Has anyone regretted NOT buying the drink package?

[mollyeilis]

 

It's easy to spend $100 per day without being a drunk if you have a special coffee and/or OJ in the morning, a couple drinks by the pool in the afternoon, a wine or two with dinner, and a drink or two drink at the show/casino/nightclub. It's a vacation! :D

 

For me, I couldn't even make Replenish worth it.

 

Since they don't give you Evian, but give you something like Crystal Geyser, I value that at about 20 cents per bottle. (I wouldn't buy the $4 small Evian bottles so that's moot)

 

Several of those (unlike a previous poster, I canNOT drink the ship water, as "de"salinated apparently doesn't mean UNsalinated, and when I drink it I swell like a balloon and when I don't I don't, so I drink SPRING water), a caffeinated latte in the morning, a decaf latte in the evening (not because I necessarily wanted it but because I was trying to make Replenish worth it). OK so we're at, maybe, $9-10 worth of drinks. OJ in the morning, except I never drink juice at home so that happened ONCE and I regretted it. The waters filled me up, the lattes filled me up. I was pretty much done!

 

I think maybe 3 times on a 7 night cruise I might have had a drink-drink? Bought a shot of Bailey's to put in my decaf latte, bought a pina colada one day...maybe a glass of wine? I just can't fit that much liquid in, when drinking the water I need to drink.

 

$100/day per person is not doable for my family, that's for sure. DH didn't hit Replenish limits either, but he is one who likes the convenience. I'm still not so sure what makes overpaying "convenient" but he's the fella that works to pay the bills so I try to make happen what he wants to happen for vacation.

 

Gotta know yourself and your family! How they drink liquids, what they drink, and how they value money and pre-cruise vs end-of-cruise bills. Complicated math, that's for sure.

 

 

I think I'm going to get it. I don't do a lot of alcohol, but will drink at least two to three cups of coffee and a couple of bottles of water daily. Then, juice at dinner.

 

Wait!

 

By "cups of coffee"...do you mean coffee-coffee? Because there's no special brewed coffee to be had. If you ask for a coffee from Lattetudes etc you'll get an Americano, which is espresso and water, not brewed coffee. At the MDR a coffee is brewed coffee and that's included just like the coffee from the big self-serve urns at Windjammer and outside the espresso places.

 

And "juice at dinner"? No! Fresh squeezed OJ is ONLY at breakfast! If you ask for OJ at dinner you're getting boxed/concentrated juice. This is FREE.

 

(DH made this mistake and wondered why he and DS were getting cranky (yes DH was trying to share his Replenish with DS, grr) until I tasted it and told them the truth. Ingredients in concentrate aren't always normal sugar, and they have horrible reactions to corn based sugars. Then we asked, and the machine is shut down after breakfast...no fresh squeezed OJ after breakfast, and especially not in the MDR.)

 

So if you really mean "a cup of coffee" and "juice at dinner", those things are included with your fare. No Replenish needed.

 

 

It's highly unlikely that you will drink as much if you don't have the package. So even people that figure they beat the package by "paying as you go" only beat it on the basis of what they drank - not on the basis of what they would have drank :)

 

Even down to coffees and freshly squeezed orange juice with the ultimate package - even aside from the alcohol you'll drink more of, you'll get more of those premium coffees than you would if you were going drink by drink. It stands to reason - paying by the drink there are going to be times you'll say "Ahh, it's not worth shelling out another $4 for a coffee again" - when you have the package you won't even think about it any more!

 

Buy it and enjoy it! Buy it and enjoy the fact that you'll drink more, not because you feel you have to, but because you'll suddenly realise you want to! :D

 

 

This is exactly us until the last paragraph. We tried SO hard to just get to Replenish's daily amount. DH might have hit it some days. I never did. (if it were Evian water then it would be different, but it's Crystal Geyser-ish)

 

I'm sure DH will still want it in March and that's fine, but I'm going OOP apart from a water package.

