Any benefits to buying soda card onboard?

[Elationismyship]

This is my first Royal cruise (14th in total) and I've never prepurchased the soda card on any of my other cruises.

 

There were always some type of give-away with the soda card on board, typically some sort of mug, etc. (even though you didn't need the mug for refills). Is there any benefit to waiting or shall I just purchase online before getting onboard?

 

Thanks!

[setsail]

Have OBC, get it onboard

[Daghis]

If you pre-purchase the soda package, you'll find the souvenir mug in your cabin waiting for you. In addition, instead of having a sticker on your SeaPass that could potentially get worn off (mostly an issue if you swim with your SeaPass in your swimsuit's pocket), if you pre-purchase, a Coca-cola logo is printed on your card — no need for a sticker.

 

On the other hand, if you pre-purchase, you're paying now, potentially months ahead of your cruise. Some people may not care to do that, preferring instead to paying with their onboard account. This is especially useful if you're looking for ways to spend onboard credit that you may have.

[CaroleSS]

Not sure if it comes into play on RCCL, but we purchased pre-paid cards on Holland on our last cruise. We got $100 cards for $90. That's the good part. The bad part is that we purchased them before the cruise and had them delivered to our stateroom so we could use them right away. We departed from NYC and were charged sales tax!!! 8.875% It aate up almost all of our savings on the card! We found out later that if we had waited until we departed, there would have been no sales tax charged.

 

As I said before, RCCL may not charge you sales tax on the purchase of the soda card, but I'd certainly ask or watch for it on the website before you press OK!!!

[OklaCruiserMom]

By the previous posts, I'd say it sounds like it's better to buy it once onboard, and also once the ship is away from embarkation port.

 

Quick question- Maybe a dumb one. On RCCL website, it says the child's prices are "for kids under 18." I'm assuming that means 18 and over are considered adult? Or does it mean 18 and under are kids? I only ask because I have twin 18 year old daughters.

 

Could someone please list again the sodas available on RCCL, specifically Allure?

[Daghis]

Your daughters would be charged the adult price. They do mean "kids under 18".

 

The drinks included with the soda package are generally Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite, all from the fountain guns at the bars. You could also probably get Club Soda if you wanted. My younger son was able to get Shirley Temples with his soda card, but technically that's not included.

[cb at sea]

The ONLY benefit to buying ahead of time, is that it will be paid for BEFORE you board. No price break, no 'Perks"....it's really an "either/or" thing!

[sea shepherd]

Get it on line its 6 dollars a day. On the ship its 6.50 a day.:cool:

[LittleMissMagic]

My sister and I are both young adults, but when we buy our drinks onboard, they always charge us the kids' price - I have no idea why. We have single punches in our cards. This has happened on our past three cruises. When it first happened, my sister was still a minor, so I thought maybe the person who sold us the drink cards just got confused. But it has continued to happen now that she's a legal adult and I'm 20!

[suekay]

We usually buy onboard ,but for the first time ever we bought in advance in May. Bad mistake - we had rain in the Med so sunbathed less and drank much less, meaning we made a big loss over buying one Coke at a time. Lesson learned:)