gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 #1 Share Posted March 25, 2011 There are not enough words to describe how marvelous the package is. We called it the "magic sticker" you flash it and booze appears. No swiping, signing, anything- just ask and receive.... we drank our moneys worth in about 5 days...lol. We were told by several bar tenders it will NOT last as is- the ship lost a lot of money on it and they ran out of many beers early on,and had to restock much more than usual during port calls. Enjoy while you can!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #2 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Also wanted to add, we met MANY people who bought the 2nd day on board after checking their bar bills the first night. I say don't bother- buy it as soon as you step on board for an easy and free-flowing experience. Every person we met who bought it- and *most* people seemed to have, had only glowing things to say about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital_curator Posted March 25, 2011 #3 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Can you tell us what your package cost and what it included? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marci22 Posted March 25, 2011 #4 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We were told by several bar tenders it will NOT last as is- the ship lost a lot of money on it and they ran out of many beers early on,and had to restock much more than usual during port calls. Enjoy while you can!! Very true. They want to make the package attractive enough so that you think you may save some money but actually don't in the end. Sometimes this takes a few tries before they know how much they will have to charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somanyquestions Posted March 25, 2011 #5 Share Posted March 25, 2011 There are not enough words to describe how marvelous the package is. We called it the "magic sticker" you flash it and booze appears. No swiping, signing, anything- just ask and receive.... we drank our moneys worth in about 5 days...lol. We were told by several bar tenders it will NOT last as is- the ship lost a lot of money on it and they ran out of many beers early on,and had to restock much more than usual during port calls. Enjoy while you can!! We've been waiting for someone just like you, as far as i'm aware you are the first person to post who has had one of the packages - Congratulations! A few questions i've been dying to ask... Which package did you purchase? Did everyone in your cabin have to take the package? What was the average price of a beer/cocktail without the package? Were the cocktails restricted? What was the house wine? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #6 Share Posted March 25, 2011 My husband got the $29 a day one that covered wine, cider, cider and beer, I had the $39 one that covered mixed drinks, beer and wine. One of the problems is it was written up to be "house wine"but as a bar tender explained,many of the bars dont HAVE a house wine so if you ask for "chardonnay" you get a wine of the day which may not be a cheap glass. Now if you are a big wine aficionado and want more control over your brand a wine package may still appeal to you- we did meet people who chose both for that reason. Beer was open to anything in a bottle or on draft but we were told it will likely be reduced to just draft and domestic bottles in the future because people were downing the Guiness like water(it WAs a UK based cruise after all ;-) ) My husband drank Heinekin most days. I drank a lot of wine and Bacardi and diet cokes, as well as the occasional mojito, bloody mary, and gin and ginger. We figured at a low of $11 a glass of wine, my husband could recoup his $ at just 3 glasses a day, and me at 4... and being night owls we certainly did that. We had budgeted $1000 for alcohol (11 nights) but thanks to this we spent just over $700 and drank about twice as much as we'd expected! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #7 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We've been waiting for someone just like you, as far as i'm aware you are the first person to post who has had one of the packages - Congratulations! A few questions i've been dying to ask... Which package did you purchase? Did everyone in your cabin have to take the package? What was the average price of a beer/cocktail without the package? Were the cocktails restricted? What was the house wine? Thanks Everyone does NO have to buy it, but you are restricted to drinking off it only if you have a sticker on your card. The prices looked to be $5.50-$7.50 fora beer before a 15% service charge, lower end wines ran about $11-$13 a glass, I am honestly not sure how much mixed drinks were but the daily specials ran $6.50-8.50 I believe,again without the 15% service fee. The wines were odd, there was no established house wine, more of a wine of the day and to be honest I didn't catch the brands. Cocktails must have had some restriction because the package I had was $10 less than the top shelf option, but I was always able to get the drink I wanted- I did not request specific brands beyond bacardi for my rum and diets.... but everything I drank sure tasted good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar*Magnolia Posted March 25, 2011 #8 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I dont see an option for a cocktail package for our Oasis cruise- is it only offerred on UK cruises? (FOUND MY ANSWER,didnt realize it was only being tested on a few ships.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somanyquestions Posted March 25, 2011 #9 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Everyone does NO have to buy it, but you are restricted to drinking off it only if you have a sticker on your card. The prices looked to be $5.50-$7.50 fora beer before a 15% service charge, lower end wines ran about $11-$13 a glass, I am honestly not sure how much mixed drinks were but the daily specials ran $6.50-8.50 I believe,again without the 15% service fee. The wines were odd, there was no established house wine, more of a wine of the day and to be honest I didn't catch the brands. Cocktails must have had some restriction because the package I had was $10 less than the top shelf option, but I was always able to get the drink I wanted- I did not request specific brands beyond bacardi for my rum and diets.... but everything I drank sure tasted good! Thank you;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCruisinNana Posted March 25, 2011 #10 Share Posted March 25, 2011 How do they prevent you from "sharing" drinks with others who don't have the package? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandian Posted March 25, 2011 #11 Share Posted March 25, 2011 A few more ? did you see any drunks? or any trouble through over drinking? How did it work in the speciality restaurants? or MDR Was there a time limit on how many times you could use it? Thanks for answering our ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #12 Share Posted March 25, 2011 How do they prevent you from "sharing" drinks with others who don't have the package? Well they can't I suppose, unless they happen to witness you handing it over... but for the cost involved and the huge # of drinks involved, it wouldn't have occurred to me NOT to buy my own package. I'm no purist, I even smuggled booze on that I planned to drink in the cabin (lol and smuggled it back OFF after we never touched it) but to me that's just a line I wouldn't dream of crossing,it would feel like walking out on a restaurant bill or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #13 Share Posted March 25, 2011 A few more ? did you see any drunks? or any trouble through over drinking?How did it work in the speciality restaurants? or MDR Was there a time limit on how many times you could use it? Thanks for answering our ? I saw many drunks.... and joined them a few nights, mainly in the late night disco in the Labyrinth and at the sing along piano bar... but I never saw anyone so bad they were a danger to themselves or others. Just lots of loud happy singing and such. It works in ANY place there is alcohol served, the waiters will glance at the card and bring you what you ask for- seriously, anywhere, MDR, all the bars, lounges, etc. No limits, they did not track *at all*which we found a little shocking tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandian Posted March 25, 2011 #14 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Thank you, I will leave you alone now to enjoy the rest of your holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marci22 Posted March 25, 2011 #15 Share Posted March 25, 2011 We had budgeted $1000 for alcohol (11 nights) but thanks to this we spent just over $700 and drank about twice as much as we'd expected! Heads are gonna roll in Miami lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #16 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Heads are gonna roll in Miami lol. lol as one of our new drunken Irish friends said in the greatest accent "Ye know someones going on the dole after this!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAHA Posted March 25, 2011 #17 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I am not a teetotaller, but really, do people drink this much on a cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louhun88 Posted March 25, 2011 #18 Share Posted March 25, 2011 So glad to hear from someone who has bought the packages! Sorry to annoy but can you try and answer a few questions for me :o What spirits (brands) did you find were included? (I notice you mentioned Bacardi so thats one of us happy :)) Could you always get a glass of wine (included in the package) wherever you were even though you mentioned some bars didn't have a house wine? Were there lots of different cocktails available and did you just ask for them regardless of what brand of spirit it said was in them? i.e. if it said Absolut vodka and not Smirnoff??? Thanks for your help :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #19 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I am not a teetotaller, but really, do people drink this much on a cruise? Most definitely. There are plenty of fun venues if you prefer not to drink, you definitely won't feel like there's nothing to do- but I know on an average at sea day I can put down umm... a lot. :p starting with a bloody mary in the morning, then a late afternoon cocktail, but especially come evening when we hit the piano bar and club. The servers just keep on pouring. There was a "usual crowd" that we saw night after night in the same venues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnocchi_mommy Posted March 25, 2011 Author #20 Share Posted March 25, 2011 So glad to hear from someone who has bought the packages! Sorry to annoy but can you try and answer a few questions for me :o What spirits (brands) did you find were included? (I notice you mentioned Bacardi so thats one of us happy :)) Could you always get a glass of wine (included in the package) wherever you were even though you mentioned some bars didn't have a house wine? Were there lots of different cocktails available and did you just ask for them regardless of what brand of spirit it said was in them? i.e. if it said Absolut vodka and not Smirnoff??? Thanks for your help :D This is what I found with wine, some bars did not carry it but they would actually go run to another bar for you to fill your glass, once I found they were doing this (the connoisseur lounge stands out for example) I felt pretty bad and didn't bother ordering wine there. I can definitely afford to walk a little (especially with those spreads in the Windjammer...lol) Other bar tenders would just flat out say "no whites left here, just red..."and we'd move along. If they had a chardonnay in the bar though, they poured it even if it wasn't a "house" brand. I am really not sure about brands- there IS a list floating around here somewhere with them listed, like I said the only brand I asked for specifically was Bacardi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted March 26, 2011 #21 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Other than that, how was your cruise? ;) Did you have Joff or James as your CD? Three formal nights? (was it 11 nights?) What did you do in the ports? Do you remember the cruise? ;) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debde Posted March 26, 2011 #22 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Heads are gonna roll in Miami lol. LOL Gosh I hope not. Being Celebrity has had this for a while some can only hope it comes on over to Royal. They had to have some idea from X.:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demodawn Posted March 26, 2011 #23 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I dont see an option for a cocktail package for our Oasis cruise- is it only offerred on UK cruises? (FOUND MY ANSWER,didnt realize it was only being tested on a few ships.) Diva not on US based cruises! Not sure if it ever will be something about the law but not sure about all of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves_Dogs Posted March 26, 2011 #24 Share Posted March 26, 2011 A few more ? did you see any drunks? or any trouble through over drinking?How did it work in the speciality restaurants? or MDR Was there a time limit on how many times you could use it? Thanks for answering our ? Being a non-drinker I hate to see this alcohol package be implemented. I just think that there will be more obnoxious drunks as people will want to ensure that they 'get their monies worth' and therefore drink more. Don't flame me for my opinion. I simply have been around enough drunks to last me a lifetime would rather not be surrounded by them on my vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanswife1990 Posted March 26, 2011 #25 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Being a non-drinker I hate to see this alcohol package be implemented. I just think that there will be more obnoxious drunks as people will want to ensure that they 'get their monies worth' and therefore drink more. Don't flame me for my opinion. I simply have been around enough drunks to last me a lifetime would rather not be surrounded by them on my vacation. You and I share the same thoughts. I don't have a problem drinking or being arounds those who do. My fear is everyone purchasing these packages and "getting their money's worth". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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