 

 

Sadly on my next cruise Im with Disney who doesn't offer any packages.

 

On your cruise, that's true. Starting mid-September, however, it might change. They just changed their alcohol policy, so now people hope that if they don't change it back (like they did before) that they'll sell beverage packages.

 

 

...it seemed the Bar guys pd more attention to the ones who had the drink package. So I had to tip more to get served faster.

 

It just makes no sense....

 

Having the packages likely has reduced bartender tips so they may be a bit less service-oriented. it's likely that the bartenders are not getting a full 18% tip on drinks served through the packages. Doing so could mean money out of RCCL's bottom line if passengers with packages consumed enough to exceed the price of the drinks without a package.

 

You responded with this to the person I quoted just above. They make NO sense together. The person didn't have a package and had to tip to get good service. But you're saying that a person without a package will tip more depending on what a package-holder drinks.

 

The two don't go together.

 

 

 

 

 

Same here - maybe a glass of wine at dinner each night and three or four cocktails during the week on the ship. I want to remember my vacation. :D

 

Same. And just like you did about YOURself, I'm talking about myself. You said "same here", that means "it's the same for me", key word me. Then you described what you drink, without ever mentioning what others drink. Then you said that you wanted to remember your vacation. Without ever saying or hinting that others who drink more than that won't. Well actually, literally, they won't remember your vacation. :)

 

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found that statement to be completely condescending!

 

I certainly didn't. They were talking about themselves.

 

 

Doesn't have to be condescending, unless you want it to be... not everyone has a tolerance for alcohol. There are many people who get really tipsy off a single drink, so if they had 5+ drinks in a day, they would be drunk for a majority of the day.

 

Exactly.

 

If I had 5 drinks in a day I'd be toast. And I'd be puffy in the face by day 3 and miserable and cranky and it would be horrendous. It would be like college weekends LOL.

 

They didn't write "I want to remember my vacation, unlike the rest of you lushes".

 

 

Very true (and honestly I couldn't find the original quote) but if it wasn't meant as a "jab" - why post it at all? How about saying "If I drank that much, I wouldn't remember my vacation."

 

The question was has anyone regretted NOT buying the drink package. I'm really not trying to stir it up the pot - but neither answer has a bearing on the OP's question. :-)

 

Lots of people are answering with their feelings and thoughts on this.

 

I assume that they posted it because they were posting their feelings and thoughts. And, just like all the others who want to not worry about the bill at the end (some of us think of the bill before the cruise more than at the end), they had their own experiences and thoughts to share.

[GUT2407]

I did one cruise that didn't offer a soft drink (soda) package, it was a good reason not to cruise itch them again.

 

Not only do I get great value, the convenience is fantastic.

[axzel]

I think everyone has their own thoughts about the drink package. Some buy it because they actually drink more which makes it cheaper, others buy it for the convenience and there are people who buy it because they don't want a surprise at the end of our cruise.

 

We are not huge drinkers, we are social drinkers who - sometimes - drink a little more. On a cruise, we would be drinking cocktails (and beer for me).

I am not to worried about the bill at the end of the cruise, but i know for a fact that buying a drink package is going to cost me more then just paying for each drink.

Considering the fact that we only have 8 cruise days of which 2 are checkin/checkout, 3 full port days and only 3 sea days. We also have OBC and coupons for buying drinks....

 

Compare this to the fact the drink package will cost us 60 euro (66$) per person each day, which is about 132$ a day..... no way we will drink that!!

[widallas]

.......

Edited August 18, 2015 by widallas

[nclsuncruiser]

Haven't purchased it on 3 previous RC cruises and didn't regret it. Wouldn't purchase it again, and likely would only purchase 2-3 drinks at all over the course of the cruise. I can't imagine all the empty calories consumed if I had the drink package! No way would I spend $400 on drinks and all the thousands of calories...

