Princess Beverage Package Evaluator

[Ginnyfyr]

We are thinking about the package also. Do you buy it before you go or when you get on board? Someone on a fb cruise forum said they just got off the Pacific Princess and only paid for 1 package but shared it. They didn't have any trouble with the crew allowing this. Has anyone else done this?

 

 

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They make it very clear when you buy the package that it is not meant to be shared, and if you're caught, they'll cut you off with no refund for the rest of the week. A few days into our cruise we heard a man being questioned by a bar manager about buying drinks for other people (didn't stick around to hear the outcome) so they are definitely watching & aware of people trying to cheat the system!

[Thrak]

We are thinking about the package also. Do you buy it before you go or when you get on board? Someone on a fb cruise forum said they just got off the Pacific Princess and only paid for 1 package but shared it. They didn't have any trouble with the crew allowing this. Has anyone else done this?

 

 

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This is more commonly known as "theft". I don't recommend this course of action.

[jennyg2610]

They make it very clear when you buy the package that it is not meant to be shared, and if you're caught, they'll cut you off with no refund for the rest of the week. A few days into our cruise we heard a man being questioned by a bar manager about buying drinks for other people (didn't stick around to hear the outcome) so they are definitely watching & aware of people trying to cheat the system!

 

 

I am too honest and would never do this! I think I will get my money's worth, considering it also includes, coffee and water. It's nice to hear that they are on the lookout for people that do this. I just wondered if it was a common practice to share.

 

 

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[FloatillaTheHun]

I came to the forums hoping to find some current drink prices to determine if the package was worthwhile, and I found so much more! Thank you, kelly94942, your evaluator is a fantastic tool!

 

Also, I don’t know if it’s because I’m from a major city, but I’m always amazed at how reasonable the drink prices are.

[Cruising CG]

Thank you, very useful.

[DaveinWhales]

$115 per day is an awful lot of drink no matter how you look at it. We have a 17 day cruise coming up which would mean a pretty huge bar bill.

Thanks to this thread I now have an idea of what it's actually going to cost me which hopefully is considerably less.Pay as you go makes you more aware of how much you are drinking which has to be advantageous in the long run too.

The benefit of ordering wine by the bottle is probably that you can top up as and when you need it, whereas ordering by the glass during dinner service might be a slow process.

[Mackenzie1]

My main interest in the beverage package is that we can get all of the water and alcoholic beverages that we want while not having to keep up with the individual slips to check the bookkeeping. It also lowers the aggravation of finding a Mai Thai on your bill when you don't even drink them. The Princess website says in one part that the beverage package is $49 per day with an added 15% gratuity, but in the pdf download, Princess says that it's $56.35 per day with no mention of gratuity (which is $49 + 15%). Does that mean that Princess is now including the gratuity in the beverage package? If that's true, then even on those days you don't break even, you're paying a gratuity on top of it.

 

I go back and forth about the beverage package. There's nothing more convenient than paying for everything in advance and not worrying about keeping up with the individual slips. On the other hand, for those of us on a port intensive cruise, there is no way we are going to break even, particularly considering that we may have some beer or wine at lunch or other times while on shore, making us less likely that we will drink that much when we return to the ship. For those of us who are wine drinkers, it does seem to make sense to go with buying a bottle of wine as we go along.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Mackenzie1

[DaveinWhales]

No sound business is going to deliberately loose money so they are not being philanthropic offering drinks packages. They are there for one reason, to encourage you to drink more and for them to make more profit. If you buy the package you will pay the full amount plus tip irrespective of whether you have a drink.

Some people will drink themselves stupid , save some money but suffer in other ways ! If your time in port is limited you don't want to waste it having a lie in with a hangover.

Some people will pay the package price only to realise they are not benefitting financially.

If you are on a late dinner, by the time you are back on board after a shore stop you will probably have enough time to get changed and have a couple of beers before dinner. Half a bottle of wine with dinner, then maybe another drink after dinner whilst watching a show or whatever. Substitute the beers for cocktails and you are probably still within the AI package price.

[wishfulone]

My main interest in the beverage package is that we can get all of the water and alcoholic beverages that we want while not having to keep up with the individual slips to check the bookkeeping. It also lowers the aggravation of finding a Mai Thai on your bill when you don't even drink them. The Princess website says in one part that the beverage package is $49 per day with an added 15% gratuity, but in the pdf download, Princess says that it's $56.35 per day with no mention of gratuity (which is $49 + 15%). Does that mean that Princess is now including the gratuity in the beverage package? If that's true, then even on those days you don't break even, you're paying a gratuity on top of it.

 

I go back and forth about the beverage package. There's nothing more convenient than paying for everything in advance and not worrying about keeping up with the individual slips. On the other hand, for those of us on a port intensive cruise, there is no way we are going to break even, particularly considering that we may have some beer or wine at lunch or other times while on shore, making us less likely that we will drink that much when we return to the ship. For those of us who are wine drinkers, it does seem to make sense to go with buying a bottle of wine as we go along.

 

We're going back and forth like Mackenzie1. On one hand you want the convenience of not having to sign for every drink. On the other hand it's $AUS120 a day for the two of us. Yikes! If it wasn't for the bottled water (which used to be free) and a couple of cups of decent coffee per day I doubt we'd have any chance of breaking even except on a sea day. Maybe.

