Holland America Signature Beverage Package: Price and Is It Worth It? (2027)

For most people, a Holland America drink package is worth it only if you will have around four or five alcoholic drinks a day, every day of the cruise. The Signature Beverage Package costs roughly $56 to $61 per person per day before the service charge, and Elite costs about $5 a day more. If you like a glass of wine with dinner and maybe one cocktail, paying as you go is usually cheaper. If you were already thinking of buying a package, look at the Have It All fare first. It includes the Signature package plus Wi-Fi, specialty dining and a shore excursion credit, often for not much more than the drinks package costs alone.

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Holland America Signature Beverage Package and Other Drink Packages at a Glance

Holland America currently sells four beverage packages. Prices are per person, per day, for the whole cruise. The figures below are the pre-cruise prices on Holland America’s own FAQ at the time of writing. Other recent guides quote about $5 more, which is closer to what you may pay onboard. Treat every number here as a guide and check your booking before you pay.

On top of these prices there is a service charge. Holland America raised its beverage and restaurant service charge from 18% to 20% for sailings from around June 2026. Some of its own pages still show 18%, and the wording on whether the charge is included in the quoted price or added at checkout is not consistent. So check the final total. At 20%, a $55.95 Signature package works out to about $67 a day.

The rules that catch people out

• Everyone in the cabin buys it. If one adult of legal drinking age buys Signature or Elite, every other drinking-age adult in the same stateroom has to buy it too, for the whole cruise.
• 15 drinks per day. On Signature, soft drinks and coffees count toward the 15. On Elite, only alcoholic drinks count and zero-proof drinks are unlimited.
• One drink at a time. You cannot order for a friend or share. Drinks ordered for someone else are charged at bar prices.
• Over the cap, pay the difference. On Signature, a drink above $12 is still yours, and you just pay the amount over $12.
• Exclusions. The minibar, in-room dining, the self-service draft beer and drinks bought at Half Moon Cay or RelaxAway are not covered.
• No refunds. Packages cannot be transferred or refunded. Holland America also advertises savings, often $10 a day, for buying select packages before you sail.

What’s Free, and What You’ll Pay Without a Package

Holland America gives you quite a lot without charging extra. These drinks are included in your fare:

• Brewed drip coffee and hot tea
• Iced tea and lemonade
• Tap water (the ship’s water is safe to drink)
• Milk, plus juice at breakfast

Everything else is charged per drink, with the service charge added. Recent guides put typical onboard prices at around:

• Beer: about $8
• Wine by the glass: about $11 to $13
• Classic cocktails: about $11 to $12. Specialty cocktails: about $13 to $14
• Specialty coffee: about $3 to $4.50
• Fountain soda: about $3
• Bottled still or sparkling water: about $4 to $6

Some bars run a happy hour, often in the late afternoon, with discounted drinks for guests who don’t have a package. If you drink at a moderate pace, it is worth checking the daily programme for it.

Break-Even Maths: How Much Do You Need to Drink?

Here is a simple way to work it out. Assume the Signature package costs about $67 a day including a 20% service charge, and that a typical cocktail or glass of wine costs $12. With the same 20% charge, each drink then costs about $14.40.

• Signature: $67 ÷ $14.40 is about 4.7. So you need roughly five alcoholic drinks a day, or four plus a couple of specialty coffees and a bottle of water, before the package pays for itself.
• Elite: it costs only about $6 more a day including the charge, so it makes sense if you order premium spirits, top-shelf wines or Dale DeGroff cocktails above the $12 cap. If most of your drinks are standard beer and house wine, the extra spend is wasted.
• Quench: at around $18 plus the service charge, you need roughly four to five specialty coffees, mocktails or bottled waters a day. Many people drink less than that.
• Coca-Cola: at about $8 to $9 plus the service charge, three or four fountain sodas a day covers it.

Port days change the sums. On a busy itinerary you may be ashore for most of the day, so your onboard drinking falls, but you still pay for the package on every day of the cruise. On a cruise with lots of sea days, the numbers favour the package much more.

