New all included drinks package...worth it?

[crafty sue]

This only applies if you're cruise doesn't leave the EU, so if you're going to Gibraltar then you are exempt from the Spanish Tax.

 

 

Well RC ripped us off then as our Cruise started in Majorca and went to Gibraltar but they still kept the Spanish waters tax on

[DaNana]

Even the wine seems crazily priced though - the 7 bottles package which I was looking at (1 per night) was working out to something like 36 dollars per bottle! :eek: And buying this online is supposedly cheaper than on the night.

 

I know! :eek: We actually had the waiter give us a bottle of an expensive wine the last cruise! Of course he was tipped very nicely. We looked at the wine packages and decided we could buy a couple of nice bottles then take the left overs to our room if we desired. We usually eat at a specialty place one time but will see, I don't have to have that if the service is good in the dining room. I really prefer to spend my money on something lasting much longer and making me feel better, not worse!:p

[justdoit31]

Does non-alcoholic cocktails in the Classic Package include frozen non-alcoholic drinks?

[sea shepherd]

I think i am going to give this a try. My bar bill is around 100+ a day. Plus i get the soda package. It has been a little less with going to the DL and CL from 5-8. But sitting at the pool drinks go down so fast.:eek: It worked out grate for me on celebrity. They lost money on me and my friend who both got it. My friend has the record for a $1200+ bar bill on the oasis for one person.:rolleyes:

[fishtaco]

Does non-alcoholic cocktails in the Classic Package include frozen non-alcoholic drinks?

 

 

I would think so but ?

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Onboard_Experience/12032090_Beverage_Package_Flyer_FAQ.pdf

 

In the flyer it says all non alcoholic cocktails included in the Classic

 

If "all cocktails" are included in the premium why say all frozen cocktails on a separate heading?

[Cynicor]

Sorry to harp on about the spanish tax, but our cruise on the Liberty (7 nights Med from Toulon) sees the vast majority of people board the night prior to us in Barcelona, and then we return there 6 nights later before our final stop of Toulon.

 

Will this extra tax be applied to drinks the whole cruise, and does anyone have any sample prices. I only drink spirits and cocktails really, so the Pyrat XO Rum and Macallan had some appeal. If these are around 10-15 per nip then the package would be decent value.

[1cat4jan]

We do the math and cost triumphs convenience. I got the soda package once - when I was drinking alot of soda per day - and it worked OK - but I didn't break even.

 

I don't like the idea that both people in your cabin need to get the drink package. That alone would stop me from purchasing it. Seldom do both people in a cabin have the same drink habits. I know why they make both people get it, but I doubt it works - economically - for most people.

 

On the Oasis (and I'm assuming the same holds true for the Allure) - the show venues are not conducive to getting a drink. The showroom is really tight and the aisles are long, so the wait staff cannot get to you. Unless you are on the end of the aisle or you get there when the doors first open, you will not be getting your after dinner drink.

 

We hopped from show to show - venue to venue - where getting a drink was impossible. Even if you are a person who has multiple drinks each evening and feel you can get your money's worth from a drink pass, there just is not opportunity to get drinks during any show times.

Edited February 5, 2013 by 1cat4jan

[cruisegirl1]

We each know our drinking habits. For many it is well worth it - either for cost savings, an opportunity to try new drinks or just for the convenience. For us, not at all. I am glad there are options. RCCL has found a good revenue stream and participants seem to be happy with the packages. A Win-Win.

 

Glad folks have the options.

 

We’ve been on Celebrity cruises and thy have had the package for a while, and have not seen any more overindulgences over what one might see on a cruise vacation. It is nice that on Celebrity, not all cabin occupants are required to buy the package and the package includes many other beverage (nonalcoholic) choices as well as a much better selection of wine.

 

There are several “Open Bar Cruise ” scheduled cruises on RCCL this coming year. Wonder if that company will go out of business. Now passengers can have the all-inclusive any cruise, not just the few scheduled by Open Bar.

 

Marci

[stewerts]

I will be getting the package. 14 days = $1550ish. Weather you drink it or not if it is pre paid then you know it is taken care of. I certainly dont want to be sitting at the bar one night finishing of my 20th beer and thinking... Gee I wish I got the package.

I also dont want to have to maybe stop at the 10th thinking this is costing me too much

We all should know our drinking habits and the package will eaither suit you or not.

[fishtaco]

I will be getting the package. 14 days = $1550ish. Weather you drink it or not if it is pre paid then you know it is taken care of. I certainly dont want to be sitting at the bar one night finishing of my 20th beer and thinking... Gee I wish I got the package.

I also dont want to have to maybe stop at the 10th thinking this is costing me too much

We all should know our drinking habits and the package will eaither suit you or not.

 

 

The 14 nighters have quite a few sea days,our 14 nighter has 9 full sea days and embarkation day! including at least one sea day in between each port.

