Beverage Package? Yay or nay?

we will be traveling on our first cruise in Alaska, starting out with four days on land and sailing Saturday, July 16 through Saturday, July 23. I am more of a wine drinker and my husband tends to drink more beer/rum/vodka. Wondering what most people would suggest for us? I haven't been able to locate any detailed pricing from the ship for alcoholic beverages. Is it worth it to get the alcohol beverage package for the week?

We are not big drinkers, but order what we want and usually spend $40 to $60 per day total on drinks. I believe these prices to be pretty accurate

Beer $5-$6.50 - packages to buy 4 or 5 at a time at a discount are available.

Wine $6-8 per glass - you can bring one bottle per person onboard to drink (or pour) in your cabin

Mixed drinks, ie rum and coke I think is under $7

Specialty drinks, ie blended drinks are normally $8.95

Of course you can find more expensive drinks. There are normally two happy hours per day where it is buy one get one for a dollar. It must be the same drink but you can have them not open one beer and take it back to your cabin. There is a fridge and your steward will bring ice.

Our drinking habits would never warrant purchasing the package at $50+ dollars per day each...now for my adult kids...that is another story.

It all depends. If you're going to drink more than $60 a day per person, it's worth it. An average cocktail is $10-$12. An average glass of wine is $8-$12. Beer is $5-$7 per bottle. You can't use your package for two. Although some try and share, cruise lines keep pretty good track of how much and how many you consume.

Remember, you can bring one bottle of wine per person. Open it in your cabin and bring the your filled wine glass to dinner and it won't cost you a cent!

During port days I don't think you could drink $60 worth. That leaves sea days. It's cold in Alaska so people won't be spending a ton of time on deck drinking, unless you get rare warm weather.

The math works out so that if you are doing 7-8 drinks per day, it is a good deal. Of course you are getting cokes, bottled water, etc. included as well. It will never be a good deal for me.

Great feedback! Doesn't sound cost affective for us!

we will be traveling on our first cruise in Alaska, starting out with four days on land and sailing Saturday, July 16 through Saturday, July 23. I am more of a wine drinker and my husband tends to drink more beer/rum/vodka. Wondering what most people would suggest for us? I haven't been able to locate any detailed pricing from the ship for alcoholic beverages. Is it worth it to get the alcohol beverage package for the week?

If I still drank it'd be a no brainer, I always get the soda package and always come out way in front.

It depends how many a day you have, wine you will need to drink about 6 a day. Beer you may need 8 a day.

Good answers above but one item left out is that you also get 40% off on any wine up to $100!that you purchase in the dining area. That is a shareable item so you can have wine with your spouse or friends. For some that tips it in favor of the package. I do not go this route because I cannot drink that much anymore

Here is an excellent beverage package evaluator spreadsheet to figure it out for yourself. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038576&highlight=evaluator

The updated prices is included at post 205 on page 11.

Just go through the spreadsheet, see what you may drink and it's costs and do the math for yourself. For us,it's a no-brainer. We get the package, on virtually all cruises. If we had a port intensive sailing, say 6 ports in 7 nights, we wouldn't. Otherwise, we get it. With bottled water, specialty coffees, and cocktails, it's a no-brainer for us... For others, it's not a deal. Only you know how much you may drink.

And for what it's worth, you don't have to drink $60 ($56.35 really, although minus out the gratuity and it's only $49 you're actually "drinking") worth every day. Some days may be more drinks while others are less. If it evens out to the total for the week, then maybe a package is for you (or your hubby). Of it doesn't work out to about $350 or more for the week, then don't buy one.

We easily covered the cost of the package on our Alaska sailing this past summer. It was 77-80 degrees the first few days, shorts and T-shirts while in Glacier Bay and enjoyed several cocktails on deck while scenic cruising, and during the other days after returning to ship - hot chocolate, Irish coffees, etc all helped keep us warm and toasty..bottles waters on our hikes and rafting trips, etc -all added up.

