Bahamma Mamma2

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We always tip a dollar a drink on the package...its kinda fun to see how many drinks had at the end and the bartenders are always fast with us :) I don't mind the extra tip, I used to bartend years ago and they work hard :)

Welcome back! So would the Lava Flow had been $12 and the tip made it $14.10? Trying to decide myself now if I should get the package. Didn't know the prices went up so much.

Yes, the menu price is $12 and then they add 18% gratuity...actually making it $14.16 for each one after tip...the premium drink package was $407 which included gratuities. I needed 4 a day to break even...but that was just lava flow...not counting my soda's, bottled water and wine...I know I had at least 4 a day. I was shocked to see people paying that much for them...had I not had the drink package I would have not ordered any.

I'll be getting the premium package for both of us on our upcoming cruise. Even if we don't break even I am willing to pay extra for peace of mind. It's quite important to me and can really help relax when on vacation. I don't want the constant little voice in the back my head stressing me out about how much I'm spending. I want to be able to get what I want, whenever I want it, and not have a care in the world about it.

 

...though I'm 99% sure that I'll make the package very worth it. :D

Good choice! It was totally worth it..we did get out money's worth but even if we hadn't it was still worth the peace of mind!

Don't know if it will link - but this page (linked to the main FAQ page) says that it's wine up to $12 per glass.

 

(It also shows the old prices - so who knows.)

Yeah, I saw that too...but the new priced packages I do not remember seeing it. It is kinda confusing and when he told me that I would be charged we were already at sea so I didn't have any way to look it up (without buying an internet package).

It was an $8 limit with the Premium Package? I thought it was $8 with the Select and $12 with the Premium or Ultimate package.

That is what I thought too but on the first night we ate at Chops (very good by the way) and I tried to order an $11 glass of champagne and they said it would be an extra charge since it was over $8. I just went with the cheapo and only had one glass. All the other wine I ordered was the $8 stuff because the good ones were all in bottles anyway. But...the waiter may have been wrong at Chops...we had some service issues and someone in our group complained at the end...we found out he was new and had only been there 2 weeks so it is possible that he may have been mistaken. You could always ask and see, I didn't even think to ask...but I had already had quite a few before dinner so I wasn't on top of it either:)

Is everything listed on the Drinks Menu available on the Ultimate Package? Is there an up charge for anything? Thanks in advance.

 

DrB

I think so but I am not 100% sure. I had the premium and was never charged extra for anything. The only limits I had was wine had to be $8/glass.. Anything more than that was extra. I just had the $8 ones because all the really good ones were only sold by the bottle anyway. I drank mostly frozen drinks.

So glad you let us know! Thanks to you we will be getting the premium package when we go on the Oasis next month! I was very anxious to see how you made out. Just curious- were the pina coladas in the $12.00 range?

Yes, all the frozen drinks were $12 on the menu... Then they add gratuity to them. Most of the regular mixed drinks were $10 too. Very expensive! You will love the package... It's so nice not to worry... But.. On the flip side... I gained over 10 pounds!!! I am miserable right now... Not sure if my clothes are going to fit when I go back to work tomorrow. I am glad I could help!

Mmmmm.... Lava Flow sounds yummy!

 

Can I ask, how strict were they at enforcing it? The reason I ask is because it turns out once one of the people we are going with learned we are getting the package, he has been hitting my husband up to give him 'free drinks' on our upcoming cruise. There is no way we will do this, and I am pissed off he would even ask us. He is not poor, just cheap. My husband was telling me last night how he is being pressured. I really thought better of this guy! So I did some checking around the internet and from what I can tell RCI handles the situation as follows:

 

- No warnings given, period

- Drink package revoked, no refund

- In extreme cases where the abuse was more than 'a drink or two' passengers have been told to debark at port and not return to the ship.

- Some people mentioned that they take your photo, and when scanned your image displays.

- They have measures in place to signal possible abuse, i.e... multiple drinks, different bars, over a short period of time...

- One drink at a time, machines require 10 minute intervals

 

Does that sound right? If he asks again, I am going to list every possible reason we are not complying. Not to mention, we don't want to wait on this guy and his wife. I like these folks, I really do, but there is nothing charming about people being so cheap they would ask their friends to risk quite a lot.