 

 

Ahh thanks, just for a minute I hadn't realised that this was a thread about calories in alcohol :rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your 2-3 drinks, but perhaps stop commenting on a thread that has no relevance to you whatsoever and no relevance to the purpose of the thread?

[Inukshuk Gal]

Ahh thanks, just for a minute I hadn't realised that this was a thread about calories in alcohol :rolleyes:

 

It makes me glad I will be traveling with friends who won't be overly critical of how much I drink when on vacation. I have had plenty of that attitude at some family reunions where my father's wife -- a judgmental bible-belt teetotaler through and through -- whines nonstop about the alcohol. I work hard and am a very responsible person, so when on vacation it is my one and only chance to really enjoy myself. I eat too much. Drink too much. Sleep too little. ...etc. That is not my 'normal'. At our last family reunion she made a big announcement that at the next reunion there will be no drinking at all for anyone! As if, right? What a laugh. She has zero control over it as my husband and I, along with my brother and sister, pay for everything (including their airfare). She can stay home, her choice.

[DandDM]

As far as I am concerned, the drink packages are a relatively new option on cruises. After sever sticker shock on my first few cruises, I figured out all kinds of tricks to keep my bar bill low (you know, doesn't seem like there are near as many threads about smuggling anymore. . .).

 

so when they first came out I was ecstatic and have bought them on every cruise possible. Never regretted it, with solid evidence that they saved me money, hassle, and potential embarrassment.

 

Would also share that I have not seen a difference in service before and after the advent of drink packages. But then, I've always gotten along famously with bartenders.

[casinostreer]

As far as I am concerned, the drink packages are a relatively new option on cruises. After sever sticker shock on my first few cruises, I figured out all kinds of tricks to keep my bar bill low (you know, doesn't seem like there are near as many threads about smuggling anymore. . .).

 

so when they first came out I was ecstatic and have bought them on every cruise possible. Never regretted it, with solid evidence that they saved me money, hassle, and potential embarrassment.

 

Would also share that I have not seen a difference in service before and after the advent of drink packages. But then, I've always gotten along famously with bartenders.

 

I'm with you! :-) I was a bartender for many years - so I find them incredibly easy to get along with!

[casinostreer]

 

They didn't write "I want to remember my vacation, unlike the rest of you lushes".

 

 

 

I would have loved it if they said that. :-) That certainly seems more joking and a little sassy. I'd have bought her a drink!

Edited August 19, 2015 by casinostreer

[buckeye rob]

I guess my dilemma is not buying, but having bought the package. I just paid $ 908.60 for 2 Ultimate Packages and upon thinking we are in a suite. Suite lounge beverages included and with 3 shore days with drinking being done off ship, just wondering if it was worth it. I have had $ 900 plus bar bills in one night, but that was different. :rolleyes: Gerry

Edited August 19, 2015 by buckeye rob

[casinostreer]

I guess my dilemma is not buying, but having bought the package. I just paid $ 908.60 for 2 Ultimate Packages and upon thinking we are in a suite. Suite lounge beverages included and with 3 shore days with drinking being done off ship, just wondering if it was worth it. I have had $ 900 plus bar bills in one night, but that was different. :rolleyes: Gerry

 

If you can have a $900 bar bill in one night - you can probably make the package worth it. :-) We have faith in you.

 

Do they give refunds?

[Clarea]

...Do they give refunds?

I don't know if there is a some time limit to cancel a drink package, but you can. They will give you a full refund, and then charge you individually for all the drinks you have ordered.

[Inukshuk Gal]

I guess my dilemma is not buying, but having bought the package. I just paid $ 908.60 for 2 Ultimate Packages and upon thinking we are in a suite. Suite lounge beverages included and with 3 shore days with drinking being done off ship, just wondering if it was worth it. I have had $ 900 plus bar bills in one night, but that was different. :rolleyes: Gerry

 

If I was given three free drinks per day (and my spouse did too, I assume) we may very well rethink getting the package too. But in truth I am glad we don't get the free drinks as there is no dilemma for me, I very much looking forward to trying whatever I want, whenever I want.

