Drink packages

[aussiekers]

We will be on the Coral Princess this summer. We are thinking of purchasing the drink package but wonder if $56 plus tip is way more than you would normally spend. Anyone ever buy these packages?

[CruiserBruce]

You will find far more info with a little reading on the Princess board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

[cdwh1902]

We have just returned to Aus from a 12 night Transatlantic on the Allure of the Seas from Florida to Spain. We both had the Drinks Package and found it to be great value - depends on how much you drink! It's surprising when you add it up and don't forget you are on holidays, so you are more likely to relax and drink a bit more than usual. :S

[tx_jackie]

There's a spreadsheet for the princess beverage package linked below that's incredibly helpful in guestimating if it'll be worth it for you. And remember it includes coffee and bottled water you can take on port.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038576

[lucky cal]

Personally, I think $56 per person per day is steep. That's almost $800 for a 7-night cruise. I'm sure we will have a few alcoholic beverages per day, but we can pick up bottled water and sodas in port and a coffee card or two should satisfy our need for caffeine. I'm sure that will amount to a lot less than $800 when all is said and done.

 

But it depends on how much you drink and how much time you'll be spending on the ship versus in port. If you expect to have 5 or 6 cocktails a day and like to have specialty coffees it might be worth it.

[leeives]

$56 plus tip

 

We debated it also. We used the spreadsheet (referenced above) to estimate and it showed that we'd come close enough to breaking even that we decided to do it on our upcoming cruise, just so we don't have to think/worry about how much we're spending on drinks during the week.

 

Also, FYI, the $56.35/day includes the 15% gratuity according to Princess: http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/food_dining/casual_dining/

[saxgirl84]

I bought the NCL version on my Caribbean cruise in Jan, and only had 1 day that I didn't get my money's worth, however my upcoming Alaska cruise has a lot longer port times, so I can't imagine I would come close to getting my money's worth... take that into consideration as well...

[kruzlover]

It's a no brainer if you enjoy your alcohol with out the worry of the bill. Pay the $$$ upfront and a single person can easily drink there shares worth! For me I usually will always get the drink package if I haven't already got it included in my cruise booking. Once you get onboard and know that pretty much all your drinks are covered you can relax and just enjoy those cocktails!!!

On one or our recent cruise aboard Celebrity I had 94 drinks!!!!! That does include fresh orange juice, Gatorades, coffee drinks, etc.... So I more then got my fair share. Live life to it's fullest everyday your alive and drink up while your on vacation!!! Captain's driving the ship not you!!!Drink up!!!!

Mike