|
A Note from Babe Thruster About Open Bar
Hi there Hashers,
Some of you may be wondering if the Open Bar program is worth the extra money. Well, a group of 93 hashers just returned from this year's Babe's Hash Cruise on the Carnival Destiny with the open bar program. As one who has put together 12 hash cruises, I say "Absolutely YES!". But it's not just my opinion, 92% of those that went agreed. So, why is open bar better? Well, obviously, because you get whatever you want whenever you want from any bar on the ship. Like beer? Spend the day drinking cold Bass Ale or Guiness or Grolsh. Want something lighter? Have a Corona or (shudder) an American beer. Then have a few frozen mudslides in the afternoon. Wine is served at every dinner, your choice red or white. Don't like the wine? Order something from the bar service instead. Then spend the evening drinking Grey Goose and Cranberry or Crown Royal and diet coke. With the exception of the high end stuff like single malt scotch, you have an entire bar to choose from. You even get all the soda and bottled water you want. But that's only half the advantage. Think about hashing. As it stands now, you have to purchase beer for circle which can get pretty expensive and still you're limited to beer on hand which leads to short, beer-rationed circles. With open bar, you can get a case of beer at a time (see photo on web site). It's unlimited. Circle can run for hours if you want it to. Here's another advantage; pub crawls. Want to host a shooter pub crawl? Just go to each bar and arrange whatever shot you want them to make. When the pack comes through, it's drinks all around and you sign the bill for $0.00. Open bar adds a whole new dimension to hashing on board.
So yes, the open bar program does add to the cost of the cruise. But it also eliminates the hassle and adds more fun to the cruise. But don't take my word for it, ask ANYONE who was on the last cruise. You can find them in the Babe's Hash Cruise group on Hashspace. Here's a sample of the responses I got when I asked them if they wanted to do open bar again:
1. Buy alcohol on board.
This get pretty costly. for a 5 day cruise we spent over $800 for me and Navel Jelly and I am the one who doesn't drink a lot. Plus we spent $20 a piece for the soft drink card. That was 5 years ago and prices have gone up.
2. smuggle alcohol on board.
Not only did we have to buy alcohol up front. (Vodka, Kahlua, and, Rum) but you have to get the mixers. Pack them into the suitcase and that takes up room and weight. The airlines charges now for extra weight and suitcases. You end up running out of mixers and possibly alcohol depending on how much you brought. Plus you do end up buying drinks on board as well. We spent over $100 a day plus the $20 each for the soft drink card for coke for the rum. Orange Juice is only available at breakfast for free. White Russians were the only thing that was available because you can add Ice cream or Milk but you have to keep going back to the cabin. Plus, remember Burnin Bush had that bottle of rum break in her suitcase and she had to find a place to wash all of her clothes and than she didn't have a bottle and had to buy drinks anyway
3. open bar card.
You get Alcoholic beverages. You get soft drinks. You get bottled water. And it includes the 15% tip that is normally automatically added to all of the beverage sales on board. So it isn't just the alcohol, it's the other incidentals that you would pay for as well. It was really nice having wine at the table for dinner and not having to wait for the drink girl to get your order and bring it back. So even for those who don't drink a lot of alcohol, you other beverages are covered as well. THIS IS THE WAY TO GO!!!!!!!
The more you can pay for up front with NO SURPRISES when the "Bar Bill" shows up at your door is definitely an advantage.
Anybody who doesn't think this is the way to go is an idiot. Yes, a complete idiot.
There is only one reason that you wouldn't go this way and that is if you are "on the wagon"
|