Have It All: Often the Smarter Way to Buy Drinks

Holland America’s Have It All fare adds a set of extras to your cruise fare for a daily price per person. According to Holland America’s US site, it is currently $65 per person per day, or $60 for cruises departing before summer 2027. It includes:

• The Signature Beverage Package (drinks up to $12, 15 a day)
• The Surf Wi-Fi package
• Specialty dining: 1, 2 or 3 nights depending on cruise length, at venues such as Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto, Sel de Mer and Tamarind
• A shore excursion credit of up to $100, $200 or $300 per person, depending on cruise length

Prices and inclusions differ in other markets. The UK and European versions, for example, also mention prepaid crew appreciation. Read the terms for the region where you book. If you already want the Signature package and would use Wi-Fi, Have It All is usually the better buy, because the drinks alone cost almost as much.

Look out for the Have It All Early Booking Bonus on select future sailings too. When we checked, it upgraded the drinks to the Elite Beverage Package and the Wi-Fi to Premium. It also added onboard credit and prepaid gratuities for selected 2027 and 2028 departures. These offers are time-limited and change often, so our guide to cruise deals for 2027 is a good place to see when promotions like this tend to appear.

Bringing Your Own Wine

Holland America is one of the more generous mainstream lines on wine. Guests may bring wine or champagne onboard, in bottles of 750ml or less. A corkage fee of $20 per bottle applies, whether you drink it in the dining room or in your stateroom, according to the line’s current FAQ. The line doesn’t publish a strict bottle count, but it says excessive quantities may be refused. Wine bought on a Holland America winery shore excursion is exempt from corkage, limited to one bottle per person.

Spirits, beer, sodas and other soft drinks are not allowed. Bottled water is limited to a small amount per stateroom, and alcohol bought in port or duty free is held until the end of the cruise. If you love good wine but don’t drink much else, bringing a few favourite bottles and paying corkage can work out far cheaper than any package. See the official Holland America policy before you pack.

Verdict: Which Package Suits Which Drinker?

• Light drinkers (zero to two drinks a day): skip the packages. The free coffee, tea, iced tea and lemonade cover the basics, and paying per glass will cost less.
• Wine-with-dinner couples: pay as you go, or bring a few bottles and pay corkage. A bottle from the wine list shared over dinner is often better value than separate packages.
• Moderate-to-heavy drinkers (five or more a day): Signature pays off, and Have It All usually beats buying Signature on its own.
• Premium spirits and fine wine fans: Elite, ideally through an Early Booking Bonus fare that includes it.
• Non-drinkers who love lattes and mocktails: Quench, but only if you’ll use it every day.
• Soda fans and families: the Coca-Cola package is cheap and easy to justify.

If you are sailing to the Caribbean, remember that drinks at Half Moon Cay are excluded from packages. Our look at the refreshed Half Moon Cay private island covers what’s there.

UK cruisers comparing lines may also find our guide to Marella Cruises drinks packages useful.

Still choosing a ship? Our Holland America ships ranked best to worst explains which vessels suit Alaska, Europe and longer voyages.

If food matters as much as drinks to you, see our ranking of which cruise line has the best food before choosing a ship.

If you are also considering a smaller ship, see whether the Windstar all inclusive and beverage packages are better value.

FAQs

Do both people in a cabin have to buy the Holland America drink package?

Yes, for the alcoholic packages. If one guest of legal drinking age buys Signature or Elite, all other drinking-age adults in the same stateroom must buy it for the full cruise. Underage guests in that cabin are expected to buy Quench.

Is the service charge included in the drink package price?

A service charge applies to every package, and Holland America raised it to 20% for sailings from around mid-2026. Some of its pages still say 18%, and the wording varies on whether it’s included or added. Check the final total in your booking.

Can I buy a drink package once I’m onboard?

Usually yes, on the first or second day of the cruise. Buying before you sail is generally cheaper, as Holland America often offers a daily discount for pre-cruise purchases.

Are coffee and tea free on Holland America?

Brewed coffee, hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, water and breakfast juice are free. Espresso drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos cost extra unless you have Quench or a higher package.