 

As many have stated above, the package isn't JUST about money. But on the other hand, no one wants to toss money away either. If you think you will be relatively close to spending $900 despite the free drinks, and you want to try drinks not on your free list, keep the package and enjoy your cruise.

[buckeye rob]

If you can have a $900 bar bill in one night - you can probably make the package worth it. :-) We have faith in you.

 

Do they give refunds?

 

If I was given three free drinks per day (and my spouse did too, I assume) we may very well rethink getting the package too. But in truth I am glad we don't get the free drinks as there is no dilemma for me, I very much looking forward to trying whatever I want, whenever I want.

 

As many have stated above, the package isn't JUST about money. But on the other hand, no one wants to toss money away either. If you think you will be relatively close to spending $900 despite the free drinks, and you want to try drinks not on your free list, keep the package and enjoy your cruise.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Think the suite lounge is not limited to 3 drinks, but I agree, I'm going to be darn close to the $ 900 regardless. Don't want to waste any alcohol but trying a few new cocktails couldn't hurt. Okay Casino and Inukshuk, you've convinced me. Going to stay with my packages and..... CHEERS !!! SKOAL !!! :) Gerry

Edited August 20, 2015 by buckeye rob

[widallas]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Think the suite lounge is not limited to 3 drinks, but I agree, I'm going to be darn close to the $ 900 regardless. Don't want to waste any alcohol but trying a few new cocktails couldn't hurt. Okay Casino and Inukshuk, you've convinced me. Going to stay with my packages and..... CHEERS !!! SKOAL !!! :) Gerry

 

 

See? You're already enjoying your pre-vacation!!!

[casinostreer]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Think the suite lounge is not limited to 3 drinks, but I agree, I'm going to be darn close to the $ 900 regardless. Don't want to waste any alcohol but trying a few new cocktails couldn't hurt. Okay Casino and Inukshuk, you've convinced me. Going to stay with my packages and..... CHEERS !!! SKOAL !!! :) Gerry

 

Yay! I helped!

 

 

Let me know if there are any "don't miss" drinks. FOS & Ultimate Package on deck for us in October. :-)

[buckeye rob]

Yay! I helped!

 

 

Let me know if there are any "don't miss" drinks. FOS & Ultimate Package on deck for us in October. :-)

 

Will do my part. You're on !! :rolleyes:

Edited August 20, 2015 by buckeye rob

[Bahamma Mamma2]

Just got back from FOS and 7 nights with the Premium drink package. All I can say is NO REGRETS! We LOVED it! I have not had time to go through my bill but I am 110% we made out better by having it. I had TONS of Lava Flow's which would have cost me $14.10 each and I had several a day...not to mention all the wine, soda and bottled water I had.

 

We saw no decrease in the service because we had the package. We even had one bartender make us random drinks to try...it was a lot of fun and I would have never done that if I was paying cash. We did have 2 sea days and used the package on Labadee so it was more like 3 so it was well worth it. I did love the peace of mind that it was all paid for too:)

 

Thank you again to everyone who responded! We booked another cruise for next year and I think we are going to get it again!

[Inukshuk Gal]

Just got back from FOS and 7 nights with the Premium drink package. All I can say is NO REGRETS! We LOVED it! I have not had time to go through my bill but I am 110% we made out better by having it. I had TONS of Lava Flow's which would have cost me $14.10 each and I had several a day...not to mention all the wine, soda and bottled water I had.

 

We saw no decrease in the service because we had the package. We even had one bartender make us random drinks to try...it was a lot of fun and I would have never done that if I was paying cash. We did have 2 sea days and used the package on Labadee so it was more like 3 so it was well worth it. I did love the peace of mind that it was all paid for too:)

 

Thank you again to everyone who responded! We booked another cruise for next year and I think we are going to get it again!