[jackieo]

We had this package in May. We had to sign for each drink so buying the package doesn't eliminate singing the chit

[lou2461]

Does anyone know where this shows up when paid for. I rang yesterday evening to pay for two packages and internet on board but cannot see anything on the cruise personaliser! perhaps I'm being impatient? :o

[Croq]

Does anyone know where this shows up when paid for. I rang yesterday evening to pay for two packages and internet on board but cannot see anything on the cruise personaliser! perhaps I'm being impatient? :o

I had to call them to get my receipt. They emailed me a PDF image of the receipt. She said that purchasing the beverage packages beforehand is done the same way as if you purchase a gift for a stateroom (uses the same system), so that's why it doesn't show in your cruise personalizer.

 

Anyhow, I have it, and it's printed out to show to them when I get on board.

[lou2461]

Thank you Croq - think I will do the same then just in case! :)

[wishfulone]

Packages specifics below are from a previous thread:

 

Silver Package (wine up to $29)

7 Bottle - $161 ($23/bottle)

10 Bottle - $210 ($21/bottle)

12 Bottle - $241 ($20/bottle)

 

Gold Package (wine up to $45)

7 Bottle - $217 ($31/bottle)

10 Bottle - $290 ($29/bottle)

12 Bottle - $336 ($28/bottle)

 

A 15% gratuity is added to the price of the packages.

 

Berni

This is the only mention of a wine package that I've been able to find on this wonderful thread. Is the package still available even though Princess have introduced the 'all inclusive'? Has anyone purchased the wine package? How can I find out what 'wines' are included? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

[DaveinWhales]

This is the only mention of a wine package that I've been able to find on this wonderful thread. Is the package still available even though Princess have introduced the 'all inclusive'? Has anyone purchased the wine package? How can I find out what 'wines' are included? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

 

You did well to find details at all..I couldn't find it anywhere. Can you post a link !

For my wife and I this probably represents the best drink package option.Thanks Dave

[jackieo]

You did well to find details at all..I couldn't find it anywhere. Can you post a link !

For my wife and I this probably represents the best drink package option.Thanks Dave

 

Hi there - we purchased the wine package in February on a 15 day cruise. I think they are available on the longer cruises. We found the silver tier sufficient for us as if you wanted a bottle more than $29 you simply paid for extra i,e, bottle cost $45 you pay $6 extra. There was a lot of bottles at 29 or below on the wine list. You can only order the bottles in the main dining rooms specialist restaurant and buffet but not in the bars. We ordered some bottles at the dining room and took them back to your cabin for balcony drinks.

 

Hope this helps

Edited September 22, 2014 by jackieo

[Mackenzie1]

Hi there - we purchased the wine package in February on a 15 day cruise. I think they are available on the longer cruises. We found the silver tier sufficient for us as if you wanted a bottle more than $29 you simply paid for extra i,e, bottle cost $45 you pay $6 extra. There was a lot of bottles at 29 or below on the wine list. You can only order the bottles in the main dining rooms specialist restaurant and buffet but not in the bars. We ordered some bottles at the dining room and took them back to your cabin for balcony drinks.

 

Hope this helps

 

Glad to know that we can take the bottles back to our cabins, and not to expect that we can order a bottle of wine at the bars using the wine package. Thank you for your help.

[DaveinWhales]

Hi there - we purchased the wine package in February on a 15 day cruise. I think they are available on the longer cruises. We found the silver tier sufficient for us as if you wanted a bottle more than $29 you simply paid for extra i,e, bottle cost $45 you pay $6 extra. There was a lot of bottles at 29 or below on the wine list. You can only order the bottles in the main dining rooms specialist restaurant and buffet but not in the bars. We ordered some bottles at the dining room and took them back to your cabin for balcony drinks.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks for that. Looks a good deal if you get 33% discount or thereabouts for buying in bulk. We would have a bottle between us, maybe a bit more, every night of our 17 night trip anyway.

[jackieo]

Thanks for that. Looks a good deal if you get 33% discount or thereabouts for buying in bulk. We would have a bottle between us, maybe a bit more, every night of our 17 night trip anyway.

 

Yes it was a great deal for us. The silver package even let us have bottles of Korbel the Californian sparking wine which was within the silver budget! Nice for a bubbly drink on the balcony at sailaway.

Edited September 22, 2014 by jackieo

[TWA4Ever]

The Unlimited Soda package including gratuity is $5.18 per person/per day. The Unlimited Soda & More Package is $8.05 per person/per day and also includes mock tails, juices, shakes and hot chocolate.

 

 

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Damn, I know it's been 8 years since I have had the pleasure of being on Princess, and I know prices change, but this is not $36 for what used to be a $20 Coke card! (Let's see if I can bring some Pepsi on board.)

[wishfulone]

You did well to find details at all..I couldn't find it anywhere. Can you post a link !

For my wife and I this probably represents the best drink package option.Thanks Dave

 

It was posted by 'LewesBeach' at the top of page 8 and I quoted all the information that was available. I've had a good look at the Princess website but can't find any mention of wine packages. I think it would suit us much better than the all inclusive. Thanks Jackieo for your comments. It's great to hear recent reports.

[gatorgrlfriend]

This seems very helpful. Would the price per person/per day be for ALL drinks purchased per day, or only up to the cost of the package? We are not very experienced cruisers, so we are still learning the ropes.

[Thrak]

This seems very helpful. Would the price per person/per day be for ALL drinks purchased per day, or only up to the cost of the package? We are not very experienced cruisers, so we are still learning the ropes.

 

It's for all drinks. There is no daily limit on how many you can have with the package. Of course if one gets falling down drunk or abusive and combative they would likely cut you off but I doubt that is your concern. :)

[Sitmar Lady]

This was a very helpful tool. It will definetly worth it for my Husband and I on our upcoming October voyage.

[gatorgrlfriend]

Thanks for the info.