I totally understand! We had a total of 9 people and two of them were roommates. One of the two had the Ultimate Drink Package and the other did not have any drink package (they were brothers). Well the one with the package tried on several occasions to order 2 drinks at once using the defense that it was "unlimited" and he should be able to order two drinks at a time. None of the bar tenders let him (Which I was glad). I was kinda irritated because he kept complaining about the drink package but he was just really mad that he kept getting denied. It was obvious what he was trying to do, especially at dinner when he tried to use his card to pay for his brothers drink. I thought it was hysterical because we all forked over the small fortune to purchase ours legally so I was glad they enforced it.

No one ever threatened to take his drink package away. I think he was able to slip his brother a few drinks but for the most part his brother paid for it. We were able to order multiple drinks on a few occasions. Esp when leaving for ports, they were very good about letting us get multiple bottles of water at once. At dinner a few nights I ordered a Lava Flow and a glass of wine with a Coke (I only every drink water at home all day every day so I was really splurging) and I never had a problem, but, the drinks were set in front of me at the table and it was obvious that I was the one drinking them.

My advice would be to tell the cheapskate that you can not share and tell him to buy his own. Once he sees how high the prices are he will wish he had one. That is what happened to our friends...they were totally against the package but when he went to the bar the first day and paid $30 for 2 Rum Punches he changed his mind and got the package. I feel your pain...just stand strong:) Enjoy your cruise!

Just got back from FOS and 7 nights with the Premium drink package. All I can say is NO REGRETS! We LOVED it! I have not had time to go through my bill but I am 110% we made out better by having it. I had TONS of Lava Flow's which would have cost me $14.10 each and I had several a day...not to mention all the wine, soda and bottled water I had.

We saw no decrease in the service because we had the package. We even had one bartender make us random drinks to try...it was a lot of fun and I would have never done that if I was paying cash. We did have 2 sea days and used the package on Labadee so it was more like 3 so it was well worth it. I did love the peace of mind that it was all paid for too:)

Thank you again to everyone who responded! We booked another cruise for next year and I think we are going to get it again!

Thanks for all the reply's! That is a huge help...I found mine today and it is packed and ready to go. I am not really a gambler, only did it in Vegas and won so I figured lets try my luck again!

Totally let us know how it goes. Don't forget to let the bartenders make you something interesting. We found some of the best drinks were the ones that weren't on the menu.

 

Take pictures of drinks!! :-) And have a BLAST!!!

We will! Thanks! :D I am ready to go NOW! This day is just going so slow....

Here's the drink menu cheat sheet. I like the idea of making a game out of it. :-) Like Drink Menu Bingo! :-) I'm sure someone can come up with a score card!!

 

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:D:D:D THANK YOU!! I don't have time to make an official game because we are leaving in 3 hours to head to FL....but...I just printed 7 copies and we will make our own game...see who can try the most different drinks over the 7 days...first page excluded! ...well...except for the wine:D

what an awesome idea...if you don't mind sharing, you could post it here and maybe even start a new thread about drinks people have tried on cruises that they never would have otherwise... And the OP has a great excuse to try all kinds of things... "It's all CC research..."

I totally agree! I want to try them ALL!! :D I am a scientist by day...I am all about some research!! LOL;)

We used Native Way last trip to GC and we got back in time...I was a little nervous as we got behind schedule and we were flying to make it back...but we did. Sharon was on top of it....but just a little too close for my comfort..so next trip we are finding an alternative. We did enjoy the tour though...

OK, this may sound strange...will they let you use the little "cheat" cards at the blackjack table like they do in Vegas. They are the little hand held cards that you can use to help with the odds...I was able to use it in Vegas at all the Casino's and the dealers were more than happy to help too...I am kinda a noob to Casino's and don't want to break any rules. Has anyone used these on the cruise? I won quite a bit in Vegas so I wanted to try my luck on the cruise:)

I am feeling so much better, I am glad I posted this question:) I did already purchase it and was kinda having some buyers remorse...I have been back and forth on this for a year since we booked it! I purchased the package on Mon and we are cruising this Sun (3 more days!! )

After reading all the replies I am no longer feeling nervous or anxious...I think it will be money well spent...and..the fact I can try all the drinks...Now I am really excited!!

I will have to post a review when I get back...we are sailing FOS Aug 16-23. We did FOS a few years back and loved it. Looking forward to it!

Thank you for all your replies! I love hearing them :)

To the OP, and your original question (sorry, I got off-track there)... I can't speak first-hand about not ordering the package, but my co-worker just got back from a cruise last week and was telling me he would have saved about $200 had he bought one, so he was kicking himself a bit. By the time he figured out what he was spending, it was too late.