 

Mmmmm.... Lava Flow sounds yummy!

 

Can I ask, how strict were they at enforcing it? The reason I ask is because it turns out once one of the people we are going with learned we are getting the package, he has been hitting my husband up to give him 'free drinks' on our upcoming cruise. There is no way we will do this, and I am pissed off he would even ask us. He is not poor, just cheap. My husband was telling me last night how he is being pressured. I really thought better of this guy! So I did some checking around the internet and from what I can tell RCI handles the situation as follows:

 

- No warnings given, period

- Drink package revoked, no refund

- In extreme cases where the abuse was more than 'a drink or two' passengers have been told to debark at port and not return to the ship.

- Some people mentioned that they take your photo, and when scanned your image displays.

- They have measures in place to signal possible abuse, i.e... multiple drinks, different bars, over a short period of time...

- One drink at a time, machines require 10 minute intervals

 

Does that sound right? If he asks again, I am going to list every possible reason we are not complying. Not to mention, we don't want to wait on this guy and his wife. I like these folks, I really do, but there is nothing charming about people being so cheap they would ask their friends to risk quite a lot.

[Bahamma Mamma2]

Mmmmm.... Lava Flow sounds yummy!

 

Can I ask, how strict were they at enforcing it? The reason I ask is because it turns out once one of the people we are going with learned we are getting the package, he has been hitting my husband up to give him 'free drinks' on our upcoming cruise. There is no way we will do this, and I am pissed off he would even ask us. He is not poor, just cheap. My husband was telling me last night how he is being pressured. I really thought better of this guy! So I did some checking around the internet and from what I can tell RCI handles the situation as follows:

 

- No warnings given, period

- Drink package revoked, no refund

- In extreme cases where the abuse was more than 'a drink or two' passengers have been told to debark at port and not return to the ship.

- Some people mentioned that they take your photo, and when scanned your image displays.

- They have measures in place to signal possible abuse, i.e... multiple drinks, different bars, over a short period of time...

- One drink at a time, machines require 10 minute intervals

 

Does that sound right? If he asks again, I am going to list every possible reason we are not complying. Not to mention, we don't want to wait on this guy and his wife. I like these folks, I really do, but there is nothing charming about people being so cheap they would ask their friends to risk quite a lot.

 

 

I totally understand! We had a total of 9 people and two of them were roommates. One of the two had the Ultimate Drink Package and the other did not have any drink package (they were brothers). Well the one with the package tried on several occasions to order 2 drinks at once using the defense that it was "unlimited" and he should be able to order two drinks at a time. None of the bar tenders let him (Which I was glad). I was kinda irritated because he kept complaining about the drink package but he was just really mad that he kept getting denied. It was obvious what he was trying to do, especially at dinner when he tried to use his card to pay for his brothers drink. I thought it was hysterical because we all forked over the small fortune to purchase ours legally so I was glad they enforced it.

 

No one ever threatened to take his drink package away. I think he was able to slip his brother a few drinks but for the most part his brother paid for it. We were able to order multiple drinks on a few occasions. Esp when leaving for ports, they were very good about letting us get multiple bottles of water at once. At dinner a few nights I ordered a Lava Flow and a glass of wine with a Coke (I only every drink water at home all day every day so I was really splurging) and I never had a problem, but, the drinks were set in front of me at the table and it was obvious that I was the one drinking them.

 

My advice would be to tell the cheapskate that you can not share and tell him to buy his own. Once he sees how high the prices are he will wish he had one. That is what happened to our friends...they were totally against the package but when he went to the bar the first day and paid $30 for 2 Rum Punches he changed his mind and got the package. I feel your pain...just stand strong:) Enjoy your cruise!

[DandDM]

Mmmmm.... Lava Flow sounds yummy!

 

Can I ask, how strict were they at enforcing it? The reason I ask is because it turns out once one of the people we are going with learned we are getting the package, he has been hitting my husband up to give him 'free drinks' on our upcoming cruise. There is no way we will do this, and I am pissed off he would even ask us. He is not poor, just cheap.