To each their own. For some it works out, for others it doesn't.. You can do the math from the spreadsheet and decide for yourselves.

we will be traveling on our first cruise in Alaska, starting out with four days on land and sailing Saturday, July 16 through Saturday, July 23. I am more of a wine drinker and my husband tends to drink more beer/rum/vodka. Wondering what most people would suggest for us? I haven't been able to locate any detailed pricing from the ship for alcoholic beverages. Is it worth it to get the alcohol beverage package for the week?

The way you describe your drinking preferences, the AIBP is worth for you considering that it also includes non-alcoholic beverages.

But it all depends on how you work out your numbers.

There is a recent Crooners drink menu under my signature. Wine prices are on the last picture.

$40 or $50 dollars pp a day :eek:

Tony

we will be traveling on our first cruise in Alaska, starting out with four days on land and sailing Saturday, July 16 through Saturday, July 23. I am more of a wine drinker and my husband tends to drink more beer/rum/vodka. Wondering what most people would suggest for us? I haven't been able to locate any detailed pricing from the ship for alcoholic beverages. Is it worth it to get the alcohol beverage package for the week?

It very much depends on how much wine or beer/rum/vodka yoy would drink in a day. I really recommend you use the spreadsheet that was posted earlier.

We find it works for us but we usually have a couple of cocktails a day, as well as wine with lunch and dinner, fresh orange juice with breakfast, speciality coffees, and bottled water.

Here are some drink menus from the Coral this past February:

CR22 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR21 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR20 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR19 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR18 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR17 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

A few more:

CR16 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR15 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR14 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR13 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR12 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

CR11 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

I had more scanned that I remembered :)

CR10 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

Standard menu in the MDR each night:

B90 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

These are from Crooners:

a76 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

a75 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

a74 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

a73 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

a72 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

It all depends. If you're going to drink more than $60 a day per person, it's worth it. An average cocktail is $10-$12. An average glass of wine is $8-$12. Beer is $5-$7 per bottle. You can't use your package for two. Although some try and share, cruise lines keep pretty good track of how much and how many you consume.

 

Remember, you can bring one bottle of wine per person. Open it in your cabin and bring the your filled wine glass to dinner and it won't cost you a cent!

 

During port days I don't think you could drink $60 worth. That leaves sea days. It's cold in Alaska so people won't be spending a ton of time on deck drinking, unless you get rare warm weather.

These prices are scoped a little high. The average cocktail, like a martini, margarita, cosmo, is under $10, straight whiskeys, scotches, liqueurs are in the $7 range. In fact almost all alcoholic beverages are priced under $10, and so almost everything is included in the AIBP. Only a few selections of wine and some special whiskeys are priced higher.

Cost of the AIBP is $56.35/day, including the gratuity. So for a 7 day cruise the cost is $394.45/pp. The package includes all beverages alcoholic and non alcoholic, prices under $10, but excludes room service.

You have to do the math. In our case, we do not drink enough to make the AIBP worthwhile. Cheaper to pay by the drink.

Thanks so much for the spread sheet for drinks!!

Does the beverage package work for room service also?

Does the beverage package work for room service also?

No. It is good in any restaurant or bar, but not for room service. You will have to walk to the bar, get your drink, and carry it back to your room.

Does the beverage package work for room service also?

Nope. Only for bars and restaurants around the ship. Does not include room service or in-room mini-bar.

There are numerous other threads discussing this identical question, e.g., http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2338539, and a very good calculator that you can apply to your situation at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038576.

A common misunderstanding, which appears again in this thread, is an assumption that you must drink a great deal of alcohol to make the package work. If you drink specialty coffees, freshly squeezed orange juice, bottled waters, and sodas along with a moderate amount of alcohol, you may find it works for you.:eek: Only teetotalers will surely fare better with a different package (e.g., soda) or no package. Use the calculator to see how it will impact you. Don't assume just because you aren't going to have 7-8 alcoholic drinks a day that you're better without it. You may well wind up paying more overall.:(

The AIBP is a YEA for us! :D

No. It is good in any restaurant or bar, but not for room service. You will have to walk to the bar, get your drink, and carry it back to your room.

Thanks!!