Are the Holland America Drink Packages Worth Buying?

A drinks package may be a smart choice

Luxury cruise lines like Seabourn include unlimited wine and alcohol in their cruise rates. (See our Seabourn review).

But on most major cruise lines with bigger cruise ships – like Holland America Line (HAL), Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean – you pay for your alcoholic drinks, along with bottled water, soft drinks and cappuccinos.

The flip side is that you pay substantially less for a HAL cruise than for, say, a Seabourn cruise.

(BTW, did you know Seabourn is HAL’s sister cruise line? They’re both under the big Carnival Corporation umbrella.)

Depending on how much you drink – and if you want the freedom to order that second pre-dinner cocktail without worrying about the cost – an all-inclusive beverage package could save you money.

5 Main Holland America drink packages

HAL offers both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage packages.

Note: All prices are in U.S. dollars.

1) Holland America Elite Beverage Package

This is HAL’s premium package.

It costs $59.95 per person per day. (See our note on additional service charges in the “Fine Print” section below.)

If you pride yourself on being a connoisseur of cocktails and wine, this is probably the best package.

It includes an array of premium cocktails, beer, spirits and wines by the glass – priced $15 or less – along with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages (like Perrier water, sodas, smoothies and cappuccino).

Among the included cocktails are Master Mixologist Dale DeGroff’s original cocktails, such as the Peruvian-themed “Alliance” with BarSol Pisco (a Peruvian brandy), strawberry, lychee, ginger and Prosecco.

Don’t know who Dale DeGroff is?

Well, if it makes you feel better, we didn’t either until we Googled. He’s been called “one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts” by the New York Times.

Winner of two James Beard awards, DeGroff has also written two best-selling books, “The Craft of the Cocktail” and “The Essential Cocktail.”

As for wines, the Elite package includes, for example, the Sokol Blosser Evolution Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Le Grand Courtage Brut Rosé from France.

There are only a few cocktails and wines by the glass that are more expensive than $15.

But if you’d like, say, a $16 Smoked Cherry Old Fashioned (with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Angostura and orange bitters, smoked with cherry wood) then you need only pay the difference of $1 over and above the $15 limit.

The same is true for a Grgich Hills Chardonnay from the Napa Valley (priced at $25 a glass) – you’d have to pay $10 extra for this glass.

Note: The Elite package has a daily limit of 15 alcoholic drinks per person.

2) Holland America Signature Beverage Package

This is probably the most popular of the Holland America Line drink packages.

The Signature Beverage Package on Holland America costs $54.95 per person per day.

With this package, you can enjoy beer, cocktails, spirits and wines by the glass priced $11 or less. You also get “specialty” non-alcoholic drinks such as Coke, bottled water, cappuccino and smoothies.

Note: The Signature HAL beverage package has a limit of 15 drinks per person per day. This includes alcoholic and specialty non-alcoholic drinks.

Again, if you’d like to try a drink that costs more than $11, you only need to pay the difference.

3) Holland America Quench Beverage Package

This Holland America drink package is their no-alcohol package.

It costs $17.95 per guest a day.

Enjoy juices, Coca-Cola products, Red Bull, mocktails, bottled water, premium coffees (like espresso and cappuccino) and other specialty non-alcoholic options with this package.

We can’t do without our cappuccinos and lattes, so we were grateful HAL treated us each to their Quench package on our most recent Rotterdam cruise.

Toward the end of our voyage, we found out that even milkshakes (which cost $4.50) are included. Guess which one of us couldn’t resist promptly using their Quench package to order a chocolate milkshake that afternoon!

Note: There’s a limit of 15 non-alcoholic drinks a day in the Quench package.

4) Holland America Coca-Cola Package

Here’s one for soda lovers – the Coca-Cola Freestyle package. It includes unlimited Cokes and fountain sodas.

The cost is $8 per person a day.

Note: This drinks package is only available on Pinnacle Class ships (Konigsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam).

5) Holland America Water Package

Have it All Package

On some cruises, Holland America offers a “Have it All” package.

As the “Have it All” package includes more – but costs less – than the Signature drinks package, it’s clearly a better deal.

Holland America wine packages

As well as the Holland America alcohol packages (for cocktails, beer and wines by the glass), there are also packages for buying wines by the bottle – called the Sommelier Suite. (See our post on Holland America’s wine packages for complete details.)

The wines come from Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, California, Chile, Washington, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Austria.

Holland America drinks prices and menus (no package)

What’s the cost of drinks on Holland America cruises if you don’t buy a package?

Hard liquor

Drinks like Drambuie and Kahlua range in price from $7 (Jagermeister) to $25 (Hennessy XO).

Beer

You’ll also find several types of beer on the Holland America drink menu.

Fancy a Blue Moon Belgian White, Guinness Stout or Michelob Ultra? A 16 ounce glass is yours for $7.75.

Holland America wines by the bottle

Wine enthusiasts will be pleased to know there are more than 100 wines on HAL’s list of wines by the bottle.

All of the wines have been selected by James Suckling, one of the world’s foremost wine critics.

Added gratuity

An 18% gratuity is automatically added to your account for all alcohol and beverage purchases.

What drinks are free on Holland America?

Don’t worry, you’re not going to go thirsty if you don’t buy any of the Holland America Line beverage packages!

As you’d expect, your cruise fare includes complimentary beverages like regular brewed coffee, tea, non-bottled water, iced tea and juice at breakfast.

Is the drink package worth it on Holland America?

Signature Package

Let’s look first at the Signature package, as that’s the most popular.

You’d have to spend about $55 a day on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to break even. This would equate to about two cappuccinos, one bottled water and four cocktails or glasses of wine (or six beers) a day.

Skip the specialty coffees and bottled water, and you’d have to drink about five cocktails or glasses of wine a day to break even.

So if you think you’re going to drink five or more alcoholic drinks a day (cocktails or wine), then, yes, the package is worth it.

You’ll save on any extra alcoholic drinks. And your cappuccinos and soft drinks will be free too (to a maximum of 15 drinks in total, of course).

Elite Package

For the Elite package, you’d have to spend about $60 a day on alcoholic drinks to break even.

Now, here’s the thing. If you think you might like four or more $15 cocktails or glasses of wine (or six or more $11 cocktails or glasses of wine a day), then the Elite package will definitely save you money.

Remember, this premium beverage package allows you up to 15 alcoholic beverages a day (priced under $15 each).

HAL Signature vs. Elite Beverage Package

If you’d prefer premium drinks that cost more than $11, then it’s worth getting the Elite package rather than the Signature package.

With just two $15 drinks a day, you’ve justified the extra charge to upgrade from the Signature to the Elite package.

As well, you wouldn’t have to worry about specialty coffees, sodas and bottled water – you could drink as many of these as you’d like!

Last words on HAL’s cruise drink packages

Depending on your preferences and drinking habits, a package could be good value.

Definitely consider the Elite package, for example, if you like finer cocktails and wines, prefer cappuccinos to regular coffee, can’t do without bottled water and think you’d drink four or more alcoholic drinks a day.

If your cruise offers the “Have it All” package, you’ll want to choose this package over the Signature package.

With a package, there’s the benefit of not worrying about your onboard account at the end of your cruise. It’s a nice feeling not to have to think about the bill every time you order a drink (and question whether you should get it or not)!

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