 

I like these folks, I really do, but there is nothing charming about people being so cheap they would ask their friends to risk quite a lot.

 

I think we have the same friend! My buddy (best friend from childhood) isn't necessarily cheap or poor, but he just loves to try and push the system - to get something for nothing!

 

This might not be very useful to you as it happened on Princess, but I'll tell my story anyway. Our adventure started off because the bartender pushing the package strongly indicated to our group that if one person bought the package, the others could drink off it. I'm sure he was going 'rouge' and was doing anything he could to meet his quota of package sales. So after my wife and I got our package, this bartender remembered us and would serve the whole group. I actually felt pretty guilty and I sure hope the poor guy didn't get fired for this. . .he was actually a lot of fun.

 

So after that, my friend wanted drinks everywhere on the ship for the rest of the trip, but I refused to try and order multiple drinks from other bartenders. One compromise we made is that with the package on Princess you get a 25% discount off bottles of wine (not sure about RCCL's package). So we would buy bottles of wine, use the discount, and split the cost.

 

So again, sorry for getting off topic slightly, but wanted to share.

 

One item that might be useful is that on our recent Indy trip, the bartenders had no issue giving me two drinks if I had both my card and my wife's (she also had the package) even though she wasn't with me. That also had a downside, though, as I turned into her 'drink boy' on sea days!

Edited August 24, 2015 by DandDM
typo

[Inukshuk Gal]

Well the one with the package tried on several occasions to order 2 drinks at once using the defense that it was "unlimited" and he should be able to order two drinks at a time. None of the bar tenders let him (Which I was glad). I was kinda irritated because he kept complaining about the drink package but he was just really mad that he kept getting denied. It was obvious what he was trying to do, especially at dinner when he tried to use his card to pay for his brothers drink.

 

Thanks! Yes, I think that is what our friend is expecting too, that we will magically be entitled to unlimited drinks at any time and place on the ship, and that no one will be the wiser. Sounds like the two gentlemen on your cruise let their frugal ways interfere with their fun. If both had the package (and they weren't so focused on scamming) they could have just enjoyed the cruise. I am going to put my foot down hard on this guy before we even leave for the cruise. And if I have to listen to constant whining about prices (that must have been annoying!), I may just smack him a time or two.

[widallas]

Just got back from FOS and 7 nights with the Premium drink package. All I can say is NO REGRETS! We LOVED it! I have not had time to go through my bill but I am 110% we made out better by having it. I had TONS of Lava Flow's which would have cost me $14.10 each and I had several a day...not to mention all the wine, soda and bottled water I had.

 

We saw no decrease in the service because we had the package. We even had one bartender make us random drinks to try...it was a lot of fun and I would have never done that if I was paying cash. We did have 2 sea days and used the package on Labadee so it was more like 3 so it was well worth it. I did love the peace of mind that it was all paid for too:)

 

Thank you again to everyone who responded! We booked another cruise for next year and I think we are going to get it again!

 

 

So glad you had an awesome time -- thanks for updating on the package!!!!

[minn0315]

On our first cruise we did not have the package. We did have a huge "sticker shock" at the end of the cruise.

 

Now we do purchase the premium package. It does not take much to see that this is a bargain for us.

 

We like lunch with two glasses of wine at $12 each for total $24. Then two glasses of wine at dinner for another $24. The daily premium package is $49. So any other drinks, beer, wine, liquor, that day are a bonus and we more than make it an economical decision.

[drb_2000]

Here's the drink menu cheat sheet. I like the idea of making a game out of it. :-) Like Drink Menu Bingo! :-) I'm sure someone can come up with a score card!!

 

[ATTACH]359091[/ATTACH]

 

Is everything listed on the Drinks Menu available on the Ultimate Package? Is there an up charge for anything? Thanks in advance.

 

DrB