Thanks! No worries, I am enjoying the conversation:) That is exactly what I was wondering, if people actually regretted not buying it, like when the bill came. We did buy it so we will have to see, but I do like that I can try all the things I never tried before....should be fun!

Same here. I may be alone in this train of thought, but sneaking booze onto the ship, then trying to find things to mix it with just seems to be a lot of work for a vacation buzz. :)

We have snuck on some before and that is why we stopped, it was a pain trying to get mixers then having to keep running to the room....We would rather pay or package than do that again. Even wine, keeping it cold in the room is next to impossible. I would rather have it brought to me:) I need the easy route on my vacation!

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it's funny on land I can go months without having any drinks at all, and yet when i am on a boat I have to rationalize $60 per day in drinking.. LOL

For some reason, being in the middle of the ocean makes me feel like it's ok for a grown man to have a drink with an umbrella in it ;)

We don't drink at home either...but I tend to make up for it on vacation!! :D

There is one more thing that your post brings up... "traveling with a group"

Lets be honest. There is always one cheapskate in the group. Somehow you always end up paying for them, or their tip or whatever. When you have a drink package, it completely eliminates " you buy this round, I will buy that round" because you can only get one drink at a time on your card. So you will find that the over all buying experience is not unbalanced, if you know what I mean.

Great point! We are traveling with a group and there are a few not getting the package swearing it is not worth it...This person drinks way more than me...I am hoping to prove him wrong!! LOL...I told him the prices went up...he won't listen. We still have one person in our group on the fence...mine and DH are PIF on ours and I am suddenly getting very thirsty!

I will say that...

you might consider not getting the package until the second day of your cruise.

I am not sure how much you drink on the first day.. I usually dont get on the ship until around 1pm... i might have 2 or three drinks that day...

you could maybe save 20bucks if it mattered to you.

 

might be sneaky but wonder what would happen if you bought it at 1201am on day two? would you only get charged for six days?

LOL...I actually thought about that...but we are boarding at 11AM and last cruise we had a HUGE bar tab by dinner...I think I would lose out on that one. If we were arriving later I certainly would do that...and just use my drink coupons that they give you for C&A :)

Great minds think alike!

We didn't have the drink package on our last cruise, and we regretted it - not because of a high bar tab, but rather that we found ourselves looking at our SeaPass account way too often. And looking at the increasing dollar amount on our SeaPass account influenced what we did - and more often didn'tdo. We aren't big drinkers, but on vacation we like to cut loose some. When we go out at home, one of us always drives which means no drinks for the DD. On vacation, we can both enjoy ourselves. With the drink package on our upcoming cruise, the goal won't be to drink as much as we can or even to break even. The goal of purchasing the package this time is to afford ourselves the freedom to relax and not worry about a whopper of a bar bill at the end of the week.

That is us...we don't drink at home, because of the DD thing, so we only drink on vacation. I am excited about not having to worry about it. You are right, on past cruises we did skip some things or drinks to try to "cut back" the bill.

But then it leaves the tipping stress...I am a VERY good tipper. I bartended for years. So did you tip extra every drink...I like some of the AI's because you are not allowed to tip so that takes the stress off that.

I regret NOT buying it this last time for the reasons highlighted above. I spent WAY too much time sweating the new drink prices and worrying about how much my drink tab would be.

 

Ive already said I will buy the Premium package for my next cruise even knowing I likely wont "break even".

Thanks Ryano!! This is helping...my anxiety is lifting and I am starting to feel better! I know, I have stressed over my drink tab many cruises...and that was before the increase!

I have done it both ways and never regretted my decision either way. Besides the economics of it.... some of my friends are very budget conscious, not $$$$ wise, but like to know exactly how much they spend. So they tend to get the package because then they know exactly how much the drinks will cost them.. even if it works out to a disadvantage, they know exactly what that number is and to them it's worth it.. then they enjoy their trip and don't have to worry about how high or what the drink tab is...

Thanks for that! That was one of my justifications..I like the no sticker shock at the end. Last cruise we brought wine (white wine) to try and cut back on the bar bill but getting ice to our room to keep it cold was like pulling teeth. Our room guy never understood and would always bring the ice AFTER we left for dinner....SMH...Just want a nice steady flow this time with no worries..but that initial sticker shock I am still trying to get over. I guess I have to remember that my final bill will be next to nothing unless I go nuts at the spa!