a Dining Room charge for the last night's dinner, a charge of about $35.00 for wine. The problem was that we had not gone to dinner the last two evenings. How this was on our account was a huge puzzle, because the room card/beverage card would have to be run through the register in the DR.

The lady in the Front Office went into the back and came out very quickly, saying she would take it off.

 

On a few cruises several years ago we would find a spa charge or a bar charge that was not our. Not many but a few here and there. The new system where they run the car through the register seems to be a real improvement.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Seeing there is no discount on beverage cards, why bother?

Why not simply purchase whatever beverage you want when you want it? I don't find it any bother to use our key card as needed.

 

JMO....

 

Even though there isn't a discount, I still find it much more convenient to use the cards.

There is just one charge showing up on your bill for the card. Each time you order a drink, you get a charge slip. Those can mount up very quickly and makes it a longer task to check your bill at the end of the cruise (or every few days).

[sail7seas]

Even though there isn't a discount, I still find it much more convenient to use the cards.

 

There is just one charge showing up on your bill for the card. Each time you order a drink, you get a charge slip. Those can mount up very quickly and makes it a longer task to check your bill at the end of the cruise (or every few days).

 

Yes. I see that is what the others wrote.

 

[slabeaume]

I do not mean the price of the card.

 

What I mean is if you already purchased the card and when you use it on the ship, do you still receive your discount as a Mariner benefit? If so, how?

 

Tom

 

I don't see that anyone has really answered your question. Sorry, but I can't answer it, either.

[PSR]

I don't see that anyone has really answered your question. Sorry, but I can't answer it, either.

 

...The use of the beverage card and getting a Mariner discount are 2 separate things. The only Mariner discount (using the room card) is for specialty coffees and wine packages. There is no Mariner discount for other kinds of liquor, or single bottles/glasses of wine. There is no Mariner discount for buying the beverage card itself.

 

Penny:)

[RuthC]

I am curious, though, are there really that many errors?

I have found a few, infrequent errors, but they do exist---and in both directions!

On one one preliminary bill I found a rather large (a few hundred dollars) charge at the shop. I don't shop. Had I not checked, and had the charge removed, it would have been mine to pay. No thanks.

On another cruise there were 16 of us for dinner in the Pinnacle. I don't know who, if anyone, ended up with the charge on their bill, but I was not charged. I called Seattle so they could get to the bottom of that one. I would hate to see HAL stuck for the cost of 16 Pinnacle dinners. Or even one, if it's mine.

 

When I have shared a cabin with someone paying separately, there have been times when a charge was applied to the wrong account.

I'm not one of those "close enough is close enough" people. I want to be charged for my purchases---no more/no less, and I proof my bills toward that end.

[sail7seas]

An erroneous large shop bill, we definitely would notice and have corrected. I admit we might miss a charge for an extra bottle of water or a soft drink. We always ask for our bill to be printed a few days before the end of the cruise and are certain to get a final copy before we leave the ship. Both of us review it and anything we question, we can verify by looking through our slips. Works for us. :)

 

We've been fortunate throughout our many cruises to have seen remarkably few errors on our bills.

 

What we pay close attention to is verify when our room card is returned to us by a steward that we have been given the proper card. DH has been handed the wrong one a few times.

 

[cruz chic]

I used to never get charged for anything extra on my bill but it's coming more common. One time it was $75, another time it was about $20 and the last time it was about $4. Someone came into the explorations cafe right after me and they charged their coffee to me. I went to the front desk and like usual they thought I was mistaken but I had the proof. I also went up to the cafe and they said they would take care of it. No one did. It wasn't worth my time so I didn't bother contacting Seattle.

[GeriatricNurse]

I used to never get charged for anything extra on my bill but it's coming more common. One time it was $75, another time it was about $20 and the last time it was about $4. Someone came into the explorations cafe right after me and they charged their coffee to me. I went to the front desk and like usual they thought I was mistaken but I had the proof. I also went up to the cafe and they said they would take care of it. No one did. It wasn't worth my time so I didn't bother contacting Seattle.

 

I would be interested in knowing how that could have happened, in case the same thing happens to me! :confused:

[cruz chic]

I would be interested in knowing how that could have happened, in case the same thing happens to me! :confused:

I would like to know how it happened too. It gets tiresome trying to prove that I didn't do it. The transaction # was one right after mine. I'm having a hard believing these are honest mistakes. I had my receipt to prove what I bought. The last time something like this happened I had 2 drinks and was charged for 5. Again, the front desk doubted me but I did have my receipt. All drinks were charged within minutes of each other. Seems a little fishy. I believe HAL is honest but I'm beginning to wonder if everyone that works for them is based on my last 3 incidents.

 

OP - sorry for the thread drift.