All inclusive drinks.

[papcx]

Hi all.

 

Has anyone recently cruised with FO using the £10pd all inclusive package?

 

Can you tell me what drinks were available in bars and the MDR?

 

Thanks in advance.

[1160451]

If you go to the FredOlsen page and go to All Inclusive it's all listed.

[tiggertom]

Here we go

http://www.fredolsencruises.com/Cruise-Extras/Cruise-Extras/All-Inclusive-Package

Enjoy :D

[papcx]

Sorry guys. I obviously wasn't clear in my question.

 

Which beers are on tap in bars and which beers are "canned" in the MDR?

 

I assume the wine is a house wine? How many choices? Ie dry, medium, sweet.

 

Thanks in advance.

[jeanlyon]

If you go to that link, there are none at £10 pppn - only much more expensive.

[Mark_T]

If you go to that link, there are none at £10 pppn - only much more expensive.

 

It is still the same package though regardless of price, they seem to use it as a promotional tool as the prices vary hugely for the same cruise depending on when you buy it.

[Mark_T]

I assume the wine is a house wine? How many choices? Ie dry, medium, sweet.

 

From memory it was limited to red or white, no choice beyond that unless I've forgotten a rosé.

 

Personal tastes vary of course, for us, the white was drinkable, a good medium neither too dry or too sweet.

 

The red on the other hand really was not something I'd ever choose to consume.

 

Others however seemed happy with the red.

 

We made use of the 50% discount to buy from the wine list most evenings.

[Sewso]

I can't remember which canned beers were included but I think the draught beers were Stella and Boddingtons. There was a list in the information pack in our cabin. The house wine choices were red, white and rose. I tried the red once and never again! The white was passable but the rose was the best of the three.

 

Like Mark T, we mainly used the 50% discount on "better" wines from the wine list, capppucinos and after dinner port or liqueurs. I think that because it was included we sometimes had house wine with lunch where we wouldn't normally have wine.

[papcx]

Thanks Mark and Sewso.

 

It's DW who'll have to suffer with the wines as I'm not a wine drinker.

 

Stella on tap. I don't react well to Stella! It has strange effects on me.

[Mark_T]

I think that because it was included we sometimes had house wine with lunch where we wouldn't normally have wine.

 

Exactly the same here, we wouldn't usually order wine with lunch but as it was there, it seemed rude to refuse the white at least :)

[berkshireboy]

When on the Braemar in July a German sparkling wine had been added to the all inclusive offering, which my wife found very palatable. I couldn't drink the red house wine but, as part of the package, you could have any wine on board at half price. I was very happy with the choices at less than £10 per bottle.

[RivaDiva]

We came back off the Balmoral just over a week over.

Only one person on our table drank the red wine. I tried it the first night but stuck with the very acceptable white for the remaining time.

We were both very impressed with the drinks package. There is no reluctance from the bar staff to serve you and they also mention the price if you do choose something not included. They are just wonderful people. How do they remember everyone? Especially from previous years? My husband in particular enjoys being called Sir Michael! Not something he gets at home.

The only disappointment this year was the singer in the Morning Light Bar.

[Robbo123]

Just recently returned from a Balmoral Cruise, where we had the drinks package

Not a great choice on the pumps, just Stella and Boddingtons, there were extra in cans or bottles, such as Kent Spitfire, but not the greatest of selections

 

At dinner and lunch, there was a choice of house red, white or rose, tried them all but nothing special, so used the 50% discount on other nights

 

The spirits were also house spirits, and you had to watch the mixers as some were included in the package and others were not.

 

We did use the 50% off over drinks a few times, which seemed the best way

[FLUFFY01]

:)All I ever drank was the sparkling white wine even in the MDR. Beware though once or twice I had this wine and had to return it as it was not very sparkling.:(

[Willow1686]

:)All I ever drank was the sparkling white wine even in the MDR. Beware though once or twice I had this wine and had to return it as it was not very sparkling.:(

 

I'm baffled by what the MDR means; can you enlighten me please?

 

I'm booked on the Braemar 6th December cruise to the Verde Islands and West Africa and I've signed up for the £10 per night package. I'm rather fond of sparkling white wine so I'm hoping it's included in the package :)

[Mark_T]

MDR = Main Dining Room

[Willow1686]

MDR = Main Dining Room

 

Thank you!

