All Inclusive Beverage Packages

[crochetcruise]

I'm hoping the All-Inclusive-Beverage-Package will be available for all cruises in Australia when I sail. It would be EVER so much easier to just have it prepaid. Yes, I am costing on the mentioned price of AUD$14 per Cocktail, and will get a Soda and More Package for myself, and am allowing pre-and-post lunch drinks, and pre-and-post dinner drinks and a Nightcap, so 5 alcoholic drinks over 10-12 hours with Sodas and Mocktails added over the day and snacks eaten to absorb the alcohol, shouldn't be a problem. I haven't allowed for the Mimosa/s I can enjoy at Sabatini's while enjoying my breakfast, but I PROMISE to go back to Sodas and Mocktails until the pre-lunch drink, which will probably be finished over lunch and the after lunch started. I already know from varying posts that finding something yummy to eat on Princess is NEVER a problem. The REAL problem is the bewildering variety! :D

 

I am trying to cost ahead and get as many costs as possible pre-paid as On Board; Photography; Internet; and Casino Credit organised with a "safety net" built in to the calculations. Have found a good currency exchange site, and will be monitoring the exchange rate closely. The fortnightly saving is absolutely manageable, even easy, so I can establish the new routine of manually transferring the cash to a different bank account-1 I don't use frequently, and get let it accumulate, keeping an eye on the fortnightly savings.

 

Enjoying everyone's opinion-I'm often alerted to something I should "tweak" in my own planning! Great help! Thanks everyone! :D

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

It's funny how this debate goes on and on and is really for a section of cruisers that are in the middle. There are those that don't drink or drink so little that they would never buy this. It doesn't make any sense for them. Then there are some of us cruisers (eh um) for which this is an absolute no brainier. There is no discussion either. My bar tab is 60% of what it used to be before they introduced this. And no, we are not drunk the entire time on our cruise. And I don't drink anymore than I used to. No judgement either way.

 

So the discussion is centered (pun intended) around those who's habits are in the middle.

 

For those of us on either side of center, the decision is very clear.

 

Oh, and you can prepurchase the AIBP online before your cruise. Our entire group has already done it. I just hope the sticker is waiting there in my cabin when I get there. My traditional first glass of champagne on a cruise isn't going to wait for my sticker to arrive! 😀

[SteveH2508]

The sticker was on our card when we got it at check-in (we pre-bought).:D

[Sungold]

The sticker was on our card when we got it at check-in (we pre-bought).:D

 

 

That is good to know! I am one who has debated in the past about whether the package would be worth it for me. I have a cruise coming up in October on Carnival Ecstasy which is a 5 day-4 night, and I'm going to try it on the shorter trip and judge from there how I feel about it. I tend to think that I will drink more than I normally would, but then on other cruises I have passed on drinks at times when I would have liked one, because I didn't want my bar tab to be too high.

 

Pam

 

 

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[St Paul Girl]

Hi Everyone:

It all comes down to personal choice. I do NOT drink alcohol BUT my husband makes up for me. On our upcoming 10 day Tahiti cruise, he will buy the AIBP and I will get a Coffee Card. For him, it is very simple, 2 cappuccino's, fresh orange juice every morning, couple of beers during the day and another cappuccino, at least 6 bottles of water a day, depending on the "pours", at least 2 of the best scotch before dinner, 2-3 glasses of wine with dinner and then an after dinner Port. In the evening, maybe a beer or liqueur and then a couple of bottles of water for bedtime. Not sure what that adds upt o, BUT when on vacation, we don't like to ADD, burns to much brain cells :).

Vacations are to be stress free from our perspective.

Happy Cruising!

[bellaa]

Can anyone tell me if you can use the AIBP at Princess Cay?

 

thank you.

[Jennlee.2]

My husband and I purchased the drink package for our upcoming cruise. This will be our first Princess cruise, but we have had the drink package (premium) on Celebrity and really enjoyed it.

 

We loved the drink package we had. First of all it eliminated all the decision making like, "I'd like to try a martini, but do I really want to pay $12 for it?" Or "That fresh squeezed juice looks good, but I can drink the concentrate for free so is it worth it to me to pay $3 for it?"

 

It just made everything super relaxing. No worries because it was already paid for.

 

It was fun to try new things as well, which we probably wouldn't do as much if we were paying by the drink, because if we didn't like it, it would be a waste of money. We could literally look at the martini menu and say "OK, let's start here and work our way down."

 

It is actually not that difficult to get your money's worth, or close, even if you're not sitting at the bar all day drinking. Typically in the morning I'd have an OJ and later a latte. Then at lunch a soda or other NA type beverage. Then after lunch 1 or maybe 2 frozen daiquiris on an outdoor lounger and relax. Maybe another coffee drink in the afternoon, or tea. Then before dinner we'd typically go to the Martini bar and have 1 or 2 Martinis. Then at dinner, a glass of wine for me. Maybe 2. And a soda. Then after dinner I'd have a latte or an aperitif. Then at the show I'd get a drink (mudslide? grasshopper? baileys?). After the show we might have another Martini. Then late in the evening before bed herbal tea. This does not include some bottles of water here and there and to take on excursions.

