Did the beverage package prices go up again ALREADY?

[LizzieandLuke]

I wish they would have given us a chance to purchase prior to raising the prices like they did with the gratuity increase. :(

 

Congrats to the Mother of the Bride.

[JezzaC]

The package pricing hasn't changed on my upcoming cruise (Jewel of the Seas to Alaska, Sept 4th) either.

 

BUT ... good news I think... RCL has raised the value of the drinks in the packages. It is likely an indicator all drink prices are going up too, so better value for package holders.

 

Here are the changes I noticed:

 

Select package:

Wines were up to $8, now $9

 

Premium package:

Cocktails were up to $10, now $12

Wines were up to $12, now $14

 

I am printing out this page and will have it with me as I doubt all bartenders will be up to date on this and I don't want to be charged for the old limits.

 

This is where they updated their 'up to' limits:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=5531&faqSubjectId=336#top

 

Well both drinks and wines have been 12$ limit already quite a while in Premium package.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=336&faqSubjectName=Food+%26+Beverage&faqId=5806

 

And limit is still 12$

Edited August 26, 2015 by JezzaC

[bouhunter]

I just checked to see what the price would be for 2 of us and it actually went down from what it was a few weeks ago when I added it in my cart. Was $808 for the 7 nights now $798.

 

We like to drink. But our time to do that will never be on a cruise. Have no interest in their ridiculous prices individually or in a package. 800.00 to drink for a week? HA! We'll take our Diamond cocktails and enjoy our vacation. Just cant identify with anyone who will pay 800+ to drink for a one week vacation. I guess if that's all you have each year go for it. We take 3-4 other major vacations each year and will never spend that kind of money on a cruise just for drinks..... RCCL must be laughing all the way to the bank on these packages, booze is cheap for them and they can cut back on service and help.

Edited August 26, 2015 by bouhunter

[bubba83]

Its going to cost us $990 for our 10 day cruise in April for my husband and I. I am going to get the premium and he will get the one below that. We hardly ever drink when we are not on vacation, but I know he would easily have 6+ beers a day and I will have at least 4 mixed drinks a day so I think we will either break even or actually save by having the package.....

 

It does make me sick to my stomach a little though with the thought of paying that much for alcohol!

[olive1998]

Well the price sure went up in Europe yesterday . The price of the ultimate package was 872€ for a ten day cruise for two and now it is up to 1176! 300€ MORE!

Edited August 26, 2015 by olive1998

[Clarea]

Well the price sure went up in Europe yesterday . The price of the ultimate package was 872€ for a ten day cruise for two and now it is up to 1176! 300€ MORE!

That looks like the exchange rate also had something to do with the increase.

[Frankmac]

We like to drink. But our time to do that will never be on a cruise. Have no interest in their ridiculous prices individually or in a package. 800.00 to drink for a week? HA! We'll take our Diamond cocktails and enjoy our vacation. Just cant identify with anyone who will pay 800+ to drink for a one week vacation. I guess if that's all you have each year go for it. We take 3-4 other major vacations each year and will never spend that kind of money on a cruise just for drinks..... RCCL must be laughing all the way to the bank on these packages, booze is cheap for them and they can cut back on service and help.

 

Ok thanks so much for telling us about your drinking habits and your 3 - 4 major vacations.

 

It really is wonderful to have somebody advise us as to how we should spend OUR money.

 

Hope you enjoy your Diamond cocktails.

[nbsjcruiser]

$40 a day per person? Crap, I'd never drink that much. These add-ons are starting to add up on every line now, not just RCI. We're on the Getaway in February and DW was looking at a Cabana on their private island - they want $400 for it! They're nuts. Its getting to the point where the best value on a cruise is going to be buying no add-ons at all and I guess I shouldn't complain about that really. At least its something I can say no thanks to.

[Frankmac]

$40 a day per person? Crap, I'd never drink that much. These add-ons are starting to add up on every line now, not just RCI. We're on the Getaway in February and DW was looking at a Cabana on their private island - they want $400 for it! They're nuts. Its getting to the point where the best value on a cruise is going to be buying no add-ons at all and I guess I shouldn't complain about that really. At least its something I can say no thanks to.

