"Have it all" vs a la carte pricing

[pmjnh]

We are thinking about going back to cruising after our 2 year hiatus. I am looking at Hawaii from San Diego.

 

we are trying to determine if the "have it all "pricing is worth it.

 

i do realize that the beverages is the biggest deal. I am a one glass of wine with dinner person, and hubby an occasional beer,. So we can pretty much figure what our beverage cost will be on an 18 day cruise.

 

wifi: what is the general rate per day for wifi? I guess that is the big one for me...on the Koningsdam.

 

shore excursions..200 allowance...are the hawaii ports and/HAL allowing cruise passengers to come and go?

 

the other are easier to predict...the dining specialty probaby $100 ( going high, I think)

 

any thoughts?

 

thank you

[CruiserBruce]

Hawaii will be fully open starting March 25. So you will be able to travel ashore on your own, if you wish.

 

All of the costs of the internet,  drink package  and dining costs are available here and on the HAL website,  so you can do the calculations on your costs. We do the same calculations. 

 

It sounds like you are going to have to work to get your money out of a drink package,  so probably doing a la carte is probably your best bet.

[Florida_gal_50]

You might want to pre buy your internet.  I was pretty shocked to see the surf package go from $99 in November for a seven day cruise to $169 now.  I realize the Hawaii cruise is longer.

[Mary229]

I am taking a 21 day cruise and the premium internet package is $240.  For me the HIA is not worth it.  

Edited March 17, 2022 by Mary229

[rkacruiser]

Without exception for any cruise that I have booked on HAL, when there was a special package promotion, the price of the cruise without the promotion was less.  For me, often, the package promotion has "stuff" that interests me not and would not be used.

[oakridger]

On the cruises I have booked for this fall the Have It All was ~$50 per day more than the fare without it.  Since I use the Beverage Package, that alone is worth the HIA for me and the internet, dinners and excursions (and on 2 of them the Crew Incentive) are "free".  So for me it was definitely the best price!!

 

The Signature Beverage Package is currently $53.04 per day - maximum 15 drinks (includes 18% gratuity)

 

If I didn't drink then I would need to really think if I wanted the HIA.

 

~Nancy

 

[Mary229]

In case you don’t know there is a third mid tier pricing.  There is the highest , Have it All, then there is the very lowest fare with the non-refundable deposit but there is a third fare slightly higher than the lowest with a refundable deposit.   This mid fare is valuable as you can change fares if a better deal comes up before final payment.  You can always switch to HIA at final payment.  You must call for the mid tier fare, it will not be listed on the website 

[TiogaCruiser]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

You might want to pre buy your internet.  I was pretty shocked to see the surf package go from $99 in November for a seven day cruise to $169 now.  I realize the Hawaii cruise is longer.

Surf? Not premium?

oh my.

[Florida_gal_50]

47 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Surf? Not premium?

oh my.

Nope only surf.  I was shocked.  

[Trapper44]

During a 25-day cruise, in Feb. on the ms Koningsdam the Premium package was $299.99 for the cruise. The Surf package was $199.99. Nobody onboard or at the corporate it department could explain why, when I tried to purchase a second package, the price jumped to $214.99.

[TiogaCruiser]

6 minutes ago, Trapper44 said:

During a 25-day cruise, in Feb. on the ms Koningsdam the Premium package was $299.99 for the cruise. The Surf package was $199.99. Nobody onboard or at the corporate it department could explain why, when I tried to purchase a second package, the price jumped to $214.99.

It’s the New Math.

[Trapper44]

39 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

It’s the New Math.

LOL!!   Almost had to clean my keyboard. Wish I had known about that comeback at the time.

 

[zgscl]

I consider the have it all a good value even though I am not really much of a drinker. The main reason is that it includes a refundable deposit. I have changed way too many plans to ever consider a non-refundable deposit. 

