Princess Beverage Package Evaluator

[IECalCruiser]

OP, thanks so much for taking the time to do this.

 

Is that really all of the wine choices? If so I may have to bring my own.

 

Also I don't suppose anyone knows how many ounces their wine "glass" is?

Those are the choices for wines by the glass in the dining rooms and bars. If the ship has a Vines, there will be a different list like this.

 

 

All of the wines by the glass on both lists as well as more are offered for purchase as bottles. Courtesy of Astro Flyer, the attached is the wine list from the Royal last fall. Except for the four Super Tuscans on the Maitre d' Specials, the others were on the new wine list on the Sapphire and the Grand this year and should be on all ships.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=292048&d=1383697791

Edited May 10, 2014 by IECalCruiser

[johnsfo]

I verified today that the soda only package is $5.18 pp per day. That means fountain sodas only--not in cans or bottles.

[MicCanberra]

I verified today that the soda only package is $5.18 pp per day. That means fountain sodas only--not in cans or bottles.

 

Do they still have the UKP drinks package?:D

[IECalCruiser]

Do they still have the UKP drinks package?:D

Yes. It is now called the Unlimited Soda & More Package and costs a total of $8.05/person/day

 

 

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[lone_stranger]

Does anyone know whether the wines served at Vines can also be obtained in the dining room? What happens if the ship doesn't have Vines?

[IECalCruiser]

Does anyone know whether the wines served at Vines can also be obtained in the dining room? What happens if the ship doesn't have Vines?

On the five ships we have been on with Vines, the wine list has been the same and wines by the bottle are available at Vines or in the DRs. (That may be different on the Royal and Regal because they have a wide selection of Super Tuscans at Vines that are not on the DR Wine List Astro Flyer posted.). It is the wines by the glass that vary. Vines wines by the glass are only available there, not the DRs. On the Island and the Coral there are wines by the glass and wine flights available at the bar at La Patisserie on Plaza deck. I didn't take a picture of the wines by the glass list to compare with Vines though.

 

 

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[janetz]

Great thread. Do the prices listed include gratuities? Sorry if this has been asked.

[janetz]

I did back up and find my answer. ;)

[MicCanberra]

Yes. It is now called the Unlimited Soda & More Package and costs a total of $8.05/person/day

 

 

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I found that it was very good value and then I just bought the alcohol I wanted. Of course this was when there was no other alternative drinks package.:D

[lone_stranger]

On the five ships we have been on with Vines, the wine list has been the same and wines by the bottle are available at Vines or in the DRs. (That may be different on the Royal and Regal because they have a wide selection of Super Tuscans at Vines that are not on the DR Wine List Astro Flyer posted.). It is the wines by the glass that vary. Vines wines by the glass are only available there, not the DRs. On the Island and the Coral there are wines by the glass and wine flights available at the bar at La Patisserie on Plaza deck. I didn't take a picture of the wines by the glass list to compare with Vines though.

 

 

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Thank you IECalCruiser, particularly for addressing the situation on the Island Princess because we will be sailing on her in September as you might have noticed.

[IECalCruiser]

Thank you IECalCruiser, particularly for addressing the situation on the Island Princess because we will be sailing on her in September as you might have noticed.

Using the CC app on my iPad, signatures are not displayed. We did a westbound full transit on the Island last year. It was a great cruise. There are also a few pastries in the morning at La Patisserie and from lunch on the small finger sandwiches and desserts like served for afternoon tea. Not an IC but it is something. That is also the main location for getting specialty coffees on the Island.

 

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Edited May 11, 2014 by IECalCruiser

[lone_stranger]

Using the CC app on my iPad, signatures are not displayed. We did a westbound full transit on the Island last year. It was a great cruise. There are also a few pastries in the morning at La Patisserie and from lunch on the small finger sandwiches and desserts like served for afternoon tea. Not an IC but it is something. That is also the main location for getting specialty coffees on the Island.

 

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We are doing an Eastbound full transit. Thank you for the tips about where to get things on the Island. Any more that you have to give will be welcome. :)

[IECalCruiser]

We are doing an Eastbound full transit. Thank you for the tips about where to get things on the Island. Any more that you have to give will be welcome. :)

We are hijacking this thread, but I will say one more thing. You should move around the ship during the transit to see the sights all around the ship. During at least one of the three sets of locks, go down to the Plaza deck and look out the windows. You will get up close and personal with the canal wall as the Plaza deck drops two decks below the top of the canal.

 

 

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[lone_stranger]

We are hijacking this thread, but I will say one more thing. You should move around the ship during the transit to see the sights all around the ship. During at least one of the three sets of locks, go down to the Plaza deck and look out the windows. You will get up close and personal with the canal wall as the Plaza deck drops two decks below the top of the canal.

