Which cruise lines offer the drinks package for free?

We have recently started cruising but so far we have only been on Norwegian cruise line. We really liked that the drinks package is included as part of their Free at Sea deal. It seems to me that this is not typical of all cruise lines. Is that right? Do other cruise lines offer the drinks package as a perk or do you normally have to pay the listed $60 or $70 per day each?

Thanks

Mitch

Many lines do but it's not a standard, across the board, "always" policy. You have to watch for specific promotions. Sometimes it applies to specific sailings or dates or offered during a specific booking time frame.

Thanks, Marco. Apparently with NCL it is an "always" policy, at least it has been for the last year or so since I've been paying attention. Would you say that for other lines its more the exception or the rule? Obviously, for two people its an extra, or not extra, $1000 or so and therefore a big factor when picking a cruise.

You will also see the promotion on Celebrity fairly often.

HAL does offer the Signature Beverage package via their Explore4 promotion between July and Nov. The catch is -- HAL raises the cruise fare to cover the cost of this package. The minute that the promotion is over, the cruise fare goes down. HAL has done this the last couple of years. Technically nothing is free.

I think Azamara also have free drinks

For the mainstream cruise lines it’s norwegian and celebrity that always offer it. Some of the more upscale cruise lines (Azamara, oceana) also offer free drinks but the cruises are significantly more.

I think HAL and princess offer the drinks package with booking sometimes as a promo.

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I am wondering if "free" is the right term to use. If you look at total cost of a cruise, divide that by the number of days, you may find that the daily rate is higher when these "free" packages are involved. Maybe my math if flawed, but...

I am wondering if "free" is the right term to use. If you look at total cost of a cruise, divide that by the number of days, you may find that the daily rate is higher when these "free" packages are involved. Maybe my math if flawed, but...

It may be, or it may not be. There is some intrinsic value each cruise line brings in terms of food, entertainment, staff, etc that has a price tag on it. In my experience carnival is consistently low, celebrity is consistently high, and the others are somewhere in between. We are not brand loyal, when we want to cruise we decide when and where we want to go and evaluate the options across lines. Our next cruise is to Hawaii in April. We got a great price on a celebrity cruise with the beverage package. A similar cruise on royal Caribbean was more and didn’t include any perks.

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Another thing to consider is what exactly is included in the free beverage package. A member review for Norwegian Star stated that their free “Ultimate Beverage Package” didn’t include specialty coffees, juice and bottled water. The free Celebrity beverage package includes all 3.

Princess sometimes have Sip & Sail promo that is inclusive of drink package.

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When the fare you pay includes a charge for the drinks package, it seems a bit silly to refer to it as including "free drinks".

Compare fares on different lines, with and without drinks included in the price paid to find out just how "free" the "free drinks" are.

When the fare you pay includes a charge for the drinks package, it seems a bit silly to refer to it as including "free drinks".

 

Compare fares on different lines, with and without drinks included in the price paid to find out just how "free" the "free drinks" are.

Hey, I get "free" drinks in the casino. It doesn't matter that I'm losing $200 an hour. :evilsmile:

Hey, I get "free" drinks in the casino. It doesn't matter that I'm losing $200 an hour. :evilsmile:

In Vegas they call that the $20 beer. I've sailed on four cruise lines and all of them charged me for drinks while playing the tables in their casino. :(

We have recently started cruising but so far we have only been on Norwegian cruise line. We really liked that the drinks package is included as part of their Free at Sea deal. It seems to me that this is not typical of all cruise lines. Is that right? Do other cruise lines offer the drinks package as a perk or do you normally have to pay the listed $60 or $70 per day each?

Thanks

Mitch

None of them are free. The difference is in how, when, and how much they charge, running the gamut between paying for each drink to having paid for it in the 'all inclusive' model some cruiselines use.

TANSTAAFL

You can always look at MSC also. They have a tier system. You basically pay for what you kinda want in your cruise fare. Cheapest is bare bones, 2nd comes with 12 drinks vouchers pp for US sailings, 3rd has free drinks and spa, 4th is like the NCL Haven and includes drinks also.

NCL does charge you for the tax and tips on their drink package on top of the cost of the cruise so it isn't exactly free either. When they first started it was actually free which was nice, but I understand the change.

I agree that it IS nice to have on a cruise because you don't have to worry about a bill at the end, but with the options out there unless you are drinking 7+ drinks a day on your cruise a drink package isn't worth it. Even on NCL with having to pay the extra you need I believe it was 3 drinks each per day to come out actually ahead.

Hey, I get "free" drinks in the casino. It doesn't matter that I'm losing $200 an hour. :evilsmile:

NCL often offers no additional charge ddrinks package and tips included. When I compare tthe fare I paid on NCL for my solo occupied suite with those and other bennies included in the fare with what I pay HAL, the fa re was quite similar for vyer like cabin . I likedd the nCL cabin mor than I eddxpected. with so much included in that fare that we pay for exttra for on HAL. :)

But, of c ourse, there are so many things that make HAL my favorrite includding the HAL c rews. :) Cost and price is not always the 'bottom line' for everyone in all cases.

NCL really seem to be focussing on the all inclusive package and really is a success in my opinion...as long as you know your budget it can be a steal. We paid way less due to all the extras and a guarantee cabin.

Celebrity, as someone said seem to do a few similar deals but we have also done a package with Royal Caribbean too. They only do them on and off though so keep checking.

See what your TA is offering, and check emails from them- sometimes there's a special offer on last minute cruises. Our TA got us £10 per day instead of £15 pd on Fred Olsen this year. Once they found us a cruise on Thomson for £69 for the week- but that was for the earliest bookers. :)

Hey, I get "free" drinks in the casino. It doesn't matter that I'm losing $200 an hour. :evilsmile:

I was being sarcastic people.

Loosen up the britches a bit.

My Dad would have loved some of these comments. Whenever this sort of situation would arise, he would say "Its not FREE, its INCLUDED". And now I say the same thing to my kids!!

See what your TA is offering, and check emails from them- sometimes there's a special offer on last minute cruises. Our TA got us £10 per day instead of £15 pd on Fred Olsen this year. Once they found us a cruise on Thomson for £69 for the week- but that was for the earliest bookers. :)

Are thos offers only ogood if you are a UK resident? Very pertinent IMO

In U.S. some deals are only good for people in some states, let alone this country. Not all deals are avaialble to all people.

Are thos offers only ogood if you are a UK resident? Very pertinent IMO

 

 

In U.S. some deals are only good for people in some states, let alone this country. Not all deals are avaialble to all people.

They will be for anyone, but both lines are used mainly by Brits/Irish and some Europeans, Aus, NZ.I wasn't sure where the OP was based...:)

My Dad would have loved some of these comments. Whenever this sort of situation would arise, he would say "Its not FREE, its INCLUDED". And now I say the same thing to my kids!!

I was going to say the ame thing but then sometimes a deal is so good you feel as if at least one of the components is free.:D

They will be for anyone, but both lines are used mainly by Brits/Irish and some Europeans, Aus, NZ.I wasn't sure where the OP was based...:)

thank you for the response.