 

While you can technically get the refundable deposit without the added perks, the upsell between these two is somewhere in the $100-200 range which is covered by the shore excursion credit, specialty dining & wifi. I consider the beverage package a bonus perk. Additionally if you watch the promotions you can sometimes get added gratuities also which further enhances the value. 

Edited March 18, 2022 by zgscl

[MISTER 67]

Speaking of prices, we are leaving Sunday on the Rotterdam and going for a great rate. We booked an inside cabin for $449 for the first passengrr and $225 for 2nd passenger, with port charges it was $974 total.

The other day HAL offered us a ridiculous upgrade of  $499 PP for a Verandah, what a joke and an insult to our intelligence, 1 guess they were trying to make up for the great price we booked for originally.

Edited March 18, 2022 by MISTER 67

[Mary229]

6 hours ago, zgscl said:

The main reason is that it includes a refundable deposit.

See my post at #7.  I always get the refundable mid-tier.  It is a must call price.  

[DaveOKC]

Its a good idea to watch for price changes on HAL, as they happen fairly often.  One has to do a bit of math though, as many times the perks also change and you have to take this along with a price reduction.

[Florida_gal_50]

19 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

See my post at #7.  I always get the refundable mid-tier.  It is a must call price.  

The poster you quoted was correct in my experience. There is usually not much difference in that pricing and have it all unless you have Mariner pricing or it’s closer to the cruise.  I often ask for that pricing and I’m always dissapointed.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[FlorenceItaly]

Run the numbers.  Also, something to consider is how this effects insurance pricing.

[Mary229]

6 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The poster you quoted was correct.  There is usually not much difference in that pricing and have it all unless you have Mariner pricing or it’s closer to the cruise.  I often ask for that pricing and I’m always dissapointed.

Well, that is not my experience.  I have one in Canada this summer which I chose not to use HIA, it is an interior cabin and I am only paying about $150 more per person for the refundable deposit.  The HIA would have have been $400 more. 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Mary229

[pmjnh]

1 minute ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Run the numbers.  Also, something to consider is how this effects insurance pricing.

Yes, i noticed that with the HIA package insurance went way up..

[Florida_gal_50]

8 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Well, that is not my experience.  I have one in Canada this summer which I chose not to use HIA, it is an interior cabin and I am only paying about $150 more per person for the refundable deposit.  The HIA would have have been $400 more. 

I don’t book inside cabins so maybe the price is much better.  It hasn’t been they way for a balcony.

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don’t book inside cabins so maybe the price is much better.  It hasn’t been they way for a balcony.

That could be true.  I don't drink on a short cruise so for me the drink portion has absolutely no value and usually on my short cruises I am in familiar territory and will not take a shore excursion.  

 

But having this discussion made me review all of the details and it seems that there has been a price drop on my cruise - so Yippee I will get a discount today

Edited March 18, 2022 by Mary229

[DaveOKC]

7 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

That could be true.  I don't drink on a short cruise so for me the drink portion has absolutely no value and usually on my short cruises I am in familiar territory and will not take a shore excursion.  

 

But having this discussion made me review all of the details and it seems that there has been a price drop on my cruise - so Yippee I will get a discount today

Congrats!  Always nice when this happens.  When we get a casino OFFER I do not check prices afterwards as it never changes, however if we use a casino RATE I do check and can often get a better deal at some point.  It does pay to keep checking - also on your airfare, hotels and rental cars (I rebook these ALL the time - get a price I am comfortable with, book it with a refundable rate, and watch it every week or so.

 

[pmjnh]

Thank you all for your opinions and thoughts on this. Clearly the Beverage package, as attractive as it sounds probably is not the way to go. We will also have $400 in OBC and thus ala carte , even with wifi premium a better deal for us. 

[Mary229]

56 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don’t book inside cabins so maybe the price is much better.  It hasn’t been they way for a balcony.

I went back and looked at my 21 day cruise with balcony and I agree with you, the difference was negligible and we selected HIA on that cruise.