[sammysgranny]

I'm going on Braemar at the end of next month and had signed up for the £10 pn drinks package but, after looking at what was included (or more importantly what was excluded) I've just cancelled it and will pay as I go instead. Most of what I'm likely to drink is excluded and even allowing for the 50% reduction on those, with £10 already paid, you've got to be drinking a fair bit to even break even.

 

I've had drinks packages on other cruise lines which have worked out well for me but there were very few exclusions.

Edited October 29, 2013 by sammysgranny

[Mark_T]

I'm going on Braemar at the end of next month and had signed up for the £10 pn drinks package but, after looking at what was included (or more importantly what was excluded) I've just cancelled it and will pay as I go instead. Most of what I'm likely to drink is excluded and even allowing for the 50% reduction on those, with £10 already paid, you've got to be drinking a fair bit to even break even.

 

I've had drinks packages on other cruise lines which have worked out well for me but there were very few exclusions.

 

It may be worth giving them some feedback on what they have excluded that would have made the difference for you.

 

I know there are some odd things missed out that you wouldn't expect like lime juice for example, so if there are things you value that are missing while similar items are included it is always worth letting them know.

[Willow1686]

I'm going on Braemar at the end of next month and had signed up for the £10 pn drinks package but, after looking at what was included (or more importantly what was excluded) I've just cancelled it and will pay as I go instead. Most of what I'm likely to drink is excluded and even allowing for the 50% reduction on those, with £10 already paid, you've got to be drinking a fair bit to even break even.

 

I've had drinks packages on other cruise lines which have worked out well for me but there were very few exclusions.

 

In view of the itinerary to Cape Verde and West Africa I anticipate drinking a lot of mineral water and soft drinks, and I'm travelling by myself so a couple of glasses of house wine at dinner is a better option for me than buying a bottle of wine.

 

It all depends on your personal circumstances and tastes, of course; I would be reluctant to go much above £10 per day given the exclusions. I was surprised to see that on quite a few cruises they are asking for a lot more than that.

 

Also the dining arrangements must be complicated for the maitre d'; people who are on the drinks package sit at separate tables. It will be interesting to see how that works out!

[Mark_T]

I would be reluctant to go much above £10 per day given the exclusions. I was surprised to see that on quite a few cruises they are asking for a lot more than that.

 

Also the dining arrangements must be complicated for the maitre d'; people who are on the drinks package sit at separate tables. It will be interesting to see how that works out!

 

I very much agree, anything above £10 and we'd forget about it. We only have it on our next cruise as we were offered the chance to get it at £10 instead of the much higher price they were originally asking.

 

The seating complexities were actually the way we ended up with the cheaper offer as my Father-in-law decided to join the cruise at a point where they had the reduced price offer in place, since they would otherwise have had to split us up and he would not have come in that case, they extended the cheaper offer to us as well.

 

A good result all round really :)

[terry2]

If you go to the FredOlsen page and go to All Inclusive it's all listed.

 

Well there is a bit of ambiguity there: it says that speciality coffee is not included, but does not mention ordinary tea/coffee/hot-chocolate served in the bars (or where-ever).

Does anybody know if these are included, as I like to drink lots of hot chocolate while cruising?

[Hawks11]

Well there is a bit of ambiguity there: it says that speciality coffee is not included, but does not mention ordinary tea/coffee/hot-chocolate served in the bars (or where-ever).

Does anybody know if these are included, as I like to drink lots of hot chocolate while cruising?

I don't think that is ambiguous. Speciality coffee is not included. If you want to drink hot chocolate that is available as a diy option at various spots from memory. I have no experience of it being served in the bars. If in doubt ask Fred.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I had hot chocolate with Baileys from the bar, on the Braemar, in 2011, so hope they are still doing it :rolleyes: We have free AI for next February and so I presume the Baileys is chargeable and the hot chocolate free :confused:

[terry2]

I don't think that is ambiguous. Speciality coffee is not included. .

 

The problem is that tea/coffee/etc are NOT included in the list of what is included (and I don't think they are covered by "soft drinks by the glass"), so in my view that is ambigous - you could assume that either position is correct.

 

This AI list also includes cocktails in both the 50% discounted section AND the not included section. One of those has to be incorrect.

 

If you want to drink hot chocolate that is available as a diy option at various spots from memory. I have no experience of it being served in the bars.

 

Well, it has always been available in bars/lounges on the other lines I have cruised with; I do hope that Fred is not the exception.