 

When you say " I'd never drink that much", do you mean you would never spend $40 per day on drink, or you would never manage the 4 drinks per day it would take to reach $40?

[Desert Cruizers]

My husband only drinks Beer so he buys the $35/day + gratuity. Last year by not buying it for our first of 3 cruises, he spent more then if he had bought the package.

[rudeney]

I just priced the Premium Package for my trip (Oct 18th, NotS) and it had been $404.74 (49 * 7 days + 18%) but it's now $399 ($57 * 7). I'll take a $5.74 discount!

[Frankmac]

Yes I did read somewhere that it had reduced from $57.82 per day to $57.00

[JezzaC]

Well the price sure went up in Europe yesterday . The price of the ultimate package was 872€ for a ten day cruise for two and now it is up to 1176! 300€ MORE!

 

Well it didn't. Previously price was shown before actually purchasing the package without gratuities 18% - and those were added after package was selected. Now the pricing shows price including gratuities right away.

 

Euro price for Ultimate package was on Monday 51e (and some decimals) / day + gratuity. Your price for 872e (before gratuities) for 2 persons for 10 days sounds like more price for Premium package with old pricing presentation.

Edited August 26, 2015 by JezzaC

[Sherri914]

I called today to ask about the price difference today vs. what I paid about month ago. For the premium package, I paid $404.74/each, or $57.82/day. He said the price didn't "change", but they're simply "rounding the amount to make it easier for customers" (his words). So the Premium Package that was $57.82day is now $57.00/day ($399/week vs. $404.74/week).

 

They couldn't offer the $11.48 in OBC, but he canceled (and credited) the original package and reordered it at the new price. He said credit would be issued within 3-5 business days for the original order. No big deal, but it saved me $11.48 at least. :)

[dcgrumpy]

Wasn't the Ultimate $55 before gratuity? That would be $64.90 with gratuity or $65 if they were going to round it. It's now listed as $67.

 

It must be Common Core math.

Edited August 26, 2015 by dcgrumpy

[9876]

Soda packages are up too. If I remember correctly it was listed at 6.50 per day for an adult plus gratuity which would have been 92.04 for 12 nights. It is for a November 2015 sailing. If I put it in the cruise planner it is $96 to include gratuities. So that is a .33 difference per day. Are there some kind of taxes they are adding now?

[lovesthebeach2]

Months ago I purchased the Select Package for my DH for our Freedom cruise in November. The price was $245.00 ($35.00 daily) plus $44.10. (Service charge - which is gratuity). That totals $41.30 a day. Could the price you see include the gratuity? Add it to your cart and see if it changes.

[Sherri914]

I wish they would have given us a chance to purchase prior to raising the prices like they did with the gratuity increase. :(

 

I don't understand. You can purchase the beverage package at any time. Our cruise is in November. I purchased it over a month ago. And today, I called and asked about the small price difference. They confirmed the Premium package price comes out to a little less than it was when I purchased, so they credited the original purchase price and recharged me for the new (lower) price.

[mollyeilis]

The new "Aug 25" prices don't show the Gratuity broken out (in fact, it says "$0"). So I surely hope the Aug 25th prices aren't PLUS gratuity on board!

 

 

On the page where I choose the person who wants the drink package, it says "Gratuity has already been included in the price of each package."

 

 

 

Oh I'm frustrated! Not b/c prices have gone up, but because I am visiting my brother two states away from home, and I left my notes. The notes where I had JUST gone through the drinks packages for our specific cruises and had written down the total cost for one of each drink package. So I can't get specific! Last week and today I went to the end, just before I put in CC info. I'm looking at the total, not per night.

 

But for our 7 night cruises, March 2016 Freedom and December 2016 Adventure, prices are exactly the same as each other. The only difference is in the number of bottles in the water packages.