 

It will be well worth it on the longer less port intensive cruises. I have usually spent the most on drinks on full sea days and embarkation day so it will be worth it for us.

 

If the cruise had next day ports one after another then I wouldnt bother, on the sea days you can easily start at 11am at the pool and go through to the wee hours in the club or Casino drinking well above the $55 price without being drunk or even tippsy espesially if you have no early port to think about! The food usually soaks it all up anyway:D

[shauncruises]

My hubby and I have decided to purchase the premium package for our next cruise on the Allure. The ship is our destination and we do not plan on getting off on port days. We have been in the Caribbean a couple of times. Only going again because of the ship! But if we were getting off at every port, this package would not made sense at all.

[SoFlaCruzer]

I'm really on the fence on this one, but am leaning to purchasing it in the IOTS 8 day Eastern.

 

We do have 4 ports, but one of them is Labadee (where the drinks would be included), and another is San Juan (where departure is 2:00PM, so most "drinking" hours on board the ship.) Only 2 ports we would not be back on the ship until say 3:00 - 4:00PM.

 

Everyone is different, but I see us having at least 2-3 drinks each during the daytime - pool area, daytime bars, etc. Dinner will have at least 1 drink, probably 2. Then at night another 1-2- maybe 3 drinks at the later after show bars, nightlife areas.

 

I don't see us averaging anything less than 6 drinks a day spread over 12 hours, which is probably close to breakeven. Prepaying this package, we can be more aggressive ordering drinks we may not otherwise do so. Dont like it, no problem

 

At no point is our intention to drink as much as we can, or make sure we have our 6 a day to make it "worth the cost". We're too old for that nonsense. It's just nice to not worry about the bar bill at the end and know its taken care of. If we would have spent $100 less at the end, so be it. The convenience for us - and we like to drink - is valuable as well.

 

This has to be a very individual decision. For some it makes no sense, for others it makes perfect sense.

[queenschick9b]

That is the cruise I am next booked for as well and I am debating it for the same reason. I just got back from Carnival and they have a similar package now, but I was doing a 5 port in 7 day itinerary and I knew it would never be worth it.

 

I think the ease is really the selling point for me.

[Frankmac]

 

This has to be a very individual decision. For some it makes no sense, for others it makes perfect sense.

 

Indeed it has. Unfortunately it makes perfect sense for me but not for my wife who drinks a maximum of 2/3 glasses of wine per day. :mad:

[4merlurker]

One way to get around the "both in cabin must purchase" clause - and this will only work with families in more than one cabin - Book an adult with child in each cabin. That way only mom/dad/grandma etc only have to get the package. :cool:

[kc320]

For me it would totally NOT be worth it...I would rather gift myself with some OBC to help pay for drinks than try drink enough to justify a $45-$55 a day package

[Let'sGo!]

Everyone is different, but I see us having at least 2-3 drinks each during the daytime - pool area, daytime bars, etc. Dinner will have at least 1 drink, probably 2. Then at night another 1-2- maybe 3 drinks at the later after show bars, nightlife areas.

 

I don't see us averaging anything less than 6 drinks a day spread over 12 hours, which is probably close to breakeven. Prepaying this package, we can be more aggressive ordering drinks we may not otherwise do so. Dont like it, no problem

 

At no point is our intention to drink as much as we can, or make sure we have our 6 a day to make it "worth the cost". We're too old for that nonsense. It's just nice to not worry about the bar bill at the end and know its taken care of. If we would have spent $100 less at the end, so be it. The convenience for us - and we like to drink - is valuable as well.

 

This has to be a very individual decision. For some it makes no sense, for others it makes perfect sense.

 

You took the words right off my keyboard!

We're on Oasis in May, and plan to only get off the ship in St. Thomas.

 

It seems the only OB expenses we ever incur are alcohol and internet. Pre-paying for the alcohol lets me know I won't have a big SeaPass bill at the end.

 

I also agree - we won't know if it's "worth it" until we try it. If we lose money on the deal, then we know not to do it on the next cruise.

 

Definitely an individual decision.

Ann

[tercar]

I have been reading CC for some time. but, I have never read about the EU drink tax. Is it in all of the EU countries? or just Spain?

 

Can someone explain?

Hi, if the ship leaves from a spanish port eg barcelona and does not go anywhere outside the eec then you pay an extra 8% spanish tax on all drinks that you buy on board. so in effect you are paying 23% on top of the price of the drink. we were on the serenade of the seas in december and paid this tax. I dont know why the cruise companines cruise from the port when the spanish government put these taxes on things you buy onboard. or atleast the cruise companies could make sure there is a port outside the eec so that these rule so not apply.

[Host Dan]

Maybe this question has already been asked, and i apologize if it has. Can you use the $55 per day drink package to order wine / drinks in the MDR and alternative restaurants?