 

 

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I don't want to hijack the thread, but I do want to find out about the drinking aboard. I have only gone on cruises that are at least 12 days to avoid the party crowd, who usually book the shorter cruises. However, a friend of mine who always sails with Princess indicated that there is quite a lot of drinking that occurs on Princess voyages. From the comments about the results of using the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator that does not seem to be the case. Based on your long experience as a cruiser on Princess would you expect more people to drink enough to find the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator showing that the Package is a deal for them?

Edited May 11, 2014 by lone_stranger
To clarify the question.

[MicCanberra]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I do want to find out about the drinking aboard. I have only gone on cruises that are at least 12 days to avoid the party crowd, who usually book the shorter cruises. However, a friend of mine who always sails with Princess indicated that there is quite a lot of drinking that occurs on Princess voyages. From the comments about the results of using the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator that does not seem to be the case. Based on your long experience as a cruiser on Princess would you expect more people to drink enough to find the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator showing that the Package is a deal for them?

I think that there would always be pockets of people that drink more than the average on board but they tend to be together at particular bars and not everywhere on the ship. I have seen individuals getting a bit rowdy but generally most are sensible enough.:D

[Cali_Mum]

Thanks so much for taking the time to make this and post it!

 

Just fun planning on new drinks to try for us!

[IECalCruiser]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I do want to find out about the drinking aboard. I have only gone on cruises that are at least 12 days to avoid the party crowd, who usually book the shorter cruises. However, a friend of mine who always sails with Princess indicated that there is quite a lot of drinking that occurs on Princess voyages. From the comments about the results of using the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator that does not seem to be the case. Based on your long experience as a cruiser on Princess would you expect more people to drink enough to find the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator showing that the Package is a deal for them?

We don't drink a lot, less than one mixed drink a day/person and a half bottle of wine a day at dinner between us. We have been Elite for the last several years and trade out all of the booze for beer. We have sailed on cruises between 3 and 14 days. We haven't noticed a lot of drinking even on the one 3 day and the one 4 day cruise. On our 3 day coastal from Vancouver to LA there were a lot of Canadians and many were continuing on to Vegas after the cruise ended in LA. Didn't see any heavy drinking on board. The same was true of our 4 day cruise from LA this January. Didn't seem any different than any other Princess cruise we have been on. I have no idea if the Beverage Package will impact that.

 

 

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[lor74]

Thanks for the file!

[lone_stranger]

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate your candor and observations.

[probedroid]

They have the $7.50 per day unlimited soft drinks or in my case Diet Coke. which they attach a 'coke' sticker on to your onboard charge/ID card.

The deal is that this card gets you free unlimited drinks in either 16 oz or smaller plastic cups and not cans. Cans are another category. If you order at the buffet the waiter has to get those from the bar which really ads a delay to your meal already getting cold lol! If your ordering at the bar that may be the best choice to obtain your drink in a plastic cup. But service there was iffy for me.

[IECalCruiser]

They have the $7.50 per day unlimited soft drinks or in my case Diet Coke. which they attach a 'coke' sticker on to your onboard charge/ID card.

 

The deal is that this card gets you free unlimited drinks in either 16 oz or smaller plastic cups and not cans. Cans are another category. If you order at the buffet the waiter has to get those from the bar which really ads a delay to your meal already getting cold lol! If your ordering at the bar that may be the best choice to obtain your drink in a plastic cup. But service there was iffy for me.

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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[lone_stranger]

Now that I have all of this information, I can use the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator to see whether it would be cheaper for me to get one of these cards for non-alcoholic drinks and pay individually for my alcohol or just forgo the cards entirely. A well thought out spreadsheet with sufficient information makes a great decision support system.

[kelly94942]

Now that I have all of this information, I can use the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator to see whether it would be cheaper for me to get one of these cards for non-alcoholic drinks and pay individually for my alcohol or just forgo the cards entirely. A well thought out spreadsheet with sufficient information makes a great decision support system.

 

This is an interesting point. I had originally thought that I would include all of the drinks packages and have Excel calculate if each individual one made sense based on what was selected by the user. I eventually decided against it because I thought it would be of little value to folks. Sounds like there may be some interest in it, so perhaps for a future rev I will include the other packages.

[Mal2105]

Very useful thread and comparison tool. Question - does the bev package cover wine at Vines whereby you still get the sushi/tapas?

[Cauzneffct]

Now that I have all of this information, I can use the Princess Beverage Package Evaluator to see whether it would be cheaper for me to get one of these cards for non-alcoholic drinks and pay individually for my alcohol or just forgo the cards entirely. A well thought out spreadsheet with sufficient information makes a great decision support system.

 

The Soda & More package, plus a coffee card, plus 2 bottles of water a day works out to around $16 a day. So you'd have to spend around $40 a day on alcohol for it to work out. For me, I don't drink much soda or bottled water, so I get the coffee card and pay for alcohol a la carte.