 

For our cruises, and I don't know if it's higher, lower, or the same as it was last week:

 

Ultimate 469.00

Premium 399.00

Select 294.00

Replenish 154.00

Evian

12 one-liter bottles 47.00 (ONLY available for our Freedom cruise)

24 one-liter bottles 82.00 (available on both cruises)

[LincolnLog]

We like to drink. But our time to do that will never be on a cruise. Have no interest in their ridiculous prices individually or in a package. 800.00 to drink for a week? HA! We'll take our Diamond cocktails and enjoy our vacation. Just cant identify with anyone who will pay 800+ to drink for a one week vacation. I guess if that's all you have each year go for it. We take 3-4 other major vacations each year and will never spend that kind of money on a cruise just for drinks..... RCCL must be laughing all the way to the bank on these packages, booze is cheap for them and they can cut back on service and help.

 

If you don't like to drink on a cruise and would never pay these prices, and you can't relate to people who do....why are you on this thread telling us about it? Why don't you take your precious diamond cocktails and your 3-4 vacations and go brag about them somewhere else? :D

[1 Buffett Fan]

Yes I did read somewhere that it had reduced from $57.82 per day to $57.00

 

I spot-checked a few cruises and found this to be true as well. Some drink package menus have been updated to display the new price, which looks higher at first glance, but when you get to the fine print it now includes the gratuities. This is similar to how Royal displayed these a year or more ago, when the advertised price included a 15% gratuity. That percentage of course rose to 18% during the past year.

[1 Buffett Fan]

Originally Posted by bouhunter

We like to drink. But our time to do that will never be on a cruise. Have no interest in their ridiculous prices individually or in a package. 800.00 to drink for a week? HA! We'll take our Diamond cocktails and enjoy our vacation. Just cant identify with anyone who will pay 800+ to drink for a one week vacation. I guess if that's all you have each year go for it. We take 3-4 other major vacations each year and will never spend that kind of money on a cruise just for drinks..... RCCL must be laughing all the way to the bank on these packages, booze is cheap for them and they can cut back on service and help.

 

If you don't like to drink on a cruise and would never pay these prices, and you can't relate to people who do....why are you on this thread telling us about it? Why don't you take your precious diamond cocktails and your 3-4 vacations and go brag about them somewhere else? :D

 

Bravo, LincolnLog!

[slyster]

The package pricing hasn't changed on my upcoming cruise (Jewel of the Seas to Alaska, Sept 4th) either.

 

BUT ... good news I think... RCL has raised the value of the drinks in the packages. It is likely an indicator all drink prices are going up too, so better value for package holders.

 

Here are the changes I noticed:

 

Select package:

Wines were up to $8, now $9

 

Premium package:

Cocktails were up to $10, now $12

Wines were up to $12, now $14

 

I am printing out this page and will have it with me as I doubt all bartenders will be up to date on this and I don't want to be charged for the old limits.

 

This is where they updated their 'up to' limits:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=5531&faqSubjectId=336#top

 

Is the http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au for Australia? I'm checking here in the USA and I'm not seeing those prices on the pages I'm looking at:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=336&faqSubjectName=Food+%26+Beverage&faqId=5806

 

and

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/category.do?pagename=onboard_cat_dining_options

 

It doesn't show those price?

[denatravels]

I'm seeing the new prices for my upcoming Liberty of the Seas sailing in October.

 

 

 

The Premium package is now slightly cheaper (was $57.82/day with 18% gratuity, now $57/day with gratuity included).

 

 

 

The Royal Refreshment (soda) package is more expensive (was $7.67/day with 18% gratuity added, now $8/day with gratuity included).

 

 

I'm on Liberty now. The price for replenish is listed at $22. But when it was charged, it was actually $19 plus gratuity. Over the course of the five days, added about $2 to the cost.

[ChollaChick]

We like to drink. But our time to do that will never be on a cruise. Have no interest in their ridiculous prices individually or in a package. 800.00 to drink for a week? HA! We'll take our Diamond cocktails and enjoy our vacation. Just cant identify with anyone who will pay 800+ to drink for a one week vacation. I guess if that's all you have each year go for it. We take 3-4 other major vacations each year and will never spend that kind of money on a cruise just for drinks..... RCCL must be laughing all the way to the bank on these packages, booze is cheap for them and they can cut back on service and help.

 

We can't take multiple cruises in a year, in fact this is our first vacation in over four years so we are purchasing the drink packages. For us we want to enjoy our rare vacation without worrying about the tab at the end. RCCL may be laughing all the way to the bank, as you say, but I will be enjoying (and imbibing) on my cruise.