 

Host Dan

[akcruz]

Maybe this question has already been asked, and i apologize if it has. Can you use the $55 per day drink package to order wine / drinks in the MDR and alternative restaurants?

 

Host Dan

 

Yes you can, but beware it is house wine only at this point which is not the greatest :(.

[Frankmac]

Hi, if the ship leaves from a spanish port eg barcelona and does not go anywhere outside the eec then you pay an extra 8% spanish tax on all drinks that you buy on board. so in effect you are paying 23% on top of the price of the drink. we were on the serenade of the seas in december and paid this tax. I dont know why the cruise companines cruise from the port when the spanish government put these taxes on things you buy onboard. or atleast the cruise companies could make sure there is a port outside the eec so that these rule so not apply.

 

Im on Liberty of the Seas in June, commencing in Naples, Italy but calling to Barcelona. How does that effect the Spanish tax?

[Hawaii_Flyer]

Hi All, We are also considering getting the drink package but had a few questions.

 

Does anyone know what the "house wine" is? We like to drink white wine, so if it isn't drinkable..

 

Also, at ports like Labadee that are owned by the cruise lines are drinks included there?

 

Is there a sparking wine available with the package?

 

We are staying in a GS and one of the perks we like is that we can order room service off of the MDR menu, we like to have mimosas with breakfast and maybe wine with dinner, it says no room service, so does that mean that we both have to walk out to the bar to get one glass of mimosa or wine each to have with our meal, they won't brink it to you? or is that just a matter of a tip in the right hands.

 

Thanks!!

[dcdiva]

Hi All, We are also considering getting the drink package but had a few questions.

 

Does anyone know what the "house wine" is? We like to drink white wine, so if it isn't drinkable..

 

Also, at ports like Labadee that are owned by the cruise lines are drinks included there?

 

Is there a sparking wine available with the package?

 

 

Thanks!!

 

The exact wine label may vary by ship or itinerary, but the selection is very limited. On my recent cruise on Brilliance, we had four options. There as a single white wine choice, La Terre Chardonnay, which I found undrinkable. There were two red wines, La Terre Merlot and La Terre Cabernet. Both were bad, but the Cabernet was a little less terrible. There as a sparkling wine options as well, but I am afraid I do not know the label.

 

Room service orders are expressly excluded from the package. So you could order a mimosa from room service, but you would be billed for it. But private island drinks are included!

[3dog]

Does anyone know what the "house wine" is? We like to drink white wine, so if it isn't drinkable..

 

Like food, "drinkable" is subjective: sure you can drink it, but will you like it? I compare this to "2 Buck Chuck": if you are fine drinking that, you will probably be fine drinking the house wine.

 

If, however, you have a more refined palate and only drink higher quality wines, you probably won't like the house wine. Me? I actually think the Chard is better than the Cab, but neither is preferable to paying more for a decent wine.

[Bead Pirate]

... we traveled with 3 friends who all purchased the drink package. As we have traveled with them many times before it was kind of fun to watch how the drink package influenced them (This was our second cruise since the drink package was intiated and we have been curious observers so far).

 

The gang learned early on day one that unlimited does indeed have its limits. They were all slowed down (water between every other drink) around 6PM... Finally cut off around 7:00PM. However they were back in action and being served around 11PM (post nap).

 

Big difference between the Liberty and the Vision in terms of what was included and was not included (Liberty offers more choices).

 

I think the biggest difference we noted in the boys was that they were going to bed eairler each night than they normally do :p.

 

I think I will continue on the ala carte program and just watch the fun. It is not unusual to see folks being "slowed down" and then cut off once you reach those magic hours of 3PM to 7PM. Bartenders were encouraging naps before a return to action.

 

On the Liberty:

 

Beer was included up $6.50

Martinis were included

Several top shelf calls were not (Bookers, Patron, Chopin, etc)

ONLY House wines and House Champagne were included

 

If you are on the all inclusive plan you can pretty much just cross Vintages and the Champagne Bar off your to list (except for alcohol in the CB)

 

We had a chance to talk with the bartenders a bit about how they like the program. RCI uses some pooled formula for the tips that give all bartenders a peice of the action (this includes crew bar, MDR bar and other behind the scenes bartenders) a part of the tip pie. This is not very popular with the bartenders who are working the "regular bars" as they made more tip money before the program. On the other hand if you are rotated behind the scenes at least you make something.

 

There have been a few references to "slow service" for folks who have been on the plan. Many of the people I was watching have it figured out... everytime they put thier card out on the bar (with the PI sticker) they would put a $1 or $2 under the card. That approach seems to have kept them in the proper serving order.

 

As many posters have said, we all know what works best for us. I tend to think if you are the type who must "win" on the plan every day that you will find yourself sleeping a bit more on your cruise;).

 

For those who are not as competitive and see this as a convienence then it will work great. I do think that as the growing pains are worked out that RCI will get this standardized across the fleet.