vent1020

You know the old saying: if you're not part of the solution . . .

LOL. I thought about that when I posted. I am now adding to the very problem I am posting about. ;)

I appreciate this thread, but the problem is, it is about 5% "Princess secrets they don't tell you..." and 95% discussion about those secrets. :p

Why do you respond to specific questions with unwanted answers? OP was asking about specialty restaurants, not the UBD.

 

As for Casey's response, don't listen to it. Maybe Casey expects five star Michelin type food, but I have found, for the most part, food on Princess to be very good. I really liked both specialty dinner, and if you have a chance to try the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, it is a wonderful experience. Also, don't forget the international cafe (no charge). It has great selections of desserts, sandwiches and pastries.

 

Casey, you ought to be sailing on Seabourn or Crystal... This is a new Princess cruiser. Lets focus on the many positives of Princess instead of spewing your negativity. Thank you.

You berate another poster about mentioning the UBD and then YOU turn around and ALSO mention the UBD??? :rolleyes:

The $82 was for both of us ie $41 each, I am aware that the drink package would be more expensive, if you re read the last part of my post you will get my point which was as follows:

"I reckon if we had taken the package we would have experimented with cocktails and varied our drinks more, I doubt if we would have had much more to drink but consider that we would have enjoyed the experience.

My conclusion is that on future cruises we will take the package, the extra cost of around $30 per day will be well worth it."

 

O'h, and my wife would have sampled the more expensive wine;)

Gotcha

OK this is my experience. We are just back from a 9 day cruise from Barcelona to the Canaries on the Spirit. We had 4 sea days so perhaps that meant that we drank more than usual.

Whilst on the cruise I drank mostly beer with and occasional Rusty Nail. My DW drank wine almost exclusively. On checking my Invoice on our return I found that we spent an average of $82 per day on bar purchases, this did include a number of drinks purchased for others but I reckon I got most of that back. :confused:

Points worth noting are that the total included a 4 bottle wine package (lowest price package) and that the wine my DW purchased outwith the package was house wine (with the UBP she could have purchased wine up to $10 per glass) :)

I reckon if we had taken the package we would have experimented with cocktails and varied our drinks more, I doubt if we would have had much more to drink but consider that we would have enjoyed the experience.;)

My conclusion is that on future cruises we will take the package, the extra cost of around $30 per day will be well worth it.

Finally for the record we had a fantastic cruise, loved the Spirit and met lots of new friends.

Was the average of $82 a day per person or altogether. If altogether, then that means you guys EACH drank an average of $41 a day which would NOT make a drink package worth it. Close, but still cheaper to just pay for each drink.

You book it onboard but you can pre-pay for it by calling Princess. We did that once before learning it's not necessary unless someone wants to spread out their costs. If pre-paid there's a card in the cabin & instructions to reserve a date & time.

Thank you!

Do you book this online or do it once on board(or either way)?

We are doing a 4 day Mexico, with stops at Catalina and Ensanada. Anyone done these ports and which port would you suggest(for the view) doing the UBD at? Thanks.

I'm still not sure it would be worth it. I think it is agreed you would have to drink 7 drinks a day to break even. 7 EVERY DAY! Yes you are on vacation and I am sure there are people that want to drink EVERY DAY, I just don't think that would be for me. Even drinking 4 of the 7 days, I'd have to drink over 12 drinks on those 4 days to make it worth it. I think it's easier FOR ME, to just pay for each drink.

I think I would be one of those that tried to drink more, just to ensure I got my monies worth. It'd probably be fun at the time, but a month later I wouldn't remember anything about my cruise. ;)

I wish I could go back to my account to see what I paid in alcohol when I was on the Epic last year. Give me a better idea of how much I drank and whether it would be worth it.

Again I bring up that this package does benefit people who drink EVERY day, but if you only drink 3 or 4 days on a seven day cruise, I think it would be better to buy the drinks per drink on the days you are drinking. Plus if you do excursions, you might be paying separate for drinks in port. Unless you are a big time drinker, it's not worth it to me.

Personally, I don't think it's worth it to buy the package, but that is me. Don't get me wrong, I like to drink and can put away 8-10 beers, but do I want to do this EVERY DAY for a 7 day cruise? I'll get my drink on 2 or 3 days, but I don't want the cruise to just be a blur because I was drunk every day. ;)