 

That is technically a lot of drinking for me who rarely drinks, but I never felt drunk or even much more than slightly tipsy at any point because things were spaced out and around food and stuff. It was just so fun and easy, and we came home with all kinds of martini recipes that we had discovered we enjoyed.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Jennlee.2

[Nezmo]

Can anyone tell me if you can use the AIBP at Princess Cay?

 

thank you.

You can.

[bellaa]

You can.

 

thank you so much!

 

Edited to add: As I was posting here my cabin mate called the cruise line and asked. They told her no.

She's calling again to see if she gets another answer. :p

Edited August 5, 2015 by bellaa

[Kinkacruiser]

Shame there's no discount for 24 day cruises.

[Nezmo]

thank you so much!

 

Edited to add: As I was posting here my cabin mate called the cruise line and asked. They told her no.

She's calling again to see if she gets another answer. :p

My answer was based off others in here who have experienced it. I think you got a clueless rep.

[OCruisers]

Can anyone tell me if you can use the AIBP at Princess Cay?

 

thank you.

 

Know FOR SURE you can because we have used ours at Princess Cay! :D

 

LuLu

[bellaa]

My answer was based off others in here who have experienced it. I think you got a clueless rep.

 

Yes. The majority rules. The next rep said we could use it.

 

Thanks all.

[suzyed]

It really isn't about the alcohol for me. Yes I drink wine and enjoy a good cocktail but I drink A LOT of water. And I know the ship has decent water but I choose bottled and the occasional good coffee in the morning. I just do not want any pieces of paper that everyone throws into a drawer and does not look at them again. I am on vacation and do not wish to have a paper trail of my drinking.

 

I agree!

[suzyed]

Not sure this package is for you. You will still get those pieces of paper with a zero cost on each.

 

24 bottles of water a day will justify the cost of the package.

 

Specialty coffees and brewed coffee are also included as are soft drinks...

 

Anyway, we got the package for free...so we are going to really enjoy it! :D;)

[laughing husky]

Whether it is worth it depends on the individual. Other than a glass of wine at dinner I dont typically drink much alcohol so I usually get a soda card and coffee card and if I decide I want a cocktail I pay as I go.

 

My DH gets the all inclusive and some days ( generally sea days) he comes out ahead - some days Princess does. He is able to use the card to purchase bottles of wine at dinner for 40% off and I am able to enjoy that wine with him which is very nice.

 

We are cruising Canada - New England this year which is very port intensive and are debating whether he will get the card for that one since we will be off the ship so much of the time. For a cruise with a lot of sea days he would get one.

 

Proncess always wins........they plan it that way, but none the less, sometimes you come out ahead if you buy a lot of alcohol.....but in the end, Princess wins...:D

[caribill]

thank you so much!

 

Edited to add: As I was posting here my cabin mate called the cruise line and asked. They told her no.

She's calling again to see if she gets another answer. :p

 

The soda sticker and the soda&more sticker cannot be used for soda on Princess Cays because they only have canned soda there. The "no" rep may have been thinking of those packages.

[caribill]

 

We loved the drink package we had. First of all it eliminated all the decision making like, "I'd like to try a martini, but do I really want to pay $12 for it?" Or "That fresh squeezed juice looks good, but I can drink the concentrate for free so is it worth it to me to pay $3 for it?"

 

 

 

You still have that decision since a $12 martini would not be included in the AIBP.

[Cruise Junky]

You still have that decision since a $12 martini would not be included in the AIBP.

 

The poster was making reference to when they had the Celebrity premium package.

[Jennlee.2]

The poster was making reference to when they had the Celebrity premium package.

 

Yes, as I understand it the martinis (and most other drinks) are less expensive on Princess and do generally fall into the AIBP. But yes, anything over the $10 would need to be paid for and thus incur a decision point.

 

I will miss being able to pay the difference if desiring something over the limit. My husband likes wine and he occasionally wanted one that was maybe $1.50 over, and on the Celeb premium package you can just pay the difference (not so on the classic package which is more like the Princess package), so it was not hard to say, "it's only $1.50 - it's OK."

[palolake]

I'm assuming that the all inclusive beverage package is the same as the soda card but I'll ask anyway :) Can you get cans of soda or just out of the guns?

[Gabby1162]

Does anyone know if there's Chai Latte tea in the specialty coffee place?

[lljost]

I'm assuming that the all inclusive beverage package is the same as the soda card but I'll ask anyway :) Can you get cans of soda or just out of the guns?

 

Yes, the all inclusive beverage package includes canned soda.

[GUT2407]

Whether it is worth it depends on the individual. Other than a glass of wine at dinner I dont typically drink much alcohol so I usually get a soda card and coffee card and if I decide I want a cocktail I pay as I go

 

That the answer.

 

How much do you actually drink, as a general guide you need 4-6 drinks a day to get in front, for some that's easy for others never.

 

Some say that they'd never get value out of a soda package, personally I blitz it every time usually in front about a third of the way into the cruise.

[GUT2407]

Does anyone know if there's Chai Latte tea in the specialty coffee place?

 

Yes.